St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1890-10-25

tnought over 1t the moro certain fell
mat ehore WAS something wrong aboa
them. II had stopped raining and beRa.
TO blow up cold. and saw that It woul{
probably b busy day.
had already finished breakfast, wher
trsmpling Of horses and tinkline o
Dolls drew me to the door. ard to m,
surprise Isaw bearing rapidly down upo1
the station . small detachment Of mount
ed CossackA surrounding . sleigh with
two men In it who made sure were the
parties I 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 closks
OF coarse material. and great astrachau
caps that came forward over their ears,
was soon undeceived.
These travellers claim to have been
robbed. captain. said the Cossack ON.
Ger. saluting. "They will tell you
their story. and, meantime, we await
your orderA"
Tho travellers hurried inside, and I fol.
lowed with sinking heart
I'VE are victims Of an infamous out
rage. sir" said one Of them. INV
name Il Alexis Zsmose, and this IL NV
friend. Sergius Mcilko6. We were
journeying to Cracow. and while pass
ing through the forest last evening two
armed strangers in . sleigh over
took us. and overpowering US
they took all our possessions, made us
give up our furs in exchange for these
wretched garments. and then cutting
our horse loose, they drove him of in
the darkness and took fight On foot
We made our way back to tho nearest
village. and were so fortunate IS to fall
in with these brave soldiers, who bro.
cured US horse and accompanied us
thus far ON our journey"
With inward rage listened to this
strange tale. realizing only too clearly
the mistake had made. and my feel.
ings may be imagined when tho man
handed me two folded papers, saying:
There. sir. are the passports the viii
lains were SO considerate to give US in
exchange for our own"
tore them open. They were made
out to Ivan Brosky and Vladimir Pro-
gram.
Tho rascals have escaped" I cried
angrily. They passed through not
two hours ago. and dared not detain |
them"
':And it is too late to ovcrtake them?r
cried Alexis Zamosc.
Too late. They have crossed the |
Vistula an hour ago"
The Government shall atone for |
this, the two men cried out together.
They would see II travellers were to be
robbed with impunity on the Cars
high road.
l was vainly endeavoring to pacify
them. when . soldier entered the room.
Captain" he said. 1.-THE Vistula has
risen. The bridge was carried away at
dsybrcak."
Those two travclersY' I demanded
did they get across in timer"
mo. Captain. They started for tho
upper bridge"
Then we'll have them yeti" I cried.
''Call out the guards Ut once Don't lose
, second"
I bucklcd on my sword. seized my
cloak and hat and rushed to the door
where my horse already awaited ma
My own men were mounting in haste,
Ind the Cossacks sat motionless in their
saddles
A moment moro would have seen us
III, when . solitary rider came in sight,
ar up the road. and presently refined up
,efore US painting and breathlesA
'Ordcrs from the Gar" he cried,
'sulting from the saddle. ''Have Ivan
]rosky and Vladimir passed this sta I
ion?"
briefly explained the situation.
They must be arrested 1t all haz- !
rds!" he cried. They left St Peters
'urg with forged passports. 1t was dis I
overed only yesterday" I
And who are these men?" / asked.
''They are Shamerin and Kharkof,"
eplied the messenger, 1.-THE assassins of
General Orley."
1t was of grave importance. indeed, G
hat they should be captured. and,
in haste, We dashed away 1t
Ill speed, leaving the Cars messen- 9
er to enjoy the comforts Of the station, s.
" he had been riding all night and 81
IDLY needed rest
Our course led eastward to the Vistula, q
i'd thence turned OF to the south, fol- P
wing rugged and little travelled road "
trough the hills, which led eventually &
another bridge over the Vistula, some
renty miles further down the stream. Q!
was bad enough for horsemcn; for 81
eigh it was terrible.
rode in advance, side by side with 60
plain Karaman, the commander Of the dl
ssackS OF
We Numbered at . headlong speed ye
er the frozen ground. sure OF our tn
eyefor, on the road before Us, fast br
,esing up in the morning air. were M
0 tracks OF hoofs and runners inn 81
lnted in the slush. At intervals,
rough the hill gaps we caught sight th
tho Vistula. . turbid, yellow mass. To-
irling past with its burden Of floating an
We must travel still faster. The tx
per bridge was heavier. moro solid tai
ucture. little likely 70 be carried on !
even such . 0o0d - this We must "a
,rtake them before they reach It zee
We drove the spurs into our painting col
'ses. and tho forest and barren hill POI
60 shot past NJ In one flying pano-l pu
NJ . We galloped like the wind over mp
frozen ground. rounding bond after
ID. only to see the Same empty gilt an
ing stretch Of road fading in mock. oy
into the frosty atmosphere. ma
'urlong after furlong. milo after In
e. and still they kept ahead with qul
ed that seemed incredible. mo
Lookr cried Captain Karaman,
Ter his frosted beard, ''the tracks ,