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Show I jjIQ v-xAtcO Ok i 1 The Tfystery of a Silent Lovg I Chevcilier WILLIAM IX QUEUX , U AUTHOR "niCCLOiEDDOOK," ETC- x-SKN1 I '4 ILLUSTRATIONS 4-C-D-RHQI)CSSft coPrttcfTOY rue smart, set ru&LtSHra-co jWpfljMty I W W W 'W tjHpl fl 8YNOP8I8. 9 13 ' ,i3or.don 0rfBK' dining aboard with Horn- ' ", the yacht Lola's owner, accidentally M 8. n . rn Photosraph of a younu girl. it!. .. iF"1 -,ne consul's safe In robbed. M ? P,ollc? lJn.d t,iat Hornby la a fraud Ki t l8 Lo,a natno a talse one In 'W iifn.tJ? arcKK I trapped nearly to his ' feath. "V ft former servant, Ollnto. Visit-M Visit-M VlR.i Vunlfrle' QKK meets Murtol m if,Jil?OUH'..Uornh appears and Muriel M TiV???. ,Mm Martin WoourofTe. her faiL r ? f.r'ond. . QrpKB sees a copy of the 'I ,?.Ji PnotORrnph on the Lola and finds M wi!h2- yo.Vn K,rl " Muriel's frlond. ii?i ;""" disappears. QreKK discovers J.!i. y ?f ,l murdered woman In Itan- Pi. t,iwoo,,i The ,K,(,y disappears and In M m.,.P i ce J" found tho body of Ollnto. ?.. ".?' ana Otviftt search Itannoch wood I J?iH;Jh.cr' !l.ml n,u' 'oly of Armlda. I 2i." wlfe- Wllpn the police ko to tho JK!?V"0 bo,,y ,m disappeared. In Lon-M Lon-M Mln ar?ffK meets Ollnto. nllvo and well. .?e trnrcs tho youns Klrl of tho torn . M Pil,t.,'rar;n' nm' 'mds that she Is Elma ' icam, nlcco of Baron Oboric, who has J.8,!?" 1,cr ,0 Mm- Finland, and that she ! ? "8 a sccret affecting WoodrofTe. On T!fi,.K,turn nnnnoch GrcRK finds th M ;,',tl,co"r,,s "ed from Hylton Chator. who m lim called thcro. lie Roes to Abo. and fl !i... n.,,u. w,tn " Police chief, Is con- Uli i " ,0.KJana, whoro ho finds Klma In 1.1 ,' .A "urslcnl operation has made (er deaf mid dumb. Ho escapes with her iJJI".Uier" overtnklnR them. Klma escapes 2lZ t,le. tor.e,,i nnd CJrcuK Is taken to Abo, 9 JT.nero !' ls released and finds that the mron Ih using ovory effort to arrest I. ' J.l cnl,s on Uaron OberR nnd nc-,,, nc-,,, w .n,m of sIlenclnR and Imprisoning KJma to prevent her from telling of his nccret misdeeds. CHAPTER XIII Continued. A long sllcnco hud fallen between us, nnd It now occurred to mo to take advantage of hlB hesitation. I said In a firm voice, In French: "I think, baron, our Interview Is a an end, la It not? Therefore I wish you good-day." Ho turned upon me suddenly with an evil flash In his dark eyes, and n snarling Imprecation In Russian upon hl8 lips. Ills hand still held the order committing mo to tho fortress. "But before I leave you will destroy that document. It may fall Into other , hands, you know," and I walked ( toward him with quick determination. i "I shall do nothing of tho kind!" he snapped. Without further word I snatched the ; paper from Ills thin, white fingers and tore It up before his faco. Ills countenance coun-tenance went livid. I do not think I J havo over seen n man's face assume V.unout Furtnei Worm i bntcned the Paper From His Thin, White ringers. such an expression of fiendish vlndlc-tlvenefifl, vlndlc-tlvenefifl, It was aH though at that instant hell had been let loose within f .his heart. Hut I turned upon my heel and went out. 1 had escaped by means of my own diplomacy and firmness. Tho czar's representative the man who ruled that country feared mo, and for that reason did not hold mo prisoner Yet when I recalled that evil tool, of revenge re-venge on my departure, I could not help certain reelings of grave uppre-.tf uppre-.tf hcnslon arising within mo. IF" I took tho midnight trnin back to Abo, arriving at tho hotel next morn ing. After an hour's rest I Bet out anxiously In search of Felix, the dros-ky dros-ky driver. I found him In his log-built log-built house In tho Ludno quarter, and when ho asked mu in I snw, from bis face, that ho had nows to Impart. - "Well?" I Inquired "And what or tho lady? Has sho been found?" "Ah! your excellency. It Is a pity you woro not hero yesterday," ho said with a sigh. "Why? Toll mo quickly. What has happened ?" "I havo been assisting tbo police as epy, excellency, as I often do, and I havo seen