Show 6 L f PP Z S 41 set a telegraph instrument over which he sometimes sometime presided to clicking y SYNOPSIS frederick hardy a fashionable boston ocleta society man lost hla him wealth wis was jilted by a girl awl and tent sent by a friend to take lake charge an american trading company store n Itus lia on its ills journey through P j japan apal he e met stapleton neville supposedly p ased ly ai aa they agreed to go co tg together ether to Fl yla because or 0 auspicious distances they were several times molested by the japanese hardy was waa arrested and found upon hla his person were papers showing maps of jap jai forts tartly hardy was proven guiltless or on a train he met alseme sano daughter of 0 a lap jap merchant in nevilles shoes lap jap found pictures of forts Provi nir him to IH hill a auslan spy hardy flardy departed tor for itus cla on a st ennier which was wrecked va ho dortly r aly afterward he iii was wag rescued by a rus ian steamer on reaching vladivostok he ha was wai well treated lie ile started for Si siberia berla meeting princess princes Koman Roman ovna on the t he train hardy b bardh da a vessel vesel ves el tor for amur hardy showed the princess hla lit expertness ax as u wit rifle shot hot the tha steamer was stranded the princess prin ress anti anil her dnald were attacked by chinese tardy hardy iad their liver hies the princess thanked tardy hardy for or ills his heroism manchurians Manchur Manchu lani rians anred upon the craft hardy slew their chief burning arrows were hurled burled upon tile the Push kins bechs an attempt was made mad c to board the v vessel m s1 sa the attacking chinese were cepul repulsed ld noma romanoff sneered at fl hardys ardys solicitude for the princess stanka a messenger sent bent for it kielp p was nailed to a cross crosa on tile the shore to put put nn 1 ead nd to the awful torture leardy him himself if put stanka stank a out of lit ills rn hillry taking talt liiK his own life I 1 11 his hands lia nils dorest ile arpi menaced the vessel hardy volunteered volunteers d to go ro tor for help Rf effused fused permission b ho jumped overboard inq started to wim swim with the priness princess distress message niesa aRp ro ko fannif was angov at tardy hardy tor for his brave brav e efforts ff orts to rescue the princes print sa lie he wooed b rier er in his own way ile he said aid hardy ardy bad made de love loie openly to a japanese n e arv airl help earnt came mid ind the ibe prin princa wa was rescued CHAPTER knight errant hardys ardys Il journey down the swift vague mysterious river that night was an experience never to be forgotten often as aa lie clung citing to ills hla little raft hla his knees would scrape on the sort soft solid sand and just as aa frequently lie he would swing off into deep water and hang suspended above depths where he might easily drown should he be take a cramp or lose his nervo nerve several times lie hei grounded on sand banks and was obliged to drag oft off hla his wooden buoy a matter of no little difficulty its as it was partly waterlogged water logged and very heavy once he be drifted close to shore chore and found himself in a counter cur current runt that actually was tailing him back toward the and it was only by timing at right angles to this and giving ills raft frequent vigorous pushes that lie managed nt lit last to get out into the downward sweep of the stream four hours after leaving the boat he was on the military road that stretched dimly gray between the stolid silent black of the siberian forests and the itar star sprinkled whispering black of the river he reached the tha military station a rambling building of square aquaro hewn logs flanked blanke d by several small structures about ten and breaking his bottle gave his dispatch to a white haired and corpulent soldier with a very red face whose frayed and faded uniform proved him a petty officer of soma some sort this man glanced through the paper with wondering eyes then rafai it aloud to a aoude script group of old women two or three soldiers and a farmer or two who soon collected about him then he dashed into the house and set a telegraph Ins instrument over which he some sometimes times pre presided sideri 0 clicking hardy chilled to the marrow now that he be had bad ceased walking and running and wearied to the point of collapse sank bank on a rustic artistic bench bellev believing himself forgotten in the excitement evidently occasioned by his news in this he soon found himself mistaken however for a toothless 0 old id crone with a kindly face and a red handkerchief tied over her head came up to him aad and taking him by the arm inquired Zak ile he swallowed three glasses of vad vodka 1 ka and ravenously devoured several caviar sandwiches after which he was supplied with warm dry clothing on and d tricked away in bed when he awoke it was mid afternoon and the old commandant had delved into a russian french dictionary sufficiently to dig out the words which he pronounced many times with a smiling face Sa satires tives monsieur tous tons natives sau ves thereby affording the american the greatest joy and relief arid and establishing his own reputation at the station as aa a wonderful wonder fill scholar irardy remained at the station one week at the end of which time he resumed