| OCR Text |
Show We Have Changed All That ly Herbert Quid and Elena Stepanoff Mac Mahon Copyright by The Bobbs-Merrill Co. WNU Service THE STORY Commissar Vllinsky's Soviet squad invades the home of Krns-sin, Krns-sin, aristocrat at Kazan. The family consists of J urlge Kras-s Kras-s in, Mrs. K rassin, Ilya. former officer, ar.d Musia. Vladimir, former for-mer officer, is Musla's fiance. Mrs. K rassin expressed fear for her son's safety. Ilya recog nizes in Vilinsky a former dishonest steward. Musia wonders If she is to be a victim of the "national-IzEition "national-IzEition of women." To Vladimir, Musia criticizes her brother Iiya's acceptance of the situation. situa-tion. She knows Vladimir Is a member of an organization working work-ing for the downfall of the Bolshevik!. Bol-shevik!. Vladimir kills a Bolshevik Bolshe-vik soldier and is arrested. A raiding rarty searches the Krns-sin Krns-sin home. Ilya is taken prisoner. CHAPTER VIII 14 A Strange and Valuable Piece of Goods As the days passed with Tlya still hidden in the black cavern of Bolshevism Bol-shevism Mrs. Krassin felt despair rolling roll-ing over her in great waves actual waves came upon her, in surges which began in her breast and swelled until the very ends of her lingers tingled tin-gled wilh the misery of it; and she would start up wilh clenched hands like one in the extremily of desperation despera-tion rising to meet some grisly foe in a battle to the very death. Once she forgot that she was not alone, and summoning Sasha, the maid, asked for her cloak. She looked embarrassed em-barrassed when Musia asked if she were going out, and putting the cloak 'on went Into the grounds and wandered wan-dered about a thing which she never did. She walked about mourning that she could not have Ilya with her Instead In-stead of Musia. riya, she deceived herself into saying, would And some way of liberating Musia if their places were reversed; but Musia could do nothing. Nothing! She thought of what she herself would do if she could to save her son from danger. If only Ilya had committed com-mitted murder, so that she could take the crime upon herself; If she could only submit to some great humiliation to save him; if she could have her limbs torn off for him; if only the Bolshevik! were simple savages who would bj satisfied with torturing some one, and she could go to the stake, or be dragged by wild horses for him. Jesus, she thought,- was crucified for the world; but how glad would she be to go to the cross for one little fair-haired fair-haired boy! Nest day, as Mrs. Krassin walked about the room, she stopped beside Musia, who was reading a book of plays, and looked down attentively for a long time at the blond head so prettily and studiously bent over her book. Musia was sweeter and more attractive than ever, she thought and there were poets and other writers who spoke of the great power of beauty! It was beauty which one time launched a thousand ships and fired the topless towers of Ilium; but what could her daughter's sweetness and beauty do in this time of awful need? A feeling of antagonism stirred In her heart at this helplessness, when anyone ought to be able to do something. some-thing. Musia, on her part, looked np with her pitying smile, and thought how much her mother had aged, tier purplish mottled cheeks sagged more than ever, and the skin of her throat hung loose over the lace. There was indecision, in-decision, thousand tormenting fears in Mrs. Krassin's face. She was seeing a vision of Ilya, led out to be shot against some blank wall. Her mind, usually clear and well balanced within its limitations, worked heavily at this one terrible thought. She stood for a long time studying Musia as if she were some strange and valuable piece1 of goods; then her eyes looked past the girl into vacancy. She seemed in a dream; but in that dream her will decided a conflict within with-in itself; and when she returned to a consciousness of her surroundings, she had decided something which thus far she had confronted only vaguely. The plan she had adopted in (his half-trance half-trance now looked so simple, so obvious, obvi-ous, that she became impatient to put it into execution at once: but when she spoke of it to her daughter she chose hpr words carefully and watched Musia closely, as if, for the first time, she was afraid the girl would refuse to assent to her mother's wish. "1 think," said she very impressively, impressive-ly, "that ! have come to a reasonable, an important, and a t ood decision. The longer we leave Ilya In prison the worse It Is sure to be. The