hor." "Seen her! Where?" I cried in quick anxiety. , "Hero, in Abo. Sho arrived yesterday yester-day morning from Tammerfors accom-named accom-named by -uq 'Englishman,- Sho 'had . :-';rz:' ". .'WZL. '. u. ... - changed her dress, nnd was all In black. They lunched together nt tho Restaurant du Nord opposlto the land-lng land-lng stago, and an hour later loft by steamer for Petersburg." "An Englishman!'; I cried. "Did you not Inform tho chief of police, Do-ranskl?" Do-ranskl?" "YeB, your excellency. But ho said that their passports being in order, it was bettor to allow tho lady to pro-coed. pro-coed. To delay her might mean her rearrest in Finland," ho added. "Then their passports wero viscid horo on embarking?" I exclaimed. "What was tho name upon that or tho Englishman?" "I havo It hero written down, excel-lency. excel-lency. I cannot pronounco your dlfll-cult dlfll-cult EngllBh names." And ho produced pro-duced a scrap of dirty piper whereon wns written In n Russian hand tho name "Martin WoodrofTe." CHAPTER XIV. Spoiling the Spoiler. I went to tho railway station, nnd from the time-table gathered that lr I left Abo by rail nt noon I could bo In Petersburg an hour before noon on the morrow, or about four hours before be-fore the arrival of tho Btcamcr by which tho silent girl nnd her compan Ion were passengers. This I decided upon doing, but before leaving I paid a visit to my friend, Doranskl, who, to my surprlso and delight, handed mo my wallet with tho czar's letter Intact, saying that it had been found, upon a German thief who had been arrested ar-rested at the harbor on tho previous night. The fellow had, no doubt, Stolon It from my pocket believing I carried my paper money In a flap. "Tho affair of tho English lady Is a most extraordinary one," remarked the chler or police, toying with his pen as he sat nt his big table. "Sho seems to have mot this Englishman up nt Tammerfors, or at some place farther north, yet it Is curious that her passport pass-port should bo In order evon though frfio fled so precipitately from Kajnna Thcro is a mystery connectA with her disappearance from tho wood cutter's cut-ter's hut that I confess I cannot fathom." "Neither can I," I said. "I know tho man who Is with her, and cannot help rearing thnt ho Is her bitterest enemy that ho Is acting In concert with tho baron." "Then why Is ho taking her to the cnpltal beyond the Jurisdiction of tho governor general?" "I am going straight to Petersburg to ascertain," I said. "I have only come to thank you ror your kindness In this mnttcr. Truth to tell, I have been somewhat surprised thnt you should havo Interested yourself on my behalf," I added, looking straight nt tho uniformed ofllclal. "It Is not on yours, but on hers" ho answered, somewhat enigmatically "I know something of the affair, but It was my duty as a man to help tho poor girl to escnpo rrom that terrible (Maco. Sho has, I know, been unjustly ondemned for the nttempted assassl nation of tho wife of n general condemned con-demned with a purpose, of course, jpuch a thing is not unusual In Finland." Fin-land." "Abominable!" I cried. "Oberg Is a veritable llend." Rut tho man only shrugged bis shoulders, saying "The orders of his excellency tho governor general have to be obeyed, whatever they ore. Wo often regret but we dare not refuse to carry them out." "Russian rule is a disgrace to our modern civilization." 1 declared hotly. "I havo every sympathy with those who are fighting for freedom." "Ah, you aro not alono In that," bo sighed, speaking In a low whisper, and glancing around. "Ills majesty would order reforms and ameliorate the condition con-dition of hla people, if only It wero possible. Out he, like his officials, powerless. Hero wo speak of the great uprising with bated breath, but we, alas! know that It must come one day very soon and Finland will be first to endenvor to break her bonds and tho Daron Oberg first to rail." For nearly nn hour 1 sat with him. surprised to find how, although IiIb ex-"tfVrlor ex-"tfVrlor was so harsh and