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Show went to the Slaviansky Bazar to handkerchief, removed his coat and get a slender, dark man with eye- hung it upon a nail. He then took his at Bielinskis glasses, he explained, who should seat, by invitation, give m the password for the night right. The Princess Romanovna. This man Brethren," said the latter, rising, caine out, hailed mo and gave me the of the Society of the Enemies of lie spoke very distinctly, password. I bring him here, and then, Russia! ten minutes later, along comes this but not loud. The most absolute siother slender, dark foreigner with lence prevailed. First we must deeyeglasses, who, it seems, is able to cide what to do with this man who find his own way about! That is the has introduced himself into our midst, truth. ' Brother Bielinski, I call the and has learned the secrets of the Virgli) to witness" and the pious order. Though I do not personally beX Frederick Hardy, a fashionable Boston society man. lost his wealth, was jilted by a girl and sent by a friend to take charge of an American Trading Company store in Russia. On his journey through Neville, supJapan he met Stapleton posedly an Kiiglisliman. They agieedsus-to go togetiier to Russia. Because of picious circumstances they were several times molested by the Japanese. Hardy was arrested and found upon Ins person were papers showing maps of Jap forts. Hardy w'as proven guiltless. On a atrain he met Aisome Sano, daughter of Jap merchant. In Nevilles shoes Jap founda pictures of forts, proving him to be Russian spy. Hardy departed for Russia on a steamer, which was wrecked afterward. He was rescued by shortly a Russian steamer. On reaching Vladivostok lie was w'eli treated. He started for Siberia, Princess Romanovna on the train.meeting Hardy boarded a vessel for Amur. Hardy showed the princess his expertness as a rifle shot. The steamer was stranded. The princess and her maid were attacked by Chinese. Hardy saved their lives The princess thanked Hardy for his heroism. Manchurians fired upon the craft. Hardy slew their chief. Burning arrows were hurled upon An attempt was the Pushkins decks. made to board the vessel. The attacking Chinese were repulsed. Romanoff sneered at Hardys solicitude for the princess. Stanka a messenger, sent for help, was nailed to a cross on the shore. To put an end to the awful torture Hardy liunself put Stanka out of his misery, taking his own life in his hands. Forest fires menaced the vessel. Hardy volunteered to go for help. Refused permission lie jumped overboard and started to swim Rowith the princess distress message. manoff was angry at Hardy for his brave efforts to rescue the princess. He wooed He said her in his own savage wav. had made love openly to a JapHardy anese girl. Help came and the princess was rescued. Hardy journeyed on a raft. took Arriving at his destination he busicharge of the trading company's ness. Hardy received a letter from a social leader in Boston and another from Aisome. Hardy took lessons in Russian of a Jew, thus connecting himself in a way with that race. Hardy received a letter from the princess, thanking him for his bravery. Hardy's teacher was in He employed Wang as danger of death. went to Moscow, where ft servant. Hardy he was invited to call upon the princess. He started for the palace home of Princess Romanovna. Hardy aroused unaccountable jealousy of his Korean bov by announcing that lie was going to call on the princess. CHAPTER XXVIII. these thoughts were running through Hardys mind, it occurred to him from time to time that it took a long time to reach the palace of the He knew about where it princess. was located, though he had not visited the spot. It should have taken him 15 minutes to drive there from the hotel. He consulted his watch and found that he had been half an hour on the road. he muttered, are the Cabmen, same the world over. The fellow is driving me about for a while in order to increase the size of the bill. He was on the point of opening the door and shouting to the isvoschik, when the latter drew up before a targe, square house on a quiet, poorly lighted street. Hardy threw open the door and jumped out. CHAPTER XXIX. In the Nihilists Den. So here we are at last!" he said; "wait for me. The house as he glanced up at it did not impress him as a palace, but he reflected that some of the older and more exclusive of the Muscovite nobility lived in antiquated and unpretentious resiTlie isvoschik ran up the dences. steps by his side and rang the bell. An fcld woman opened the door. so Ah," she said to the cabman, you have brought him! Da! da! replied the Jehu, and trudged down the steps. it was evident to Hardy that he was expected at the house of the princess, that even the servants had been told to keep on the lookout for him. Hardy fiad been shown into a small reception room, where a coal fire was burning in the grate. A couple of easy chairs and a leather-coverelounge, somewhat worn, formed the only furniture, rather meager, it seemed to him, for the palace of avprincess. He removed his coat and sat dowit before the fire. As the old woman had been expecting him. it was safe to assume that she had gone to inform Romanovna of his arrival. He arose, and with fingers