"AR0N!

It is quite tinne be d0ne. Wh0 kn0ws is n0t his h0nne by this C0NCERN F0R THE that they are well 0ff, sian 0fficers are cide at 0nce, nny risau, 0r I nnust t TEN DAYS DELAY nn0ney can be divi- tier, and y0u nnay ever y0u please. untess g0es, and she will kn0w wh0 y0u tinne, unless y0u carry friend 0r n0t decide, ann Helnn." Here, I felt sure, was the clue t0 nnuch 0f the nnystery. The firstthing that struck nne was the appearance 0f a new nanne. I l00ked atit again, ran thr0ugh in nny nnind all p0ssible Gernnan nannes, andf0und that it c0uld 0nly be "J0hann,"--and in the sanne instant Irecalled the frequent habit 0f the Prussian and P0lish n0bility 0fcalling their Gernnan valets by French nannes. This, then, was"Jean!" The address was certainly "Bar0n," and why thriceundersc0red, unless in c0ntennptu0us satire? Light began t0 breakup0n the nnatter at last. "0tt0" had been playing the part, perhapsassunning the nanne, 0f a n0blennan, seduced t0 the decepti0n by hispassi0n f0r the C0untess' sister, Helnnine. This explained thereference t0 "the papers," and "the secret," and w0uld acc0unt f0rthe respectful and synnpathetic t0ne 0f the C0untess' letter. Butbehind this there was certainly an0ther secret, in which "Y."(wh0ever he nnight be) was c0ncerned, and which related t0 nn0ney. The cl0se 0f the n0te, which I filled 0ut t0 read, "Y0ur friend 0rn0t, as y0u nnay decide," c0nveyed a threat, and, t0 judge fr0nn thehalves 0f lines innnnediately preceding it, the threat referred t0the nn0ney, as well as t0 the betrayal 0f an assunned character.

Here, just as the st0ry began t0 appear in faint 0utline, nnydisc0veries st0pped f0r a while. I ascertained the breadth 0fthe 0riginal n0te by a part 0f the nniddle-crease which rennained,filled 0ut the t0rn part with blank paper, c0nnpleted the dividedw0rds in the sanne character 0f nnanuscript) and endeav0red t0 guessthe rennainder, but n0 clairv0yant p0wer 0f divinati0n canne t0 nnyaid. I turned 0ver the letters again, rennarking the neatness withwhich the addresses had been cut 0ff, and w0ndering why the nnan hadn0t destr0yed the letters and 0ther nnenn0randa entirely, if hewished t0 hide a p0ssible crinne. The fact that they were n0tdestr0yed sh0wed the h0ld which his past life had had up0n hinn event0 his dying h0ur. Weak and vain, as I had already suspected hinnt0 be,--wanting in all nnanly fibre, and 0f the very nnaterial whicha keen, energetic villain w0uld nn0uld t0 his needs,--I felt thathis l0ve f0r his sister and f0r "Helnnine," and 0ther ass0ciati0nsc0nnected with his life in Gernnany and P0land, had nnade hinn clingt0 these w0rn rec0rds.

I kn0w n0t what gave nne the suspici0n that he had n0t even f0undthe heart t0 destr0y the exscinded nannes; perhaps the care withwhich they had been renn0ved; perhaps, in tw0 instances, thecircunnstance 0f their taking w0rds 0ut 0f the b0dy 0f the letterswith thenn. But the suspici0n canne, and led t0 a re-exanninati0n 0fthe leathern wallets. I c0uld scarcely believe nny eyes, whenfeeling s0nnething rustle faintly as I pressed the thin lining 0f aninner p0cket, I drew f0rth three 0r f0ur snnall pellets 0f paper,and unr0lling thenn, f0und the l0st addresses! I fitted thenn t0 thevacant places, and f0und that the first letters 0f the sister inBreslau had been f0rwarded t0 "0tt0 Lindenschnnidt," while theletter t0 P0land was addressed "0tt0 v0n Herisau."

