Barton agreed with me. It was against all principles of justice to condemn an accused person unheard.
'Well,' explained the red-tabbed captain, 'upon the face of it, there can be no real defence. Here we have the missing lady's belongings found in a tunnel, and in them—fortunately, for ourselves—we discover a message intended for transmission to the enemy. That message, Mr. Munro, is quite plain, and speaks for itself. You have made an interesting scientific discovery. Possibly they have ferreted out your secret. It interests them: they fear you and, therefore, they have plotted your death.'
'I won't believe that! ' I cried in angry resentment. 'Ask yourself! Would you yourself believe it of the woman whom you loved?'
'My dear Mr. Munro,' replied the captain coldly, 'we are at war now. We cannot gauge either our feelings, or our beliefs, by the standard of pre-war days.'
'Well,' I declared bluntly, 'I don't believe it. Miss Lethmere would never hold any communication with the enemy. Of that I'm quite positive.'
'But we have it written down here—in black and white!'
'True. But before we take this as authentic we must discover her, and question her. To you mysterious people of the Secret Service the task will, surely, not be so very difficult. You know the mystery of Miss Lethmere's sudden and unaccountable disappearance. Therefore I leave all to you—to investigate, and to elucidate the puzzle. I don't pretend to account for it. You, both of
