The old Abe eagle., 1894-02-15

OulOEbunhttiNs uObuAhS u W pt baiuSu /
by it, or 1t should be beaten down again |
He has said that he will carry the work
through, though he have to stand by 1t
with a revolver by his side from first to
last"
And he willr' cried.
II was as fully convinced on that point |
No, there is no other alternative. He must
60 back to Russia"
'He would rather die"
"But we would rather that he lived
And surely IL the means of preserving him
were offered you-if another opportunity
of removing him should occur'-
II will not listen to you," cried with
indignation as started to my feet. Moth
ing In the world could persuade me to join
you in this shameful plot"
"For heavens sake, he reasonable. my
poor girli' said he in a soothing tone.
You have seen those pictures Of prison
life and fancy that Tnras would be exposed
to such cruelty and hardships as are repre-
sented in them. You are altogether mis-
taken, as he himself would tell you IL you
asked him. His rank alone secures hiE
against i'll treatment. The car Is not un
merciful. Imperial interests compel him
to take strong measures. His hostility
toward Taras is tempered with profound
respect for political adversary of high at-
tainments and unimpeachable honesty. In
Russia Taras will be treated with the ut
most consideration and kindness. He will
be allowed to live where he likes, and the
only restriction put upon his liberty will
be with regard to the propagation of revo-
lutionary ideas, and this restriction will
be but temporary. The country is ripe for
revolution, and in a short time the present
government will be overthrown. and then
Taras will be free. On the other hand, II
he Is not conveyed to Russia, his fate IS
death Can you hesitate in choosing which
lot shall be hisP"
"It isn't for me to choose, nor for you.
Tell Taras what you have told me and let
him decide He is not u fool or child that
we should take his guidance in our hands" !"
"He Is child in some things-n sim
plicity and recklessness. Suppose he
chooses to face the danger Of assassination,
as probably he will?"
"What thenP You will not find him uu-
prepared nor me either"
ut Is not with me that you will have to
| deal next time, but with ore whose pur-
pose is unbiased by friendship"
"Friendshipp' said through my clenched
teeth, feeling that should strike the man
for the blasphemous use of word so sacre,l
to my heart. How dare you speak of
| friendship Do you think am an idiot to
be fooled by lie2 What proof of friend
ship have you given-you, who have done
your utmost to injure the man who trusted
your"
Not my utmost Another pinch of pow
der in his Z. ass and Taras would never have
awoke again"
IF you did not kill him." said, detect
ing, as thought, an expression Of coward
ice in those soft eyes, ut was because you
dared not"
His silence confirmed my suspicion, and
continued hotly:
Zone thing is certain-you dare not try
to do it now"
NO" he replied quietly, II dare not even
try to save him again, fear"
Then he rose and walked across the room,
seeing the hopelessness OF persuading me
and the increasing hostility his words pro
voked.
What shall tou do when Taras wakes?'
he asked as he turned and came back to
ward me.
"tTell him everything-all that has hap
pened, all you have said"
He nodded. us if this were no more thar
he expected, and took another turn across
the room in silent meditation. As he seated
himself again in front of me he said:
I'VE should be friends, having one objec
in common. The hope that animates III
both is only to be realized by joining force
and acting in concert. You doubt my in
tegrity- ity-truth-sincerity. | will try tt
prove it by u confession which places M
at your mercy prt my life in your hands
At word you can destroy me as surely n
the car can destroy Taras A stronye
proof of sincerity no man could give, ant
all ask in return is that you will hear m
patiently and Judge me without prejudice.
"I'll hear what you have to say at an
rate" said |.
He stepped to the door noiseessly, look
ed out into the passage, and coming bacl
seated himself still nearer to me, that b
might drop his voice to tone which coul
not be heard outside.
II am nihiiist," he began, "a membe
of the same secret body to which Taras bt
longs. ln the service of this society oil
tanned post In the ministerial bureau Il
st. Petersburg where overy movement c
the secret police came under my observt
y tion. BY these means | was enabled {
warn my society of any action about to /
taken against suspected members 70
understand me2"
"Yes; you were kind of spy on the pC
D lice"
II was spy, and risked my life in tn
service. At any moment might have bee
( discovered and hanged for my zeal Viii
was In this Office the order came from tt
D czar to silence Taras Taras was then,
b be Is now, my dearest friend, and you ca
t imagine my horror when heard that tn
order was to be executed without della.
Happily the minister found 1t difficult
lay his hand Oh man for his purpose.
i was very delicate business. As Tari
! was In London 1t was necessary that Il
4 agent should speak English, not only f
e the practical working out of the design. bl
to avoid political complications It won
never do fer the Russian government to
3 discovered In this plot to violate the fr,
dom OF IA man no well known and niue
Il honored rs Taras There was one man
the service Of the police who eagerly desir,
, to have the Job, and that was RudersdOI
y an avowed enemy Of Taras The chief o
u jectlon TO employing him was that he d
not understand n word of English.
o "0ne morning the minister, after explai
tnu this difficulty and the Objection lu X