Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1894-01-27

TO such cruelty and hardships as are repre-
sented In them. You are altogether mis-
taken, as he himself would tell you II you
asked him. His rank alone secures him
against i'll treatment. The czar is not un-
merciful Imperial interests compel him
to take strong measures. His hostility
toward Taras Is tempered with profound
respect for a 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 hisf"
at isn't for me to choose, nor for you.
Tell Taras what you have told me and let
him decide. He Is not fool or achild that
we should take his guidance In our hands"
He is a child In some things-in sim
plicity and recklessness Suppose he
chooses to face the danger of assassination,
as probably he willi'
What theni You will not find him uu.
prepared nor me either"
1T is not with me that you will have to
deal next time, but with one whose pur-
pose is unbiased by friendship"
"Friendship!' l said through my clenched
teeth, feeling that should strike the man
for the blasphemous use Of a word so sacred
to my heart. How dare you speak Of
friendship Do you think am an idiot to
be fooled by liei What proof of friend.
shie have you Riven-you, who have done
your utmost to injure the man who trusted
you"
Not my utmost. Another pinch Of pow
der In his & 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, lit was because you
dared not"
His silence confirmed my suspicion. and
I continued hotly:
"One thing is certain-you dare not try
to do IL now."
NO" he replied quietly, "Idare 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 you do when Taras wakes,"
he asked as he turned and came pacx 60
ward me.
Tell him everything-all that has hap
pened, all you have said"
He nodded. as il this were no more than
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 object
in common. The hope that animates us
both is only to be realized by joining forces
and acting in concert. You doubt my in
tegrity ity-truth-sincerity. I will try to
prove it by confession which places me
at your mercy. put my life in your hands
At word you can destroy me as surely as
the czar can destroy Taras A stronger
proof OF sincerity no man could give. and
all ask in return is that you will hear me
patiently and judge me without prejudice >
"Ill hear what you have to say at any
rate" said l.
He stepped to the door noiselessly, look
ed out into the passage, and coming back
seated himself still nearer to me, that he
might drop his voice to u tone which could
not be heard outside.
II am nihilist," be began, "a member
of the same secret body to which Taras be
longs In the service of this society OBJ
taiued post in the ministerial bureau At
ST. Petersburg, where every movement OF
the secret police came under my observ&
tion. BY these means ] was enabled TO
warn my society Of any action about TO be
taken against suspected memberA You
understand meT
"Yes; you were a kind Of spy on the po-
lice"
II was a spy, and risked my life in this
service. At any moment might have been
discovered and hanged for my zeal While
was in this Office the order came from the
car to silence Taras. Taras was then, az
he is now, my dearest friend, and you can
imagine my horror when heard that this
order was to be executed without delay
Happily the minister found it difficult To
lay his hand on man for his purpose. II
was a very delicate business. As Taras
was in London it was necessary that the
agent should speak English, not only for
the practical working out ofthe design, but
to avoid political complications. 1t would
never do for the Russian government to be
discovered in this plot to violate the free
dom of man so well known and much
honored as Taras. There was one man In
the service of the police who eagerly desired
to have the job, and that was Rudersdorf,
an avowed enemy of Taras The chief OBJ
lection to employing him was that he did
not understand word of English.
zone morning the minister, after explain
ing this difficulty and the objection to Ru
dersdorf, asked me bluntly If ] would un
dertake to silence Taras. i don't ask you
to kill him. he said, seeing some sign OF
repugnance in my face probably. One rea
son for not employing Rudersdorf is that
he certainly would do so. ! simply want
you to bring Taras back to Russia That
will please the czar far more than the death
| Of a man for whom he still entertains a
strong feeling of admiration. l can give