Show e 7 14 y re I 1 ka how much water Is there in the SYNOPSIS rn frederick derick hardy a fashionable boston society man inan lost his fits wI tl li was waa jilted by a girl and sent by a friend to take charap of 0 an american trading company tore in russia on oil his fits journey through store japan apan he r rt t neville pup ai they agreed to BO a tt t t E to cummia because of auspicious cr stu tu instances they y were wera s several ral times molested by the japanese hardy was wai arrested and found upon ills his person were papers showing allowing maps of jap forts hard hardy was waa proven on a train h ha met alseme satin san daughter of a tap jai merc merchant ln in nf neville y tos s shoes shoe jap found pictures hanf a of f forts arts proving till him to be a vitur kisslan spy spi hardy departed for ilus flus la ia on oil a steamer steamer which was wrecked shortly afterward ne he was r rescued hy li a russian ste amr on reaching vladivostok v 0 lie ie was will treated ile he started for siberia ria meeting Roman ovna on the train hardy boarded a vessel tor for amur I 1 hardy ed the princess its ills expertness as a rifle shot CHAPTER XI xa up the amur the blackened ruins of akgun and ili ian grisly story of men and women slain in that swoop of the cossacks that awful artful picture of fire slaughter and rapine and the thousands trampled by horses cut down by the sword or driven to death in the turbid amur illustrated in hardys mind one phase of the advance of russian civilization another and more pleasing phase was symbolized by the large white gymnasium of 0 the first building of that progressive modern city that could be seen from froin the decks of the alexsay the imperial mall steamer on which they embarked about dark was a much smaller boat than the Ale alexsay xmay nod and of lighter draft there were only six first class cabins all forward and the poor princess was as obliged to squeeze into three of these the gener a nl taking the other three hardy man aged aced to obtain an all upper berth beith in a second class cabin aft but was soon driven out of 1119 as tho the Rus russian be neath him smoked some filthy brand of 0 cigarettes all night lighting them every five minutes with old fashioned sulphur matches the he acrid fumes of which mingled with the smoke arose in stifling clouds to its his nostrils and fille ilithe entire cabin the tha russians much to hardys Tar dys surprise kept tile the door and window tightly closed and though liou iti lie he nrose arose several times cimei to open one or tile the other its his fellow gers gera immediate shut it again lie he arose at lost last and went out on deck taking ills hla blankets with him the air was balmy and he soon fell asleep lulled by the breathing of he engine and the whisp whispering PrIng of the waters but ho he was waa not allowed to enjoy his lepose long for about raid mid night the passengers and the baggage were changed over to another steamer hat drew n trifle less water and was unfortunately for ohp comfort of the passengers p all a 11 ll save nave the princess and the general or sui smaller aller holding ca paday this new steamer brought down the disquieting rumor that the amur mw and the Sl ilika which latter formed the waterway higher up tle ere rapidly failing ciare I 1 re to tn they hev took on a detach ka or of krjat cavalry in fit faded dirty and dusty uniforms returning from rom some murderous and unrecorded raid into Alan manchuria churia they seemed halt chinese and halt N north orth american indian and they swarmed on every available portion of the deck the ship was off again at dawn feeling its way cautiously to avoid the shallow places there were six first class cabins on this boat also hardy learned which were given over as a matter of course to the princess and the general As she continued her course for several days it was necessary tor for hardy and to preempt pre empt places on the deck for lying down for the time comes at last when a man must sleep and not being provided like a horse with four legs one on each corner he finds it necessary to measure his length on something it was necessary now to test the depths ot of the water constantly two men one on either side of the prow sounding by means of stakes attached to ropes swaying rhythmically as they cast their wooden spears chanting the depths Che tyre po lovena ayat four four and a half alve As often as a down coming steamer passed the little captain made a trumpet of ili ills hands and shouted across to its commander how much water vater la is there in the the disquieting rumor that the water was rapidly falling was gaining confirmation by each report once tho the men with the poles pola cried tres po lovena three and a halt half band and the steamer scraped on thu the bottom at Pok a dreary cossack village near tile the junction of tho the amur and the rivers livers they found a smaller mall boat awaiting them that drew but three feet of water they changed over again with a multi lingual hulla balno and a grand scramble for places all save the general and th the princess who moved leisurely into the first class cabins like the superior beings befogs they were w re the next nett day they stuck fast on a sandbank sand hand bank and a boats crew carried the anchor far up tile the river