St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1890-11-22

had one clew. . clew so slight that
It had been overlooked BY the Russian
police, but one which NO really first
class detective would have passed un-
noticed. On the dead mans throat
were the black marks Of the fingers
which had strangled him. The thumb
OF the right hand had been pressed
violently into the skin of the neck, 90
IS to produce deep abrasion.
l at once took . careful cast Of this
thumb-mark with the finest wax, thus
reproducing every line exactly.
knew that the Impressions of no two
thumbs in the world are alike. 1t is the
prison-mark in China. remember, and
there serves tho same purpose as the
rogues' gallery in America to identify .
criminal
One other clew had to guide mo. A
plain twisted ring. worn by the MUIR
derer. had left its mark distinctly on
the flesh. caused the impression Of
the hand, ring and all to be photo
graphed.
Furnished only with these slight
clews, now set out to find the muir
dcrcr of Paul Pelaufski Instinct told
me. / suppose. to look for him in
the best society of the capital.
My Partisan letters of introduction
easily opened to me the best houses. In
particular l sought the society of the
Baroness. soon discovered that she
was an abandoned intrigueante. During
her husbands absence on his country
estates she unscrupulously amused her
self with a lover. one Rudolph Pfesh, .
Hungarian of handsome appearance and
very finely educated. IsOon discovered
Baroness for the time was absolutely
infatuated with him.
During all this time you may suppose
that / kept . sharp lookout for the
twisted ring. did nothing Of the
kind. Amidst the mass of jewelry
nightly displayed in the drawing-rooms
OF ST. Petersburg, one might as we'll
have searched for . noodle in bundle
OF hay. No. / only hoped to use that as
coniirmatory evidence when had found
my man.
And / was fast finding him. Already
I had gained the confidence of the
Nihilists. During the third month Ru-
dolph Pfesh confided to me the outline
Of plot to assassinate the Gar.
Bombs were to cut no figure in this
last attempt A peculiar and singular
" treacherous method was to be en-
ployed. People would never, perhaps,
know how the Emperor met his death.
But who was to inflict it?
The circle to which l now belonged,
% Pfesh informed me. had drawn lots
to decide this, and the choice had fallen
on me. / was to become the assassin
But the details would not be confided to
me until the night before the day set
for the execution of the plot
That evening was to attend at the
house Ut the Baroness Woronsko. when
I should receive full instructions.
Tho Baroness house was in the New.
skoi Prospect 1t was . huge mansion
surrounded by ornamental grounds. Be-
fore noon. completely disguised, Pierre
Chauffaud took occasion to thoroughly
reconnoiter the place.
Night came. A brilliant ball was in
progress The baroness had never
looked 50 lovely. In the prime Of her
womanhood. her figure was displayed to
the greatest advantage in evening
dress. 1 looked around me. Pfesh,
Dakoutsk. Phloblosh and Chenkamin-
all werc there. Tho gathering was
honeycombed with the Nihilistic ele-
ment
felt my hand suddenly grasped, and
turning around was confronted By
Gurloff. He was without disguise of
any kind. I regarded him with wonder
ment The second in command Of secret
police, he must be we'll known to these
people.
Then suddenly it flashed across me.
Gurloff is also one Of them. Nihilism
has penetrated to the police depart
ment
had the fourth dance with the Bar
oness Woronsko. 1t was marked
waltz on my programme. She danced
I myself understand the
divine art As to the strains Of en-
music We noated down the
long ballroom I could not bat wish
myself thousand miles away from St
Petersburg. 1t went hard with me to
betray that splendid creature. am .
Frenchman, and have to confess that
she affected me powerfully.
The music ceased, and she led me
into conservatory. We were hardly
seated when she spoke and said:
II am the one chosen to instruct you
by our circle. Tomorrow you will be
presented to tho Emperor. Being .
foreigner, he will extend to you the
royal hand. as is his custom"
She paused and glanced nervously
around. Quitting my side for . mo-
ment she parted the thick shrubbery
and peered out through the glass into
81 thought heard sound in the gar
dcn," she said.
knew it was the noise occasioned by
Pierre Chauffaud and tho men with him
in scaling tho wall surrounding the
grounds.
20. it IS nothing" said, but feeling
all the time very much like . villain. |
do not be alarmed"
She returned. seated herself BY my
side, and resumed:
.You have been chosen by our circle
to rid the world Of this tyrant Take
this ring. No. do not place it ON your
hand yet Its touch is death, If you are
not extremely careful Keep it in its
case. and just before you are admitted