his journey to on horseback escorted by a halt half dozen cossacks Ous Cus sacks bound for on some military mission or other ile he learned very soon boon after hla his or ai rival at that the relief party had put in an appearance a short time after his start down the river on ills perilous trip a and lid that the prin princena princesa cesA had been rescued this time entirely without his aid CHAPTER hardy receives two letters letter the store at was a low rambling building constructed in the sha apfl of a capital C E without the middle dle bar A high board fence connect ins ing the extremities ot of the two wings W if one side of a equal e yard which contained out buildings and sheds for horses a droshky or two and several of the long boat soaped that hat do duty in that hint country as drays in the outhouse moreover was kept a supply of plows an and dother other agricultural implements while tho the store itself was waa stocked with an immense and motley assortment of geri benr eral merchandise suited to the retail demand of the region and for wholesale shipments to the towns along the river on which 8 tream stream la is located hardy found tho the city itself deary in thi the extreme consisting merely of a collection of raw squalid houses located on dusty or muddy streets it was as aa new and rough as tho the newest frontier town in america and hopelessly unattractive despite the fact that it was surrounded by noble hills and that the beautiful flowed between it t and the extensive railroad shops that are maintained at this point during his first day in tho the town he be put up at th the hotel b lit ut found the lodging so BO abominable the fare so ao execrable and the atia servi ceso inso insolent I 1 ent that ho he was glad to engage an old peasant woman of all work and begin housekeeping in some borne unoccupied rooms of 0 the trading companas Comp anys store besides this old woman his only companion was a young russian dork clerk who spoke a little bad english which lie he practiced on hardy with such persistence si that lie he became a nuisance entertaining entertaining him with such buch remarks as s a good morning mr hardy the barn of roy my store Is not so largo large as the iho barn of my iny uncle have you seen the barn of my uncle or good evening mr dardr blardy do you think the black horse la Is as good as aa the u white horse neither r the one nor the other to Is so good as the horse of my aunt this interesting person was possessed of the skin of a n baby pink cheeks very thick red lips ills blue eyes and tinfoil tin foil half hair ills his name was vasil ile he imagined lit himself a great merchant and tits his manner toward hardy oscillated between superciliousness cilious ness and the other extreme of sudden servility clity when reminded of his position ile he was either presumptuous on or groveling it was impossible to treat him as an equal and here from the very start hardy got his ahls first arst taste of hard work and came caino to 0 realize what a blessing it 11 h how bow it ennobles a mans surroundings roun rou dings tidings however strange prosaic or uninviting and what a royal panacea it Is for blues homesickness lovesickness or any species of festering discontent in addi addition tiou to the dally daily business of the store it was necessary to for him to take stock familiarize himself with the details of the trade get what idea ho be could of the accounts study the coin commercial mercial possibilities of tho the region ile he saw immediately that if lie did n not ot wish to continue at the mercy of he must learn the russian language as soon as pom ible this indeed must be ills hils first object lie he must swallow russian in great gulps and must digest tt it ile he therefore looked about for a teacher the only available person he could find w was a 8 a russian jew who despite his yo youth u th wore ware a great bale of bushy busby red whiskers falling failing to the fourth button buttion of his shabby waistcoat mordecal baruch knew english very we well 11 as he had spent several years in new york in the factory of a relative engaged there in the manufacture of caps ile he undertook to teach hardy russian and he found the latter a most assiduous pupil devoting as many as four hours a day to the subject hardy had bad not been long in stry before he received a letter from mrs johnny Pol Fol listone katone the doston society leader calling him a n naughty loy boy for running away to the ends of the earth and deserting all his friends and assuring him that society would not have been able to do with OU out t him money or no money had he seen fit to remain another letter received not long a after his arrival in gave him more pleasure it was written on the daintiest daintie st and lightest of japanese paper in very small and exquisitely Is lately formed form dad script As hardy picked this letter up fir from am ills his writing table there was something about it that suggested cemini femininity III ty even before lie he opened it A woman eh eb lie he ro uttered muttered and in japan I 1 wonder who are in japan this summer perhaps the castle tons tona ile he held the envelope closer to his eyes to examine tho script to see it if he be could guess at the writers identity when the problem waa solved A faint and