uncouth, yet lire heart really bled for tho poor, starving people ho was so constantly forced to oppress. "I havo ruined this town of Abo." ho declared, quite frankly, "Ta my own knowledge five hundred Innocent persons per-sons havo gono to prison, nnd another two hundred havo been exiled to Siberia. Si-beria. Yot what I hayo done Is only nt direct orders from Helslngfors orders thnt nro stern, pitiless nnd unjust. un-just. Men hnve been torn from tllolr families and. sent to Uio mines, women have been arrested for no off en bo and shipped off to Saghallon, and mere children havg been cast Into prison on charges of polltlcnl conspiracy with their elders in order to russify the nrpvlpeel Only," ho added anxiously, "I trust you will never repeat what I tell you. You have asked mo w)iy I assisted tbo English mademoiselle In . I I . ,1 escnpo torn Kajnna. nnd I have explained ex-plained tho reason." Wo nto a hearty menl In company at tho Snmpallnna, n restaurant built Ilk a Swiss chalet, nnd nt noon 1 entered en-tered tho train on the first stago of my slow, tedious Journey through tho great, silent forests nnd along the shores or tho lakes or southern Finland, Fin-land, by way of Tavestolius and VI-borg, VI-borg, to Petersburg. At four o'clock next day I was otit upon tho quay In that city, straining tny eyes seaward for any sign of Binoko, but could ceo nothing. It was after ton o'clock when a light Rhone afar off, nnd tho movement of tho pollco and porters on tho quay told mo that It wns tho vessel. Then nftor a further anxious quarter of an hour It camo, amid great shouting and mutual Imprecations, Blowly alongstdo tho quay, and the passcngors at last began to disembark In tho pelting rain. Suddenly I caught sight or two figures fig-ures ono a mnn In a big tweed traveling trav-eling coat and n golf cap, and the other tho slight figure of n womanln a long, dark cloak and n woolen tnm-o'-shanter. The electric rays fell upon them as they camo up tho wet gangway together, nnd thcro onco ngnln I saw tho sweet fnco or the silent woman whom I had grown to love with such rervent desperation. The mnn behind her was tho samo who had entertained mo on bonrd tho Lola tho man who was said to bo tho lover or tho fugitive Muriel Lolth-court. Lolth-court. Without betraying my presence, I watched them pass through tho passport pass-port ofllce and custom houso, nnd then, overhonrlng tho nddrcss which Mnrtln WoodrofTe gave tho Ishvost-chlk, Ishvost-chlk, I stood nslde, wet to tho skin, nnd snw them drive nway. At eleven o'clock on tho following day I found myself Instnlled In the Hotel do ParlB, n comTortnblo hostelry In tho Little Morsknyo. 1 wns beneath the same roof as Elmn, although she was In Ignorance oT my presence. Anxious to communicate commu-nicate with her without Woodroffo's knowledge, I wns now awaiting my opportunity. op-portunity. Ho hud, It nppenred, taJcn for her n pleasant Tront room with alt-ting alt-ting room adjoining, on the first floor, whllo he himself occupied n room on tho third floor. As fnr ns I could gnther from tho French wnlter whom I Judiciously tipped, ho appeared to treat her with every consideration nnd kindness. "Has the Englishman received nny visitors?" I asked. "One man n Russlnn nn official of police, 1 think." "If -ho rctelves anyone else, let mi know," I said. "And I want you to glvo mademoiselle n letter rrom mo In secret." - "Dion, m'sieur." I turned to tho ilttlo writing table and scribbled a Tow hasty linos to my love, announcing my presence, and asking her to grant mo nn Interview In Becret ns soon as WoodrofTe was absent. I nlso warned her of the search for her Instigated by" tho baron, and urged her to send me a lino In reply. Tho note was delivered into her hnnd, but although I waited In suspense sus-pense nearly nil day she sent no reply. Whllo Woodioffc was In tho hotel I darod not show myself lest ho should recognlzo mo, therefore I. was compelled com-pelled to sham Indisposition nnd to eat my meals alono in my room. For Heyeral hours 1 sat at my win-daw win-daw watching tho life and movement down In tho street below, my mind full of wonder nnd dark forebodings. Was Martin Woodroffo playing hor fnlso? Just arter half-past six o'clock tho waiter entered, and handing mo a nolo on a salver, said; "Mademolnollo has, I bellovo, only this moment been ablo to write In secret." I tore It open and read as follows: Dear Friend I nm so surprised. I thought you were still In Abo. WoodrofTe has un nppolntinent at eight o'clock on the othor side of tho city, therefore come to mo ut S:15. 