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About The Nebraska advertiser. (Nemaha City, Neb.) 18??-1909 | View Entire Issue (June 3, 1904)
The Secret By JAMES CHAPTER XXII. (Continued.) "Heaven bo blessed for this now onion f success!" exclaimed Hiilsonlo In Froncli. "And yon were not drowned V" "No; I swam down tho Neva, under water, escaping inntiy a bullet ot BHbore and reached tbe old place In the wood where Olgn, tho gypsy, stained my race, trimmed and dyed my beard, as you see. She Is quite an artist, that girl! liven Marlolizza would not know me low." HnlKonle. Hilled an the poor fellow spoke. Ho evidently knew nothing of tho barbarltlcH to which who had been mibjected, ho HuIkoiiIc rcHolved. merci fully, to keep him In Ignorance; and they Iiroeccded at an easy pace together; ho ;ecplng IiIh borne clone by the shaft of tho wagon, on which the pretended pens nnt rode; and, an they spoke in French, u language unknown to their Ignorant and half savage escort, UHiikoff, In re ferring to the late event and lit failure, poured out all the bitterness, the bate and fury of bin hou! against the gov eminent, tho councilors and tbe rule of tho emprcHH', and, of course, entered with fervor into tho Hcbemo of an escape with Natallo. Hut mill their ultimate plaiiH were undecided when they naw tbe red Hash of tho evening gun, as It pealed rrom Schliisselburg, ntnld the murky haze of a wot and Htormy HUiiKet; and ere long they saw the lights that glittered at times from amid tho massive towcrH and black outline of that old castle stream ing and wnvertiiK on the turbulent, wat ei'H of the lake and the wet hIIiiics of the sluices and ditches. ben, all dripping and jaded, tbe es cort baited and demounted under the caKtle arch, Halgonie found that some elmngcs were taking place in the exceu live of tho fortress. CHAPTER XXIII. Bernlkoff, whoso wounds had been In (lamed to gangrene, was at that moment actually on his deathbed, with Father Chrysostoni kneeling by his side. The old sinner was in all tho agonies anil ter rors of reviewing his past life on one band and anticipating tho coming change on the other, Bcrnikoff was (lying in the habit of a friar, with cowl, cord, beads and sandals, hoping even on his deathbed, as Ivan the Terrible hoped, when similarly arrayed and disguised to cheat the devil If that dread person' ago came for bis sinful soul. Leaving this scene, Halgonie present ed the order of CSen. Wcyniarn ami that of tho treasurer to Captain Vlasliof, who was now in command, and to whom he stnted that "the prisoner referred to was Mademoiselle. Natalie Mierowna." "Carl Ivanovitcb," said the captain, "you cannot think of leaving to-night in uucli a storm of wind and ruin'.'" "I've seen worse In Silesia," said Hal gonlo, looking to tho locks of his pistols. "What of that?" "Hut tho verbal order of the genera was most peremptory." "Ah! and you have brought a wagon for tho money?" "A wagon for the prisoner also so hi quick, captain." " 'Tis u largo sum In roubles," mused tbe other. "I am in hasto to be gone! (lie pris oner you hear me, sirV" said Halgonie Impatiently. "You seem more anxious about the prisoner than the treasure!" responded Vlasliof, sulkily, but still delayed to move. "You have my orders 1 come in the name of tho empress let there be no delay, Captain Ylaslief," was the curt reply. "Hring In two Cossacks of the escort; tho money is hero In seventy bags, each containing a thousand roubles." "Excuse mo, but the order of the im perial treasurer says expressly eighty scaled bugs of a thousand each," said Halgonie, trembling with anxiety, yet compelled to appear to take an interest when ho really felt none. "Ten thousand are missing," said Vlas liof, leisurely. "Suppose," be added, In a whisper, "suppose we divide the lost sum and offer a thousand to the treas urer?" "Imposlble, sir!" said Halgonie, with u fiery and impatient manner. "Well, well there are the other ten sealed bags," added Captain Ylastief. with a dark and stealthy frown of greed and bate, as tho Cossacks tossed the whole among tho straw of tho wagon. "It matters little; but I hope you may not find the road besot, and so lose the whole." "To be forewarned, sir, is