CHAPTER XXV
SIMPLE JUSTICE
All eyes were turned upon Mr. Hathaway, who had laid a hand upon thehead of his grandchild and was softly stroking her hair. At last hesaid brokenly, repeating his former assertion:
"I cannot prove my innocence."
"But I can," declared O'Gorman positively, "and I'm going to do it."
"No--no!" said Hathaway, startled at his tone.
"It's this way, sir," explained the little man in a matter-of-factvoice, "this chase after you has cost the government a heavy sumalready, and your prosecution is likely to make public an affair which,under the circumstances, we consider it more diplomatic to hush up. Anydanger to our country has passed, for information obtained ten yearsago regarding our defenses, codes, and the like, is to-day worthlessbecause all conditions are completely changed. Only the crime oftreason remains; a crime that deserves the severest punishment; but theguilty persons have escaped punishment and are now facing a highertribunal--both the principal in the crime and his weak and foolishtool. So it is best for all concerned, Mr. Hathaway, that we get at thetruth of this matter and, when it is clearly on record in thegovernment files, declare the case closed for all time. The StateDepartment has more important matters that demand its attention."
The old man's head was bowed, his chin resting on his breast. It wasnow the turn of Mary Louise to smooth his thin gray locks.
"If you will make a statement, sir," continued O'Gorman, "we shall beable to verify it."
Slowly Hathaway raised his head.
"I have no statement to make," he persisted.
"This is rank folly," exclaimed O'Gorman, "but if you refuse to makethe statement, I shall make it myself."
"I beg you--I implore you!" said Hathaway pleadingly.
The detective rose and stood before him, looking not at the old man butat the young girl--Mary Louise.
"Tell me, my child," he said gently, "would you not rather see yourgrandfather--an honorable, high-minded gentleman--acquitted of anunjust accusation, even at the expense of some abasement and perhapsheart-aches on your part, rather than allow him to continue to sufferdisgrace in order to shield you from so slight an affliction?"
"Sir!" cried Hathaway indignantly, starting to his feet; "how dare youthrow the burden on this poor child? Have you no mercy--no compassion?"
"Plenty," was the quiet reply. "Sit down, sir. This girl is strongerthan you think. She will not be made permanently unhappy by knowing thetruth, I assure you."
Hathaway regarded him with a look of anguish akin to fear. Then heturned and seated himself, again putting an arm around Mary Louise asif to shield her.
Said Irene, speaking very slowly:
"I am quite sure Mr. O'Gorman is right. Mary Louise is a brave girl,and she loves her grandfather."
Then Mary Louise spoke--hesitatingly, at first, for she could not yetcomprehend the full import of the officer's words.
"If you mean," said she, "that it will cause me sorrow and humiliationto free my grandfather from suspicion, and that he refuses to speakbecause he fears the truth will hurt me, then I ask you to speak out,Mr. O'Gorman."
"Of course," returned the little man, smiling at her approvingly; "thatis just what I intend to do. All these years, my girl, your grandfatherhas accepted reproach and disgrace in order to shield the good name ofa woman and to save her from a prison cell. And that woman was yourmother."
"Oh!" cried Mary Louise and covered her face with her hands.
"You brute!" exclaimed Hathaway, highly incensed.
"But this is not all," continued O'Gorman, unmoved; "your mother, MaryLouise, would have been condemned and imprisoned--and deservedly so inthe eyes of the law--had the truth been known; and yet I assure you shewas only guilty of folly and of ignorance of the terrible consequencesthat might have resulted from her act. She was weak enough to be loyalto a promise wrung from her in extremity, and therein lay her onlyfault. Your grandfather knew all this, and she was his daughter--hisonly child. When the accusation for your mother's crime fell on him, heran away and so tacitly admitted his guilt, thus drawing suspicion fromher. His reason for remaining hidden was that, had he been caught andbrought to trial, he could not have lied or perjured himself under oatheven to save his dearly loved daughter from punishment. Now youunderstand why he could not submit to arrest; why, assisted by a smallbut powerful band of faithful friends, he has been able to evadecapture during all these years. I admire him for that; but he hassacrificed himself long enough. Your mother's recent death renders herprosecution impossible. It is time the truth prevailed. In simplejustice I will not allow this old man to embitter further his life,just to protect his grandchild from a knowledge of her mother's sin."
Again a deathly silence pervaded the room.
"You--you are speaking at random," said Hathaway, in a voice chokedwith emotion. "You have no proof of these dreadful statements."
"But _I_ have!" said Irene bravely, believing it her duty to supportO'Gorman.
"And so have I," asserted the quiet voice of Sarah Judd, who hadentered the room unperceived.
