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, DARKEST RUSSIA
" ' llY II. GRATTAN DONNELLY.
Copyright , 1800. by Street Smith All rights rcscrved.
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' . . ' > \ CHAPTER .
VIII.-Continued.
"I warn you that your act , even If
vou accomplish your purpose , will do
Moro : injury to the 'cause of Russian
t O ' 'iberty ' than any decree of the auto-
, : rat , however severe , could I1ccom-
; Jlish Educate the pe01l10-- "
"Bah ! I have no patience with the-
rles and theorists This is no revol\1- \
Hcnary Idndergarten. We are men
nd women imperiling our lives in this
movement , and I tell you that success
t can only be won by blood , by blood ! II
A " ' talk !
murmur-flAy , that's the
Blood ! blood ! blood ! " showed Ul'1t the
sentiments of the majority were In ;
favor of the one who had last spoken :
.
fi'There is no precedent in history
to prove that people's wrongs were
righted by assassination , " began the
first speaker. "Vou know , Oramin-
iJ sky : , that history- "
\ "History bo damned-and prece-
dents , too. 'Ve are here to make his-
tory-to establish a precedent if need
be. No ! no ! Let the timid withdraw
if they will. I , for one , will carry
through our plan. What ! Act as
weaklings ! after all these years of
. . . waiting , after all these months of
' preparation , after all these weeks of
work in silence and in secret to over-
throw the tyrant : ! Never. ! by the God
of the people of Holy Russia , never ,
never , never ! "
Loris Ornminsky , the man who had
" last spoken , turned to those around
him as he uttered the last words of
his impassioned speech. He looked
every inch a man who would dare-a
man whom nothing could turn aside
from a purpose once tully determined . .
upon. The strongly marked face , with
its heavy , square jaw ; the deeply
black eyes , sunken beneath shaggy
eyebrows , and the massive head with
its wealth of coal black hair , which
} was almost as luxuriant as a worn-
' \ \ ) / an's-these , with a giant's frame and .
the strength or a Hercules , would
have made Oramlnsky a man of mark
in any assembiage.
Of aU the members of the moder-
ates , none had opposed the extreme
views and aims of Oramlnsky and his
following with greater zeal and earnestness -
. \ . nestness than Ivan Barosky. The son
of an exile-an exile as he believed
cruelly and unjustly punished-Ivan
was as intense In his enmity to the
existing powers in Russia as was Ora-
mlnsky himself. But he was too able
and farseeing , too progressive and
cautious to commit himself to what
he truly believed to be a course of
action that would alienate from the
Russian revolutionists the support
and sympathy of the friends of liberty
in every country in Europe.
. Oramlnsky's' impassioned reply , and
"
the favor with which it had been received - I
ceived , convinced Ivan that further
discussion would be futile.
"Vou have heard our views , " he
said , "and itis _ now for me to declare
our purp s-o. "
There was a pause.
An looked at him with every appearance -
pearance of intense interest.
"After this , ' night , " began Ivan , "we
will never = "
He stopped suudenly. His ear
caught on the outside the sound of
a hurried footstep , and raising his
hand for caution and silence ho lis-
tened int ntly.
The footsteps grew nearer.
Oramlnsky lifted his hand. and as
ho did so a singular transformation
; , took place.
All in the room who were seated , or
who were working with the imple-
month before described , arose and
silently as so many specters stepped
softly back toward the sides of the
room. Each carrIed something-a bat-
tery , a bit of wire a shell , a coni-
cal vessel handled with great care
and whose proximity was evidently
not desired by any but the man whose
duty it was to hold it in charge.
There they stood , lined by the
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walls , like so many automatons , silent ,
motionless.
I All this had taken ' less time than
it takes to write it.
The footsteps stopped-thero was
a knock at ' the door.
A peculiar knock it was-a loud tap ,
two short quick taps , and then a
pause and a final Imocl
Evidently a signal for the expression -
sion of intense anxiety changed instantly -
stantly to one of relief : the people
resumed their seat , and Ivan , with n
commanding gesture , which Oramln-
sky himself submitted to , exclaimed ,
"A friend ! Open the door , Aronsl < y. "
Running up the steps that led to
the door of the underground apart-
ment , Aronsky , removing a long oak-
en bar that fastened It , threw open
the door.
"Ilcla Barosky ! II
The words were uttered with n
spontaneous impulse by all present as
Illln Barosky , for it was she who
had given the friendly signal , stood
for a second at the door , until , ' her
eyes having lighted upon Ivan , she
swiftly descended the steps and came
into the midst of the expectant group.
