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SYNOPSIS.
Frederick Hardy, a fashionable Boston j
society man, lust his wealth, was jilted j
by a girl and sent by a friend to take
charge of an American Trading Company
■tore in Russia. On his journey through i
Japan he met Stapleton Neville, sup- |
posedly an Englishman. They agreed to I
go together to Russia. llecause of sus- !
plclous circumstances they wero several
times molested by tlie Japanese. Hardy
Was arrested anil found upon his person
were papers showing■ maps of Jap forts.
Hardy was proven guiltless. Oil a train
he met Aisome Sano. daughter of a Jap
merchant. In Neville's shoes Jap found
pictures of forts, proving lilm 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 he was well treated. He started
for Siberia, meeting Princess Romanovna
on the train Hardy boarded a vessel for
Amur. Hardy showed the princess his
expertness as a rifle shot. The steamer
was srtranded. The princess and her
maid were attacked by Chinese. Hardy
saved their lives. The princess thanked
Hardy for his heroism. Manchurlans
fired upon the craft. Hardy slew their
chief. Ruining arrows were hurled upon
the Pushkin's decks. An attempt was
fciade to board tie- vessel. The attacking
Chinese were repulsed. Romanoff sneered
at Hardy's solicitude for the princess.
Btanka a messenger, sent for help, was
nailed to a cross on the shore. To put an
rnd to the awful torture Hardy himself
put Stanka out of his misery, taking Ills
own life in his hands. Forest (ires men
aced the vessel. Hardy volunteered to
go for help. Refused permission he
jumped overboard and started to swim
with the princess' distress message. Ro
manoff was angry at Hardy for his brave
efforts to rescue the princess. He wooed
her in his own savage way. He said
Hardy had made love openly to a Jap
anese girl. Help came and the princess
was rescued. Hardy journeyed on a raft.
Arriving at his destination he took
charge of the trading company's busi
ness. Hardy received a letter from a so
cial leader in Boston and another from
Aisome. Hardy took lessons in Russian
of a Jew, thus connecting himself in a
way with that race. Hardy received a
letter from the princess, thanking him
for his bravery. Hardy's teacher was in
danger of death. He employed Wang as
a servant. Hardy went to Moscow, where
ho was invited to call upon the princess.
He started for the palace home of Prin
cess Romanovna. Hardy aroused unac
countable jealousy of Ills Korean boy by
announcing that lie was soing to call on
the princess.
CHAPTER XXVIII— Continued.
Hardy, meanwhile, slipping into a
long ulster, the fur collar of which he
turned up about his ears, left the
hotel and stepped to the edge of the
sidewalk. A droshky dashed up im
mediately.
"The Princess Romanovna." said he I
In Russian. "The Princess Roman- j
ovna, in the street —" i
The isvoschik jumped down with |
alacrity extraordinary for a Russian. <
"The Princess Romanovna?'' he in- j I
quired, looking shrewdly at liardy.
"Yes," said Hardy, "in the street —"
"Get in," said the Russian, "and 11 I
will drive you there immediately. IJ !
know where it is." i i
There was something strange In the I <
man's manner, so strange, in fact,) 1
that it set the American wondering. I I
He acted ae though ho had been sent j '■
for his fare, or had been expecting' '
him. But Hardy did not long dwell on 1
this idea, for he v.as, after all, on his <
way to the princess. He would scon j 1
be In her presence again, and the ! I
thought so agitated him, so set his ! I
heart to beating, that all other mat-, 1
ters were driven from his mind.
As those thoughts were running;
through Hardy's mind, it occurred to 1
him from time to time that it took a
long time to reach the palace of the I '
princess. He knew about where It |
was located, though ho had not visited I
the p.pot. It should hive taken him j
15 minutes to drive there from the
hotel. He consulted hit watch and j
found that he had boon half an hour '
on the road.
"Cabmen," ho muttered, "are the i
same the world over. The fellow Is j
driving me about for a while in order
to Increase the size of the bill."
lie v.as on the point of open'ng the
door and shouting tu the isvoschik, i
when the latter drew up before a;
large, square house on a qulot, poorly !
lighted ■ treet. Har>ly threw op»n the
do">r >nd Jumped out
CHAPTER XXIX.
In the Nihilist*' Den.
