The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1891-04-04
THE TEST.
Locating tho Traitor In a Russian
Conspiracy.

Jewish qnnrtcr Of u busy and largely
populated Russian city. The appear.
nncc Of the MI was ms wrctch"d H.
the external inspect 81 the house itself.
The solitary window was totally con-
c"nlrd by n heavy faded curtain, de-
pending from the roof. and ns the wind
m"ancd dismnlly through the broken
pnnrs 81 glass IT, sombcr folds swnycd
Ia and fro. The inmates Of this mourn
ful den were seated around the table.
smoking their pipes and talking, IN II
furiiycly, IN whispers, As the feeble
rays at the candle fell iitfully upon
the company they revealed the youth
ful faces Of four students. The chief
spokesman, however. vas n much older
man. apparently nbout fifty, with u
short. pointed beard. shaggy brnws
aud keen. penetrating eyes Of the dark.
est hun. The others dcfcrrntinlly nd
dressed the speaker ns professor,
md such. indeed. he wns ut that time
ut u well. known school Of medicine In
Russia
I'm the present urrnsion, however. he
wns speaking. not uf science. hut uf the
terrible doctrine Of assassination.
Prof. y was II nihilist. u rcputcd
Colossus Of craft In the dissemination
of revolutionary doctrines, and on the
particular evening In question he was
engaged in advocating with fiery clO-
qrcnrc the assassination Of u certain
colonel who had lately lcen promoted
"a the rank Of chief commissioner of
the secret police. As the night wore
on their whispered conversation VIA
suddenly interrupted by n low knock
ing at the outer door. In n moment
the cnnspiraturs sprang noiselesSly To
their feet and listened with bated
breath. The sound wgs repeated
peculiar whistle was heard from with
out. and the listeners exchanged sig
niiicant Chances and quietly resumed
their seats. Presently cautious foot
steps were heard in an outer room, the
door was opened. and a young man
hastily entered. His face was pale.
his manner agitatcd, and as he re-
turned his companions salutatiOns he
regarded them with "A fixed and angry
stare.
You have kept us waiting. OH
at his pipe. Ugh. we are al
most frozen, for the air of this wretchcd
apartment is quite Siberian. But now
To- business. We will warm ourselves
with talk. and fire our minds with the
prospect of revenge"
FTbnra yynS !, rn1rtD1r pf apnrpynl II
was noticed. however. hat the Young
nan who had just appeared upon the
scene took his seat in silence, and. rest
ing his elbows upon the table. slowly
scrutinized the faces of his comrades.
My dear professor" he said at
length. I'VE cannot possibly proceed at
present with this business.
why note" was unanimously asked.
"Bccausc." replied the latest conner.
as he quietly snuffcd the candlc-''be-
cause one of us is a traitor"
"A traitor exclaimed the men, start
ing to their feet.
Yes. comrades. we are BETRAYED:
and as no one knows of this plot of
ours except ourselves, it is plain, |
think, that one of us has turned in
formant."
You are mad to say So" hoarsely
the professor: 'but in heav-
ems name, what has happened? Come,
tell us quickly This is no testing mat
ter.
Listen. then. On my way hither,
comrades, ! entered n cafe de Paris to
sip a cup of tea and smoke a cigarette.
] happened to sit beside two officers of
the secret police, and as one of them
was somewhat tipsy, | could distinctly
hear his conversation. found il rath-
er interesting. lie told his companion
that he was under orders to surround
this old, deserted house at midnight
it was near eleven now and 20
all persons found within. He
mentioned, moreover. all our names.
and added. with a maudlin laugh. that a
person. to whom the administra-
ton is eternally indebted, would be
found in our midst playing the part of
cunspirator. Now. comrades. l have
done. What shall we do"
The men looked at each other in
dismay. 4 dead silence filed the room.
for the mere suspicion of treachery
among the men who had solemnly ded-
their lives to the sacred cause of
seemed to hold them dumb.
Such villainy in their very midst
among men banded together in sacred
brotherhood-was a greater crime than
merciless acts of a despot and his
minions.
''If this is true" said the professor,
in a voice of suppressed rage, then /
will no longer believe in human fidelity. |
pr the future of our cause. But-death.
if the story is true. Which Of us is the
informer?!' added the speaker, staring
at the pale faces of his COM
panions.
bah. it is useless to ask that, my
dear professor" exclaimed Ivan-such
vas the lame of the youth who had
brought the strange intelligence-as he
advanced to the door of the room.
it. and placed the key in his
Every n will assert his
course But. comrades. |
suppose we endeavor to find him out?
Let us search each other. The traitor, |
whoever he may be, must doubtless
have in his possession some proof of his
At least. the experiment is
worth trying. What say you?
Agreed. Agreed exclaimed the
nihilists, as with one accord they |
,prang convulsively to their feet. One !
Of the students-a tall, lank youth, ,
with a somewhat foppish appearance
objected. however, to the proposal.
But why?" hotly demanded the pro-
lessor. who seemed all eagerness to
begin ths investigation.
because" was the hesitating re-
honor ought to be enough.
there is something degrading
n the idea of searching one another, as
+. indeed. we were a lot of pickpockets.
let us break up the meeting. This
excitement is absurd, and renders the
of our plot impossible. As
or the story told by the drunken soldier
n the cafe, l don't believe a word of
t."
These words produced an angry MUIR
nur among the excited c~onspirators.
protest seemed SO ridiculous; and