• * The Mystery of a Silent Love $rQwdm WILLIAM LE QUEUX (J AUTHOR of "Tttt CLOSED DOCK/’ FTC ILLUSTRATIONS /% CDItflODES COPYRIGHT OY THC SMART SC7 PaOUSMHG CO WWW CHAPTER XVII—Continued. —17— "In sheer desperation I went to the ministry of the interior end sought an interview with the baron, who, when I told him of the disaster, ap peared greatly concerned, and went at once to the online department to maxe inquiry. Next day, however, he came to me with the news that the charge against my mother had been proved by a statement of the woman Ship roff herself, and that she had already started on her long journey to Si beria—she had been exiled to one of •lhose dreaded Arctic settlements he- j yond Yakutsk, a place where It is al- j most eternal winter, and where the j conditions of life are such that half ! the convicts are insane. The baren. however, declared that, as my father's friend, it was his duty to act as guar- j dian to me, and that as my father had ' been English I ought to be put to an English school Therefore, with his | self-assumed title of uncle, he took ! me to Chichester. For years I re- j mained there, until one day he came i suddenly and fetched me away, tak I ing tse over to Helsingfors—for the J czar had new appointed him governor j general to Finland. There, for the : first time, he introduced me to his son j Michael, a pimply-faced lieutenant of ; cavalry, and said in a most decisive j manner that I must marry him. 1 ■ naturally refused to marry a man of whom I knew so little, whereupon, j finding me obdurate, he quickly a'.- j ♦ered bis tactics and became kind- I ness itself, saying that as I was young j he would allow me a year in which to ! make up my mind. 1 “A week later, while living in the ! palace at Helsingfors. I overheard a ! conversation between the governor- [ general and his son. which revealed to me a staggering truth that I had never suspected It was Oberg himself who 1 had denounced my mother to the i minister of the interior, and had ] made those cruel, baseless charges against her! Then 1 discerned the 1 reason. She being exiled, her fortune, as well as that of my father, came to 1 me. The reason they were scheming for Michael to marry me was in order to obtain control of my money, and then, after the necessary legal for- , mnlities. I should, on a trumped-up , charge of consniracv share the same fate as my mother had done.’’ "The infernal scoundrel!" f fjaou- ' lated, when I read her words while - from Jack, who had been looking over ; my shoulder, escaped a fierce and for cible vow of vengeance. "The baron took me witfc him to • Petersburg when he went op, official | business, and we remained there near ly a month,” the narrative went on. j "While there l received a secret mes-1 sage from ‘The Red Priest,’ the unseen and unknown power of nihilism, who i has for so many years baffled the po- ■ lice. 1 went to see him, and he re pealed to me how Oberg had con- '< trived to have my mother banished , upon a false charge. He warned me against the man who had pretended to ‘ be my father’s friend, and also told j me that he had known my father in timately, and that if 1 got into any I further difficulty I was to eommuni cate with him and he would assist . me. Oberg took me back to Helsing | fors a few months later, and in sum- ! mer we went to England. He was a j marvelously clever diplomatist. His • tactics he could change at will. When j I was at school he was rough and bru- : tal in his manner towards me, as he was to all; but now he seemed to be endeavoring to inspire niv confidence by treating me with kindly regard and pleasant affability. “In London, at Claridge’6. we met my old schoolfellow Muriel and her father—a friend of Oberg’s—and in response to their invitation went for n cruise on their yacht, the Iris, from Southampton. Our party was a very pleasant one, and included Woodroffe a'Hd Chater, while our cruise across the Hay of Biscay and along the Portu guese coast proved most delightful One night, while we were lying outside Libson. Woodroffe and Chater, togeth er with Olintn, went ashore, and when they returned in the early hours of the morning they awoke me by cross ing the deck above my head. Then I heard someone outside my cabin door working as though with a screw driver, unscrewing a screw from the woodwork. This aroused my interest, and next day 1 made a minute exam ination of the paneling, where, in one part, I found two small brass screws that had evidently been recently re moved. Therefore I succeeded in get- j ting hold of a screwdriver from the carpenter’s shop, and next night, when everyone was asleep, I crept out and unscrewed the panel. when»to my surprise I saw that the secret cavity behind was filled with beauti ful jewelry, diamond collars, tiaras, necklets, flue pearls, emeralds and turquoises, all thrown in indiscrim inately. “I replaced the panel and kept care ful watch. At Marseilles, where we called, more jewelry and a heavy bag ful of plate was brought aboard and secreted behind another panel. Then I knew that the men w'ere thieves. “Well, one hot summer’s night we were lying off Naples, and as it was a grand fe3ta ashore and there was to be a gala performance at the thea ter. Leithcourt took a box and the whole party were rowed ashore. The crew were also given shore-leave for the evening, but as the great heat had upset me I