cjpesheik shaib of bushir
prench Get Possession of This
Strategic Place.
jlo.oMa.v Interfere With the British
n‘ ,„dla-f»Pr‘Tl "nd th* Emperor
nu»rrel--»>t,‘er Importent Events
lu Kuropenn L.ndfc ^
BibUN, Xov. 27.—This city Is treated
#nothcr sensation today. Yesterday
was rumored that Chancellor Von
'aprivi intended to resign (a rumor, it
houlit bo added, which has not been
jfficially denied up to the present),
ami this morning the good people at
Dcrlin are startled by the announce
ment made by the lCreuz Zeitung (con
servative), an inlluential daily paper,
that hv a secret agreement with France
Turkey has ceded Cape Sheik Shaib, in
the Persian gulf, to France. Cape
Slieilc Shaib is on the Island of Bushir,
of Husheab, eleven miles north from
the coast of J’ersia, and it might
lie strongly fortified and other
wise made use of as a harbor
fora French fleet Between the main
land and the island of Sheik Shaib of
Husheab is said to be water affording
good anchorage for the largest 'war
vessels. This would give France a
depot and possible landing plaee for
troops not far north of the British
possessions in India, and might, under
certain circumstances, enable France
to co-operate with Russia should the
latter country's troops invade Persian
territory and” possibly continue an on
ward march towards India itself. Tur
key, according to the Kreitz Zeitung,is
said to have taken this step ow ing to
the uneasiness felt by the sultan
and his advisers at the actions of Eng
land in continuing the occupance of
Egypt in spite of the protests of France
and Turkey indirectly against such a
course, it is concluded that in fortify
ing' Sheik Shaib, of Busheab, France
threatens Croat Britian's hold on the
lied Sea, made practically a British
lake bv the fact that England holds j
Aden (Gibraltar of the east) as the en
trance of the straits of Babel Mandeb
leading into the Bed Sea.
A Herman Ooarrel.
Ill:nus, Xov. 27.—It is now known
beyond a doubt '.hat differences of a
serious nature hare existed between
the emperor and chancellor for some
time past, and that these differences of
opinion have required considerable
smoothing over on both sides, and no
body. as matters now stand, would be
astonished to hear that it was an ac
tual faet that the chancellor insists
upon retiring from office. The em
peror. however, though prone to take
otieuse easily and speak thoughtlessly,
is also given to repenting as rapidly of
his hasty action and to be ready to
make all amends in his power. This it
is understood, is about the state of
affairs existing between the emperor
and chancellor. In conclusion it
should be said that consensus of
opinion is that the Wachenbatt's
sensational news of yesterday was a
conservative balloon, or in other
words “a feeler ’sont out to test pub
lic opinion upon the effect the chan
cellor's resignation would have upon
this country and in foreign countries
A British Whitewashing’.
I.O.NDOX, Xov. 27.—A verdict of the
naval court of inquiry into the disaster
which occurred off Plymouth on the
'.'Oth of October, when two fishing
boats were sunk and one man drowned
by shots from her majesty's gunboat
l’luclsy, during target practice, is
published today by the admir
alty office. The court acquitted
Lieutenant Fremantle, who was in
charge of the Plneky at the time of
the accident, of any negligence in sink
ing the boat, and stated that the dis
aster was due to an error in estimating
distance, owing to the peculiar condi
tion of the atmosphere. The officers
and crew of the Plucky claim the dam
age was done by ricochet shots,
•he finding of the court is se
verely criticised by fishermen and
their lriends who claim the whole pro
ceeding of the court plainly indicate
aeutenant Fremantle was to be exon
crated from any blame in the matter.
',ao admiral, the Hon. Sir E. It. Fre
mantle. K. C. II., father of Lieutenant
■remantle, attended regularly the ses
sions of court, all officers of which be
mg a lower grade were believed to be
susceptible to his influence.
they ached for blood.
Souther,lore Cornu to Jersey City on n
riui Search for Green Good* Men.
- uv 1 oitK, Xov.27.—James R. Smith,
? ’'ounty. Florida, and William
Collins, °f Fort Meade, Fla., both
,.„ti to tlle teeth with ordnance and
®r.V-arrived in JerscyCity last night.
„„ ,."'ore a hig sombrero. An officer
1'"'’tinned them. They had come to
‘ w ’ or'£, to meet some green goods
liVt .?'11' intended to seizq the goods
1 tle crooks would show and get
n Wlt*‘ it tty force of arms. The
anH o" *Sraith has been fleeced hero
■ma these new arrivals believed there
.r,ma, ‘system” that would beat the
,. ® their armory was part of the
■. s cm. They were locked up.
