Dodge City times. [volume], February 09, 1882, Image 3

About Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892

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THE DODGE CITY, TIMES
Subscription, $2 per year, in advance.
NICHOLAS B. KLAINE. EDITOR
PAT1EXCE.
If jmir fos trm-nt an-I taunt you.
If tour ft-irs harass .in 1 haunt jou.
If thvrnrlii seemtlarfcantl ilrci!,
Wait tt w o un 1 ilinna wean.'
If the hope jou fondly cheri.h. 2 w
lla-hisl tu earth, s"em mire tt p'rish,
Walt w itli patienee for to-morruw
No man' life is w holly sorrow.
If yourpltnsil-m't work tnploisojou.
If the fates "houM t ex anl tae Jou,
If jou can 1k ltrteht an'l theory
" Wait a Heeau'ldlnna wear'."
If Gl k a j-im leisure, take It;
Ti Itisfnff, ftMe-sinjrmiiceit:
F.illn In Him no whit atatin,?.
Sent UN will l,y patient waiting.
Or, if wort, mste:il of IrL-ure.
l'ain. instead of longed for pleasure.
Ilowsue'eryouriot seem dreary,
" Wait a wis, and ilmna weary."
Mm. II". II. ltium. in -V. 1 . In Itpciul'ilt.
THE NIHILIST'S STORY.
For :i littlo after the Colonel had
ceased, no one .-poke, anil only the
crackling of the open fire, a- it laughed
ami crackled upon the w ide hearth with
in, and the moan of the night-wind
roaming the lonelt waste, without,
broke the silence, while we steadily
puffed at our pipes; then Thompson,
the host, arose ami began to brew a
fresh jug of lli, anil the West Virginian,
Pestram, turned to his companion and
spoke:
"Alex, it's t our turn, GivensaRus
sian story, full to the brim with horror.
A bear" hunt upon tour illimitable
tcppe, a wolf chase along the Volga,
a Co-sack Jiht in the south or a Tartar
raid upon the north; or better "till, tell
its of our ow n Nihilistic trials."
The man to whom Destram spoke
shit ereil, and his strong face, dark and
deeplv cut. twitched a little, while his
et e gleamed. He hesitated a moment,
tfii-ii carefully laid his pipe upon the
rough table, and half-turning, replied:
"Gentlemen, if ik is my turn I will
speak, and as my friend has suggested
the subject, although it is not a pleasant
one to me, I w ill tell ou a tale of my
home, Russia, and of myself, a Nihilist.
Jf it seem strange, then grant me tiiit
strange things and horrible ones may
happen even in Christian Europe, anil
in this nineteenth century. It is word
for word true."
We drew nearer the speaker, and list
ened intently. A Russian story told in
Colorado, for our cabin was far up
among the spurs of the Kockies, in the
w estern portion of the State, and that
story the history of a Nihilist, was new
and strange treat for American ears.
"Six "tears ago, I was liing in Darn
ow sky, fn the province of Rnblin, in the
southern part of the greatest of Eu
ropean empires, a oung nun happy as
circumstances would allow, and at the
time of w Inch I speak, doubly happv and
contented in my little, school; for 1 was
a teacher, since I had jitst made the
sweetest and prettiest girl in the -.Mage
my wife.
"'Marie Carloff was mine, won from
a score of suitors by lot e alone, for I
had littlo money, andl was content.
"Chief among the disconsolate ones
was the son of an ex-army officer, Louis
Lodiski by name, a hanilsome but un-
irinciplcd fellow, who for years had
leen infatuated with Marie. However,
when our coming wedding was an
nounced, Louis left the -tillage, and I
was spared his scowl and muttered
threats, and soon forgot him in the joy
of home-life.
" For three years I was at rest. Then
came the great cloud that to-day over
hangs my native land, and its dark
shadow fell across own my humble
threshold. I had been a St, Petersburg
student, and when the strange mono
mania of communism, silent and deadly,
crept through the Nation, it found in
me an easy prey, and I became a Nihil
ist, swore the terrible onths, and linked
niy-clf body and soul to their unknown
and horrible purposes. I shudder Dow
ns I remember.
