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Show We Have Oiasijf eel AH That by Herbert Quick and Elena Slepanoff Mac Malioti Copyright by The Bobbs-Merrill Co. WNTJ Service THE STORY Commissar Vllinsky's Soviet squad invades the home of Krna-sln, Krna-sln, aristocrat at Kazan, with the purpose of requisitioning the place for government use Vil-insky Vil-insky Insults the daughter. Mu-8ia. Mu-8ia. Commissar Loris is urped to confiscate the home The family consists of Juclise Krnssln. Mrs. Krnssin, Ilya. former ofilcer. and Musia. Loris promises to investigate. inves-tigate. Vladimir, former officer. Is Musla's fiance. Mrs. Krassin expresses fear for her son's safety. safe-ty. , CHAPTER III Continued L 6 "They bear pseudonyms," said Mrs. Krassin, "like the actors they are." "What an American friend of mine," said a young man near the door, "would call bad actors." The company did not understand this American slang well enough to give it more than the smile called for by politeness. ' "Some people," sait1 the colonel, as If telling a secret, "think that Loris Is not a Bolshevist at' all, but an .agent provocateur." "One hears everything," said Vladimir. Vladi-mir. "1 would suggest, however, that the time has gone by when the 15ol-sheviki 15ol-sheviki need any further provocation." "An old friend of mine," put In the old princess, "saw him Loris as he passed In his motor car. 1 want to tell yon about It. He gives me his word that he saw this Loris long before be-fore the revolution, and that be went by a different name, but he couldn't -. think of the name, -nil he believes he Aas a prince 1 What do you think of "That?" Vladimir laughed as if in enjoyment of siime great joke. These specula-tlons specula-tlons and surmises seemed to amuse him vastly. "He might be a Georgian or a Circassian," Cir-cassian," said the colonel, "or some of those peoples." "Oh. In that case." said Vladimir, "he is In all probability a prince. I served In the Caucasus, and I give you my word one dared not throw a stone Into a crowd for fear of hitting a prince !" "Itidiculous I" said the princess. "Very!" replied Vladimir. " thought so at the time." "I do not think this matter of " Loris' origin so unimportant," said Mrs. Krassin. "Rut, prince or not, 1 shall keep my movables packed. I never wear my diamond earrings any more. I prefer to be on the safe side." "Where there Is a safe side," said Vladimir. There seemed to be nothing more to talk about, even for Idle people; and there was nothing hut Idleness left for the Sitters in the Salon, save for these new plots and conspiracies. The midday sun played on the old furniture on porcelains, bronzes, heavy silks, and on the carpet woven In Little Russia by the work of a generation of women on one piece of art. It nickered on the carved mahogany ma-hogany doors, on the gilt of the frames of engravings and paintings. It was a picture of Old Russia this-group this-group of people in their heavy chairs, seemingly fixed In their surroundings and Inseparable from them : the last touch upon a great canvas now finished; fin-ished; or a dissolving view of a great historic object hoary with age and touched with the pathos of decay. The visitors one by one went away. Mrs. Krassin parted with them with polite Inquiries about friends nnd relatives, and gave to each her pleas-antest pleas-antest smile a slightly wooden smile It was, which she had standardized for use on all such occasions. "Where Is Musia?" stttd Vladimir, as he looked about before withdrawing. withdraw-ing. "She was here a moment ago." "Musia?" replied Mrs. Krassin. "One never can tell where she Is. As one's children grow up, they sometimes some-times seem strange to one. I think the revolution has changed our young people." "Youth always looks extravagant to the preceding generation," said the colonel, as he prepared to io out with the princess. "To look so is Musla's privilege nnd her greatest charm." The group, over whom hung Impending Im-pending doom, had broken up. Mrs. Krassin still sat on her divan alone, wonderin; why she and tier daughter were not closer to each other. Nothing Noth-ing had happened between them. She had not even pressed the .project of Musla's marriage witli Vladimir, which . had for years been tacitly arranged, . ft and which, Mrs. Krassin felt, ought to ' take place now. It would permit her to devote