WAS NOT THE WIDOW.
A 'uinttleClalui.iit Receives a Bad Sbak
1 ,v loir Up.
mm-aster, I>a., Nov. 37.—The wind*
est i ”<>f ii°c' Thaddeus Stevens’
t a e’ which remained unsettled
i,;'.0”*' 'tl'ree years after his death, has
wom.. ris,!ito sensational features. A
c ‘." who claims to be the widow of
St,!' ,1". Alonzo Stevfens, Thaddeus
olaitn !S ?uPhew, has filed a large
hear,i ?P“nst tl,c estate. The auditor
■'iel’li . 10 tcstim°ny today. Edward
PrcK,„ors,in’ Vle surviving executor,
W,,, 11' testimony showing that the
•h 1‘rin’ " hose maiden name was Mary
Stcv,.,,1’ "a? ?lever married to Captain
s, and had no claim.
.,, tmind Frozen to Meath.
Mm is ku.1,9, l|inn., Nov. 37.—John
•■tart V' *n the town of Orwell,
Thi ° *°r. *l'N home last night drunk.
thcS m°rninR he was found dead by
* Dor?T?i*e team arrived home with
that h« 4 the sled- it is supposed
41 U fcil off and froze to deatk
WAITINGFORTHEQUEEN’SDEATH
A London Newspaper Creates n Sonwtlon
t»y Reference to Her Demlav.
New York, Nov. 27.-A dispatch
from London says tftat hitherto it has
been an unwritten law among the
newspapers of the United Kingdom
that no speculations should bo in
dulged in regarding the possibilities of
the death of Queen Victoria, or the po
litical exigences which might follow
such an event A profound sensation
has therefore been created by the ap
pearance in the current issue of the
‘ Weekly Times and Echo,” a paper
which circulated nearly 1,000,000
copies among middle and working
classes, of a leading editorial over the
caP"‘°n> “When the Queen Dies?” and
which deals in pronounced language
with such a possibility. It says that
the recent rumors in the United States
and elsewhere of the death of Queen
Victoria, has had the effect of bring
ing English people to realize that such
an event is bound to take place sooner
or later. It says that there is no doubt
that if the great bell of St,. Pauls
were to toll out far and wide
the mornful news that the great
queen, of which all Englishmen are
proud, had been gathered, to her fath
ers, the high functionaries of the state,
whose business it is to salute the new
sovereign, would have sought out the
middle-aged gentleman, just now
growing out of the gloom of his latest
indiscretions, and would have hailed
Edward VII with as much enthusiasm
as their regrets for his mother permit
ted. But after the days of monrning
had passed and the great mass of the
people—the electors by right of house
hold suffrage, who have never had part
or lot in tMfe bargain mtfde by parlia
ment with a new sovereign—would
have had time to think out the situa
tion, what would have followed?
The question is difficult to answer, but
it is certain that there would be an
irresistible demand for a full and
prompt revision of the terms on which
the civil list of the new king was to be
settled. For thirty years England has
been spared the glittering absurdities
nf regal pomp, but for thirty years the
people have had to pay for them all
the same. In the next reign England
will neither endure nor pay for them.
There will be no disposition to feel
meanly with the figurehead o.f the
country, but the English people will
see to it that in the next reign the im
mense sums squandered on needless
palaces, on idiotically barbaric court
splendor, are not granted The time
has arrived, says the Times, to think
about and discuss these matters, and
there is no disloyalty or disrespect to
the lady who fills the throne in dis
cussing them. Whatever party is in
power when the queen dies, the people
will suffer lest they make their voices
heard. Probably if the queen lives
for ten or twenty years more the peo
ple will formulate their demands in a
far bolder key. The Prince of Wales
is even now scarcely entitled
to his mother’s reasonable expecta
tion of life. If Bhe lives another de
cade, the relatives of royalty—all par
asites of the nation—will have multi
plied to an extent that is appalling to
contemplate. “There is after all,”
conduces the editorial, “an instinct
if self preservation, as regards the or
:ler itself, in the grim determination of
eastern despots to destroy all but the
immediate heirs to the throne. When
the England of 1900 or 1910—supposing
the queen should live so long, and
there is really no reason why she
should not—will bend meekly between
the weight and cost of the menagerie of
royalties which will have accumulated
by then, the people of that date will
have to determine. All that we urge
now is the legitimate consideration of
the new problems that, may present
themselves any day, that hang upon
the life of a lady in her 73d year, and
that unless we are strangely mistaken,
may unexpectedly twist the whole
course of our national history, if they
ire precipitated on us unawares and
enforseen.”
THE JURY DISAGREED.
rhe Lumpy Jaw Cue Wilt Go Through
Another Trial.
