quickapprehension.
"You need not do that," the Sicilian managed to say. "But I will,"Macbean went on. "You shall hear me. I know the truth is an unwelcomeone, but lest others shall tell you any garbled version of it, I will befrank and fearless with you. In the winter three years ago I was takenby Mr Morgan-Mason, whose secretary I was, to stay with General FelixSazarac, whose wife was my employer's elder sister, the younger sisterhaving married a Mr Fitzroy. The general, who was in command of theFrench garrisons on the Alpine frontier, lived at the Villa Puget, atMentone, and at the Hotel National there was staying his friend Dubard--the man before you. We became friendly, for the general often invitedDubard to dine at the villa, and after a time there arrived in Mentoneat the same hotel an acquaintance of the count's--a young Italiangentleman of means named Solaro, who was also introduced at the VillaPuget, and who also became one of our intimate friends. Curiouslyenough, however, the general did not seem to care for Solaro's company,yet he frequently invited me to ride out with him, and gave me goodmounts from the barracks. Well," he went on, after a slight pause, "allwent merrily for over two months, until one day, when Mr Morgan-Masonhad gone to Marseilles, the general invited me to ride with him up intothe mountains to the fortress above Saint Martin Lantosque, which he hadto inspect. The morning was a bright one, with all the prospects of ablazing day, and we first rode across the plain behind Mentone, and thenbegan to ascend the rough mountain paths into the Alps. We had riddensome fourteen miles or so, when the general suddenly exclaimed, `Thatrascally servant of mine has forgotten my flask again!' `Never mind,' Icalled to him. `I have mine. I filled it with cognac and water beforestarting.' `That's good!' he laughed.--`We shall want a drink beforelong. It's going to be a blazer to-day!' And then we toiled on and on,up the steep rough paths that wound higher and higher over themountains. Just before midday, however, the general pulled up, removedhis cap, and declaring that he was thirsty, took a long pull at theflask I handed to him."
"And then?" asked Morini almost involuntarily, as he stood listening tothe story.
"I was not thirsty myself, so I put the flask back into the holster, andwe rode on again, laughing together and enjoying the glorious panoramaat our feet. Half an hour later, however, my companion complained ofqueer pains in his head and giddiness, which he attributed to the sun,and pulling up he dismounted. We were then in a lonely spot in adistrict utterly unknown to me. The general grew worse, being seized bystrange cramping pains in the stomach and a curious twitching of theface. I gave him some water from a spring close by, and bathed hishead, but he grew worse, and seemed to lapse into a state of coma.Suddenly he opened his eyes, and motioning to me that he wished tospeak, he gasped faintly, `Tell them I did it because those Jews werepressing me--I regret it--regret--but it is useless!' Then after apause he managed to articulate, `My wife!--my dear wife--my love to her,M'sieur Macbean--my love to her--I--I'--Then his jaw dropped, and Ifound him dead upon my arm! This fatal seizure appalled me. I shouted,but no one heard. I was miles and miles from civilisation in the centreof the wildest district of the Alps, therefore I covered the dead man'sface with his handkerchief, tethered his horse, and rode back ten milesor so to a little village we had passed. The general was brought backto Mentone that night, and at the Villa Puget the scene was a sad andtragic one. I gave poor madame her husband's dying message, but hiswords about the Jews puzzled her. She could not understand them in theleast. It was a mystery."
"They were words invented by you," declared Dubard in a hard tone."Tell these gentlemen the truth! It was you who gave the poor fellowthe cognac--you who poisoned him!"
"I gave him the brandy, I admit," exclaimed Macbean quickly, "but Iswear I was unaware that it was poisoned!"
"You filled it from the bottle in your room. Now you have gone so far,tell the whole truth."
