Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-06-27

cases, but also in matters dealt witH by the official police, with whom he was on terms of pretty regular, and indeed friendly, acquaintanceship.
 A case in point was that of the ruble note forger Mirsky, who might never have been handed over to the Russian authorities had he confined his genius to forgery alone. It was gen. erally supposed at the time of his eX- tradition that he had communicated with the Russian embassy, with a view to giving himself up-a foolish proceeding on his part, it would seem, since his whereabouts, indeed, even his identity as the forger, had not been suspected. He had communicated with the Russian embassy, it is true, but for quite a different purpose, as Martin Hewitt well understood at the time. What that purpose was is now for the first time published.
 The time was half-past in the aft ernoon, and Hewitt sat in his inner office examining and comparing the handwriting of two letters by the aid of large lens. He put down the lens and glanced at the clock on the mantel- piece with premonition of lunch, and as he did so his clerk quietly entered the room with one of those printed slips which were kept for the an- nouncement of unknown visitors. It was filled up in a nasty and almost llegible hand, thus:
 Name of visitor: F. Graham Dixon.
 Address: Chancery lane.
 Business: Private and urgent.
 MT. Dixon was gaunt, worn look 1ng man of fifty or so, well, although rather carelessly, dressed, and carry. ing in his strong, though drawn, face and dullish eyes the look that charac- terizes the, lifelong strenuous brain worker. He leaned forward anxiously in the chair which Hewitt offered him and told his story with a great deal of very natural agitation.
 "You may possibly have heard, MT. Hewitt know there are rumors-of the new locomotive torpedo which the government is about adopting It is, in fact, the Dixon torpedo, my own invention, and in every respect-not merely in my own opinion, but in that of the government experts-by far the most efficient and certain yet produced. The machine is the result of many years of work and disappointment, and its design has only been arrived at by careful balancing of principles and means, which are expressed on the only four existing sets of draw tngs. The whole thing, I need hardly tell you, is a profound secret, and you may judge of my present state of mind when tell you that one set of draw ings has been stolen"
 From your houseT
 From my office, in Chancery lane, this morning. The four sets of draw ings were distributed thus: Two were at the admiralty office, one being a finished set on thick paper and the other set of tracings therefrom, and the other two were at my own office, one being a penciled set, uncolored-a sort of finished draft, you understand and the other a set of tracings simi- lar to those at the admiralty. It is this last set that has gone. The two sets were kept together in one drawer in my room. Both were there at 10 this morning. Of that am sure, for had to go to that very drawer for something else when l first arrived. But at 12 the tracings had vanished"
 You suspect somebody probably?"
 '1 cannot. It is a most extraordi- nary thing. Nobody has left the of bce except myself. and then only to come to you, since 10 this morning. and there has been no visitor. And yet the drawings are goner'
 "But have you searched the place?"
 "Of course have. It was F o'clock when first discovered my loss, and I have been turning the place upside down ever since-I and my assistants. My men even insisted on turning all their pockets inside out, although never for a moment suspected either of them, and ii would take a pretty big pocket to hold the drawings. dou- bled up as small as they might be-
 You say your men-there are two. understand-had neither left the of- fce?"
 Neither. and they are both staying fin now. Worsfold suggested that it would be more satisfactory if they did not leave till something was done toward clearing the mystery up"
 Just so. Now, I am assuming that you wish me to undertake the recov- cry of these drawingsT'
 The engineer nodded hastily.
 "very good. will go round to your office. But first perhaps you can tell me something about you assistants. Mir. wOrsfOld. for instance?-
 He is my draf;sman-a very excel lent and intelligent man. a very smart man. indeed. and. feel sure. quite beyond suspicion. He has prepared many important drawings for me Che has been with me nearly ten years now. and 1 have always found him trustworthy. But of course the temp tation fin this case would be enormous. Still. I cannot suspect worsford. In- deed. how can I suspect anybody in the circumstancesT The other. novT "Bis names Ritter. He Is merely a taeer. not I@-.. -.i-.-a UsaE5s-nan- He Is quite a decent young fellow. ard I have had him two years. don't consider hiz1 particularly smart. or be would have learned little more of bis business by this time. But don; |