6
SYNOPSIS.
Frederick Hardy, a fashionable Boston
society man. lost liis wealth, was jilted
by a girl and sent by a friend to take
charge of ari American Trading Company
store in Russia. On his journey through
Japan he met Stapleton Neville, sup
posedly an Englishman. They agreed to
go together to llussia. Because of sus
picious circumstances they were several
times niokjted by the Japanese. Hardy
was arrested and found upon Ills person
were papers showing maps of Jap forts.
Hardy was proven guiltless. On a train
he met Aisonie Sani>. daughter of a Jap
merchant. In Neville's shoes Jap found
pictures of forts, proving him to be a
Russian spy. Hardy departed for Rus
sia on a steamer, which was wrecked
shortly afterward. He was rescued by
a Russian steamer. On reaching Vladi
vostok lie was well treated. He started
for Siberia, meeting Princess Romanovna
on the train. Hardy boarded a vessel for
imur. Hardy showed the princess his
oxpertness as a title shot. The steamer
was stranded. The princess and her
maid were attacked by Chinese. Hardy
Baved their lives. The princess thanked
Hardy for his heroism. Manchurians
fired upon the craft. Hardy slew their
chtef. Burning arrows were hurled upon
the Pushkin's decks. An attempt was
made to board the vessel. The attacking
Chinese were repulsed. Romanoff sneered
r.t Hardy's solicitude for the princess.
Gtanka, a messenger sent for help, was
called to a cross on the shore. To put an
end to the awful torture Hardy himself
put Stanka out «>f his misery, taking his
own life in his hands.
CHAPTER XIX.
A Perilous Mission.
During all this time the forest fires
were increasing in intensity and
spreading with great rapidity.
Vividly red and narrow lanes of
flame ran zigzag to the water's edge,
like streams of fire. Monster designs
were worked out on the hillsides in
fire, notably an immense heart, and,
in places where the vegetation was
sparse, the slopes were spotted with
tiny jets of flame.
By mid-afternoon the heat on the
Pushkin was almost intolerable and
the discomfort caused to the eyes
from the smarting smoke was great,
yet there was no longer any fear that
those on board would suffocate or
perish from the intensity of the heat.
Matters were undoubtedly at their
worst, and it was possible to live, to
breathe.' Out there in the middle of
the river there was 110 danger of the
boat itself catching fire, and the wind,
which was coming straight down the
stream brought coolness and life
with it from the wide Siberian plains.
As Hardy stood watching the scene
that night, (he princess came up to
him and said:
"We have nothing to fear from the
Chinese, I fancy. They must have
gone away. They must think we are
dead."
"It is most probable," replied Hardy,
"but I fear that it will be some time
before we shall be able to take to the
road."
"At the military station below,"
said the princess, "there is a tele
graph, connecting with the one above.
It is possible for a boat of shallow
draft to get down the river to a little
distance back. The general asked the
men if one of their number would not
volunteer to carry a dispatch to the
station, but I am ashamed to say that
no one has responded. They are de
terred by the dreadful fate of poor
Stenka."
"1 will go!" cried Hardy. "Ask the
general to let me_go. 1 can keep to
the middle of the stream till I have
passed the fires, either wading or
swimming down the" swift current.
The fires cannot extend more than a
mile or so down the river, a distance
soon passed over, and then I will take
to the highway. I am a foreigner and,
if captured, shall not be in so great
danger as a Russian. It is not a dif
ficult undertaking. I am sure I shall
get through."
The princess left him without a
word, but returned ten minutes later,
smiling sadly and shaking her head.
"It is as I thought," she said. "The
general refuses. He says it would be
an eternal disgrace to the Russian
arms if a foreigner should undertake
this thing. He is making one more
appeal to the men. He is calling them
sheep, Japanese, poltroons."
"I had hoped," said Hardy, sadly,
"that you people would no longer re
gard me quite in the light of a for
eigner. As far, at least, as the peo
ple on the boat are concerned, I have
tried to earn the right to be counted
one of you. If I have done anything
to merit your own regard, personall
I ask you, as an especial favor, tu
prepare this dispatch for me and let
me be off! I tell you again, that I
shall certainly go, with or without it.
If ycu refuse, I shall on tho instant
Jump into the river and start 011 my
Journey." , ~t
"I beg of you not to put it in that
"Way," replied the princess. "If you
sut it in that way, you know I cannot
refuse. I hope the occasion may arise
some day that will allow me in some
way to show in a befitting manner my
great and lasting gratitude to you. But
now you are taking an unfair advan
tage. You are seeking to place me
under still greater obligations to you."
"I ask for no gratitude," replied
Hardy. "I am simply seeking a favor,
an accommodation from you. I am
begging yon to write a few lines for!
me. Does your highness still refuse?