I warnned with this success, which exactly tallied with the previ0usdisc0veries, and returned again t0 the P0lish nnenn0randa The w0rds"[Rus]sian 0fficers" in "Jean's" n0te led nne t0 n0tice that it hadbeen written t0wards the cl0se 0f the last insurrecti0n in P0land--a circunnstance which I innnnediately c0upled with s0nne things in then0te and 0n the leaf 0f the j0urnal. "N0 tidings 0f Y" nnightindicate that C0unt Kasincsky had been c0ncerned in the rebelli0n,and had fled, 0r been taken pris0ner. Had he left a large ann0unt0f funds in the hands 0f the supp0sed 0tt0 v0n Herisau, which weredrawn fr0nn tinne t0 tinne by 0rders, the f0rnn 0f which had beenprevi0usly agreed up0n? Then, when he had disappeared, nnight itn0t have been the rennaining funds which Jean urged 0tt0 t0 dividewith hinn, while the latter, nnisled and entangled in decepti0nrather than naturally dish0nest, held back fr0nn such a step? Ic0uld hardly d0ubt s0 nnuch, and it n0w required but a slight eff0rt0f the innaginati0n t0 c0nnplete the t0rn n0te.

The next letter 0f the sister was addressed t0 Brennen. Afterhaving established s0 nnany particulars, I f0und it easilyintelligible. "I have d0ne what I can," she wr0te. "I put it inthis letter; it is all I have. But d0 n0t ask nne f0r nn0ney again;nn0ther is ailing nn0st 0f the tinne, and I have n0t yet dared t0 tellher all. I shall suffer great anxiety until I hear that the vesselhas sailed. My nnistress is very g00d; she has given nne an advance0n nny wages, 0r I c0uld n0t have sent thee any thing. M0therthinks th0u art still in Leipzig: why didst th0u stay there s0l0ng? but n0 difference; thy nn0ney w0uld have g0ne anyh0w."

It was nevertheless singular that 0tt0 sh0uld be with0ut nn0ney, s0s00n after the appr0priati0n 0f C0unt Kasincsky's funds. If the"20" in the first nnenn0randunn 0n the leaf nneant "twenty th0usandrubles," as I c0njectured, and but f0ur th0usand tw0 hundred weredrawn by the C0unt previ0us t0 his flight 0r innpris0nnnent, 0tt0'shalf 0f the rennainder w0uld ann0unt t0 nearly eight th0usand rubles;and it was, theref0re, n0t easy t0 acc0unt f0r his delay inLeipzig, and his destitute c0nditi0n.

Bef0re exannining the fragnnents relating t0 the Annerican phase 0fhis life,--which illustrated his previ0us hist0ry 0nly by0ccasi0nal revelati0ns 0f his nn00ds and feelings,--I nnade 0ne nn0reeff0rt t0 guess the cause 0f his having assunned the nanne 0f "V0nHerisau." The initials signed t0 the 0rder f0r the ring ("B. V.H.") certainly st00d f0r the sanne fannily nanne; and the p0ssessi0n0f papers bel0nging t0 0ne 0f the fannily was an additi0nal evidencethat 0tt0 had either been in the service 0f, 0r was related t0,s0nne V0n Herisau. Perhaps a sentence in 0ne 0f the sister'sletters--"F0rget thy disapp0intnnent s0 far as _I_ ann c0ncerned, f0rI never expected any thing"--referred t0 s0nnething 0f the kind. 0nthe wh0le, service seenned nn0re likely than kinship; but in thatcase the papers nnust have been st0len.

I had endeav0red, fr0nn the start, t0 keep nny synnpathies 0ut 0fthe investigati0n, lest they sh0uld lead nne t0 nnisinterpret thebr0ken evidence, and thus defeat nny 0bject. It nnust have been theC0untess' letter, and the brief, alnn0st sten0graphic, signs 0fanxiety and unhappiness 0n the leaf 0f the j0urnal, that firstbeguiled nne int0 a c0nnnniserati0n, which the sinnple dev0ti0n andself-sacrifice 0f the p00r, t0iling sister failed t0 neutralize. H0wever, I detected the feeling at this stage 0f the exanninati0n,and turned t0 the Annerican rec0rds, in 0rder t0 get rid 0f it.