1 must sco you. and at onco. I uni In peril KLMA HUATH. My lovo was In peril! It was Just as I had feared 1 thanked Providence that I had been sent to help hor and extricate her from that awrul fate to which "The Strangler of Finland" had consigned her. At the hour sho named, after tho waiter had coma to mo and announcou the Englishman's departure. I descended de-scended to her sitting room and entered en-tered without rapping, for If I had rapped she could not, ulas! have heard The apartment was spacious and comTortable, thickly carpeted, wltn heavy Turnlturo and gliding. From her low lounge chnlr a slim, wan figure sprang up quickly and camo Torwnrd to greet me, holding out both hor hands and smiling happily. I took her hands In mine, and held them tightly In sllenco Tor some mo ments, as I Idoked earnestly Into thoso wonderfully brilliant eyes of hers, Sho turned nvvny laughing, a slight flush rising to her checks In her confusion. Then she led mo to a chair, and motioned mo-tioned mo to bo seated. Ours was a silent meeting, but her gestures and tho expression of hor eyes wero Buroly more eloquent than mere words. I knew well what pleas- uro that re-oicounter caused her equal pleasure with that it gavo to mo. Until that moment I had never really loved. I had admired and flirted with women. What man has not? Indeed, I had admired Muriel Lclthcourt. But never until now had I experienced in my heart tho real flamo of truo, burning burn-ing affection. Tho sweetness of hor .expression, tne tender caress of those . tajftrlrigMmrids. "tho ;fceoK "rays- tcitous look In those magnificent oyos, and tho Incomparable graco of nil hor movements, combined to render her tho most perfect woman I had over mot perfect In all, alas! Bavo Bpccch and hearing, of which, with such dastard das-tard wantonness, sho bad boou deprived. de-prived. Sho touched her red lips with tho tip of hor forefinger, openod hor hands and shrugged her shouldors with a sad gesturo ot rogrot. Then turning quickly to Borne paper on the tnblo at her sldo sho wroto something with a gold pencil and handed It to me. It read: "Surely Providence has sent you hero! Mr. Woodroffo must havo followed fol-lowed you from England. Ho Is my enemy. You must take mo from here and hide mo. Thoy lntond to send mo Into exllo. Have you ever been In Petersburg before? Do you know any-ono any-ono horo?" Then whon I had read, she handed mo hor pencil and below I wroto: "I will do my best, denr friend. I hnvo been onco In Potorsbsrg. But Is It not best that wo should escnpo at onca from RusBln?" "ImpoBslblo nt present," sho wroto. "Wo should both bo arrested at the frontier. It would be best to go Into hiding hero In Petersburg. I believed WoodrofTe to bo my friend, but I hnvo found only this dny that ho Is my enemy. en-emy. Ho knew that I was In Knjann. nnd wib In Abo whon ho learned of my escape. Ho wont with two other men In senrch of us, nnd discovered us that night whon wo sought shelter nt tho wood cutter's hut. Without making his presenco known, ho waited outside until you woro asleep, nnd then ho camo and looked In nt my window At first I wns alarmed, but quickly I snw thnt ho was n friend. Ho told mo thnt tho pollco wero In tho vicinity flu i : Pi. L She Touched Her Red Lips With the Tip of Her Forefinger. nnd intended to raid tho hut, therefor" i fled with him. first down to Tnrnmer fors nnd their to Abo, and nn hero At that time I did hot see the dastardly trap ho had laid in order to get me out oT the baron's clutches and wrlnu rrom ino my secret. IT I qonTcss. he liAonds. to give mo up to tho pollco who will send mo to tho mines'."' " "Does your .fjperet concern him?" I asked In .wrjjlng. "Yes," ehe-'vvroto In response. ''It. would bo-'equnlfy In his Interests as well ns thoso oT Baron Oberg IT 1 were sent to Saghallen. and my- Idef tlty effaced. 