Peoria, Nov, 27.—A very important
case to the cattle interests of the west
lias been on trial for the past two
weeks under the title of Greenhut vs.
the Illinois live stock commissioners,
rhe case drew out of the condemning
if a number of cattle affected with
lumpy jaw belonging to the Distillers
md Cattle Feeders company. Presi
ient Greenhut, of the distilleries com
pany, brought suit to recover damages
from the live stock commissioners,
with a view to determining whether
Lumpy jaw is a contagious disease or
not. Much expert testimony was given
by witnesses on both sides of the case,
the men of practical experience gen
erally testifying that the disease was
not contagious.
When the case was given to the jury
it wrestled with the question for forty
live hours, and then reported a disa
greement, the last vote standing 7 to 4
in favor of Greenhut All but one man
held that the disease was not cantag
ious and three were in favor of a cm.
promise verdict* The attorney for
ireenhut at once gave notice of a new
trial, and says that there will be no
compromise unless the state board will
lesist from the slaughter of lumpy-jaw
cattle. The case has given rise tc
much bitter feeling among the cattle
men, as the condemning of lumpy-jaw
cattle means the loss of millions of
dollars to the cattle interests. The
cattle men insist that the disease is
harmless and that the Illinois board
has overstepped the bounds of its
authority. ___
Excited Factory Girls.
New York, Nov. 27.—Goodwin’s
cigarette factory, at Grand and Cherry
streets, was damaged to the extent ol
140,000 by fire this morning. Three
hundred girls in the factory were panic
stricken and were with difficulty re
strained from jumping out of the win
lows. As it was, some of them leaped
from the windows of the first story
lfter rushing doyen stairs and finding
egress from the building slow on ac
count of the crowding of the doors, but
io one was hurt.
A Fir. at Sh.ldon.
Shei.don, la., Nov. 27.—The large
jam of II. A. BiBhops, east of town,
svas destroyed by fire early yesterday
norning. Three yearling colts and
several hundred dollars worth of small
frain were burned. No cause is
mown.
BROLIL'S REVOLUTION OVER.
President FlrUotto Is Doing Much to Ilrln*
About Peace.
Rio Jankiko, Nov. 38.—President
Peidotto has issued another manifesto
in which he appeals to the people of
Rio Grande Do Sul to cease all further
revolutionary proceeding*, lie assures
them and all other iirazllians that the
resignation of Dictator Fonseca will
result in benefit to the country, as it
avoided the shedding of blood. The
president also promises to re
duce the national expenses and
to re-establish the credit of
Brazil. Army and navy officials
conferred yesterday for the purpose of
devising means for the preservation of
order tnroughout the republic. The
Military Tribune issued a proclama
tion in which it guarantees to protect
the life of Fonseca. An enraged mob
attacked and sacked the offices of the
newspapers that supported Fonseca.
Dr. Brazil, president of the late pro
visional junta of Rio Grande do Bui,
has been appointed governor of that
state. Mis appointment is a most pop
ular one. It can be safely said tha*
the revolution of Brazil is at ail end.
A BET COST HIM HIS LIFE.
McKinley's Victory nnd a Rainstorm Causes
a Uuod Democrat's Death.
Wavnesbubg, Pa., Not. 28.—John
Dougherty, an oil well driller, died
Wednesday night from pneumonia.
Dougherty was a democrat, and he
made a bet with a republican that
Campbell would defeat McKinley for
governor of Ohio. The loser was to
climb to the top of an oil derrick sev
enty-two feet high and remain there
from 6 in the morning until 6 in the
evening. Dougherty mounted the der
rick last Saturday morning, and al
though the rain poured down all day
he did not flinch. When he came down
he was cramped and weak. On the
following day violent pneumonia,
brought on by exposure, set in and his
death resulted.
PRETTY COLD WEATHER.
News From Various Points *Oo Not Men
tion Any Cases of Sunstroke.
Minneapolis, Minn., Nov. 28.—
Weather clear and cold.
Sx. Paul, Minn., Nov. 28.—Weather
clear and cold; 10 degrees below zero;
strong north wind.
Dulutu, Minn., Nov. 28.—This is the
coldest day of tho season. Weather
clear and still, with thermometer reg
istering 13 degrees below.
Washington, Nov. 28.—For Iowa
Continued cold, northerlv winds; gen
erally fair weather.
For Nebraska—Cloudiness and occas
ional light flurries of snow; slightly
warmer Sunday.
A Unionist Victory.
London, Nov. 28.—The election for a
member of parliament to represent
East Dorset to succeed the late C. H.