declined to accompany the theater party and remained on board with one sailor named Wilson to con stitute the watch. We had anchored about half a mile from land, and earlier in the evening the baron had gone ashore to send telegrams to Rus sia and had not returned. “About ten o’clock I w-ent below to try and sleep, but I had a slight at tack of fever, and was unable. There fore I redressed and sat with the light still out. gazing across the starlit bay Presently from my port-hole I saw a shoreboat approaching, and recognized in it the baron with a well-dressed stranger. They both came on board, and the boatman, having been paid, pulled back to the shore. Then the baron and his friend—a dark, middle aged, full-bearded man, evidently a person of refinement—went below to the saloon, and after a few momenta called to the man Wilson who was on watch, and gave him a glass of whisky and water, which he took up on deck to drink at his leisure rhp unusual character of my fel low-guests on board that craft was such that my suspicion was constantly on the alert, therefore curiosity tempt ed me to creep along and peep in at the crack of the door standing ajar. A closer view revealed the fact that the stranger was a high Russian official to whom I had once been introduced at the government palace at Holsiug fors. the Privy Councillor and Sena tor Paul Polovstoff. They were smok ing togther, and were discussing in Russian the means by which he, Polovstoff, had arranged to obtain Plans of some new British fortifica tions at Gibraltar. From what he said, it seemed that some Russian woman, married to an Englishman, a captain in the garrison, had been im pressed into the secret service against her w ill, but that she had, in order to save herself, promised to obtain the photographs and plans that were re quired. I heard the Englishman's name, and I resolved to take some steps to inform him in secret of the intentions of the Russian agent. “Presently the two men took fresh cigars, ascended on deck, and cast themselves in the long cane chairs amidships. Still all curiosity to hear further details on the ingenious piece of espionage against my own nation. I took off my shoes and crept up to a spot where I could crouch concealed and overhear their conversation, for the Italian night was calm and still. They talked mainly about affairs in Finland, and with some of Oberg’s expressions of opinion Polovstoff ven tured to differ. Suddenly, while the privy councillor lay back in liis chair pulling thoughtfully at his cigar, there was a bright, blood-red flash, a dull report, and a man's short, agonized cry Startled, 1 leaned around the corner of the deckhouse, when, to my abject horror, I saw unddr the electric rays the czar's privy councillor lying sideways in his chair with part of his face blown away. Then the hideous truth in an instant became apparent. The cigar which Oberg had pressed upon him down in the saloon had ex ploded. and the small missile con cealed inside the diabolical contriv ance had passed upwards into his brain. For a moment I stood utterly stupefied, yet as I looked I saw the baron, in a paroxysm of rage, shake his fist in the dead man's face and cry with a fearful imprecation: ‘You hound! You have plotted to replace me in the czar's favor. You intended to become governor-general of Fin land! You knew certain facts which you intended to put before his maj esty. knowing that the revelations would result in my disgrace and downfall. But, you infernal cur, you did not know that those who attempt to thwart Xavier Oberg either die by accident or ^o for life to Kajana or the mines!' And he spurned the body with his foot and laughed >o himself as he gloated over his das tardly crime. "1 watched his rage, unable to utter a single word. I saw him, after he had searched the dead man's pockets, raise the inert body with its awful featureless face and drag it to the bul- | warks. Then I rushed forward and faced him. “In an instant he sprang at me, and I screamed. But no aid came. The man Wilson was sleeping soundly !n | the bows, for the whisky he had given : him had been doctored,” went on the narrative. “Upon his face was a fierce, murderous look such as 1 had never seen before. ‘You!’ he screamed, his dark eyes starting from their sockets as he realized that I had been a witness of his cowardly Crime ‘You have spied upon me. girl!' be hissed, 'and you shall die also!' J sank upon my knees imploring him to spare me. but he only laughed at my entreaty. 'See!' he cried, 'as you saw how he enjoyed his cigar, you may as well see this!’ And with an effort he raised the dead body in his arms, poised it for a moment on the vessel's side, and then, with a hoarse laugh of triumph, heaved it into the sea. There was a splash, and then we were alone. 