that trembled slightly, arranged his white tie in a mirror over the mantle. As he was thus engaged, he could hear two men talking, probably in the hail, just outside the door. It is the most wonderful explosive d stoop-shouldere- lieve him to be a spy, though I am confident he was brought here by accident, yet he is not of us, and he is a friend of the haughty and aristocrat whose name forms the password of the evening. He was on his way to her residence when he was brought here." During this time Hardy remained standing, with his opera hat beneath his elbow and his ulster thrown over his a..n. Xiis eyes were fixed on the little ball in Hulins handkerchief, which, shining in the gas light, held wealth-pampere- s d As Bielinski spoke, his face flushed with enthusiasm, and his eyes glowed with the light of the dreamer and the Utopian. Murmurs of approval ran through the audience. You know, he continued, how we propose to accomplish this great end. Government is merely a combination of the Rtrong and the favored of to oppress the weak. Laws are simply canons for the regulation ofc oppression. All these things are unnatural and artificial and are built on a substructure of superstition. We propose to render government impoe-sibl- e by making the governing profession so dangerous that no man wilt dare undertake it. But the question now before us is this: Here Is a man in our midst who is not of us. He Is a sympathizer with and a friend of our oppressors. He came to us, supposing that he was going to the hon-pof the Princess Romanovna, and overheard our plans. He has discovered our place of meeting. Will it he safo to turn him loose, after exacting & promise from him that he will not betray us. If such a promise can be obtained, or is it your mind that he be removed, as Brother Kourbski sug-.- . gests, for the good of the Order? In voting on this question you will bear in mind that the life of any one individual is of small moment when" weighed In the balance against the general good of humanity. Brother Smirnoff will pass among you, handing each one of you a white and a black marble, a supply of which I have here, and Brother Kourbski will collect your ballots In a hat. A black ballot will signify removal, a white ballot life and some other expedient. Brother Smirnoff! That member arose and stepped briskly to the side of the chairman who took a number of marbles from drawer and poured them into a hat. Kourbski followed him about with another hat, into which the members dropped their votes. In the ghastly silence that reigned. Hardy could hear his heart beat plainly, and the marbles dropping, dropping, into the hat, rattled like paving stones falling from a height. As Kourbski stepped to the table and poured the marbles on It, the American arose, and mechanically twitching at his pince-nez- , gazed with open mouth. A black stream poured from the hat. an"The ballots are all black! I shall apnounced the chairman. point Brothers Kourbski, Stankietcb and Golovlev as a committee of three on ways and means. Gentlemen, you will letire into the adjoining room. Kindly reach your decision as soon aa possible, for this, as I have said, only an incidental matter, and we have much of importance before us. The three members retired, closing the door softly behind them. The dream was becoming reality. Hardy, who was still standing, glanced about like a trapped animal, his eyes hunting some desperate means of escape. There was the window. He might dash at that and leap at the panes. The crash and the outcry which he would make might attract the attention of some passer-by- . But, alas, the majority of the company were sitting between him and the window, and the shutters, which he could discern through the thick curtains, were, no doubt, .heavy and well secured. His overcoat dropped to the floor and a scarcely audible bump attracted his attention. He picked up the garment, and slipped his hand into the pocket, where it touched tlie cold handle of i revolver. He remembered that a nerchant had given him the weapon in the morning as a sample of a large stock of German imitations that could be sold at a much lower price than ihe American original. The merchant had said that it was a good weapon, despite the cheapness, and had re-quested him to try it But it was not loaded. the-eart- Continued. Hardy, meanwhile, slipping into a long ulster, the fur collar of which he turned up about his ears, left the hotel and stepped to the edge of the sidewalk. A droshky dashed up immediately. The Princess Romanovna, said he In Russian. The Princess Romanovna, in the street The isvoschik jumped down with alacrity extraordinary for a Russian. he inThe Princess Romanovna? quired, looking shrewdly at Hardy. Yes, said Hardy, in the street Get in, said the Russian, and I I will drive you there immediately. know where it is. There was something strange in the mans manner, so strange, in fact, that it set the American wondering. He acted as though he had been sent for his fare, or had been expecting him. Rut Hardy did not long dwell on this idea, for he was, after all, on his way to the princess. He would soon be in her presence again, and the thought so agitated him, so set his heart to beating, that all other matters were driven