Bond, conservative, haB resulted in the
unionist victory. The vote was as fol
lows: The Mon. Humphrey Surt,
unionist, 4,421; the Hon. Pascoe C.
Glyn, Gladstone liberal, 4,074; unionist
majority, 347. At the last election Mr.
Bond, conservative received 4,317 to
3,602 votes received by the Hon. P. 0.
Glyn, home ruler. The liberals have
been very successful in recent
bye elections in constituences in which
changes occurred at the last general
election. On that occsaion the liber
als lost seventy-nine seats. Of these,
apart from East Dorset, eight have
since become vacant and the liberals
have recovered six, North St. Pancras,
North Bucks,Carlarvon districts, North
Wich. Loughborough and Stowmarket,
in the seventh, South Dorset, the lib
erals were beaten by only forty votes
in addition. Three of these at which
the liberals gained at the general elec
tion, have since become vacant and
the liberals have retained them all,
namely, the exchange division of Liv
crpool, Leith, Elgin and Nairn.
—A petrified elephant has been
earthed near Ja .per, Fla.
un*
the markets.
Five Mock.
Si on i Crrr, Nov. 30.
Hogs—Ugh1.13 4003.55; mixed. $3.60(5
3.CO; heavy, 3.70@3.80.
Cattle—Steers, 1,100 to 1,300 pounds.
$3.0003.60; feeders, $2.30(5)3.00; Stockers,
$3.0002.60; cotvs, common to good, $1,000
2.00; yearlings, $2.0002.25; bulls, $1.50(ri
2.00; veal calves, $2.6003.00.
Hogs—Light, $3.3503.75; mixed. $3.00.0
4.00; heavy, $3.0604.10. “
f ' n $ 4 1a C a* 4 _-1 __ A. • i
beeves.
Cattle— Extra and native beeves
$4.0006.10; stockers and feeders, $1.75 u
3.25; mixed cows and bulls, $l.00iu
o.75; 'iexans, $3.0004.40.
Sheep —Natives, $4.7505.10; westerns
$4.1004.60; Texans, $3.6504.60.
South Omaha. Nov 30
Cattle—Choice beeves. $5.0005.35; cows
$1.0002.80; feeders, $2.3003.00; bulls
$1.2002. oa
Bogs—Light, $3.5003.70; mixed. $3.60(u
8.75; heavy, $3.7003.35.
Kansas Citt, Nov. 3ft
Cattle—Steers, $3.3005.95; cows, $2 350
2.65; stoclcers aud feeders, $2.2003.75
Hogs—All grades, $2.7503.85.
Produce aud Provisions.
Chicago. Nov. 30.
Flour—Spring patents, $4.60@50U; win
ter patents, $4.6004.60.
Wheat —Cash, 92c)£; December, 93c
May, yyȣc.
Corn—Cash, 70c; November. 74c
May, 43)jc.
Oats—Cash, 8c%c; December, 32c
May. 32%033o.
Bye—94xo.
Barley—59c.
Flax—95095)£<5,
Timothy—$1.221
Whisay—$1.18.
Pork — Cash, $8.50; January, $1 |.27)J.
Lard—Cash, $6.15; January, $0.2?V.
Short Kibs—Cash, $5.0505.85
Shoulders—$4.12)^04.25; short clear.
$6.0006.05
Butter—Creamery, 20@28c; dairy, 200
26c.
Cheese — Full cream Cheddars, 11 (a
ll)4e; Hats, 11011%c; Voung Americas.
12013c.
Eggs—Fresh 24025c.
Bides—Heavy and light green salted
2c: salted bull, 4X@4)<c; green
salted calf. 6@6)*c; dry Hint, 8c; dr*
salted hitses, 607c; dry calf, 800c',
deacons, each, 25c.
Tallow—No. 1 solid, 4e; packed. 2(d
2% c; cake, 4>£c. •
Minneapolis, Nov. 30.
Wheat—No. 1 Northern, close 87 We
Noll hard. 87)^c; No. 1 northern, 8734 c
No. 2 northern, 84085a
‘THE EXILES.
A RUSSIAN STORY.
CHAPTER I.—TO* INSULT IN TO* MIN*.
It is a terrible augmentation of'punish*
ment for exiles in Siborlu to be sent to the
mines of Nertchlnsk.
On a cold October morninir. several years
ago, a small vehicle deposited a young Rus
sian about twonty-flve, in front of the wood
en house of the inspector of one of these
mines—that of Oukboul,
The condemned man, who was pale and
weak, seemed worn out by the Journey from
Kteff to Nertchlnsk, which had been made,
without stopping, in an open kibitka. Nor
more than two months, he had worn outsido
of his boots the iron rings of his chain rivet
ed to his ankles.
