6 SYNOPSIS. Hardy, n. fashionable Boston Society man, lost his wealth, was Jilted by a girl and sent by a friend to take charge of an American Trading Company •tore In Russia, On his Journey through Japan he met Staploton Neville, sup posedly an Kngllshman. They agreed to Co together to Russia. Because of sus picious circumstances they wero several tlnifa molested by the Japanese. Hardy was arrested and found upon his person Were papers showing maps of Jap forts. Hardy was proven guiltless. On a train ho met Aisome Sano, daughter of a Jap merchant. In Neville's shoes Jap found §>le lures of forts, proving him to be a Irisslan spy. Hardy departed for Rus sia on a steamer, which was wrecked shortly afterward. He was rescued by «i Russian steamer. On reaching Vladi vostok ho was well treated. He started for Siberia, meeting Princess Romanovna on the train. Hardy boarded a vessel for Amur. Hardy showed tha princess his cxpertness as a rifle shot. The steamer wa.s stranded. The princess and her maid were attacked by Chinese. Hardy saved their lives. The princess thanked Hardy for his heroism. Manchurians tired upon the craft. Hardy slew their chief. Burning arrows were hurled upon Iho Pushkin's decks. An attempt was inada to board the vessel. The attacking Chinese were repulsed. Romanoff sneered at Hardy's solicitude for the princess. Stanka a messenger, sent for help, was hailed to a cross on the shore. To put an end to the awful torture Hardy himself put Stanka out of his misery, taking his own life in his hands. Forest fires men aced the vessel. Hardy volunteered to f:o for help. Refused permission he umped 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 Ills own savage way. He said Hardy had made love openly to a Jap anese girl. Help came and tha princes* 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 Jotter from the princess, thanking him for his bravery. Ilardy's teacher was In danger of death. He employed Wang as a servant. Hardy went to Moscow, where he was invited to call upon tho princess. Ho started for the palace home of Prin cess Romanovna. Hardy aroused unac countable Jealousy of his Korean boy by announcing that he was going to call on •the princess. He engaged a cabman who drove him to a large house on a poorly flghted street. After entering the house, Hardy discovered that it was a resort of nihilists who supposed he was Felix Hu lln. come to tell them of a powerful ex plosive he had discovered. The real Hulln arrived and denounced Hardy as an im postor. The nihilists determined to kill tflardy In order to protect themselves. Finding an unloaded revolver In his over coat pocket, he pointed it at Hulin's bomb, which lay on the table, and sworn to blow them all up together If they touched him. Holding the nihilists at bay. Hardy started to leave the room when the police were heard at tho outer door. Hulln threw his bomb, killing sev eral policemen, the nihilists tied and Ba ruch the Jew. suddenly appeared and led Hardy to the cellar. Barueh conducted •Hardy through an underground passage $o another house, from which he boldly emerged and returned to his hotel. Hardy visited the princess, contributed to the fund for the relief of the victims of the nihilists. He gave more than Romanoff had. The latter, entering the room, openly insulted him. Romanoff struck Hardy, who challenged him to a duel. The Russian accepted. Preparations for the dui l were made. CHAPTER XXXV—Continued. Romanoff was handsome as a god, brave, masterful, Impetuous, of high birth; the sort of man, it seemed to Hardy, to appeal to a woman like the princess. "And I," he laughed, bitterly, "am a merchant here in hor autocratic and aristocratic Russia—a merchant who owes her sufferance of me to tho fact that I can shoot straight!" He said nothing that night to Wang of the impending duel, hut the boy •eonied aware that some danger threatened his master, or that the lat ter was gravely troubled about some i thing Although told several times, j kindly, togo to bed, he returned as often, and hovered about Hardy. In deed, Wang responded to Ilardy's moods with that delicacy of under standing sometimes seen in a dog tor Its master, or a woman for the man she loves. "Well, Wang," said Hardy at last, "you may sit up all night if you choose, but I, for one, am going to get some sleep Qood night!"—and he retired to his own room. lie began to undress slowly and aliseutmindediy. standing for long mln ules motionless In the middle of the floor, or dropping Into a chair, In deep thought, as though he were confronted by some weighty problem that he could not solve ||m turned off tin ' light at last and crept into bed. but j he was destined to be again disturbed by Wang who tapped timidly at the 1 door "That Iwiy is becoming a nuisance!' b« muttered, "Ihutt is such a Miiug a too much devotion Well, Wang!" he j sliout> d, sharply ' U you please, - ' called Wang, "here ! is a note for you." itordy arose, went to the d >..r ami to<4 a letter from Hi but hand "Wall." he commanded, "till i If there is an ausw. r. " He tore open ih. envelop* and read ' A . |* • It H |.