and dropped it attached to a stout hawser then by means of the windless they delf deliberately berkely warped the steamer loose fees at dark of the same day they grounded for good in av 2 feet of water a few yards below EL a great tramp steamer firmly Im bedded athwart the channel there was no hope of go ing either up or down for many dri azri to come the peasants took tho the matter philosophically they would ahlm ply illy live where here they were rent free buying their bread and milk of the cossacks when god saw fit to send water they would go on CHAPTER XII to the rescue nut but what would the general do the military governor of for as everybody knew he must be at his 1 post on a certain date and tho the whito white czar would not bo be apt to take th the a w will I 1 I 1 of god into account within two days the generals intentions were made manifest for hla his orderly i arrived with several long dugouts dug outs each having a mast at the prow plow A rope fastened at the stern was waa passed through a pulley at the top of the mast and the other end attached to a shaggy horse the generals baggage wits was piled into one of these dugouts and he seated himself comfortably in ili the midst A with a puddle paddle occupied the stern another mounted the horse hoise and they rode off the tha animal scrambling over tho the stones by the shore or splashing through the shallow water while the man dian with the paddle kept the boht boat clear of the bank this la Is thu the ancient mode ode of ascending russian rivers the method of boshat and lotka and two military stations sta tiona oi or about 30 miles can thus be male made in a day under favorable circumstances stances by getting under WRY way at ai four in the morning to Tl hardys ardys consternation the princess and her maid followed in a second dugout bilut there were two more waiting on the bank banic their owners hoping that others of the passengers would wish visit to avail arall themselves of their use come on cried hardy to dors ders lets leta follow them it will bo be a lark A lark that A lark why f fun in sport but sighed and shook hla his head thinking of the fair viennese ali ah no tit he said 1 I do not care if it be an all eagle I 1 cannot leave chulla I 1 loaf her to too 0 heavy hardy lost no time fly signs lie he conveyed to one of the sailors that he wished his luggage carried ashore and piled into the dugout soon scott lie he too was seated in the bottom reclining grit gracefully fully against his Impedimenta his horse scrambling along tn in the wake of the princess lotka they made but one military station the first day a a large square building where a samovar Is kept always ready for travelers and the sledges that carry the malls over tho the ice in winter to hardys delight the old general and the princess were extremely courteous to him and made him understand by signs that he was welcome the generals orderly foraged and produced some black bread some milk and a quantity of delicious fresh caviar of the kind the russians Kus do not export the princess presided charmingly at the samovar after which she disappeared for the night hardy spread his blankets on oil the floor and was wag soon boon fast asleep but he be seemed no sooner to have closed hla his eyes thou than lie he was wag awakened again by the voice of the general shouting nt at him in russian it was only three oc loik but the place was waa all a bustle with preparations for departure fre the mists had risen from the river they were again under way dim as ghosts hardy reclined against his luggage and slept deliciously until the sun arose when he was awakened by the stinging of a cloud of gnats sitting upright he noticed that the lotka of the princess was deserted by its fair passenger casting ills his eyes about lie observed maid and mistress strolling along the government rood road that follows the course of the and that serves Rs as a channel for the stream of cossacks Cossu ks that pours into manchuria Alan churia the bank was high tit nt this point and the women were above him plainly visible in the bright sun still the ro man ovna twirling her japanese parasol on hr shoulder walked rapidly and with a joyous freedom of motion that testified to her love me of the open air 1 I wonder if she rhe plays golf mused hordy hardy anil and at that very moment lie perceived that lie he too was cramped sitting there in the boit boat H got out accordingly and struck vigorously across a wide stretch of sand deposited during high water lie he was eon 1 ir 15 minutes climbing lim bing the steep bank and when lie he at lost last reached the road the princess was as nowhere to bo be seen indeed the road at this point turned sharply way iway from the river and disappeared around tile the foot of a hill tardy hardy knew however that it roust must wind back to the river and he therefore followed the wide vide dusty trail confidently although it seemed to plunge into the heart of the wilder ness once or twice he asked him self why lie was walking so BO rapidly and each time made answer to keep up with my lotka of course I 1 he to was too thorough a gentleman to admit to himself that lie ho was pursuing the princess lie would not have done don such a thing on deacon beacon street why should he do it on a government road in sl si