Chapter V.

Otago Witness, Issue 2242, 18 February 1897, Page 41

Chapter V.

Cord Warnham's Admission. NYTHING further 1 " inquired the great statesman in a low mechanical tone, his gaze « fixed straight before him as he sat. " Nothing farther, your lordship," answered the telegraphist. The Earl of Warnham sighed deeply, hiß thin hands twitching with a nflrvoaß excitement he strove in vain to t-upprefß. " Ask if Lord Maybury is in town," he said hoarsely, suddenly rousing himself. ' Again the instrument clicked, and a fejv moments later the telegraphitt, turning to the Foreign Minister, said : 11 The Premier ia in town, your lordship." The Earl glanced* at his watch a few seconds ic. silvnce, then exclaimed : "Tell Gaysford fo inform Lord Maybniy at oEce of the contents of this last despatch from St. Petersburg, and Bay that I wiil meet the Premier at 5.30 at the Foreign Office." The telegraphist touched the key, and in a few moments the Minisier's orders were obeyed. Therj, taking a sheet of note paper and a pencil, he wrote in a private cipher a telegram, which he addressed to her Majesty at ;Osbor«p. This too, the clerk despatched at once over the wire, followed by urgent messages to members of the Cabinet Council and lo Lflrd Kingsbary. commander-in-chkf of the Britifsh army, asking them to meet informally at 6 o'clock that evening at the Foreign Office. When all these messages Had been transmitted with a rapidity that was astonishing, the telegraphist turned in his chair and asked : " Anything more, your lordship ? " "No, nothing for the pres«nt," he answered. " Leave us." Then, when be had gone, the Earl- rose slowly, and with bent head and bands clasped behind bis back strode up and down the library in silent contemplation. Suddenly he halted before me where I stood, and abruptly asked : " What did you say was the name of that friend who lunched with you yesterday ? " " Ogle," I answered. " Dudley Ogle." " And hia profc3»i\m 1 " "Hebaiinone. Hia father last Mm wilb eucogh tc live upon comfcrhatly." "Who was his father? " he inquired with a sharp look of doubt. " A landowner." " Where ? " " I don't know." , The Earl slightly raised his shaggy grey brows, then continued / " How long have yoa known this friend 1 " " Several years."

