The sun. (Jacksonville, Fla.) 1905-1908, 1906-06-02

"WoodrOffe is at the present moment
in Petersburg" / said. "lve just come
back from there"
an st. Petersburg!" he gasped, sur
prised. "Then he is with that villain
GUS official, Baron Oberg, the Governor
General of Finland" :.
'No; Oberg is living shut up IN MS
palace at Helsingfors, fearing to 60 out
lest he shall be assassinated," was my
answer.
"And Elma? What has become of
herp >,
"She is in hiding in Petersburg, await
ing such time as / can get her safely out
of Russia" and then, continuing, l ex.
planned how she had been manned and
rendered deaf and dumb.
"What!" he cried fiercely. "Have they
actually done that to the poor girl!
Then they feared she would reveal the
nature of their plot, for she had seen
and heard"
"Seen and heard what"
"Be patient; we will elucidate this
mystery, and the motive of this terrible
irfliction upon her. Muriel wrote to
me saying that poor Elma, her friend,
had disappeared, and she feared that
scme evil had also happened to her. SO
Oberg had sent her to his fOrtress-his
own private Bastile-the place to which
or pretended charges of conspiracy
against Russia, he sends those who
tbwart him to living tomb"
81 have seen him, and | have defed
him." | said.
"YOu have! Man alive! be careful.
He's not fellow who sticks at trihes,"
said Jack warningly.
81 don't fear" replied. "Elma's en-
emies are also mine."
,"Then I take it, old fellow, that not
withstanding her affection, you are
actually in love with herw
81 intend to rescue, and to marry her."
] answered quite frankly.
"But first we must tear aside this veil
Of mystery and ascertain all the facts
concerning her." he said. "At present I
only know one or two very vague de-
tails. The baron is certainly not her
uncle, as he represents himself to be, but
Il seems certain that she is the daughter
of Anglo Russian parents, and was born
in Russia and brought to England when
a child" =
"But from whom do you expect can
obtain the true facts concerning her, and
the reason of the baron's desire to keep
her silent?"
"Ah!" he said, twisting his mustache
tboughtfully. "That's just the question.
For solution of the problem we must
first fathom the motive of the Leith.
courts and the reason they fled in fear
before that fellow Chatter. That Muriel
IL innocent of any completely in their
plot, whatever it may be, feel con.
WINGED. She may be the victim of that
blackleg Woodroffe, who, as Bartlett has
told you, is one of the most expert
swindlers in London, and who has al.
ready done two terms of penal seryi.
tude."
But what was the motive in breaking
open the ConsuPs safe, if not TO obtain
the Foreign Office or Admiralty ciphers,
Perhaps they wanted to steal them and
sell them to foreign governments"
mo; that was not their object. I've
thought over it many, many times since
you told me, and feel convinced that
Woodroffe is too shrewd fellow not to
nave known that no Consul goes away on
cave and allows his ciphers TO remain
'fhind. When he leaves his post he al.
ways deposits those precious books either
It the Foreign Office here or with his
jonsul'General, or with Consul at An.
'ther port. They'd surely ascertain all
~ rat before they made the raid, you bet
me affair was risky one. and Dick
Ircher is known as man of many pre.
autions." r''
But he is on extremely friendly terms
nun Eima' 1t was he who succeeded in
ndlng her in Finland, and taking her
eyond Oberg's sphere of influence TO
lnfaNoh,,wn- '"