beria berlad at any rate an ll indiscreet discreet thing to do as she would be sure to crush him for ills his bior nut but he certainly lart had just as good a right to get out and as she As he was soliloquizing thus and had about comp come to 0 o the conclusion that ile he was in a fair way at last of making an ass of himself he thought ho heard a shrill scream cream in the distance listen ing w with ith ills his heart in his mouth he was sure for the first cry was fol lowed by others wild despairing I 1 shrieks as aa of a woman in the lie most ex excruciating fear coming 0 1 t 1 i coming shouted hardy dc I 1 g a and n f feeling e e 1 g in hla his pocket for the generals american pistol which thant thank led god was there their lie ran its aa he never ra ran n before rounding hounding a little turn in the road lind and a clump of trees he came suddenly on a sight that thrilled him with rage and sickened him with fear not for himself but for the princess there she was struggling in the arms of a big chinese one ot of that thai half savage tribe tilbe that inhabits the wild regions ot of manchuria the beast hail had lifted her in his arms and was running toward the woods with her while another carried the tha maid two other mongolians Mongo Mongol lians lans with long war bows in their hands completed tho the strange picture hardy shouted again and the four chinese wheeled about and regarded him with startled malignancy that turned on the instant to amusement those four great brutes behold beheld one rather small dark man of dapper appearance pe arance despite his weeks river travel a n slender dark man ina in a blue serge suit and negligee shirt who mechanically chani cally adjusted hla hig gold pince nez as he advanced now at it a slower gait the two chinese with war bows lifted fitted long arrows to tho the strings and with ith a sudden lift of the left foot and a widening of the arms they let drive one arrow whizzed by hardys tar dys head and the other pierced his clothing making a nasty scratch on ills his left side then tile tho pistol cracked twi twice and the two chinese fell with bullets through their bodies tile the other two promptly dropped tile the fainting women and started to run hardy aimed deliberately tit at the one who had seized the princess and fired it was a long shot but the bullet took effect as a scream of pain testified neither the princess nor the maid evinced any signs of reviving but lay there huddled on the ground as though dead hardy ran to the edge of the bluff and there as rood good fortune would have it was the generals lotka and tho the general himself strolling along leisurely on oa the sand the american shouted so BO loudly and flung his bis arms anna about so BO wildly that the orderly the two and even the governor himself were soon scram tiling up the steep bank toward him the ns had revived by the time they all reached her and sat in the tall grass putt putting ingup up her abundant woman about about with awakening eyes she was as pale as a ghost and held out her hands appealingly hardy aid the general helped her to her feet and it was the american who supported her until her trembling limbs regained their strength the general surveyed the dead chinese and then standing squarely in front of hardy removed hla his cap and wade made a low bow at the next station they found a small government bout boat the awaiting them that drew only one foot of water it had been sent down by the authorities to pick up the gen eral and courtland Court laud hardy ex cotillion leader was taken on board and ono one of 0 the four cabins was given to him although one otlie greatest heiresses in all russia was thereby compelled to occupy a room loom with her maid CHAPTER XIII womans comans gratitude the princess was nas sitting on one of the benches of the upper deck attired in the costume costuma of little russia with tile japanese parasol turned toward tile the sun over her hardy had ard rattler avoided her since tho the dent ol of the brigands brigande bri gands as aa lie ho felt that any attempt at friendship on his pait would ile be taking advantage of the service he had been able to render her a service which lie he assured him self he would v have performed just as eagerly for the humblest peasant coniah woman on the boat the in fact had been nearly prostrated since that dreadful happening remaining in her cabin until now under the care of her maid monsieur she ahe said to hardy who was wag promenading the little deck lie he throw away his cigar removed his hat and bowed very low ile he noticed that she ahe was still palo pale and that her eyes looked unnaturally large lariez 1 auz ri ancala monsieur she asked sweetly with a perfect parisian ac cent un peu pea madame ma danie he replied but unfortunately very badly ali ah but you do speak it she cried with animation you speak it well or at least well weil enough to enable me to express to you my lay undying gratitude I 1 owe you my life monsieur pray sit it do down n here beside me I 1 owe you my escape from a horrible borri lile a hideous fate hardy sat bat beside her on the bench beach you yon owe me nothing madame badamo lie he said there was no great danger for ine really the the obligation lq Is all on my side there la Is not a or bourrat on the boat who would |