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"II'- ' '
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" " . DARKEST RUSSIA
j , uy n. RATTAN I ONNI r.I.X.
. . . , Copyright , 1896 . by Street tie Smith , All rights re2ervcd.
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W-Vr . . .r- . -V.---V.--
CHAPTER XVII.-Contlnued.
"Verr well , " said the courier , "re'
i spect his wIshes until ho 11\vclkes. 1 ,
will see him myself before 1 go. Alexis = I
A ? Pctroffslr , " he added , as he entered
t the name In his heel "It will 110 my
duty to lay his noble conduct before
( the authorities with n view or getting
t him a par on. " lie paused n monwnt
f and then sharply : asked't1y : was
he bagged when 1 arrived ? "
"lIo hall been vilifying our imperial
m:18tor the czar , " BIlIII Katherlno.
"And cursing our holy church , "
; mIlled Nicholas.
A shade of disappointment ) ) passed
i ' over the face of the courier. "I am
sorry to hear It , " he said.
'fhen ho was silent and thoughtful
for a moment.
"See that 1 have fresh horses ready
ur daybreak , " at length ho said , "l1nd
, that my rest Is undlsLurued. "
" " Kath-
said -
"You go hence to--
l erlne waiting for the courier to complete . '
plete the sentence.
"I go hence to Stralensle. " replied
the courier , "where I am to dellfOl'
a pardon to n young girl who has
proved herself a heroine , having been
, u' ' the only nurse who waS available daring -
Ing a terrible outbreak of feyer. lIeI'
pardon has been granted at the request '
. quest of the governor of the prey
i J Ince , who petitioned for It on the
: ground that the young girl's unselfish
devotion and unfailing exertion was
undoubtedly the means of saving
scores of lives More than that , she
" appealed to the convicts and prevent- ,
cd a dangerous uprising when the
guards were stricken down. All Ruts'
sla is ringing with the story of her
good l1eeds. "
"Ah , " said Katherine , "and may I
; , nsI the name of this heroine. Doubtless .
. ,
less she is celebrated , but we hear so
I . , . little of the world's news in this out-
, . ' ' . . "
, o.the.wa IJlace
"Certalnlr , " answered the courier ,
"hm' name is Ihla BaroslQ' ! "
"Ilda Baroslcy ! "
The name was uttered together hy
Constantine Karlscheff and his wife
and son. It was spol\On with such a
bitterness of surprise-such n tone of
Incredulous wonder-that the courier
could not help giving expression to his
curiosity.
"Do you know her ? " he asl\Cl1.
"Know her , " replied Katherine , " 1
do know her. A vile Nihilist , a daughter .
tel' of the gutter of St. Petl'I'sh\1l'g-an
{ assassin , a repUle-I 110 know her ,
r
I ,
e
I : ; .
.
\ l
I
1
; I
/JON -
n 'YES - rTSYOCR f l/SB - . . 7-27
.
. , , i IS-HE' IY7IO.5 TO SOFfER/ : "
this then Is-you are General Karsi- I
chef ? " !
I
It had been the first time the name I
was spoken in the presence of the .
and I shall protest against her pardon ,
even to the czar. I have some claims
yet on his majesty. Ho cannot afford
to forget what has been done for the
m Russian crown by the ancestors ot
Katherine Karslcheff
x ) "Kathorlno KauiAAcftl An ou-
1
. . . , ---illf"'YU---V. , . . . . .
courier , mill he repeated It with
scarcely : less surprise In his tones
than the three persons before him
hall the name of 1IIIa BaroslQ' a utuo-
nwnt hoforl'
\Vhat caused his surprise !
I
That was what the Karrdcheffs
wanted to Imow.
Their anxiety was interrupted ur
the marked change In the comlCl"A
munl1l'r. It had been polite before
.
when he 81101\0. Now there was in IlL ,
voice unpleasant ring whticlt boded
no good.
"So ! "
The courier paused a moment ,
thoughtfully , and then , as If he hall
mad. up his mind , ho produced a
large official on\'elol1C. Hanc1lng this
to Km'slchcfr , ho saW : "You will for-
ward these papers immediately tomorrow
row morning bl a trusted messenger
on whom you can rely to the Ispl'a
nllt at ChiUm. You must lose no onto
a1l11130 relays of horses where neces-
nary. Sign a receipt for the pardons ! "
"Pardons ? "
"YeA. This envelope contains pardons .
dons for two Ilollttcnls , Alexis Nazi-
mof Ilnd Ivan BarosIQ' Strange , " ho
paused I\S the sin Rarity of thu name
struck him. "Can he he any relation
to the girl for whom I have the pardon
at Stralonsle-no matter ! 'rhese papers .
pcrs , " he continued , addl'esslng Karst-
cheff , "have been forwarded hy special
relay ; from the frontier , and are to ho
delivered at the earliest moment. You
will be held responsible for any do-
lays. Yon will sign the receipt. "
Katherine and Nicholas exchanged
glonces.
