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CHAPTER II. Continued.
Beginning ! with a glass of vodka ,
, J. which evidently sharpened his appe
tite , Radaloff enjoyed with apparent
zest the viands set before him , and
having lighted a cigar paid his bill I
and withdrew. .
The restaurant he had just quitted
was only an occasional resort , but a
visit there was necessary because
Radaloff had need to interview this
waiter. The fact is that Radaloff and
the waiter both served the same master .
tel' , and drew their income from the
same source , the secret service fund
P of the imperial police. There was one
customer of this restaurant regarding
, whom Jt was essential to ascertain
:
certain facts. It was this particular
individual to whom the obliging and I i
,
t observant waiter referred in his brief
conversation with Michael Radaloff.
" , Radaloff after leaving the restaurant -
rant hailed a second-class droslQ' A
" , drive of some twenty minutes sufficed -
, ficed to bring him to another point in
I' his allotted pllgrimage. This time the
drosly was driven up to the door , the
driver paid and dismissed , and Rada-
) loff entered with the confident step
- of a visitor on familiar ground. The
r place was a boolseller's shop. . tndi-
:
'I '
" eating a fine edition of Tennyson
( which was conspicuously displayed ,
.t. . . I Radaloff signified a desire to examine
it more closely. With a polite bow
the proprietor , taking the work ,
begged his customer to examine it at
his leisure , at the same time leading
the way to a private office in the rear
of the store. 'Ve will leave Monsieur
Radaloff to the perusal of England's
famous poet-laureate. ' It would be
. . useless to await his exit from the
I ; . ' ' : : ; > private office. As a matter of fact ,
\ ' . . . .
J i , ; k' . when he did leave the establishment
: " y it was by the door of a house round
, : . : , " the corner in another street , there being -
, . ' ing a secret means of communication
between the two. And when he did
, i : ; , appear no one would have recognized
, j" in the scholarly.looldng professor ,
with the package of books under his
. arm , the trusted and trained police
agent , Michael Radaloff.
.
CHAPTER . 111.
The Nihilist Propaganda.
Nihilism , at the time of which we
write was manifesting itself in many
f" . >
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r , . . . ways and was sufficiently aggreaslve
\ to cause his excellency , the minister
of police , no small degree of anxiety.
In all revolutionary movements there
are to be found two classes , the ex-
l/tt' , tremists and the moderates. The revolutionary -
olutionary party of Russia at this
t time was perhaps as striking an example -
ample of divided councils a3 could
have been found in history.
Among the large class of educated
and intelligent Russians who believed
that the time had come for the substitution -
stitution of a constitutional government -
ment instead of an autocratic and
. .
. . . .vV'v - - .WW"v - - --'II'v---- " . . .
despotic monarchy , the views of the
extremists found little favor. Most
of the ruling spirits of the party of
the people were too well informed not
to perceive that the assassination of
any one man-or of dozens of men ,
for that matter-never aCC011111JJshecI
the regeneration of a peoljl Those
who held this view were no common
conspirators. Many of them held positions -
sitions of power and Jn uenco.
The end they sought , they were
convinced , could best be obtained by
a propaganda of education-using the
word in its best and truest sense.
They were au courant with the devel-
opment of political economy in most
of the countries of the world , and
their friends kept them well supplied
with such publications as were essen- i
tlal to keep them in touch with the
advanced thinkers of the day. The
rigid censorship prevailing in Russia
at the time made it somewhat difficult
on occasions for the leaders of the
movement to obtain interdicted litera-
ture ; but in spite of all the vigilance
of the government many forbidden
books and pamphlets had found their
way into the hands for which they
were destinod. Especially was this
true of a recent number of a publica-
tion bearing the imprint of a Geneva
publishing house. It gave a thrilling
account of the recent death by starva-
tion of a number of political exiles in
Tobolsl in Western Siberia.
"Let the monster , " concluded this
article , "pay the penalty of his crimes.
