Sharp County record., 1879-05-08
" Four wears and eight MONTHS l was'


lect now. And your gre"''"'D'
"Pray excuse me, uncle, but | am
dead tired. Three nights traVelng' as
l told you" ,,ono old
ass not to remember it, your lGoln Ioali 10 -
ready; 90 and take good, s9unuslGeP, 81 7 fool
"And what if | sleep all day. as Ieei a;,
very much like doing at this Instant
|Never mind how long you Sleep 50
long as you are ready for the Oall TO-
night. Give your clothes to the SerV, !
ant; he will take them to the tailor ana
have a dress-suit built for tonight" "
In his room and in bed, kamoutsine
drew from his pocket-book beneath MS
pillow letter he bad received TWO Gays
before and the contents Of which had IN
spired him with the idea of the part he
was now playing. ,s,,
"We had no end of fun, wrote a lei
low-guardsman from Moscow, with a
nephew of the Governor fresh from
Odessa. Some Of our fellows have
plucked him at eCarte, and as ne loSt
more money than he had with HIM he
has placed himselfin pawn TILL MS re-
mittances arrive from Odessa. He has
mortal terror of his distinguished rela'
tive at St. Petersburg, whom he has new
er seen since the days OF his innocent
childhood, and would sooner die than
let the old gentleman know he has got
ten into a scrape. We visit him regu-
larly and feed his terror with ingenious
romances. At the way the mails 60 |
fancy we have 10 days good fun with
him before us ere lie receives his remit
tances."
"In 10 days." said Kamoutsine to
himself, as he tranquilly refolded the
paper, 81 shall be-in Siberia, pro0a-
bly,. Meanwhile let me Sleep
He slept soundlH and at dinner-time
had his meal sent to his room under the
pretext of fatigue, then dressing himself
ieisurely in the suit provided for him,
and which even he admitted was quite
a passable fit, he seated himself at the
window to watch the carriages drive up
and pour upon thereception platform a
torrent of velvet, sstin, silk, lace, jewels
and uniforms; he heard the clashing OF
plate and porcelainin the supper-room
and reflected sadly that he should not
be among the banqueters; then he heard
the orchestra tuning up, and on the
stroke of 10 there was tap at the door,
and a servant entered to say, with His
Excellency's compliments, that it was
time to 60 down to ihe ballroom.
Down the red cloh-covered staircase
went Kamoutsine with the leisurely pace
beftting a memberof the family, and
entered the salon just as the national
anthem announced the arrival Of the
Emperor. With one rapid glance ne
singled out the Countess Damerof, who,
somewhat pale and trihe uneasy, kept
her ewes fixed upon the grand entrance,
and obtained from his uncle the honor
of a presentatiorl The Countess
the young proVinciai; 'hef eyes were in
search of guardsman.
As the last notes of the anthem died
away, the orchestra struck up waltz
by Strauss.
"Permit the Generals nephew to
claim the execution of your PROMISE"
said the Prince, whirling the stupefed
Countess away.
"Bless me, how odd you look in
mufti,n said the young woman, with a
burst of laughter, to her partner,
though he felt her tremble as she rec
ognized his voice.
Round the great salon they went, and
at every turn KamoutSine encountered
the astonished eyes of an acquaintance
who had recognized him, and perfectly
audible babble and laugh began to run
through the hall. AS the Prince led his
partner back to her seat he pressed
lightly the tips of her fingers and whis-
pered, 81 have won my wager and will
claim the forfeit whenever the authori-
ties permit me-"
The Countess blushed but made no
answer.
81 risked my head, asyou did me the
honor to remark last night; of course
you will pay?"
81 will try, if it is any thing in rea-
son."
81 will be generous" he answered
with q smile; "good-by."
He bowed and hurried away, but on
his passage towards the door was seized
by the General and hurried towards the
Minister of Police.
"Permit me, your Excellency," said
the General, "to present my nephew
from Odessa, and commend him to your
good Offices"
"Delighted, I'm sure," murmured
the Minister, mechanically, but ere he
had glanced at the Generals protege,
Kamoutsine was lost in the crowd.
"Excuse his rudeneSs, but he's little
countryfed," said the General, apollo
getically.
At that instant a scared looking A. D.
G h,1rriod IN tO tho Mn;etor opd e+oy,