t
THE SUNDAY FICTION MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY. 20, 1916.
jteimined to encounter It, but It would be
" useless to make the attempt until the night
;;"wa farther advanced. I sat down to wait.
, None but those who hare tried this tor
' ture of waiting: in moments of anxiety or
- danger know how mentally each second of
expectation is like the drop of water that
-." falls at regular intervals upon the shaven
. " bead, each drop increasing In agony from
' the interval that elapses. The excited
-v brain in many instances has given way
- under the slow anguish of the exquisite
y yet tiny torture.
I waited I know not how long, but be
fore the hour arrived I had set my teeth,
- I had clenched my hands, so hard was It
.to be patient, to exercise forbearance and
prudence.
At length all was silent. No move
ment could be detected In the hitherto un
quiet house. Not a light could be seen In
.any window. No sound broke the still
v . ness, save the splash, splash of the rain
... that was now falling steadily.
I had risen to my feet, when'l was
startled by a low tap at the door.
"1 would not answer. I waited in breath
less anxiety.
Again the tap was repeated, and a low
voice, a woman's voice, that of my young
- fellow traveler, murmured rather than
said: " s
"Let me In; for God's sake, let me In."
"Are you alone?" I said. "Will you
-. swear you are alone?" -
"I am alone; I swear It, but for heav
. en's dear sake, let me In. I am periling
my life by coming to you."
Was I to trust her or was I not? I had
, not a second to deliberate ; but the young
voice had the ring of truth, and the re
membrance of the awful face at the win-,
dow decided me.
: "Will you enter in the dark?"
. "Yes." '
I opened the door just wide enough to
admit her. In a second she was within
, and had grasped my hand.
"Stand here in the corner where no
' light can reach us. Why would you come
' to this wretched house when I had done
iny ' best to prevent your findingroom
, . here? What miserable destiny drove you
' into the net? For hours I have been try
ing to warn you, but it was impossible.
-V- Why, oh, why must more innocent .blood
x be shed? Alas, why must our poor coun-
- try have to make use of such miserable
and degrading means? Why must the
; wretched tools be employed that will drive
! me and so many others to destruction?
Yet "now saved you shall.be If these blood--hounds
can be baffled. Quick, quick; feel
, here. This is the cloak and hood of my
, maid. Put them on; follow me closely.
Had you not let me enter, within the hour
. you would have been a dead woman.: Re
. member, as you value my life as well as
- yours, you must agree to all I say. What
; ever you may see or hear, be silent until
" I desire you to speak. Be silent and
obeSIent, for those yon are about to see
are not to be trifled with."
The words poured from her as if im
. , pelled by long pent-up distress, but while
. ; speaking she had not been' Idle. She had
. ' wrapped the cloak skillfully around me.
" Suddenly I felt the chill smoothness of
'scissors among my hair. Ere I could
- '. make a movement of remonstrance 'many
of my poor locks had fallen to the ground;
; then the hood was dragged closely over
xay head.
In another moment, silently and swift
ly, I was following my conductress along
a narrow passage, dimly lighted by. the
rays of the moon, that now gave a feeble
. light amid the heavy masses of rain
clouds. '
, As noiselessly as we left my room, we
:- entered , another.. Standing there, was a
- young man, dark,, stern, repellent of, as-.
- pect. A small revolver was in his hand,
i of which he was examining the priming.
On the table beside him was Its fellow,
and a long, curious instrument, something
like a band, thatcould be. shortened or
lengthened at pleasure.
. At his feet lay a valise and bag pre
cisely similar to mine. In a moment I un
i derstood what had taken place; the
touches during the night were explained.
The valise and bag now before me were
mine, not those I had left in the other
room.
"You did well to come quickly," he said
roughly, turning toward me as we en
tered, the fierce .Tartar, nature showing
through the acquired grace and courtesy.
Russians usually display toward women.
"As It is, your folly, your Quixotic folly,
Verena, Is Imperiling, our lives, If not the
lives of many of yet greater importance.
