The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-09-11

words. AS for novel; there w,.
nothing l wouldn't have done To beIn
hin.--nothng. My life would have
been small thing to give. J would
have given my soul, And already n
thought came flashing into my mind.
begged Raoul to wait and say noth
Ing to the Duchess, who didn't evnr
Know yet that he'd come back from
Amsterdam. The thought in my mind
was about the commission from yo,lr
Secretary for Foreign Affairs As n
told you. I'd Just sent him word in the
usual cipher and through the usual
channels, that / couldn't do what h,
wanted. He'd offered me eight thou.
sand pounds to undertake the service.
and four more II succeeded. / be.
lieved could succeed IL / tried And
with tho few thousands I'd saved ,lp.
and selling such Jewels as had. could
make up the sum Raoul had been told
TO ask for the necklace. Then he could
give 1t to the Duchess, and she need
never know that the diamonds had
been stolen. All that night Law
awake thinking thinking. Next da,
at time when I knew Raoul woulI
be working In his office, went to see
him there. and chcered him up as we'll
as | could. / told him that in n few
days i hoped to have eighteen or
twenty thousand pounds in my hands
all for him. To let him have the money
would make me happier than I'd ever
been. AT first he said he wouldn't
| take 1t from mel knew he would say
that! But. at last, after I'd cried and
| begged and persuaded. he consented:
| only 1t was to be Il loan. and some-
how, some time. he would pay me back.
In that office there are several great
| safes; and when we had grown quite
| happy and gay together, made Raout
m r. tuQ an
| OF all--where the really important and
valuable things were kept. He laughed
| and pointed out the most interesting.
one--thc one. he said. which held all
| the deepest secrets of French foreign
diplomacy. was sure then that tho
thing had to get for the British For
| eign Secretary must be there, though
| it was such n new thing that it
couldn't have been anywhere for long
| There are three keys to that SAFE
I said Raoul. One liz kept by the Presi-
| dent;' one is always with he Foreign
! Secretary; this is the third and ha
showed me n strange little key mf-
| ferent to any I had seen before. OH.
! do let me have a peep at these Won
| derful papers / pleaded with him.
Before coming ] had planned what to
| do. Round my throat ! wore a string
| of imitation pearls. which I'd put on
for special purpose. But they were
pretty. and so well made that only
an expert would know they weren't
real. Rabul isn't an expert: SO at this
moment h. fitted the key into tho lock-
| OF the safe to open the door I gave a
sly little pull, and broke the thread.
| making the pearls roll everywhere
] about the floor. He was quite dis
| tressed. forgot all about the key in
! the lock. and flew to pick up the pear,a
| as IL each one were worth at least a
! thousand francs.
while he was busy finding the lost
beads. I whipped out the key, took an
| Impression of 1t on piece OF wax I
| had ready. concealed in my handker-
| chief. and slipped 1t back into the lock
| while he was still on his hands and
| knees on the floor, Then he opened
! the safe-door for moment Just to
| give me the peep had begged for. but
| not long enough for me TO touch any
/! thing even II I'd dared to try with
| him standing there Enough, though.
| to show me that the documents were
| neatly arranged in labelled pigeon
/ holes, and to see their general char
/ acter. color and shape That same day
1 key to fit the lock was being made;
and when IL was ready. I made an
/ excuse to call again on Raoul at tho
office. Not that a very elaborate en-
cuse was needed. The poor fellow.
| trusting me as he trusts himself, or
/ more, was only too glad to have ma
/ come to him. even in that sacred pl1ca.
| Now, the thing was to get him away.
/ But I'd made up my mind what to do.
| In another office, upstairs, was friend
| of Raoul's-the one who introduced us
] to each other, and I'd made up mes
/ sage for him. which l begged Raouf
| to take, and bring his friend to speak
| to me. He went, and believed might
count on five minutes to myself. No
! more-but those five minutes would
/ have to be enough for success or fall
IRE. The instant the door shut be-
| hind Raoul, I was at the safe. Tho
! key fitted. I snatched out folded
| document. and opened it to maEa
/ quite, quite certain 1t was the right
/ one, for q. mistake would be mex
| cusable and spoil everything. 1t was
4 what I wanted--the treaty, newly
! made between Japan. Russia and
/ France-the treaty which your Foreign
Secretary thought he had reason to be-
4 5lieve was secret one. arranged be-
tween the three countries without the
! knowledge of England and to the
prejudice of her interest.
l IT, No 10