"So here are at last!" he said;
"wult for me." The house as he;
glanced up at It <1 id not Impress him
as a palace, but h« reflected that
some of the older and more exclusive |
of the Muscovite nobility lived In
antiquated and unpretentious resi
dences. The IKVOMI Ink ran 'up the
Jn-ps bv his side and rang the bell.
An old woman opened the door
"Ah," she nam to the t übman, "so ■ ,
you have brought liiui!"
'Da' da'" replied the Jehu, and
trudic d down lite teps
It w.in evident in Hardy that h< was!
• spe 'i dat tie- ho ■o( the princess,
that ew ii the servants had been (old
tu keep oil (be lookuMt for inn Hardy i
had hi < u »howit into a >u. all receipting
room, where a euul lira was burning
in t|i*- gr ate a cot,pie of i§asy rhait.,
and a le#(hn covered lounge, soma
rath* > m aisci, ll .r.-incij to iiliu, lor j
the puts' null prlh ■* < lie removed
hia cunt uttd sat down in lore (he flu-
AS Ibe old woiMMt U»it,h «li «Upet Hug
hi in ll *u. .ale i* wsutue (hat she
arrival lie
that (i«utl4e4 t Untidy, arranged hi* i
A» *** Mum t>» nnM
isil lit oul .Id' the dooi
■* Lh« a*o*l aai 'l. ifui ilyiuglm I
"We Welcome You Among the Enemies of Russia."
ever Invented," said one.
"Enough to fill the inside of a
child's ball is quite sufficient to wreck
the c/.ar's palace—"
"Curse him!" interjected the other.
"Amen! It can therefore be thrown
to a great distance, and wherever it
strikes, it explodes. There is no
missing fire. Several members of the j
Order witnessed a trial of it in the i
Ural mountains, in a lonely spot, and j
the results were most satisfactory. A
small quantity, hurled at the base of a 1
cliff, tore the whole face of the moun-!
tain loose. One of the brethren ac-!
cidentally dropped a sphere of it, and j
he simply disappeared vanished i
from the face of the earth. One of |
his arms was found two miles from!
the place, lying beside a mountain |
road."
"That would be good medicine for
the czar," chuckled a third voice.
"Yes, and for tyrants in general.
With this new and mysterious ex
plosive, the Order has an agency by
which It can become a terror to the
ruling classes, by which it can de- j
moralize society, anil make way for j
the new order of things, the divine j
brotherhood of man. In six mouths •
from now there will not be a man j
living in Russia who will dare set
himself up above his fellow creatures
or take his seat on the tyrant throne
of ltusaia. To-night we shall select
the brother who will throw the first
sphere."
"IHit is It not fortunate," ask< d the
second speaker, "that a member of !
the Enemies of Russia should have
made this important discovery? The
brother, Felix llulln, Is here—-a slen
der, dark man with eye glasses. The
cabman that we sent brought liiin and ;
he is now in the reception room. Ah,
but lie has the air of a deep student!
Ut us go in and make htm welcome."
Hardy, still fumbling with his tie,
• aught sight of his own fa<e iu the
mirror, and was startled by its ex
pressiou. It was the face of a man
caught iu a trap and who has only a
moment to escape before he Is dis
covered.
lie was In a nihilists' den and had
overboard a plot to kill the c*ar. If It
should be discovered ihut he was an
impostor, he had little doubt as to
what his late would be. lie selxed
his rout and hat and sturted toward
the door Three men < nti-icd, two
well dressed sad the other evidently
a laborer of some sort
"Hroth. r llulln,* said the tall IIIMU
lit Imperfect nth, '»« welcome
you among the Kaeiules of liu.otla
Wo know all shout your iiiuiwluus ;
dt»IOV< 112). Mild Wi" roil ill' I you tfce
tfreai< st Inventor of tho age."
ll.tidy shook hauds with them all
with mu< hi ordiallty
I *• I'- .«ld, «IJ»« lii frciicfe.
Imp las to mak« s little s<hk< , to
the brethren tonight "
Very VL . it." *aid the tall lujn, but
da t l«i ti, it tlii. i« an in-it) ul
tie Order here who are sualoua to
mm*l ywu"
Hardy stepped toward the dour with
a light b«-ert. but Just as 1,. res h«d
IW the kiioti, the hell tang, sttd one ul ,
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 1910.
the nihilists opened the door and ad
mitted the cabman with a slender,
dark man who wore eye-glasses.
