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DARKEST RUSSIA
BY IL GRATTAN DONNEr.LY.
r Copyrlgbt , 1800. by Stroll' & smith , AU rights rClervcd.
x
Y
. CHAPTER I. I
t . . The Minister of Pollee.
Karsicheff , minister of police , was
' evidently in no amiable mood as ho
Ant , deeply intent on mastering the
, ' details of the mass of official docu
L : menls spread before him.
.
It was late in the afternoon of a
I-
December day in 188St. . Petersburg .
burg was all athr111 with the life of a
great city. The silvery music of
. thousands of sleigh bells played a
jingling accompaniment to the brill-
last scenes that were being enacted
011 the great thoroughfare that paralleled .
leled the historic Nova. To the casual
observer the Russian capital at the
time presented nothing to indicate
" that aught but peace and prosperity ,
happiness and content , were the lot
I of its people. The brilliant equip
ages of the nobility whirled along in
. . kaleidoscopic variety , giving an air
of wealth and luxury to the scene. Ap
'f ' parently the autocrat of Russia had
nothing to fear from the most favored
{ , of his subjects.
,
j The season was at its height In St
Petershurg. The czar and his court
, ' c were at the capital , and a series of
tl . brilliant state ceremonials kept sod-
ety in a whirlwind of social pleasures ,
f and gave an impetus to fashionable
< I frivolity , manifested by a constant
< succession of entertainments at the
great homes of the aristocracy. One
r . of the most magnificent fetes of the
season was to occur on the night fell
lowing the day on which our story
opens , and it was whispered that the
T t imperial master of Russia himself had
" . . promised to honor it with his pros-
. It was because of this prom-
ise-because of the belief that the
i czar by this action designed to show
t1 : distinguished honor tp Paul , Count
r ; - 'Nazimoff-that Karsicheff , minister
I , : ' , of police , on this afternoon sat , with
1 1 clouded brow , earnestly engaged with
' 4 the papers before him and which oc
rltt h cupied his thoughts to the exclusion
t of all else.
Constantine Karsicheff was nearing
!
I : j the supreme moment of his life. Sue
. I cess now meant 10rtune , favor , future
" c greatness : failure meant ruin , dis
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1 grace , perhaps oven exilo. There is
' but one test applied to the minister
' ' of pollce-and there is no halfway
i stopping place between extremes. Already .
ready ominous signs were not want-
; . ing that the czar was far from saUSe
fied. A week before , after a confer-
1 t " \ ; . , enco with Gortshalwff , president of
, the council of ministers , the intima-
tion had been conveyed that the czar
was growing weary of apparent inac
. , tion. "His imperial majesty , " suggested .
gosted the prime minister , "fails to
understand why your policy has borne
4 . - no results , and why the enemies of
tl the state are apparently more active
than under any of your prQ ( ccessors. "
"But , your excellency , " Knrsioheff
had urged , "I am waiting to crush the
enemy by one supreme stroke. All my
plans are being matured for action
that will stamp out Nlhlllsm in Russia
as completely as if it had never ex-
istod. "
Gortshalwff smiled grimly. The
veteran diplomat was accustomed to
take words , from whatever source
they came , with a liberal discount on
their face value , "I will report your
words to his majesty , " he said-and
then , as if the thought had suddenly
occurred , he added : . "But do something .
thing "
"Do something , do something. " The
words of GortshalwIT kept ringing in
hits brain as Karischeff , his examination -
tlon of documents finished at last ,
leaned hack 111 his chair and summed
up the result.
It was to Karsicheff's credit that he
had brought the system of espionage
to a degree of perfection that had
never been surpassed. His agents
were everywhere. In the salons of
the nobility : in the faculty of the
college : among the rank and file in
the army : mixing with the merchant
and trading classes : drinking in the
lowest Imbalts ( spirit shops-in ) all
places from the highest to the lowest
-the trusted agents of the minister
of police , over alert , were trying to
. gain some duo that would enable
Karsicheff to give the coup de grace
to the enemy. These reports were I
the result qf their investigations.
There were rumors , suggestions , innu
undoes , generalities , everything but
.
facts.
Karsicheff rose from his chair , his
face white with rage and disappoint-
ment. In all these reports not one
definite clue , not one fact to act upon.
