Show k co SYNOPSIS frederick hardy blardy it fashionable donton boston Ro clety man lout lost hla his wealth wax was jilted jt d by a glit g rl anil and flit by a friend 0 to o tak take e charce of an american trading company a toro tore in n russia on lila ills journey v through rough J japan pan he met stapleton neville up lp y an englishman they nerved agreed to go co tog together ot her to He lecause cause of 0 sus BUS lit cloua tiny they were liveral Biver 1 time I ea molested by the japanese Jap aniBe hardy wax arrested and found upon hla his were papery papers allowing maim of 0 jap fo tort r hardy was waa proven on a train lie met anet alsoto sano daughter of it jap merchant in Ne nellen Nell Nillo ln shoes jap round found pictures ie turell of toils 1 5 proving him to be a y Ilir apy 1 hardy 1 r sy d departed burled for rusia kula on a trainer steamer was wai wrecked s dortly after afterward w ard lie was hy A busill kushlan an st deain eamar r on oil cindi vindi lie ha was wan well treated lie blurted t arted for siberia meeting princess Itoman ovna ton on the he train hardy boarded it vessel for amur hardy stio bowed ed tho ilia princ esol hla him livert ness as a rifle shut glint tho the anier woj stranded thu thit princess and hr her maid were attacked by chinese hardy saved avert their lives the princess thanked hardy 11 L ady for or him heroism manchurians Manchur Manchu lans rians d upon the craft hardy slow slew thir chief burning arrows arrowo were hurled upon the decks decka an attempt was wan made imade to board the ve it wt the attacking chinese were reputed itoman llo manon orr sneered erfil at It hardy ardys solicitude for the princess fi 6 tanka a messenger me inter sent for or hc help ip wax wag an ailed to a cross on tho thorp her to put nn an tend nd to tile the awful torture flardy 1 ardy put gut stanka stank a out of ills miner taking inking his own life in hla his hands banua lorfel lorf fl lina lim menaced tho the vessel hard volunteered to so tor for beltes help VIr permission mission he jumped jumil d ever overboard rd and started darted to wlm swim with the princess distress inessa gm llo ile manon was wag angry at blardy for or his lil bravo brav efforts to rescue the princess lie he wooed her DT in hla his own savage way he mild aid irardy had mails made love open openly y to a jap lanese girl help came and the princess va vas rescued hardy journeyed Journ ered on a rate raft arriving at his on ho he took charge of th the ti trading compa coin panya nys busi bul ilard hardy roe received ived a letter from n goston BO atal at leader ladr yin in bo boton bud and from Al alcorne morne vardy hardy took leat lebon ions lit in laii tit of a jw jew thus himself in a war ir that race hardy received a letter from the prin econ ng it him in for hi hla bravery il ardys teacher wan waa in danger of death tie ha employed wang a na i a servant ervant hardy went to moscow where aher lit li was invited to call upon tho ilia princess 11 lie for the palace bome tioren of pran n c boies blardy uni annc e roun roundtable oun table jealousy aloisy of ills hov by announcing that tie he was kolni to call on the h princess ena lie he engage d FL cal cabman timan who iroku him to a larro large I 1 0 aae on a poorly lighted tret street after entering the house houe hardy ahry discovered that it was wa a resort report of who supposed he yam wai To elix ilu aim conie come to tell them of a powerful puw erful ex lift lie had discovered the real hulln arrived and denounced hartly hardy as aa an lm imo tile nihilisms nihilists lists determined to kill hill T lardy is ay in IJ order to protect thern thema solves elvea I an 0 unloaded revolver in ill ahli over treat pocket he pointed it att M hulls bomb tio which lay on the table aritt and owr dwore to blaw blow them all up together it r they tinta heil him holding ilia lie nihilisms nihilists lists at tony bay if hardy il rdv started barted to leave tile the room alien the die police oil worn were heard at tile he outer door I 1 I 1 u ap n threw lit hla bomb killing nev IV e cal 1 poll policemen men th the ned and na be rurh the jew suddenly denly appeared and led lattay to the cellar haruch baruch conducted harder through an underground pass pitis raKe e to another house from which lie hilr r emerged and returned to ills hotel hardy hard the princess contributed to the tha tuna fund tor for the relief of 0 tho the victims of the tha lift lie kave moro more than Ronlan oly had tile the latter entering th ahn ro room in openly insulted him Ilo mAnolT struck jl hardy ardy who him to a duel the noman no u man accepted preparations for tile duel were made the enss naked asked hardy to spare paro life hardy purposely miss romanoff but was waa himself wounded hardy was waa placid in the hospital lie he nent ills ilia fervant to th the s duel scene for or a cuff button 0 of 1 it manof rs which alch he sho t off on rather than violate tile princess wish chis lie sent to her war between sla and japan wan waa declared prince ito ilo rn manolt enort ava w murdered hardy will wf ac aled buird Il hardy ardys former servant bercant Ber vant wang calif ib d upon the princess wang repealed us an alnore the Ja japanese girl ton oil rosed to tile the princess that hat she aha had killed romanoff Rm