to be fore armed," said Halgonie, touching his ids tols, for be quite understood tbe trench cry implied, nad only trembled lest it might mar bis dearest plans. "And now, sir. for my prisoner." "If she lio not drowned, for tho lower vaults are apt to bo Hooded on such a night as this," said Vlastiof, spitefully Writhing under the keen glances of this lowborn Muscovite, Halgonie felt that all now depended upon his outward and assumed bearing of coolness ink carelessness, Night favored him in this iindhis face was almost concealed. Could anyone then have read his heart, as he Usnkoff, two Cossacks and two soldiers of the main guard made their way down down through dark and slimy passages and stairs, till they "were foot deep und thqn. kneo deep In tho wafer that Hooded the low and humid corridors, off which' . wore the arched doors of numeroifs cells corridors where spiders spun their Dispatch GRANT webs, rats were swimming nnd terrified bn tH Hew wildly to and fro! Ere long they reached tho door, through the crannies of which despair ing cries and painful gasplngs had been heard, and after unlocking forced it open by main strength. A great flood of water poured from tho aperture amid the darkness, and with it nine tho body of poor Natalie, who wan well-nigh drowned. So the red light seen by Natalie was no fancy, but that of tbe lamp which was borne by one of those who came just n time to save her from the same terri ble death by which tho Princess Orloff perished. Lest all might be perilled by a recog nition, Halgonie was compelled to retire and leave her in tbe chaplain's hands till she was restored to consciousness, to warmth, and till she was habited anew; and he passed three dreadful hours of doubt and anxiety, while pacing to and fro in the cold and gloomy archways of the fortress, and having to (unreal his face when she was brought forth and supported Into the wagon. Usnkofl sprang on the shaft and nourished his whip; then the Cossacks and Balgonh put spurs on their chargers, and clattered over the wet drawbridge just as the passing bell for the dcpnrtmc of Bern! kofl's tortured spirit rang ominously and solemnly on the stormy gusts of that black and gloomy night. Halgonie, instead of proceeding by the way he bad come, avoided the town of Seblusselburg and wheeled off to the right, committing himself partly to the guidance of Usnkoff, and quite in ignor ance that, about an hour before, Ylas tief, who could by no means let so many roubles escape without paying toll, had beset, two of the roads by chosen follow ers of his own men whom he hoped might pass for some of the adherents of the late Prince Ivan, rescuing the daugh ter Af the exiled Mierowit.. A strange incident occurred before the Interment of old Bernlkoff, who hail a notiiDous military funeral. The hot turn of his grave was found to be on tire. A Scottish doctor attempted to explain tills phenomenon, an resulting from a species of Iron-stone, which was satur ated witli the phosphorus supplied by the bones of old interments, ami which had been Ignited by the friction of tho sex ton's shovel; but tho superstitious Rus sians took a very different and much more diabolical view of the matter, and laughed to scorn tho learned opinion of the Scottish pundit. . CHAPTER XXIV. Their horses were tolerably refreshed by the halt at Seblusselburg, and so the whole party pushed on at a brisk pace by the road toward the frontiers of Finland the Cossacks of the escort, whatever they thought, making neither remark nor inquiry, as they trusted obe diently and implicitly to the olllcer who led them; but tho darkness ot the Oc tober morning, the deep and muddy, stony and rough, nature of t lie roads, and the evidence of the storm, ere long began to have a severe effect upon their cat tle, and, to tho great satisfaction of Hal gonie, two of tho troopers gradually (lroiined to the rear and were, seen no more. Now the corporal of the Cossacks veil tured to hint that "perhaps tliey were not pursuing the way they had come, as t,he lights in St. Isaac's Cathedral must have been visible long ago"; but Halgo nie replied, haughtily and brielly, that he "had special orders." Then the corporal urged a short halt, as