II You told me that he has died since yesterday," hi* lordship said. "Is not that p rather ourious fact — if true ? " " True I " I cried. " You apparently doub me. A telegram to the police at Staines will confirm ray statement." " Y«f, I never dhguise my doubts, D-aedep," the Earl snapped, fixing bis grey eyes upcm mine. " I suspect very strongly that ycu have sold the secret to our enemies ; you have, to put it plainly, betrayed your country." " I deny it 1 " I replied with fierce anger. " I care not for any of your alleged proofs. True, the man who was with ma dariDg thwhole Mine I waß absent is dead. Nevertheless, I am prepared to meet; and refute sll the accusations you may orinpj against me." "Well, we shall see — we shall see," he arswered C'ryly, snapping his fiDgers and again commencirg to pace tbe great library from end to cod with steps a Trifle more hurried tbun before. " W«s haye — aay, I porsoniilly have been r.be victim of dastardly spifcH, but I will koc rest until I clear up tlumystery and bring upon the guilty one thn punishment he deserves. Tiiink," he criiHl, " thit k what, this meane ! England's prextige is ruined, her power is challenged ; and ore lowp the great armies of Russia and, Fisncj> will he swarming upon our tfhovos. In tbo fights at sea and 'he fights on land, vnib modern .armaments the results must, be too horrible to contemplate. The disaster that we must face will, I fear.be oru shiny and complete. 1 am not, I have never been, one of those over-confident idiofe who believe our island impregnable ; bnt am old-fasbionsd enough to iiiclioi* towards Napoleon's opinion. We are apt to rsly upon our naval atrecgfcb, a strength that nisy, or may not, be up to tbe standurd of povvor we believe. If it is a rotteu reed, what remains 1 England must be trodden beneath the iron heel of the invader, and the Russion eagle will float beside the tricolour in Whitehall." " Bat can diplomacy do nothing to avert the ca'astTophe ? " 1 suggested. " N--t when it in defeated by the devilish machinations of spies," he repliad meaningly, flashiue a glance at me. the fierceness of which I did uot fail to observe, "But RusMia dare not take the initiative," I blurted out. " Permit me, sir, to axpiess my own opinion upou our relations with Hr. Petersburg," he roared. " I tell you that for years Russia bas belli hprspif in readio^s 1 - to attack us at the moment when the leceived sufficient provocation, aod t t tl\o.t vi-ry obj-ct she ccmtrocred an alliance with Fiance. The Czar's recent visit to England vras a mere fa,rce to disarm ?uapicion, a procoeoing in which, thank Heaven ! I refused to play any pnrfc whatever. Tha blow that I have long an ( .:cipated and have sought to ward off all these long yearß of ray aflminietratiou as Premier and as foreign secretary has fallen. To-day is the most, sorry day that Rnglaad has ever known. The death-knell of h&r power has sounded," and he walked dowß the room towards me, palefacttd and bosjt, his countenance wearing an txpres?ion of unutterable gloominess. ,He was, I knew, a patriot who would have sacrificed his life for his country's honour, and I alao knew that every word he had ultered came straight from bis heart. " How the secret agents of tbe Czar obtained knowledge of the treaty surpasjos com prehension," T exclaimed. "The catastrophe is due to you — to you alone ! " he oried. " You knew of what vital importance to our honour it was that the contents of that document should be kept absolutely secret. I told you with my own lips. You have no excuse whatever ; none. Your court uofc ia culpable in the highest degree, smd you deserve, sir, instant dismissal »nd the publication in the Gazette of a statement that you have been discharged from her Majesty's service because you were a thief and a spy ! " " I am neither 1 " I shouted in a frenzy of rage, interrupting him. "If you were a younger mar, i'd — by heaven 1 I'd kaocic you dowu. But I respect your i )ge, Lord Waruham, and I am uot forgetful of the fact tbat to you I owe more than I can ever repay. My family have faithfully served their country through generations, and I will never allow a false accusation to be brought upon it, even though you, her Majesty's Foreign Secretary, may choose to mako it." He halted, glancing at me with an expression of unfoigned surprise, "You forget yourse'f, air," he answered with that culm, unruflfied dignity tbat be could assume at will. " I repaat my accasation, and it ia for you to refute it.' 11 1 can ! I will 1 " I cried. " Then explain the reason you handed raa a sheet of blank paper in exchange for the instrument." " I cannot, I " He laughed a hard cynical laugh, and turning upon his heel paced towards the opposite window. " All I know is tbat the envelope I gave ycu was the same you handed to me," I proif-sted. "Its a deliberate lie," he cried, as he turned in anger to face me sgnirj. " I opened the despatch, read it through to ascertain there wan no mistake, and after sealing it with my own hands, gave, it to ■ yon. Yet in return, yoa band me this !"sv d > he took from tbe table the isgeniously-forged j duplicate envelope and held it up. i Tben, casting it down again passionately, he added : " The document I handed to you was exchanged for that dummy, and an hour later the whole thing was telegraphed in txlenso to Russia. Tbe original waß in your possession, and even if you are not actuary in tbf> i pay of our enerxiiv 1 , you wore so negligent of your duty towards yosr Qteen and country that you are undeserving the name of Erglishman." " But does not London mvarm ■with RaSnitn agents ?" I said. »• Have we uot Lad amj-le evidence of tbat lately 1 " "I admit it," be answered. "Bat wbßt proof io there to show that ycu yourself did . not hund th? c.iginal dcemnßnfc to one of theee enterpr&tfg gentleraeu. who Lake such j | a ke«u interest in our affairs'? " | " There is no proof that I am a spy," I ! cried hotly. " There never will be, for lam entirely innocent of this disgraceful charge. You overlook the fact that after it bad been deposited in the safe it may have been tampered with." " I have overlooked no detail," be answered

