Half an hour later I stood at the door of the small post-office in the
Lobby, after discussing the situation with that most cheery and
courteous of officials, Mr Pike, the postmaster, who had left me for a
moment to give some instructions to his subordinates. My mind was
filled by gloomy thoughts, as I reflected that all this national terror
and excitement had been produced by the dastardly and almost miraculous
ingenuity of some unknown person.
But was he unknown? Was it not more than probable that the person to
whom all this was due was Dudley Ogle, the man who lay lifeless without
a single sorrowing friend to follow his body to the grave? Sometimes I
felt entirely convinced of this: at others I doubted it. If Ella spoke
the truth, as it now appeared, then it was plain that Dudley had been
the victim of a terribly cruel and crafty conspiracy that culminated in
his death. Might not this be so, I argued within myself. Yet the words
and actions of Ella were all so remarkable, so veiled by an impenetrable
mystery, that any endeavour to elucidate her reasons only puzzled me the
more, driving me almost to the verge of madness.
Truth to tell, I loved her with a fond, passionate love, and had, only
after months of trepidation and uncertainty, succeeded in obtaining her
declaration that she reciprocated my affection, and her promise to be my
wife. Yet within a month of my new-born life in happiness supreme, all
these untoward events had, alas! occurred, stifling my joy, replacing
confidence by doubt, and driving me to despair.
While I stood there alone, Lord Warnham hastily approached the
post-office window with a telegram, and, seeing me, exclaimed,--
"Ah! I want you, Deedes. An hour ago I sent telegrams everywhere for
you. Come with me to my room."
He handed in his telegram, and together we went along the corridors to
his own private room, where, in an armchair, with some papers in his
hand, sat the Marquis of Maybury, Prime Minister of England. We had met
before many times when the burly, elderly peer had been a guest at
Warnham Hall, and on many occasions I had acted as his secretary when he
had been alone.
"Well, Deedes," he exclaimed gravely, looking up suddenly from the
papers, "Lord Warnham has explained to me the mysterious theft of the
secret convention, and I am anxious to see you regarding it."
The Foreign Minister seated himself at his table in silence, with folded
arms, as the world-renowned statesman proceeded to question me closely
regarding the events of that memorable day when the document had been so
ingeniously stolen.
"Have you not the slightest clue to the culprit, even now?" Lord
Maybury asked at last, stroking his full grey beard. "Remember that
England's honour and her future depends absolutely upon the issue of
this serious complication. If you can furnish us with any information,
it is just possible that diplomacy may do something, even at the
eleventh hour. You see we have lost the original of the convention, and
this, if produced in Petersburg, is sufficient evidence against us to
upset all our protestations."
"I have told Lord Warnham all I know," I answered calmly. "To him I
have explained my suspicions."
"That this friend of yours called Ogle, who died mysteriously on that
very same day, was the actual spy," he observed. "Some of the facts
certainly point to such a conclusion; but, now tell me, did Ogle enter
your room at the Foreign Office on that day?"
"Certainly not," I replied. "No one is allowed in my room except the
clerks."
"Could he have seen the envelope sticking out of your pocket?"
"No," I answered. "I am confident he could not, because, on placing it
in my pocket, a deep one, I took precaution to notice whether it were
visible."
"Then, if such is the case, I maintain that Ogle could not possibly have
known what designation you had written upon the envelope," the Premier
observed; adding, "Did you meet anyone you knew during your walk to the
Ship, or while you were in Ogle's company?"
"No one whatever," I said.
"I know the Ship. At which table did you sit?"
"At the first table on the left, in the inner room beyond the bar. I
sat in the corner, with my back to a high partition. Therefore, the
envelope could not possibly have been extracted from my pocket without
my knowledge."
"Then I should like to hear your theory of the affair," said the Prime
Minister, his dark, penetrating eyes fixed upon me.
"It is so remarkable," I answered, "that I am utterly unable to form any
idea how the theft was accomplished."
"You believe, however, that Ogle was a spy?"
"At present, yes," I said. "And further, I have grave suspicions that
he was murdered."
"Ah, that was alleged at the inquest," his Lordship observed. "At
present the police are sparing no effort to determine the cause of his
death, and to find out who manufactured the duplicate of Lord Warnham's
seal."
"The seal I picked up from among the contents of Ogle's pockets was not
the identical one used to secure the dummy envelope," I said quickly.