" There w as a .circle formed in our
town, and tw o months after I had joined
it there appeared ono night amongst ns,
commissioned from the Grand Circle at
Moscow as our chief, Louis Lodisli.
"I bowed before him; bnt w hen I saw
the tierce light of balUed pasion and
eager revenge gleam in his hated cj es,
brightly as when last I met him, thee
the rejected suitor of my wife, I knew
and felt for the first time into w hat a
horrible pit I had falltn; for, frcaas I
was before the world, in secret I was
bound by my -tow 3, the serf and slave
of mv bitter enemy.
"liut of all this my wife knew noth
ing, except that her old lover was in
town.
" For a time there was littlo work for
our society, bnt it so happened that
toward the spring a new quartering of
soldiers was. made in our town, under
the charge of Colonel Jelikofl, a tried
and true officer of the Government, and
one who had several times incurred the
displeasure of the Nihilists. Hardly
liail the troops become settled when a
sealed dispatch was recoiled by Lodiski
from flie Grand Circle at .Moscow, con
taining the death-warrant of the
Colonel; and, in drawing lots for the
one to act as executioner, the same
detil'sluck which had first dragged me
into thisconpiracy,orsome treachery of
my chief, cast the dread duty upon me.
Hy the rules of our order, unquestion
ing olH'dience, at the price of one's own
lite, must be git en to all decrees by the
person so chosen, and I knew it; t et tho
word 'murderer' flaniuil before my
et es, and my heart stood still, as I held
the fatal lot in my hands.
"And even as" I gazed, dized and
dull, upon my comrades about me.
whose stern, white faces reflected the
horror of my own, the whisper of our
chief hisved warningly through the air
the single word:
"lieware!'
"With theory of a lost soul I fled
from the room.
"There remained three days of grace.
The ukase of the Grand Circle, with a
perfection of cruelty, granted tho slave
doomed to execute "their diabolical com
mands three da-, s' mercy. At the end
of that time the condemned must have
ceased to live, or the slate would be
come the t ictim instead.
" Of the first day, I hate no remem
brance. It did not consist of hours, but
of moments, each separate and distinct
of ideas only born to die. In a word.
for the first twenty-four hours I was
crazed. The second day found me cool
and helpless. I made my plans. Obey
must, lor mv wile ssake ami my own;
Jelikoff must die that we might live-
" For live hours I debated whero to
do the deed; then, still uncertain, walked
in tho t ergo of the town, and as I walk
ed some one joined me Lodiski.
' To-morrow?" said he. inquiringly.
" ' To-morrow!' Ircturned. It must
be to-morrow for one of us!' and I shud
dered. " Wo stood a space in silence; then
the man came closer, and placed his
hand iiton my shoulder.
'"Listen! It ishard.it is danger
ous. Capture means death. Here is
money, You must flee instantly tho
work is done.'
" Unwittingly I thrust the cold into
my bosom, and repeated after him:
"I must flee instantly! And my
wife?'
"I will care for her until yon re
turn.' " In a single breath my brain cleared,
the dread cloud that for two days liad
shadowed it passed, and I knew the
hand that had w orked my ruin. I was
to become an outlaw, in order that my
w ife might be the spoil of this monster.
"What power-" it was that held my
hinds I know not.- Tho rage in my
heart, the frenzy to seize the accursed
one at my side and tear hU throat out,
all but overpowered me, and itttasonly
by a superhuman effort of tho will that
I remained silent.
" ' The deed must be to-morrow.'
continued Lodiski, and the only place
w here j ou can find Jelikoff alone is in
the bell-tower. Thither he goes each
evening before the curfew rings, to
watch the change of guards upon the op
posite river bank. You can conceal your
self there, and strike him down. It will
bo hours before he is missed, and you
will hate time for flight.'
Ibowcdniybead. I dared not trust
my tongue. It might bo that I should
strike too soon. Deep within my heart
tho determination to kill wa3 well fixedl
but, unknown to my chief, tho victim
hail been changed.
"'I will ioin vou at the foot of i the
tower after curfew. Sec to it that it is
after the endf Lodiski concluded.
"My blood leaped.
" Itis welVfIreplieI;andhelcftmo.
