THE LETTER
"This sheet," explained Irene, "is, in fact, but a part of a letter.
The first sheets are missing, so we don't know who it was addressed to;
but it is signed, at the end, by the initials 'E. de V.'"
"The ambassador!" cried Hathaway, caught off his guard by surprise.
"The same," said O'Gorman triumphantly; "and it is all in his
well-known handwriting. Read the letter, my girl."
"The first sentence," said Irene, "is a continuation of something on a
previous page, but I will read it just as it appears here."
And then, in a clear, distinct voice that was audible to all present,
she read as follows:
"which forces me to abandon at once my post and your delightful country
in order to avoid further complications. My greatest regret is in
leaving Mrs. Burrows in so unfortunate a predicament. The lady was
absolutely loyal to us and the calamity that has overtaken her is
through no fault of her own.
"That you may understand this thoroughly I will remind you that John
Burrows was in our employ. It was through our secret influence that he
obtained his first government position, where he inspired confidence
and became trusted implicitly. He did not acquire full control,
however, until five years later, and during that time he met and
married Beatrice Hathaway, the charming daughter of James J. Hathaway,
a wealthy broker. That gave Burrows added importance and he was
promoted to the high government position he occupied at the time of his
death.
"Burrows made for us secret copies of the fortifications on both the
east and west coasts, including the number and caliber of guns, amounts
of munitions stored and other details. Also he obtained copies of the
secret telegraph and naval codes and the complete armaments of all war
vessels, both in service and in process of construction. A part of this
information and some of the plans he delivered to me before he died, as
you know, and he had the balance practically ready for delivery when he
was taken with pneumonia and unfortunately expired very suddenly.
"It was characteristic of the man's faithfulness that on his death bed
he made his wife promise to deliver the balance of the plans and an
important book of codes to us as early as she could find an opportunity
to do so. Mrs. Burrows had previously been in her husband's confidence
and knew he was employed by us while holding his position with the
government, so she readily promised to carry out his wishes, perhaps
never dreaming of the difficulties that would confront her or the
personal danger she assumed. But she was faithful to her promise and
afterward tried to fulfill it.
"Her father, the James J. Hathaway above mentioned, in whose mansion
Mrs. Burrows lived with her only child, is a staunch patriot. Had he
known of our plot he would have promptly denounced it, even sacrificing
his son-in-law. I have no quarrel with him for that, you may well
believe, as I value patriotism above all other personal qualities. But
after the death of John Burrows it became very difficult for his wife
to find a way to deliver to me the packet of plans without being
detected. Through some oversight at the government office, which
aroused suspicion immediately after his death, Burrows was discovered
to have made duplicates of many documents intrusted to him and with a
suspicion of the truth government agents were sent to interview Mrs.
Burrows and find out if the duplicates were still among her husband's
papers. Being a clever woman, she succeeded in secreting the precious
package and so foiled the detectives. Even her own father, who was very
indignant that a member of his household should be accused of treason,
had no suspicion that his daughter was in any way involved. But the
house was watched, after that, and Mrs. Burrows was constantly under
surveillance--a fact of which she was fully aware. I also became aware
of the difficulties that surrounded her and although impatient to
receive the package I dared not press its delivery. Fortunately no
suspicion attached to me and a year or so after her husband's death I
met Mrs. Burrows at the house of a mutual friend, on the occasion of a
crowded reception, and secured an interview with her where we could not
be overheard. We both believed that by this time the police espionage
had been greatly relaxed so I suggested that she boldly send the parcel
to me, under an assumed name, at Carver's Drug Store, where I had a
confederate. An ordinary messenger would not do for this errand, but
Mr. Hathaway drove past the drug store every morning on his way to his
office, and Mrs. Burrows thought it would be quite safe to send the
parcel by his hand, the man being wholly above suspicion.
"On the morning we had agreed upon for the attempt, the woman brought
the innocent looking package to her father, as he was leaving the
house, and asked him to deliver it at the drug store on his way down.