anoff because became lie plotted to stay slay flarty It arty the princess promised help CHAPTER continued it la is sad ead continued his Jesty very sad gad but be assured that although the case la Is a somewhat dim cult one full justice shall ahall bo be done the american minister lias has already in quiren about the matter and has de mandeik that tho the fullest full tat investigation be made these americans americana are very I 1 am informed how lever ever by the minister of foreign affairs arb that there will ile bo little difficulty in establishing this li ardys guilt as aa lie he Is a dangerous diameter character and has a bad record the princess turned pale as slie she repeated A dangerous character A bad record will you send for this ills record sire elre that I 1 may hear it in your ma ina bestys presence for I 1 come not to speak against this hardy who la Is accused of murdering my cousin but to blead for hla his release to pray that justice may be donel done you to plead for him yes sire tor for he did not kill my cousin will your majesty grant tile mo the ithe favor that I 1 may hear this record read in your maje presence for I 1 know this mr air hardy and I 1 know knuch that Is good of him and nothing feado the czar rung rang it 11 bell and commanded a servant to solid a conal collel cle secretary to him five min lutes later nn an old man entered a stoop old man with a clean aha ven face whose eyes denoted infinite throw hla his manner infinita servility said lila ills majesty can you bring to us ua lately the record of the american li hardy artly von concern cern ing whom the minister of 0 foreign affairs was speaking ahing to us ua tho the other lay flay yes sire replied it a copy ana wai ordered from tho the chief of oc police 0 of and la Is now cow in lits ills excel lenyi possession ring rine it said the czar immediately 14 I 1 pine disappeared ahll he Is gone you may toll tell us diat you know of this american liar dy d why you think lie he did not as 4 ate your our cousin 1 1 1 1 I know that he be im IK a gentleman of in ills his own country aln h hia bas come coma tiara hare to engage tn otti merce and retrieve ills hla fortunes my cousin first met him in japan this part of the story I 1 have from rom doris boris own lips boris being hard bard pressed by the police put his telltale papers in mr hardys overcoat pocket and tried to throw the tha guilt on him the plan did not succeed and doris suffered buffered many hardships for which he unjustly blamed mr hardy I 1 first met him on the amur river where I 1 wall waa captured by chinese brigands brigande bri gands ile he came to the rescue and saved me from a terrible fate this still further enraged my cousin who loved me find and was jealous ot of any one who served me in any way lie ho was very brave was and would have saved me himself but he was waa not there which ilitch certainly was not mr hardys ardys Il fault on the amur we were air again iu attacked by brigands brigande bri gands and mr hardy as well as aa my cousin fought like a brave man in my house bouse in moscow my cousin who was of a violent nature insulted the american by offering him money and when mr hardy indignantly refused and knocked his checkbook check book out ot of hla his hand struck him in the face A duel was fought at which mr hardy at my request spared my cousins iafe though he was himself severely wounded ile he has wonderful skill with the pistol and he be shot a cuff button from my cousins sleeve which he sent me as aa proof that he had complied compiled with my request my cousin was boastful of having wounded mr hardy and I 1 gave him the curt cuff but ton and told him its story ile he became transported with rage and wore swore that he would not rest till he be bad rid the earth of this man ile he conceived it hla his duty to avenge the outraged honor of the Hon Ilon lano ianoff it family as he expressed it ile he thought he be must ki kill 11 this man for other reasons here the princess halted and blushed go on said the czar kindly and much interested this Is a most re story la in it this mr hardy appears as a herol sire in mr fr hardys hardy s employ was a young korean boy whose devotion to his bla master surpassed anything I 1 have ever before heard of it was more like that of a woman for the man she loves when a woman really loves this boy I 1 am ashamed to tell it sire but now your majesty will understand why I 1 have wished to confide la in you alone this boy heard my cousin plotting to kill mr air hardy your majesty will understand that my cousin was no longer a sane man that rage and and jealousy perhaps had rendered him tor for the moment irresponsible the boy fearing for his masters safety and believing that a nobleman had the power to do anything he wished stole into my cousins compartment at night and killed him wonderful wonderful wonder full said the czar in a a musing tone and are you sure of all this absolutely I 1 give you my word as a romanoff princess that it Is true and the boy do you know where he ha la is ile he can be ba given up to jus tice 11 the boy replied the princess solemnly no longer exists overwhelmed wh elined with horror at what he had done and feeling sure that the police would find and punish him he be has made away with himself ile he told me that