"I am not afraid," Macbean went on boldly. "On the night when the bodyof the general was brought home you came with Solaro to my room, lockedthe door, and charged me with administering poison--although threedoctors had seen him, and as they had all previously treated him for amalady which they knew might terminate fatally on too violent exercise,they had decided that no post-mortem examination was necessary. Yourallegation astounded me, but you asked for the key of the cupboardwherein I kept the bottle of brandy. There was some remaining, as wellas the remains of that mixed with water in the flask. As I denied thatI had poisoned him you both urged that, in satisfaction, I should sealboth bottle and flask and submit them to some analyst in Paris. This Iwillingly did, entirely unsuspecting any plot. I packed them in a box,and myself saw them despatched."
"And the analyst's report is here!" exclaimed Dubard, waving the papertriumphantly before the speaker's eyes. "It proves that youdeliberately poisoned General Sazarac, while Solaro, if he were here,could prove further that he found in your writing-case the draft whichyou stole from the dead man's pocket?"
"I know only too well the circumstantial evidence that was against me,"said Macbean, addressing Morini. "I had been the victim of a clever andingenious plot in which the unfortunate officer had lost his life. Butwhy? There seemed no motive whatever. I returned to England asuspected man, and from that day I did not come face to face with Dubarduntil I recognised him last year driving on the Rugby road, and heard tomy amazement that he was engaged to your daughter Mary. Ever since thenI have desired to re-encounter this man, and to clear myself of theterrible charge he brings against me."
"And how do you propose to do that?" inquired His Excellency, astonishedat the entirely new complexion placed upon that tragic affair which hadcaused him so much mental anxiety and so many sleepless nights.
"I can only declare my complete innocence. I was, no doubt, the agentwho administered the fatal cognac, but I certainly was ignorant of it,and would never have poisoned the man who had showed me so manykindnesses."
"Then I think it is only in the interests of justice if this report ofthe analyst is given into the hands of the Paris police," remarked theSicilian, who had remained silent, but whose active mind neverthelesshad been at work to discern some means of effectually closing Macbean'smouth.
The young Englishman started. He had not expected such a suggestion.He foresaw the difficulty of proving his innocence when such witnessesas Solaro and Dubard were against him.
"For the present, we will leave that aside," said the Minister, in asquiet a voice as he could. "My first duty, as father of my child, is toinvestigate this allegation of Macbean's," and he touched the bell. Tothe man who answered his summons he said in English in a determinedtone--
"Ask Miss Mary to kindly step down here for one moment. I desire to seeher without a minute's delay. Say that I have some urgent news forher."
"Very good, your Excellency." And the door was closed again.
Dubard and Borselli exchanged uneasy glances; but a dead silence hadfallen between the four men--a silence that was broken by the sound ofwheels out on the gravelled drive. There were lots of coming and goingin that bustling day, wedding guests arriving, and the bride's luggagebeing despatched, so as to meet her in London before they left for Parison the following morning.
The pause was painful. Macbean looked at the pair who had for so longbeen united hand and glove against the Minister, and recognised thespirit of murder in their glance. They would have killed him had theydared, for they knew too well that he had now revealed to the Ministerthe actual truth. Borselli, who had enticed him to Rome hoping toensure his secrecy over the Sazarac affair, had placed his own head inthe lion's mouth by so doing. It was seldom he made an error in hisclever schemes, but he knew that he had done so on this occasion, andthat it would require all his ingenuity and cunning to escape from sucha compromising situation.
The minutes passed, but neither spoke a word. Each man feared to uttera sentence lest it should be seized upon and misconstrued, while theMinister himself, silent and distinguished-looking, glanced from one tothe other, and waited for his beloved da
ughter to enter and to speak.
CHAPTER FORTY.
THE STORY OF CAPTAIN SOLARO.
At last there was a light footstep out in the hall. The door opened,and she entered, radiant in her wonderful bridal gown andorange-blossoms, her long sweeping train behind, but without her veil,of course, her beautiful face revealed in all its haggard pallor.
Dubard sprang forward to welcome her; but ere he could take her hand hefell back in utter dismay, for behind her, silhouetted in the doorway,stood the figure of a man in a grey felt hat and a light overcoat.
"Great heavens!" gasped Macbean, who at the same moment recognised thenew-comer. "Solaro! Felice Solaro!"