with calmness. " Your suggestion is an admirable form of excuse, but unfortunately for you it will not hold water. Fiifet, because, as you must be aware, there is but one key to that safe, and tbaffnever leaveß my person ; secondly, »o one but you and I are possessed of the secret whereby the safe may be opeoed or closed ; thirdly, the packet you gave ma did not remain in the safe. In order that you should believe that the document was deposited there I put it in in your presence, but when you left my room I took it out again and carried it home with me to B-rkeley Square, intending to show itto Lord Miybury. The Premier did not call- as 1m bad promised, but I kept the document in my pocket the whole time, and at 6 o'clock returned to the Foreign Office and deposited it again in the safe. Almost next moment — . I bad not; left the room remember — some rhougbt prompted me to re-open tbe envelope and reassure myself of the wording of otic of the clauses. Waikiag to the safe I took out tho envelope and cut it open, only to disoover tbat I bad been tricked. The pape-r was blank I " " It might bave been stolen while in your possession just as easily as while in mine," I exclaimed, experiencing some satisfaction at being thnu able (to turn bis own' arguments ag-ii">st hirnsslf. ' v Kaowlug its vital importance I took the most elaborate precautions that such circumstances were rendered absolutely impossible." " From your words when Hammerton arrived fiom Berlin it was plain that you ftuspeoted treachery. On what ground were your suspicions founded ? " Upon hift sphinx-like fac« there rested a heavy frown ol displsasure, as be replied : " I refuse fco submit to any crosa-extunina-tion, sir. That I entertained curtain suspicions is enough." " And yen actually accuse me withont the 3light.esfc foundation ? " I cried with warmth. " You are iv error," he retorted voiy oalmfy, returning to his waring table and taking up ncnoe papera. "I have here tbe origiual of the telegram banded in at the branch post offica iv the St.rand yesterday afternoon." "Well?" "It has beon examine by liie caligraphic expert employed by the police, and declared to oe in yout t-andwriting." " Wbat ? " I ga«pnd, almost snatching tho yellow telegraph forma from bis hand in my GagerntHS to examine the mysterious jnmhfc of lotters and figures composing the cipher. My heart sauk within me when next in3t.a«t I recognised they ware in a hand so nearly ressrnblisag my own tbafe I could (scarcely dei roc any rtifVereTOe whatever. As I stood gazing at this marvelous forgery open-mouthed in abject dismay there broke opon my ear a ab.orG harsh laugb — ft Itiugh ofc friuuiph. Rawing 'ruy head, the Earl's pen'iti'ali&g gnz« ruft mm?. ""Now," he exclaimed, " carar;, acknowledge tho truth. Ib ia na«kss to pnu'r.Ticata." " I have told the truth," I answered. "I never vfro*e this." For an instant his sfceely eyes flashed a$ his bUnched face assumed an expression of unutterable hatred and disgust. Then he abooted : " You are a thief, a spy, and a )iar, sir I Leave me ißßlimHy. Even ia facet of Huch evidence as this you protest Jnnocenco wUb. childish simplicity. You have betrayed your country Jnto the hands of her enemies, and are even now seeking to throw blame and suspicion upon myself. You "- " I have not done so. I merely suggested tbat the doenment infghfc have been exchanged while in your yo^-session. Surely " " Asd you actually come to me with a lame, absurd tale that tbe only mau who cau. clear you is dead 1 The whole defence is top absurd," he thundered. " Yon havo sold yonr country's honour and the lives of your fallow meu for Russian roubles. Go 11 — Dever let me sea you again, except in a felon's deck." " But surely I may bo perjaittetl to clear myself 1 " I cried. " Your masters in Sb. Petersburg will no doubt arrange for your future. In London we require your faithless services no longer," ' the Earl answered with intense bitterness. •'Go!" . ■ . .