Four Just Men | Page 3

is a dead man."


CHAPTER I.
A NEWSPAPER STORY
On the fourteenth day of August, 19--, a tiny paragraph appeared at the
foot of an unimportant page in London's most sober journal to the
effect that the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs had been much
annoyed by the receipt of a number of threatening letters, and was
prepared to pay a reward of fifty pounds to any person who would give
such information as would lead to the apprehension and conviction of
the person or persons, etc. The few people who read London's most
sober journal thought, in their ponderous Athenaeum Club way, that it
was a remarkable thing that a Minister of State should be annoyed at
anything; more remarkable that he should advertise his annoyance, and
most remarkable of all that he could imagine for one minute that the
offer of a reward would put a stop to the annoyance.
News editors of less sober but larger circulated newspapers, wearily
scanning the dull columns of Old Sobriety, read the paragraph with a
newly acquired interest.
"Hullo, what's this?" asked Smiles of the Comet, and cut out the
paragraph with huge shears, pasted it upon a sheet of copy-paper and
headed it:

Who is Sir Philip's Correspondent?
As an afterthought--the Comet being in Opposition-- he prefixed an
introductory paragraph, humorously suggesting that the letters were
from an intelligent electorate grown tired of the shilly-shallying
methods of the Government.
The news editor of the Evening World--a white-haired gentleman of
deliberate movement--read the paragraph twice, cut it out carefully,
read it again and, placing it under a paperweight, very soon forgot all
about it.
The news editor of the Megaphone, which is a very bright newspaper
indeed, cut the paragraph as he read it, rang a bell, called a reporter, all
in a breath, so to speak, and issued a few terse instructions.
"Go down to Portland Place, try to see Sir Philip Ramon, secure the
story of that paragraph--why he is threatened, what he is threatened
with; get a copy of one of the letters if you can. If you cannot see
Ramon, get hold of a secretary."
And the obedient reporter went forth.
He returned in an hour in that state of mysterious agitation peculiar to
the reporter who has got a 'beat'. The news editor duly reported to the
Editor-in-Chief, and that great man said, "That's very good, that's very
good indeed"--which was praise of the highest order.
What was 'very good indeed' about the reporter's story may be gathered
from the half-column that appeared in the Megaphone on the following
day:
CABINET MINISTER IN DANGER
THREATS TO MURDER THE FOREIGN SECRETARY
'THE FOUR JUST MEN'
PLOT TO ARREST THE PASSAGE OF THE

ALIENS EXTRADITION BILL --
EXTRAORDINARY REVELATIONS
Considerable comment was excited by the appearance in the news
columns of yesterday's National Journal of the following paragraph:
The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Philip Ramon) has
during the past few weeks been the recipient of threatening letters, all
apparently emanating from one source and written by one person.
These letters are of such a character that they cannot be ignored by his
Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, who hereby offers a
reward of Fifty pounds (L50) to any person or persons, other than the
actual writer, who will lay such information as will lead to the
apprehension and conviction of the author of these anonymous letters.
So unusual was such an announcement, remembering that anonymous
and threatening letters are usually to be found daily in the letter-bags of
every statesman and diplomat, that the Daily Megaphone immediately
instituted inquiries as to the cause for this unusual departure.
A representative of this newspaper called at the residence of Sir Philip
Ramon, who very courteously consented to be seen.
"It is quite an unusual step to take," said the great Foreign Secretary, in
answer to our representative's question, "but it has been taken with the
full concurrence of my colleagues of the Cabinet. We have reasons to
believe there is something behind the threats, and I might say that the
matter has been in the hands of the police for some weeks past.
"Here is one of the letters," and Sir Philip produced a sheet of foreign
notepaper from a portfolio, and was good enough to allow our
representative to make a copy.
It was undated, and beyond the fact that the handwriting was of the
flourishing effeminate variety that is characteristic of the Latin races, it
was written in good English.

It ran: Your Excellency,--
The Bill that you are about to pass into law is an unjust one ... It is
calculated to hand over to a corrupt and vengeful Government men who
now in England find an asylum from the persecutions of