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About Lincoln County leader. (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 1905)
y Order of the Czar A Story of Russian Power By MARCUS E ASTLAKE CHAPTER V. "Vladimir, thou art feeling stronger? Is it not so?" says Ivan, putting a hand ou each of my shoulders and looking down nnxiously in my fnoe. "Certainly 1 am much stronger than when I came to thee a week ago," I reply with a smile. "IJecause thou wilt have to make a move again," resumes Ivan. "It is no longer safe for thee here. To-day my landlord met me as I left the house, and asked me who I had staying with me; though I know not how he has discov ered thy presence here. I said: 'A cous in, who is merely passing through the town en route to Novgorod.' He asked your n.'inie. I was taken aback, hut for tunately the first lie led up to the second, and (lie name of an actual cousin came to me mid I pronounced it. Po now thou art Wiildemnr Nieolniviteh AlikanofT! I have thought, Vladimir," he resumes, "that it wire well to make known thy existence to our section. Thou knowest they are to be trusted to a man. What joy there will be amongst them when the) know thou are alive! They will all be ready to din for thee! And amongst us we can easily conceal thee. Thou canst pass from one to the other until thou art able to venture on flight." "I have always advised it," I respond. "Long since I would have sliuuu my self to them but for Maruscha. She thinks there Is risk in so many knowing It whilst I am still in the country." Ivan shrugs his shoulders. "I see no alternative. Something we must risk," he says. "There is strength in uuity, and are we not as one man in purpose? The sooner thou art away from here the better. What thinkest thou of going first to Pavel Yegorevitch?" he asks. "I would trust Pavel as my own aoul!" I reply, fervently, for I like the man. He is a silent, deep nature I always mistrust the glib tongue a man who makes no professions, slow and delib erate both In speech nnd action, but hav ing once chosen a course is not to be turned from it. "Thou wilt lock thyself in," says Ivan. "And if any one, save Maruscha, should come and knock for admittance thou wilt keep silent as a shade until' they depart. Adieu, I will not be long." As I lie, With my hands clasped above my head, my eyes fixed on the bit of, sky gleaming grny, through the small dormer window, the being of all others I most long for stands at the other sldo of the door. I know well Maruscha's particu lar rap, and it is her voice that whispers my name: "Vludimir!" I spring to my feet and hasten to ad mit her. For some minutes, holding the beloved form In my arras, I forget all else, realizing only the rapture of the present. Only when she releases her self and looks round for Ivan, I remem ber how much 1 have to tell her. She turns white when she hears about the landlord's questions, and I tell her that Ivou lias gone to see Pavel Yego revitch to make arrangements for my re moval there to-night. At this she clasps her hands. "Is it well oh, is it well that others should know about thee? ravel is silent and trustworthy, it is true; but still I fear me. It will break out One by one they will be told they will be flocking to see thee. The attention of the police be at tracted. I wish, I wish Ivan had come to me! Surely we two could have man aged to concea) thee somewhere some where!" "Thou art too fearful, my Maruscha," I reply soothingly. "And thou seest It has become imperative to seek the aid of others. I only wish I had insisted on doing so before I drew this danger on Ivau. And as to my safety, there is not a man of them who would not render up his life rather than betray me!" "Not willingly, not willfully. I know, Vladimir, but what matters it when they have by their coining and going, at tracted those bloodhounds to thy hiding plucc? It is u mistake, I tell thee!" per sists Maruscha. For a while she stares straight before her, and I see the anguish of terrible possibilities growing in her eyes until the tears begin to gather, her features to work, and she costs herself on my breast. "Vladimir! Vlndimir!" she cries, "If they tear thee from me now I shall die!" I say what I con to reassure her, stroking her bright head and pressing my lips to it, for her hat that sweet little bat that I have watched her trim has slipped to her shoulders. And she sobs out her woe with tears abundant, at which I rejoice, because experience has taught me that after Maruscha has wept