"I am fully aware of all the facts," he answered rather coldly. "My
desire is to find out something fresh. Even the police seem utterly
baffled. Who is this young woman, Ella Laing, who at the inquest
alleged murder?"
"The daughter of Mrs Laing, of Pont Street."
"Do you know her intimately?"
"She is engaged to be married to me," I replied.
"It is apparent that she was very friendly with this Ogle. Surely you
can induce her to tell you something about him."
"She knows but little more than what I already know. He lived with me
at Shepperton, and had few secrets from me."
"Did you ever suspect him to be a spy?"
"Not for one moment. He had plenty of money of his own, and was in no
sense an adventurer."
"Well," exclaimed the Premier, turning to his colleague at last. "It is
extraordinary--most extraordinary."
Lord Warnham nodded acquiescence, and said, "Yes, there is a deep and
extraordinary mystery somewhere: a mystery we must, for the sake of our
own honour, penetrate and elucidate."
"I entirely agree," answered the other. "We have been victimised by
clever spies."
"And all owing to Deedes's culpable negligence," added Lord Warnham,
testily, glancing at me.
"No, I am inclined to differ," exclaimed the Premier. He had never
acted very generously towards me, and I was surprised that he should at
this moment take up the cudgels on my behalf. "To me it appears, as far
as the facts go, that Deedes has been victimised in the same manner as
ourselves."
"But if he had exercised due caution this terrible catastrophe could
never have occurred," the Foreign Minister cried impatiently, tapping
the table with his pen in emphasis of his words.
"A little more than mere caution, or even shrewdness, is required to
defeat the efforts of the Tzar's spies," the Premier said quietly. "In
my opinion, Deedes, although in a measure under suspicion, cannot be
actually condemned. Remember, among Ogle's correspondence he discovered
evidence of an undoubted attempt to forge his handwriting."
"We have no corroboration that he really did find that actually among
the dead man's possessions," exclaimed Lord Warnham quickly. "I have
myself seen the detective who accompanied him to Shepperton, and he
tells me that no sheets of paper of that character were discovered.
He--"
"I found them while he was engaged in an adjoining room," I interrupted.
"I did not mention it to him, preferring to bring the evidence straight
to you."
"It is just possible that Deedes's version is correct," observed the
Premier. "Personally, I must say, Warnham, that I cannot see any ground
for the dismissal of a hitherto trustworthy servant of Her Majesty upon
this extraordinary evidence. I have always found Deedes upright, loyal
and patriotic, and coming as he does of a well-known family of
diplomats, I really do not suspect him of having played his country
false."
"I am obliged for your Lordship's words," I exclaimed fervently. "I
assure you that your merciful view is entirely correct. I am innocent,
and at this moment am utterly at a loss to account for any of the
amazing events of the past few days."
Lord Warnham was silent in thought for a few moments, then, turning his
sphinx-like face to me, he said, in a tone rather more conciliatory than
before, "Very well. As it is Lord Maybury's wish, I will reinstate you
in the Service; but remember, I have no confidence in you."
"Then you still suspect me of being a spy?" I cried reproachfully. "I
am to remain under suspicion!"
"Exactly," he answered dryly. "Until the truth is ascertained I, at
least, shall believe you had something to do with the theft of that
secret convention. Even the telegram sent from the Strand Post-Office
to St Petersburg is in your handwriting--"
"Forged!" I interposed. "Have you not already seen the careful
attempts made to copy the formation of my letters and figures?"
"The greatest calligraphic expert of the day has pronounced the telegram
to be undoubtedly in your own hand, while the counter-clerk who took in
the message and received payment for it, has seen you surreptitiously,
and recognised you by the shape of the silk hat you habitually wear."
Here was an astounding case of mistaken identity. I had never entered
the post-office near Exeter Hall for six months at least.
"I should like to meet that clerk face to face," I burst forth. "He
tells a distinct falsehood when he says he recognises me. I did not go
into the Strand at all on that day." Then a thought suddenly occurred
to me when I reflected upon the shape of my hat, and I added, "I admit
that my hat is of a rather unusual shape," taking it up and exhibiting
it to them. "But when I bought this in Piccadilly two months ago Ogle
was with me, and he purchased one exactly similar."
"Again the evidence is against the dead man," the Premier said, turning
to Lord Warnham. "Where is his hat?" he inquired of me sharply.
"At Shepperton. I can produce it if required. Its shape is exactly
like mine."