Karslchefr signed the papor-tho receipt -
celpt for the pal'dons.
"Call mo at daybreak , " said the
courier ; "and now where Is my apartment .
ment ? "
Katherine , Constantine and Niche
las , with one simultaneous step
moved toward a door adjoining that
In which Cobb and his wife and her
companion had l'ntOl'ed.
'fhe courier I1nUsod thoughtfnlly.
"On second thought , " ho salll , "I 1
will not retire just 'et. The storm
has- ceased , and the moon is about to
rise. I will take a turn or two and
smoke a cigar hefore-all , the brave
AmerIcan ! "
It was the appearance of Cobb at
the .1001' lend lug from his room hal 1
caused the oonrl ( > r's exclamation. ( io- ;
ing forward with outstretched hand ,
the c01ll'Ier greeted him warmly and
expressed l a 1101lQ that ho had ( suf-
fNpd no lasting III effects from his
terrible t ) c'xperieuce with the wolvl's.
Cobb 1 warmly returned the greeting \
and begged to know the name of the
man 10 whom , aR he salll , "I owe my
life , the life of any wife , and that of
-of her companion , " and at the same
time he presented a card bearing his
own name.
Having Informed him of his name
and rank , the courier said , after
glancing at the card , "It is evident ,
general , that Wl' are two old soldiers ,
though not now In active sorvlce. 1
was just going to smoke a cigar , hut
It woulll he doubly pleasant if I had
compan ' - ' ( ) l1l' company , I mean ! "
"Nothing will give mo greater
IJleasure. 1\Iy wife , the tHlronC5s , and
her companion are sound asleep , and
I was anxious to see you and express
my gratitude for your noble conduct ! "
"Como along then , " said the courier ,
"we will wall up and down for an
hour. That will CJuiet our nerves and
thls"-hancllng Cobb a clgar-"wlll
do the rest. "
So Haying , the courier and Cobb left
the room.
The moment the door closed , Katherine .
erIne , Nicholas and Karslcheff remained -
mained silent , and then , as if by a
common Impulse , they came close together -
getber a:3 : If for mutual protection.
' 1'hry fe1t-th& know thAt they
wen on ht verve ot M1 dbYSI5. What
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'did Cobu's presence mean ? What
would ho I\nd the courier say to each
other ?
And thou the nstol1tllHng discovery
that t t hf' ' hind monde !
A 11I\I'Ilon for llda llnrOHlc3' !
PIlI'donR for Alexis and IVl\n.
"GI\'e mo the paper , " at length salll
Katherine to her hU8ua11l1.
Ho handoll her the document given
hint t by the eO\1I'hll'
"TIH'RO papers , " said Katherine ,
ill never reach their Unatlon- ! : !
01' If they do it will ho when IJIlrl10nn
will \ hn inure necessary for them"-
and she pointed to tIle stocltnde-"in
another world than this "
"What do you menu , " anltC'd I\arsl.
cheff breathlessly , IIn his wife placed
the f'1\'C'lnpf' ! 111 her hosom.
1'11111. Alexis Nnzlnofr and IVal1
nurosltY shall never leave this place
alive "
"Yol1 would not daro-
"Anything , " exclaimed Kathorlno ,
"rather than that they should live to
triumph over me-rather death than
that Alexis Na7.11I1off should rejoin
llda Bl\roslty , and Ivan claim my
daughter as his wlfo "
"llda BalOSlt ! She too will ho
free ! " said Nlcholns.
Katherine lowered her volco. "I [
the cOUl'ler-Cl1rses on hlm-shol1ld
reach Stralensk with her )1ardon. ) "
"And ho will if he leaves here , " said
rslcheff.
"lIe must not leave hero ut all. "
'rho three looked ilL cllch other.
There was no sign of quailing on the
part of mother 01' son. Karslcheff
was paler than usual , and was visibly
agl ta t.ed.
The voices were lowered until they
were scarcely audible , and for fifteen
minutes there was no sound save the
murmur of their sUl1presscd COJ1\'O'Ra' !
tton ns : they completed the details of
their 1)lot.
For they had conceived It plan-a
plan born of the evil genius of Katherine .
erlne Karslchen'
'rhoy had finished their talk when
the door opened at the head of the
stairway , and with pale and agonized
face Olga appeared , and gliding down
silently as a shadow , suddenly appeared '
)1eared ) before thom. With her hands
outstretched and with tears streaming
from her eyes she appealed to hem. 1
"Oh , my mother-father-Nlcholas ,
what are you about to do ? Your faces
terrify mol ! You are going to commit
some great crlme-oh , I-not-not ! !
mm'del' ? FOl' GOII'H sake , slop before !
yam bathe your lauds In 1I100d. Do
not-Ilo not bring eternal sorrow on
I1fI 1111. Oh , mr mollu'I'-llenr mol h.