much, she is wont to be very calm. "How long wilt thou stay with Pavel Yegorevitch I she asks. "As short a time as possible," I re ply. "I am quite strong now, and the sooner I begin to make for the frontier tho better, ' By remaining I only en danger my friends. Moreover, Maruscha. as I explained to thee before, having ceased to approve of the methods of the party to which I have hitherto belong' ed. my wisest plan is to escape from it, quietly and silently. I have thought it out, and to attempt any explanation would be madness. I could not make mvself understood. Maruscha sighs as if she would excuse me to herself. "Surely thou hast done enough," she murmurs. ' By no means!" I cry vehemently. "No man can ever say: I bavs dona enough la a rood cause! One its true disciple, hla liabilities to It end only with bis life, and my watchword is now as heretofore, 'Liberty.' And it is for liberty that I will fight to my last breath! No longer, therefore, can I be the slave of a party whose tyranny is as great as the Czar himself! it is .Nihilism I have served slavishly, abjectel!y. What it has de creed 1 have done, silencing my con science smothering the dictate of the Dnine voice within my heart which would liRve whispered: 'Thou shalt not take God-given life, even though it be that of thine enemy!' " . "What wilt thou d& when thou hast left us?" she asks, with quivering lips. "Thou speakest as if I could choose," I reply, with a touch of bitterness. "A stranger and an alien in a foreign land, should I reach it, my prospects are nil." Then noting the effect of my gloomy ob servations in her downcast features, I hasten to add more cheerfully: "Never theless, Maruscha, I have my hands and my head, and being willing to make use of cither as opportunity offers, I nhall surely find work to do." "Could I but have gone with thee!" she cries, with a heaven of tenderness in her voice. "Could not I?" "It were impossible, my heart of hearts! Thou wouldst but retard my flight, increase my danger, and, more than all, run a terrible risk thyself. Nor couldst thou endure llie lnuJaLipa I may have to encounter. Alone thou canst follow me by rail, in perfect safety, and we will trust in my lucky star that soon I may bid thee come. Meanwhile, keep a brave heart, and avoid getting embroil ed with the Nihilists. Wilt thou do this for love of me, my Maruscha?" In re ply she takes my hand in both of hers and presses it to her lips. CHAPTETl VI. Whilst we have been talking the shades of night have been closing in, until now, leaning together as we sit, we can barely see each other's faces. Maruscha rises to light the lamp, and in the silence I hear how the wind, which has been blowing a gale all day, is rattling the window in its frame and howling wildly round the house. From a gale it has developed to a tempest. "Ivan will see thee home, Maruscha," I observed. "It is a wild night." Suddenly flying steps startle us as cending the stairs! The handle of the door is shaken, and a breathless whisper, which is not Ivan's, comes to us: "Open open quickly! It is I Pavel!" Maruscha, pale of a sudden to the lips, is at the door before I, in my surprise and consternation, find the power to stir. I sit gazing and expectant of I know not what, but something of ill and Pavel is before me. He must have sped quickly, for he puts his hand to his heaving side, and with wild eyes darting at me, gasps forth: "Hide! Hide for thy life! They are upon us!" Maruscha wrings her hands. "Fly! fly! stand not thus, Vladimir!" I am beginning to make blindly for the noor, when Pavel's- voice arrests me. "No no time; they will meet thee thou must hide!" I look around at the four walls and laugh stupidly. "The window it is dark!" It is Ma ruscha who speaks, pointing upward. "It is a chance!" gasps Pavel. The window rises from the roof. It Is high. Already Maruscha is dragging for ward a chair for me to mount. "My shoulders better," gasps Pavel again, instantly turning to me his back and lowering his body. Something of their nnxlous energy Is lent to me in this supreme moment. I spring with marvelous agility to the prof fered shoulders I open the window, and with a rush of wind comes to me the trump, tramp of gendarmes! The wind compasses me about it tears, it roars at me. I clutch the' window frame my feet are on the sloping roof, which seems to move away under them. . Pavel's bend shoots up for a moment through the window. I see the wind seize his black hair and toss it about in wanton fury ere it disappears and