Hathaway regarded both the girls in surprise, but said nothing.
"I think," said Officer O'Gorman, "it will be best for us to read toMr. Hathaway that letter."
"The letter which I found in the book?" asked Irene eagerly.
"Yes. But do not disturb yourself," as she started to wheel her chairclose to the wall. "Josie will get it."
To Irene's astonishment Sarah Judd walked straight to the repeatingrifle, opened the sliding plate in its stock and took out the closelyfolded letter. Perhaps Nan Shelley and Agatha Lord were no lesssurprised than Irene; also they were deeply chagrined. But O'Gorman'sslip in calling Sarah Judd "Josie" had conveyed to his associatesinformation that somewhat modified their astonishment at the girl'scleverness, for everyone who knew O'Gorman had often heard of hisdaughter Josie, of whom he was accustomed to speak with infinite pride.He always said he was training her to follow his own profession andthat when the education was complete Josie O'Gorman would make a namefor herself in the detective service. So Nan and Agatha exchangedmeaning glances and regarded the freckled-faced girl with new interest.
"I'm not much of a reader," said Josie, carefully unfolding the paper."Suppose we let Miss Irene read it?"
Her father nodded assent and Josie handed the sheet to Irene.
Mr. Hathaway had been growing uneasy and now addressed Officer O'Gormanin a protesting voice:
"Is this reading necessary, sir?"
"Very necessary, Mr. Hathaway."
"What letter is this that you have referred to?"
"A bit of information dating nearly ten years ago and written by onewho perhaps knew more of the political intrigues of John and BeatriceBurrows than has ever come to your own knowledge."
"The letter is authentic, then?"
"Quite so."
"And your Department knows of its existence?"
"I am acting under the Department's instructions, sir. Oblige us, MissMacfarlane," he added, turning to Irene, "by reading the letter infull."
CHAPTER XXVI
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 hiswell-known handwriting. Read the letter, my girl."
"The first sentence," said Irene, "is a continuation of something on aprevious 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 countryin order to avoid further complications. My greatest regret is inleaving Mrs. Burrows in so unfortunate a predicament. The lady wasabsolutely loyal to us and the calamity that has o
vertaken her isthrough no fault of her own.
"That you may understand this thoroughly I will remind you that JohnBurrows was in our employ. It was through our secret influence that heobtained his first government position, where he inspired confidenceand became trusted implicitly. He did not acquire full control,however, until five years later, and during that time he met andmarried Beatrice Hathaway, the charming daughter of James J. Hathaway,a wealthy broker. That gave Burrows added importance and he waspromoted to the high government position he occupied at the time of hisdeath.
"Burrows made for us secret copies of the fortifications on both theeast and west coasts, including the number and caliber of guns, amountsof munitions stored and other details. Also he obtained copies of thesecret telegraph and naval codes and the complete armaments of all warvessels, both in service and in process of construction. A part of thisinformation and some of the plans he delivered to me before he died, asyou know, and he had the balance practically ready for delivery when hewas taken with pneumonia and unfortunately expired very suddenly.
"It was characteristic of the man's faithfulness that on his death bedhe made his wife promise to deliver the balance of the plans and animportant book of codes to us as early as she could find an opportunityto do so. Mrs. Burrows had previously been in her husband's confidenceand knew he was employed by us while holding his position with thegovernment, so she readily promised to carry out his wishes, perhapsnever dreaming of the difficulties that would confront her or thepersonal danger she assumed. But she was faithful to her promise andafterward tried to fulfill it.
"Her father, the James J. Hathaway above mentioned, in whose mansionMrs. Burrows lived with her only child, is a staunch patriot. Had heknown of our plot he would have promptly denounced it, even sacrificinghis son-in-law. I have no quarrel with him for that, you may wellbelieve, as I value patriotism above all other personal qualities. Butafter the death of John Burrows it became very difficult for his wifeto find a way to deliver to me the packet of plans without beingdetected. Through some oversight at the government office, whicharoused suspicion immediately after his death, Burrows was discoveredto have made duplicates of many documents intrusted to him and with asuspicion of the truth government agents were sent to interview Mrs.Burrows and find out if the duplicates were still among her husband'spapers. Being a clever woman, she succeeded in secreting the preciouspackage and so foiled the detectives. Even her own father, who was veryindignant that a member of his household should be accused of treason,had no suspicion that his daughter was in any way involved. But thehouse was watched, after that, and Mrs. Burrows was constantly undersurveillance--a fact of which she was fully aware. I also became awareof the difficulties that surrounded her and although impatient toreceive the package I dared not press its delivery. Fortunately nosuspicion attached to me and a year or so after her husband's death Imet Mrs. Burrows at the house of a mutual friend, on the occasion of acrowded reception, and secured an interview with her where we could notbe overheard. We both believed that by this time the police espionagehad been greatly relaxed so I suggested that she boldly send the parcelto me, under an assumed name, at Carver's Drug Store, where I had aconfederate. An ordinary messenger would not do for this errand, butMr. Hathaway drove past the drug store every morning on his way to hisoffice, and Mrs. Burrows thought it would be quite safe to send theparcel by his hand, the man being wholly above suspicion.