Well, then, good-by, and OJo'd be with j
you! If we do not meet again, I beg i
you sometimes to think of me as one i
who, who —good-by!"
H« laid on© hand on the rail, but!
she extended her arm and detained
him.
"Stay," she whispered, "I will write
the dispatch for you."
She went to her cabin and Hardy
made his Tew hurried preparations for
departure, which consisted simply in
swallowing a few mouthfuls of za
kouska, in filling his flask with vodka,
and in slipping into his pocket a flat
bottle, empty, but tightly corked.
When he returned to the deck, he
found the princess awaiting him, with
the dispatch ready. Hardy wound it
into a tight cylinder and poked it into
the bottle, which he corked and put
into his pocket.
"Thank you," he said, simply, to the
princess.
She extended her hand, and he took
it, holding it, but afraid to look into
her eyes. It was an honest hand that
held his own in a strong, warm pres
sure.
"I shall pray for your safety," she
murmured, "all the time till I see or
hear from you again."
He raised the hand to his lips, then
climbed lightly over the rail and
dropped into the river. The water
reached nearly to his armpits at this
place. Ho did not look back, but,
throwing himself on his face, swam
<§!
Regarded Him Defiantly.. "The American," She Replied.
with easy strokes, the swift current
sweeping him rapidly downward. Soon
his knees touched the soft sand, and
he was able to walk for some dis
tance. lie had not gone far ere he
came on a stranded and abandoned
raft, and he rolled a piece of timber
from this which he guided to the
deep current. He was glad to lie
down again and float upon this bit of
wood, letting the water cover his
body, for he was coming to a narrow
er part of the stream and the air was
very hot.
CHAPTER XX.
Romanoff's Wooing.
"1 tell you I can go! I can get
through, somehow! Men have gone
greater distances, worse wounded
than I."
It was Romanoff who was speaking.
He sat up and tin ned, facing the gen
eral as though he would rise. His
wound had stiffened and the pain con
sequent on the exertion caused him
to turn pale, but he did not wince. He
was lying in the dining room, on one
of the upholstered cushions that ex
tended around three sides of it.
"The current is at least six miles
an hour," he insisted, "and with some
thing light to cling to I could float
the entire distance."
The heat was stifling, and the port
holes were milky with smoke.
At this moment the princess en
tered.
"Don't excite yourself, Boris," she
said, anxioi'ily, "or you will neutra
lize all tbc/.good effects of my nursing.
1 think it ungrateful of you not to lie
still and let me show what I can do."
' Yes, and leave you here to starve
or be burned up, .or, perhaps,. be car
ried off by the Manchurians when they
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, MAY 5, 1910.
return, which they are certain to do,
when the fire subsides."
"There," said the general, "you have
your commands from an authority
which you ought to respect, if you do
not heed mine. I shall have another
talk with the men. I am sure they
are ashamed of themselves by this
time."
"It will be unnecessary for you to
trouble yourself further about the mat
ter," said the princess, blushing
slightly and looking down, "for a—a
—man —some one has already gone."
Romanoff started violently and
fixed his eyes on her.
"Who was it?" asked the general.
The princess threw her head back
and regarded him defiantly. "The
American," she replied.
"Ten thousand devils!" exclaimed
Romanoff. "The meddlesome dog!"
"But I refused to let him go," said
the general. "It is a disgrace to the
Russian name."
"I take all the responsibility," said
the Romanovna, bravely. "He asked
me as a favor to write the dispatch
for him, and I did so. He has placed
me under certain obligations, and I
felt I could not refuse."
"And I suppose," sneered Romanoff,
"that if he were to ask you for a kiss.
you would think it your duty to grant
even that. Your gratitude, no doubt,
will be undying."
"You forget yourself, sir!" cried
Ronianovna, turning on him with flash
ing eyes. "You presume too much
on your relationship. One more such
speech and I shall cancel your name
from the list of my speaking ac
quaintances. General, I await your
sentence. I beg that you will not pass
over my offense lightly."
"Oh, this is all nonsense," growled
the general. "You know that I can
not punish you—would not if I could.
If one of the men had done this, I
should know what to do with him. Hut
no way has ever been devised for
managing an unruly woman, or pre
venting her having her way!"
With this ungracious speech, he
turned and left the room. The prin
cess gazed after him sadly. This,
then, was her punishment—the brave
old general's displeasure—and it was
not easy to bear.
"I choose to forget your extraordin
ary remark, Boris," she said, sitting
down by her cousin. "I shall remem
ber that you are wounded, and that
you must be suffering, here in this
hot, smoky air. I sympathize with
yoilr irritation, too, and think it
noble of you. I would much rather
that a Russian had gone"—and she
laid her hand soothingly on his.
"Why did you not encourage my go
ing, then?" he asked, still sullen.
