“I strongly advise you to keep nothing back from me. So much is at stake for you and your relatives who are involved in this affair that it is of the utmost consequence that you should secure lenient treatment by a frank confession.”
“Well, then, I have some receipts.”
“Please let me see them.”
Amelungen pulled open a drawer in his writing-table, pressed a spring, and a secret compartment at the back flew open.
“There they are!” said he, handing a small bundle of sheets of paper to Heideck. But the Major’s keen eye had noticed, as he glanced rapidly at the compartment, that it contained some other papers, which he politely but firmly demanded to see.
“They are private letters of no importance,” objected Amelungen, “some of my wife’s correspondence, which she accidentally left in my office. I don’t know what they are about myself.”
“Be assured that harmless private correspondence will not be abused. But I must claim the absolute right to convince myself of the correctness of your assertions by examining them.”
The merchant could see that there was no chance of getting out of it, and, visibly excited, handed the little roll over to Heideck.
The Major took it, without examining the contents more closely at once.
“You definitely assure me, Herr Amelungen, that you have nothing else referring to this matter?”