| .. •' ' , thai p.«' -i« the weapon* . h.... ~ y |il. ' ible affair Im-cmUm y»U wag. | > letim* that |i Hi ikb no ehui . | , im I It. it.*!,. H fun Hy. I Muutil, I. „ bin •ml r *.. i:.». .r .1 .nit ~i, ' |j ; , j that tl» k»| | is on ii,, , t ||j . I this i -ee i y< u will pi i ,yi| pay kit* >HI THA H-»« »N »V . * As hv lead, turned i u , the II • lia I*4 t O"'S lb sUtgli bits and dropped thetn into a waste paper basket. "Is there any answer, dear master?" called the voice of Wang through the door. "No," replied Hardy, "there is no answer. CHAPTER XXXVI. Tha Duel. Frederick Courtland Hardy slept poorly that night. The typical hero of romance, when about to fight a duel at break of day goe.s to bed and sleeps more soundly than ever before in his life. This deep slumber proves his iron nerve more incontestably than any amount of swash-buckling brava do or any number of great oaths could do. But we are not dealing with a typical hero of romance. Hardy, as he tossed about for hours on the bed, felt genuine disgust at himself that he was unable togo to sleep. He experienced no fear, and he had a feeling that it was irregular for a gentleman to lie awake under such circumstances. About midnight It occurred to him that it might be a good thing to make He Wrote with a Lead Pencil, "For Wang." his will. Such n document alrendy existed, but ho now arose and, putting on dressing-gown and Blipp*rs. went out into the office. Lighting the ga.-, he wrote as follows: Moscow, January 7, I'M I Ving of sound mind ami In |iosses«i<in of nil my fai utiles, 1 write this as A cod icil to my will, now In (lie keeping of Andrew Maekey, K*c| . attorney at law. llnst-in I hereby wlit and b*<|ii"Sth all my ready money, deposited In the itusso- Kltaisky l ink at Slryi tensl;. and amount ing lo ii'iinethlng over ti.mjO roubles, to my faithful si t n tnry. \\ iiiik. itnd I heartily imniiii iid lie- said \Vuiik to tint favorable ' notion of I i Icrii k tlie ry. president uf the Amsrlean Trading I'ompany In Hi berl t Tl " boy Is faithful, turn St.and ! po*»t SSI-H a degree uf business ability , null" astonl-Oitng in on* so young I ttKDERH'K COL'RTLANH IIAItl»Y. j This he folded and put In an en ' velope ou which ho wrote with a lead j pencil, ' For Wang " Tossing the en velope on a tald« In his sleeping room. | he went back to bed, and ut last sue > Ce'edi il in Killing It) sleep. ||e Wis j awakened by liortchukuv puuudliig > u [miii bis door and shouting "(iei up, my friend, get up' We! shall be lale for the rend**vous!" Hardy dressed hurriedly and went out to his xucobd. who was watting In the olHce. The lieutenant's sledge and b> null-; ful itaiu of thoroughbreds was watt 1 lug ut tht> curb. "Jump In, pray," be said, "aud let's' be olf And we lutihtii i talk of any ! thing s happunlug There Is uothing giving lu lisi |" n I'fept that you wilt shoot a great rastal and bully through tti« heart, aud we shall cuiuu bat k tu. Uorubaknv had uuw lU»d on Ho iiiaie.lt * h«art aa the must pit aging (t t epiat lu for Hardy a bullet Ibe iuml4ii.au iratk»d hi* lutg; wbiy aud ibe high strung, aervuia I CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 19x0. •teeds gave a great bound and went scurrying through the early streets of the Muscovite capital. In half an hour they had reached their destina tion, a thick wood on the banks of the Moskva. Hardy's other second was already on the spot with a surgeon, a fat little man, wrapped thick in furs, who walked briskly to and fro in the snow, carrying a case of instruments. "You are in good time, gentlemen," cried Gortchakov, consulting his watch, "there are still ten minutes to spare." "I think I hear sleigh bells now," said the surgeon. "I hope it Is Ro manoff, so that I can get back to my warm bed. What the devil people want to come out in such weather as this, is more than I can understand. Let them shoot each other and be damned, if they want to, but not at this hour and in such weather." "We shall try to be expeditious," said Hardy, cheerfully, "and, in the meantime, I beg pardon for my share In the Inconvenience to which we are putting you. You're right about the sleigh bells. Here are our friends now." Through a vista between the leafless trees a sledge could be seen approach ing, drawn by three horses, running like mad. The driver rose to his feet and settled bnck on the seat, bringing them to a rearing, pawing, suddt u halt. The details were soon arranged and tho ground measured off Hardy did not pay any attention tu these pre liminaries, but walked briskly back ward und forward to keep his feet warm, glancing iM.