at once caught his eye. He bought a paper, and turned to the column with curious interest.
"A daring robbery was perpetrated in the early hours of this morning at Shipley House, Kensington Gore, the residence of the Lord Chancellor. His lordship, being unable to sleep, came downstairs about two o"clock, intending to complete an important judgment. In the library he found two burglars, who succeeded in decamping before his lordship could obtain a.s.sistance.
"The Great Seal of England, and 250 in gold and notes are missing.
"This is probably the most audacious burglary of modern times, for the Lord Chancellor is the head of the judicial system of the country, and, after Royalty, is only second in importance to the Archbishop of Canterbury.
"England is to-day without a Great Seal of State, a position unparalleled since it was stolen from Lord Thurlow"s residence in 1784. Only once before had it been missing--when James II. threw it into the Thames at Lambeth.
"Great inconvenience has already been caused by its absence, as the treaty between England and Korea was to have been signed to-morrow, and the Great Seal affixed thereto. We understand that the Privy Council will meet in the morning at Buckingham Palace in order to deal with the situation thus created.
"We are informed that the police have an important clue which will lead to the apprehension of at least one of the criminals. We do not know whether any special penalty is attached to the theft of the Great Seal, but a century ago the perpetrator of the crime would undoubtedly have been hanged."
Richard Hilton stared at this in blank amazement. The pains and penalties did not disturb him, but "250 in gold and notes missing" held him spellbound. Suddenly light dawned upon him, and he burst out with "Done! And by William! That was when he collected his tools, and I wasn"t watching. The scoundrel! Hi! hansom! ... c.o.x"s Bank. Sharp!"
Ten minutes later he was at the bank counter.
"I have lost a cheque for 215, payable to bearer, made out to self and endorsed. Please stop payment," he said.
"Very sorry, Mr. Hilton," replied the teller. "It was presented first thing this morning, and I cashed it in gold."
That evening the meeting of the Burglars" Club was held at the house of Lord Altamont, an ex-colonel of the Welsh Guards. There was a record attendance. The robbery of the Great Seal had excited general interest, but to members of the Club the accompanying details were of the gravest importance.
After the usual opening formalities had been gone through, Lord Ribston rose.
"Mr. President, I crave leave for Mr. Richard Hilton, a cadet member of this club, to speak."
a.s.sent was given by the general silence, which was maintained when Hilton entered.
"Mr. President, my lords and gentlemen," he began, "I regret exceedingly that I have to make my first appearance in your midst with an apology. I take it that you have all seen the paragraph in the papers stating that the Great Seal is missing from the Lord Chancellor"s House, and, in addition to that, 250 in notes and gold. No explanation is needed as to the absence of the Great Seal, for that resulted from the mandate of your club. The other item calls for a clear and explicit statement of the facts of the case."
Here Hilton gave an account of the robbery from his first meeting the burglar to his parting from him, concluding, "So now, gentlemen, I suggest that I deserve your sympathy rather than your blame; for not only has Mr. Sikes relieved me of 250, but I have promised the Lord Chancellor to return anything we took away with us. I shall, therefore, have to send him a further like sum. I do not grudge the loss of 500, since I have been enabled to qualify as a member of your club, but I do most sincerely regret that my bungling has led to even a temporary suspicion that the taint of professionalism has been brought into your midst. My lords and gentlemen, I am in your hands. Here, at any rate, is the Great Seal of the United Kingdom."
The last words were lost in tumultuous applause. Each member rose to his feet and acclaimed the speaker, and then they crowded round him and shook hands.
"Gentlemen," said the President, when order had been restored, "I move that Mr. Richard Hilton be now formally enrolled as a member of the Club, and in your name I welcome him as one who has already added l.u.s.tre to our annals. The circ.u.mstances of his entry are so unusual that, as a mark of our appreciation, I beg to move that the provincial line due from him in the usual course of things in two years" time be hereby excused, and that, as an exception to our rule, Mr. Hilton be elected for a term of four years."
The proposition was carried by acclamation.
"Your Grace and gentlemen, I thank you," said the beaming Richard Hilton.
The Privy Council met at ten on the following morning, and ordered a new seal to be engraved; but at noon a postal packet was delivered at Shipley House, which, on being opened, disclosed an old biscuit tin, then tissue paper, then cotton-wool, and finally the Great Seal of the United Kingdom.
The treaty between England and Korea was signed with the usual formalities at three in the afternoon.
Later in the day the Lord Chancellor received from five different quarters registered parcels, each weighing about a pound avoirdupois.
Each packet contained fifty sovereigns.
Thus within forty-eight hours his lordship had received all the stolen property. In consideration thereof he cancelled his instructions to Scotland Yard to follow up a clue which Mr. William Sikes had incautiously given about a Dorset horse robbery in the late "seventies.
His lordship also advertised his acknowledgments in the agony column of the _Times_, and asked for the favour of an explanation of the whole incident. This was not forthcoming, and the matter remained for some time the one unsolved riddle of his lordship"s life.
Mr. William Sikes, with the 500 so ingeniously obtained, retired from the burglary profession, and bought a little public house known as the "Goat and Compa.s.ses." For some reason or other he altered the name to "Seal and Compa.s.ses," thereby causing much mystification to future antiquarians in that particular district.
In recalling his conduct on the night in question, Mr. Sikes spends some of the happiest hours of his life.
To Mr. Richard Hilton the events of that night were also eminently satisfactory. He was the only loser, but he had gained more than he had lost, for the laurels of the Burglars" Club were his.
VIII.
THE LION AND THE SUN.
THE visit of His Royal Highness Ali Azim Mirza, nephew of the Shah, accompanied by the Grand Vizier, Hasan Kuli, is fresh in our memories.
The mission of the Prince was to invest a distinguished personage with the insignia of the Lion and the Sun in order to mark the Persian monarch"s appreciation of the Garter which had been recently conferred upon him. The Mission duly returned with its object accomplished.
Outwardly everything happened as was antic.i.p.ated, and there are but few who know how nearly we approached to a war with Russia as a consequence of the visit, while still fewer are aware that such a calamity was averted by a cadet member of the Burglars" Club.
In the unwritten annals of the Club the incident stands out prominently.
It is well that it should be recorded before it is forgotten.
The special Mission was due to arrive in London on the 10th of the month. It was to leave on the 16th. Lord Denton had placed his town house at the disposal of the Prince and his retinue during their stay.
On the 4th, Mr. Birket Rivers, a cadet member of the Burglars" Club, received an intimation that his entrance fee could be paid on the 13th by the production of the insignia of the Order which the Prince was bringing with him.
On the evening of the 8th, John Parker, a footman in the employ of Lord Denton, called by request on Mr. Rivers at his rooms in the Albany.
"You wished to see me, sir?"
"Ah, Parker, how are you getting on?"
"Very well, thank you, sir."
"You are going to have great times, Parker. When does Lord Denton leave?"
"To-morrow, sir."
"Are all the servants staying behind?"
"Only about half of us, sir. The Persians bring their own cooks and men."
"Quite so. Are you remaining?"
"Yes, sir."