Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1882-03-23

"Of the first dav, have no remem-
brance. 1t did not consist of hours but
of moments, each separate and dis
tinct--of ideas born only TO die. In a
word, for the first twenty-four hours |
was crazed. The second day found me
cool and helpless. ! made my plans.
Obey | must, for my wifc's sake and
my own. Jelikof must die, that we
might live.
"For five hours | debated where to
do the deed; then, still uncertain,
walked in the verge Of the tom, and
as | walked some one joined me-Lo-
disk.
Tomorrow SAID he, inquiringly.
"To-morrowp returned. 1T must
be tomorrow for one of u.s. and |
shuddered.
"We stood a space IL silence; then
the man came closer, and placed his
hand upon my shoulder.
"Listen! 1t is hard; it is danger
GUS Capture means death. Here is
money. You must fee instant y the
work is DONE.
"Unwittingly, thrust the gold into
my bosom, and repeated after him;
"'I must flee Instantly And my
wifep
"I will care for her until you re-
turn
"In n single breath my brain cleared
the dread cloud that for two days had
Swallowed it passed, and / knew !that
he had worked my ruin. was to. be-
come an outlaw, in order that my
wife might be the spoil of this M on
ster.
"What power it was that held my
hands | know not. The rage in my
heart. the frenzy to seize the accused
one at my side and tear his throat out,
all but uverpowered me, and it was
only by a superhuman effort OF the will
that | remained silent.
"'The deed must be tomorrow, con-
tinued Lodiski, and the only place
where you can find JelikoH alone is in
the belltower. Thither he goes each
evening before the curfew rings, TO
watch the change of guards upon the
opposite river bank. You can conceal
yourself there, and strike him down.
1t will be long before he is missed, and
you will have time for flight"
81 Bowed my head, / dared not trust
my tongue. 1t might be that should
strike too soon. Deep within my
heart the determination to kill was
well fixed; but, unknown to my chief,
the victim had been changed.
81 will join you at the foot of the
tower after curfew. See to it that it is
after-the end, Lodiski concluded.
"My blood leaped.
80 1t is well,' | replied, and he left
me.
"That night told my wife all. and
her love stood the test. Ere morning
dawned, under the escort OF a faithful
servant, she was at the Volga Dernstam
"a landing ten miles away; and when
the early sun kissed the reaches OF
level land about our town, it found her
upon the deck of river steamer,
bound for Astrachan.
"All day long l gathered my little
store Of goods, and late in the after
noon sold them for gold to a friend-a
Nihilist like myself who secretly con-
veyed them to his house. Then, as the
light wane6, and it drew toward night,
thoroughly disguised, and armed with
pair of pistols and my dagger, skirt
ed the town, and came at last to the
lonely watch-tower where hung the
great bell that rang the curfew. Ere
the ringer had entered the tower from
his supper, | was secreted in the loft
near the window.
Ut was not my intent to kill Jelikoff.
II he came, l could confess ALL then
descend and wreak my vengence upon
Lodiski below, and flee the country; or
if he came not, the end would be the
same. Still bound by my oath, and
environed by a thousand spies, dared
not fee until night. And Lodiski must
diel
alone III the grim tower / waited,
and the bats about me squeaked. and
the damp wind of the steppes swept
mournfully in and kissed my hot cheek.
The moments passed!
" Suddenly q nameless dread fell up
on me, lnstinctively | felt the pres
ence Of some new and near danger,
and u sense of doom overcame me, as
if ! listened to the words of the Judge
who recited the condemning proofs of
my falseness to our order. If did not
kill Jelikof, and failed to find Lodski.
| must die!
"Quivering with this new terror,
glanced uspicionsly about me--inlo
the deep shadows of the corners, be-
hind the great beams, aloft among the
bats nests, and at last beneath the
mighty bell hanging silent at my side.
" And there, lying prone upon a
crosa-beam directly under the great
iron dome, so close that the first swing
of the ponderous metal would crush
him, lay Lodiski, his eyes fastened up
on me
He had come as a spy, to know if
did well my duty-that he might de-
nounce me publicly as a murderer if I
did it; or condemn me privately to
death if | did not.
Even as | saw him, | heard the
step of the Colonel on the stair. and his
word to the waiting bell-man below.
go Carl, l will detain you but mo-
ment. When | descend you may
ring
"My heart ceased IN haat IeI;tofi'