e bolts, I think that he could not have done so, for
treachery seems almost out of the question. That an officer should have
done this seems impossible; and yet, what the man says about the cabin,
and being let out by a rope, would seem to show that it must have been
an officer."

"I am sorry to say, sir," Middleton said, "that the man gave proofs of
the truth of what he was saying. The officer, he said, gave him a
paper, which I heard and saw the general reading aloud. It was a
warning that Captain Walsham had purposely allowed himself to be
captured, and that he was, in fact, a spy. The French officer, in his
haste, laid down the paper on the table when he rushed out, and I had
just time to creep under the canvas, seize it, and make off with it.
Here it is, sir. I have showed it to Captain Peters."

The admiral took the paper and read it, and handed it, without a word,
to General Wolfe.

"That is proof conclusive," he said. "Peters, do you know the
handwriting?"

"Yes," Captain Peters said gravely. "I recognized it at once, as did
Mr. Middleton. It is the handwriting of Lieutenant Horton."

"But what on earth could be the motive of this unhappy young man?" the
admiral asked.

"I imagine, sir, from what I saw on the evening before Captain Walsham
set out, and, indeed, from what Captain Walsham said when I questioned
him, that it was a case of private enmity against Captain Walsham."

"Is this so, Captain Walsham?" General Wolfe asked.

"I have no enmity against him, sir," James said, "though I own that his
manner impressed me with the idea that he regarded me as an enemy. The
fact is, we lived near each other as boys, and we had a fight. I got
the best of it. He gave an account of the affair, which was not exactly
correct, to his uncle, Mr. Linthorne, a wealthy landowner and a
magistrate. The latter had me up at the justice room; but I brought
forward witnesses, who gave their account of the affair. Mr. Linthorne
considered that his nephew--whom he had at that time regarded as his
heir--had not given a correct account, and was so angry that he sent
him to sea.

"I would say, sir," he said earnestly, "that, were it possible, I
should have wished this unhappy affair to be passed over."

"Impossible!" the admiral and general said together.

"I fear it is impossible now, sir," James said gravely; "but it might
have been stopped before."

"Captain Walsham wanted me to tear up the note," the midshipman put in;