(Signed), Walter Turnor."
The confession of Herbert Vaud:--
"I killed Gregory Fellenger. I am glad that I killed him. When I found out in Paris how he had deceived and slain the woman I loved, I determined to make him pay for his wickedness. 'An eye for an eye,' that is Scripture. I wished to kill Gregory without harm to myself; and an opportunity soon occurred. I was at Mrs. Colmer's, at Taxton-on-Thames, commiserating, with her on the death of her daughter and my affianced wife. I did not tell her I wished to kill the scoundrel; I told nobody. She related to me the history of the changing of the children, which had been told to her by her sister, Mrs. Bryant, whom I knew as Mrs. Boazoph. She wanted to avenge the death of her daughter on Gregory by depriving him of his title and estates. Also, she gave me the address of Gregory, written on an envelope by Mrs. Boazoph, and asked me to call upon him for the double purpose of telling him what he really was, and also, to get the photograph which had been seen and written upon by Mrs. Boazoph, in Gregory's chambers.
"I took the envelope, but at that time I did not design the murder. I wanted to kill Gregory, but I could not see how to do it with safety to myself. I afterwards went to Mrs. Boazoph, and learned from her that she had told her son about the tattooing, and the falseness of his position. She implored me not to see him about his relationship to her. I agreed; for I wished to kill him, and make him suffer. The taking away of his property was not good enough in my eyes to punish him for his wickedness.
"Afterwards I went to Taxton-on-Thames to see Binjoy. I knew that he was a chemist, and I desired to ask him about a poison to kill Gregory. He told me about the poisoned needle, and showed it to me. Whether he did so in order to put the idea into my head I do not know. I did not tell him that I intended to kill Gregory; so far he is guiltless; but he certainly showed me the way--innocently, perhaps--to kill Gregory. When I came back from Taxton-on-Thames I had the poisoned needle in my possession, and saw how to carry out my plan. I remembered the tattooed cross on the arm of the rightful heir, and I resolved to make use of that to induce Gregory to let me tattoo his arm with the poisoned needle.
"I placed the advertisement in a paper, which I knew he took in. I saw his answer, and I then sent him the cardboard star appointing the meeting-place in Tooley's Alley. I imitated the writing on the envelope when designing a star, so that, if necessary, the blame might rest on Mrs. Boazoph, his mother. For the same reason I chose the Red Star as the meeting-place. To make things doubly sure, I made use of Hersham's masquerade as a negro; and I adopted his disguise to implicate him. Moreover, I thought that, failing Hersham, I might be able to throw the blame on Binjoy and his negro servant. In every way I thought that I was safe.
"I went to the Red Star on the twenty-first; I met Mrs. Boazoph, and made an excuse to her for my disguise (which she penetrated) that I was about to play a trick on Binjoy. She thought that I was mad, and I let her remain in that delusion. But I here state that I am quite sane; that I killed Gregory with the greatest deliberation, and that I do not regret what I have done. I went into the room; I met Gregory. He took me for the negro of Dr. Binjoy, whom he had never seen. The lights were low, and I said little; also I disguised my voice. Gregory was a remarkably stupid creature, else I should never have succeeded in my plan; also he was rather drunk. I counted on his density in coming into his presence. At all events he did not know me; and when I told him that the rightful heir must have the cross pricked on his arm--a fact which I said I had heard from Binjoy--he let me tattoo it in his arm. I did so with the poisoned needle, and in a short space of time he became insensible; afterwards he died. Then I pulled down his sleeve and left the hotel. The gunpowder scattered on the table was used by me as a device to make Gregory think that I was really tattooing him.
"Afterwards I left a parcel containing the poisoned needle at his chambers, to rid myself of all evidence of the crime. Well, I killed him and went away. No one else is guilty of the crime but me. I conceived it without assistance. I alone committed the crime in Tooley's Alley and killed Gregory Fellenger, or, rather, Edward Fielding, the son of Madaline Garry and Sir Francis. I am not sorry. I glory in having punished a villain. I am sorry that I was found out, but I was not surprised when Mrs. Boazoph betrayed me. I wondered that she did not do so long ago. When this is read I shall be dead.
(Signed), Herbert Vaud."