The gendarme in a blue blouse and brass
helmet, who had accompanied him, entered
the inspector's office to deliver into his
bands the papers concerning the exile con
fided to his care.
On the threshold he ran against and wns
almost overthrown by a hideous-looking
man with a swollen face, who came out with
his hands tied behind his back, and was with
great difficulty managed by the gendarme
In charge of him.
pe was a convict who had attempted to
escape from the shipyards of Okhotsk, and
had been brought a long distance to bo im
prisoned in the mysterious fortress of Aka
touin, situated on the outskirts of Nert
chlnsk. The very namo of this fortress in
spires unspeakable terror throughout ull
Siberia. The wretched being hod effaced
with sulphuric acid the word vor (thiof)
which had boon branded upon his forehead
fcnd phnnkn.
“I am thirsty I" cried he, in a choking
voice. "Give me a drink, somebody I 1 am
dying of fever!"
Tho gendarme paid no attention to his
Words, but fastened him to the heavy wheel
of a cart under the shod belonging to the in
spector's house.
Prom tho interior of the mr.nnion escaped
the sharp sounds of alittle violin upon which
some one was gayly playing the "Bello Ito
lene” quadrille. A lively voice was giving
out the figures and movements to the iliui
cers, whoso rcsouuding steps wore accom
panied with fresh and youthful laughter.
“A drop of water—something to drink!”
yelled the convict, kneoling in tho mud and
tolling his wicked eyes, while his mouth
foamed with rage.
The now comer turned away from this re
pulsive spectacle, and surveyed tho spot
where he was to undergo his punishment.
Before him were scattered a hundred cub
Ins and yourtes, shelters of the toilers of
the mine, above which rose boro and there
wooden edifices tenanted by the clerks, tlio
captain, the priest, and tho physician. Ho
also saw the barracks of tho guards, the
chapel and tho hospital. Everything had
the most miserable aspect.
Beyond, bounding the perspective, wora
(he Sablonoi Mountains, whose snowy sum
mits stretched away to the east as far us
the eye could reach.
In a ravine, a breach In the perpendicular
walls rising to a height of moro than two
thonsond feet, wa3 the shaft of the mine.
Upon the blood red rock, tho cold had al
ready congealed tho water produced by t he
melting of the suow, and tho hydraulic
wheel, which a liquid sheet set in motion in
the summer, was still, rising hugeaud black
like an instrument of punishment.
The icy wind from the ravine brought with
It sharp needles of fro3t which pricked tho
exile’s face.
He lifted towards heaven a look of sad
resignation, but quick as lightning youth
and right asserted themselves; his black
eyes flushed and his body straightened with
a movement of pride, which ennobled the
convict’s gray cloak and tho hideous little
hat which concoaled the absence of tho
brown locks shorn off by tho prison scissor#.
He scanned the horizon os if searching for
somo way of escape.
At this moment, tho hound convict gave
vent to a series of hollow howls. The music
ceased. Two young girls thrust their flaxen
heads curiously out of tho holf-opcu door,
and their dancing master, gently puttbig
them aside, emerged, holding his little pock
et violin in his hand.
He was over forty. His bearing was de
cided and his air Jovial, but there was some
thing of tho grotesque in his api>eunuioc.
He looked like neither a native nor u Sla
vonian.
Ho approached the convict and asked
him in bad Kussian, but in a tone of inter
est, what he was complaining about so bit
| torly.
“Thsso dogs are allowing me to be con
sumed with thirst i" cried the wretch. “It
is like red-hot iron in there!” added he, open
ing to its full extent a mouth, the lips of
Which were disfigured by tho corrosive ac
tion of sulphuric acid.
The man of the violin had an inspiration.
He drew a small empty flask from his fur
trimmed vest, and returned to his pupils to
ask them to fill it with water. Then, he
once more made his way to the convict and
poured tho contents of tho flask, drop by
drop, into his burning and swollen mouth.
Tho sufferer assumed tho look of a grato
lui animal.
“Thank you!” said ho.
“You allowed yourself to be recaptured,
sh?” said the man of the violin. “Did you
not know what awaited you?”
“Well, what?”
“Fifty blows with the knout and the rest."
“I will boar them and afterwards drink
the health of tho Czar, our general father.”
The dancing master approached the new
somcr and said to him in n low voice:
“All talk! I wager that he wrill be dead
at the twentieth blow.”
The young man thought;
“This in what would happen to me, if I
tried to escape and was retaken. Between
this man and myself, by order of the Czar’s
Judges, there is not the least difference.”
Then, addressing the dancing master, he
•aid to him, extending his hand:
“L^t me thank you, in my turn, for your
generosity to this unfortunate being!”
