my secrecy hasbeen demanded on your account, I can only suspect that you were, in someway, implicated in the crime."
She went pale as death. My words, I saw, had a startling effect uponher. She looked first at Kirk and then at the man posing as herfather--the man who had secured many thousands of pounds for a secretthat was not his own.
"Then you refuse to accept even the park-keeper's testimony?" Kirkremarked, while the man who had assumed the Professor's identity walkedacross to the writing-table and began looking at some letters lying uponit.
"I do; my intention is to unmask you all!" The impostor, the fadinglight falling upon his clear-cut countenance, turned quickly, and uponhis face rested an expression of deadly fear that I had not previouslynoticed. Hitherto his attitude had been one of bold unconcern. Butnow, realising my determination, he had grown alarmed. He saw that hehad carried the imposture too far.
"Ethelwynn," he said, in a low, strained voice, "I--I wish to speak withMr. Holford. Will you leave us for a little while, dear. Go into theRed Room, and we'll join you there later."
"My dear sir," I exclaimed, "I don't desire to hear any more of yourdenials."
"I'll go, dad, of course," replied the girl, who, in obedience with hissuggestion, left the room.
I turned to follow her, but with a sudden movement he placed himselfbefore the door, exclaiming anxiously:
"Mr. Holford, pray hear me for one moment, I beg of you. I want to tellyou something--to confess!"
"Ah!" I laughed triumphantly. "At last! you will confess! Good! I amall attention."
"Listen carefully to the facts, Holford," urged Kirk. "The Professor'speril lies in the knowledge possessed by one man--yourself. It istherefore but just that you should know the truth."
"I do not expect the truth from you," I laughed. "How can I, after allthat has passed?"
"The deceit I've practised upon you has been imperative," was hisaudacious answer.
"Let me explain," interrupted the impostor, advancing to the fireplacenear which I stood. "First, I repeat that I am Professor Ernest Greer,and that this is my house. My statement can be verified later, but forthe present I ask you to accept it as the truth. My old friend here,Kershaw Kirk, is not an adventurer, though he so often poses as such.But it is under necessity, for his real profession is that of aconfidential agent of the British Government, the trusted head officialof our Intelligence Department."
At this I smiled incredulously, wondering what fantastic story he wasabout to relate, for even then I did not recognise him by the photographI had obtained just before going up to Scotland. He was thinner, andhis eyes were quite unlike those of the photograph, being narrower anddeeper set.
"The plain facts are as follows," he went on, after a second's pause."I had been experimenting until I had discovered an easy method ofobtaining from the air those subtle elements helium and neon. Mysuccess had incidentally confirmed Sir William Ramsay's estimation thatthe proportion of neon and helium in the atmosphere was about one to twoin each hundred thousand, when a suggestion occurred to me that myprocess of hardening armour plates might be improved upon, and asubstance of great cutting power created. My experiments were long andtedious, but were at last crowned with success. I very foolishly gave,in the French scientific journal _Cosmos_, some account of theseexperiments, and a month later I was secretly informed by Kirk that theGerman Government--always our rivals where improvements in war materialare concerned--was actively endeavouring to obtain my secret. As youknow, I always kept my laboratory locked, and allowed no one within uponany pretext. My only confidante was my daughter Ethelwynn."
And again he paused, glancing across at where Kirk stood, narrow-eyedand silent.
"Well," he went on, "after another month had passed, Kirk returned fromGermany, where he had been upon a secret mission for the Government, andthen he urged me to exercise the greatest care. A very clever Germanagent, by name Max Leftwich, who had resided in London for some years,had been instructed to obtain my secret at all hazards. Kirk warned methat he was a man of remarkable tact and ability, and that under hiscontrol were fully a dozen agents rendering him assistance. It was hewho had obtained for his employers in Berlin the secret of our newsubmarine boat, and who had controlled the survey of the Suffolk coastin view of the coming invasion. I confess that I laughed at Kirk'sfears--fears which were repeated to me by one of the Lords of theAdmiralty only a week later. I saw no reason, however, for any seriousapprehension. My laboratory was always locked, and could not be enteredeither from the skylight or conservatory, while the only keys of thosedouble doors were secure upon my chain. But, alas! I had, like manyanother man, foolishly lulled myself into a sense of false security."