His hands are bathed in the blood of
the innocent , and the avenger who
shall put an end to his bloody career
will be blessed by the Russian people
for all time to come. "
Within four days after its publica-
tion in Geneva the article had found
its way into St. Petersburg ; had been
reproduced and scattered broadcast
throughout the empire. It was on the
first discovery of this paper that
Gortshakoff bad summoned the minis-
ter of police. He bad in no uncertain
manner Indicated that the perpetrators -
tors of this latest outrage against the
peace and dignity of the czar must be
discovered. It was then that he uttered -
tered the words still ringing in the
ears of Constantine Karsicheff-"Do
something. " And it was in pursuance
of his determination to "do some-
thing" that Karsicheff hal sent Michael .
chael Radaloff on his mysterious mis-
sion.
r . r r r *
Madame Ie Baroness van Rhine-
\Jerg \ , widow of the banker Ferdinand
van Rhineberg , of the great banking
house of Van Rhineberg und Strauss ,
sat in her luxurious boudoir in her
princely residence in the most fash-
ionable quarter of the city. She was
a true type of the upper class Ger-
man , and although she had lived most
of her life in Russia and spoke the
language like a native , she had never
entirely lost "her , national eharacteris-
tics. Her pink and white complexion ,
light blue eyes and wealth of light
olden hair , gave her somewhat the
appearance of a great doll of the most
approved pattern. A letter she had
been reading had fallen from her
hand and she sat , with a rather seri-
ous look upon her face , gazing out of
"e window.
"Poor chIld. "
That was all ; and having murmured
the words , almost involuntarily , the
baroness relapsed into her reverie.
Alone in the world , for her marriage
had been childless , the baroness found
a certain degree of happiness in sharIng -
Ing other people's miseries. When
Ferdinand van Rhineberg departed
this life he left his disconsolate widow -
ow the possessor of a fortune which
made her one of the richest women ,
in her own right , in St. Petersburg.
There was but one family , however ,
to whom she was always at home and
in whose house she found congenial
companionship. Strangely enough ,
.
- . . . .
the house was that oC Constantine
Karslchol1' , minister of police. Not
that between the cold , haughty and
ambitious countess and the warm-
hearted and' affectionate German lady
there could bo much in common. 1'ho
intercourse between the baroness [ and
the Countess Knrsicheff was confined
to these social amenities and everyday -
day courtesies that pass ) current in so.
ciety , and are sometimes mistaken for
riendshlp.
Between the baroness ana Olgn ,
however , there was a deep uffectlon.
Had they been mother und child it
could not have been more profound
and sincere. In fact , Olga Karsicheff ,
loving and gentle as she was by nature .
ture , had never felt for her own mother -
er anything like the love she bestowed .
stowed on the baroness. Nor is this
to be wondered at. Katherlno Karsl-
cheff was neither of a loving nor a
lovable nature , and the gentle Olga
could recall the tears shed in child-
ish sorrow at many a repulse of the
girlish affection offered to her mother -
er only to bo refused. And so it hap-
pened that the baroness became the
repository ot Olga's childish attec-
tlons.
Always earnest and thoughtful ,
Olga now seemed to he under the in-
x -
ahyZ r , .
1 y
sa
r
d i ' - Eta
. ' ! T /S4 RESENT TOnE _ _ _ ' .
fiuence of a deeper feeling than usual.
With affectionate concern the baron-
ess could not fail to perceive that
Olga was daily becoming more and
more preoccupied with her own
thoughts , and that on more than ono
occasion her reveries were ended by
a sigh. She knew Olga's melancholy
to bo due to the odious position in
which she was placed. She was merely .
Iy used as a pawn in her mother's so.
cial gem , and compelled to marry a
man in the selection of whom she had
neither voice nor choice.
"Olga , " soliloquized the baroness as
she again glanced over the letter , "has
not seen Alexis for two years. She
doubtless feels that the rough and stir-
ring life of the camp may have
changed him since they parted-sinco
the time when she had been Informed
by her mother that she was destined
for the wife of Alexis and forbidden to
refer to the matter again in any way ,
other than to regard it as a fact , set.
tIed beyond controversy. Alexis " the
baroness recalled , "had been urged by
his father to propose as a matter of
form , and Alexis had proposed In a
perfunctory way , been accepted in a
halfhearted , listless style as something -
thing that could not be helped , and
then he went off to the wars to win
the glory that had gIlded his career
ever since "
The baroness sighed. Her mind
went back some two and twenty years
to another marriage de convenance-
to another drama of high life in Eu-
rope in which she herself had played
a part Then there came across the
vista of vanished years the memory of
a young student.