'And you!' he cried in a fierce voice—'you who have spied upon me—you will fol low! The water there will close your chatter mouth!' I shrieked, begged, and implored, but his trembling hands were upon my throat First he dragged me to my feet, then he threw me upon my knees, and at last, witn that grim brutality which characterizes him. he directed me to go and get a mop and bucket from the forecastle and remove the dark +ed stains from the chair and deck. This he actually forced me to do. gloating over my hor ! ror as l removed for him the traces I of his cowardly crime. Then, witli | liis hand upon my shoulder, he said: j 'Girl! Recollect that you keep to ; night’s work secret. If not. you shall When Everyone Was Asleep I Crept - Out and Unscrewed the Panel. die a depth more painful than that | dog has died—-one in which you shall I experience all the tortures of the ; damned. Recollect, not a single word —or death! Now, go to your cabin, j and never pry into my affairs again.' "A great sensation was caused when • the body was discovered. The squad j ron was lying oft Naples about a week 1 after the Iris had left, and while we : were there the body w as w ashed up \ near Sorrento. At first but little no- , tice was taken of it. but by the marks j on the dead man's linen it was discov i ered that he was Polovstoff, one of the highest Russian officials, who had. it was said, been warned on several oc- i casions by the nihilists. It was, there- ' fore, concluded that his death had j been due to nihilist vengeance. “The real reason why the baron | spared my life was because, if 1 died. '■ my fortune would pass to a distant j cousin living at Durham Yet his 1 manner towards me was now most ! polite and pleasant—a change that f ' felt boded no good. He intended to obtain my money by marrying me to his son Michael, whose evil reputa tion as a gambler was well known m i Petersburg. We traveled back to Fin- j land in the autumn, and in the winter he took me to stay with his sister in , Nice. Yet almost daily he referred | to that tragedy at Naples, and threal- ; ened me with death if ever i uttered ! a single word, or even admitted that 1 had ever seen the man who was his | rival and his victim." i “Last June," commenced another paragraph, "we were in Helsingfors, when one day the baron called me suddenly and told me to prepare for a journey. \Ve were to cross to Stock holm and thence to Hull, where the Iris was awaiting us, for Mr. Leith conrt and Muriel had invited us for a summer cruise to the Greek islands. We boarded the yacht much against my will, yet I was powerless, and dare not allege the facts that 1 had al ready established concerning our fel low-guests. Muriel and I, it seems, were taken merely in order to blind the shore-guards and customs officials as to the real nature of the vessel, which went safely out of the channel, was repainted and renamed the Lola, until her exterior presented quite a different appearance from the iris. “The port of Leghorn was our first place of call, and for some reason we ran purposely upon a sandbank and were towed off by Italian torpedo boats. Next evening you came on board and dined. Muriel and myself having strict orders not to show our selves. We, however, watched you, and I saw you pick up my photograph which ? had that day torn up. Then immediately after you had left Wood roffe. f'hater and Mackintosh went ashore and were away a couple of hours in the middle of the night. Just before they returned the baron rapped at the door of my cabin saying that he must go ashore, and telling me to dress and accompany him lie would never allow me the-luxury of a maid, fearing. I suppose, that she might learn too much. In obedience 1 rose and dressed, and when I went forth he told me to get my traveling cloak and dressing bag, adding that he was compelled to go north, as to continue the cruise would occupy too much time. He was due back at his official duties, he said. As soon as 1 had finished packing, the three men re turned to the vessel all of them look ing dark-faced and disappointed Woodroffe whispered some words to the baron, after which I went to Muriel's cabin and wished her good by, and we went ashore, taking the train first to Colle Salvetti. thence »o i Pisa, and afterwards to the beautiful I old city of Siena, which I had so , longed to see. One of my teeth gave j me pain, and the baron, after a couple I of days at the Hotel de Sienne, took j me to a queer-looking little old Italian —a dentist who. he said, enjoyed an excellent reputation. 1 was quirk to notice that the two men had met be- j fore, and as I sat in the chair and gas was given to me I saw them exchange meaning glances, in a few moments I became insensible, but when I awoke an hour later I was astounded to feel a curious soreness in my ears. My tongue, too. seemed paralyzed, and in a few moments the awful truth dawned upon me. 1 had been rendered j deaf and dumb! i ue uarun preienuea ro ue greauy concerned about roe." it went on, “but I quickly realized that 1 kau been the victim of a foul and dastardly plot, and that he had conceived it. fearing lest I might speak the truth concern ing the Privy Councillor Polovstoff, for of exposure he lived in constant fear. To encompass my end would be against his own interests, as he would lose my fortune, so he had si lenced me lest I should reveal the ter rible truth concerning both him and his associates. He was not rich, and I have reason to believe that from time to time he gave information as to persons who possessed valuable jewels, and thus shared in the plunder obtained by those on the yacht. "From Italy we traveled on to Ber lin. thence to Petersburg, and back to dreary Helsingfors, journeying as quickly as we could, yet never allow ing me opportunity of being with strangers, ftolh my ears and tongue were very painful, but I said nothing. He was surely a fiend in a black coat, ; and my only thought now was how to escape him. From