"You had better speak to Frayling upon that point," observed Lord
Warnham. "It may prove important. At any rate, Deedes, perhaps, after
all, I have been just a trifle unjust in condemning you, therefore
consider yourself reinstated in the same position as before, although I
must admit that my previous confidence in your integrity is, to say the
least, seriously--very seriously--impaired."
"I hope it will not remain so long," I said. "If there is anything I
can do to restore your belief in my honesty, I will do it at whatever
cost."
"There is but one thing," he exclaimed. "Discover the identity of the
spy."
"I will regard that the one endeavour of my life," I declared earnestly.
"If the mystery is to be fathomed I will accomplish it."
"While we've been talking," the Premier interposed, "a thought has
occurred to me, and for mentioning it I hope you, Deedes, will pardon
me. It has struck me that if, as seems even more than likely, this man
Ogle was actually a spy who had carefully cultivated your acquaintance
with an ulterior motive, is it not within the range of possibility that
the lady, who was also your most intimate friend, as well as his, either
knew the true facts, or had a hand in the affair?"
"I can trust Ella," I said, glancing at him resentfully. "She is no
spy."
The elderly statesman stroked his beard thoughtfully and smiled, saying,
"Ah, I expected as much. I myself was young once. When a man loves a
woman he is very loth to think her capable of deceit. Yet in this
instance we must not overlook the fact that more than one female spy has
been brought under our notice."
"I am aware of that," I replied, angry that he should have made such a
suggestion against my well-beloved, yet remembering her strange
utterances when she heard the news of impending war shouted in the
street. "But I have the most implicit faith in the woman who is to be
my wife."
"Has she explained, then, the character of the secret existing between
herself and Ogle?" asked Lord Warnham, raising his grey, shaggy brows.
"From the evidence at the inquest it was plain, you will remember, that
there was some mysterious understanding between them. Has she given you
her reasons for declaring that Ogle has been murdered?"
For a moment I was silent; afterwards I was compelled to make a negative
reply.
"That doesn't appear like perfect confidence, does it?" the Foreign
Minister observed, with a short, hard laugh. "Depend upon it, Deedes,
she fears to tell you the truth."
"No, she fears some other person," I admitted. "Who it is I know not."
"Find out, and we shall then discover the spy," the Premier said,
adding, with a touch of sympathy, after a moment's pause, "Remember, I
allege nothing against you, Deedes. Do your duty, and regardless of all
consequences discover the means by which we have been tricked. Induce
the woman you love to speak; nay, if she loves you, force her to do so,
for a woman who truly loves a man will do anything to benefit him,
otherwise she is unworthy to become his wife. Some day ere long you
yourself will become a diplomat, as other members of your family have
been. Now is the time to practise tact, the first requisite of
successful diplomacy. Be tactful, be resourceful, be cunning, and look
far into the future, and you will succeed both in clearing yourself and
in explaining this, the most remarkable mystery that has occurred during
the long years of my administration."
I thanked him briefly for his advice, declaring that it should be my
firm endeavour to follow it, and also thanked Lord Warnham for my
re-instatement, but my words were interrupted by a loud double knock at
the door, and in response to an injunction to enter, there appeared, hot
and breathless, Frank Lawley, one of the Foreign Office messengers. He
wore, half-concealed by his overcoat, his small enamelled greyhound
suspended around his neck by a thin chain, his badge of office, and in
his hand carried one of the familiar travelling dispatch-boxes.
"Good evening, your Lordships," he exclaimed, greeting us.
"Where are you from, Lawley?" inquired Lord Warnham, eagerly.
"From Paris, your Lordship. My dispatch, under flying seal, is, I
believe, most important. The Marquis of Worthorpe feared to trust it on
the wire."
In an instant both Premier and Minister sprang to their feet. While
Lord Maybury broke the seals Lord Warnham whipped out his keys, opened
the outer case, and then the inner red leather box, from which he drew
forth a single envelope.
This he tore open, and holding beneath the softly-shaded electric lamp
the sheet of note-paper that bore the heading of our Embassy in Paris,
both of Her Majesty's Ministers eagerly devoured its contents.
When they had done so they held their breath, raised their heads, and
without speaking, looked at each other in abject dismay. The contents
of the dispatch held them spellbound.
The window of the room was open, and the dull, distant roaring of the
great, turbulent multitude broke upon our ears. The excitement outside
had risen to fever heat.