"On the morning we had agreed upon for the attempt, the woman broughtthe innocent looking package to her father, as he was leaving thehouse, 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 hedelivered the parcel a couple of detectives appeared and arrested him,opening the package before him to prove its important contents. Iwitnessed this disaster to our plot with my own eyes, but managed toescape without being arrested as a partner in the conspiracy, and thusI succeeded in protecting the good name of my beloved country, whichmust never be known in this connection.
"Hathaway was absolutely stupefied at the charge against him. Becomingviolently indignant, he knocked down the officers and escaped with thecontents of the package. He then returned home and demanded anexplanation from his daughter, who confessed all.
"It was then that Hathaway showed the stuff he was made of, to use anAmericanism. He insisted on shielding his daughter, to whom he wasdevotedly attached, and in taking all the responsibility on his ownshoulders. The penalty of this crime is imprisonment for life and hewould not allow Mrs. Burrows to endure it. Being again arrested he didnot deny his guilt but cheerfully suffered imprisonment. Before the dayset for his trial, however, he managed to escape and since then he hasso cleverly hidden himself that the authorities remain ignorant of hiswhereabouts. His wife and his grandchild also disappeared and it wasfound that his vast business interests had been legally transferred tosome of his most intimate friends--doubtless for his future benefit.
"The government secret service was helpless. No one save I knew thatHathaway was shielding his daughter, whose promise to her dead husbandhad led her to betray her country to the representative of a foreignpower such as our own. Yet Hathaway, even in sacrificing his name andreputation, revolted at suffering life-long imprisonment, nor dared hestand trial through danger of being forced to confess the truth. So heremains in hiding and I have hopes that he will be able--through hismany influential friends--to save himself from capture for many monthsto come.
"This is the truth of the matter, dear friend, and as this explanationmust never get beyond your own knowledge I charge you to destroy thisletter as soon as it is read. When you are abroad next year we willmeet and consider this and other matters in which we are mutuallyinterested. I would not have ventured to put this on paper were it notfor my desire to leave someone in this country posted on the Hathawaycase. You will understand from the foregoing that the situation hasbecome too delicate for me to remain here. If you can, give aid toHathaway, whom I greatly admire, for we are in a way responsible forhis troubles. As for Mrs. Burrows, I consider her a woman of characterand honor. That she might keep a pledge made to her dead husband shesinned against the law without realizing the enormity of her offense.If anyone is to blame it is poor John Burrows, who was not justified indemanding so dangerous a pledge from his wife; but he was dying at thetime and his judgment was impaired. Let us be just to all and so remainjust 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. Evenwhen she had ended, the silence continued for a time, while allconsidered with various feelings the remarkable statement they had justheard.
It was O'Gorman who first spoke.
"If you will assert, Mr. Hathaway, that the ambassador's statement iscorrect, to the best of your knowledge and belief, I have the authorityof our department to promise that the charge against you will promptlybe dropped and withdrawn and that you will be adjudged innocent of anyoffense against the law. It is true that you assisted a guilty personto escape punishment, and are therefore liable for what is called'misprision of treason,' but we shall not press that, for, as I saidbefore, we prefer, since no real harm has resulted, to allow the caseto be filed without further publicity. Do you admit the truth of thestatements contained in this letter?"
"I believe them to be true," said Mr. Hathaway, in a low voice. MaryLouise was nestling close in his arms and now she raised her headtenderly to kiss his cheek. She was not sobbing; she did not evenappear to be humbled or heart-broken. Perhaps she did not realize atthe moment how gravely her father and mother had sinned against thelaws of their country. That realization might come to her later, butjust now she was happy in the vindication of Gran'pa Jim--a triumphthat overshadowed all else.
"I'll take this letter for our files," said Officer O'Gorman, foldingit carefully before placing it in his pocketbook. "And now, sir, I hop
eyou will permit me to congratulate you and to wish you many years ofhappiness with your granddaughter, who first won my admiration by hersteadfast 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'sgo back to Bigbee's. Our business here is finished."
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