Her face was flushed with excite-
ment , her fine hair disheveled , and
her whole appearance indicated that
she \'as laboring undet some Intense
mental . strain.
Ivan sprang to her side.
"Ilda , my sister , what has 'hnppen :
ed ? "
Ilda gazed wildly for a moment , and
then , her voice quivering with emo-
tion , she spoke in quick , disjointed
sentences : "Oh , infamy ! Oh , cruel-
coward-the. lash-Alexls-I will be
avenged-tth " rlbly avenged-do you
hear ? The cruel Nazlmo1r : oh , it was
cowardly- " and , overcome by the
recollection of the ' terrible ordeal
through which she has passed , the girl
sank into a chair , burying her face in
her hands , and shaking like an aspen
leaf from the violence of the conflicting - ,
ing emotions.
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. . . .BY. OCJC > / ' "
After having recovered in : some : ; degree .
gree , Ilda told the story of the night.
The sudden illness of Anna Dorskl
had deprived the famous orchestra of
its great .Oloist , and at the 'last moment -
ment Anna appealed to lid a' to take
her place. In vain lids urged that she
had a reason for not going to the
Nazlmoff mansion , and it was only
when the famous leader himself beg-
ged her , with his daughter , not to
place him in a false position before
the assembled aristocracy of the capi-
tal , that she gave a reluctant consent.
When Ilda reached the part of her
story where she was brought by vio-
lenco into the room , her audience
manifested intense interest , ant ] she
proceeded amid deepest sllen e. But
when she told of Nazlmoff raising the
whip , the Indignation of all present
could no longer be restrained.
"Coward ! " "Wrp.tch ! " and 'Vom-
. " . . . - " , . ' " " , . - . , " ' . . . . , . . . . . , , - . . . " , .
an beater ! " were some of the maledictions -
dictions hurled at Nazhnoft , and !
threats , deep and earnest , of lira vengeance - .
geance for the deed , were uttered on
all sides.
But it was when she spoke of her
refusal to play "Gael Save the Czar , "
and of her sending the violin crushing
Into a thousand pieces at the foot of
Nnzlmott , that the excitement broke
all bounds.
"Death to the Nnzlmofil" " was ono
remark , and the refrain was taken up
by all present.
"Let me avenge our sister's wrong , "
spoke up one young and powerful
man who came Into the group. "Give
me the right and I shall find a way
to his heart with thls- " and he drove
his dagger into the table and left It
quivering in the wood.
"Not so ! I am her brother , " said
Ivan , "and I am the one to avenge
her. "
" 'V ell spoken , " exclaimed Ommln-
sIt ) ' . He saw that the feeling produced
upon Ivan by the story of his sister
was intense , and ho determined to
make the most of It to win hart as a
supporter of his own. "B'lt it must
not be. This wrong has been done to
the sister of n brother of our 01',101'-
none the less a brother because he
differs with us on some minor points ,
The vengeance for Ilda's wrongs be-
longs to us all , but wo must be guided
by our rules. "
"Ay , by our rules , " was the re-
sponse. They knew the rules. It was
not the first time that the rules had
been invoked for private revenge.
Ivan had taken Ilda a little apart
from the rest , and was doing what he
could to restore her to calmness. He
seemed anxious to gain every particular -
lar , even to the smallest and apparently -
ly most unimportant detail of what
had occurred. But particularly was
he concerned about Alexis Nazlmo1r.
"What did he look like ? How did ho
act ? What did ho say ? " with these
and a score of other questions Ivan
plied his sister , getting of course lit-
tle or no information beyond what
lids had told him at the beginning.
In the meantime , under the direc-
tion of Oraminsly , the assemblage
began putting In operation the "rule
of the order" to decide upon whom
should fall the task of avenging JIda's
wrong by Count Nazlmotf .
"Bring the bag , Horsy , " said Ora-
minsky.
In response , one of the women produced .
duced a small bag made of chamois
In which Oraminslty , after rapidly
counting the number of persons pres-
ent , placed a handful of roubles-
exactly as many roubles as there were
those in the apartment.
"And now for the Red Beauty. "
From around her neck , fastened by
a string , Hersy produced a small
leathern case , which she opened.
The movement was watched with
intense interest , and as Hersy drew
tram the case a coin and handed it to
Oramlnsky. all present razed nt fhn
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piece of money - with some such expression -
pression asa Hindoo might regard an
image of his favorite god.
The piece of money was a slIver
rouble.
It was a deep red.