tlie nurses were sniKing; out again Halgonie replied, that lie "had peculiar orders, and must push on." fter passing a little village with a windmill, several miles from the shore of tho Lake of Ladoga, tho road dipped lown into a dark hollow, between im pending crags of granite, the gray faces of which were beginning to brighten in tho tlrst light of tho lagging October sun. The rain and wind were over; tho hollow way was full of rolling and per plexing mist; but Usnkoff alllrmod with confidence that lie knew tho country well. Out of the gray vapor, from both sides of tho path, there Hashed, redly and luridly, five or six muskets! One bullet struck white splinters from the wagon, eliciting a shriek from its occupant; an other whistled through tho mane of Charlie's horse; and a third killed one of the Cossacks, who died without a groan. The way was beset by nrmed men, whose numbers astl disposition, the dim Hull t. or rather, the darkness mil the mist, alike served to conceal. "Make way, in the name of the Km press!" cried Halgonie, dashing forward with his saber drawn; "nay, 1 command ou, on your peril and allegiance!" ho added, as tho threatening words of Vlns- Hef occurred to him; and, to his nston ishuient and dismay, ho saw that person ago actually appear, mounted and arm ed. His party, who seemed all on foot, were clad like peasants, but were arm ed with muskets, which they wore rap idly casting about and reloading. "Halt! In tho name of tho Empress halt, I command you! for this Is not the way to St, Petersburg, whither tho prisoner nnd treasure were to bo con veyed. Treason! treason!" shouted the Staff Captain Vlastiof. Halgonie fired a pistol nt bis bend; but tho Captain's horse reared, or was com pelled to do so by bit nnd spur, for the bullet pierced Its throat; and with an Louth, VlusUof fell ou the pathway, en tangled In tho stirrups as tho animal Bank under him. The three remaining Cossnckn, who were somewhat bewildered by the at tack, by tho appearance of Vlasflcf, whom they knew, and whoso comment bcnrlng confirmed certain gathering sus picions thnt something wns wrong as to their route, now drew their snbors, aimed several blown nt Unnkoft'a bend, and endeavored to cut the reins of his horse, or stab It between the Bhnfts, ns lie lashed the nnlmnl almost to racing speed, nnd the light wagon jolted, rolled nod bounded along the rough road no bind it. Hy another pistol shot Halgonie rid himself of the Cossack corporal, whoso bridle arm he broke, while facing about and galloping In tho renr of tho wagon, and now, with wild hnlloes, tho entire party of armed men followed it on foot, with all speed, up n steep slope, over which the path wound. Usakoff ground his teeth, for he was without wenpons, and passive in tho flying combat; but, being fertile in expe dients, he tore open a bag of roubles, and scattered them on the upland road with a ready nnd reckless hand. The bright coins proved too exciting for the cupidity of the pursuers, who loitered to pick them up, tumbling, scrambling, rising nnd falling over each other, with shouts, curses and maledic tion"; their firearms sometimes exploding the while; and so the whole were speed ily left behind, as the wngon, guarded now by Halgonie alone, was driven nlong a lonely and unfrequented road that led to the little town of Pomphela. "Thanks, dear Usakoff thanks for your presence of mind," said Hnlgonlo; "I hud forgotten all about those roubles. To lighten the wagon let us throw out those remaining bags this perilous lum ber, the Intended recapture of which has nearly cost us our lives honor all, at the bands of Ylasficf." "Nay, nay, never! Lumber, say you? The roubles are Natalie's hers and mine hem and yours, when you wed her; they have saved us once, and mny do so again," replied Usakoff, cheer fully, au tho sun burst forth in ills clear October splendor, and they saw the dome shaped cupola of the Church of I'om phela rising with a golden glenm from amid the white morning haze. There Halgonie's uniform and display of gold roubles operated powerfully on the postmaster, who. without asking for passports or other papers, at once, and in the name of the Empress, supplied thein with fresh