the moment when that so-called dentist had ruined ray hearing and deprived me of power of speech, he kept me aloof from everv one. The fear that 1 should reveal everything had apparently grown *o haunt him. and lie had conceived that lerrible mode of silencing my lips. But the true depth of his villainy was not yet apparent until I was back in Finland. "On the night of our arrival he called in his son, who had traveled with us from Petersburg, and in writing again demanded that 1 should marry him. I wrote my reply—a firm refusal. He struck the table angrily with his first and wrote saying that I should either marry his son or die. Then next day, while walking alone out beyond the town of Helsingfors, as I often used to do, I was arrested upon the false charge or an attempt upon the life of Madame VakuroY and transported, without trial, to the terrible fortress of Kajana. some of j the horrors of which you have your- I self experienced. The eliarge against j me was necessary before I could he incarcerated there, hut once within, it was tile scheme of the governor-ger, eral lo obtain my consent to the mar riage by threats and by the constant terrors of the place. He even went so far as to obtain a ministerial order for my banishment to Saghalieri and brought ft to me to Kajana. declaring that if in one month 1 did not consent he should allow me to be sent to exile While I was in Kajana he knew that his secret was safe, therefore by every means in his power he urged me to consent to the odious union. “Ail the rest is known to you—how Providence directed you to me as my deliverer, and how WoodroFfe followed yon in sectet. and pretending to be mv friend, took me with him to Peters burg. He had learned of my fortune from the baron, and intended to marry me himself. But now that all is ovei it appears to me like some terrible dream 1 never believed that so much iniquity existed in tlie world, or that men could fight a defenseless woman with such double-dealing and cruel in genuity. Ah! the tortures I endured in Kajana are beyond human coneep tion. Yet surely Oberg and Wood roiTe will obtain their well-merited de serts—if not in this world, then in the world to comp. Are we not taught by Holy Writ to forgive our enemies? Therefore, let us forgive." •**»*•• There my silent love's strange story ended. A bald, straightforward narra tive that held us all for some moments absolutely speechless—one of the strangest and most startling stories ever revealed. She watched every expression oi my countenance, and then, which I had finished reading and placed my arm tenderly about her slim waist, she raised her beautiful face to mine to re ceive the passionate kiss I imprinted upon those soft, full Ups. "This, of course, makes everything plain,” exclaimed Jack. “Polovstof! was a very liberal minded and upright official who was greatly in the favot of the czar, and a serious rival tn Oberg. whose drastic and merciless methods in Finland were not exactly approved by the emperor. The baron was well aware of this, and by in geniously enticing him on board the Iris he succeeded by handing that small bomb concealed in a cigar—a nihilist contrivance that had probably been seized by his police in Finland— in freeing himself from the rival whe was destined to occupy his post." "Yes." I said with a sigh. “The mystery is cleared up, it is true, yet my poor Elma is still the victim ' And i kissed my iove passionately again and again upon the lips. THE END WAR IN THE CARPATHIANS Passes Which the Russians Are En deavoring to Force Are of Im mense Importance. The Carpathian chain, from south ol Krakow to the Roumanian border runs a distance of 300 miles. Months ago, before the Russian recoil from Bukowina. there was contact along nearly the entire line Today the armies are in clash on a line of abuut 120 miles In the north is Dukla pass by forcing which the Russians would clear the way to Barfa or Bartfeld and the railway line leading through the important city of Kassa to Buda pest. Thirty miles southeast of Dukla lies Lupkow pass, through which runs the railway from Przemysl by way of Mezo-Lamorc. toward the Hungarian capital. Fifty miles southeast of Lop kow is Uzsok. the strategic center ol the Carpathians, through which comes the railway from Lemberg. Thirty-five miles to the southeast lies Beskid pass through which the Russians at one time had penetrated as tar as Volocz in Hungary. Midway between Uzsok and Beskid. on the Galician slope ol the Carpathians, the German forces sent to brace up the Hapsburg troops have been standing on guard in the vicinity of Koziowa, where terrific combats took place when yet there was hope of relieving Przemysl. From Koziowa the Germans will not attempt to bar the Russian advance through the Uzsok gap. Should the Russians force their way through—and Petro grad lias been claiming successes in that region—a march of less than twenty miles will bring them out on tile Hungarian plain, while further to the north and south the Carpathian barrier widens out and presents ditil cult country for a rapid advance. Along the fifty miles from Lupkow to Uzsok the decisive clash will take place. Why We Christen Boats. The modern custom of christening vessels is without doubt an adaptation of an ancient custom, just as so many of our other customs and habits have been adapted from ancient ones. The ancients used t