The Manuscript of the Century Club

Grannis looked around the room and saw a thick manuscript bound in paper folders, tied with a string beneath which a letter had been slit. Next to the manuscript was a small revolver. Grannis stared for a moment at these oddly associated objects then he took the letter from under the string and slowly began to open it. He broke into an audible laugh - like the cackle of a baffled villain in a mellow drama. The absurdity, the unnaturalness of the sound,. abashed him, and he compressed his lips angrily. What do you take to, soliloquy next?