Listen, these are the tidings that have
just reached me: They' are already here,
and justice has been done.'";
He looked ' cautiously behind him, and
whispered a few words in the girl's ear.
She turned pale, pale to the lips, but
showed no other signs of emotion.
I looked at her in amazement. Was
this the : childish creature I had thought
so shy, so timid? True, she I now saw
waa young, fair and slight; but the com
pressed mouth; the stern brow, revealed a
power I had never dreamed of, showed me
avenge the wrongs and' sufferings of the
young and guiltless. You have never
known what it is to pass hour after hour,
day after, day, week after week, yes, year
after year, helpless, hopeless, wbOethose
you love best are withering, starving, dy
ing, rotting In prison without aid, with
out .hope. If you have the soul of a Chris
tian woman, you must join us. Tou must
help to save the helpless and drag the
torturer from his victim."
-7Cv-
"v Her passion moved me. Her:. words
swayed me, as the branches of a tree are
swayed by the wind that rushes over It.
My heart yielded to her, though mind
and reason alike resisted.
She perceived my momentary Indeci
sion; my arm was taken. I was impelled
forward, whether with or without my will
I hardly knew.
A curtain was raised, a door opened;
we descended a few steps and were then
in a small, dimly-lighted room, in which,
about half a dozen men were seated round
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Sunday Fiction Magazine
a woman great in courage,, in resolution, . a table earnestly examining sundry maps
and strong for daring deeds. and plans. " -
' An Instant's silence, and then she spoke' Commonplace at first sight, shabbily,
in low but determined accent even meanly clothed, when they turned
"Be it so', she said. "I am ready. I at our entry and looked at Us fixedly;
can 'die, , if it so needs, for my poor co'un- there was something about these men's
try, for the suffering and miserable, but, I faces that Impressed me' at once with a
cannot and I will not betray an Innocent marvelous sense of power,
woman to that which you know welL Un- For good or for evil, seated at that ta
derstand me. I will not." -ble,"were those whose strong will, whose
"You need say no more. I am aware mighty powers of mind stir men y thou
that my life is of little value to you he sands to" deeds' of glorious self-sacrifices.
replied coldly; turning away. -
'"Nay," she continued, going up to him
and lightly touching his arm, "do not
wrong me even in thought," and here her
voice fell again into the same soft melan
choly .cadence that had so charmed- me ;
or - to deeds r of : savage and ferocious
cruelty. '-.. . .
The very tones in the voice of him who
spoke first moved me with a great pas
sion of sympathy.
"Tou are welcome," he said slowly and
previously. , To not think I "would "risk
one life needlessly, far less the lives of
those precious to our holy- cause, but here
is one who will help us. One so' good and
true will be of infinite value. - 5 r; ' -t;
"
She looked anxiously, almost lovingly,
into my face, and with the touching grace
of a child took my hand and pressed it to
her heart. . r
"Tou are good," she said; "you are
honest in every word you say, in every
thought you express; I feel, I know there
is honesty and truth. , You are an Eng
lishwoman, and the great English people
love truth, and honesty, and freedom.
Have they not Often and often given their
lives, not only for their own freedom but
to rescue others from savage oppression?!
"Tou cannot but understand," she con--tlnued
after a moment's pause, "who we
are," and as she spoke again her aspect
changed. A somber and a lurid; light
burned In her deep-set eyes, her face aged.
quietly,, "but we knew we could count on
Verena Petraiovna. "We meet again for
the struggle Is near, Tet another strug
gle to free our dear land from those whose
cruelty Is breaking women's hearts . and
torturing innocent children to death.
"God knows, he continued, flf this
poor life could be given, if this miserable
body could suffer yet more, willingly
would I give it to save those from whom
I come one of the slow tortures from
which I have escaped.
As I looked at him 1 saw s he was
scarred and maimed. Whether accidently
or purposely I never knew. ? '
"My child," he went on, deep sympathy
in his tones, "your brother is at rest He
will know suffering and grief no more. It
is well it is so," he muttered gloomily;
he is to be envied."1 ;
-.--A smothered cry burst from the girl's
lips as she sank, on, her knees" and - hid
her face from view..- - ,
"Tes," said the other, "he Is dead. I
stern and resolute line gathered around heard him to the last. His cell was next
the compressed lips. She 'almost hissed
Into my ear: , . -".-".
