
W Z V
Doubtless they constituted a secret message, most probably a clue to someone whom Uncle Mortimer
had hesitated to mention in his letter. From the smudges on the interior of the rosewood lid, Larry could
tell that the glue of years had dried and the label had simply been pasted back in place, probably left
loose with the very hope that it would be examined just as Larry was doing with it now.
So Larry added "W.Z.V." to his mental list of follow-ups and cut off the music, supplying the four-note
signature with a hum of his own. As he clamped the box shut, the train was swallowed in the blackness of
the Hudson Tunnel and the porter tapped on the door to announce that they were coming into New
York.
There were interested eyes turned Larry's way as he limped from Pullman S-238 onto the platform in
Penn Station. His fellow-travelers had learned that he was ex-Captain Gray, whose return to civilization,
several months before, had been made across the Borneo mountains on a crude stretcher rigged and
carried by a quartet of friendly wild men.
It was somewhat whimsical, this trip to New York on the strength of an eccentric letter, an antique
music-box, an unidentified telegram, and the half of a brown sea-shell. Not much of a legacy, except that
Larry was positive that his father had left him something more, all in custody of Uncle Mortimer, until
Larry should come of age, which he had, two years ago. He had postponed such matters as an
inheritance due to more important business in the Army Air Corps.
Now the clue to somebody who answered to the initials of W.Z.V. could be added to the flimsy
collection for whatever it was worth, which might be very little, except that those initials seemed to fit the
"de-da-do-deee" tune that belonged with the music-box.
Larry was intoning it under his breath: "Double-you-zee-vee--" when the sharp-eyed red-cap spied him
and took over his heavy suit-case. It didn't surprise Larry to get such rapid service from station porters;
they'd been giving it at every stop-over from California. Larry's limp, his gaunt face with a curious pallor
showing through its tropical tan, marked him as a convalescent, even to those who didn't know his
history.
But this red-cap was quicker than the rest, acting almost as though he expected to meet Larry, which
might even be the case. After all, Larry was expected in New York by his uncle's old friend, Barnaby
Lantz. They'd been professors in the same college, Lantz and Larry's uncle, and were members of the
same honor fraternity, Lambda Zeta Mu. If anybody could help unravel the threads of Mortimer Gray's
last testament, that man would be Barnaby Lantz.
Right now Larry's debate was whether he should go directly to Lantz's house or stop at a hotel. He was
thinking it over as he followed the red-cap up the escalator, and finally decided on a compromise. He'd
go to a hotel first and see if he could get a room, which someone has said wasn't too easy, the way New
York was crowded with visitors at present.
From the hotel Larry would phone Lantz--remembering of course, to call him Doctor Lantz--and an
invitation for the night would be very welcome, should the hotel prove to be filled. In fact Larry rather
hoped to meet Doctor Lantz tonight and get his opinion on the contents of the music-box. If Lantz knew
any friend of Uncle Mortimer's whose last name began with the letter V, Larry would be really well along
the trail.
It didn't occur to Larry Gray that he might be well along that trail already. In fact there were such things
as a trail coming right up smack to meet you, the way the Borneo mountain had loomed out of its fog to
welcome Larry's plane. Only this was New York, not Borneo, which made a difference.