WHOSE FINDETH A WIFE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10422, 21 April 1897, Page 3

WHOSE FINDETH A WIFE.

BY WILLIAM LE QUEUX, Author of "The Great War in England in 1897," "Zoraida," "Stolen Souls," " Guilty Bonda," " A Secret Serfice," etc., etc. [COPTRIGIIT. CHAPTER X.—(Continued.) r<iK earl's thin wliite face relaxed into a jittarly sarcastic smile; and his lip eurled ,n withering contempt, "The efforts of ten years delicate liplomacy with Berlin have been rendered 'utile by your treachery or culpable negligence. Mow you come to me with ioino lame paltry tale or other, in an enieitvour to convinee me that you are neither ihief nor spy! Each word of yours only iggravates your offence. I hare dismissed ton, and I tell you I decline to re-open the juestion." "Bubyou have accused me of a crime, mil I demand to be judged I" I cried. " I hare already judged you," he said, liter a pause, laying down his pen with a ludden calmness, and fixing his grey eyes teenly upon me. "Yes, falsely." " You have come to me to prove that I lave misjudged you," he said at last, leanng back in his chair. " Very well. Let no hear your story," " I have bo Btory further than what I have ilready told you," I answered. "You mvo made a charge against me; I hare :ome to you to refute it." " By what moans ?" " By documentary evidence." " Documentary evidence ?" he exclaimed. 'Of what kind?" " You will remember that I told you of the ieath of the only man who could epeak rejarding my absence from the office, and my return!'' "Yos. He died mysteriously. The inquest was held yesterday," and taking up \ letter from his table, the earl added 11 They report from Scotland Yard that an )pen verdict was returned, although one witness, a woman, alleged murder. Well, what was the allegation ? Against yourlelfT he asked, raising his grey shaggy Drow?. " No," I said with emphasis. "I am not t murderer." " Then why did this woman—what's her iame, Ella Laing—" lie said, referring to ;he letter, "why did she allego foul play ?" "I cannot toll; bufc all the facts I have lscertained point to the name conclusion, although tho medical evidence negatived iny such suggestion." " Then what is your contention ?" " That the mau who was my triend was a ipy," I said. " You would shift the responsibility upon jne who, being dead, can tell ue nothing," Iβ said in ii tone of reproachful contempt. " I suspected this. It was but what might aave been expected." "Bub I have evidence indisputable that to was a spy," I exclaimed, excitedly. " Read this," and I handed to him Dudley's passport. ' Spreading it out before him, he carefully jdjusted his gold pince-nez and atter a little iifficiilty translated it. Then, without expressing any surprise be turned it over, and aeld the papor to the light of the window, examining the water-mark. "Well," he exclaimed, calmly at last. "Whet else? , ' I placed before him the crumpled sheots jf foolscap whereon attempts had been made, and successfully too, to imitate my band writing, explaining where I had diejoverod them. Theee he also examined «jry minutely, giving vent to a low grunb is was habitual to him when reassured. "Anything more?" he asked, irapationtly. " I can't waste time. The outlook is too serious." " But you must-you shall eparo time to :ully investigate this mystery," I criod. 'You will remember that the dummy snvelope you took from your eafe bore an imitation of your private seal!" " Yes. What oi that ?" " Here ie the seal with which that impreseion was made," I replied in triumph, handing to him the little brass stamp. "I have had the portions of wax microscopically examined, and they are of the eaino wax as was used to seal tho dummy. Ho took it between his thin fingers thab now trembled with excitement. The production of this object was, I caw, entirely unexpected. Suddenly rising from his chair he unlocked his great safe and took therefrom the dummy envelope. Then, returning to his table, ho lit u taper and carefully made an impression in wax of the seal I hart given him, afterwards taking it to tho light, and by the aid of a largo magnifying-l'lrss comparod it closely with the seal upon the dummy. " And where did you find this seal?" he inquired, glancing across to me. " Among the contents of the dead man's pockets," I answered. " Impossible," he retorted. " The police have possession of evorything found on the man." " Yes, they had, but this came into my possession yesterday at the inquest." " "How?" I hesitated, then, determined to conceal no fact from tho great statesman, I answered boldly: "1 stole it from the table whereon it. was displayed." '• Stole it I" he echoed. Slowly he turned the brass stamp over in his hand, as if deep in thought; thon, with brows knit in anger, he looked me straight in the face, exclaiming bluntly: " Your story is an absolute tissue of lies from beginning to end." His words startled me. I had expected him to bo eager to further probe the mystery, and try and elucidate the manner in which Dudley had manufactured tho dummy and oxebanged it) for tho_ secret convention. Instead of this he was distrustful and suspicious; indeed, he boldly accused rao of attempting to wilfully mislead him and conceal the truth. " I have told you no lien. Every word I have uttered is the truth," I answered, with fierce indignation. " You certainly never obtained posae sion of this seal in the manner in which you would have me believe, for the detectives sent to Staines had strict injunctions to search for any object that would lead them to suppose the dead man was nob what he represented himself to be, and I made a special request that any seals discovered might be aubraitted to me for examination. If this had beeitrfn the dead man's ( pockets it would have been brought to me." " But I tell you it was among the articles found upon him, I picked it up from the coroner's table, mid finding it wae not miesed, broughb ib to you, rather than inform the police of our suspicions, which I understood you desired should, for the present, be kept secret." "I do not beliere you," he retorted, " Ask whoever searched the body, and thoy will no doabb remember finding the seal," I answered. "It is quite unnecessary, he oxclaitnerj. "Unnecessary? Why?" "Because I don't believe one word of this elegantly romantic story of yours." " But I have brought you evidence in black and white that Ogle was a «py," I cried. " Evidence of a sort, he answered carelessly, returning to his table and sinking into his armchair. "You have brought these things to me in order to induce me to believe that they were in the dead man a possession instead of where they really were, in vourown." << It is f*lee," I proteeted, flushing at bu base and dogged insinuations. "So is this elaborate so-called evidence you have brought me," he answered. " In what way ?" I demanded. " You wish to know," he cried. " Well, I will tell you. First the passport a i forged one, and was never written in St. " Why r I cried in dismay. " How can you tell t" " Because its water-mark shows it to be English paper, whereas all Russian official paper, as this is supposed to be, is manufactured by Yarononki, of Moscow, and bwri bit otmi."

