The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-05-09
The Ghost of the VIM
ter PalaCc.
By ALLEN UPWARD.
Author of "Secrets of the Courts of Europe"
Copyright lsc6 by Bachelor johnson and Bachelor

Indignant at my thus proposing to eN-
clude him from the perils of the enter
prise But by dint of an appeal to the
authority of his beloved mother sue
ceeded at length in winning his con-
sent to the plan / had suggested lie
then consulted his watch so as to meas
ure the lapse of fifteen minutes. ana 1
advanced with noiseless steps down the
gallery.
"The light which | had observed
streamed out under an ancient and
massive door set in a deep stone arch
at the eastern end of the passage. My
first impulse was to knock at this door,
but as | got close to it another ldea
suggested itself to me. 1t was evident
ly through this door that the parsonage
beheld by Boris had made his approach
the night before,a it was just possible
that he might have omitted to lock the
door on his return. l laid my fingers
on the oaken handle. and turned it with
infinite delcacy and slowness. AS
soon as il ceased to revolve under the
pressure of my hand, / gave gentle
push to the door. TO my delight 1t
yielded. l gave another push, equally
slight, and the door responded with
horrible grating sound. Further con-
cealment was useless; ' boldly flung
the door open and stepped through.
"rhe first glance was sufficient to tell
me that ! had merely gained an ante
chamber. forming q sort Of general ap-
proGch to the various rooms OF Whlch
the suite was composed. ThlS ante
room was deserted, but Immediately on
the right lay a room of which the door
was partly open, and from which pro-
ceeded the light that had filtered out
into the gallery. Hastily closing the
outer door behind me, | made two
CT innpr
Never shall | forget the thrill, the
absolute stupor of amazcment which
overcame me at what | bcheld. There,
half risen from the chair on which he
had doubtless been seated when aroused
by the creaking of the door. saw the
very figure which Boris had described
to me. the tall form, the dark robes.
and. above ALL the nale and terrifying
countenanCe Of the monarch whose
death had cast half Europe INTO mourn
ing"
The ambassador seemed to think this
| a suitable moment for returning to the
consideration of the game, in which 1t
was again his turn to move.
Let me beg Of you to continue L
exclaimed, unable to restrain my i'm
patience. Il will resign"
by no means, returned his excel
| lency. with indulgence, you have got
| several moves to make before ! check
mate you. But ] will, if you prefer it.
| conclude my adventure before l devote
myself to your overthrow.
| What exclamation I uttered when l
! first caught sight of this startling ap-
partition l do not recollect. But when
| the parsonage before me thrust his
hand into his pocket and drew out a
| revolver, it was impossible for me to
doubt that | was dealing with man Of
| flesh and blood. Like lightning | pro-
duced my own weapon, which | leVeied
| at his breast, at the same time eNclaim-
| ing:
| Hold! ] am the envoy of France,
| In the name of the ear, who are you?'
| He lowered his revolver, took a
steady look at my features, which he
no doubt began 10 recognize, and re-
piled in mournful tones:
| 81 am Alexander III
| AT the same time he sank down
again into his chair, while my pistol
dropped from my hand, and / had to
cling to table for support.
| SIRE was all | could grasp out.
'But-but-pardon this intrusion.
imagined your majesty to be
| dead? Yes. | know it, he respond
ed, still in the same melancholy voice.
| But sit down. Since you are here, and
| CItuliCe vi itte HAS Iut YOU lilU IbS-
session of my secret. you had better
know all. Sit down, NJ. le Baron. / am
no longer an emperor
Il obeyed, Still struggling with my
astonishment.
First of all, tell inc by what means
you have penetrated to my hiding place.
in which l imagined myself secure from
all MANKIND said the ex-czar.
IN as few words as possible I re-
lated to his majesty the incidents which
/ have been telling you. He listened
with deep attention.
'Ah, well, baron, J remember you
of DID, he remarked, with a faint smile
| when 1 had finishd. You always had
the reputation for worming out more
! secrets than any other man in Europe
and ] ought to have foreseen that il
| would be necessary to take you into
my confidence. 1t is fortunate that you
have came alone, and that your rigid
honor is not less celebrated than your
deXterty.'
II bowed deeply at these compliments
His majesty continued:
THE only return | can make to you
for a fidelity of which | assure myself
beforehand is to explain to you my
reasons for what must seem to YOU
an extraordinary state of things. The
| tate OF my latnef, Alexander H.. slain
by bomb in the streets of ST. Peters
burg, Is of course familiar to you. But
1t is not easy for you to realize the
effect produced by that fearful event
on my mind. The peI'ils of u battle
field may be faced by a brave man. in
spired by the enthusiasm which battle
calls forth. But the perpetual secret
peril which dogs one day after day and
year after year, and never slackens foI
single moment-that is very diff