, 1890-08-02

or horses ana q Cnkltng Of
bells drew me to the door. and. to my
surprise, l saw bearing rapidly down
upon h station a small detachment OF
mounted cossacks- surrounding a sleigh
with two men in it, who l made sure
were the parties l was looking for, an
opinion which seemed to be verified when
they drew up, for the men were rather
rough looking fellows, and wore heavy
cloaks of coarse material, and great
astrachan caps, that came forward over
their ans. 1 was soon ~undeceived.
These travellers claim to have been
robbed, captain" said the cossack officer,
Saluting. They will tell you their story,
and, meantime, we await your orders"
The travellers hurried inside, and / fol-
lowed with a sinking heart.
I'VE are the victims of an infamous
outrage, sir" said one of them. my
name is Alexis Zamose, and this is my
friend, Sergius Melkof. We were jour
neying to Cracow, and while passing
through the forest last evening two
armed strangers in a sleigh overlook us,
and, o-verpowering us, they took all our
possessions, made US give up our fur in
exchange for these wretched garments
hho oAOAt Jul BdcoPOAb To- III lutu Cub-
ting our horse loose they drove him off
in the darkness and took flight. On foot
we made our way back to the nearest
village, and were so fortunate as to fall
in with these brave soldiers. who pro-
cured us a horse and accompanied us
thus far IN our journey"
With inward rage / listened to this
strange tale, realizing only too clearly
the mistake 1 had made, and my feelings
may be imagined when the man handed
me two folded papers, saying: These,
sir, are the passports the villains were so
considerate as to give us in exchange for
our own"
Itore them open. They were made out
to Ivan Brosky and Vladimir Pogram.
1.-The rascals nave escapedr' / cried
angrily. They passed through not two
hours ago, and l dared not detain them"
And is it too late to overtake them"
cried Alexis Zamose.
TOO late. They have crossed the Wis
tula an hour ago"
THE government shall atone for this"
the two men cried out together. They
would see IL travellers were to DO robbed
with IMMUNITY on the cars high road.
a Neo NaAAAl tlAACNN vi III " ptll4l
them, when a soldier entered the room.
Captain" he said, 1.-THE Vistula has
risen. The bridge was carried away at
daybreak."
Those two travelers?' / demanded
eagerly. "Did they get across in timer
mo, captain. They started for the
upper bridge"
Then Wen haTe them yeti" / cried.
Call out the guard at once. Don't lose
a second"
l buckled on my sword, seized my
cloak and hat, and rushed to the door,
where my horse already awaited me.
My w men were mounting in haste
and the Cossacks sat motionless in their
saddles.
\ moment more would have seen us
off, when n solitary rider came in sight
far up the road, and presently refined up
before us, painting and breathless.
'Orders from the cart he cried,
vaulting from the saddle. Have Ivan
Brosky and Vladimir Pogram passed this
stationT'
l briefly explained the situation.
"They must be arrested at all haz-
ardsl" he cried. They left st. Peters
ouib WIN lOlStu II WAS us
covered only yesterday"
And who are these mem l asked.
They are Shamerin and Kharkoff,"
replied the messenger, 1.-THE assassins of
Gen. Orloy."
1t was of grave Importance, indeed,
that they should be captured, and mount
ing in haste we dashed away ut full
speed, leaving the cars messenger to
enjoy the comforts of the station, for he
had been riding all night and badly
needed rest.
Our course led eastward to the Nistula
and thcn turned off to the south, follow
ing a rugged and little travelled road
through the hills, which led eventually
to another bridge Over the Vistula, some
twenty miles further down the stream.
1t wa bad enough for n horscman; for n
sleigh it wa terrible.
| rode in advance, side by side with
Capt. Karaman. the commander Of the
Cossacks.
We thundered nc headlong speed over
the frozen ground, sure of our prey-for
on the road before us, fast freezing up
in the morning air. were the tracks of
hoof and runne imprinted in the slush.
At intervals through the hill gaps we
caught sight of the Vistula. n turbid,
yellow mass, swirling past with it's bur
den of floating ice.
We must travel still faster. The up
per bridge was n heavier. more solid
structure, little likely to be carried off
by even such a flood as this. We must
ovcrtake them before they reached it.
We drove the spurs into our painting
horses and the forest and barren hill
sides shot past us in one flying paDo.
rama as we galloped like the wind ovor
the frozen ground, rounding bend after
bend, only to see the same empty, gilt
s.nng stretch Of road fading in mock
cry into the frosty atmosphere.
Furlong on furlong, mile after mile,
and still they kept ahead with Il speed
that seemed incredible.
"Look!' cried Capt. Karaman under
his frosted beard. The tracks are still
soft. We shall soon see them"
Struggling houses came in sight. and
the people ran to their doors in wonder
AS we swept past like a whirlwind-hara
mans Cossacks of the Volga, sombcr and
stern in their great black cloaks and
shakos; my dragons a trife more pictur-
esque, with their green uniforms aud
waving plumes.
We galloped through the little village
of Kaban-only five miles now to the
bridge-and as we swept round the brow
of a hill in the distance we saw "A black
speck on the frozen road.
Even as Karaman pointed it out it
vanished over a ridge. We Numbered on
in hot pursuit, losing sight of it some