Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1877-10-11
: N ew serie@-vol. 17-No SO

corporal, pressing the muzzle OF hi
pistol To my feft temple, while the so
diers deXterously chained my wrist
together. Then shaking of the sfupO
of surprise, found my tongue. Ther
was, said, evidently some mistake
some confusion of persons. My pass
port, if they would kindly look for
in the breast pocket of my ulster
would prove me 10 be Arthur Mus
grave, of the British diplomatic ser
vice, junior attache of Fl. b. Ms lega
tion at Madrid.
prisoner, you trifie with Justice!
said the commandsnt sterlly, iI
French; and, indeed, when the mo
rocco case was drawn out and opened
it proved to be empty. My passper
and papers were gone, inexp!icably tC
me- AS stared ilrnkly there was g
roar of laughter, mingled with COM
ments on my effrOntry.
Remove the pretended Englishman!
ordered the colonel, and l was thrust
back into the carriage, a soldier on each
side of me, and conducted to the town
of TOrjok, where L was lodged in Jail.
do not like, even yet,t recall what
underwent during the miserable
three weeks spent in the prison OF
Torjuk. 1t was not that the cell Was
narrow, the bed squalid, and the fare
! hard and bad. was young and strong,
and could roueh it. But it was mad
dening to be eternally examined and
crOss-exsmined by civil magistrate,
and military 'functionaries, none of
whom would listen to the plain truth,
and all of whom tried, by threat, ,pro,n-
ise, persuasion, TO wiring out of me y
confession which, as they said, would
enable me to claim the Cars mercy
and lighter punishment for my
crime. / Was bro~beaten, bullied, ar
gued with, coaxed, bat never accused
of anything. When adjured my cap
tors to write to the British Embassy,
my prayer WAS treated as an impu-
dent Jest. And when | mentioned
Count Orloff, The Governor of the PROV
ince, as my future fsther-in-laW, i
really thought the Judge of Iustruc-
tion would have flown at my throat,
so angry was he. -fa4.
'Only bread and water for the con-
tumaciousn heard him roar to the
taller as he went out. | thought, be-
tween them, that they. would have
driven me mad, and should have well
coined Siberia as a release. ~
/ grew sullen at last, and refused to
n turn any answer to the interrogato-
ries with which they piled me. / be-
gan almost to doubt my own identity.
Ii could not be myself, Arthur Mus
grave, who was q g tenant of this
to my completely in something ex-
Dfr Of
Sta e. Let them knout me, lang me,
banisn me If they wculu, felt as
though ! were the only sane man
among pack of madmen.
Here is the Nie'ch your EXcellency,'
said a voire one day rs my cell door
was IhIown open, and the clstter of
swords and spurs on the stone floor in
dicated the arrival of some distinguish
ed parsonage; there the desperate is,
1o!d Governor! -.r|
l looked up. There, in front of the
group, stood, in rich uniform, the
breast of hich sparkled with orders,
the 'Excellency' in question. The re-
cOgnition was mutual. .f
sCouDt OrIoff" 'What! Musgrave!
Arthur, my dear boy, what terrible er-
ror is this?'
And to the scandal OF the Judge, the
jailer and the rest of them, the Cover
nor of the province hurried across the
grimy floor to clasp my hands, and to
order, in a voice that brooked no de-
nisl or delay, that my chains should
instantly be taken off.
My poor fellow, how you must have
suffered said the Count feelingly, as
lie saw how 'haggard had grown.
And then came explanations, the
cream o. which was that there had
been a socialistie conspiracy, wide
spread one, luckily detected in time,
prime mover in which mad been my
Vassilli, who had evi-
IDENTIFY made a cat's-paW of me in in
ducing me to carry his message to the
priest, while at the same time he pur-
loined my English passport and pa
! ers, probably for the sake Of escaping, |
in case of the worst, under my name.
'But Pope ] IN, ard his son. said l.,
|
The real Pope John, sad old rogue
answered the Count. smiling, had
been arr sted the day before you
reached Stsritza. and you found his
house in possession of the police. The
white bearded person to whom you
gave the message, disguised in the
priest's clothes, was Msjhr BulOw, of
the imperial gendarmerin; and the
message itself was an artful conc0c
ton, couchei in a snrt Of verbal ci-
pher, the key to whi,'h traitor gave
Us, and which, but for our military
would have led to re-
volt of the Polish regiment at Tyer,
and rising of the pessantry in fifty
parishes. As it is, all is safe, and a
telegram has just informed me that
Vassili himself has been cap
tured on the frontier. If ever a man
deserved Siheria-hut you are free, Ar !!
thur. Come with me, and Marie and
will teach you to forget this misery.
| have been married and happy now
This many year, but l do not think
hat the ill.umened face of Demetrius
Vassilli will ever be seen again on this
side of the Oural.
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