Bolshevik! Bol-shevik! are whimsical. They get new commanders every little while. This I. oris Is a man who can see our point of view, at least, from what the colonel col-onel 'ays of him. The next to follow may be a madman. We must act immediately im-mediately and energetically." These were the words of the Mrs. Krassin of old; but her manner wa? new to Musia. Perhaps for the first time In Mrs. Krassin's life, she was appealing, hopeful. She approached Musia as if to embrace her, half com mantling, half begsing for approval of her plan. "i'es, mother," said Musia, "If you can think of anything we can do " "I 'hink, dear. It would he good If you would go with me to see this Col-shtvisi Col-shtvisi commissar.' "Of course, mother iarling!" exclaimed ex-claimed Musia, touched by her mother's moth-er's meek and pleading mode of addressing ad-dressing her. "I will go with you anywhere. any-where. Tou needn't ask me In that way. Am I not still your little girl?" Impulsively she threw both arms about lit. mother's neck and kissed her affectionately; Mrs. Krassin gently gent-ly hut quickly disengaged herself from Mnsia's grasp. . . . She went to an old mahogany secretary, opened It, and from a secret Compartment took out n littl" malachite box. She laid the small casket in Musla's lap. "The remainder of our jewels," she said. Musia looked up at her encouragingly; encourag-ingly; for she understood her mother and divined the cause of her embarrassment, embar-rassment, she thought. "The:'? Jewels," Mrs. Krassin went on, "are always handed down to the daughters. Are you willing to ransom Ilya with them?" "Why, mammy, darling," exclaimed Musia, "how can you ask! We will give up everything for Ilya." "Everything," repeated Mrs. Krassin. "Everyl hing." said Musia again. "We must take this casket with us." Mrs. Krassin sighed with satisfaction. satisfac-tion. She opened the lovely hox. "An opal and diamond necklace," said she, letting the splendid tiling fall to its full length. "It is very precious. Here are several diamond rings. See this emerald brooch I And this, and this, and this all valuable. And we still have some money in gold : not much, but it may help. Will not those dogs rather have these things than the Wood of my innocent boy?" "You know," said Musia, lowering her voice and speaking lightly and hurriedly as If to Indicate to her mother that she did not care a fig for the jewels, "I have still In my room several little pieces of Jewelry." "Oh, no!" Interposed Mrs. Krassin as if the girl's generosity pained her. "We don't need them I Keep them !" She took the jewels one by one from the box and stared at them as If trying try-ing to fix her thoughts on them. With a bit of suede which she found in the bottom of the casket she rubbed some of the stones, ' then examined them as they lay in her hand; then forgot what she was doing and looked at the Jewelry with her thoughts afar off. "Yes," said she at last, "Lorls Is the best person for us to see. We shall have to go down Into the railway rail-way yards where he lives in his car. Tomorrow morning. I think he receives re-ceives in the morning. Loris has more power than any of them." "1 feel sure of It," replied Musia, "and from what is said, he is more Intelligent In-telligent than the rest. 1 am glad It Is not that beast Vilinsky I" Mrs. Krassin now sat with puckered brows, frowning, pondering. When Musia spoke of Vilinsky as a beast, her mother shot a quick glance at her this was the nearest Musia had ever come to any mention to her mother of any subject connected with sex. But, probably, after all, she did not know what Vilinsky had meant. Probably, notwithstanding her expression. It was a random shot drawn from her by her repulsion to (he man. The matter passed from the other woman'i mind. At such a time It was of no consequence conse-quence anyhow. There was something she wished to say i Musia she felt a sudden revulsion against that visit to the Bolshevik commissar's headquarters. head-quarters. It was Impossible to tell Musia why; impossible to give up the visit Ilya might even new he marching march-ing out to stand before the wall. . . . She resumed the busy air of a person going over details of not much Importance. Im-portance. "And while 1 think of it," she remarked re-marked casually, "don't tell anyone , we're going." She Is afraid out friends will stop us, thought Musia. Mother afraid of such a tiling, of all people In the world! Poor mother 1 Of course they would s'op us If they ould, but all the same, it must he done. "No, mammy," she said, "I won't say a word." (TO BE CONTINUED.) |