horses for the frontier, toward which, after procuring some proper nourishment and restoratives for Natalie, they pushed on without a mo ment of unnecessary delay. "Ah." thought Halgonie, with a shud der and a prayer; "had Jagouski's iinnio not been omitted in that order of Wey marn. where would she have been now?" Pale with sorrow and, long suffering, her face was still beautiful, though sore ly wasted; the deep, thoughtful eyes had yet a wealth a world of tenderness in their liquid depths; and the long, dark hair was thick, soft, and wavy as over, as it fell in masses behind (lie small, compact and finely formed head. All was changed now, and, as she laid her head on Charlie's breast, she felt content almost happy; and the hor rors Hint hung over her family alone pre vented her, as yet, from being com pletely so. No trace of pursuers was behind them now, though their flight must by this time have been known both in the capital and at Seblusselburg. Hut in those days there were neither railroads nor electric telegraphs; so, riding on more leisurely, Halgonie changed horses again near VI borg. ami ere long the great Lake of Saiina appeared before them, with tho distant hills of Swedisli Finland beyond its friendly waters. A boat was procured there; the wng on was abandoned; and with a shout of joy, 1'sakoff assisted the Finnish boat man to hoist the great lugsail to catcli the breeze of a balmy and beautiful even ing, as they bade n long farewell to Russia and all its terrors. In a quaint old church of Finland, by the eastern shore of the Lake of Saiina, and in view of its little archipelago of granite isles a lonely little fane, buried nntid groet of plum and cherry trees, built of wood and painted red, with a little bell jangling in its humble belfry Charlie Halgonie nnd his future bride were united by the old curate; and there a tlioiis.iiid roubles spent among the poor spread in the primitive district a happi ness the tradition of which if still re membered with many a grateful exag geration. After tills, poor Usnkoff, finding him self perhaps, as a third person, Tathor in the way, left them to heroine a soldier of fortune; and ho is supposed to havo perished in one of tho Polish struggles for freedom; at least they heard of him no more after their final journey to Scot laud. Two years before those events Char lie's uncle. Gamaliel Halgonie. merchant, magistrate and elder, had departed in pence to sin no more, lenving the lands and possessions of Halgonie unimpaired; and a long tombstone records at length all tbe virtues which his contemporaries believed him to possess. So Carl Ivanovitcb became once mora Halgonie of that ilk; and the roubles o( Natnliu added many a turret and" many au acre to Ills patrimonial dwelling itf beautiful Stratbearn. (Tho end.) The Lesser ICvil. Mrs. Phamley (in tho sitting room As long as Mary is playing tho piano, Henry, wo may be assured she isn't spooning with that Mr. Huggard. Mr. Phamley (whose onrs are weary) Well. If tho rule works tho other way I wish you'd go down and tel them to go ahead and spoon. Phlla dolphin Ledger. Many a man who marries an heiress lives to regret monkeying with a got' rich-quick game. GOOD Short Qtofies Tho story In told of a bookkeeper yho wroto a glowing eulogy of his em ployed Just deceased making use of this remnrkablo estimate: "His keen jre-ecption nnd lndomltlblo will led lim Into tlie grocery nnd feed busl less, and subsequently Induced him to hnbark In the eonl business." Mrs. Van ltonnscluer Cruger tolls a itory of a Washington hostess who in rlted an attache of one of tho foreign legations to dlno with her. Tho lnvl aitlon was formally uccepted, but on the morning of the appointed day a note, written by the foreigner's valet, ivas received which road: "Mr. Blank 'egrets very much that he will not be ible to be present at Mrs. Swift's dln- ler to-night, as he Is dead." Tho fondness that some people havo 'or contact with notables Is not always ih a red by the notables themselves. It H told by the la to Baron Huddleston that he once tried to obtain a seat next b a duke at the table d'hote In a hotel vhere both were guests. That this woxiitilty to the great man might be H-ought