Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-11

you are making a serious mistake when
you accuse the countess. l have the honor
of that lady's acquaintance, and beg to
| assure you that she Is utterly incapable
of an underhand action. AS for Mr.. VIII
ton, he may or may not love her Uhe
old fellows voice trembled little as he
said this), but whether he does or not,
| he is too careful and conscientious to per-
| nit himself to be led into any such fault. ="
Perhaps so, Mr.. Minister" l replied.
Yet somebody is stealing these dispatches.
Who besides Mr.. Wilson has access to
them?"
mo one! No one at all, except myself.
of course! II they have been stolen-and
must say that 1t looks that way-I am GER
tain it was before they reached this Office. "
Who translates them?"
Usually Wilton: sometimes myself. We
| follow the regulations scrupulously. The
! work is always done at that desk yOnder,
| the ROOM
Just at this point in came the colored
| messenger with a cablegram which had just
been brought from the cable office. Here
was my chance. l took from my pocket
| a fake dispatch which had fixed up in the
code and got the minister to arrange to
place of the one just received, of the ar
| rival of which l knew the c. government
| would be well informed. After giving it to
Wilton the minister was to go out, saying
| that he wouldn't be back till late.
Meanwhile / was to lock myself up in a
| big closet in the room and watch proceed
| ings.
In very few minutes 1 was watching
! Wilton pegging away at the dispatch, while
| the minister had disappeared.
| l could easily see the every movement OF
! Wilton, and pretty soon l noticed he was
| getting excited. Well he might. All
| former dispatches had been conclliatory in
| the extreme: this one was the reverse. 1t
was red hot; no one could read 1t without
believing that Uncle Sam meant war with
! out further parley Summed up 1t ordered
| fhn oiy,isf TO InvY &c occy,n hn
| next day at noon unless all our demands
| had been granted by that time. 1t was a
| dispatch calculated to cause an earthquake
! at the palace, if it ever got there-which, of
| course, 1t couldn't, unless it was stolen
| from the legation, as the minister under
stood thoroughly that 1t was fictitious.
But Wilton did not know it was fictitious,
and his eyes kept getting rounder and
| rOunder. Finally he damned the message
| in his pocket, pitched the books and papers
in the safe, and dashed out of the room.
! started to follow him, and actually had
| the closed door partly open when the
| darkey came In to straighten up the room.
I He kept Tuning for ten minutes. and
| when l finally made my escape Wilton was
| gone.
1 knew pretty well where to look for him
| however, and went at once to the Plaza,
| where the rank and fashion of the town
| were accustomed to drive and talk every
| afternoon. The countess was sure TO De
! there with her duenna. and L felt certain
| But 1T not he whom / saw first, but
! the minister. There he stood large as life
with his foot resting on the step of the
| countess carriage.
| She was a pretty little thing, not over
| nineteen at the most, vivacious like most OF
| her countrywomen, and undeniably fasc1-
| mating After watching her for a few min
| utes, l saw quite clearly what the minister
| had meant when he said that no one who
| knew her could believe her capable of de-
! ceit There was an aroma of honesty about
! her that could not fail to impress the most
| casual observer.
| The minister talking to her earnestly,
| while her duenna was similarly engaged
| with some one on the outer side of the car
| rage. l watched his face, and gradually
| saw the smile die out of 1t and a look of
| hopeless dependency take its place. In
| a moment l jumped to conclusion. The
, minister was In love with the girl himself
| for all his sixty years, and she had just
| refused him.
! Pretty soon he turned away, looking
| GUNNER than ever, and in a few minutes
| later Wilton appeared in his place. / had
| pressed closer by now and was listening
| with all my ears. You won't forget,
| countess" he said. earnestly, mot even II
| l have to go away for a long time
but, no, surely not, senor," she returned.