"I believe, with the general, that
you are unable togo, that the effort
would almost certainly have resulted
in your death."
"And you don't want me to die, I
suppose? You would be desolated by
my departure for another sphere?"
"Now, Boris, don't be sarcastic. Of
course I should be desolated, as you
call it, if anything happened to you."
"Elizabetha," said Romanoff, eager
ly, "you know why I endure 'it so ill
when others perform services for you.
You know that I would undertake any
task that might win your regard, your
love; that I would gladly face any
danger in your behalf. And now that
this—this American —has saved your
life, I could kill him for it!"
"You did not want my life saved,
then?" sho asked, sweetly.
"Oh, you are enough to try the
temper of an angel! You know what
I mean. I did not want him to do it.
You are under no obligation to him
for saving your life. You know that
there is not a man in your circle of
acquaintance who would not consider
it the greatest luck In the world to
have a chance to brave danger for
you; and that such an opportunity
should have come to this, this—"
"Be generous, Boris, if you wish to
win my esteem," interrupted the prin
cess, "and don't be unreasonable in
your envy. You have braved danger
for me, and are now wounded, fighting
in my behalf, and I am nursing you.
Can you not imagine that there are
those who would envy your present
position? You are not grateful even
for the favors that you do receive.
Think of your wound, which is really
quite serious."
"Well, then, you be serious for
once," said Romanoff, smiling in spite
of himself, "and tell me that you love
me. Surely, you cannot doubt my de
votion."
"Do you think it quite fair to bring
that subject up here?" she asked,
"when you know that you have me at
a disadvantage?"
"But you always find some excuse
for not talking to me about it. You
always evade mo in some way. But
I am not a man,"he cried, fiercely,
"to bo evaded or escaped. I love you
as only a Romanoff can love. I shall
not give up suing for your hand while
I live, and woe to the man who crosses
my path! Oh, if I could only fight
"Nothing, Except That Your Hardy
for you, I would wade through seas of
blood, but I would have you! I would
have you!"
Romanovna shuddered, but she came
nearer loving him at that instant than
at any other moment of her life.
"If you will not talk of these mat
ters now, will you, after we get to
Moscow ?"
"Perhaps," she replied, softly; "but
tell us about Japan, unless it irritates
your wound to talk."
"Why, there isn't much to tell. I
passed myself off as an Englishman,
and sounded all classes of people. I
took note of the popular feeling, of
the strength of the national defenses
and resources, and made plans of the
principal fortifications and sea ap
proaches. All the time I was thinking
of you and wearing my heart out for
another sight of your—"
"Yes!" exclaimed the princess. "This
is most absorbing—about the condi
tions of affairs there, I mean. And
what conclusion did you arrive at, my
dear cousin?"
"I became positively convinced that
the Japanese mean to make war on
Russia; that no diplomatic temporiz
ing can postpone the struggle much
longer. The whole nation, to a man,
to a woman, to a child, is united
against us by the bonds of the most
fanatic hatred. Their population
comprises no classes, no disaffected
races; they are a unit in this matter.
The war will be one to the death, and
they will fight until the last man is
killed. I concluded, moreover, that
they are not a foe to be despised.
They are a formidable sea power, and
they can throw large and well
equipped armies into Manchuria and
Korea within a very few weeks after
the first blow is struck. I shall advise
the Little Father to begin pouring
troops into the far east and to
strengthen the defenses and garrison
of Port Arthur immediately. I shall ask
to be sent to the front with the first
troops that go."
"Of course you will, my brave
cousin!" cried the princess, admiring
ly, "and you will come back from the
war covered with glory and I shall
be proud of you! But I can scarcely
believe that Japan is so formidable
an adversary as you say."
"You will see," replied Romanoff,
with conviction.
"Well, let her begin the war!" said
the princess, rising, her eyes flashing.
"There can be only one outcome of
it, and that will result in the added
prestige and power of Holy Russia!
But tell me more of your personal ad
ventures."
"Why, they are not particularly in
teresting. I passed off all right
enough as an Englishman, till this
fellow Hardy came along."
"Mr. Hardy? You met him there?
You did not tell me this, nor has he."
"No, and I surmise the fellow has
good reason not to. Soon after his ar
rival, I became convinced that the
police were on my trail. So I at
tempted to throw suspicion on him.
I conducted him to the fortifications
Remained There in Japan with Her."
of Yokohama, and he, in seeming in
nocence, took photographs of them. I
also made a copy of my draft of the
fortifications and slipped It into his
overcoat pocket. We were arrested,
and, after much palaver, we were sent
on our way. There was a Japanese
girl on the train, by the way, to whom
he made love in the most open man
ner. They were as thick as two bill
ing doves. He was infatuated with
her; said that lier cheeks were tinged
with moonlight, that she was yellow
because her mortal clay was mixed
with gold-dust and that she was a
Queen of Fairy-land—"
"He must be something of a poet,"
said the princess, laughing nervously,
"this Mr. Hardy. Now, if you could
talk to the women like that, my dear
cousin! Were you not jealous of
him?"