All guess , all surmise , all conjecture ,
or else lies ! "Something must be
done , and at once. Any further delay -
lay now , and I may be deposed with-
out a moment's notice ! Anything but
that , my God ! anything but that ! It
would mean ruin , disgrace , dishonor. "
Wrought up by the picture his fears
had brought before him , Karsicheff
strode up and down his apartment , a
prey to the most poignant anxiety
and apprehension.
Suddenly he stopped , and pulllug a
bell cord with a quick , impatient motion .
tlon , he returned to his desk and resumed
sumed his seat.
A moment later and the door silently -
lently opened to give entrance to a
tall , soldierly man. Taking one of the
papers from the desk : before him
Karslcheff ran his eyes over it , and
then turning to the man , handed him
the document , with the remark :
"Have we that name on the list of
suspects ? "
Radaloff , confidential agent of the
minister , took the paper , and with a
quick glance mastered its contents.
"I do not recall the name , your ex.
cellency , " was his reply.
"Consult the register and find out. "
Radaloff bowed and withdrew.
"It is my last chance , " mused the
minister , when his subordinate had
withdrawn. "I will arrest him tonight -
night and take the chances of making i
a sensation that will at least show"-
he smiled bitterly as he recalled the
' " have
prime minister's words-"that I
'dono something. ' "
Within five minutes Radaloff again
entered the apartment , and respectfully -
fully approaching Karsichtff , presented -
ed the paper. "The name ocurs in
the report of the students of the Poly-
technique , your excellency , marked
simply 'Suspect. ' No reason is assigned -
signed , nor are any particulars giv-
"
en.
"Detail Ferzan on the case at once
-or , star ! Take the case yourself. It
is important. Spare no expense and
lose not a moment. Report to me in
person at any place I may be when
you have finished. And"-as Rada-
lof'f about to "
was withdraw-"I reo
.
.
. . _ . . _ . . . _ . . . _ - - , . _ - - - . . - . . _ - - -
- -
quire n. full report. See that nothing
is wanting to make it complete
RadaloIT bowed and left the room.
Once more Karslcheff resumed his
restless walk.
The sound of the great bell in the
official residence caused him to walk
to the window just as a magnificently
-
appointed sleigh , drawn by four coal-
black horses , da4hed up to the door.
Reclining among the mass of furs
were two ladies , at the sight of whom
Karsicheff's expression changed to
one of mingled pride and affection. A
moment more and the occupants of
the sleight had entered the house , and
a servant announced to the minister
that the Countess Karsicheff and
Mlle Olga KarsicheIT , his wife and
only daughter , had returned from
their drive.
CHAPTER II.
The Countess Karslcheff.
Katherine , Countess Karsicheff ,
was one of the social leaders of the
most exclusive society in St. Peters-
burg. For centuries her family had
occupied a foremost position among
the great names of the empire Kath-
erine Karsicheff was of the truEst
Russian type of the grande dame and
of the bluest blood of the old Muscovite -
vite nob111ty. So it was that when
Katherine became the wife of the
then comparatively unknown gover-
nor of 'rambov , her family influence
was sufficiently powerful to push the
fortunes of Countess Karsicheff ,
until now he was at the head of the
imperial police , then perhaps the most
responsible and arduous post in . the
empire.
The family consisted at thiS" time
I
"h'4P JW'.5CVff.RE , 7HE' ALJLWl:55/ ? "
of two children , a son and daughter ,
Nicholas and Olga. The former os
tensibly acted as his ther's secretary -
tary , but really spent most of his
time in the pursuits common to the
younger sons of the nobility , the extravagant
travagant and riotous dissipations of
the capital.
Oga ! Karsicheff , on the other hand ,
was a marked contrast to her broth-
or. She was a tall , graceful girl with
rather pensive face , the expression
of whIch was intensified by the sad-
ness which continually haunted her
great brown eyes.
The Countess Karsicheff , immed-
lately after entering the house , pro.
seeded to her own apartments. As
the countess glanced at herself in the
mirror she wore a smile of pride and
triumph. All day long she had been
receiving congratulations on the approaching -
preaching marriage of her daughter
Olga with the dashing young Colonel
Alexis Nazlmoff , only son and heir of
Paul , Count Nazimoff , and the greatest .
est catch of the day in St Peters-
burg.