"I am Felix Hulin," announced the
new arrival in perfect French, "and
that man," pointing to Hardy, "is an
impostor!"
CHAPTER XXX.
For the Good of the Order.
The American, in immaculate even
ing dress, his crush hat beneath his
elbow and his fur-lined coat thrown
over his arm, stood at bay with his
back against the wall, silently eyeing
the nihilists. The blood rushed back
to his heart, and his cheek paled a'
trifle, but the glance that he lixed on
those wondering faces, In which hate
and f<-ar were beginning to dawn,
showed no flinching. The cabman, in
tall boots of patent leather, and shin
ing silk hat, stood at the door, wltli
his broad back against it, his whip in
his hand. lie was a thick-set, broad
shouldered muzhik, with little, red
eyes, a red face and a profuse red
beard. His glance shifted uneasily
from Hulin to Hardy.
By his side stood the little French
man. who sank his head between his.
shoulders like a turtle, and, stretching
an accusing left arm toward Hardy,
shrieked:
"I am Felix Hulin, I say, mon rilfu!
the great Invi ntor, the great benefac
tor of the human race. Mehold, here
is the proof! If I dash this little
phero on the floor, poof! b r—r —r!
The whole house will fall apart like
a castle of cards, the roof will leap
Into the air, In one little second, by
gir, we shall all be In eternity. (Jen
tlemen, are you convinced* Sooner
than have my word doubted, I shall
give you the proofs. Ten thousaud
devils! 1 am Fi'lix Hulin, I say, no
man shall doubt me!"
He plunged his right hand into his
pocket and drew forth a sphere, about
the slxe of a has. hull, which he held
in the hollow of his palm
"I am Dr Hulin," he added, "behold
tho pill which | have prepared for
tyrants and spies'"
About 20 of the brethren had stolen
into the hall and were pressing fur
ward toward Hardy; stolen. Indeed,
for these men all moved silently, as
though accustomed to secret and dun
gcrous nii etlngs Hut at the dreaded
word "spy" a murmur arose
"A spy' A spy' Kill him. t.*ar him
to pieces'"
Hut tli!) man who had » eleonied
Hardy In French stepped in 11• >*tt of!
them und raised hi* haud
"Hit! Brethren," he commanded |
"are >ou all mad? Would you have
tin police down on ii*? Tie- ipy Is In'
our pn»< r, If. Indeed, he Is a »i»y, ana I
we shall know ho* to d*al with him, i
how in <al hU llpi A* (or you, |
Brother IVIU, du not drop your pill, j
In du Virgin's name' t'ut It in ymir i
|HH ket Preserve It for tyrants and
the foes uf mankind There' . We
Khali hi>athe ireer now Ivan" to
the tubman Mhtit H the hl 'orjr tit i
till* tunu* ll'-•> did fou bap- .u to
tiiihji htm bwief" |
i"I went to the Slaviansky Bazar to
get a slender, dark man with eye
glasses," he explained, "who should
give me the password for the night—
' The Princess Romanovna.' This man
came out, hailed me and gave me the
password. I bring him here, and then,
ten minutes later, along comes this
other slender, dark foreigner with
eye-glasses, who, it seems, is able to
find his own way about! That is the
truth. Brother Bielinskl, I call the
Virgin to witness"—and the pious
soul crossed himself.
"Very well," said Bielinski, a tall
man, stoop-shouldered, with thin, Aook
nose and keen, furtive eyes. "Very
well. May I ask, my friend," turning
to Hardy, "whether you are a member
of the Brotherhood, and, if not, why
are you here?"
"The explanation is very simple,"
replied Hardy in French, in which
language the question had been di
rected. "I am an American merchant,
residing in Stryetensk. I have an ac
quaintance with the Princess Ro-i
"Thero Is But One Way—He Must Die."
manovna, on whom I wai about to
call. I told tlx* cabman to drive me
to her residence. and he brought me
liore. I know nothing of your amiable
Brotherhood, nor do I wish to learn
anything " Here he took out his
watch and consulted It coolly. "As we
have no possible business together, I
will now bid you good night, and pro
ceed on my way. If I do not hasten
I shall be too late for my call."
"Hut why does he not speak Rus
sian?" asked Ivan, "110 spoke to me
in good Russian "
"Do you understand Russian?" asked
Htellnskl.
