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About Lincoln County leader. (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 1904)
By Order of the Czar A Story of Russian Power By MARCUS E ASTLAKE CHAPTER I. It is a patch of sunlight a tiny patch, no larger than the palm of ray hand. I dreamily follow the bar of glis tening mutes upward, until my eyes are arrested by the grated window of a pris on. In an instant I have sprung from my low pullet, where God is pitiful! I have been sleeping away the last few hours of my mortal existence. I stand here on my prison floor, in full posses sion of nil my faculties, feeling the warm, swift blood coursing in my vejns. I fall to pacing the narrow limits of my cell with rapid strides. A burning impatience of inaction is consuming me a pressing desire to be doing some thing to bridge over the minutes which must elapse before the moment arrives when I shall Btride to the scaffold, with dauntless mien, to meet my doom. My acute sense of hearing detects the clink of the trap in my door. A pair of eyes are looking at me out of a brown, beard ed face. I smile and nod affably. "Good morning, Vladimir Alexandro vitch. I am glad to see you in good spirits," says my official. "And I thank you for your good wishes, my friend," I reply. "But my breakfast? I tell you, I have a fierce liunger upon me. Remember it will be the Inst time I shall have the pleasure of gratifying my keen appetite, until I take my first meal of nectar and ambro sia, and they might chance to keep ine long waiting for it on the other side." My official laughs. "Keep your mind easy, your breakfast comes; and look you," lowering his voice, "just becanse I love a brave spirit, little brother. I ' will deprive myself of some caviar I have iu reserve for my own relish." "Thanks, my Christian friend!" I cry, reaching my hand toward him through the trap. "May you never die hungry. One minute. Tell me, if you know if you have seen him the lad keeps, he a good heart?" My voice shakes In my eagerness, whilst I rifle my pockets for my last five-rouble note. "Take it, it is all I Tiave, or I would give you more. How bears he himself? He is but nineteen!" "I saw him even now." replies the man, as he seizes the note. "He does badly. He eats not, and his strength has left him. He lies on his bed and moves not " At these words the sweat starts to my brow, and the water to my eyes. "Friend, good friend," I whisper boarsely, "see him again! Tell him that Vladimir Alexandrovitch bids him be braie! Tell him to eat he must eat re he go forth!" "Listen. I will take your message, just because you are a brave one, and I like you." "I embrace thee, my brother!" I mur mur fervently; and he hurries away. ' I am alone again, and continue mv walk; but now my mind is troubled with a vision of the fair-faced boy stretched I on his pallet, and anon I seem to see his writhing body on the gallows. I shud der and smother a groan that rises to my lips, and turn to seek comfort in the reflection that it will soon be over for him. "He is sure to faint. God grant It!" Approaching steps in the corridor. My door is unlocked, thrown open, and here Is my breakfast and the caviar. When the official enters I wear a smiling face again, for I have a character to sus tain. No man should have it to say that be saw a cloud on the brow of Vladimir Alexandrovitch Lubnnoff on the morning of his execution. The official is watch ing me curiously. "How long now before the play be gins, my friend ?" I ask between the bites. It grntifies me to note how he flushes red, and stares at me a space, as if taken aback, before he stammers, "Twenty minutes. Excellency." I laugh. The notion of an ofuVial thrusting a title on a prisoner amuses me. After another prolonged stare he leaves me. Twenty minutes! Half nn hour hence I shall bo a lump of cold, senseless clay. And that mysterious actuating essence we call soul, what of it? What will be come of it. forced from the tenement wherein it has, for twenty-seven years, ruled supreme? Will it, too, be extin guished like a torch that Is stamped out under the foot of man? Away vain spec ulations. Let me rather, in these my last moments, sum up the good that has been mine. I have tasted as much hap piness as this world can offer, and I leave it ere it begins to pall. I have known the rare blessing of true friend chip. "My spirit flies out to meet thee, O my friend, and clasp thee in a farewell embrace!" I have I still rejoice hi the beauty and perfect excellence of wom an's pure and entire love! "Ah, my Maruscha, thou art my only regret. Could I but take thee with me, my dove! My