“I grasp your hand with pleasure,” said
the musician, who had noticed that the new
comer bore on his back the square of rod
cloth indicating a political convict. “As to
your thanks, they are superfluous. I am
under no restraint, God be praised! I be
long neither to the guards, tho police, nor
the management of the mines. I am a
Parisian and a dancing master. Perhaps
you are acquainted with Paris, Monsieur i
Yes? Well, I was born on the Place do la
Bastille, opposite the column. Vive la lib
erte! I don’t conceal my sentiments !”
The gendarme, who had brought the exile,
returned and informed the young man that
the inspector was waiting for him.
“Shake again,” said the dancing master.
“Keep up your courage!” added he, in a
whisper, grasping the young man's hand.
The latter departed, murmuring to him
self;
“If he were a friend !**
_JThe inspector, a small, clean-shaved man,
with an angular profile and impenetrable
' eye*, ordered tho oxilo to strip himself to
tho belt nnd, description in hand, verified
his Identity.
A medallion hung upon the young men's
breast.. Ho blushod and quickly covered It
with his hand, ns If to provont anyone from
touching or defiling It,
The action was 111-lntorprctad by the In
spector.
“Allow mol" said he.
“Oh I* cried tho exile, “I suppose that
there is nothing daugevous to tho safety of
the state In tho portrait of a young girl—
especially that of a martyr—the daughter of
tho poet DavldolT, an exile like mysolf,
whom she has followed Into banishment."
“I knew Davidoff and his daughter,’’
said tho Inspector. “Ho workod In this
mine 1"
"And since!" said the young man, eagerly.
“In pity—”
“His lot has been ameliorated. He In at
present living In Irkoutsk."
After these words tho Inspector entered
the name of t.io convict on the roglstor op
posite tho number 1!W7; then, he ordered
him to be taken to the mine.
In a fow Instants, the exile was handed
over to a corporal of the guards.
"Yermao," said tho keeper, "here is a
man to help fill up the void in your squad of
miners."
“Three of my men died this week," ob
served the corporal, as ho drew a note-book
from his pockot and prepared to write. Ho
lookod at the young man.
“Yegor SemonofT,” said tho latter, think
ing that tho corporal was wnitlng for his
numo. "Shall 1 write it myself!" added ho.
“Oh I I know how to write!" said tho cor
poral, with a faint smilo. “Hut 1 need only
a cipher. Number!"
“Number 1!W7," answered the kooper.
“Tho inspector directs that ho shall lodge in
tho fifteenth yourto, where there uro ulroudy
two convicts.”
Whllo tho keeper was spunking, Yegor
Sotnenoff studied tho countenance of tho
man, armed with a leather whip, under
whoso control ho was placed. Ho found
him possessed of a grave air and bronzed
but regular features. 1 lo seemed to breathe
honesty. There wus nothing of the convict
guard In his fuce, which was rather that
of a judge Incapable of shrinking from Ills
duty.
“To work!" cried Corporal Yormac, strik
ing tho air with his lash. “There I” added
ho, pointing to a spot, where a mini her of
miners wore drawing from tho earth a
busket of ore. “1 am behind you!” crlod ho.
Tho miners, covered with tattered sheep
skins, filthy und barefooted, stared gloomily
at the companion who had come to thorn
warmly chid and weaving liuge seadog leath
er boots bought at Ncrtchtusk, whoro tho
exile hail been able, thunks to the money
with which he was furnished, to muko some
usnrul purchases.
One of them, going beforo, showed him
tho Iliad to take.
It was a ladder more than twelve hundred
feet long. Yegor began to descend, fol
lowed by the squad and tho corporal. Rome
smoky lamps, placed In cavities of tho wall,
servod only to show tho thickness of the
gloom. Ilal ti ng-places presented themselves
•t rare Intervals.
Yegor beard at. the bottom of the shaft
the metallic sound of the hummer blows
upon the rock.
Tho sharp noise, the thick darkness, and
the sad und ragged groups, which, when
suddenly lighted up, throw out huge shad
ows, together with the uir loaded with de
leterious dust, made a strange impression
U|>on tho young man, who, nevertheless, was
accustomed to tho mournful episodes of the
prison and exile.
Nearer, it was. If possible, still more
frightful; the majority of these men, with
great beards, long, shaggy locks, swarthy
complexions, scaly skins and sinister looks,
boro upon their foreheads und checks tho
infamous brand von. They wero assassins,
robbers, and forgers, and could be recognizee!
by tho squares of cloth sewed on tho backs
of their garments. A red square for the
murderers, a black square for the robbers
and a yellow square for the incendiaries.
