The Portland daily press., 1894-09-19

Gnu Wl6n plUeouS moan she sank upon
her knees and bowed her head.
'sOh, Cecil, ~ she cried in bitter anguish,
"then must not hope-I, who have car
ried your image in my heart these long,
long years? In what FOOLS paradise I
have lived And yet it has been SO sweet. -
'.Undoubtedly. will not commit muir
der.''
"Ivan Brons1i is a traitor-a dog unfit
to breathe Gods pure air. 1T is not muir
der to take the life of such as he. He re-
vealed plot which would have struck a
gigantic blow for Russian freedom and be-
trayed my father, who is sentenced to
living death in the Siberian mines-he
and his fellow martyrs By good fortune
/ succeeded in escaping arrest. 1t was
known that Bronski had fled to England
He had merited death, and the lot fell to
you among our brothers in this country
to wreak vengeance upon the traitor. 1
begged to be allowed to carry the decision
of the chiefs to you, but on my arrival in
London none of our fraternity could tell
me where to find Cecil Austen. By chance
was present at the first performance of
your play, recognized you when you were
called before the curtain and followed you
to this place. I have kept your identity
secret from our friends. because my in
stinct told me it would be for your good
Your reputation of me is not unexpect-
ed, Cecil Your six years silence could
only mean that you were tired of me. New
ertheless it was shock to hear the truth
from your lips. And you still refuse to be
true to your oath sls nihilist?''
IT am no longer a nihilist, however
much I may sympathize with the nihilistic
aims. To ask me to commit murder is re-
volting."
''The chiefs punish with death those who
do as you are doing.''
II have no fear of them''
She said nothing for some minutes, but,
looking steadily at him, extended her hand
IT am afraid my coming has brought
cloud over your triumph and happiness.
I am sorry, Cecil Goodby''
He pressed her hand She, turning,
moved toward the door. Austen followed
"Olga," he said, a burning desire rising
In his heart to speak kindly words to this
woman whose love he was bound to reject
She interrupted him.
Say nothing to me except last good
by"
Sobs burst from her throat in wild
torrent. Austen stood with the paper she
had given hire still in his hand, looking,
as he felt, terribly agitated The memory
of those few months he had passed in Rus
sia as an attache to the British embassy
returned to him. He remembered the en-
bassador's ball, at which he first met Olga
Dobrouloff. He had fallen il love with
the surprisingly beautiful gil at first
sight-or at least he believed it was love
at that time
introduced to her father-her only liv-
ing relative-the young Englishnan even
tually became the recipient of Paul Do
brouloff's views concerning his country,
but it was not until Austen had strongly
expressed his own opinion regarding the
Russian system of government, with all
its attendant evils that Olga's father bold
ly avowed himself nihilist. Austen ap
plauded the aims of the society and vas
at length induced to become one of the
brotherhood, taking the oath to aid them
In their secret war against tyranny.
Shortly after this, the death of near
relative called him home, and he had been
in England but little time when the
conviction grew upon him that his love for
Olga, which he had thought so all pervad-
ing, was dead. He wrote to her to this
effect but received no reply. Perhaps his
letter had miscarried. Having no desire
to return to Russia, he had resigned his
post there, and, possessing a small COM
potency, devoted himself to literature, with
fair success Indeed only two days pre-
vious to Olga Dobrouloff's visit play of
his had been produced and well received
by the critics
The silence of the room was broken only
by the ticking of the clock and the sobs of
the kneeling woman. The latter grew
fainter after awhile, and Austen was
thinking he might approach and offer some
words of comfort, when, with quick
movement Olga rose to her feet. Her eyes
were swollen with weeping, but the ex-
preston of her face was calm
II accept my fate, !" she said, s'and will
not trouble you again. You refuse to ex-
ecute the orders of the nihilist chiefsf''
With head erect she passed out on to the
staircase and in a moment was gone from
his sight Austen waited until her foot
steps died away and then slowly, thought
fully, returned to his room.
The first thing his eyes rested on was
the order of the nihilist chiefs that he,
Cecil Austen, should take the life of Ivan
Bronski, the traitor. 1t was lying on the
floor, with the photograph of Dora Pen
6o1d tho frir1 ha 1orod With i, sb,,1Jor ho