Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1893-04-12

of the Baroness Woronsko, when / should
receive full instructions.
The baroness house was In the Nevskoi
Prospect. It was huge mansion sur
rounded by ornamental grounds. Before
noon, completely disguised, Pierre Chauf-
faud took occasion to thoroughly reconnoi-
ter the place
| Night came A brilliant ball was in prog
ress The baroness had never looked so
lovely. In the prime of her womanhood,
her figure was displayed to the greatest adj
vantage in evening dress. | looked around
me. Pfesh, Dakoutsk, Phlobosh and Chen
kamin-all were there. The gathering was
honeycombed with the nihlistic element
| felt my hand suddenly grasped, and
turning around was confronted by-Gur-
loft He was without disguise of any kind.
regarded him with wonderment. The sec
ond In command Of secret police, he must
be well known to these people.
Then suddenly it flashed across me
Gurloff is also one Of them Nihilism has
penetrated to the police department.
/ had the fourth dance with the Baroness
Woronsko. 1t was marked a waltz on my
programme. She danced superbly | my
self understand the divine art As to the
strains of enchanting music we fioated down
the long ballroom | could not but wish
myself "a thousand miles away from st. Pc
tersburg II 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 a
conservatory. We were hardly seated when
she spoke and said
81 am the one chosen to instruct you by
our circle. Tomorrow you will be present
ed to the emperor Being a foreigner, be
will extend you the royal hand, as is his
custom"
She paused and glanced nervously around.
Quitting my side for a moment, she parted
the thick shrubbery and peered out through
the glass into the darkness.
~ thought heard a sound in the gar
den," she said
/ knew IL was the noise occasioned by
Pierre Cbauffsud and the men with him in
scaling the wall surrounding the grounds
"Oh, it is nothing" / said, but feeling all
the time very much like villain. "Donot
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 il in its case, and just be
| fore you are admitted TO the audience
place il on your finger. The slightest con
traction of your fingers will pierce the hand
you hold with small hollow needle Re
tain the cars hand in your own, respect
fully, for moment. During that brief in
terval you can inject into his palm a deadly
! poison. It's action is sufficiently slow to
afford you ample opportunity to make your
| escape"
Horror stricken, gazed upon the deadly
ring. To my amazement it was an exact
counterpart Of the ring in the photograph
Whose ring is thisy" I gasped, recoiling
from her Could she be n murderess'
1.-THE ring was Gurloff's," she answered
| in a low tone ut was suited to the pur-
pose, and he contributed il to the cause 1t
was fitted as you see it now by the Hun
garian, Rudolph Pfesh."
saw it ali now. GurloT had himself
murdered his chief at the order of the circle
and had sent to Paris for detective, think
| ing TO thus divert suspicion by apparently
taking extraordinary pains 10 discover the
perpetrator Of the crime.
A sudden look Of terror passed over the
face of the baroness. | saw at once that
had done something or let fall some ex-
clamation to arouse her suspicious, or had
| Gurloff discovered me TO her, and was she
simply Turing Inc on? II the latter, she had
repented early Of playing with the fire.
With swift movement she passed me, and
standing for moment in the door of the
conservatory uttered peculiar cry. In
an instant a crowd of desperate men gath
cred in the doorway, foremost among them
| Gurloff.
"You thought TO learn all our secrets and
betray us, Kissed Gurloff, pointing his fin
ger at me. He is a mouchard, gentlemen.
Seize him. Your lives depend upon it,"
The crowd dashed forward, at their head
the murderer of Peaufski.
Down with the mouchardp' they yelled,
and dozen hands were on my throat.
Crash Bangl ThudW Pierre Chauf-
faud and his men were breaking into the
conservatory from the outside The next
moment the crowd scattered like chaf, but
never relaxed my hold on Gurloffs throat.
He was beaten almost into insensibility
| and secured.
Two weeks aftervard he was arraigned
for the murder OF Chief Pelaufski and con
victed on purely circumstantial evidence.
The twisted ring was proved to be his prop,
erty and WAS in his possession on the night
of the commission Of the crime. The i'm
preston Of the thumb of his right hand ex-
actly corresponded with the wax impress
sion taken from the dead mans throat. lie
suffered death ON the scaffold.
The baroness, Pfesh and many members
of the circle were exiled to the gold placer
mines in Kara. The ring with which il
had been proposed to murder the car was
sent for by that dignitary. He caused the
poison TO be injected into the paw Of a
hound, and the animal died in great agony.
Then the ruler Of all the Russias sent for
me.
"You are a French detectivei"
Eyes, sire"
81 am sorry for it. II you had not been a
detective would have made you noble.
l shall instruct my secretary to give you
10000 rubles. The best place on my staff
Of secret police is yours, If You care to fill
it."
| 81 am a Pariaan"-