the wiidow is shut. I have now got a firm grip of the projecting slates that edge the dormer roof. Fortunately, I am Bhod with soft slippers, so that my feet can bend with them and get a certain purchase on the slates. I move cau tiously sideways, until I can extend my left arm over a corner of the projection. Thus by bending iy body forward I can see into the room, myself unseen. Maruscha is sitting at the table. Her eyes are turned to the door, as if in startled surprise. Pavel is at the door, holding it open to admit four police officers, two of whom have Ivan In ens- tody. Pavel's manner is perfect. His eyebrows are raised. He looks astonish ment personified. With a polity gesture he seems to invite the intruders to en ter, search, examine anything they like, so that they are satisfied. There is an air of baffled mystification on the faces of all the officers as their glances travel about the room. One of them, a superior, locks the door and puts tho key in his pocket. Ivan, standing apart, with gyved wrists, wears a look of sullen indiffer ence. , Only once I catch him dart a swift glance at Maruscha, who has risen to her feet and stands with proud, up lifted head in mute protest at the un seemly interruption. The superior officer steps forward In front of Pavel, and holding him with stern eye, evidently commences to question him. I strain every nerve to hear what is being said, but what with the swish of the wind and the lnterven- l In i glass,, I cannot distinguish a single word. I can only guess what Is trans piring by a close observation of the dumb show. Pavel fixes steadfast, unflinching eyes on his examiner. Occasionally be smiles slightly. His lips move as if in prompt reply. Presently he takes out his pock etbook, produces a card from it, which he hands to the officer. Then Ma ruscha's turn comes. My brave girl! She bears herself like an enraged queen. I can see that her manner impresses the officer Russian officers are particularly impressionable! she would, impress the Czar himself! The fellow bows courteously at every reply of hers. He takes down her ad dress and name on the back of Pavel's card, and makes her a profound bow ere he turns from her. She sits quietly down and speaks notl again, but silently watches every move ment of the officers, who have now got orders to prosecute a search. They pull out drawer after drawer, upsetting the contents on the floor, while their su perior stands by, looking on. I he bottom drawer is the only one that is locked, and Ivan is commanded to give up the key. With perfect un concern he directs one of the officers to his waistcoat pocket, and ah, at last here are papers! I note the gleam of exultation with which they are clutched and the, eagerness with which they are unfolded; glanced over with increasing disappointment, one by one, nnd lnid aside. I could almost chuckle at their discomfiture, knowing as 1 do, that Ivan has another hiding place, and one that they are not likely to stumble on for his secret papers. They leave no corner uninvestigated, and it occupies a considerable time. Fi nally they give up the search and leave the house. The tramp of the police offi cers below in the street gradually grows fainter until it 3ie3 In tho distance. I breathe a prayer of thanksgiving. It is Maruscha's small head, blown about by ringed wavelets of hair, which next starts up against the sky, and her voice gasping out my name in an intense, awful whisper: "Vladimir!" She cannot see me, her gaze sets out on a distracted, dubious search. 1 raise my head. She utters a low cry of joy. ' I am here, Maruscha," I call to her. "Oh, Vladimir, be careful! Hold fast! Take time!" She stretches out her hand toward me, though she cannot help me, while I slow ly and painfully descend. Once my foot slips forward and she utters a scream of terror. I reassure her. "Fear not for me. Maruscha. I keep a firm hold, and hold ing, I cannot fall." And once more I stand in the room, and Maruscha's arms are clasping my neck. CHAPTER VII. Around me is a chaos of confusion. Ivan's belongings strew the floor like the leaves on the strand after a tem pest. His open desk, with its contents- scattered broadcast, is at my feet; his bedclothes lie a twisted heap, with the mattress beside the bed. The table, too, is littered with old letters, manu scripts, note scraps relative to his law studies; but where is their owner? Where is Pavel Yegorevitch? "They have been taken," I groan, a huge wave of bitterest remorse rising and sweeping