elusive perfume arose arase to his nostrils so faint as to be almost imperceptible cep tible yet imperishable as the hie memory of a kiss and the image of alseme took shapo shape again in his mind alseme Al sonie as she had stood that night on the wharf at Hak Ilak him goodby good by dainty act aa a mrion flower ex exquisite BS as a queen of fairyland fairy land yokohama auguet 16 18 you will perhaps bo be surprised nt at hear ing from me but you will not accuse me mb of forwardness I 1 mm am sure aure when you learn my beason or addressing you in this manner some time ago the estimable mr air sano sane 1111 me did lionor honor ot of desiring to marry me soon utter alter your departure for Hak he again agnin offered olT Tel me hla him hand anil and when I 1 made it plain to liim tin that I 1 niver consent he bee me very angry anti ani accused me tow how a shall I 1 express myself 0 1 having become infatuated with the ithe meaning you in his jealous rase rage he revealed the fact act that tio lio had given shiret orders to tho th captain rap tali of the seikoku maru to have you of you will never lie he exclaimed claimed gnashing his boeth like a wolf behold your beloved american again you con can imagine that this thin confession did not advance ad vanco sir sann it to any great extent in my esani though nhounh I 1 did not betray myself mym K to him I 1 was wn nearly frantl concerning you I 1 went to in the higher authorities thorit ties les told them frankly of aanos pro p pal to me and of 0 ills plot against your life I 1 disel almed any Inter interest Int freit ext in in you further than the fact that you were innocent and that you weri a well known american and that it would not be wise bile at this time lima to excite AmT lenn Imatt lity or t i involve japan in witt with that country sano wing belna summoned denied the plot denied that he h had ever sought my hand or 01 that he had any feeling for me except aim illation for or my talents the authorities were rather amused over the ho affair and affined to think that I 1 bore sano private grudge which I 1 I 1 was trying to pay off I 1 win was reduced to des depala depa wg lr r hardly knowing what ahat course to pursue next when tho news arrived that the seikoku mara mar had bait been wrecked and t that n I 1 you were taken off and carried to vird by a merchant steamer I 1 tako take it for granted that you are barely in eru ero this ind and are ply immersed in new duties suno by the lie way Is so hitter bitter against tile me now and so go intent on rny my rula that 1 I have lave applied for ser iser viet in manchuria III cli urla a task ask for which I 1 am fitted by my thorough it knowl knowledge edke of the chinese language so ISO you ufa see into what trouble you have kot got me by railing tiling ef rn mc your queen of fairyland and your t title lilac ulo som bom are ara not women silly I 1 am firmly convinced that this to flattery tl renders them tor for all serious work in the world out but I 1 could not rest reat without letting you know that I 1 did not deceive you and that I 1 ani am not the treacherous creature crea you must h hava ave thought me it you gained any inkling of 0 tile the upon you I 1 sup OUR pose you have entirely forgotten your japanese I 1 fri erlanda endis fre ere this und and that you anve il become an 1111 enthus lad admirer or 0 th the e beauty of the ti russian Itu aslan indies In illis still it if you should ever think ot of me again I 1 should hate to have any unpleasant im lon with tile tha memory of 0 ona whom ahorn you once thought ot or as ai IL 11 blossom Hlo oni anil and a queen of 0 balry land am ain I 1 not silly lloyt your friend ile he gained from the tha letter that also me was a most feminine woman despite her calling but the idia never occurred to him that she bhe was in love with him CHAPTER the hated jew one morning as liardi was busy at his desk in the rear of tile tho principal room ot of the store kastli came and stood beside him smiling su superciliously are there many jews in america he asked I 1 hardy believing that this was simply another attempt on the part of ills hla clerk to take an english lesson replied sharply 1 I dont know dont talk to me now please im busy but vasill contrary to his custom when lie he was coolly received per allied the jews are very numerous in russia they are much hated by the christians christiana they crucified our saviour and they sacrifice young children to their heathen rites this was rather an extended effort for vasill and though it had a decided ring there was something in his manner that indicated a deeper purpose than the mere desire to profit by his hia superiors english nonsense exclaimed tardy hardy with irritation 1 I have no patience with any such folly that Is all an idle superstition unworthy to be entertained by a man of your intelligence nonsense Is 18 it sneered vasill my aly father hates the jews and my uncle hates them worse than my father do the americans americana love the jews no they do not love them neither do they hate them some of our best citizens are jews there la Is no such thing as religious persecution in america any man la Is respected in that country who earns his living honestly 10 vasill went about his work but returned later with the remark the people of town want |