"
( ' 1 ' - -
This far they hall been RO startled
by Olga's miexpected appearance ) that
none of 111111 hind Inlel'l'nptoll her.
limit now l\athf'I'lw , utterly lost to
nil mat ornal feeling , . sprang on the
unhappy girl , and glaring at her whit
Ilovlllsh malignity , hlsfell ! Into her
cars : "Yos-n'R-yonr hllsllnntl-lt iR
ho who Is to Ruffl'r. Back to your
1'00m and wear ! out your soul In an-
gnlHh , for he is to die ! "
Nicholas tool his sister hy the nt'llI.
She gave one appelllln look , rind
thou as they began ) to force her back
to her room she uUl'rel1 a piercing )
Hlll'lole thnl. was heard even hy time
prisoners In the Im11lel'ls. Qlllcllr
Nicholas ! ! Clll her ill hits : : ! UI'IIIH amid
bore her from the room.
AR ho did so Iather11le foil hack !
"Say that it was my cry , " she said
to her hushand
The door opened and Cobb and thc
courier quickly ] nlel'ol1.
"What was that ? "
"Lool there , " replied Karslchefr ,
pointing to the prostrate form of Kath
el'lno. "Sho was overcome by the excitement .
cltrl11ent of the night and became ht's =
t e rica 1. "
Katherine apparently began 10 rev
vivo and opened her eyes. "Where
am 11" 1 she asked In the voice of one
just recovering consclousnesR
Cobb turned 'hIs head away and
smiled. The query recalled a joke
he had heard some years before.
Karslcheft raised Katherine to I sitting -
ting position , and then gave a suggestive .
"estlvo look to Cobb and the courier ,
RlabU ) ' couitruln ; It u 3. reJIl3qllt
to withdraw they , went . bACk to the
,
-
-
open nh' to finish their clRl\rs.
The courier and Cobb hud scarcely
wlUlllrnwn from the room when the
Ihumlan turned to his companion and
stitch : "Do you believe that the cry
wo lIl'al'dVIlS uttered by that w6m <
u u'/ "
"No ! I'll bo - If j I do , " was the
emphatic reply of Cobh.
l'etorOl'O their conversation ! had
been of n general charaeter.
They had discussed their military
services , heir ( travels , the dangers of
the woh' s , and other mattors. But
the pointed Inquiry brought lhom on
a common ground regarding the Knrsi-
cl1t'ffR
" 'Vitt' , " uHlwll mho courier , "do you ;
not believe that story ? "
"Onn r trust you fully and freely "
asked Cohh.
'l'ho c0111'I01' extended his hand. The
' ' i
, 'p : -
f y 4
Y
ct (
-
.
,
" 'CtIIV / Ta/.5T YlXrCLLY t
" AiYL f. . L.Yf , ? . C1VB
action was enougb. A thousand oaths
could not have made the premise
moro hlndlng. Cobb In a tow words
told the courier all that ho know or
the Karslclll'ffs. Ho told of the lIvelier
or hla ( and Alexis and ot Olga and
Ivan , or the raid on the Nihilist rendezvous .
Ilezvous , the arrests and thin circum
stances unl1er which they took place ,
I ending with the scene where Karaf
: cheff sentenced time rlsonors.
'ho courier listened with intense in.
tel'cst. When ho heard that Ivan and
Alexis-tho very men for whom ho
had given time pardons to their hitter-
est onemr-wero the heroes of Cohh'u
story his amazement know no bounc1s
Ills sympathies for the unhappy Oh11
were keenly aroused Suddenly ho
had Il revelnllon.
"A 11I1 that cry was ? " he pauser. } .
'rho cry of Olga ! "
1\Iy God ! the poor , poor girl , " said
the cOIll'lor.
Cobb Raid nothing. Ho kept thlnlt.
lug. Olga and the baroness under one
1'00f. The baroness would never leave
until she had made un effort to rescue
the uuhappy girl.
Suddenly the courier turned to
elhu. "You have trusted me freely , "
lie ! RIIII1 , "autl In return I will trust
'ou. "
'rhen to CoJh'A ! profound amazement
he told him of the pardons granted to
lIdn , Alexis and Ivan. Ildll , he explained .
plalncll , was at Stralonsl , where ho
was going iutder orders to deliver hnr -
pardon In IJerson. And Ivan and
Alexis were at Chlt1m , to which point
the pardons were to ho forwarded hy
Karslcheff.
( To ho continued. )
Tunnel for English Charmel.
Since a French engineer named Ga
mend planned IL submarine tunnel , In
1857 , various projects have been advanced .
vancod for connecting England wifh
the continent. The latest is the suggestion .
gestlon of nunau.Varllla , who wants
to build a tunnel to within three kilometers -
meters of England , and thence a
bridge , which England ( which has not
favored a tunnel ) could destroy at any
time In case of danger of a foreign Inv
vaslon , thus rendering the tunnel user
less.
The ' true worth ot II man Is to be
. llloa"ured by the object he pursueli-
I t-t..rcul Aurs1lu
