Evening star., 1923-02-07

faltered the bewildered Merschon.
Perfectly sane. | assure you" Rem
nison answered. calmly. I'm the eye
of the law the person of whom |
speak is entirely innocent of crime
You will let us be judges of that
captain?" Hawkshurst asked. grimly
Il will explain my position briefy.
said Rennison. For the present, at
least. | should prefer to withhold
certain details. In accordance with
plan that had been carefully formu-
lated by ReifSnyder. the papers were
taken from the body of Claiming by
person who had been led by Reif-
snyder to believe that Claiming was
dangerous enemy of the United
States and that the government. for
serious diplomatic reasons. could OBJ
tain possession of the papers only by
stealth-eVen il it were necessary to
have recourse to a criminal proceed
ing in order to secure them. This
person also had been given to under
stand by ReifSnyder, an officer in the
Navy, that certain nuid, which
caused Channing'S death. would pro-
duce only temporary unconsciousness.
Having administered this fluid and
obtained possession of the papers
from the supposed enemy agent, this
person placed them inside sword
cane belonging TO man who had no
knowledge Of the crime. ReifSnyder
had designed taking them from the
possession of the cane at the Gull
ford reception. InaSmuch as the cane
came into my hands before il reach
e4 Reifsnyder's he did not find the
papers. but he did find my note.
which plainly gave him to understand
that he was discovered.
Was the person to whom you refer
a man or a woman?" Merschon asked.
What does it NATTER? Rennison
replied. THAT person. ultra-loyal. is
4 irnI nf NY af Mt fn mi
crime. In the circumstances / have
given my assurance of protection.
! Why, in case of this sort. should a
| knowledge of all details be neces-
sary? You have the papers we have
! been seeking. The man who was re-
sponsible for the murder and theft
is dead. nasmuch as he was an Of
! fcer of the Navy, it is plain that the
! less that is said about the case the
better"
You have given an assurance Of
! protection. eh?" Hawkshurst mutter-
! ed, disapprOvingly.
| Yes. colonel" Rennison answered.
firmly.
! You may have found such action
| eXpedient, perhaps. Rennisun." put in
! Mer Schon. but. inaSmuch rs the af
, fair is Of such distinctly serious
! character-even involving the honor
and efficiency of the naval service-1
would say that it were better that
'
! fidence. Your assurance of protec-
| ton would not be impaired by COM
! munication of all details to the heads
! of the two bureaus of intelligence"
Il would prefer to withhold knowl-
edge of the identity of this particular
! person even from them" Rennison
said doggedly.
Your desire for secrecy is inspir-
ed by some personal motire?" Mer-
schon queried
"Perhaps.' Rennison answered
shortly. There was a pause, then he
added: 1T is possible, too. that it
| may be in the interest OF the gov
ernment service"
Hawkshurst. who was lighting a
cigar. looked at Rennison sharply.
floor. Hawkshurst and Merschon ex-
changed significant glances. The as
sistant secretary cleared his throat
"Why quibble-why quibble?" he
demanded impatiently. "Rennison has
succeeded in his quest. The missing
papers have been recovered and now
I! are in the departments possession. OF
I ReifSnyder's guilt there no longer is
! any doubt But Reifsnyder is dead. ].
| for one. am perfectly willing to ac-
! cept Rennison's assurance that his
! confederate. whether the person be
man or woman. was deceived by Reif-
. snyder and cannot he punished under
the law. BY revealing the name of
that person RennlSon might SATISFY
our curiosity perhaps. But what is
the use? In his possession alone the
secret is safe. If he communicates 1t
to others it might obtain publicity.
In case of this sort publicity is to
be dreaded. Capt. Rennison's char
/! acter and services to the government
: are such that. I think, his wishes in
! this matter should be respected"
We'll. if that is your view. Mr..
! Horsford. there is nothing more to
! be said. of course" Merschon grum-
bled. For my part. I am perfectly
/ willing to regard this as one of those
| cases that are to be classified as
purely departmental affairs. The
papers have been recovered and Reif-