The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1885-10-22

still hard at work trying to force q way in.
him, and had him before he knew anything |
about it. He struggled hard-desperately,
1 may say. But, bless you! he'd not q
ghost of a chance with me. I am a toler-
ably strong man still, as men go, and was
younger then. l could v undertaken
three such as he, INT thought nothing of
it. The poor wretch had no sort of condi-
ton about him-he wal mere skin and
bones-no muscle at all. He was nothing
but a walking. anatomy, with a few rags by
way of covering-and only q very few.
All that he gained by his struggles was
a good shaking, for I gave him one that
made every tooth in his lead chatter; and
b l laid him fiat on his back.
l had been long enough in the country to
gain some knowledge Of Russia. I could
use it pretty freely to our mill people; and
l must W that for terms in which to
blackguard O set of lazy ~rascals, as most
of those fellows are, B~illingsgate isn't a
understand me. Snow, then my FRIEND"
l said to him, "you needn't take the
trouble to show any more fight. You see
it won't pay. So just get up, and march
quietly off with me to the 0uchdstOck"-the
ouchastok being, as you perhaps know,
But instead of getting up, and doing as
he was told, like a reasonable being, the
creature contrived to wriggle itself upon
its knees, and to hold up its hands; while
~ oOSkO u AAS IL WIG dubi0 III uhO
\ and all the Saints not to hand it over to
| the p0litzid. 1t would rather be killed out
| right; and was ready to be beaten as much
as pleased.
queer chapi why do you object to the
police so strongly"
The poor wretch made no direct answer.
but only reiterated his entreaties that I
would not give him up. I began to have
some suspicion of the quality of my guest.
1 ~ am inclinad Tn fhtnRO I aaid 9Th at vnt1
are neither more or less than an escaped
convict"
Instead of attempting to deny it, he only
begged me to pity him as before.
Russian law is terribly hard on those
who in any way assist in or conceal the
escape of a convict. or that l was aware.
But though I am a big fellow to look at,
and in some things can hold my W as
well as any man, l have always been a
beginning to feel downright sorry for that
poor dewitt was not so much his prayers
that touched me as his looks. "Well," I
said, "suPgose l don't Civ you up, but let
He would always remember me with
gratitude. He would go on his way at
once, and do no harm to my property. He
was no thief. He had only entered this
duoy-this yard-to hide himself, but that
the sight of food had overcome him; he
was furnishing, and he dared not beg. He
II q oAhOus " Ao1 ho WYNN SOA4g pOA-
haps a thousand versts, and all the way he
had not dared to ask for food, scarcely to
speak to a living soul. He was trying to
reach his own village, perhaps a thousand
versts further II I would only set him
free he would go on at once.
That was about the substance of the fell
lows answer. His appearance seemed to
bear out his statements, and l was in
clined to believe him. ''It's sheer nom
sense" I said, "for you to talk of setting
l off for q ua1H If q fho,eand uarsto ~ 7 1af
you go. You might as well talk of flying.
You have not the strength, to walk ten.
You would only fall by the roadside, you
miserable scare-crow, n die in a ditch. ]
should be doing the kinder thing by you
if l hand you over to the authorities. If ]
do let you 60, l must give you something
to eat first. Come with me-"
The miserable wretch hardly believed
that I meant to feed him, and would have
run away had he dared. / took him into
the empty house. of which I had the key
and fetched him as much food as l thought
it safe for him to eat.
So there ! was, with an escaped convict
on my hands. Had 1 been more pruden,
/ should nave reflected that the fellow was
most likely a hardened s%coundrel, quite
undeserving of pity, and that his gratitude
would probably be shown either by rob-
bling me, or if he should happen to fall into
the hands of the police, by getting me intc
trouble to a his own worthless neck.
| ought Cd nave GnOu%nC OIL GQeSe GnlQ2Ss Du'
as I said before, 1 am a soft-hearted ole
fool. and neglected to do SO.
kept him in that empty house for sew
eral days; in fact, till he had so far recov,
cred his strength as to be fit to go on
Nobody knew about him, not even tn
doing a foolish thing I had sense enough t.
run as little risk over it as possible. Feodo'
Stepanovitch, for that my convict told M
was his name, enlightened me on some few
points of his personal history. His nativ,
village was, he said, in the government O
the town of ~Ivanova, where there are fac
tories. Every man tries to make out a goo
case for himself, so 1 did not feel mysel
bound to place implicit reliance on Feodor'
anything that could properly be called
crime. According to his showing, the sol
source of his troubles had been a differ
, ence with an ouradnik-a police agent.
do not exactly remember the particulars
but, of course, there was a woman in tn
business; blows had passed, and tn
OuUddnik had, by a false charge, procurec
Feodor's condemnation to Siberia for life
This, 1 say, was has story.
Feodor told me that his place of exil
had been somewhere far up the country
and of the seventies he had had to endure
and of the tyranny of officials, he spok
r bitterly. After making his escape, tn
) p%rivations and dangers he had undergon
) before reaching Ekaterinburg were such q
+ I should not have believed from his words
! had they not been verified by his ap
} p%earance.
For a Russian, be appeared to me to be
! not unintelligent fellow, and l pointed on
: to him the difficulties he would find il
. making his way to Ivanova-a distance O
not less than twelve hundred versts fror
: Ekaterinburg, as the crow flies; and ad
t vised him, as he was used to mill -work, t
a stay and find employment where he wa.
I was weak enough to offer to help him an
see what could be done in the way of get
: ting a passport for him. But the felloy
. was bent on going forward. He was re
. solved, he said, to see his family agar
. and he was resolved to see Basil MakaroH
: This Makarof was, I found, the Ouuddin
= to whom Feodor attributed his trouble!
: and it seemed to me that this particnla
laundering to see this person meant a crav
ing to have his revenge. I confess tina
: = when learned this much 1 felt no desir
D to detain my friend Feodor longer tina
was necessary. 1 was glad to give hil
. ing than he had brought, and a trihe i
y y money to help him Oh his way, and to b
= rid Of him.
! 1 never expected to see him again, nc
= startled when a few weeks later, among
: gang of convicts which were bein
! marched out of the town on their wa
9 eastward, l recognized Stepanovitch.
= was standing close by when he passed
e and was so much surprised to see him tbs
: 1 somewhat imprudently, perhaps, spoB
. to him by name. But, will you believe ii
! the ungratefel dog stared me in the fac,
: and marched sullenly by without word c
n sign of recognition. s much" though
!. 1, "for gratitude"
e Some months later, when the next sun
8 mer was getting well advanced. we ha
r one night an alarm of fire. Many Of th
r newer mills at Ek%aterinburg are Of ston
but the main building of ours, being CON
d paraA vely old, was of wood. It was
thing to blaze up like q box of matches.
e was not, however, in the main buildin
that the fire had broker out, but in SON
d sheds connected with the main building
by a range of shopping. This last we
" stone-built, but, as i'll luck would have i
covered with wooden shingles.
re A good many people were soon got t.
a gether, mostly our own hands, and
y directed and encouraged them as well as
n cop1A tn oot tho fro un6or Pnt fh op rra