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( w DARKEST ' RUSSIA ' . 1
I fly II. ORATTi\.X DOSSELI.Y. _ , ; .t.J. . . . . . . - ' l
Copyright , 1SJa , by Street & Smith , Al1r rights reserved. "I
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CHAPTER IX.-Contlnued.
/ ' , i. . "Then lend me your greatcoat. 1
- : shall be less liable to be questioned
t ' h , : by any of the gendarmes when they
- . , : ' " recognize an officer's coat. Then
" " . . rest here , and 1 swear to you that
, ' , : ' 'in less than forty minutes I shell ] ]
. . ' . : . , return here with Olga "
\h : . Alexis thought a moment. Then ,
' \'j' . Malting up , his coat , he banded it to
. 'i ' , Ivan , who , quickly assuming the gar-
, .J . : ment , said : "Re'st here , and trust
. ' : , me. I will keep my word. Should
.J & ; - : allY one enter In my absence , say
' I ' ; . you are my friend and await me " .
I ; . , \ ' ' Then as he , vas going he suddenly
! ir- .stopped
. t- : - , Taking hIs overcoat he said : "You
1 .7 i . are tired from your journey and ex ,
I I' ' . hausted , no doubt , by your experl.I I
1 : 5 ' , " once to-night , Rest there , and throw
, '
. . . this over . . you . You will walt my reo
'i turn ? "
, : J , . . . .
"
"I will await your return.
L He glanced up the steps as Ivan
IT departed . , saw the door close and
, , . ( heard a key l turn In the outer lock ;
f ' . . . then rapidly departing footsteps till
they were lost III the distance , and
'then there was profound silence. .
Ivan had started on his mission ,
" : : and Alexis was alone.
CHAPTER X. -
. .
-
Caught In the Trap.
It was only after ho had sat a mln-
lute or two , amid silence so profound
that he could nave heard his heart
" beat , that Alexis Nazlmott began to
treason with himself. "What if this
were a trap ? "
The Idea no sooner occurred than
It was dismissed. No one had induced -
ed him to visit the place. His com-
l t. . lug had been entirely of his own volition -
tlon , and could not have been antlcl- !
-pated. Besides , there could be no
possible mistake about Ivan's amaze-
meut when ho Iiad revealed his name ,
_ and there was something In the man-
ner of the man , despite his excitement .
ment , that forbade the Idea of treacn-
-ery.
ery.Then
Then he thought of I1da.
She here-with her evident refine-
ment and highly wrought nature-
here , In this dark , gloomy , forbidding
place-In the cear-lI1 ] ] apartment of
a house in the lower quarter of . the
town What did It mean ? And she
was still here !
Alexis looked around , this time
with more eager interest.
There was apparently no doorr ex-
cept the one at the top of the steps.
. .
-
f .
"
.
,
= = = '
.
.
.5a t 7 ' WG FELL I Z fLGI ? '
It puzzled him. Had I1da gone in
the interim between the time when
his man had seen her enter and his
own arrival ! Then he remembered
that Ivan had not , after aU , admitted
that his sister was In the place.
L "We ] ] , " was his silent conclusion ,
"there Is nothing for it but to walt
ti 1f his return. I must bo patient. "
When a man gets Into a frame of
- . " " ' - - . . - - . . . - - . . . . . . . . .
-.V"----- . . . . . . - . . , - . -
I mind when 1:0 says ho must be patient -
tient , the most natural thing In the
world to evablo him to endure patience -
tience with a comparatively cheerful
equanimity Is n cigar. To his annoyance -
noyance ho found that his cigar case
was In his greatcoat pocket.
Suddenly his eyes rested on Iyan's
coat In Russia aU men are smokers ,
and Alexis felt the chances of find-
Ing a cigar were strongly In his , favor.
Ho lifted the cloak ] : , and as he did so
he uttered an exclamation of pleas-
ure.
ure.There
There was a cigar case sure
enough.
Alexis withdrew It from the pocket -
et , and as he sat down he tossed the
coat back on the table. As he did
so , from a small ] ] receptacle or pocket
for matches on the side of the cigar
case , something fell with a jingle to
the fioor.
Alexis picked It up.
A Red Rouble !
He light qd the cigar , and then ,
after a whl\ or two , he gazed curl-
pushy ; at the coin.
A Red Rouble-palnted-d'ed ?
Alexis turned It over In his hand.
"Singular thing , " he thought , "to
have a silver piece so stained. What
did It mean ? What could be the ob- I
ject ? "
He had been sitting there examin-
Ing the coin for perhaps a minute
when the silence was broken. He
could hardly tell how or by what. But
so slight as to be barely heard , but
unmistakably a sound.