Tho others, belonging to tho category of
political convicts, displayed wan visages
and lean bodies undermined by fevers and
gnawed by the dust of the ore, which sends
forth arenie if it is tin and verdigris If it is
copper.
They might t>c culled walking horses.
Some were green, with bald pates as white
us ebalk. Their half-blind eyas let their
lids droop as if for the sleep of death.
Thoy arose ami disappeared suddenly |
behind a luck, or i.’tinged like ghosts into
dark corridors: and one heard, from time
to time, the hits of u corporal's whip fall
ing upon bony sidi s und howls caused by
pain. I
Yegor hud been pushed to the extremity 1
of a corridor just opened. Alone in this
narrow hole, as in a stone vault, it seemed
to him that lie was buried alive. He was
sufT<x#tiug. A feeling of terror impossiblo
to describe shook his body with convulsive
shivers. I
Ho strove to make liso of his hammer,
but his arm fell baek inert und weak, us if
paralyzed.
The. ki vi« r under whoso elmrgo ho was
advanced slowly towards him.
“Must 1 out you in motion'’’ cried he,
raising his whip.
“If you touch mo,” screamed Yegor,
whose brain was in u whirl, “I will kill
you!” Then, ns if n prey to madness, ho
added: “If you wish, wait—you can mur
der mo with blows 1”
And ho gave the corporal a resounding
■lap on the cheek.
Yegor ex]>e.eted to be hurled to the ground,
to bo tom to pieces. i
But the convict-guard, strange to relate, i
stared at him fixedly without a word; then, 1
casting his whip far from him, as if to es- ;
capo, the temptation to use it ho answered i
the exile's insult with these words, uttered i
in a tone of great calmness: j
“I could crush you in my hands, if I wish- !
ed to do so, but this time I pardon you! I,
accept the chastisement in expiation of my l
son’s crimes 1” j
Fearing, douU'.css, tiiat he might say ]
more, the singular keeper abruptly dejiart. j
ed, leaving Yegor Scmeuoff to his unspeak- 1
able amazement. *
CTIAFTER II.—THE !>AWN OP HOPE.
# The little town of Nertehinsk hud, a short i
time before, been greatly excited by the 1
murder of an engineer called Major Dobson, |
the grantee of a piece of auriferous ground ;
Situated ten or twelve miles from the I
village. ;
This Englishman lived upon the land he i
operated. Thanks to modern improvements
in the mining industry, he had succeeded
in obtaining large quantities of gold in a
spot disdained and abandoned by his pre
decessors.
The Major attracted the assassins more,
perhaps, by the reputation of originality of
character accorded to him for one hundred
miles around, than by his wealth, although
that was immense.
Every morning he went to the place where
the steam-engine was working, wearing
enormous boots drawn over three pairs of
•took In kb. Ho examined the machinery at*
tonttvoly; at tbo loaat sign of runt, he pulled
off ono of his BtooklnKa and rubbed away
until ho hud restored tbo polish; his three
pairs of stockings woro used In this way,
and tho mochanlcs, In whoso faces bo hurled
thorn, wore obllgod to bring thorn book M
him undor penalty of dismissal.
tlontrary to the custom of the majority of
tho grantees, he Uvod in niggardly fashion
and had but ono sorvant—an old woman—
and it was assarted that, far from sending
to Baraoul tho ontlro amount of gold he
mlnod—for tho minos belong to tho govern
ment, and all tho gold of Siberia is smelted
at Barnoul on tho Obi -he did not foar to'
purloin large quantities of it which ho kept
concealed.
Ono morning, he and his sorvant were
found dond, therskulle of both split open
with hatohots.
Howover, the robbers did not succoed in *
discovering tho Major's supposed hiding
place. They woro able to steal only a small
amount of silver, Major Dobson botng in the
habit of sonding tho most valuable portion
of his profits to England. * *
Throo weeks lator, uuothor assassination
turned out much bettor for its authors,
and agitated the entire district of Nert*
ohlnsk.
A Itusslan from tho Crimea, named Khab
aroff, possessed as gran too a piece of lhnd
from which ho had boon uuablo to get even
tho smallost morsel of gold, though much of
the neighboring territory yielded superb re
turns. Thon, this man dovisod the means
of putting his hand upon somo of tho pre
cious motul, tho color of which tho govorn
mont would novor soo, thus depriving the
grantees, his prosperous rivals, of commis
sions to which the results of their operations
entitled them.