better soul! For I know that w ithout me thy life henceforth will be but a joyless groping through a val ley where there is no sin." I am surprised by a tear on my cheek, and dnsh it hastily away. Boom! It Is the qunrter bell sounding from the fort ress clock. I close my eyes, and grad ually a feeling of peace descends on me. Now I can pray. My hands meet and lnt rlace. "Spirit of perfect Good, forgive me my Ins. Fortify me and my comrades In our last agony. Let the evil we have done perish with our bodies, and the good return to dwell eternally with Thee!" I hear the tramp of soldiery approach ing, tad raise my bead. "Maruscha, thou shalt not blush for me'" I whisper, and I feel that it is a rudiant face I show them as they enter. I advance to meet my executioner, place my arms in position and silently submit to be pinioned. Not a word is spoken, and in a minute we are ready, and pass ing in file along the corridor to join the others in the hall of the prison. I cast a swift glance from face to face of my fellow martyrs, which is answer ed by a flash of recognition and greeting from all save one, and that is noor Vasil. He Is a sorry spectacle; his blue eyes roll vaguely, without speculation ; his ashen lips hung apart. A gendarme is sup porting him. . , We are hide by side. "Vasil!" I whis per. He starts as if from some awful dream. Our eyes meet. He gives a great gasp, sets his lips tightly, and pulls himself together, and I am suddenly wheeled round and placed in the front. Then our last walk begins through the court, out of the gates into the great open space, where straight in front rises the long platform, and on it the gallows! Sudden as a flash, a shock of horror seizes me. Only now, with my terrible doom before my seeing eyes, do I fully realize it. To be hanged by the neck! Merciful God, stand by me! But as sudden my soul cries to my shrinking body. "What! Art going to fail now?" and I check the shudder that is already holding me, draw up my body to its full height and march steadily forward. The steps to the platform creak be neath my heavy tread. I stand high above the heads of the people, and over look them. Their thousand upturned faces are like the white waves of a troubled ocean. Which is Marscha's? My eager glances skim the multitude in search of it. It is there! Quite near me. I could almost kiss it by bending far forward. It is white. Ah! how white! but fi rm. The eyes are full of tenderness; they are melting with love unspeakable, but they are strong! Our hearts meet and min gle for one brief moment, then I tear mine away. I have a word to say before I die. I step forward to the edge of the platform and cry: "Brothers, I repent not! I die joy fully for the cause of liberty." The multitude stir and murmur like a forest of trees swayed by the wind. The drums roll out in deafeniug' peal. Already the executioner's hands are upon me. I cast one last look around on Ma ruscha, and up at the sky. Something is pulled over my eyes. I am hastily placed in position beneath the gallows. A momentary pause. I feel with one excruciating thrill of horror the touch of the loose rope, on my neck. A stupendous shock as if a crashing blow a noise as of many rushing waters In my ears a feeling as if my head was bursting asunder before my eyes a mill ion whirling planets, whilst I plunge nindly for a footing. Yet I do not die! I seem to suffer an eternity of agony befcre it gives place to stupefaction, and I pass away. CHAPTER II. Faintly, fearfully my spirit Is flutter ing in and out of the deserted house from whence it has been' driven, uncer tain to go or stay, giving me the faintest hint of my identity, to leave me again in darkness, yet returning each time with greater confidence, until it finally stays to feebly spread itself from heart to brain, and I realize that I am I. I try to move, though it costs me an effort My body feels as if swollen to an enormous size. I am oppressed for space. I strive to make elbow room. What is this? I stretch out my stiffen ed aims, and come in contact with my coffin! From all my pores the cold sweat is hnrsting. My brain is on fire as recollection rushes upon me the gal lows, my death agony, and the appalling conviction that 1 have been cut down too soon and buried alive! In my wild anguish I fight out madly with both hands; but, strange, I fight the air! There is no lid, then, to my coffin! I writhe myself into a sitting posture, and there dawns for me a glimmer of hope. Cautiously I begin to feel about me, growing every moment more mysti fied, for my hand comes in contact with a wooden surface, on which the coflin evidently