"Yes," replied the other, in a quiet, distinct voice, as he came intothe room behind the Minister's daughter in her rustling silks. "I amfortunately here, not by His Excellency's decree, but by the generousclemency of the king himself, who, on the occasion of his birthday,three days ago, and in consequence of a petition of my family, gave memy liberty with others. I heard what was in progress, and so I havetravelled here to ascertain the truth, and to clear myself of the baseand scandalous charges those men who stand there have brought againstme," and he raised his finger and pointed to the Sicilian and theFrenchman, both of whose faces had, on the instant of recognising him,become entirely changed.
"It seems, signorina," he said in Italian, turning his pale, emaciatedface to Mary, who stood in the centre of the room utterly dumbfounded atthe dramatic scene, "it seems that by good fortune I am here in order tosave you, your father, and the Signor Macbean from these two men whohave so very cleverly plotted your father's ruin, your own marriage, thedisgrace of the Signor Englishman, and my own imprisonment."
"Do you allege that they conspired to obtain the conviction againstyou?" cried the Minister, amazed.
"Listen, and I will tell you everything. Then you yourself shall takewhat steps against them that you desire."
"I shall not remain to hear that traitor's insults!" cried the Sicilian,moving quickly towards the door; but Solaro, noticing his action,stepped back, locked the door behind him, and placed the key in hispocket, saying, "You will remain, general. You have to answer to me."Then, after a brief pause, he commenced--
"It may be news to you all, except the Under-secretary, that JulesDubard is not a member of the French nobility at all, but a person who,while posing as a count, is one of the secret agents of the FrenchMinister of War. It was for this reason that he desired to be marriedin England, as the unwelcome truth would have been shown upon hispapers."
"A spy!" gasped the bride, standing open-mouthed on the eve of herdeliverance.
"That is the vulgar term for such persons," Solaro said. "It happenedabout four years ago that Borselli and he met, and the former, findinghim a shrewd and clever adventurer, resolved to make use of him to gaina triumph over the Minister Morini. Borselli had also met GeneralSazarac at the Jockey Club in Paris, and had won from him several largesums at cards, accepting from him a number of promissory notes. Havingdone this, he discovered, to his delight, that Sazarac was actually incommand of the Alpine frontier of France, therefore he proceeded withslow deliberation to win over Dubard from the French service, bypromises of position when the Minister Morini was overthrown, and tounfold a plot which is a good specimen of his amazing ingenuity.Briefly, it was to place the promissory notes in the hands of someunscrupulous Jews in Antwerp, in order that they should press forpayment, and when they did so, Dubard, who was attached to Sazarac'sdivision of the French army, should suggest a course out of thedifficulty--namely, to sell to the Italian Ministry of War certain plansof the frontier defences which we were very anxious to obtain. This wasdone. Sazarac, in desperate straits for money, listened to his friendDubard's evil counsel, and agreed to allow the plans of the whole of thedefences from Mount Pelvoux to the sea to be copied for a sum of twohundred thousand francs. These were the secrets which we had desiredfor many years to know, and the first I knew of the matter was a summonsto the Ministry in Rome, where I saw Borselli, who introduced me toDubard, and instructed me, because I spoke French perfectly and was agood draughtsman, to go to Mentone, take quarters at the Hotel National,and make copies in secret of certain documents which Dubard would handme from time to time."
"You were in our service!" declared the Sicilian.