In his capacity of llfo proprietor, he hod
tho right to koop a liquor shop upon his
lands for tho accommodation of bis work
men, but, as ho did not omploy a single
toller, his spirits woro sold to his neighbors’
people at the reasonable price of a half
pound of gold dust a bottle. Two barrels of
brandy, worth ut most fifty dbllurs, brought
him In about one hundred and fifty thou
sand dollars. It goes without saying that
the purchases woro paid for so magnificent
ly with tho procious ore stolen by the gold
liuutors.
Khubnroff was daspollod of a portion of
bin ill-gotten wealth, after having been loft
for doad upon tho public square. But.
while he was being cured for, hla method
of enriching himself at tho exponso' of the1
State was discovered, and misfortune over
took him.
in consequence oi uioso outrages, mo local'
authorities zealou-.ly sot inquiries on foot.
Then, it was suddenly discovered that •
bund of gold-robbers,already famous through,
odious exploits, hud madothis double stroke,,
and that the son of the Ipruvsnlk, or Justice
of tho Peace, hod for a long time been asso
ciated with this band.
Everybody esteemed the Ipravsnftc. He
was a proud and honest Russian namod Yer
mac, a descendant, perhaps, of the Cossack
who, followed by his gallant companions,
conquered Siberia.
Yormac hod been at Nertehinsk for a few
years only, in dlsgraco—exiled, in fact It
was said thut he had fillod an important
post in the magistracy in Moscow, acquiring
tbore a reputation for austerity and incor
ruptibility, and pitilessly denouncing the
prevarications of his colleagues. The IsV
ter, uuitlug, had succeeded in undoing him.
Such a man could not remain indifferent
to the too wcll-foundod suspicions in regard
to his son. He resigned his office, and, as
ne was not permitted to return to Russia
and did not desire to mako further efforts to
create an independent and honorable situa
tion for himself, be solicited and obtained
tho position of superintendent among the
guards of tho Oukboul mine. Yermao was
tlie koopor whom Yegor Somonoff hod in
sulted and struck. No doubt, if bo had
boon acquainted with tho rectitude of ths
man of tho whip, Yegor would have repent
ed of his fury, for ho was capablo of appre
ciating in othors qualities ho himself pos
sessed in common with them.
Yegor Somonolf had boon exiled for politi
cal causes. Arrested at Kielf, where hs
attended the university, he did not know
what was his crimo. One evening tho police,
making a descent upon his residence, had
seized his letters, papers and books and led
him to prison.
Two weeks later, ho was hurried ovei
the rondo leading to Siberia. He had de* -
partod for “tho land from which no on<
returns.”
Ilcing a noble, tho law spared him the pain
of traveling on foot, a slight amelioration of
a punishment indicted in an entirely arbt
tr-ary manner.
By dint of rofloction and from a few ques
tions which ho remembered bod been asked
him, Yegor felt satisfied that ho owed thf
severities of tho pollco to tho friendshil
which existed between him and the agef
]>oct, Abel DavidofT, who had been exilod te
Siberia throe years before.
DavidofT had been accompanied in his
exile by his only duughtqj, Nadogc, whost
portrait, convict number 1367 wore upon hit
breast.
For him, alas I she was no longer of thU
world, and the little scnlimontal romance
begun between a student in his twentieth
year and a young girl of sixteen had had *
sad epilogue!
Their destinies, however, seemod to have .
this in common; that she and he, in all
probability, would end their days far from
Kioff.
Yegor, who, os soon as he had arrived al
Oukboul had studiod the country with the
intention of escaping, suddenly renounced
every enterprise of that kind on learning
that Davidoff and his daughter resided at
Irkoutsk.
Hence he strovo to accustom himself tc
the terrible life of a minor, in airing super- *
human cfTorts to succeed. Was it not possi
ble that he also might in time receive an
amelioration of his lot. Ho was innocent—
guilty only of sympathy for certain victims
of the Czar’s inexorable justice.
At Omsk, ofTcndod by the rough tone of
cno of tho officials charger! with fixing the
place of his sojourn, ho had answered him
haughtily, almost arrogantly. This man,
whoso pride was wounded, had taken a
cruel joy, at tho close of his consultation
with his colleagues, in announcing to him— -
calling him “Monsiour” this time—that ha
was destined to work in the verdigris
mines at Nertchinsk. Was it not possible
that this severe docision might be reconsid
ered 1 He felt that ho must arm himself
With courage!
His squad was working in an interior gal
lery already commenced in the vein. An
excavation was being made. Two miners
struck, turn by turn, upon the wedge which
a third miner held. In the darkness, the
flinty rocks emitted sparks beneath the re
peated blow* of the iron.
. JTO BE OONTQTOKD.I
Bread in a good date of preserva
tion has been unearthed in Pompeii re
cently in the hew ro)ins uncovered by
the explorers.