Thinking it was returned goods he consented, but at the moment he
delivered the parcel a couple of detectives appeared and arrested him,
opening the package before him to prove its important contents. I
witnessed this disaster to our plot with my own eyes, but managed to
escape without being arrested as a partner in the conspiracy, and thus
I succeeded in protecting the good name of my beloved country, which
must never be known in this connection.
"Hathaway was absolutely stupefied at the charge against him. Becoming
violently indignant, he knocked down the officers and escaped with the
contents of the package. He then returned home and demanded an
explanation from his daughter, who confessed all.
"It was then that Hathaway showed the stuff he was made of, to use an
Americanism. He insisted on shielding his daughter, to whom he was
devotedly attached, and in taking all the responsibility on his own
shoulders. The penalty of this crime is imprisonment for life and he
would not allow Mrs. Burrows to endure it. Being again arrested he did
not deny his guilt but cheerfully suffered imprisonment. Before the day
set for his trial, however, he managed to escape and since then he has
so cleverly hidden himself that the authorities remain ignorant of his
whereabouts. His wife and his grandchild also disappeared and it was
found that his vast business interests had been legally transferred to
some of his most intimate friends--doubtless for his future benefit.
"The government secret service was helpless. No one save I knew that
Hathaway was shielding his daughter, whose promise to her dead husband
had led her to betray her country to the representative of a foreign
power such as our own. Yet Hathaway, even in sacrificing his name and
reputation, revolted at suffering life-long imprisonment, nor dared he
stand trial through danger of being forced to confess the truth. So he
remains in hiding and I have hopes that he will be able--through his
many influential friends--to save himself from capture for many months
to come.
"This is the truth of the matter, dear friend, and as this explanation
must never get beyond your own knowledge I charge you to destroy this
letter as soon as it is read. When you are abroad next year we will
meet and consider this and other matters in which we are mutually
interested. I would not have ventured to put this on paper were it not
for my desire to leave someone in this country posted on the Hathaway
case. You will understand from the foregoing that the situation has
become too delicate for me to remain here. If you can, give aid to
Hathaway, whom I greatly admire, for we are in a way responsible for
his troubles. As for Mrs. Burrows, I consider her a woman of character
and honor. That she might keep a pledge made to her dead husband she
sinned against the law without realizing the enormity of her offense.
If anyone is to blame it is poor John Burrows, who was not justified in
demanding so dangerous a pledge from his wife; but he was dying at the
time and his judgment was impaired. Let us be just to all and so remain
just to ourselves.
"Write me at the old address and believe me to be yours most faithfully
E. de V.
The 16th of September, 1905."
During Irene's reading the others maintained an intense silence. Even
when she had ended, the silence continued for a time, while all
considered with various feelings the remarkable statement they had just
heard.
It was O'Gorman who first spoke.
"If you will assert, Mr. Hathaway, that the ambassador's statement is
correct, to the best of your knowledge and belief, I have the authority
of our department to promise that the charge against you will promptly
be dropped and withdrawn and that you will be adjudged innocent of any
offense against the law. It is true that you assisted a guilty person
to escape punishment, and are therefore liable for what is called
'misprision of treason,' but we shall not press that, for, as I said
before, we prefer, since no real harm has resulted, to allow the case
to be filed without further publicity. Do you admit the truth of the
statements contained in this letter?"
"I believe them to be true," said Mr. Hathaway, in a low voice. Mary
Louise was nestling close in his arms and now she raised her head
tenderly to kiss his cheek. She was not sobbing; she did not even
appear to be humbled or heart-broken. Perhaps she did not realize at
the moment how gravely her father and mother had sinned against the
laws of their country. That realization might come to her later, but
just now she was happy in the vindication of Gran'pa Jim--a triumph
that overshadowed all else.
"I'll take this letter for our files," said Officer O'Gorman, folding
it carefully before placing it in his pocketbook. "And now, sir, I hope
you will permit me to congratulate you and to wish you many years of
happiness with your granddaughter, who first won my admiration by her
steadfast faith in your innocence. She's a good girl, is Mary Louise,
and almost as clever as my Josie here. Come, Nan; come, Agatha; let's
go back to Bigbee's. Our business here is finished."