The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1881-05-11

beautifully furnished apartment.
teble was spread for two in the cen
ire of it, and by the fire was stand
ing man verv little older than my
self lie turned as / came in, ane
stepped forward to meet me with
every symptom OF profound re
spect.
SO young and yet so honored p
he exclaimed, and then, seeming to
recollect himself, he continued
''Pray sit at the head of the table
You must be fatigued by your elon.
and arduous journey. We dine tete
a-tete; but the Others assemble af
terward" )"
Mr. Dimidoff, | presume ?" said
l.
"No, sir" said he, turning his
keen, gray eyes on me. My name Is
Petrokine you mistake me, per-
haps, for one of the others. But now
not word of business until the
council meets. Try our chgf,s soup;
YOU will find it excellent | think. =
Who Mr.. Petrokine or the Others
might be | could not conceive. Land
stewards of Dimidoff's, perhaps
though the name did not seem IA
miliar to my companion. However,
as he appeared to shun any business
questions at present, gave into his
humor and we conversed on social
life in England-a subject in which
he displayed considerable knowl-
edge and acuteness. His remarks,
too, on Malthus and the laws of pop
ulation were wonderfully good,
though sayoring somewhat of Radi-
ealism.
BY the way" he remarked, as
we smoked a cigar over our wine,
'we should never have known you
but for the English labels on your
luggage it was the luckiest thing
in the world that alexander notic-
ed them. We had no personal de
scription of you indeed, we were
prepared to expect somewhat old
er man. You are young indeed, sir,
to he intrusted with such mis-
sion"
MY employer trusts me-" l re-
piled "and We have learned in our
trade that youth and shrewdness are
not incompatible" "
Your remark is true sir" return
ed my newly made friend; ''but ] am
surprised to helr you call cur glori-
Gus associatiaS a trade ! Such a
term is gross indeed to apply to
body of men banded together tosup-
ply the world with that which it is
yearning for, but which, without
our exertions, it can never hope to
attain. a spiritual brotherhood
would be a more fitting term"
by Jove !" thought |, show
pleased the boss would be to hear
him He must have been in the
business himself, whoever he is"
Now, SIR" said Petrokine, "the
clock points to S, and the council
must be already sitting. Let US go
up together, and l will introduce
you. need scarcely say that the
greatest secrecy is observed, and that
your appearance is anxiously await
ed"
turned over in my mind as l
followed him how i might best full
Gil my mission and secure the most
advantageous terms. They seemed
as anxious as was in the matter,
and there appeared 10 be no opposi-
ton, SO perhaps the best thing would
be to wait and see what they would
propose.
I'had hardly come to this conclu-
sion when my guide swung open a
large door at the end of passage,
and | found myself in a room larg-
er and even more gorgeously fitted
up than the one in which l had din
ed. a long table, covered with
green baize and strewn with papers,
ran down the middle, and round it
were sitting fourteen or fifteen men
conversing earnestly. The whole
scene reminded me forcibly of
gambling hell | had visited some
time before.
Upon our entrance the company
rose and bowed. / could not but
remark that my companion attract
ed no attention, while every eye was
turned upon me with a strange mix
ture of surprise and almost servile
respect. A man ut the head of the
table, who was remarkable for his
extreme pallor of face as contrasted
with his blue black hair and mus
tache, waved his hand to a seat be-
side him, and / sat down.
u need hardly say" said Petro-
kline, ''that Gustave Berger, the Eng
lish agent, is now honoring us with
his presence. He is young indeed,
Alexis" he continued to my pale
faced neighbor, 'and yet he is of
European reputation"
Come, draw it mild" thought /,
adding aloud "If you refer to me,
sir though | am acting as English
agent, my name is not Berger, but
Robinson-Mr. Tom Robinson, ut
your service.
a laugh ran round the table.
so be it, so be it, said the man
I'll " called Alexis. Il commend
Y III discretion, most honored sir.
C..e cannot be too careful. Preserve
Y lr English sodriqltet by all means.
| regret that any painful duty should
be performed upon this auspicious
evening but the rules of our asso-
ciation must be preserved at any
cost to our feelings, and a dismissal
is inevitable tonight"
what the duecc is the fellow
driving at ?" thought l. What is
/ it to me if he does give his servants
the sack ? This Dimidoff, wherever
he is, seems to keep a private lunatic
asvlum."
"Take out the gag y The words
fairly shot through me, and start
ed in my chair. 1t was Petrokine
who spoke. For the first time l no.
iiced that burly, stout man, sit
! ting at the other end of the table,
had his arms tied behind his chair
and a handkerchief round his
mouth. A horrible suspicion began