"Jealous? Jealous of his success
with a coolfe girl? Not I, who know
such women as you! Elizabetha, I—"
"But this Japanese girl! This is in
tensely exciting. What has she to do
with the story?"
"Nothing, except that your Hardy
remained there in Japan with her, and
I was sent home, as I supposed, on a
steamer from Hakodate. I had not
been out long before I found that I
had been betrayed, and that I was to
be locked up somewhere, on an island.
Such were the orders, but the crew
were actually planning to kill me. I
escaped, killed two or three of them,
put to sea in an open boat, was picked
up by a Chinese sampan, and so got
back to Russia."
"My brave Doris! The Virgin was
with you, and, besides, they found
that they had captured a lion."
"But I have not finished telling you
about this American. I am convinced
that he is a Japanese sympathizer
and that ho suggested to the authori
ties there that I was not an English
man. He is a low fellow, and I
strongly suspect that he is a Jew. He
was coming over here, he said, to run
a store. He is a libertine, I am sure,
and remained buhind to conduct his
intrigues with the Japanese girl—
Aisome, I believe she called herself."
"But this is mere conjecture, Boris,
and I must not believe these things
against him, till they are proved."
"Why must you not believe in them?
What reason have you for regarding
him with such favor? Tell me."
"Because he has shown himself, so
far as I have observed, a gentleman
of the most resolute courage, and the
most refined and delicate sentiments."
"Oh, he has! Well, when I tell you
that he is a low fellow, probably an
enemy of Russia, a libertine, perhaps
a Jew—"
"I cannot listen to you, Boris," said
the princess, "you really must be
more generous." Her voice was low,
but there was an angry light in her
eyes.
"Has the fellow been making love
to you, as he did to the Japanese?"
sneered Romanoff.
The princess arose and moved away.
"I said that I would not quarrel
with you, Boris," she murmured.
There were tears in her lovely blue
eyes. She was sure now that she
could never love her cousin, and she
knew that the Imputations against
Hardy, who, as far as her own ob
servations went, approached very
near to her ideal of a chivalric gen
tleman, would rankle in her bosom
like a poisoned arrow.
She walked over to Smulders and
was inquiring after him, in German,
which she understood, when she heard
the loud shriek of a whistle, and the
general rushed into the room.
"We are saved!" he cried. "Two
boats with 20 soldiers on them have
come down the river. They were sent
: down as soon as news of the fire wa3
telegraphed to the station above.
They have a launch with them, and
her highness can be transferred with
out even wetting her dainty feet."
"I am forgiven, then, general?"
asked the princess. "I have been
severely punished in enduring your
displeasure, even for so short a time."
"Beauty such as yours, madame,
can do no wrong," replied the gallant
general, extending his hand.
"Perhaps," said Romanoff, grimly,
"the Chinese will get him and serve
him as they did Stenka."
They were taken on the two fresh
boats in the early dawn and steamed
away by the light of a red sun that
stained with dragon's blood the clouds
piled in masses above the blackened
forests, still fiercely burning. As they
made a bend in the river that shut
out from sight the stranded Pushkin,
the ash-gray veil lifted for a moment
from the Manchurian side, revealing
the great cross and the form of brave
Stenka Pugacheff hanging on it. The
Russians crossed themselves, and un
covering their heads, prayed silently
for the repose of his soul. Then, rais
ing their hands to heaven, they swora
vengeance.
(TO BR CONTINUED.)
Cheering Up.
"When your work seems to be go
ing wrong," says a woman who mixes
practical philosophy with her work,
"blow yourself to something nice. Go
out and buy yourself a lovely dinner
at a nice place, or get a new dress,
or buy some flowers for you* apart
ment. Yes, I know it will cost money,
but the impetus it will give you in
your work will amply reay you. When
you see these things you will say
to yourself: 'Well, I'm doing pretty
well, after, all, when I can afford to
blow myself so,' and when you feel
that you are doing well you will do
well."
Remarkably Brief Sermon.
What was the shortest sermon?
One of them at least is attributed to
a monk, who liad to preach on St.
Stephen's day. Just before ne began
his brotheiVnionks intimated quietly
that they were very hungry and would
be obliged if he would get his sermon
through as quickly as possible. So he
began: "My brethren, a year has
passed to-day since I set forth to you
all that there is to say about this
day's saint. As I have not heard that
he has done anything new since last
year, it is unnecessary for me to say
anything further." And there th» Ber
mon ended.