herself to the task of piloting pilot-ing Ilya through this time of peril with greater singleness of purpose. And while she so mused, Ilya himself rushed Into the room. "Mother." he cried pantlngly. "I have been Insulted I I have been robbed 1 A Rolshevlk boast In a peasant's peas-ant's smock took my motor carl I will not endure It 1" Mrs. Krassin's eyes were cold no x longer they were tilled with the 1 fierce tenderness of a tigress whose cub Is In peril. She rushed to him and threw her arms about his neck. "You must he calm, my darling." said she soothingly. "You must not Indulge In revenge. We must be , diplomatic 1" "But I have been questioned like a moujik by this traitor! I have had to skulk through the streets on foot and 1 was followed me an oilicer of the Guards! And I know who the miscreant Is. He Is that fellow who was a Hiievlng steward on our estate, and who went to prison ; and " Ilya threw off his mother's embrace and turned to the window. He was weeping with humiliation, and trembling trem-bling as with fright He did nol wish for his mother to see him in this condition, con-dition, and moved toward the door. "And did this man," said Mrs. Krassin, Kras-sin, "what name did they call hlra Loris?" "They called him Vilinsky Tova-rlsch Tova-rlsch Vilinsky what difference does it make I'll kill him!" "Now, let us be diplomatic," said Mrs. Krassin soothingly. "Let us use our brains. Did tills scoundrel recognize recog-nize you?" "I do not know nor care!" cried Ilya; but ruled by bis mother's earnestness earn-estness he went on. "Yes I believe he knew me. Yes, I am sure he did I" CHAPTER IV An Invasion by the Hun On the day when Tovarisch Vilinsky paid Musia Krassin the compliment of asking her to play for him, he had no idea of acting the part of the Hun and Invading the sacred House of Krassin. He was sweeping like a dust cloud through the streets of Kazan in his motor car when the Idea occurred to him as he passed it. "Is not thai the house of the bourgeois, bour-geois, Krassin the one we just passed?" he asked, turning to a clerk who was with him. Revolutions make changes In languages lan-guages as well as In governments and in souls. The Krassins were as far as possible from what was before the revolution called "the bourgeoisie" ; for they were not middle class, nor tradespeople, nor mean, nor vulgar, nor commonplace. Rut now they were all called bourgeoisie all above the proletariat. Or below them: for there were some who saw the old prophecy coming to. fruition, when "every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall he made low," but if also It meant that "the crooked shall be made, straight, nnd the rough places plain," which part ef the prophet's message was rather lost sight of, Tovarisch Vilinsky was certainly a strange agent for the world's rectification. rectifi-cation. "Yes, Tovarisch," replied the clerk very respectfully, "that is the Krassin house." "Turn back I" commanded Vilinsky. "1 want to take a look at that house, and at the people In it! I may need that house; and 1 should like to see now this band of bloodsuckers live." A maid heard the sharp and Impatient Impa-tient ring of the bell and made breathless breath-less speed to open the door and stared In amazement at this man In the peasant's smock with his peasant followers standing before her. "Go to the back door," she con-manded. con-manded. "This Is not for such as you I" Her Indignation turned to amazement amaze-ment when Vilinsky and his men, paying pay-ing not the slightest attention to her reprimand, pushed by her Into the hull, throwing the door wide open, and walked calmly In, down the hall and through rooms, looking at everything with sneering curiosity, befouling the rugs and floors with dirt from the streets, lingering precious things, like a party of barbarians strolling through a palace of ancient Rome. Nobody sought to prevent them. Vladimir and the other young men were nowhere in sight. Ilya Krassin was in his rooms. The invaders .were not asked why they came. The house was In paralysis. They on their part asked no questions and sought no directions. di-rections. They paid no nitention to any of the stupefied inmates of the house. They were calm, curious, impudent, im-pudent, like tourists strolling without understanding through the cathedral of some alien and despised faith. (TO BE CONTINUED.) |