about, the baron gave tho vallor a sovereign. The servant proved traitor, nnd an explanation being do nanded, he confessed that the duke lad given him two sovereigns not to rive the baron the coveted seat. During the campaign of 1000, when joople made pilgrimages to Canton, Dhlo, to call on President McKlnlcy, Jelegatlon of commercial traveler's nine, one day, and were cordially received by the President. The spokes man, In thanking Mr. McKinley for their reception, said: "We are nearly ill your enthusiastic supporters 1 say nearly all, for there are seventeen of its. and we are all good Republicans but one." Instantly the President re sponded: "Gentlemen, I am glad to nee; you represent exactly the Issue of tlie campaign sixteen to one." .lake, the colored servant of Lionel Harryinore, has quite a flock of chil dren, all of them with Biblical names, ns their father is very religious, and a Croat student of the B.me. A boy wns ndded to the family not long ago, nnd lake confessed himself puzzled as to a name for him. "You .see," he explained. "we'sc 'bout 'sausted all dein churae tors sleh as David an' Amos an' Sol- Dinon. De woman suggests Balaam, put I'se calculatin' on Hallowed. 'Hallowed?" "Yas, sah; de books sIjj idsts it fob Itself. 'Hallowed be Thy liame,' sah. I reckon we'll leave It dab, Hah." Princes even crown princes are not ail free of parental rule. Kaiser Wlllielm believes in tlie iron hand in hou if hold as well as state affairs, as L'rown Prince Frederick William has found to his discomfort. The Kaiser Jlsllkes horse-racing, especially steeple liaslng, and forbade the Crown Prince '.o indulge in the sport. He disobeyed, und the punishment inlllctod by his loyal lather w-sis the young man's con- lliieiiient to his room. The Crown Crlnco's inclinations toward disobe dience are probably hereditary. The kaiser was a small and saucy boy at the time tho present king and queen bf England wore married, and was an Interested spectator of the ceremony He was also a rather noisy one, so the Duke of Connaught, his uncle, admin .stored a (pilot but forcible spanking. flie future kaiser did not whimper, put sliding quietly to the lloor, he .dosed his teeth on tho calf of his uiiclo'.s leg with such energy that he Irew blood. PROSPECTOR REEVES' MINE. tie Discovered It ami His "Wife ond Duiiulitci- Helped Develop It. From abject poverty to riches in practically a day is an experience ouclisafcd to few mortals, but u man ms been in Los Angeles several days vho has enjoyed this sensation, says he Los Angeles Times. C. 11. Reeves, of Burke, Idaho, is he fortunate individual who can now '.raw a check written In six figures, vheroas two short years ago he was vlthout a dollar. 'Huckleberry" Reeves, as he is fa jnlllarly known throughout Idaho, Is character in mining history. His noney comes trom tho Hercules, mine u such a steady stream that he has lever found time to spend It and that s why he came to Los Angeles a few lays ago with his wife and daughter, Just to sec something of tho countrv." Reeves' pseudonym wns not applied o him because ho. resembled Mark Twain's famous character of tho Mis Isslppl River, but because tho little duoberrles which grow so plentifully n tho slopes of Idaho's mountains on tibled him to make his fortune out of ho Hercules. For many weary years Reeves had followed tho life of a prospector, al hays hopeful of striking It rich some lay and patiently enduring tho hard mocks that nro always a featuro of ho business. Finally the Hercules ras located, nnd tho tedious work of developing a mln was begun. Of course, all locations o5 a prospector nro "mines" to begin with, in their Imagin ation, but this one looked especially) nttractlve. But powdor cost money, and a prospector had to be fed and! J clothed, and hero Is whoro tho wife and daughter caino In for their Bhnre) In tlie mine's development Whllo Hooves stuck to his drill, Mrs. Reevea and her daughter picked huckleberries and sold them. Then tho big ledgo was opened up "Presto, change!" another American millionaire. That wob loss than two years inrs ncjlbj by nJ and now tho mine is owned men and women, who nro said to havd refused $10,000,000 for their prop erty. This