-casionally ut Ito manoff, who stood leaning against a tree, his hands In his ulster pockets, an insolent, careless smllo on hi:< i handsome face, lie certulnly was a splendid specimen of manhood thought the American, and If he felt ' the b ast tremor uf feur, he knew how to disguise it. Did it M>em at all unlikely that a high bred, aristocratic , woman, the danghlur of a hundred warriors. ihotiUl have fallen tu love ! with a man like that? "It is tliue now, my friend," said Uortchkkov, cmuiag up to Haidy "I • must trouble you to remove )ottr coat I Hut you will not catch cold, fur It will 1 'inly lake you a minute I'poii my wurd. I udmire your nerve. You ought to have been a Russian Yuu will shout hi in at the word 'three!' " Hardy rt moved his ulster and fa*.- d bis opponent A lung dueling pistol 'uf el ell lit lliak' aud pvi feel pre clsion was placed in his band "Are yuu ready, gentlemen?" asked Koukolnik ' I will count throe, sluw iy Yuu will raise yuur wuap«us and j take aim whou I commence, and will ! ttre at the a >rd three,' " As Ibesit words Were being Uttered. Hardy Sited bis eyeglasses more ttruily tin bis •tf his amae'-in it wah » yiat | llt t t| glance Kuukulalk began The two weapons were raised and pointed. "Dvah!" It could not be seen that the hand of either man trembled in the slight est. "Tra!" Two shots rang out, almost simul taneously. Neither man fell. "Hell and furies!" cried Romanoff, throwing his pistol to the earth. "I have missed him. This weapon is ut terly worthless. I demand another shot." "Very well," replied Hardy, quietly; "but if we shoot again, I shall shoot to kill. I beg that you will inform his highness of my Intentions, at the same time conveying to him the assurance of my most distinguished considera tion." "You have missed," whispered Gort chakov, petulantly. "Why did you do this? You're as cool this minute as I am. Are you sure you have not wounded him?" "My principal demands another shot," said Koukolnik, advancing. "He presents his compliments to Mr. Hardy, and suggests that he has not done justice to his great reputation for skill. Perhaps he will get better control of his nerves, now that he has escaped danger once, and his hand will not tremble as much as it evident ly has done this time." "Tell the prince for me that, if we shoot again, I shall do myself the hon or of lodging a ball exactly midway between his eyes." Koukolnik started for the prince with the message. He had not trav ersed over half the distance when Hardy said: "I am faint, lieutenant. Let me lean on you for a moment." "My God, you are wounded!" cried Gortchakov, putting his arm about the American's waist; and, indeed, a dark stain, rapidly spreading, dyed his waistcoat and shirtfront. "I —I am slightly wounded," gasped Hardy, and fainted away. "What's the matter there with our (IMp/IW l > 1 C " TCJ "I Am Faint, Lieutenant, Let Me Lean en You." man?" asked Itorn inoff, In a voire that made uu attempt to conceal a sneer ll« ■•'in.i tu l>« slightly weary I thought I must have bit hint llow la it, surgeon? Have I dune his business fur him?" "lie Is seriously wound- d, I fea.\" replud the surgeon (let his •«** about It lut ||ere, lift Mm tutu the sledge. Let Ml« g«t 111 With you Nut, drive Hk lu d, drive, I say!" CHAPTKN XXXVII. The Oalit Cuff Buttes, Hardy was laid upou a t> d and tits blag a eleaa perfumi •* a palatal cbakut 4 d«u.aad «Uk« M «bwt badly, made no reply other than: "The best-intentioned bullets some times go astray. I turn him over to you, lieutenant, I have not deprived you of the pleasure of killing him yourself." His coat and shirt were cut away from his chest at the hospital, and a young grub of an intern assisted the surgeon in washing the wound and passing a silk handkerchief through it —an operation that caused the pa tient to bite his nether lip till it bled, but did not draw a groan from him. "You will be all right in about a month," said the surgeon, on taking his leave, "but I beg you, if you think of fighting again, either to postpone your little affair till the spring breezes begin to blow, or don't call on me to assist you. I shall have chil blains as a result of your foolishness, that may cause me more suffering than your nasty little puncture." Gortchakov departed in a surly humor, evidently disgruntled because his principal had failed to remove the lieutenant's chief rival, as he sup posed, to another sphere, where they neither marry nor are given in mar riage. Hardy was left alone with a large boned. florid nurse of peasant type, and the young grub of an intern, who was disposed to be inquisltve as to the cause of the wound. He rid himself of the intern by pre tending that he desired to sleep, and then sent the nurse to telephone for Wang. The boy arrived about noon. "What has happened, my dear mas ter?" he sobbed, sinking on his knees beside the cot, and taking one of Hardy's hands in both his own. "Are you wounded? Have you been at tacked? Have you met with an acci dent? Tell me, I beg