The Washington herald., 1914-11-22

| q day or two at least A nurse was pro
cured from 70 @ the ma naval hospital and put T.
the fourth night of that nurses attend.
/ ance land when she. worn out by con-
slant watching, slept In her chairl the
! ing a note to say that life had lost III
| Its brightness for her and, IL they cared
to find her they might look for her In the
sea, vanished entirely.
Meantime, public Indignation ran high.
the Investigation Of the dock masters
books, papers and accounts proceeded
| in camera and all England waited breath
lessly for the result to be made known.
Thus matters stood when on Thursday
night at half past seven oclock-exactly
one week after the discovery OF that
packet on the body Of the drowned man
which smacked almost OF magic and put
to shame all that had gone before In the
way Of mystery, surprise and horror.
The widest storm that had been known
steadily ever since dsybreak and was
raging still 4 yelling wind, coming
straight over the Channel from France.
was piling. ink-black seas against an
ink-black shore and all the devils of the
Pit seemed ito be loose in the noisy dark
ness.
In the suspended dock masters house
the admiral superintendent, Sir Charles
Fordeck. together with his private secre-
tary, Mr.. Paul Grimsdick, and the au-
ditor. Mr.. Alexander Machinery. who had
been continuing their Investigations since
morning, were now coming within sight
of the works end-Che only occupants
OF locked and guarded room, outside
OF which sentry was posted, while
around about the house in the stormy
outer darkness, other guards patrolled
ceaselessly. over the books Sir Charles
and the auditor bent at one end of the
room; at the other Paul Grimsdick tap
ped on his typewriter and made manu-
scripts from the shorthand notes beside
him. 1t was at this instant-Just when
the clock on the mantel was beginning
to chime the half hour after 'seven-that
the heavens that the very earth seemed
to tremble with the force of II, and the
three men fairly jumped in their seats.
Cad! that was sumner II you likeI"
Something went down that time or
miss my guess"
Something had gone down"-gone
down in black and white, too, at that
the mystery and the appalling nature
OF that something was made known to
him and to his two companions.
The operator at the central telegraph
with the key open deoiphering a message
which a moment before had come
through, jumped as they had jumped
when that crash of thunder sounded.
the open instrument beginning q SEN
tence in the middle and chopping It on
before II was half done.
.'Hullo! that DETECTED something-cross-
ed communication or I'm Dutchman!'
he said, and bent over to take" II. In
another moment he got more Of a shock
than twenty thunderbolts could possibly
have given him. For. translated, that
interrupted communication ran thus:
and eight-inch guns. The floating
Coming Towers lateral plates Of"
And there, as abruptly as II began, the
left on.
German spy at it," exclaimed the oper-
ator jumping from his seat and grab
bing for his hat 'Gawdermity, Hawkins,
take this instrument and watch for more.
telegraphin' avail secrets
from the dockyard and the storms tap
ped q wire somewhere and sent the mes
sage to us!' Then he flung himself out
into the storm and darkness and ran and
ran and ran.
But the mystery of the thing was all
the greater when the facts came to be |
examined. For those two parts OF SEN
tences were found to be verbatim copies
Of the shorthand notes which Mr.. Paul
Grimsdick had taken down. Those notes |
had never left the sight of the three |
men in the guarded room Of that guarded |
house for SO much as one second since |
they were made. No one but they had |
passed either in or out OF that room |
during the whole seven days Of the in |
quiry. There was no telegraph instru- |
ment in the room-in the house-within |
somebody in it-somebody who could only !
know things by standing in that room |
and copying them-for never once had .
they been ;Ii.;SSo spoken Il Of by word OF mouth.
body was wiring state secrets from It,
how and to whom?
Such was the riddle-such the state of /
Sir Charles Fordeck tele-
phoned through at daybreak to the Yard
and asked that Cleek might be put upon
the scent while It was still hot.
1t had gone 10 o'clock when Limousine,
and disreputable, rushed
Ip to the guarded entrance to the sus-
pended dock masters house and Cleek,
with Mr.. Narkom, was shown
nto the presence of the three men most
concerned in the clearing up Of last
He found Sir Charles Fordeck a dig
lified and courtly gentleman OF polished
and measured speech-though
low, quite naturally. laboring under a
he found Mr.. Paul Grimsdick
his secretary, a frank-faced, straight
ooking young Englishman of thirty; Mr..
Alexander Machinery, a stolid. unemo-
huge knotted forehead, eyebrows like
Ioung mustaches and a face like a face
# granite, and he found reason to be-
ieVe that each was in his separate way,
Il can hardly express to you, Mr..
Cleek, how glad am to meet you and
o have you make this quick response to
ny appeal" said the admiral superin-
endent, offering him a welcoming hand.
1 feel that II any man Is likely to get
o the bottom OF this mysterious business
-ou are the man. And, that you should
set to the bottom OF 1t quickly, at what
yer cost by whatever means, is a thing
o be desired not only in the nations
iced, but for the honor of myself and
ny two colleagues"
Il hardly think that your honor will
De called into question Sir CharleSH - re-
lied Cleek, liking him the better for
he manliness which prompted him in
hat hour of doubt and difficulty to lay
side all questions OF position and by
o the level of himself SO that they
night be judged upon a common plane
s men and men alone. TT would be a
mailman indeed who would hint at any
o Sir Charles Fordeck.''
mo madder than he who would hint il !
( either of these" said Sir Charles, !
aging q hand upon the shoulder of the c
imself between them. II demand to be I
judged by the same rule, We three alone
'ere in this house last night when thatI
bominable thing happened; we three
Inch that Information was wired. 1t
ever, for even SO much as the fraction
( one second. passed out of our keeping !
r our sight; IL it was wired at all III
lust have been wired from this house, U
rom that room. and one or other Of US I
lust positively have been the person to
o so. Wen, did not: Machinery did not; g
rimsdick did not, and yet as you know &
tand a chance of knowing to whom nor I
y whom but for the accident which de- I
ected the course Of the message last C
ight." e
HIM! Yes! I don't think" comment 9
Cleek refieetively. 1T won't wash, {
,af tbeorv-no' dacidedIv n ron't vroob ! Z