The Opelousas courier., 1893-06-24

gaze upon the floor.
Woman-like, she shrank at theridea O
danger, and was about to refusv; then
she thrust all thought of self aside, and
only remember her mother, her sister.
the mar she loved, and what such a sum
of money could do for them, and held
her tongue.
give me SO, 900 and I will do it,
"You know how to ask, Miss Pent-
treatA.'
II won't jeopardize my safety for
less" she said firmly. eff I were alone
n the world ] should refuse altosether'
,ut l want the money for the sake of
hose who are very dear to me-"
every WE'LL" he answered, after a
pause, "you shall have your $40, 900
directly / receive advice that you have
fulfilled your part of the contract. I
will give you the papers the morning
Eou sail. When you arrive you must
| wear a white rose-an imitation n
will do very well. Your responsibility
will cease and your reward will be won
when you have delivered the packet
| safely into the hands of a man with q
similar flower pinned in his coat, who
| will contrive to ask You-how, when OF
| where I cannot tell you-for the present
| from his friend in London"
Two days later Cecil found herself on
the deck of an outward bound steamer,
the parting over, the voyage begun.
On the ship the time seemed endless
to her, and she could settle to nothing.
Every day seemed a week. She was in
q fever of impotence to reach her desti-
nation, and get the critical period over.
Yet, such is human nature, when she was
told by a fellow-passenger that they
would arrive the next morning, she
WOULD have given as much to retard
thGr progress as previously she would
have given to accelerate it.
She was awakened about s o'clock in
The morning by the sudden cessation or
accustomed motion as the KorniIof came
10 a standstill beside the quay at
Odessa.
Already the deck was strewn with
luggage, crowded with passengers, and
In a wild state of commotion. Officials
IN uniform Wsre afixing large seals to
Ill trunks and packages, large and
amall, prior to dispatching them to the
custom house to be opened aud searched.
Other officials were scanning every
hole and corner of the steamer itself, ID
one stood in the gangway, apparently to
prevent any one from going ashore.
"Do they always search IL ships like
shis9" asked Cecil of one of the officers,
with whom she had grown friendly
during the voyage. O
mo, it isn't usual. You'see they're
on the alert just now to stop certain
papers getting into this country. The
passengers-some of them at least-1ill
very likely be searched, too. Nobody
has been allowed to land yet"
She felt herself turn red and then
white, and she ~nervously fingered the
imitation rose which she had that morn
ing pinned for the first time at her
throat.
"Mrs. Petrowitch will be waiting fo-
me. Surely they'll let me land now"
81 dare say they will. I'll find out
for you," said the sailor, kindly.
He went up to one of the custom
house men and spoke to him in Russian.
"This young English lady wishes to
go ashore at once. There is nothing to
detain her; I supposed"
The official cs!ledanother, and the two
eyed Cecil and consulted together. OF
course, she could not understand a word
of what was passing, and in consequence
had to endere awful suspense with as
sumed Indifference.
Tt was evident to her at last, however,
they had not the least suspicion
Of her, for one shrugged his shoulders
and walked away and the other askaA}~<
in French, as a mere matter Of form:
"Haye you anything g6out yon, any
papers2"
It was f9RRr6niy an imp~erceptlble in
ssag2sssne hesitated, and then she told the
first deliberate lie she had ever told with
a calm face and the blood tingling to her
very finger tips.
"No."
every good, mademoiselle. You need
not remain"
Mrs. Petrowitch and one of her girls
met her and took her homs. She was
an amiable woman, and no doubt the
would have been very COM
beneath her roof; but all the
same, if she could secure her $40, 900,
Cecil did not intend to remain long in
Russia.
The following morning at about 9
o'clock the front door was thrown open
in common with every other door in
Odessa, and a stream of people began to
pass in and out.
Every man who entered, whether he
were gentleman or peasant, tool two
eggs from the pile on the table, broke
one and ate a piece of it, and presented
the other to the hostess or any other
female member Of the household with
the formula, "Christ is rlsen." To which
the lady. replied, "He is truly riseu."
Cecil was watching the scene from a
corner with considerable interest, when
a dark man, dressed like a peasant, adj
vanced and extended an egg to her. He
wore a white rose, and he placed himself
before her so that his hgures shielded her
from the room.
"You bring me a present from my
friend in London" he said softly and
rapidly, in excellent English.
For auswer she slipped the packet in
to his hand.
He gave a sort Of sigh Of intense re.