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Show .. ir ji : We I r ; Have : Changed : AH That i By Herbert Quick and ' Elena Stepanoff Mac Mahon ' -; , Copyright by ' , The Bobbs-Merrill Co. j WNU Service L m m A- -J THE STORY Commissar Vllinsky's Soviet squad invades the home of Kras-ain, Kras-ain, aristocrat at Kazan. The family consists of J udge Kras-sin, Kras-sin, Mrs. Krassin, Ilyu, former officer, and Musia. Vladimir, former for-mer officer, is Blusla's fiance. Mra. Krassin expressed fear for her son's safety. Ilya recognizes in Vilinsky a former dishonest steward. Musia wonders if she 'is to be a victim of the "nationalization "national-ization of women." To Vladimir. Musia criticizes her brother Ilya's acceptance of the situation. situa-tion. She knows Vladimir is a member of an organization working work-ing for the downfall of the Eol-sheviki. Eol-sheviki. Vladimir kills a Bolshevik Bolshe-vik soldier and is arrested. A raiding party searches the Krassin Kras-sin home. Ilya is taken prisoner. Planning to save her son, Mrs. Krassin induces Musia to accompany accom-pany her on a visit to Loris. The latter is busy and they are obliged to wait. 4 ; CHAPTER IX Continued , 16 He pointed out to them a vacant tench on tlie station platform beside the train. An old dirty bench. Here they sat for a long time, patiently awaiting audience. The bench grad- - ually filled up with people as time crawled on, mostly shabby soldiers and shabbier old women. Musia noted the fact that she was the only girl among them. All seemed awaiting some decision as to their various destinies, des-tinies, for all save some of the soldiers sol-diers looked depressed and anxious. Two or three times she went t6 the guard and asked when their turn-would turn-would come, as she had seen many people who had come after them, going go-ing into the car and emerging. Always Al-ways she received the same answer: "Tovarisch is busy." Thus many hours passed. They began be-gan to see that because of their appearance ap-pearance of rank they were to be the last admitted. It was a new age of Inequality. Mrs. Krassin sat impassive. When Musia had attempted anything in the way of conversation, she was ignored. It seemed as If a barrier had interposed inter-posed itself between them. The silence was oppressive. To Musia the discrimination dis-crimination against them in the matter mat-ter of admission seemed to augur against their success. As for Mrs. Krassin, she seemed to have taken on the stolidity of the patient peasant women with whom she wnlted on the bench, accepting her leveling with the crowd. At last they were the only ones left on the bench, and the guard, throwing the words at them as one casts a bone to a dog, told them to enter the car. They stepped into a corridor, and then Into the reception room. Both were splendidly rich. There were large Turkish divans all around the walls of the reception room ; and on - these divans, on the walls, and on the floor, were magnificent Persian nigs. The oriental aspect imparted to the place by these things was heightened by a collection of swords, pistols and knives In richly embossed leather, carved ivory and beautifully chased and ornamented gold and silver sheaths and holsters, some of them set with diamonds, turquoises and other precious stones; all these tastefully disposed on the walls. The room did not look like the workroom work-room of a functionary, but suggested leisure, luxury, voluptuousness all with a touch of the barbaric. Mrs. Krassin felt HI at ease. This unexpected magnificence depressed her as she thought of the little collection of jewels she had brought. She felt depressed and Indignant, as she looked around her end thought, "Everything here Is stolen from ns." She felt Insulted and abused by what she saw. Her presence In this brigand's nest was a humiliation. Then she recalled her errand and from that moment she felt no contradictory contra-dictory impulse or hesitation. Ilya's rescue and redemption took possession of all her heart and soul. With a trembling hand she straightened straight-ened the lace at her breast, cast a side glance at Musia and was pleased to note how pure and pretty she looked. Mechanically she pushed down to the bottom of her reticule the money and Jewelry she had fetched with her. Musia saw the movement and lowered her eyes ; their little treas-, treas-, ure, she thought, was of small ac count here. Again they waited a long time, standing a little apart In the middle of the room. There was no rule of .. etiquette In the Bolshevist headqunr- I ters, and visitors might sit or stand as they pleased; but they knew that they were Incurring the possibility