Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1894-02-16
CHAPTER NXNNiI.
cAsssIt &C Aso sSsIie~s .
AssAssssssr.


III T!.E HONS To IjHN.
'!-:'.., i,'l-,> ally Of his c.ass;" asked
Cord. WHEN Peter schemyl was gone
YES ana tie c'!>> i>typical Of the whole
Genus C government officials. Every one
&! them - t. l. bought. With men Of his
rank tie process is. as you see, simple
enough. With men Of higher, grade the
hribc must lie higher, and one has TO en-
I.oy little tact. That IS the only differ
euce. You might have bought yourself off
al -. Petersburg had You known how to
handle the minister
In that case Why should we not get
back 10 Eugland:'
Il have thought Of that. But you haven t
eLuu.-h. Every official on the road TO the
frontier would have to be bribed. y
Bat hayr enough money in England"
How arr yuI! 70 .et it,"
Write for il. The letter could be adj
dressed to Scherlyl"
Ivan Duutremember laughed.
"Nos letter comes into ;ichemyl's hands
that has not passed throul a dozen on the
road Every official IS on the lookout for
a means 10 bleed another Your letter
would be opened to cert ainty, and Peter
Schrmyl would be forced TO hand you over
10 some one else You would never get
your remittance, though in time. by pay
ing one and then another, You might at
last get away; but 1t would take years. and
We haven't day to lose Twelve hundred
rubles and EOS English''-
He made a mental calculation, then,
shaking his head, said:
II am afraid there's no chance for you,
but can ask Peter Schemyl. $. will
go ba' and have n dram with hi'n on the
siren of having sold loaf t. advan-
tage. i've me a few kopecks. i have
spent ..y last"
Gor.on took the loose silver from his
pocket. and putting it in Ivan Dontremem-
ber's hand said:
whatever arrangement you make with
the fellow. you will bear one thing in mind
We take you with us, or we stay with you
and share what we have in equal parts till
all Is gone"
Ivan Dontremember looked gravely in
Gordon's face for a minute, then, with a
smile, turned aud left US In silence.
A long time elapsed - more than two
hours, i think-before we saw him again.
When at length he returned. we saw by his
quick, firm step and the animation in his
deep sunk eyes as he drew near the fire that
OUT case was not hopeless
II had to make the rascal drunk on his
OWL liquor" he said. in explanation Of his
long absence. as he threw himself down on
the ground beside US. That's q long job
with q Russian peasant, even when he helps
himself at your expense. There was no get
ting word of truth out Of him while he
was sober; would not ON any consideration
no, not for all the gold In the world-be-
tray the trust placed In him by the govern.
ment; preferred death to dishonor and oil
the rest Of it. However. little by little, as
he grew more and more drunk he confessed
TO having at different times got five exiles
out OF Siberia and two of them across the
frontier. Finally he let me know exactly
what 1t cost him to get these two to Berlin
that Is what wanted to find out. AS
expected, the cost is greater than your
means will allow you to pay"
"How much" Gordon asked In a tone Of
anxiety, still tinged with hope.
'The cost Of getting one from here to
Berlin Is. roughly. 500 rubles."
THAT means l 500 for the 8, and we
have but 12l But there are the English
notes Won't that make enouRhi"
mot enough for two. did not overlook
the English notes"
''That it cost Peter Schemyl 500. be
Neve 1t. He spoke in the honesty Of drink.
You cannot expect him to do an act Of
charity for nothing"
II suppose not"
HE runs q certain amount Of risk and
must be paid for 1t, like any other honest
man Of enterprise. II the cost is 500, hu
would require at least 500 for his benevo.
lence. Virtue must be rewarded, and the
virtuous always look for 100 per cent on
their investments"
IAN internal set of thievesl" growled
Gordon, thinking of government officials
rather than the representatives of virtue
There's no screwlng him down any wayi"
None. What pressure can we bring to
beari You are 1t his mercy, and he will
make the most OF 1t, naturally. He knows
that he shall get every penny you have for
food. and two-thtrdS Of 1t will be clear
profit. He takes the minimum amount of
risk. and it costs him nothing except an
occasional bottle of villainous spirits to
blind those who might find that he is tax
Ing In more bread than his family has been
In the habit Of consuming"
There was an interval of silence, and then
Gordon. turning to me with sigh, said:
well. my dear girl. I'm afraid you will
have to go alone"
Hooked at him and then at Ivan Don't
remember in mute establishment. Ivan
was regarding Gordon with q curious look
on his face, but was not surprised.
Il go alone!' said at length, with bated
breath.
Il don't see any help for it. for it's cleal
neither O. us can 60 with you"
ut isn't going alone I'm thinking about
It's leaving you behind" said !.
"Oh, don't you bother about u.s. II this
old rascal will take you to Berlin for ,OO(
rubles, we shall still have 200 left. And
that will carry us on capitally-eh, ole
chappies" ne asked, turning to Ivan Don't
remember and clapping him Familiarity or
the shoulder, as though he had made VI
his mind to break down all barriers and be
gin as they were going ON In perfect broth
erhood and good fellowship.
There's one alternative" said Ivar
gravely when he had overcome the shock ol
this accolade. I'VE may find out where W,
are, get some sort Of . map, make our way
to the frontier ON foot, and so escape"
why, certainly. It sounds as if ther,
were something in that" said Gordon.
mot much, am afraid The dificultie.
are enormous, especially with the winter
upon US. The chance of running the block
ade is very small indeed"
ANY chance is better than none at all
Come, my dear girl. this will reconcile you
to leaving u.s."
mot at all. Why shouldn't 70 will
you; Do you think am selfish, after al
we've gone through togethes" asked, m,
eyes filling with teAzA
''Eeaven forbid should do you thst In
justice. But these difficulties you hesl
our friend speaking of-remember you ar,
only q girl. though quite IS brave a. tn:
best of u.s."
II won't hinder you. You shall neve,
hear me complain" urged.
Il have not the slightest doubt that
mademoiselle could face all that we ma,
encounter and DO help, as she certainly
would be comfort to u.s." said Ivan, Will
more courtesy and kindness than he had
yet SHOWN me. But there is one seriou,
objection This journey must occupy
months and during that time we are doing
nothing to save Taras"
MY heart sank within me In shame.
mad forgotten Taras-Heaven forgive mel
Tor the moment
AT any moment Kavanagh may receive
orders to silence Taras. The production
OF that statue would inevitably lead to the
order being given. When it is given, Kav.
anagh will obey it ruthlessly."
Il will go to him." said I. as eagerly as !
had prayed to stay with Gordon the minute
before.
1t is advisable to look well at that be
fore you decide" said Ivan. 1T ilby no
means certain that you will reach London,
Schemyi, with the greatest incentive to get
you through, may fail Some trusted con-
ndant may think it advisable to betray
him; some jealous official may be dissat-