Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1908-03-12

not only in connection with his
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
neve have been handed over to the
Russian authorities had he confined his
genius to forgery alone. 1t was gen.
orally 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 we'll understood at the time.
What that purpose was is nov for the
first time published.
The time was half-past 1 in the aft
'ernoon, and Hewitt sat in his inner
Office examining and comparing the
handwriting of two letters by the aid
of a large lens. He put down the lens
and glanced at the clock on the mantel-
piece with a 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. 1t
was filled up in a hasty and almost
iillegible hand, thus:
Name of visitor: E. Graham Dixon
Address: Chancery lane.
Business: Private and urgent.
MI. Dixon was q gaunt, worn look
Ing mar of fifty Or so, we'll, 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 a%nxiously
In the chair which Hewitt offered him
and told his story with a great deal Of
very natural agitation.
You may possibly have heard, Mr..
Hewitt know there are rumors-of
the new locomotive torpedo which the
government is about adopting. 1t 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 it's design has only been arrived at
by a careful balancing of principles
and means, which are expressed on
the only four existing sets of draw
ings. The whole thing, 1 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 house?"
"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 a 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 q set of tracings SINH
lar to those at the admiralty. 1t 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 1 am sure, for
I had to go to that very drawer for
something else when I first arrived.
But at IL the tracings had vanished
you suspect somebody probably?"
II cannot. 1t is a most extraordi-
nary thing. Nobody has left the Of
flee except myself, and then only to
come to you, since 10 this morning,
and there has been no visitor. And
yet the drawings are gone!'
"But have you searched the placer"
"Of course 1 have. 1t was IL o'clock
when I 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 I
never for a moment suspected either
of them, and it 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, 1
UNDERSTANDABLE neither left the Of
fce?"
Neither, and they are both staying
in 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 drawings"
The engineer nodded hastily.
"very good. I will go round to you
Office. But first perhaps you can tell
me something about you assistants.
Mr. Worsfold, for instance|
"He is my draftsman-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 ] have always found him
trustworthy. But of course the temp
tation in this case would be enormous.
Still, 1 cannot suspect Worsford. In
deed, how "a I suspect anybody in