"That night I tolil my wife all, and
her lot c stood the test. Ere morning
dawned, under the escort of a faithful
sen ant, she was at the ola Ueratsam
a landing ten miles away; and when
the early sun kis-cd tho reaches of level
land about our towuit found her upon
the deck of a rit er steamer, bqund for
Astrachan.
"All day long I gathered my little
store of goods, and late in the afternoon
sold them for gold to a friend a Nihil
ist like myself w ho secretly conveyed
them to his home. Then, as tho light
waned and it drew toward night, thor
oughly disguised, and armed with a
pair of pistols and my dagger, I skirted
the town, and came at last to the lonely
watch-tow cr where hung the great belt
that rang the curfew. Ere the ringer
had entered tho tower from his supper,
I was secreted'in the loft near the win
dow. " It was not my intent to kill Jelikoff.
If hu came, I could confess1 all, then de
scend and wreak my vengeance upon
Lodiski below, and flee the country; or
if he came not. the end would be the
same. Still ImmiihI by my oatn. and en
vironed by a thousand spies. I dared not
ilec until night. And lodiski must die!
"Alono in the grim tower I waited,
and the bats about mo sipieaked, and
the damp wind of the steppes swept
mournfully in and kissed my hut cheek.
The moments passed!
"Suddenly a nameless dread fell upon
mc. In-tiuctit ely I felt the presence of
some new and near danger, and a souse
of doom otcrcame uie, a,s if I listened to
tho wonls of the Judge w ho recited the
condemning proofs of my falsenc-s to
our order. If I did not kill JelikotT. and
failed to find Lodiski, I must die!
"Quivering with this new terror, I
glanced suspiciously about me into tho
deep shadow of tho corners, behind the
great beams, aloft among the bats' nests,
and at last beneath the mighty bell hang
ing silent at my side.
"And there, h ing prone upon a cross
beam directly under the great iron dome,
so close that tho first swing of the jon
derous metal w ould crush him, lay Lo
diski. his evil eyes fastened upon mc!
He had come as a spy, to know if I did
well my duty that he might denounce
me publicly as a murderer if I did it, or
condemn me privately to death if I did
it not.
"Etcu as I saw him, I heard the step
of tho Colonel on the stair, and his word
to the waiting bellman below.
'"Carl, I will detain tou but a mo
ment. When I descend you may ring.'
"Mv heart ceased to beat. Jelikofl
ascended. I stood at Ills back.
"One! two! three! four! fite! six!
seven!'
"It was the village clock. Jelikofl
turned to descend. I shrank into the
shadow behind liim. Lodiski s ej es
blazed with a baleful fire.
" Jelikoff went down the stair.
"Fool! slate! cow anl!' hissed my
chief, half-rising upon his hands anil
knees. ' You die!'
"There c-ime a creaking sound, the
great wooden wheel above tnrncd upon
its axis, the bats flew snarling about,
and 'then the mighty bell, swin"in"
slowly, gained in momentum, an3
sw ept in a long arc up wanl.
" Lodiski nttcrcd a single crv as the
tremendous mass jtoicd abotelilm, and f
wouiil nave uraggcil ftimsell out of its
reach, bnt with sudden fury I stretched
my arm like a bar of steel, caught his
hair, and forced him back upon the
beam and then tho great bell fell as
falls the knife of tho guillotine, crush
ing into a hideons mass the body of the
spy. while its heavy knell rang with a
gurgling shiver far out across the bar
ren land, and a little stream of blood,
warm and red, ran slowly down the
beam and dyed the lips ami tongue of
me iron luuusicr as lie swung.
"Tho curfew was sounding, and I
was saved!
"Three, hours later, in the silence ol
the night, I escaped tho tower and fled.
For twenty-fom- hours Lodiski's lleath
was undiscovered, and before the trath
was known I was with my wife upon
the Caspian Sea, far out of the reach of
the Nihilists.
" 1 have never seen Russia since."
Saturday Sight.
m m
'A const ruction train on an IlGnoU
Railroad ran over a woman who wa
walking on thotrack lately, and literally
toro her Into pieces, scarcely leaving 'a
piece as large as a donble fist. By
wnat license oi speech is a train like
that called a construction train? A de
struction train is the right name for if.