A knock at the door interrupted the
reverie.
.
" "
"Come !
Marie , the baroness' own maid , en-
tered and presented a salver upon
which was a card bearing the name :
"Prot. Nicholai Kasovitch ,
"University of St. Petersburg. "
I "Herr Professor waits In the library , "
,
said the maid , "rind begs the honor or
n personal interview with Madame the
Baroness. "
"Vcry woll. Say that I will como "
1'ho great banker Van Rhlnehorg
bad been all his life a devoted blbi1o-
maniac , and his reputation } aa n col- ,
lector of the rare and curious in
bo.l\s and prints was well known
Hence it was no uncommon thing for
the possessor of choice literary treasures -
tires to call to dispose oC works ) that
possessed sufficient value to bo deemed -
ed worthy a place in such illustrious
company.
When the baroness entered , n tall
man , bearing In his every appearance
the marks of the student and scholar ,
arose and bowing respectfully said :
"I have talon the liberty , Madame
Baroness , of calling to asl your grac-
ions inspection of this worl-luylng
a large ) book elegantly bound on the
tablo. UIt Is a present to mo Cram an
English friend-Professor Muller or
Oxford. My circumstances arc such
that I am obliged to part with it-for
-for-Car" and a suspicious huskiness
in his voice gave evidence that some
strong emotion was struggling for ox-
pression.
The baroness became interested at
once. "Pray , alt down , " she salt "
kindly , pointing to a chair.
There was silence for a moment.
UVou were about to say- " the bar
oness sympathetically suggested. Then
waited.
uI need the money this work will
bring to send to my brother who is : ,
-who is- " and the voice became low-
er-"a political exile in Siberia. "
"Poor fellow ! " The baroness slgh-
od. 'Vhat Is the value of the work ? "
She had not even asked its Il mO .
The story-rather the manner in\
which it had been told , for the story'
was an old one-she had heard It ac
score of times-had touched her.
"That is for Madame 10 Baroness :
to decide. "
"Oh , no ! " exclaimed the baroness. .
"I could not think of such a thing. .
Besides , " she added , "I am no jUdge'
of tine value of rare bools. "
"Wo professors have heard differ- .
enUy , madame , and it would be dim-
cult to make the literati of St. Peters-
burg believe it of the possessor of :
the finest library ill the city. " , I
uWhat is the book ? "
uA volume of the poems at Alfred '
Tennyson , and the rarest and most
valuable edition publlshed. It is too
great a treasure for an humble professor -
ser like myself to possess , howover'
much I may appreciate it. And , " he ,
added , after a slight pRuse. "its value
will enable mo to bo of service to my'
poor , poor brother. "
A sudden impulse moved the baron-
ess.UI will gladly give you the
amount you desire for the work-atul
-and you can keep the book if'
- " .
you-
youThe
The old professor rose to his feet. .
"Pardon , madame , " ho said , with a.
touch of sad dignity in his voice , "L
am poor , but I am not asldng- "
"Pray , don't mistake me , " inter-
rupted the baroness , "and believe me . . .
I had no desire to hurt your feelings
in the slightest degree. But since you
decline to place a price on the work ,
of the value of which I am totally ignorant -
norant , what am I to do in order to
serve you ? "
The professor paused a moment.
( To be continued. )
,
Woes of Authorship.
Mr. William Dean Howells' laughter -
tel' when a very little girl made a
childish literary venture in the form
of a book of verses. The lines were
copied out in a round , unformed
schoolgirl hand and the sheets sewn
together , a labor of weeks. The
volume was put on sale at a church
fair. The day after the fair the little
girl sought her father to toll her experience -
penance with heartbreaking sobs. She
had stood all day watching the book.
A few had glanced at it . but no one
had bought it. Mr. Howolls soothed
her. "My dear , " said the distinguished -
cd novelist compassionately , "yoU are
becoming acquainted too early with
the woes of authorship , "
