The Strand Magazine, Vol. 07, Issue 42, June, 1894: An Illustrated Monthly — John Shaqi
The Strand Magazine, Vol. 07, Issue 42, June, 1894: An Illustrated MonthlyVarious
General
The Strand Magazine, Vol. 07, Issue 42, June, 1894: An Illustrated Monthly
Various
English literature -- Periodicals; Short stories, English -- Periodicals
"I found an inking-roller, some old pieces of blanket (used in printing
from plates), and in a corner on the floor, heaped over with newspapers
and rubbish, a small copying-press. There was also a dish of acid, but
not an etched plate or a printed note to be seen. I was looking at
the press, with the negative in one hand and the inking-roller in the
other, when I became conscious of a shadow across the window. I looked
up quickly, and there was Mirsky, hanging over from some ledge or
projection to the side of the window, and staring straight at me, with
a look of unmistakable terror and apprehension.
"The face vanished immediately. I had to move a table to get at the
window, and by the time I had opened it, there was no sign or sound
of the rightful tenant of the room. I had no doubt now of his reason
for carrying a parcel downstairs. He probably mistook me for another
visitor he was expecting, and, knowing he must take this visitor into
his room, threw the papers and rubbish over the press, and put up his
plates and papers in a bundle and secreted them somewhere downstairs,
lest his occupation should be observed.
"Plainly, my duty now was to communicate with the police. So, by the
help of my friend the barber downstairs, a messenger was found and a
note sent over to Scotland Yard. I awaited, of course, for the arrival
of the police, and occupied the interval in another look round--finding
nothing important, however. When the official detective arrived he
recognised at once the importance of the case. A large number of forged
Russian notes have been put into circulation on the Continent lately,
it seems, and it was suspected that they came from London. The Russian
Government have been sending urgent messages to the police here on the
subject.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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