The trousseau had arrived from
Paris , and the rich and elegant cos-
tumes had been pronounced by the
few nearest and dearest friends privileged .
leged to inspect them to be absolutely .
ly faultless in their perfection.
The wealth and station of the par.
ties , the youth and beauty of the prospective .
pective bride and the popularity of
the young heir of the house of Nazi-
morf , the lnborate preparations for
the event-all these made the a"
e
.
preaching marriage one of more th.n
ordinary intQrest and the topic of
conversation in the higher circles of
society.
No wonder Katherine Karsicheff
was proudly triumphant. The marL
riage of Olga was the one dream of
her life and an alliance with the
house of Nazimoff the highest honor
her daughter could hope to attain.
The union of the two families me
much for both , but most for the Kar1t\ \ '
cheffs. The influence resulting from
the alllance could hardly fall to give
General Karslcheff a higher place in
the government.-perhaps n place In
the imperIal council. That was the
ambition of the countess for her hus-
band. There was not one cloud on the
horizon of Katherine Knrslcheff's fu-
ture. What wonder that the proud ,
haughty face lighted up with a passing .
ing smile of perfect satisfaction as
her mind rapidly reviewed the past
and formed a pleasant picture for the
future !
Michael Radnloff , five minutes after
he had left the presence of the minister .
tel' of police , emerged from the house
by a private entrance which communicated -
municated to that part of the establishment . .
llshment wherein Gen. Karsicheff
transacted his official business. A
brisk walk of ten minutes brought
him to the nearest public stand for
conveyances , and hailing a drosky , he
jumped in , and with a word of direc
Lion to the driver , was driven rapidly
away. Within a few doors of his destination . - . . . .
tination Radaloff alighted and dis _ _ . . 1 I
, '
missed the drosltY. After waiting until -
t11 he was well assured that the driver
was not spying on his movements , he
entered a restaurant and sat down at
a table somewhat apart from the oth-
er people present. A minute later a
waiter approached , and handing him
a card appeared to wait his order.
Radaloff gazed with apparent interest .
est at the bill of fare , and then ensued .
sued this somewhat unusual colloquy :
"Have you discovered the address ? "
asked Radaloff , pointing to the bill
and speaking in a low voice. , y '
The waiter took the card , nodded
and replied : "Excellent and fresh"- . '
and then in a lower tone-"no , Alex-
androffsld Ulitza. "
Radaloff examined . the bill of fare
again. Then he paused thoughtfully ,
as if to make a selection. Pointing
to another line , he murmured , so that
the words reached the waite -'s ear
alone , "Married or single "
"Certainly , sir , " came the prompt
response as the well-trained waiter
made a note of the demand ; then ,
softly , "single. " ' .
Radaloff leaned back with an air of
indifference. Really it appeared he
was not hard to please "You can
bring the order , " he said : and then ,
as if 1 reconsidering , "at home or
away ? "
"In St. Petersburg-probably now
at the house of"-and dropping his
voice to its lowest audible tone , the
walter finished his sentence.
Radaloff , cool and collected as he
invariably was , could not conceal the
look of astonishment caused by the
information he had just received. But
the transition from his usual impassive -
ive manner was only momentary. "It
w11l do , " was all h@ paid , and the
waiter with a polite bow , which your
well-trained servant on tae continent
never forgets , withdrew to fill the
somewhat extraordinary order with
which he had been favored.
( To be continued. )
Mark Twtln's Retort.
Many years ago when Mark Twain
was a struggling journalist he found
"
himself one day with a note comnU' !
due and a total lack of funds withy
which to meet it. Half distracted , he
was rushing around the city in a feverish
verish hunt for funds to tide him over
the trying time. He rushed a little
too quickly , however , for as he was
turning a corner ho collided with a l1t.
tIe man and overthrew him. The victim -
tim regained his feet and yelled :
"You do that again and I'll knock
yon into the middle of next week "
"My dear sir , " said the apologetic
humorist , "do it by all means , If I
can get through till then without )
brealthg tm safe. "
