The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1886-12-03
CHAPTER XVI.
OHfAI I1H NFf.
THE SECRET OF THE CIPHER

THE SECRET OF THE CIPHER
Gentlemen" said Bielski when we were
alone. NJ think have something to say thai
will surprise you. He held in his hand the
little memorandum book, the mysterious
contents of which he had been studying
while we had been engaged with Gregson.
slave you discovered the ciphers Does II
betray anything of the fellows secretsr
asked with eagerness
eyes, sir; haze found fhe clew TO the
cipher Do you know what it isl 1t is an
Old fashioned system of short hand, with
some new abbrevations and arbitrary signs.
You see had to learn short hand for my
own purposes, so know all about it."
sand do you mean to say you know this
SYSTEM
"Oh, dear, mol Wesare going little too
fast. II you'll excuse me, sir. 1t may take
weeks to unr ddle this; for at the best of
times it is not always easy to decipher short
hand. All the same. l hope we may pick
the lock in q shorter time than that / have
friend in London who will help me-" 81.
Sand this is the surprising news you have
to tell us, Bielskil" interjected Harding
"No, sir, no. 1t is something more than
that You gave me tbs book as FIinter's
But find that it is not his at all. 1t is writ
ten by Francis Branksome, NJ. d. Here's
to some hieroglyphics that to Harding and
myself were quite unintelligible.
sand have you read that alreadyr
"Yes, that is quite easy to understand. 1t
is written in n system that l know something
of myself. What makes me most suspicious
about this book is that tho cipher has been
altered in many ways as the writer has gone
| on with his entries. It is to,erably clear
| and simple at first but 1t becomes moro
difficult and complicated as we proceed.
That shows that Il he man was determined to
hide from everybody what he was writing.
Why should Dr. Branksome be SO anxious
| 10 do that?'
ave have heard something about DIR.
| Branksome this morning which may per-
baps throw light upon That question:" said
| Harding ~
"From the young man outside therep
"Yes;" and then related to the detective
the strange story which had been told by
Gregson af.
"By Jovei gentlemen" no cried, slapping
his thigh in his exutation, "this is really
magnificent What O case I'll have when l
get that in hand! It'll mean trip to Aus
tralia for me, though; and I don't care so
much about that" tete
"But what light will it throw on Miss
Stancliffe's case? How will it assist herl'
"How will it assist here / should say
nothing could assist her more. 1t is the very
evidence we have been wanting to weaken
the motive for the murder. You must hand
this young man over to me now, gentlemen.
l must get that story Of his down in ship
shape"
Bielski was quite excited over the pros-
pect of the task, which he had apparently
already allotted to himself. OF unraveling
the whole mystery of which Gregson pro-
fessed to have given us the outlines. For my
part, carei little or nothing about that
mystery in itself. All that l wanted was
evidences which would deliver my darling
not only from a shameful death, but from
that stain Of criminality which the verdict
of the jury had cast upon her. We had
gone far, felt, towards arriving at the
truth; but nothing short Of the complete ex-
oneration Of Daisy would satisfy me, and
that alasi was apparently still remote.
When the detective had taken Gregson Oft
to his own hotel to cross-examine him at his
leisure regarding the story he had told us.
Harding. and l sat together discussing all
that had now come to light. Our chief feel
ing-or mine at any rate-was one of won
der at the fact that DR.. Branksome should
be such villain as Gregson represented.
Never, surely, was there man in this
world who looked less like villain, who
bore himself less like one, who seemed to oil
around him to be moro completely above
suspicion. recalled all my dealings with
him from that first day when we met in the
Grand hotel at Scarborough, and could
not remember single incident, look or a
tone of the voice. that had been calculated
to awaken suspicion in my mind. He was
always the same-cool, sef-possessed, gen.
in. NM pt h,
He had never played the part of Joseph Sur
face and assumed the functions OF q cham
pion of morality; but l remember no one
whom had met ia the course OF my life
who had made deeper impression on me,
or who had more completely won my conf
dence and regard Even now / could hardly
bring myself to believe that he was villain
much less villain of the cold, cruel, cal
culating type depicted by Gregson.
l remembered, however, that my first
quarrel with him had arisen when hs
dropped to mo hint of his belief that
Daisy was guilty 1t was only then that, in
my overpowering love for her, had broken
through the glamour which had hitherto in
vested him. believe that even now, when
/ had heard Gregson's story, should have
rejected it with my whole heart il it had
not been for Branksome's desertion of Daisy.
That offense had never forgiven and the
fact that he had been guilty Of it enabled
me at this moment, despite all my expert
ence in my personal relations with him, to
accept the apparently incredible story of his
crime which had received from the lips of
Gregso1. I saw, too, quite clearly, the
strong confirmation of that story, which was
to be found in the fact that he hal acted
Just as Gregson had reelected that he would
act. In the event of the sentence of the law
being carried out upon Daisy, he would step
into undisputed possession Of Mauleverer's
millions Yes; i felt convinced. in spite of
all my prepossessions, that l had indeed
been, as Gregson had declared, the veriest
dupe throughout this business-but the dupe
of man whose villainv was such as to defy
all ordinary sagacity.
Bielslxi, with his usual rapidity of move
ment, dartcd Off that very night to London,
hauling the unfortunate Gregson along with
him. It was on the following morning that
had my second interview with my darling
found her moro altered than / had an
ticipatcd The strain upon her mind had
| evidenflv bqen terrible during that week