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Show We Have Changed AH That by Herbert Quick and Elena Stepanoff Mac Kahon Copyright by The Bobbs-Merrill Co. WNU Service CHAPTER XIV Continued 24 The old priucess was now really In charge of the bouse. The Bolshevlkl had taken from her her own residence, resi-dence, and she took great pleasure In telling Musia how they did It and what she said to them; but when she had finished, the girl was conscious of the fact that she did not remember a word of it. The princess asked her the cause of her estrangement from her mother. "Do not ask me, I beg," said Musta. "1 can only tell you that I can never speak to her again. I cannot tell yon any more. I wish 1 knew where to go away from here. I must go!" "This is madness, my love," exclaimed ex-claimed the princess. "And she talks the same way. Your griefs have made you a little insane. You are all that Is left of the family, and it Is very wicked for you to feel In that way or would be if either of you were responsible; re-sponsible; but you are not. Why, she mutters that you killed Ilya. When I tell you that, you must see that It Is your duty to forget what she has said or done, whatever II is and forgive for-give her, and when she will allow it, to comfort her. Lie down and sleep, dear, and you will feel better.- And you must pray. Nothing will help you like prayer." After this conversation, Musia was quite resolved that she w-ould go away before her mother should leave her room, If only out into the streets and roads, to join the great troops of refugees which swept over Russia like storms of human beings. She carefully counted over her little store of money, and placed it In a safe and convenient place with her" few jewels, and a very unique and beautiful watch which Ilya had once given her. When she had a good opportunity, op-portunity, she secreted in her room several loaves of bread, and some bits of dried beef the Instincts of the hoarding animals and birds developed and controlled her. Whenever she questioned herself as to what these actions meant, she simply thought that she could never meet her mother again. This was not bate, she told herself. It was the impossibility of ever speaking speak-ing to her again after that I When Princess Khaborovskaya had left her after telling her of the strange things her mother had said, Musia suddenly came to what she considered a final decision. She would wait no longer. She began looking over her clothes In order that she might select the Indispensable things which she must take with her; but even as she held the garments In her hands, she would look away into vacancy, and drop them on the floor. When the maid, Sasha, tapped at her door. Musia started up with a little scream of terror. The maid came in witn apologies. There was a strange woman wom-an wailing to see Musia, who would give neither her name nor her business, busi-ness, but said the young lady would see her "if she knew." If she knew I Musia already knew. "Let her come here," said Musia. To Musia, she was only a Tartar woman ; to Loris she was "grandmother." "grand-mother." She moved with a tinkling sound like the music of strings of little bells, as the many copper and silver coins which hung from neck, wrists and the black braids of her hair, struck against one another as she moved, and especially as she made the obeisance of the days of old on entering. She smiled as she began her speech, and Musia noticed that her teeth were blackened, showing that she was a married woman. She spoke in ihe broken Russian of the Tartars. "1 bring you something, she said. Tating off her shoe, she slipped from under the sole a small folded slip of paper, which seemed to have been torn off a blank form of some sort Musia's heart fluttered and her lingers trembled as she unfolded it. turned it to the light, and rend: "1 am more sorry than wnrds can express I risked my life to save your brother, and I would have given It if it could have sufficed to save him Perhaps 1 have given It hut if so. what of it ? "I am always waiting for you ; hut I can not wait much longer. Unless you come at once, you may not lind me. Come, my dear" "L." Musia folded the paper and thrust It inlo the bosom of her gown then sl:e took it out and unfolded it. The Tartar woman, watching her, saw how Musia treated the letter, and smiled. Musia caught the smile, and In a little embarrassment, walked once or twice back and forth across the room; then she turned to .oris' messenger and heard the tinkling of the coins as they went out of hearing down the passage. pas-sage. After all, she said to herself bitterly, she had one friend. From that time on, she began to think of tiim as really tier friend, as one who loved her; and a warm feeling feel-ing grew up in her breast toward him. What did he mean by saying that perhaps he had really given his life In trying to save Hya? She longed to see him. and talk with him about this. There was really nobody else in the world In what was left of the world whoiw she cared to see. It seemed as If she must talk to some one about I. oris: so she began far aw:iy from him in a conversn'.ion with the Princess Khaborovskaya, first discusslnj ber affairs generally, and then ber father and mother but when she reached the point of bringing Lorlg In she was overcome with shyness and shame, and the thought of where the discussion might lead. She was. after all, only a timid child, hedged about with old conventions, conven-tions, with humiliations, with perplexities per-plexities and with perils. Matters went on much as usual the day after she had received Loris' note; but Musia felt that their mere going on was In itself a fateful change, like the movement of a ship Into new regions re-gions wdiile one slept. And the little princess told her that Mrs. Krassin had arisen, been dressed, walked about, and would no doubt be down next day. This was great news in the old mansion, and Sasha the maid retold re-told if to Musia with a very great deal of satisfaction. And even as the maid was giving Musia all the particulars about her mother, of how she moved about, how weak and trembling site was, but how very much better, there was a deafening deafen-ing rapping and pounding at the street door, the sound of a great car In the street, now at most times so silent, and Sasha, haviug gone at Musia's request re-quest to find out what was the matter, came back breathless and said It was the Bolshevlkl again. It was the same squad that had beeu there weeks ago and looked over the house. One of the soldiers was a man she had got acquainted with that other time, and he said thatTova-risclt thatTova-risclt Vllinsky was now really coming there to make this his headquarters. And they must not move out any of the furniture, nor must the family leave the place. These were orders. Musia started np, all her terror of Vilinsky flooding her being. She must fly anywhere away from this house. She turned to speak to Sasha, but the girl was gone. Everybody was In panic; there was a subdued scurrying all over the house. Panic took possession of Musia. She took from a closet her little bag and put into It the few necessary articles of clothing which she had selected. She quickly dressed for the street, taking what money she had and her few jewels In a little purse. These things she did automatically. She wondered again whether or not she should die of starvation, and with a strange attention to details, she took under her arm a box of chocolate bonbons bon-bons which she had had for a very long tlme hut she forgot the bread and meat which she bad smuggled into Iter room, though it lay before her very eyes on a shelf of the closet. When she left the room with her chocolate under ber arm and her little bag In her hand, she almost ran Into two of Vilinsky's sailors standing guard two of the controlling faction among the Bolshevikj in Kazan. She shrank back into her room. How should she escape? For that she must escape seemed to her an unquestionable un-questionable necessity. She was leaving the old place for ever fateful words, which she repeated re-peated aloud "For ever I" She should never see her mother again the mother who had brought her into the world ; who had been so good to her in her childhood ; who had for so much of her life been the chief figure In it who was still even now in their estrangement. Tears came to Musia's eyes as she thought of old, forgotten, tender things; and as Sasha chanced to put her head in at the door to say something some-thing about the Bolshevlkl, Musia called to her and arrested her attention. at-tention. "Where is my mother?" she inquired. "In her own room," said Sasha. "She is putting on ber black dress and the lace jabot coming down to face the Bolslicvikl. Is she not wonderful?" won-derful?" "Go to her," said Musia, "and tell her for me that I beg leave la see ber. Tell ber that 1 am going away that I wish to bid her good-by.'1 Sasha looked at Musia In wonder as if site could not comprehend the message. Musia repeated it. (TO BE CONTINUED.) |