of being rebuked if they seated themselves, and they felt that their self-respect re-quired re-quired them to stand. Suddenly the I'ersian hanging which covered the doorway into the inner apartment was swept aside, and a tall man In Cossack uniform stepped In. They were face to face with the great Bolshevik commissar. Mrs. Krassin In the days Immediately Immedi-ately following often tried to recall the details of Loris' appearance; but she had a confused remembrance of bright, Intelligent eyes, a scar across a white forehead, a silver earring worn after the fashion of some of the Cossacks. Musia remembered every feature the slender hands which showed no trace of former toil, the flaring, sensitive sensi-tive nostril, like that of a Arab horse, the arched eyebrows, the graceful movements of every limb. Ue was as different from that nnsty wretch Vilinsky Vilin-sky as Apollo from a satyr; she had half expected that there would be a resemblance between them, and was relieved. But when he spoke, her heart sank again. With a quick gesture of habitual authority he dismissed the guard. He did not apologize for having kept them waiting' so long outside, or for keeping keep-ing them standing in the reception room. He looked Mrs. Krassin over with a glance which moved from her feet to her head in a manner that was unspeakably un-speakably rude; and then he turned his gaze upon Musia. Their eyes met, and for a moment she gazed Into those black orbs which had struck so many visitors with terror. Her glance dropped to the floor, while she remained re-mained conscious that he was scanning scan-ning her face with a continuance of that incivility of his. A tinge of red dyed her cheeks, and her heart beats tingled her finger ends. Then she became conscious that, after the guard had departed, he had indicated, half by a word, half by a gesture, that they were to be seated. She stole another glance at him. This invitation to be seated looked favorable favor-able to her, and she wanted to verify her changing appraisement of the man their antagonist. Nothing Bolshevik-about Bolshevik-about him, she felt. His eye glanced from one of his visitors to the other; from Mrs. Krassin, Kras-sin, with her haughty plain face, the face of one in torment, to Musia, with her pallor just tinged at his impudent glance with pink, her wide anxious eyes, her blond head, her dainty girlish girl-ish purity and prettiuess, her atmosphere atmos-phere of culture qualities of which he had seen little In that ogre's den of his. "Well?" he said Interrogatively but In a voice which conveyed the idea that he was always saying it to some one, and cared very little what the response might be. Mrs. Krassin began her speech. Hei looked toward the door with the manner man-ner of one conscious of taking part in some unusual proceeding, and wondering won-dering whether or not anyone is overhearing over-hearing or observing it. He moved uneasily, lifted his hand as If In protest pro-test when Mrs. Krassin had uttered a sentence or two, but after a glance at Musia he sat Impassive as she went on. . . Speaking In what she had always thought her best manner, Mrs. Kras-: sin laid her case before him. She laid great stress on her words, stringing, them on the thread of her discourse like pearls. She usually spoke well, and on this greatest of all occasions of her life, she did her very best. She suggested that her son, Ilya, had been apprehended by the party sent out by . the commissar, under some misappre-1 hension ; and she dwelt on the harmless harm-less character of Ilya, and showed that the idea of his having been engaged, in any plots or conspiracies was utterly ut-terly out of the question. It was a good deal of an oration. The fact that the woman was pleading for something much dearer to her than life did not seem to occur to Loris. Perhaps he had become calloused cal-loused to appeals of this sort; and, after all, as Mrs. Krassin's speech-drew speech-drew on to a length approaching that of a lecture, one in Loris' position mny be excused for being a little hprcd. The thing was so very plain. Either the matter would be resolved nccord-i ing to her desires, or It would not ;. and that was all there was to It. He made one or two movements of impatience; impa-tience; but each time he looked at Musla's anxious ghostly face, with all the pink driven back to her heart now, and withheld his protest. Mrs. Krassin began with "My son was arrested," ar-rested," and ended after what seemed even to Musia like a very long time, with "1 hope you will," and "My innocent inno-cent ion." At the end, according to the Russian custom, she handed lilm a written petition. (TO BE CONTINUED.) |