"I speak It Imperfectly," replied
Hardy. "I have been in the country
only a short time."
"You speak it well enough to under
stand," exclaimed nielinski, "or you
would not have made so shrewd an
effort to get away. lam not sure now
that you ate not a spy. At any rate,
it will be a long rime before you will
see the Princess Romanovna."
Hardy noticed that the last two
words were spoken with an emphasis
of hate, Mhich reminded him of the
Christian voices at Stryetensk, spit
ting out "Mo«ehk«»! Moschke' The
.few! The Jew'" Truly this Holy
Russia is u Ure. ding ground lor many
Violent hales
They all moved silently town to
the egtreme end of ihe hall and piused
through n door Into a large iquaie
room, furnished with • hairs and
divans and a round table, u| a which
ti'N a number of books and inaga
Crossing thU, they ent> red the
council chamber, a long, narrow apart
Dießi, with henchea running around It,
and a long table In the center, with
t hairs plat ed for about 30 peopl-
The i:nem)es of Russia »miM then.
Helves on the beuehce ahd at til ) tvliie
llielln M. who was evid< ally the
i hairmun took his pla> e at thn be%tl
of the table (■ ilu Hilda alter taking
the it iutile ■ (there from In. |>u< keg
and laying It < aiefully on the tabu- oit
a tiny tuvik formed of hut, impleg
handkerchief, removed his coat and
hung it upon a nail. He then took his
seat, by invitation, at Bielinski's
right.
"Brethren," said the latter, rising,
"of the Society of the Enemies of
Russia!" He spoke very distinctly,
but not loud. The most absolute si
lence prevailed. "First we must de
cide what to do with this man who
has introduced himself into our midst,
and has learned the secrets of the
order. Though I do not personally be
lieve him to be a spy, though I am
confident he was brought here by ac
cident, yet he is not of us, and he is
a friend of the haughty and weulth
pampered aristocrat whose name
forms the password of the evening.
He was on his way to her residence
when he was brought here."
During this time Hardy remained
standing, with his opera hat beneath
his elbow and his ulster thrown over
his arm. His eyes were fixed on the
little ball in Hulin's handkerchief,
i which, shining in the gas light, held
his gaze with a strange fascination,
like the baleful eye of a snake.
"What is his nationality?" asked
one of the brethren.
"He says that he is an American." j
replied liielinskl.
"The Americana," said the question
er, "are a powerful nation. If we
should detain this man. who Is him |
■elf evidently an aristocrat, and has I
friends, they would raise heaven and I
earth to find him, and there would be '
much publicity aud discussion —a
thiug that we wish to avoid now The 1
same thiug would result If he should
j permanently disappear."
Here he sat down, and alienee
■ reigned for a full minute.
J "There Is much truth," at length
t said Hiellnskl. "In w hat Hrother gtulr- i
noff says Has any other brother any i
' suggestion to make?"
A young Russian arose, a florid
faced, cleanshaven youth, with blue
eye# and a sweet expression Hl*
voice was soft and he smiled as he
talked
"He must not disappear," aaid the
speaker, 'as Hrother Smirnoff says,
neither can we keep him lie would
be an elephant on our hand* Neither
i would It be safe to turn him loose
with our aceret in his brain and <>n
I his tongue. It seeing to me, with alt
due reverence to my elders" ami
' here he smiled and wared his hand
"that there |« but one way lie must
die aud hiii body must be found undet
such circumstances that the puttee
will be I|| til bellcVe he lias m< '
fate through accident This will u.rn >
Itader the head, Uot of an e*»«'Uti. n
but of a niies.ary removal for He
good of the order "
' What method would you propo •
Hrother K itirbski?" inquired lu. Im
ski
"There are several method* >L> it
naturally suggest themselves, r»|.ii
Kouibski, eip*a«lve|y Hardy"* »»■ .
left the mesmeric » t ot and so igHt Ho
•penttet's face
, 'fr'of Ins '<n«e, he wight Im lU 'i <
formed and thrown into the Moskva,
thus giving the impression that he
had fallen in and drowned; or, a fine
needle might be driven into the base
of his brain, after which he could be
dropped into the river; or, he could
be taken out to some lonely spot,
gagged, of course, to prevent an out
cry, stabbed or beaten to death, and
robbed. The gags could then be re
moved and this would cause the Im
pression that he had been killed by
footpads for his money and valuables.