over my soul. Have I re turned to this miserable world only to bring misfortune to those who are dear est to me? Am I ever to be doomed to blast like a thunderbolt all I come in contact with? To prove a curse where I most would bless? Maruscha, who now that the fierce strain has been removed from her nerves, is sobbing hysterically, with her head on my breast, lifts her tear-stained face at my words, anxiety for me bring ing her sobs to an immediate check. "Yes, they have both had to go, but it is a' mere form. To-morrow they will be released. Nothing was found, noth ing can be proved against them, she hastens to inform me. I laugh harshly. "Hast thou forgotten Vera Sussulitch?" I say. "There was nothing found against her nothing but the faintest shadow of a suspicion rested on her, yet that hindered them not from keeping her two long years of her girl s life in the fortress without trial! And she was scarcely eighteen! Maruscha hangs her head and sighs drearily. She replies not. What can she reply to this cruel fate 7 "I need scarcely ask of what they accuse our brothers," I observe at length, with bitterness. "It Is not the manner of the Russian authorities to prefer an accusation when they arrest a subject It is enough that they have decided to drag him to prison, and well for him if he is not left to rot there! "They made no accusation, it Is true; but, front their questions I could guess that they expected to find that some one was hiding being hidden," "It is as I thought," I Interrupt "That malignant demon, Isajeff, the furrier, is at the bottom of it!" Then Instantly, with a shock of dis may. I recollect that it was' from Ma ruscha's lodging Isajeff had followed us! Yet she Is here she has not been ar rested with the others. He has spared her; it is due to his reticence that she is not now in a prison cell! Why has he spared her? My brain reels as I con template the only possible reason this wretch can have for acting as he has done to have her in his power. And I am powerless to protect her from him! Nay, I must fly from her hasten to put miles between us, for ev ery moment that I remain at her side I imperil her very life! (To be continued.) The American firm of Clarkson & Co., In Vladivostok, have substituted Russian laborers for Chinamen in their coal mines. The Russians are working co-operatively, by the Job, and producf coal for 2 cents a ton. With Chinese cheap labor the cost was 5 cents a ton. THE- OLD FOLKS AT HOME Are Never Without Pe-ru-na in the Heme, for Ca tarrhal Diseases. MR and MRS. JN0.0.OTS0N. independence. Hp. Under date of January 10, Dr. Hartman received the following letter: "My wWe has been a sufferer from a complication of diseases for the past 25 years. Her case has baffled the skill of tome of the most noted physic ans. One of her worst troubles was chronic constipation of several years' standing. She was also passing through that most critical period in the life of a woman change of life. "In June, 1895, 1 wrote to you about her case. You advised a course of Pe rnna and Manalin, which we at once commenced, and have to say it com pletely cured her. About the same time I wrote you about my own case of catarrh, which had been of 25 years' standing. At times I was almost past going. I commenced to use Peruna accord ing to your instructions and continued its use for about a year and it has com pletely cured me. Your remedies do all that you claim for them and even more." John O. Atkinson. In a letter dated January 1, 1900, Mr. Atkinson says, after five years' ex perience with Peiuna: "I will ever continue to speak a good word for Peruna. I am still cured of catarrh." John O. Atkinson. Inde pendence, Mo., Box 272. Mis. Alia fcchwandt, Sanborn, Minn., writes: Heal Powers. "Say, Winston, how would you like to witness a conflict between the pow ers?" "Witnessed one the other day." "Between the powers?" "Sure! My wife, the cook and the Iceman began a three-cornered squab ble in the yard." About one pineapple In 20,000 has seeds in it, and it is from these seeds that new varieties are produced. The population of the earth doubles In 200 years. .Agetable Preparationfor As similating rue rood andGegula ting the Stomachs andBowels of Promotes Dige3tion.CheerFul rtess and Rest. Con tains neither Opium.Morphine nor Mineral. not Narcotic. Jitape tfOUHrSAMUELPtTQOR Aix.Smn Aperfecl Remedy forConslipa Tion, Sour Stomach.Diarrhoca Worms .Convulsions .Feverish ness and Loss of SLEEP. 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