1 am a Russian' subject!" as I have already told you. therefore with a ministerial order against me I nm In deadliest peril," "Trust In me." I scribbled quickly "I will act upon nny miggestlon you mnko. Hnvo you any femalo friend In whom you could trust to hide yod until this danger Is past?" "There Is ono frlpnd a true friend. Will you tnke n noto to her?" she wroto, to which I Instantly nodded In tho affirmative. Then rising, she obtained jBomp Ink and pen and wrote a letter, tho con tentB of which sho did not show mo before sho sealed It. I watched her write tho superscription superscrip-tion upon tho envelope: "Madnmo Olgu Stnssulevltch, modiste, 8crcdnl Prospect, Pros-pect, 231, Vnslll Ostroff." I know that tho district was on the opposlto sldo oT the city, closo to the Little Neva "Tnke a drosky at once, see her nnd nwnlt n reply. In tho meantime I will prepare to bo rendy whon vou. return," sho wrote. "IT Olga IbuJB home, ask to see tho RpjljyjH Russian,' Krasny-pnBtor.' ttflH ly, as I fear WoodrofTe inoynmB IT so, I nm lost." 9i I nssured her I would not lose a 8inglo'listnnt, and five minutes Inter I wus tearing down tho Marnkaya n a droBky along tho canal nnd across tho Nicholas bridge to tho address upon the envelope. Tho houso wus", I round, somewhat smaller than Its neighbors, but not lot out In flats as tho others. Upon tho door wob a largo brass plate bearing bear-ing tho namo, "Olga Stassulevltclr Modes." I pressed tho electric button, and in answer a tall, clean-shaven Russian servant opened tho door. "Madame Is not home," was his brief reply to my Inquiry. "Then I will Beo the Red Priest," I said in a lower tone., "I como from Elma Heath." Thereupon, without further word, tho mun. admitted me Into tho long, dark hall and cloBOd tho door with an apology that tho gas was not lighted. But, striking a match, ho led mo up tho broad staircase and Into a smnll, cosy, well-furnished room on tho second floor, evidently tho sitting sit-ting room of sonio studloun person. Judging from tho bookB and critical rcvlows lying about. For a fow minutes I watted thore, until tho door roopcund, and thoro entered en-tered a man of medium height, with a shock of long, snow-whlta hair and almost patriarchal beard, whoso dark oycB that ago had dimmed flashed out at mo with a look of curious Inquiry, and whoso movements were those of a person not quite nt his cane "1 hnve cnlled on bohnlf of Mndomol-Rcllo Mndomol-Rcllo Elma Heath, to glvo this lottor to Madnmo Stnssulovltch, or If sho 1b nbBent to place It In tho hands ot the Red Priest," I explained in my best Russian. "Very well, sir," tho old man responded re-sponded in qulto good English. "I nm (ho person you Beok," and taking the letter ho opened It nnd rend It through I saw by tho expression on his furrowed fur-rowed faco thnt Its contents cnused him tho utmost consternation. His countenance, nlrendy palo, blanched to tho lips, whllo In his eyes thoro shot a flro of quick apprehension. Tho thin, almost transparent hand holding the letter trembled visibly "You know mademoiselle oh?" ho asked In a honrso, strained volco as ho turned to mo. "You will help her to cscapo?" "I will risk my own life in ordor to snvo hern," I declared. "And your devotion to her Is prompted prompt-ed by what?" ho Inquired suspiciously. I wns silent Tor n moment. Thou I confessed tho truth. "My nffectlon." "Ah!" ho sighed deeply. "Poor young lady! She, who has enemies on every hand, sadf needB n friend. But enn wo trust you hnvo you no fenr?" "OT whnt?" "Of being implicated in tho coming revolution In Russia? Romc-.nber, I am tho Red Priest. Havo you never heard of mo? My namo Is Otto Kntnpr." Otto KampH (TO nn CONTINUED.) |