it was his intention to do away with ith himself and he has baa disappeared pea pe ared redl at this moment papine entered with hardys record at the czars azars command ho he read it rapidly and in a mat ter offart ot fact singsong sing song gong tone it con bained nearly every net act of hardys hardy a life except what had actually hap pea bened cd within ethl the tha tour four walls of lit hla sleeping chamber since lie he had set foot on russian soil ile he was accused of sympathizing with the japanese of having affiliated with jews of having insulted the authorities at vladivostok by requesting that thu imperial government use its influence to get him a clean towel in the hotel there with having worn an overcoat similar to the one found in the nihilists nihilisms lists den on the of the explosion ot of the frenchman a famous pill furthermore he hall had fought a duel with the prince romanoff lit in which he be hall bad been wounded this fact furnished the motive mothe for his alleged crime which coupled with his sus BUS record left little room in the Ilus sian official mind for doubt of hla his guilt most of these points had already been covered by the story told by the princess As for the overcoat avei coat she remarked it lio lie continued to wear it ho he could not have left it and your majesty would soon discover it if your in ajesta would stop for or some borne time incognito ln U vladivostok that the power of the imperial government Is by no means belittled when then it Is asked to use its influence in the procuring of a clean towel the emperor arose and pressed his liand hand to ills his brow us as though he were suffering with headache little rather father said noman Roman ovna this man saved my life my lionor honor there aro are features in the case which if it Is tried do not reflect credit on my dead cousins name grant my prayers let mr hardy bo freed and ra tit t rise daughter said the czar kindly tho the report given out that the police have secret proof of his innocence but are on the th track ot of the real culprit and she sank fank again on tier her knees etise daughter said the czar kindly we have already decided on this course its a relief to know that he is innocent the american ambassador la Is so troublesome papine see that this Is done tell the proper authorities ties that it la is our will CHAPTER gry gray ghosts ghost that part of siberia which lies east ot of the great inland sea lake baikal and west of the mighty amur which here turns abruptly and bends northward Is known as trans the Stano vol range of 0 mountains continuing to the south divides it nearly in halves forming a watershed that feeds the lake on one side bide find and the amur and its tributaries tributa ries on the other I 1 tho the trans siberian railway the great artery through gli which the blood of russia flowed uninterruptedly from alexandrov to vladivostok and port arthuri arthur pierces these mountains at an advantageous point and passing through breaks into manchuria on a river in trans trana that runs for many miles parallel with this mighty ant trall trail a sledge was flying eastward drawn by three horses all abreast the river was frozen to the very ry heart and snows drifting ve 0 over it had swept and polished its surface till it was smooth as glass wrapped in furs and his head shrouded in a thick cap the driver sat on the forward sent beat partly protected by the high curving dash and managed the tha lines on it a low seat behind him were a man and a woman also wrapped deep in robes of fur while a third woman sat silent in the bottom of the tha sledge somewhere behind them the rails had spread and the road had bad given out and tho trains were halted while repairs worn were made there frederick courtland hardy on his way to had overtaken the princess hastening to tile tho front undergoing nil all hardships entirely forgetful of self that she might employ tier her strength th her fortune and her high courage and example in the relief of her wounded and suffering ng countrymen she greeted hardy with frank friendliness explained her mission and told him that he hall had arrived lust just in time to help her carry out a plan of hers we can tala taka sledges down the river she said to where I 1 have no EO doubt we shall be able to catch an outgoing train I 1 should have st started arted before but was waa deterred by the fact thit that that tn in fact I 1 was waa afraid now with my gallant defender of the amur I 1 shall have no hesitation in golue going will you como come with us with my maid and mft inn yes he replied gruy gravely ely 1 I will go I 1 am overwhelmed by my cd fortune it was too great an honor to be hoped for that I 1 should ever be of service to your highness again the mere presence of this woman transformed him from the merchant into the courtier and polished gentleman you forget she said while the ghost of one of her merry smiles light ed up her beautiful features that such things are to be said la in french the maid hardy scarcely noticed she came out at the last moment her lead head covered with a fur hood that al most entirely obscured tier her face and took her place in the bottom of the sledge there were long desolate stretches of snow wath here and there a house the roof covered with snow nestling among the |