The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-04-02


manufactured by Yaronoyski, of Moscow,
! and bears his name -
| This fact had never occurred to me. and
taking up the paper examined the water
mark. finding to my surprise tho name of
| q well-knoWn English mill
"Ihen the attempts at Initiating your
| handwriting are quito as unsatisfactory, -
| he went 3D. Indeed, have no proof
| that all those letters and words have not
been made by YOURSELF
"Ihey have not, / protested. "You
seem determined not to believe in my in
| nocence
! "And the seal" he continued. needless
of my interruption. You expected that
| it would be regarded as Irresistible proof,
| Well. in the first place / do not believe
if was discovered on the body. as YOU
aIIepe; and, secondly, even if it had been,
it is no absolute proof that the dead man
was the culprib.
| "Why?'' inquired eagerly
| "Recause it was not with that seal that
the dummy envelope was secured,'' he
answered slowly, at the same time hand
| ing me the awo impressions and inviting
| me TO compare them.
This | did with breathless eagerness, by
the aid OF the magnifying glass, and in
astonishment was competed to admit
| that he spoke the truth. There were sew
eraI discrepanoies in the quarterings of
| the arms that I had not before noticed,
and saw instantly that they did not cor
respond with those impressed upon the
envelope The amazing Worthlessness of
my discoveries held me embarrassed, and
| stood helpless, and in silence as the
Minister hurled ut me some bitter invec-
tiyes. declaring that / had come to him
| with An ingenious story and evidence that
might have convinced a man less shrewd.
flake your clIlmsily forged documents
and your attempt to reproduce my seal,
and leave me at once!' he cried in p ter
rible ebullition of wrath, gathering up
the objects / had brought ana tossing
them back to me. s'Your dastardly con-
duct is too despicable for words, but re-
mem Der that 10 you, and you alone, your
country owes the overwhelming catastro-
phe that must now inevitably Iau upon
| it, -
With these ominous words ringing in
my ears | stumbled out. knowing not
whittier l went, and scarcely responding
| to the greetings of the men L knew. who
regarded me in askanoe. The great CEN
trial staircase, up which climbed the bril-
j! liantly uniformed representatives of all
civilized countries on the face OF the earth
whenever the Minister he d his receptions,
| | descended with heavy heart, and cross
| ing the grey silent courtyard soon found
myse f amid the hustle of Parliament
| street.
| l saw with chagrin how utterly I had
| failed in my endeavor to eluoidate the
mystery, for not only had 1 Deen unable
| to throw any further light upon the theft
| of the treaty or the tragic end of the man
I suspected, but had actually heaped in
| creased suspicion upon myself. On re-
| Election l found myself in accord with the
| Minister'S declaration that the passport
| was forgery, and that the brass stamp
was not the seal used by the spy. These
| facts were absolutely incontestable. The
only thing remaining was the paper
whereon attempts had been made to imi-
t,te my writing. [ tried to explain this
fact away and clear the memory of the
lead man of all suspicion, but, a las
could not bring myself to believe in his
innocence. There ranked In my treast the
bitter thouqh hit that no had uttered words
of love to Ella, and had tried to induce
her 10 break off her engagement to me.
She herself had acknowledged, on oath
before the Coroner, that they had quar-
relied because she loved me. No. AL
though this passport was a clumsy imita-
ton and the seal had been cut without
due regard to the Warnham quarterings,
the plain incontestable evidence of his
forgery remained.
He was, after all, cunning, despica-
BILE scoundrel, who had brought dishonor
upon my name and ruined me both So
cially and financially. l found myself
smiling grimly at the thought of how
quickly retribution had fallen upon him.
If he had died from natural cause 1t WAS
but Judgment for his misdeeds if struck
down by an unknown hand tt was but
vengeance for his treachery towards his
Queen, his country, and his bosom friend.
Needless of where / went, walked on,
called at my club, l remember and thrust
my letters into my pocket unopened;
then pursuing my way arrived home late
in the afternoon. AS l entered Juckes
handed me note from Ella, telling ME
that they had left Stainses owing to the
tragic affair, and asking me to call that
evening at Point street, adding that she
wished to see me upon very important
matter. For long time / sat alone,
smoking and thinking trying to devise
some means by which could bring the
Earl to believe in my loyalty; but at last,
in desperation, | rose, dressed, and took
cab to Mrs. Laing's.
The house was not large, but we'll or
dered, exquisitely furnished, and there
was about everything an air of elegant
refinement that betokened wealth, taste,
and culture. 1t was nearly seven when l
arrived, and WAS gratified to learn that
with the exception of Beck, who came
later, I was the only guest. Dinner was
{. much more stately mea l at Pont street
than it had been at Staines, where very
often we sat down In flannels, and l was
not sorry when it was over, and found
myself free to talk alone with Ella. 1t
was plain, from the dark rings about her
eyes, hat she had passed a sleepless night,
and that her terrible, mysterious secret
bore her down beneath it's oppressive
weight. Yet she had greeted me with the
same Joyous smile, the same hearty hand
shake as of old, and had, while sitting
at dinner chatting with her, felt myself
wondering how I could ever have brought
myself to utter such bitter reproaches
and recriminations as had done on the
previous day. Her kiss, now that we
were alone, thrilled me; her speech, soft
and musical, held me enraptured by its
charm.
She told me, in answer to my questions,
how she had Jared after left the Nook;
how dismal the place had appeared, and
how many bitter memories it would al
ways possess for her. Then. in response
to her suggestion, we walked out upon
the balcony, where, under the striped
awning, table and chairs were set
Here. in the cool night air, the quiet only
broken by an occasional football or the