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Show Have Oiaiijed All Tliat by Herbert Qalcli and Elena Stepanoff XIac laLon Copyright by The Bobbs-M-errlll Co. ViKU Scnrlc CHAPTER IX Continued 17 Without glancing al the rtucuinenf he commanded her to lay It on the Iran; and then he looked hoth women over again with ahsnrhed attention Something in the affair seeuied to command his interest, and even amused him. Evidently he was solving solv-ing some riddle, as he silt looking at them In that silent emharrassing way of his, glancing ofiener and oftene.i at Musia as the expression of his eyes hinted that the riddle was dearing up. and that he had found the solution in the young girl's presence. And something some-thing like hate and disgust began to characterize his scrutiny of Mrs. Krasslu; a little cynical smile curled his lip as he looked It her. Musia's heart sank; for she seemed to understand by 'iat small disdainful sndle that their cause was lost. If he had spoken hruskly his denial, she would not have been more sure and yet her mother did not seem to feel it. Something In Loris' hold look at her made Musia shrink. "The best thing to do Is to go away," said she to herself, her-self, watching very keenly their Judge who was at the same time ihelr adversary. ad-versary. Her mother had made some mistake, she felt, and everything was spoiled. What that mistake had been she could not conceive; hul the fact she apprehended very clearly. "Who Is this young lady?" Lorls shot the question a I Mrs. Krassln like a crosse.vaminer. "My daughter," replied Mrs. Krassln. Kras-sln. "Ilya's sister." "Why did you bring her here?" "She " stammered Mrs. Krassln "We ure both torn by anguish for my son her brother. We would give anything any-thing life, liberty I would give my body and my soul to rescue him. He is my life!" "Yourself body and soul !" exclaimed ex-claimed "oris, with a bitter and ironic smile. "And," Insinuatingly, "1 suppose sup-pose this young lady would be equally liberal In the matter or you for her?" There was a movement at the door, as If come one were about to enter. Loris rose, and by gesture as of dismissal dis-missal brought them to their feet. A soldier came in with a message; and as he crossed the room glanced sharply sharp-ly at the group the two women standing stand-ing before the commissar, drooping as from u cutting rebuke, with Mrs. Kras-sin Kras-sin still holding In her hand the petition. "Stand aside for a moment !" The guard obediently stood aside, closely scrutinizing the faces of the others. "T think I understand you, madame. You are calculating on the impression made by the fine form and pretty face of your daughter. Ton think the Bolshevik Bol-shevik commander amenable to such Influences and you are liberal In your offers, or your suggestions as to carrying car-rying out any little arrangement which may be effective. Isn't that so? And I am sut you have something In reserve re-serve in your reticule, too from the manuer In which you hold It. Ton certainly adjust your elf admirably to a difficult situation, and neglect noth Ing. dear lady !" The Inconceivable brutality of this speech was such that for a moment Musia could scarcely believe that she had heard aright. Then as Loris' at-tltule at-tltule forced upon her the certainty that he had made this terrible charge against her mother she grew sick and dizzy, with a feeling that her heart had been physically crushed. She took her mother by the arm and drew her toward the door. Why did she linger after that? Musia's indignation indig-nation -ose as she saw her mother seemed n.t to resent the Insult; for Mrs. Krassin resisted the nree toward the door, stood fast in this room In which every moment's lingering was a compromise of honor. "Come," said Musia. "let us go! Let us go I" P. tit Mrs. Krassin would not yield. She si ill stood fast. She seemed to hope for success some sort of success. suc-cess. Lorls turned r.wa.v and finished with the guard tlir business upon which he had. ostenslWy at l"-)st en tered, and all through this space ol i time Musia was. without success, urg lag her mother to depart, "I see," said lie. "that the son Is the favorite child. Or perhaps you have accepted your own standards as to the comparative value ol an en forced stej) out of the path commended by moralists, if taken hy the daughter with no harm to her life and limb, to j save the very life of your son. Well. I some important historical characters J have fallen the same position. How I does Hie thin you had in mind when J you hroii-ht her here differ from mar- riau'e for wealth, or for position 1 it i- '-eally much less of a departure from ! I I straight and narrow path madame! j V- ti need not hurk so indii:nnf. rtlv ' l- .tr." ttirniiig to Musia. "You may or iii,:v not kr.ow your own mother and j her schemes: hut whether you are in nocent or ret. yoti are carrvin It oft admiral'iy I will say that for oii You add to your value as trading Moek ! I admit it. You are sjm;(: gn at ! Where did vorj gel that face aid form? Not from this mother nho'it w honi I am telling you or.ly the simple truth."' In ohed'onee to some instruction which Loris hod given to the guard i a soldier entered and stood at attention. at-tention. "You will wait outside until your daughter joins you!" A movement of his hand toward the soldier, the keen eye, the lift of the eyebrow, the command of the face told why Loris was. a commissar. The soldier stepped forward to lead Mrs. KrassiD out of the car. "One moment !" this to the soldier. "Madame, in parting with you, it will please you to know that the fate of your sin is not -et decided. I may add that 1 am beginning to see a new light upon the case. Such an able argument as yours could not fall to have Its effect on the candid mind. Mine is a candid mind! I now feel that I should hear further argument In the mailer. But the time which I can give to the subject is unfortunately unfor-tunately limited, and your oratory, which, as 1 have admitted, is able, lacks the merit of brevity. Such appeals ap-peals as may be made for him In the future must be offered by this fair advocate !" Musia was thrust back into the room by the leering soldier, who, In obedience obedi-ence to a wave of his commander's hand, took Mrs. Krassin out The long stay of the Iwo women, the fact that the system of espionage which prevailed pre-vailed among the Bolshevik! had revealed re-vealed the fact that they were seated Musia Was Thrust Back Into the Room by the Leering Soldier. In earnest conference with Loris, these things sent a ripple of Interest along the lines of Information that ran like a network of wires through the Bolshevist organization to Vilinsky, to I'etrov, aud on even to Lenine and Trotsky. . But as for Loris' holding the girl in consultation after her mother was excused, and of making public as he had in his speech in the presence of this soldier the fact that Musia must he the Intermediary If he heard more in behalf of Ilya this was quite a different thing from that long confabulation confab-ulation of the three shut in together. This was quite a natural thing. He who ran might read. liven under the dictatorship of 'I he proletariat, thought the soldier, as he stood guard over Mrs. Krassin on the platform, the olti-cers olti-cers had cerlan advantages over the common soldiers. Mrs. Krassin had been led to a henjh. hut she did not sil down. She stood like a hypnotized person who remains lixed In the posture In which the dominant mind has left her, her skirts pressed against the edge of the bench, her car turned toward the car In which she had left her daughter, her eyes staring in blank unregarclful-ness, unregarclful-ness, her reticule containing her Jew els In one hand, and her petition :o the commissar In the other, a dnrk and myslerions picture of (lie chaos In humanity wrought by chaos In society. (TCI PC CONTINUED 1 |