"Certainly," he answered; and then proceeding he said, "I went toMentone, and commenced the work of copying those plans which the generalallowed Dubard to abstract from the safe at headquarters and bring to mein secret. While there we both became on friendly terms with theEnglishman Macbean, who was secretary to the French general'sbrother-in-law, and who was of course in entire ignorance of what was inprogress. After about two months, during which Dubard and I led thelife of wealthy idlers on the Riviera, the copying was complete, I hadsent the last batch of tracings to Rome by the official of the Ministrywho came specially to convey them, and was awaiting furtherinstructions, when one evening, after we had seen Macbean and thegeneral going out for a ride together, Dubard entered the hotel and saidhe had heard in a cafe the startling report of the general's suddendeath. We at once went round to the Villa Puget, and there sure enoughhe was lying dead, with madame inconsolable with grief. The doctors haddeclared death due to natural causes, as he had long been an invalid,and had been warned against riding too far. But Dubard took me aside inthe garden and told me that he held a distinct suspicion that thegeneral had been poisoned. The sum agreed to be paid for the plans had,he said, been paid on the previous day, and probably he had some of itupon him, which might serve as a motive for the crime. He suggestedpoison, and declared that he had suspicion of Macbean. At first Irefused to entertain such a theory, but he persisted in it, and at hissuggestion I accompanied him when he openly charged the Englishman withthe crime. Macbean at once offered us every facility for the analysingof the cognac and the contents of his flask, sealed them up with his ownseal, and packed them before our eyes, addressing them to a well-knownchemist in the Rue Rivoli in Paris, and I despatched them. The reportcame back that there was an arsenical poison in both the bottle and theflask. It seemed that Macbean had tried to bluff us to the very last,but the most damning fact was that on searching his effects I discovereda draft on the Credit Lyonnais for fifty thousand francs from a firm inGenoa, but really emanating from our Ministry of War, and part of theagreed payment for the plans. This was concealed in the flap of hiswriting-case."
"So the natural conclusion was that Mr Macbean was a poisoner!"remarked Mary, standing dumbfounded.
"Of course," he said. "I certainly believed that he was, and that hewas only allowed his liberty through Dubard's clemency, until aboutthree months after the affair, when Dubard and I being together at theGrand Hotel in Venice, my curiosity was one day aroused, and I priedinto his despatch-box during his absence. Among other papers I foundthis letter," he said, producing one from his pocket. "It is undatedand unsigned, but it suggests that if some secret means were employed toinduce S's (meaning Sazarac, of course) fatal illness, two ends would beachieved. France would never suspect that he had sold the plans, andthe payment of two hundred thousand francs need not be made."
"Fifty thousand francs of that money Borselli handed back to me," theMinister admitted.
"And he kept the remainder himself," declared Solaro. "This letter isin his handwriting--and is in itself evidence that he instigated thegeneral's death, and that this man, who is his accomplice, carried itout so cleverly that the whole of the evidence pointed to Macbean.Indeed, this is proved by recent events, and by the manner in which thepair have sought to close my mouth regarding the ugly affair. Lastsummer I was suddenly arrested, and was amazed to discover how veryneatly the man Dubard, whom I thought my friend, had had me watched inParis and in Bologna, had bogus plans of the Tresenta prepared and sentto Filomena Nodari, and how these and other documents--one purporting tobe the mobilisation scheme itself--passed through that woman's handsinto those of a French agent. Evidence--foul
lies, all of it--was givenagainst me; I was condemned as a traitor--I, the man who had copied allthe plans of France in the interests of my own country--and then Irealised how cleverly Borselli and Dubard, the ex-agent of France, wereacting in conjunction, and that whoever was guilty of poor Sazarac'sassassination it certainly was not the Englishman. I had, before myarrest, mentioned the death of Sazarac casually to Dubard, and inquiredof the whereabouts of Macbean. It was this remark of mine whichapparently aroused his suspicions, and which caused both he and Borsellito secure my imprisonment for a twofold reason: first, to ensure mysilence; and secondly, so as to give the Socialists a weapon by whichthey might hound your Excellency from office for countenancing atraitor. This was the only way in which your Excellency's popularityand power could be undermined; but so craftily did they go to work, andso cleverly was every detail of the conspiracy thought out, even to theopening of your safe at San Donato with a key made from the impressionof the original key taken by Borselli two years before. You made awaywith the key, hoping to conceal the evidences of your peculations; buttheir ingenuity was simply marvellous, for they were playing with thesafety and prosperity of a kingdom."
"But General Borselli asked me recently to induce my father to releaseyou," said Mary.
"In order to still further incite the popular feeling against HisExcellency. He probably believed that I dared not