Detroit Fnt Press.
HUMOROUS.
'A criminal scldoraaits down, to take
fcrrcst-. ..,,. ,, 3 ., ,, ,H
If the good die y oung - Luw da vou.
account for bald-headed editors.-s-s.lW-tmArga.
"
Why tj the. discovery of the North
Pole like an illicit whikV nuinufactbry?
Recauso it Is a secret still.
A Tfcw Jersey man '"couldn't sec
any danger in smoking while weighing
powder." He can't see anything now.
Judge.
Thu facetious postag-stamp clerk
who told a man that asked fur two
twos that this was not an aesthetic
Postoflico is now looking for a' new sit
uation. Never be at your place of bnsinesj
when a person wants to borrow money
of you, becanso if jotiaro in you will
bo out. but if you are. out you will bo
in. Salon SunUam.
A Dctroiter, who has failed twice
and paid tit a cents on the dollar, bought
his tt if e a clt et carpet, a velvet dress
and a SSO bonnit on Chrtstnvis. We'd
like to see even Chicago- m itch that,
VUroii Free Pras. '
An Irish gentleman hiving pur
chased an alarm clock, an acquaintance
asked him what ho intended to do with
it, " Oeh." answered he, "sure, l'vo
nothing to o' but pull the string an'
wake meself." ' '
Grammarians arc puzzled over the
question tt hether "mumps" and "meas
cLs" are singular or plural. They often
look-singular; but that is no criterion
ou a question of this kind. Lvwcll Cit
izen. The poet sats "A kis without a
mustache, is like an egg without salt"
May be it is, may be it is: tt u can't say
positively, for tlte girls we've been used
to kissing for the last twenty-Iivo years
didn't wear mustaches. .Xorn-Uotcn
Herald.
Emerson at s: "This world belongs
to the uucrgi'ticl" It appears then that
the loafer who stands upon the corner
and sats tliat the world owes him a liv
injr is in some manner lnrboringamcn
tal delusion. -V. 0. Picayune.
A watchmaker is sitting In his shop,
surrounded by cloeks and watches, all
oing, and no two alike Ho perceives
it is getting kite in the afternoon, and
anxiety rushes upon him. Ha run out
of his shop and stops the first passer-by.
"Sir, what o'clock is it, please?"
Freneli Plensnntni.
Uot long since Gus I)e Smith, liting
under tho inllnenco of a dinnerparty,
called at the residence of Colonel Me
Spilkins on Austin avenue- "Ish Col
onel McSpillkinsh in? I want tershee
him on 'portant biznish." " Yes, sar,"
responded the dusky menial. "Shoo
hcesh in, is he? Well, ef heesh in,
never mind disturbin' him on my ac
count. I'll call again shorn day when
hcesh out." Texas Sifimgi.
Do you eoc the big portly man com
ing down the street! How high he
holils his head and how proudly ho
steps. He carries his hands in his nlster
pockets to keep them warm. Sec, ho Is
sitting down on thosidewalk now. Per
haps he sat dow n to tie his shoe string?
No he did not sit down to tie Ids shoo
string. What is he sayin;;? Ho U
breaking his New Year's resolution into
ten thoilsand pieces. Tie i quoting
Scripture for the benefit of the man who
didn't put ashes on tin; sidewalk.
Wall Street Broken Boycotting Their
Landlords.
For the first time in many years.
Hemlock Lake, N. Y.. Rochester's wa
ter source, is entirely frown over.
Xew York Stock Exchange brokers
are,exeitedon the subject of their office
rents', which they think ought to be re
dmieiL Something like boycotting if to
be tried on the " absentee.'' landlords.
With the new buildings nearly ready
for occupants and those projected, in
clnding. it is said, an enormous struct
ure ou Wall street, there will be before
long not only sufficient otKecj to supply
the demand," but many that will staatl
vacant. This being the situation, it, U
to the interest of stock-brokers to have
i a common understanding. ijr to this
effect: that whenever a broker surren
ders his office on account of the exorb
itant rental charged him no other
broker, as a matter of honor, shall
touch it. Uy means of snch an nndjr
Uanding, faithfully observed, a great re
duction all around troriJ be corapeliSi.
Chizago Tribun.