of you! You do not know how I have suffered with fear and anxiety, as I felt that you were about to encounter some terrible danger. And you left me this—this—" producing the will and tearing it into bits, "to increase my anxiety. Did you think that money could have corn | p-n-a led me fur your bias? Oh. It I was cruel uf you cruel!" "There'" said Hardy, kindly. | touched by Ihe buy'g emu-em list |up and sit la that rhatr Hrtng il here by the side of the bed, aad 111 ' te|| you all about It |. an American. ; l>«dertih t'ourtUnd Hardy ut Hustua, , !ta*a have fought a duel, and, t sus I*" I. about a turniii!" "A a woman?" summered Wang. A>i the 4i said tie •». i his own countenance Hushed with shame. "He struck you!" cried the Korean. "I could spit on his corpse. I could spurn it with my foot!" "I have no doubt you could, thereby displaying your devotion to my un worthy self. Your plan is imprac ticable, however, for the simple rea son that there is no corpse. Romanoff is alive and well at the present mo ment and is no doubt gloating over my discomfiture." "He Is not even wounded?" asked the boy. "Not even wounded." "But why did you not kill him when you had the opportunity? It surely would not have been difficult to hit that great hulk of flesh. Is it then safe to strike an American gentleman in the face?" "N —ot always. My reasons for not killing hiin are too complicated for'a boy to understand. They Involve a lady's sanction of a duel, and then her subsequent nullifying of that sanction. They involve, In general, a lady's re quest, which can hardly be overlooked 1 when she is, in reality, the cause of the hatred which made the meeting necessary. Do you follow me, Wang?" "I—l think I do," replied the boy, wearily. "You spared him because the princess asked ycm to. You hava been magnanimous, whatever the oost to yourself, and given the princess her admirer, for whom, in his moment ot extreme peril, she found that sha cared more than she had supposed. And now you are done with the whole Romanoff family!" Hardy forgot his pain for the mo ment and started at the boy in open mouthed wonderment. "If you were not a boy." he said at last, sinking back on the pillow, "I should think you were a woman. Your intuition in such matters is positively marvelous. And now I mustn't talk too much, for it makes this shoulder ache like a bad tooth. I must get well, and we must go back to Stry etensk and the store. But there Is one little thing that I want you to do for me. Goto the place whore the duel was fought this morning. I shall de scribe the location exactly to you. Ro manoff stood near a large oak tree, whose trunk divides about six feet from the ground into two trunks equal in size. Look about there and see If you can find in the snow a gold cuff button. It Is there, and, shining against the white, should be easily found. Bring It to me as quickly as possible." Wang left without another word Not long after the boy's departure the nurse brought in a bouquet of priceless orchids, which she arranged in a vase and set on a table near hla bed. "An isvoachik brought them," sha explained to Hardy. "Hero is th® note that came with them." She handed him a tiny blllotdoux and raised one of the shades. Holding the note in his teeth, he opt-ned tha envelope with his good hand, and read: Mv Friend: I do not know what jrour fenlinjc* *r« toward my unhappy self. I liaJ no Idea that tin* deplor il.le affair •> I -M't .IS It has. Will you allow in* to come In perion and expr"** my reirret, and > whatever lies In my pow-r to al< leviat* your xufterinca? Thank U<>d you are not kill.nl: KUIZAHBTHA HOMANOVNA. "Tell the man that th»>r« Is no an s'v t at present," said Hardy to tha uurse Wang was gone two hours. When he arrived he came straight to Hardy's couch and handed hliu a small gold object, with a bit of linen hanging to It. "H'>r* it is," he said; "It Is stamped with th« creat of the Koiuanoff family. 1 thought >ou had lost one of your owe cuff buttons." "Bring pap«r and envelopes," Hardy raqut ited of the nurse, "and then leavo u-4 aloti.• tor a few minutes." The wotuau compiled "Now take my indelible pea from tny waistcoat pocket and write " Wang tat down at th« table and k»tk>>d ln<|uiriugly at hla uia^ier. 'Your dtatatad Hardy. J h.i t».«t »t-i will »»•»* *i>« > mmII tha »n«»t • uooaati.o'M an u»y « »ual My » i« t4 » ry triihn* mutar. from wt>l> it I ik*li •»«-«a r»ii»ur 1 am great ly h»n <i*t| tiy aur kiitd '>»r la call I*4 ' H>« hat I must t U) iu>fe>l| in* ptMMMlre at I .v. Il.tf >Mi I | M »a» . > a t.. eMniti r>u» •»alt»4 Pl y thua > to thai i»i»s »-e-d • -w far •» yaut *v«t atlura «n.| Hi. li-k ' I* Vuu kav* fr»«tae*tly t.lmir«l » «»•'• » ' i i, t 4i»i ia< *>'■« * . ittl* Ifeplty >*l '••Mm. '«Mi my >4 t - - t I la Itiid %t« ». VV (ii| iuitfl ' 4 *r, ii44l| Hllit# ihm* ft ».» i » *r, k » {Mrt tt*u
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