Alexis rose to his feet. An undo-
fined feeling of danger of some sort ,
he knew not what , took possession
of him. He listened , with every
nerve strained to Its utmost. There
was silence again. He tried to shako
err ' the unpleasant impression of some
unseen danger and thought that his
Imagination had deceived him.
Hark ! There was the sound agaIn.
That was no rat. The sound came
from within the apparently solid
was. ] ] Noiselessly as he could he
went on tiptoe and placed hIs ear to
the wall ] ] , and then waited with bated
breath.
What was that ?
"Good God ! " he exclaimed , In a
whisper to himself , as a murmur of
voices reached his ear , "there are
people within this wall ! "
Even as he made the discovery a
sound came from the opposite side.
He was there In an Instant , his car
again pressed to the wall.
The same murmur reached him.
"By heaven , the place Is alive with
I people , " hQ exclaimed. "What does
It mean ? "
A grating sound , different from any
he had yet heard , reached him.
He felt that something , he knew
not what , was about to take place-
that the danger , If danger It was , was
at hand. The place , its appearance ,
the mysterious noises-aU boded
deadly perU of some l < ! nd.
He was in a den of criminals.
"Trapped ! " he thought , "caught , by
heaven , like n rat In a trap ! "
Alexis NazlmofT was a bravo man-
none braver. But the bravest man
may be unnerved b- the presence of
an unseen danger-of a danger that Is
felt , not confronted. He was accus-
tomed to think quickily ! , and to act
'impulslvely. Hastily thrusting the
cigar case Into the open front of his
coat , he quickly but softly moved to
where Ivan's coat was lying on the
table.
To take the coat and move to the
long bench that stood alongside t'c
wall was the work of a couple of seconds -
ends , and In as many more 1.e had
lain down , pulled Ivan's coat , over
him , and was apparently asleep !
But he had so arranged the cant
that while It covered hIs head he
could ei anythIng that transpired on
the opposite side of the room-the
side on which he had heard the sound
for the second tIme
. . . . . . . " . . . . . . . . - - - - . - . - - . . -
Softly and silently as n shadow
the solid wall seemed to move !
EYCrr panel was a revolving door
which turned noiselessly all Its axis ,
and from every door entered . as
I . every " " " ' "
, 0& 4'-1. ' - TS 1" "
I silent + ! v as n elector an occupant oC
th itrm fltcrlous recesses beyond. A
rush of air and the movement of softly -
ly treading feet convinced Alexis that
exactly the same movement was be-
lug executed simultaneously behind
his bacle
Such was the fact.
Then to time amazement of Alexis
he realized that the apartment of
. Whlc1 ho bad ! been the sale occupant
a moment before was now tenanted
.
by a score of people.
:
I He lay perfectly still-astonished ,
spellbound.
Suddenly the silence was broleen
"Al1 Is well , " said OramlnBky.
"Whoever It was , there could have
been no danger , since we did not hear
the slgna1. "
"Nor the signal to come out , " some
one said , In a growling voice ; 'It Is
the first time we broke the rules. "
"I have suspended the rules , " said
Oramlnsky , with grim Irony , "with-
out breaking thorn. " Just what ho
meant nobody seemed to underBtnnd.
Oraminsky , resuming his authorlta-
tlvo tone , put an end to the silence
by directing the people to resume
their work. "Now that Ivan has gone
we can run off the remaining copies
of his proclumatlon. Klrshkln , start
the press ! "
The man thus addressed went to
the , wall , and touched a concealed
spring , a section of time solid struc-
ture revolved .and a clumsy hand-
press of an old type was run on noiseless -
less rollers Into the room.
"Go ahead with that bomb , " directed -
ed Oramlnsky , addressing two of the
men. "You , Orloff , " tp another-"go
ahead with the wIres. You , Palet ,
see to the tunnel-quick , to work , all
of you. There Is no time to lose. Let
us work tonight ! Our task will be
complete , and then , one touch to the
wire , and Russia will be free from
the tyrant. "
Alexis never moved. He understood .
stood it all now.
The press began running , and as
the first impressIon of the work was
taken off Oramlnsl held up his _ . nd
-the signal for silence.
"Hero , brothers , listen to this , " h.
said , as he took up the paper , and ,
speaking in low tones , read as fol-
lows :
"Alexander the Tyrant Is Dead !
"Rise Russia !
"Death to the Oppressors !
"To Arms , Free Russians , to Arm !