Js the story which has gona out from the Coeur d'Alenes, but Mr Reeves prefers not to discuss tho mnt ter. As the story goes, the Gould and Rockefeller people, who have recently invested many millions in tho Coeutf d'Alenes, approached the owners ot the Hercules with nn offer of 10,000, 000, but the owners had seen only tlu seamy side of life until the Hercules! changed the order of events, and ond of them tersely remarked: Wo don't want to sell our mine to- no capltnllst." This sentiment was heartily concur rod In by all, so it Is probable that tha Hercules will go on grinding out dlvi dends for its nine fortunate owner for many years to come. BENEFITS OF A VACATION. Why Kvcry One Should Try It, Espo dally Mother. , A well-known woman, one who ia i also a cuaruung nostess nnu mouci an mother, said to a representative of tli New York Tribune that she is morally certain neither friends nor "home folk" would find her so agreeable were it not for the fact that she makes it a point to take periodical vacations from all of them. "It Is Impossible," sho says frankly, "for human beings mndo after the average patterns not to boro each other to ex4 u-tlon if they havo to look into each other's faces 'MT days out of the year. A woman Is infinitely more attractive to her husband if ho hasn't seen her for a little while, and a man Is far more lovable to a woman if there is some variation in the peri ods of liis home-coming." Certain It Is that any woman who bus wrested with the servant question for a whole year, who has thought up 1,0'.K regular meals and several hun dred irregular ones, who bus had to eater to fastidious appetites on a quick-lunch basis of expenditure, that woman without doubt has earned a va cation from servants, appetites and eaters of meals, and all of these will fare the better if the vacation is taken. Uninterrupted matrimony can be come the greatest bore on earth. In six months a man has told his wifo pretty much everything he knows that he has any intention of tolling her, and has listened to her opinion on every subject under the sun times without number, and the best thing they both can do is to go loraging for tnreo months for something new to think and talk about, and give absence a chance to make the heart grow fonder. If people were married only three diys in the week instead of seven there would be fewer divorces. Somebody says that tbe reason many a man is able to endure his home is that he has tho business day respite from it to bruce him up, and that tho insane asylums are so overcrowded with women, married women, simply because their lives nro crammed so full of the same people, prejudices and points of view day after (b'y. The summer heglra Is distinctly n first aid to domestic pent e." This i3 possibly not the convent!' nal vacation point of view, but It la unquestionably one that commends itself to the socket after things harmonious as well as the student of sociology. At least it be hooves the homemaker to consider the vacation recipe as a cure for the do mestic distemper that sooner or latej seems to attack the average man. Oldest American Univorsity. That the University of Pennsylvania is the oldest university in America ha been established by Charles W. Dulles, a graduate of Pennsylvania. Tho unb verslty is not the oldest college, thougli it was established In 17-10, but It wn first to take steps toward tho enlarge ment of tho curriculum by the addition of a separate department for graduate study, tho school of medicine having been founded in 17Go. This was th first actual realization of tlie unlvo' dty idea In the colonics, but tho idea of a university was in the minds ol he founders as early as 37.".", when tho Collogo of Philadelphia was given tho power to grant "the usual univer sity degree." Wliut Startod It. First Awful Punster Who is tlml slab-sided man with tho board look' Second Awful Punster Why, he's a lumberman. I know that as soon as 1 saw-dust on his clothes nnd tho waj ho planked down his money when tin hotel clerk thought ho had him stumped with his charges." And when tho policeman found wha they were he lot them light it out, in the hopo that ono or tho other might bo killed. Philadelphia American.