stands. Though I am in my coffin, I certainly am not in my grave! A ray of light shoots suddenly from behind me across the gloom, revealing one side of the rough deal shell in which I sit, a strip of the table on which It rests, and facing me n door. I follow with my tortured eyehnlls the beam, and see that It is the moon shining through a small window. There is a door and a window, then, In my mysterious abiding place! The hope leaps instantly Into vig orous being, and with It the determina tion to escape. I feel strongly about the second life of mine, that It is a di vine gift direct from the hands of God. To have to yield it up now would be to die ten thousand deaths. My other life I risked on a forlorn hope, and lost There was justice in It. I knew the penalty, and had counted the cost. I suffered death in Its most degrading, most awful form, and have therefore paid in full. I have satisfied the law therefore this life I hold is all my own! and to the last drop of blood I will protect and defend it. I am In gome outhouse adjoining either a dissecting room or the residence of some doctor who has purchased my body for dissection. There are two means of exit, a door and a window. The for mer will be certainly locked. Toe win dow I turn toward It Is a casement Alas, (or my broad shoulder; It is small I ' However, It Is my one chanw. I must try it. As we are in summer when the nights are short, it must be the dead hour. I have no time to lose. I scram ble out of the coffin. I drop my stiffen ed legs to the floor. . I reel like a drunken man I make the half circuit of the table, reach .'lie window, and seek with my shaking fin gers for button or hasp, and there is a rush of cool night air on my brow. It revives me somewhat, and now for it! I set my teeth, and raise myself with 1 my hands by the frace, thrusting out my head and part of my shoulders. Then I i pause to gather up my forces. Some- : thing taps my crown, making my heart leap to my mouth. It is only the sway ing bough of a tree! Another violent effort and my shoulders stick fast! And now commences a fearful strug gle. It is almost as bad as hanging the sensations are certainly similar eyeballs starting, skull bursting, and legs plunging aimlessly, until a frantic kick backward brings my foot unexpectedly in contact with the edge of the tible, and I get a purchase. I strain every sinew. There is a crack ing and crunching which I imagine to be my shoulder blade, and I am precipitated forward, carrying the window frame, with a crash to the ground, where I lie, cut, bruised and panting. There is no sound save the wind tus sling with the trees and bushes that en close me. No! what is that? It is the faint music of trickling water! My very soul longs for it! My swollen and parch ed tongue makes a futile effort to lick my lips. At length, putting out my shaking hand, I feel the ground moist. Another movement, and yet another, ami I come in contact with a cool iron tank! Still one desperate effort, and I have dragged myself up by its edge. My fingers are in water, my lips touch it! I lake ah, whut a draught; and ninl; to the ground again, whilst tears I can not check rush to my eyes a perfect torrent of unspeakable relief. I scram ble to my feet. That drink has won derfully revived me. And a moment I pause to lave my temples In the water betore starting on my hazardous ven ture. To get out from amongst the trees and ascertain my whereabouts must be my first step; so I commence to feel my way along the wall until I turn the corner of my recent prison, and at length emerge under the open sky, on what ap pears to be a gravel drive. I can dimly discern the outlines of things near me, and within a few feet of me the sleep ing box of a watchman, which impels me to beat a hnsty retreat in amongst the trees again. Now I begin moving in a slanting direction, with a view to arriving at the garden wall; and I even tually come against it; but, alas! my hopes of escape are on the wane again it-is too high to scale! Baffled, but still determined, I set my teeth, and follow the wall. Presently I come out on a path, and before me is a long, iow shed, open to the front. "It Is a gar dener's, toolshed," I surmise, and swift as light follows the thought: "Here I shall surely find something to aid me!" I grope my way In, and just then, as if sent by a merciful Providence, the mcon breaks through a cloudrift, and shows me a gardener's light ladder. In a moment it is dark again. But I have the ladder, and the darkness is just what I want. It is the work of a few moments to place the ladder in position, to mount it, and drop to the