"Long Live the People ! "
'We will have a thousand copies
of that posted throughout St. Peters-
burg , " said Oramlnsl , "and thon-
the Revolution ! That would stir the
sluggish blood of the moderates-
even of such a kindergarten revolu ,
tlonlst as Ivan Barosk ) . . "
"Read it to Ivan , " said Klrshldn.
-
"Ivan Is gone , " said two or three.
"Not so , " was the reply of the printer -
er , Klrshldn , as he caught sIght of
I . the recumbent figure. "There lies
Ivan fast ! asleep ! " and he pointed as
line spoke.
"Fool ! ' ' muttered Oramlnsky , flho
has no right to sleep at such a time
as this. Wake him 111 , Horsy ! "
Alexis drew a deep breath.
The moment had come.
It was a question now of me or
death.
Hers-a woman of. the people , dark
and snen-sprang ] ] to his 'slde.
"Wal up Ivan Barosky ! wake up !
Wo have just finished a letter of In-
vitation. "
"Tn the funeral of the czar , " said
It' : wiikin : , whereupon there was a
: .lIlgh.
"And printed In red , too-red will
be the fashionable color In St. Petersburg -
burg , " said another.
"Because the czar will wear It and
set the faphlon for all. "
"Como , come , " said Horsy , "wake
up ! " and as she spoke she grasped
the coat and pulled It from the re
cumbent form.
"Ah ! " with a scream of astonished
rage as she discovered the stranger ,
"
_ . . _ . _ - _ . . . . . . .
.
w :
Horsy pointed ono finger at Alcxls- : <
"n spy ! " : . I
Quickly springing to his feet Alexis , '
drew his sword. . . - . . . - . , 1 :
" . him ! " " " "
"Down with . "Kill hlml"
- " " ' < < ' ' ' ' - ' ' : : : ' ' "r - z- . .
"IIIs 110 I" wore soma oC tn cx ltnn - '
lions which fell 011 the oars ! ! 9f Alexis l ! , , .
ns pale and l'osolufo , with no evidence . : i
llonco of fear hi the stonily eye , ho : ;
gazed at the faces of the now bloodthirsty - : t
thirsty crew before him. .
.
"Wo ] ] , dogs of the gutter , " at
length ho said , as for n moment they .
stood at bay , hold back by his undaunted - . '
daunted front , "what seek you ? My ;
life ? Tnlce It when you cnn ! " .
And noW with knives drawn , with
such ' weapons as camp to hanl1-n .
hammer , chisels , nn ax-thoy began . )
to close In upon him with murder in '
their oyes.
But none , not even Oraminsky himself . . .
I
self , Celt like lending time assault , and 1
. . . I , ' ,
.
.
. t. .
"
,
, .
. 1.J 1J
.
L
I
, 'll '
.
being the first to feel the thrust 01
the naked blade which Alexis hold
with the grip of Iron and the master
ful ease of the perfect swordsman.
"But 0. scratch and we have him , " ;
said Oraminsky. "Rush on . him In 0
body ! "
But nobody rushed. Nobody was
itchIng for 0. scratch.
Klrshkln at the first moment had
left his press , and as Alexis drew his
sword he had crept up the room behind
I
hind the others and on all fours hud
gone under the stairs and around tc
the rear of the dauntless swordsman
who , with certain death staring him
i In the face , kept a bold front to his
I would.be murderers.
Oranminslcy had seen Klrshlcln's mo
tlon and had at once divined hits In
tentlon. lie made a threatening
movement forward with a bar of Iron
as n weapon. Alexis made a pass ar :
he came within reaching distance ,
but the weapon never reached Ora
mlnsle , for at that moment Klrshkln ,
with a suppressed yell of triumph
.
sprang upon the back of the young
soldier. There was an Instant rush ,
and a moment later , bound and help-
less , Alexis Nazlmoff was at the
mercy of Oramlnsley and his com-
panlons.
As Alexis was borne hack hy time
weight of numbers , and In spite or
his gallant struggle against such overt
powering 'odds , there fell from his
pocket a bundle of letters , and these
It was but an Instant's work for Ora'
minsky to grasp Ho fairly shouted ,
despite hIs habitual caution , as ho
reach : the superscription.
( To ho continued ) -I i
,
. I
Gould an Expert Telegrapher.
When a boy In his father's office
George J. Gould learned the telegra'
phor's art , and he has kept It up ever
since. A private wire connects Gee
glun court , his ! home In Lakewoolc ,
N. J. , with his office In Broadway
Now York , and as Mrs Gould also
understands telegraphy they are able
to chat whenever occasion demands
Very Shocking.
Rodrlcl-"Thls paper says that
some things at St. Louis are so large
they really ] ] appal time visitor. "
Van Albert "H'm ! they must mean
the motel ! bll1s. "
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