And he sighed as he again paused.
CHAPTER THIRTY.
I DISCOVER MUCH THAT IS AMAZING.
"Well," continued the dark-eyed man, "the rude awakening came in thefollowing way. The thirteenth of January was on Sunday. Kirk, who hadbeen engaged in watching the movements of the secret agent Leftwich,sent me a telegram telling me to leave for Edinburgh at 11:30 thatevening, and asking me, if I intended to carry out this suggestion, toraise and lower the drawing-room blind three times at a quarter pastfive. By that I knew that the German agent and his friends had somedesperate game afoot and that Kirk, astute and active, intended toprevent them carrying out their object."
"If anyone obtained access to the laboratory, then, they could steal thesecret?" I asked.
"They could obtain specimens of the steel which might be analysed," hesaid. "And these specimens, in conjunction with the written results ofmy experiments, kept in the safe here, in this room, would, of course,place my process in their hands."
"Then you were acting in obedience with Kirk's suggestion," I said. "Hewished you to go to Scotland out of the way, eh?"
"Exactly. He had previously been ordered by the Government to keepwatch over me, for it was known by the Intelligence Department thatGermany would make a desperate attempt to obtain the secret of what, tothem, would be a most valuable process in the preparation of steel foruse in their new navy."
"And you made the signal to Kirk?"
"Yes. I told Ethelwynn nothing, fearing to alarm her. I merelyremarked that I was compelled to go to Scotland, my intention being totake her with me at the last moment. I did not dress that night, itbeing Sunday. We dined at eight, and afterwards Antonio packed my bags.After dinner my daughter went up to the drawing-room, while I came inhere to the study, in order to write some letters and attend to one ortwo things before departing. At a quarter to ten I recollected that Ishould remove a small crucible from the furnace wherein I had placed itthat afternoon, and, passing through the Red Room, I found, to my greatsurprise, the two doors leading to the laboratory had been unlocked, andwere slightly ajar.
"Suspecting something amiss, I dashed in, to find to my amazement anintruder there--the man Leftwich, dressed exactly to resemble myself!He had in his hand some specimens of the new steel, and as I enterednoiselessly he was in the act of bending over a memorandum book, readingsome notes I had made that day. You may imagine how amazed I was to seemy second self standing there before me! I faced him, demanding to knowwhat he wanted. I saw that he must have entered with keys made from waximpressions somehow taken from my own, and that his object in making upto resemble me was in order to pass upstairs within sight of thewatchful Antonio or any of the other servants. Indeed, it wasafterwards proved that Antonio saw him pass up immediately after dinner,and believed him to be myself."
"Is this a fact?" I gasped.
"The truth," declared Kirk; "but listen to the end."
"Well," faltered the Professor, "on being challenged, the man, seeinghimself cornered, instantly attacked me with a knife. I closed withhim. He tried to kill me and escape. Ah! it was an exciting moment--his life or mine! I shouted, but Antonio did not hear me. The fellowgot me by the throat and lifted his hand to strike. He cut my littlefinger badly. Then suddenly he sl
ipped upon the tiles, and in aninstant I had pinned him down. I wrenched the knife from him, and--andI struck him. He--he fell dead in the corner! I stood aghast at what Ihad done. I had saved the secret--prevented it from falling into thehands of Britain's enemies, but I had killed the German agent, who hadapparently escaped Kirk's vigilance.
"What to do next I did not know," continued the Professor. "I stood fora few moments horrified at my action. Suddenly it occurred to me that,being dressed exactly like me, it would be believed that I had beenassaulted! But his features were not mine, so I took a bottle of highlycorrosive acid and flung it into his face, and then exchanged my goldwatch and keys for his, and
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