other side. I lean for support against the wall, unconscious of everything snve the overwhelming shock of pain in my head. It is my head my head! If only it fail me not, I have confidence In my legs, uncertain though they be, to carry me whither I mean to go.. When I am able to open my eyes I at once recognize the locality, for I am as familiar with St. Petersburg as a school boj with the interior of his trousers' pockets. I am in the very heart of the city. This is the Nevski Prospect, and I stand outside the extensive grounds of Frof. Schleeman, one of the first sur geons we have, and second to few in the world. "And so you have purchased the body of your old pupil for dissection, little father!" I smile grimly. "And I am a thief, for I am stealing it from you." The light of a street lamp shines full on me. I retire quickly out of its radia tion, and pause to consider my next move. My object has been, since quitting the shady retreat of my coffin, to make for the quarters of my friend Ivan Ivano vitch Kolinsky, there to lie iu hiding until I should have sufficiently regained my forces to fly the country! now, how ever, I must change my plans. Ivan lodges fully three versts from here; to reach him I should have to traverse many streets and run many risks, even if my strength held out. I put a hand to my raging temples,' and pass in review the different members of our section. In the urgency of the case I moy not in dulge preference; the nearest must be my designation. It Is none other than Ma ruscha! Yes, to gain her lodging Is my only chance, for I can gain it In twenty minutes If I am fortunate. My love lives at tins end of the "Bazar" over a fur rier's shop. (To be continued. Largest Foot in Germany, There la a New York barber who wears a number 12 shoe. He was a sergeant In the German army, noted for his stability. He hns a brotlier in the old country whose foot is so big that no ready-made shoe can be found to fit him. When he needs a new pair of shoes he buys a side of leather and sends for a shoemaker, who fashions his footgear at home. His foot is the largest In all Germany, about No. 17 In size. Alfred Capus, a Parisian play wright, says few If any real dramas are written In the United States or England. mm ki ii mm m W 4T Pop Corn. In earlier times pop corn was very commonly grown in small quantities on many farms and in gardens for home consumption, for it has long been a favorite food, or food acces sory, with Americans. In recent years there has been a tendency to depend on the larger growers for pop corn, and this crop is now mixed In some regions to a very large extent, Bays a bulletin. For Instance, a large grower In Iowa Is reported to have 1,000 acres annually planted to pop corn, nnd in some regions of Nebraska, notably on the north and middle loups, pop corn is practically the only crop grown, 100 bushels to the acre, it is isald, being an ordinary jicld. Fln pop corn Is also grown on a large scale In some regions of Michigan. As regards the culture of pop corn. It may be suld In brief that It is much the same as for sweet corn. When grown on a large Rcale, it Is drilled in. and It is not planted In checks. It is usually harvested by hnnd and mar keted on the cob or shelled. It is dif ficult to estimate the cost of produc tion, owing to the limited data avail able, but, according to a Nebraska writer, it can probably be grown and placed on the market for $12 to 515 nn acre. Several years ngo pop corn sold in Nebraska for $1.50 per 100 pounds, but for last yenr's crop (1003) only 90 cents per 100 pounds was of fered. Assuming that the yield is eighty bushels to the acre, the latter price would give a return of some thing like $25 to the ncre. A promi nent Iowa grower of pop corn states that in his experience the price has been as low as 50 cents, and as high as $4 per 100 pounds. Exchange. Inexpensive Hax Back. The style of hay and grain rack here illustrated is In common use In many parts of the East and Middle States. The two-bed pieces of spruce 3xG inches In size are either 14 or 16 feet long. Five crosspleces 2x0 spruce, or 2x4 hardwood, 3 feet 0 Inches 16ng, connect the bed pieces. The side pieces which hold the rack, ten !n number, five on a side, are 2 Inches thick, 4 feet 2 Inches long, and taper from 3 inches wide at one end to Hi inches at the other. A plank 2x12 ONE OF THE HAY RACKS. runs through the middle of the rack, and these side pieces fit under this, and Inside the bed pieces, as shown. Four boards six Inches wide are placed on each side to form the rack. Tho first board rests on the cross pieces, the other three being equnl