The Washington times., 1937-09-28

Saulted between Fakenham and
Cley and afterwards deliberately.
brutally murdered.
Something must have leaked
out about your travels. MatresSer.
Who is there down here likely to
be playing the spy?"
Il wish I knew" Matresser re-
joined. Il am pretty well sur.
rounded by my own people"
Then your own people will
have to be put on the grill.
1.-THE letter which Fergus was
bringing you and which appar-
emily you have never received.
would seem perfectly harmless to.
any ordinary person, but to any.
one who could read between the
lines it would give away the whole
bag of tricks. =
I'VE have had to go further in,
this matter than we have ever
gone before"
What exactly do you mean by
that?" Matresser asked Sir
Francis. 80
IT mean that we are sending
Finch down here tomorrow" the
minister went on. He is third
in command at Scotland Yard but
he was at MI7B during the war
and he is pretty clever at this sort
of business.
MARROW is coming with him to
see that the criminal side of the
matter is kept within bounds.
Before they get to work, MatreS-
sern, as man to man, and can as
sure you a great deal depends
upon your reply, are you shield
ing anyone or partially shielding
them?
Have you no suspicion what.
ever as to who it was who first
assaulted and then murdered Fer
gus and is in possession Of the
letter addressed to you, FORUM
ately in very vague terms but
definitely inviting you to take
part in our pendingg confer
ence?"
NO SUSPICION
IT can assure you that I have
no idea." MatreSser declared ear
nestly.
1.-THE only strangers in these
parts are a Dutchman called Van
Westrheene, who brought his boat
in here the night OF the great
storm and who has been up to
shoot with me once and dine, a
great sportsman but a disagree
able fellow.
Then, besides him, the only
persons who do not absolutely be-
long here are my mothers maid,
who I have satisfied myself is en-.
tirely harmless, and my sisters
companion, Mademoiselle STAN
Ter, whom you sat next at dinner
and who I think I told you is a
niece of the Austrian Minister"
I'VE will leave the young lady
out Of it for the moment" the
Foreign Minister declared.
II have some slight acquaint-
ance with Mademoiselle Stamier
and she is scarcely likely to work
against her sympathieS.
Van Westrheene is Dutch
man, you say. I will have him
looked up directly I get back"
would you like to see the doc.
tor in whose house the final trag.
edy happened?"
How long has he been in the
placer"
HE was born here and his
father before him. He is what
he calls himself-a real piece of
Norfolk clay.
He used to be ashamed Of the
fact but now he rather bragS
about it. He has never been out
side England in his life. He has
not even crossed the Channel"
CHAPTER xxi
"I'll leave Andrews to Finch"
Sir Francis decided. 1T seems to
me at the moment as though
someone had followed Fergus
down from London. If so. the
letters are probably in Paris by
now"
Are you going to tell me what
was in those letters, sir?" MatreS-
ser asked.
That's why I begged for an
invitation to Sandringham so as
to have bona fide excuse for
calling in to see you. One letter
concerned your report on Terri
tory Number 7.
The theft of that message
makes the whole business in which
the Foreign Office is concerned
extraordinarily difficult"
1T is a record Of plain unvar-
nished facts" MatresSer said
firmly.
My dear fellow, we realize that
and we are tremendously CRATE
full" Sir Francis declared. IF
those facts had leaked out after.
wards. provided our great move
comes off. there would have been
an uproar.
1--WE should have had a red hot
press against US. You did what we
asked you to do by telling us the
simple truth. MatresSer. and I
won't have line of your report
altered.
I'VE shall have to deal with
Number Seven separately"
What about the other letter."
''You will probably smile when
tell you its contents and 1t will
take me the best part of an hour
to explain exactly its significanca.