"Le Rouble Rouge , " sometimes call
ed "The Red Beauty , " was celebrated
throughout Europe It had . bei . } 1
found by the side of the Czar Aicgin. } 1
del' II" , when he sank in blogdaftez ( .
the bomb had done lts. fataC"wcii.k
and the red upon the coin , . . .wp.J ( s ; Q3. ! 4
life-blood of the autocrat of : 'all' ' the
Russians , when he fell a victfi i . , . ' . ! o' ttie' ,
" ' .
Nihilists , , ,
vengeance ' _ " : ; ,
"Now , " said Oramlnsky , jlas ' ; ' htlrstit t :
ly jingled the bag which cbiitkliied J
the roubles , "there are as many , pled J ;
here as we have brothers pret i ;
. . . . . . . . . , _
Plump ! In goes the Red Beauty , and ,
he who draws her wins the prize-
he it shall be who must take revenge
on the cowardly brute Nazimotf ! "
As ho dropped the red rouble in
with the rest , Ornmlnsky shook the
bag and one by one the men approached -
preached and drew. Ivan took his
chance with the rest.
uKeop your hands closed until I
give the signal-then hold them aloft
and show your coin , " directed Ora-
, . . . . . ' - ' . 'I " . " . > , . ' . . - - .
. ' Za'nnkGF " : ' ' 'J r.r..lJ . Je's'fiYGSYXi ; ; : : .CUFkii'yYStfiY'.a. ' : ; .
" 0 n. . eaa , . . , _ . ' a ' . . . . ' . . 4 , 4'J . . . . . . , . . . . . - .
. .
mlllslty ns he toss © d the empty bag 1
I to Horsy , the last coin having been
IrawIl.
uNow , than , one , two , three , show ! "
and all the hands went Ull.
"Ivan draws the prl7.el" ! was the
exclamation ae It was seen that Ivan
displayed the Red Beauty
"Glad I am that It Is 80 ! " exclaimed
Ivan. "I will wipe out Nnzlmft's : in.
suit in a way that will show to all
the world how n Russian can avenge
a slater's injury. And now , friends , " ,
he went on , as he made n. motion to
I1da to prepare to accompany him
uwhat Is your last answor-the final
reply to the leaders or our section 1
Will you defer action longer , or will
you take issue with us and act
alone ? "
Ornmlnsky advanced
uSay tohe spoke no further.
Half a dozen hands went up at once
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with the signal for silence. Footsteps
were again heard at n distance in the
frosty night.
With a movement Ivan and Oramin- .
sky both raised their hands
The people in two rows ranged . . '
themselves along the wa1l8.
The footsteps grew nearer , louder , ;
approached the door and stopped. .
Then came a strong single Imock-
but no faint knocks followed. Evh
dently , whoever came to the door did
not possess the signal.
Now it was that Ivan Barosky
showed his powers-dominating even
the strong will at Oramlnsky himself.
With a whispered word to lids , he
pointed back to a dark corner behind " 1
the stairs in which was a scarcely
visible door. "The secret passage to '
thQ banks of the Nevil , " ho whispered -
ed uuse it if necessary. " Ilda disap-
peared.
. .
Then , turning to Oramlnsky , Ivan
said in an undertone : "I am best to
deal with this-Is it so ? "
Oraminsky nodded quickly. Then
nrcssing Ivan's . . hnn,1 _ _ . _ _ with f.hnVorl ) "
_ _ , . un _ _ . _ . . _ ' "
UCauton ! , " ho took his place by the
wall and stood as Impassive and as
silent as the others.
Ivan alone now occupIed the center
of the room.
Again the knock-louder this time
-two or three times louder.
' 'Open the door ! "
: ; ' , , 'faals1ng : : his left hand , Ivan made a
( simultaneous ! motion like that at a
, # ; p.wlwm'er with both arms.
. Evan stood alone !
1 All the others disappeared as silent '
Jy as so many shadows.
" The room was empty !
( To be continued. )
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a.iy.J , ; : : " Quick Work on Shirts.
: ' . X ' The up-to.date song or the shirt
Jasts ; just six and one-halt minutes ,
[ -'according . to a factory Inspector for
whose edification the foreman of a
shirt factory started a piece of cloth
on the rounds and made It come out
ready for a customer's back before the
second hand on a watch had revolved
seven times. In this time seven girls
had contributed their efforts to the
finished product. One machine in this f
shop makes IG,800 buttonholes a day ,
or twenty-eight in a minute , and in a
ten-hour day a man can cut 250 dozen .
en shirts.
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