from his mind. As soul crossed himself. Very well," said Bielinski, a tall with thin, hookman, nose and keen, furtive eyes. Very well. May 1 ask, my friend, turning to llardy, whether you are a member of the Brotherhood, and, if not, why are you here? The explanation is very simple," replied Hardy in French, in which language the question had been directed. "I aui an American merchant, residing in Stryetensk. I have an acwith the Princess Ro- quaintance formed and thrown Into the Moskva, thus giving the impression that h had fallen In and drowned; or, a needle might be driven into the bJ6 of his brain, after which he could b dropped Into the river; or, he could! be taken out to some lonely spat; gagged, of course, to prevent an outcry, stabbed or beaten to death, and robbed. The gags could then be removed and this would cause the that he had been killed for his money and valuable. Fortunately, his attire, that of wealthy aristocrat, would corroborate the Impression, These are merely suggestions, of course. Would It not be well to decide officially on his fate, and then appoint a committee to settle the manner of his removal? Mr. Kourbski sat down and glanced air. about with a It is time, said Bielinski, rising and resting both palms on the table,, to bring this incidental discussion t a close, and proceed with the more important business of the evening. Nothing must be allowed to interfere with the great work which we have in hand; Tlie destruction of government and the establishment of universal freedom; the elimination of war, oppression and tyranny, and the Inauguration of general and everlasting peace, equality and brother-hood- We Welcome You Among evei invented," said one. Enough to fill the inside of a child's ball is quite sufficient to wreck the czar's palace Curse him! interjected the other. "Amen! It can therefore be thrown to a great distance, and wherever it strikes, it explodes. There is no missing fire. Several members of the Order witnessed a trial of it in the Ural mountains, in a lonely spot, and the results were most satisfactory. A small quantity, hurled at the base of a cliff, tore the whole face of the mountain loose. One of the brethren accidentally dropped a sphere of it, and vanished he simply disappeared from the face of the earth. One of his arms was found two miles from the place, lying beside a mountain road. That would be good medicine for the czar, chuckled a third voice. Yes. and for tyrants in general. With this new and mysterious explosive, the Order has an agency by which it can become a terror to the ruling classes, by which it can demoralize society, and make way for the new order of things, the divine brotherhood of man. In six months from now there will not be a man living in Russia who will dare set himself up above his fellow creatures or take his seat on the tyrant throne of Russia. we shall select the brother who will throw the first To-nig- sphere." But is it not fortunate," asked the second speaker, that a member of the Enemies of Russia should have made this important discovery? The brother, Felix Hulin, is here a slenThe der, dark man with cabman that we sent brought him and he is now in the reception room. Ah, but he has the air of- - a deep student! Let us go in and make him welcome. Hardy, still fumbling with his tie, caught sight of his own face in the mirror, and was startled by its expression. It was the face of a man caught in a trap and who has only a moment to escape before he is discovered. He was in a nihilists' den and had overheard a plot to kill the czar. If it should be discovered that he was an impostor, he had little doubt as to what his fate would be. He seized his coat and hat and started toward the door. Three men entered, two well dressed and the other evidently a laborer of some sort. Brother Hulin, said the tall man we welcome in imperfect French, you among tlie Enemies of Russia. We know all about your marv'elous discovery, and we consider you the greatest inventor of the age. Hardy shook hands with them all wiili much cordiality. I was, he said, also in French, hoping to make a little address to the brethren Very well, said the tail man, but dont be long, for there are many of the Order here who are anxious to meet you. Hardy stepped toward the door with a light heart, but just as he reached for the knob, the bell rang, and one of t. the the nihilists opened the door and admitted the cabman with a slender, dark man who wore I am Felix Hulin," announced the new arrival in perfect French, and that man, pointing to Hardy, is an . impostor! CHAPTER XXX. For the Good of the Order. The American, in immaculate evening dress, his crush hat beneath his coat thrown elbow and his over his arm, stood at bay with his back against the wall, silently eyeing the nihilists. The blood rushed back to his heart, and his cheek paled a trifle, but the glance that he fixed on those wondering faces, in which hale and fear were beginning to dawn, showed no flinching. The cabman, in tall boots of patent leather, and shining silk hat, stood at the door, with his broad back against it, his whip in his hand. He was a thick-set- , muzhik, with little, red eyes, a red face and a profuse red His glance shifted uneasily beard. from Hulin to Hardy. By