Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-06-27

that I had come from the embassy in
 answer to his letter. That would ac-
 count for his addressing G1e in Russian
 through the keyhole; and, of course, an official from the Russian embassy would
 be the very last person in the world whom he would like to have observe
 any indications of his little etching ex-
 periments. But, anyhow, be that as 1t
 may" Hewitt concluded. your draw
 ings are safe now, and If once Mirsky
 is caught-and I think 1t likely, for
 man in his shirtsleeves, with scarcely
 any start and, perhaps, no money
 about him, hasn't great chance to get
 away-if he Is caught, I say, he will
 probably get something handsome at
 St. Petersburg in the way of imprlson-
 ment or Siberia or what not; so that
 you will be amply avenged"
 "Yes. but I don't at all understand
 this business of the drawings even
 now. How in the world were they
 taken out of the place and how in the
 world did you find it out?"
 Nothing could be simpler, and yet
 the plan was rather ingenious. Now,
 as the drawings were in your inner
 office, the only people who could have
 got at them besides yourself were your assistants, so that 1t was pretty
 clear that one of them at least had
 somethingl to do with the business.
 You told me that Worsfold was an ex- cellent and intelligent draftsman,
 Well, if such a man as. that meditated treachery he would probably be able to carry away the design in his head at any rate, a little at time-and would be under no necessity to run the risk of stealing set of drawings. But Ritter, you remarked, was an inferior sort of man, not particularly smart think, were your words-only a me- chanical sort of tracer.
 When I looked round the rooms. pushed open the glass door of the bar rier and left the door to the inner of flee ajar in order to be able to see any thing that might happen in any part of the place without actually expecting any definite development. While we were talking, as it happened, our friend Mlrsky-or Hunter, as you please-came into the outer office, and my attention was instantly called to him by the first thing he did. Did you notice anything peculiar yourself?"
 No, really, I can't say did. He seemed to behave much as any travel CT or agent might"
 "Well, what noticed was the fact that as soon as he entered the place he put his walking stick into the umbrella l stand over there by the door, close by where he stood, most unusual thing for a casual caller to do, before even | knowing whether you were in. This made me watch him closely. per ceived with increased interest that the stick was exactly of the same kind and pattern as one already standing | there. also a curious thing. kept my | eyes carefully on those sticks and was all the more interested and edified to see when he left that he took the other | stick-not the one he came with-from | the stand and carried it away, leaving | his own behind. l might have followed him, but decided that more could be learned by staying, as, in fact, proved to be the case. This, by the bye, Is the stick he carried away with him. I took the liberty of fetching 1t back from Westminster because conceive If to ha pittar,a pronartyo
 Hewitt produced the stick. It was an ordinary thick malacca cane, with a buckhorn handle and a silver band. Hewitt bent it across his knee and laid 1t on the table.
 .'Yes," Dixon answered, "that is Ritter's stick. I think I have often seen 1t in the stand. But what in the world"-
 suck srIrsry lert behind. as' And aew. lit stepped across the corridor.
 He returned with another stick, ap- parently an exact facsimile of the oth- CT, and placed it by the side of the other.
 "When your assistants went into the Inner room, carried this stick off for a minute or two. knew 1t was not because there was an um- brella there with his initial on the handle. Look at this"
 Martin Hewitt gave the handle twist and rapidly unscrewed it from the top. Then 1t was seen that the stick was mere tube of very thin metal, painted to appear like malac- ga cane. E,
 'It was plain at once that this was 10 malacca cane. It wouldn't bend. 1 Inside 1t I found your traclngs, rolled lp tightly" ,
 And this-this was the way they ,, were brought back.' the engineer ex- T see that clearly. But how lid they get awayT'
 'See here. Mirsky gets hold of Rlt- ter, and they agree to get your draw ngs and photograph them. Ritter is .o let his confederate have the draw ngs, and Mlrsky is to bring them back IS soon as possible. so that they shan't be missed for a moment. Ritter habit laIly carries this malacca cane, and the .unnlng of Mirsky at once suggests hat this tube shouI<h be made in out yard facsimile. This morning Mirsky yeeps the actual stick, and Ritter ! .omes to the office with the tube. He Ieizes the first opportunity. probably when you were in this private room md worsfold was talking to you from he corridor. to get at the tracings, roll hem up tightly and put them in the ube, putting the tube back Into the