Fortunately, his attire, that of a
wealthy aristocrat, .vould corroborate
the impression. These are merely
suggestions, of course. Would it not
be well to decide officially on his fate,
and then appoint a committee to set
tle the manner of his removal?"
Mr. Kourbski sat down and glanced
about with a self-satisfled air.
"It is time," said Blelinski, rising
and resting both palms on the table,
"to bring this incidental discussion to
a close, and proceed with the more
important business of the evening.
Nothing must be allowed to interfere
with the great work which we have
in hand: The destruction of so-called
government and the establishment ot
universal freedom; the elimination of
war, oppression and tyranny, and the
inauguration of general and ever
lasting peace, equality and brother
hood." |
As Bielinskl spoke, his face flushed
with enthusiasm, and his eyes glowed
with the light of the dreamer and the
Utopian. Murmurs of approval ran
through the audience.
"You know,"he continued, "how we
propose to accomplish this great end.
Government is merely a combination
of the strong and the favored of the
earth to oppress the weak. Laws ara
simply canons for the regulation of
oppression. All these things are un
natural and artificial and are built on
a substructure of superstition. We
propose to render government impos
sible by making the governing profes
sion so dangerous that no man will
dare undertake it. But the question
now before us is this; Here is a man
in our midst who is not of us. He is
| a sympathizer with and a friend of
j our oppressors. He camo to us, sup
i posing that he was going to the house
of the Princess Romanovna, and over-
I heard our plans. He has discovered
j our place of meeting. Will it be safe
| to turn him loose, after exacting a
J promise from him that he will not be
j tray us, if such a promise can be ob-
I tained, or is it your mind that he be
| removed, as Brother Kourbski sug
; gests, for the good of the Order? In
; voting on this question you will bear
I in mind that the life of any one in
| dividual is of small moment when
: weighed in the balance against the
! general good of humanity. Brother
; Smirnoff will pass among you, hand
ing each one of you a white and a
black marble, a supply of which I
have here, and Brother Kourbski will
collect your ballots in a hat. A black
ballot will signify removal, a white
ballot life and some other expedient.
Brother Smirnoff;"
That member arose and stepped
bri.skly to the side of the chairman
who took a number of marbles from a
drawer and poured them into a hat.
Kourbski followed him about with an
other hat, into which tne members
dropped their votes. In the ghastly
silence that reigned. Hardy could hear
his heart beat plainly, and the mar
bles dropping, dropping. Into the hat.
rattled like paring stones fulling from
a height. As Kourbski stepped to the
table and poured tho marbles on It,
the American arose, and mechanically
twitching at his pluce neg, gazed with
open mouth. A black stream poured
from the hat.
"The ballots are nil black!" an
nounced the chairman. "I shall ap
point Brothers Kourbski. StankWtU t*
and Golovlev as a committee of three
on way* and mean* Gentlemen, you
will retire into the adjoining room.
Kindly roach your decision us soon a*
possible, for this, a* I have said, Is
only an Incidental matter, and we
have tutich ot Importance before us."
The three members retired, clut.cf
th-« door softly behind them The
dream was becoming reality Hardy,
who was hi 111 standing, glanced about
like a trapped animal, his eyes hunt
ing some desperate means of escape.
There was the wludow. He might
dash at that and h-ap at the panes.
The crash and tl outcry which he
would make mi..bt attract the atten
tion of gome p.i er by. Hut, alas, the
majority of the company wi-re sitting
b<*t«him and the window, sad
the shutters, which he could discern
through the tl'ich curtains *»ers, no
doubt, lie**' Mid *e|| secured His
overcoat di tvd to the fluor sad a
*> arcely *u bump" sttra< u*d hta
attention H etched up the garment,
and slipped hi* hand lul» the pocket,
wh-r>< it < che,| ti>e (Hild handls of
a i"" 'l> r lie reu,. m! r-d thai »
men I,«a> h id gi»i'U hint th« weayou.
ia thu tnoi'nti'g as a samph of a large
stuck el 6* iumi Imltatlwns that could
b so d a* i wui h lower prise than
th> .»*!> *•» orig'tt it The merchant
tout i I it) it a guod weapon,
.;ea ' •" sad had ro
• U .' tflkl -■ U. 4