This fact had never occurred to me, and | taking up the paper I examined the watermark, finding? to my surprise the name of a well-known English mill, "Then the attempts fit imitating your handwriting are quite as unsatisfactory," he went on. " Indeed,l have no proof that all those letters and words have nob been made by yourself." "They hare not," I protested. "You aeem determined nob to believe in my innocence." "And the seal,"he continued, beedleae of my interruption. " You expected that it would be regarded as irresistible proof. Well, in the first place I do not believe it was discovered on the body, as you allege ; and, secondly, even if it had been, i!i is no absolute proof that the dead man was the culprit." " Why ?" I enquired, eagerly. " Because it was not with that seal that the dummy envelope was secured," he answered slowly, at the same time handing me the two impressions and inviting me to compare them. This I did with breathless eagerness, by the aid of the magnifying glass, and in astonishment was compelled to admit that he spoke the truth. There were several discrepancies in the quartering of the arms that I had not bejore noticed, and 1 saw instantly that they did not correspond with those impressed upon the envelope. The amazing worthlossness of ray discoveries held me embarrassed, and I stood helpless, and in silence as the Minister hurled at me some bitter invectives, declaring that I had come to him with an ingenious story and evidence that might have convinced a man less shrewd.

"Take your clumsily-forged documents and your attempt to reproduce my seal, and leave me at once 1" he cried, in a terrible ebullition of wrath, gathering up the objects I had brought and tossing them back to me. " Your dastardly conduct is too despicable for words, but remember that to you, and you alone, your country owes the overwhelming catastrophe that must now inevitably fall upon it." (To be continued on Saturday next).