. "Tou have never been called on to
to mine, and we could tap of ten. Had he
lived, I would never have ' left v that ac
cursed hole, but without him I would dare
anything, everything to carry death and
vengeance among, our tyrants."
"Amen, amen.", muttered all, but this
amen came not. to confirm a blessing, but
rather aa a deep and savage imprecation.
He who had spoken was short of stat
ure, thin and stooping, broken down from"
suffering and ill health, ugly almost to
repulsiveness, with his fiat Tartar face,
small eyes and large mouth, yet the intel
lect and power expressed in that face
made It attractive in spite of its ugliness,
and the deep, earnest voice appealed
alike to heart and mind.
; I felt, I knew that 'one of the great
leaders of that terrible band now shaking
Russia to its center was before me, and I
knew also that but for the protection ex
tended to me by. the girl at my side my
life was not worth an hour's purchase.'
Near him was a young man in the very
glory of youth and strength. A profusion
of fair hair clustered in thick, short curls
about his' head. His "bright blue . eyes
beamed with good tempered merriment.
His - short, light brown beard and mus
tache were arranged with evident ear, and
hia clothes, though coarse and common
like those of his companions, showed that
they' were" worn by a gentleman,' and not
by an ordinary workman. '; t ' -.
- On our entrance he had advanced has
tily, and greeted my companion with evi
dent admiration and the deepest respect.
He now said: , J:, "
. "Anxiously as I had hoped for the hap
piness of seeing you again, Verena Pet
. raiovna, I would have given much if it
had not been our lot to have brought you
these, tidings. ' Through, 'much "sorrow
truly must freedom come to our dear
country. Among Its most innocent and
glorious martyrs will be enrolled the name
of Alexis Petraivitch ; and," continued he
excitedly, the blue eyes flashing with sud
den fury, "every moment's pain he suf
fered, every hour he groaned In prison
shall be paid for by the blood of hundreds,
nay, thousands of our tyrants. f If one
who loved you has 'gone from among us,"
he went on, lowering his voice, and bend
ing over the poor gtrW "remember many
are left who live but for you." - Ah! Ve
rena," I heard him whisper, ."to see you,
that is life; to be absent from you, that Is
. aeaio. -'v
, "Friends," resumed the first speaker,
"it is years since I have been among you.
We mourn this poor boy, the tidings of
. whose untimely, death Valerio and I have
brought. But- think you he Is the only
victim we have to lament? Where are
they who were also hurried from their
homes when he was seized? Of what are
they accused? Why are they in prison?
Why are they not even tried? Why, if
guilty, should not all men know their
crime and their punishment?' And, if in
nocent, why are they left in noisome pris
ons, starved, beaten, degraded, denied all
communication -with their nearest rela
tives and friends? The blood of countless
martyrs is crying for vengeance. , The
tortures of thousands of victims demand,
from us yes, from, us who nave knowl
edge of their, wrongs--the redress that
must be wrung from; the tyrants who op
press us. Of what avail are our prayers,
our cries? They never reach even the ears
of our rulers. Such prayers, such cries
can never penetrate tbemarble and stone
that .surround our masters; 'for harder
than the stone and marble are the hearts
of those who will, not bear, who wilt not
even attempt to redress the cruel wrongs "
Of those whom they assert Almighty Jus
tice has committed to their charge, . They
will not hear. We swear they shall be
made to hear. They will not feeL We
swear they shall be made to feel."
'
Again a deep and threatening "Amen"
was muttered by the determined and dee
Derate men. who. listened with himHi
eyes and savage scowl to the accents of
their chiefs -
All listened. All responded, save one.
He they called Valerio paid little heed to
aught that 'was saldV He had eyes and
ears but for Verena. ...
:. The burning passion of his soul showed
(Continued on rage 8) . " . -