The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-11-29
OLGA MICROSCOPES ESCAPE.
An Episode of Nihilism.


lnCSe SuCCcOu III drreStluS tAASJ
leave in the apartments of the captured person
few men to take into custody any one who may
come to see that person. In our language this
lis called a trap. Owing to the Russian habit of
arranging everything at home and not in the
cafes as in Europe, tho Nihilists are often com
PEELED to go to each others houses, and thus
these traps become fatal. In order to diminish
the risk safety signals are generally placed in
the windows, and are taken away at the first
sound of the police. But owing to the negi-
gence of the Nihilists themselves, accustomed as
they are to danger, and so occupied that they
sometimes have not time to eat mouthful all
day long the absence of These signals is often
.disregarded, or attributed to some combination
of circumstances-the difficulty, or perhaps the
typographical impossibility, of placing signals
in many apartments in such manner that they
can be seen from a distance. This measure of
public security frequently, therefore, does not
answer its purpose, and good half of all the
Nihilists who have fallen into the hands of the
government have been caught in these very
traps.
precisely similar misfortune happened to
Olga, and the worst Of it was it was in the house
of Alexander Kviatkovsky; of the Terrorist
leaders, where the police found perfect maya
zine of dynamite, bombs and similar things, to-
gether with plan of the Winter Palace, which,
after the explosion there, led to his capital con
viction. AS may readily be believed, the police
would regard with anything but favorable eyes
every one who came to the house of such a
man.
Directly she entered Olga was Immediately
seized by two policemen, in order to prevent her
from defending herself. She, however dis
played not the slightest desire to do She
feigned surprise astonishment, and invented
there and then the story that she had come to
see some dressmakers (who had, in fact, their
names on door-plaoe below and occupied the
upper hoor) for the purpose of ordering some
thing, but had mistaken the DOOR that she did
not know what they wanted with her: and
wished to return to her husband, etc;
the usual subterfuges to which the police
are accustomed to turn a deaf But Olga
played her part so we'll thai the
'pristav or head of the police of the district,
really inclined to believe her. He told her that
anyhow, if she did not wish to be Immediately
taken to prison, she must give her name and
conduct him to her own house. Olga gave the
FIRST name which came into her mind, which nat
urall enough not that under which she
residing in the capital, but as to her place of
residence she declared, with every demonstration
of profound despair, that she could not, and
would not, take him there or say where it was.
The pristav insisted, and upon her reiterated
refusal observed to the poor simple thing that
hef ODSGlndcy was DOT only preludlclal TO ner,
but even useless as knowing her name, he
would have no difficulty in sending some to
The Adressni Stol and obtaining her address.
Struck by this unanswerable argument, Olga
said she would take him to her house.
No sooner had she descended into the street.
accompanied by the pristav and some of his sub
alterns, than Olga met friend. Madame Maria
A, who was going to Kviatkovskys where
meeting of Terrorists had actually been fixed
for that very day. 1t was to this chance meet
ing that the Terrorists owed their escape from
the very grave danger which threatened them
for the windows of Kviatkovsky's rooms were so
placed that it was impossible TO see any signals
there from the street
Naturally enough the two friends made
sign to indicate that they were acquainted with
each other, but Madame Maria A. on seing Olga
with the police in ali haste to inform her
friends of the arrest of their com panion, about
which there could be doubt
The first to be warned was Nicholas Morosoff.
as the police in short time would undoubtedly
go to his house and make the customary search.
Olga felt certain that this was precisely what
her friend would do, and therefore her sole OBJ
ject now was to delay her custodians so as to
give Morosotf time to clear" his rooms THAT is
to say, destroy or take away papers and every
thing compromising, and to get away himself.
1t was this that she was anxious about, for he
had been accused by the traitor Goldenberg of
having taken part in the mining work connected
with the Moscow attempt, and by the Russian
law was liable to the penalty of death.
Greatly emboldened by this lucky meeting
conducted the police to the Ismailovsky Polk.
one of the quarters of the town most remote
from the place of her arrest, which was in the
Nevsky district. They found the street and the
house indicated to them The entered and sum
moned the dvornik (doorkeeper) who
has to be present at every search
made Then came the inevitable explanation.
The dvornik said that he did not know the lady,
and that she did not lodge in that house. Upon
hearing this statement Olga covered her face
with her hands, and again gave way to despair.
She sobbingy admitted that she had deceived
them from fear of her husband, who was very
harsh, that she had not given her real name and
address. and wound up by begging them to let
her go home
whats the use of all this, MADAME ex-
claimed the pristav, Don't you see that you are
doing yourself harm by these trcks7 I'll forgive
you this time, because of your inexperience, but
take care you don't do it again. and lead us at
once to your house, or otherwise YOU will repent
it." After much hesitation, Olga resolved to
obey the iniunctons Of the prstav. She gave
her name, aud said she lived in one of the lines
of the Vasili Ostroy.
1t took an hour to reach the place At last
they arrived at the house indicated Here pre-
cisely the same scene with the dvornik was re-
peated. Then the prstav lost all patience, and
wanted to take her away to prison at once with
out making search in her house. Upon hear
~ ing the pristav's harsh announcement, Olga
flung heuself into an arm chair and had violent
attack of Mysteries. They fetched some water
and sprinkled her face with it to revive her
When she had somewhat recovered the pristav
ordered her to rise and go at once to the prison
of the district Her hystercal attack recon-.
meneed. But the prlstav would stand no more
nonsense and told her to get up. otherwise
he would have her taken away in a cab by main
force.
The despair of the poor lady was now at its
height. 'Lis:en" she exclaimed II will tell
you everything now" And she began the story
of her life and marriage. She the daughter
of rustic, and she named the province
and the village Up to the age of six
teen she remained with her father and looked af-
ter the sheep But day an engineer, her
future husband. who was at work upon branch
line of railway, came to stop in the house. He
fell in love with her. took her to town. placed
her with his aunt, and had teachers to educate
her as she illitarata md Ina