his side stood the little Frenchman, who sank his head between bis shoulders like a turtle, and, stretching an accusing left arm toward Hardy, shrieked : 1 am Felix Hulin, I say, mon dieu! the great inventor, the great benefactor of the human race. Behold, here is the proof! If I dash this little sphere on the floor, poof! b r r r! The whole house will fall apart like a castle of cards, the roof will leap into the air, in one little second, by gar, we shall all be in eternity. Gentlemen, are you convinced? Sooner than have my word doubted, I shall give you the proofs. Ten thousand devils! I am Felix Hulin, I say, no man shall doubt me! He plunged his right hand into his pocket and drew forth a sphere, about the size of a baseball, which he held in the hollow of his palm. I am Dr. Hulin," he added; "behold the pill which I have prepared for tyrants and spies! About 20 of the brethren had stolen into the hall and were pressing forward toward Hardy; stolen, indeed, for these men all moved silently, as though accustomed to secret and dangerous meetings. But at the dreaded word spy a murmur arose. A spy! A spy! Kill him, tear him to pieces! But the man who had welcomed llardy in French stepped in front of them and raised his hand. Sh! he commanded, Brethren, "are you all mad? Would you have the police down on us? The spy is in our power, if, indeed, he is a spy, and we shall know how to deal with him, how to spal his lips. As for you, Brother Felix, do not drop your pjll, in the Virgins name! Put it in your pocket. Preserve it for tyrants and the foes of mankind. There! We shall breathe freer now. Ivan to the cabman what is the history of this man? How did you happen to bring him here? fur-line- d broad-shouldere- d But One Way He Must Die. was about to his gaze with a strange fascination, manovna, on whom call. I told the cabman to drive me like the baleful eye of a snake. to her residence, and he brought me What Is his nationality? asked here. I know nothing of your amiable one of the brethren. He says that he is an American, Brotherhood, nor do I wish to learn Here he took out his replied Bielinski. anything. watch and consulted it coolly. As we The Americans, said the questionhave no possible business together, I er, are a powerful nation. If we will now bid you good night, and pro- should detain this man, who is himceed on my way. If I do not hasten self evidently an aristocrat, and has I shall be too late for my call. friends, they would raise heaven and "But why does he not speak Rus- earth to find him, and there would be sian? asked Ivan. He spoke to me much publicity and discussion a in good Russian. thing that we wish to avoid now. The Do you understand Russian? asked same thing would result if he should Bielinski. permanently disappear. 1 Here he sat down, and silence speak it imperfectly, replied I have been in the country reigned for a full minute. Hardy. There is much truth, at length only a short time. You speak it well enough to under- said Bielinski, in what Brother Smiror you noff says. Has any other brother any stand, exclaimed Bielinski, would not have made so shrewd an suggestion to make? A young Russian arose, a florid-faced- , effort to get away. I am not sure now that you are not a spy. At any rate, youth, with blue it will be a long time before you will eyes and a sweet expression. His voice was soft and he smiled as he see the Princess Romanovna. llardy noticed that the last two talked. He must not disappear, words were spoken with an emphasis said the of hate, which reminded him of the speaker, as Brother Smirnoff says, Christian voices at Stryetensk, spit- neither can we keep him. He would The be an elephant on our hands. Neither ting out Moschke! Moschke! The Jew! Jew! Truly this Holy would it be safe to turn him loose for many with our secret in his brain and on' Russia is a breeding-grounhis tongue. It seems to me, with all violent hates. and They all moved silently down to due reverence to my elders the extreme end of the hall and passed here he smiled and waved his hand through a door into a large square that there is but one way. He must furnished with chairs and die and his body must be found under room, divan rnd a round table, upon which such circumstances that the police were a number of books and maga- will be led to believe he has met his This will come zines. Crossing this, they entered the fate through accident. council chamber, a long, narrow apart- under the head, not of an execution, ment, with benches running around it, but of a necessary removal for the and a long table in the renter, with good of tlie order. What method would you propose, chairs placed for about 20 people. Brother Kouibski? The Enemies of Russia seated theminquired Bielin-ski- . selves on the benches and at tlie table. There are several methods that Bielinski, who was evidently the chairman, took his place at the head naturally suggest themselves, replied of the table. Felix Hulin, after taking Kourbsld, expansively. Hardy's ryes the terrible sphere from his pocket left tlie mesmeric spot and sought the a id laying it carefully on the table on speakers face. For instance, he might bo chloro a tiny couch formed of his crumpled There I clean-shave- ; 1 n i 1 TO BE CONTINUE!.!.) |