distance apart. Two pieces 2x4, 7 feet 0 Inches long, are used, one at each end of the rock, and nre bolted to the side arms Just beneath the top board. The ladders are made of hard wood and are 0 feet 9 Inches long, with two cross pieces. The side arms should be of oak, or other hardwood, but tho boards moy be of spruce or pine. The bidders ore bolted near tho ends of the bed pieces, and rest against the cross pieces at the end. By removing the four bolts, which hold the end pieces, the rock moy be knocked down flot to save room In storage. Poultry Pickings. Underfeeding Is expensive. Disinfectants are better than dis ease. The chicken coops should be large, airy and proof against rain. A boiled egg which Is done will dry quickly on the shell when taken from the kettle. The dust heap olds materially to cleanse the feathers and skin from vermin and impurities. The hens will thrive much better without the presence of the cocks than with them as soon as the batching la over. Tobacco stems covered with straw are an excellent preventive of Insect breeding, especially when the hens are sitting. I RflU'lllat I. ..I . . uoi, oimwugN ana excelsior ar objectionable for nest material. Us straw or leaves. Wooden floors close to the ground attract the dump from the earth, and are always moist. The eggs from bens by themselves will keep good three times as long as those that are fertile. Soli oft the surplus cockerels and do not retain the late-hatched pullets, as they will not lay until spring. In feeding fowls at any time, whether in confinement or not, give only so much as they will eat up clean. Making; a llundy Gate. The average farm gate is hard to monage and is usually oreaking down. The illustration shows a way of fast ening such a gate In n simple manner. Take a horseshoe and fasten it to tho gatepost, so that about one-third of It will project, as shown In the detail at lower left of cut. This provides n "7 ZZL HI GATE AND FASTENKB. the latch, and when the gate is to be closed simply raise It so that the top bar will come over the horseshoe, 03 indicated In the upper portion of tho cut. On the lower right of the cut Is shown a way of fastening the boards by bending and nnillng a long strip of strap iron over the ends of the boards, instead of using the upright board, as usual. The advantage is that the gate is not so heavy as when the upright board is used, which is a considera tion with the average farm gate. Very Dlvcralfled Farming. In Maryville, Mo., last fall the man agers of the street fair offered a $10 prize to the Nodaway County agricul turist who should exhibit the largest number of farm products grown on his farm last season. W. R. Iiosloy, of Ravenwood, drove up with a wagon- load of stuff and took the prize. Ill wagon contained a stalk of corn 13 feet high, white, red, yellow and spec kled corn in ear, wheat, rye, buck wheat, rape, timothy seed, oats, thir teen kinds of green beans and peas. three kinds of popcorn, two kinds of cucumbers, one red pig, a turkey, two chickens, two guinea fowls, hedge balls, strawberry vines, one cabbogo weighing fifty-one pounds, celery, summer and winter lettuce, peanuts, two kinds of beets, horse radish, asparagus, bluestem grass, slough grass, clover hay, prairie hay, carrots, green mustard, six kinds of pickles, Reven kinds of Jelly, Jam, cherries, three kinds of pnrsnlps, three gourds, two kinds of sunflower seed, sweet corn, can of honey, cosfor boons, one sunflower, tho flower of which meas ured forty-six inches In circumfer ence; sugar cane, two kinds of millet in stnlk, on oyster plant, four kinds of radishes, turnips, four kinds of Irish potatoes, two kinds of sweet pototoes, cobbnge, cauliflower, two kinds of squash, green lettuce and onions. New Iluttcr Keeper. A new butter preservative has been found by a member of tho French So ciety of Agriculture, who aserts that fluoride of sodium In quantities as small as 7.7 grains or less to a pound of butter will preserve it Indefinitely. A claim Is made that the substance Is not Injurious to health when used in this quantity, but is rather an aid to digestion. Froii Farm in Ontario. One has been In operation for over twenty years. The waters are simply stocked with mature frogs. No attempt Is made to confine the frogs until near ' the time for shipping; then they are taken alive at night and confined In small pens', which are drained when the frogs are wanted for market. No food Is given on this farm, and yearly yields of five thousand pounds of tho best frog legs are produced. Probably some such system as this Is at present about the only practical way of breed ing frogs.