The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-01-03
PART ".


followed the girl into the car and
seated myself behind and near her She
had sunk into the corner of the seat in
an attitude of utter weariness and dis
couragement | owed her my life. no
doubt, and / felt for her at the momoent.
beside gratitude. a sincere pity Yet |
was on the point of asking her to risk
still more than she had already done.
There was no other way. ! looked
around at our fellow w-passengers-the
old woman with her basket a boy who
was audibly sleeping and Il young man
who was seated in the front of the car,
absorbed in a yellow-covered novel.
There was not one whom | could suspect
OF watching us. ] went therefore. with
out further hesitation, to take the place
In front of her and. with as much nom
chalance as ! could command. asked
her If she could tell me the name of the
man who had followed her into the sta
tion.
For moment she seemed startled.
and shrank still further back. but
glance at my cloth seemed to reaSsure
her.
II saw no one" she replied. Il came
quite alone"
II never occurred to me to doubt her
! knew, whatever the character of those
with whom she had been associated
tHdt SIle, at ltilsSt, was l1IlDttnt-aIl uIl-
willing tool In their hands. ! told her.
therefore. in as few words as possible
who | was, and tried first of all. to
thank her for what she had done for me-
while she was kind enough to express
pleasure in learning of my escape. /
then went on to beg of her that. If she
We're in trouble. as felt that she was
to let me help her. ] explained without
reserve my connection with the House
with Green Blinds. and all | hoped to
accomplish with the knowledge | had
'concerning it. She listened quietly
while | told her. and ! saw a look of
wistfulness, Of longing, of resolve, grow
III her great dark eyes. Finally ii came
IL will tell you what l know" she
SAID; ana there We're tears in her voice
though her eyes We're dry. There is
no other course. had no hope of doing
anything, but now you may be able to
do what ! cannot" And she told me the
following.
Her name was Cutting. and with he.
father--a widowel-she lived at p
The winter before they had spent in
Washington, where. at "a reception
given at the white house, her father
first had met Madame of the White
Shoulders-as | still must call her
This woman was Il stranger in the cos
mopoltan city, magnificently hand
some woman. part French, part Rus
sian and was said to be u sister of one
nf the members of the Russian legation.
Her beauty had created a sensation;
Miss Cuttings father had fallen under
It's spell. Madame seemed to exercise
q strange influence over him. He be-
came strange, moody, irritable. He
was often absent upon sudden and un-
explained journeys, from which he re-
turned detected and, apparently,
frightened and desperate. The cause
Miss Cutting herself had never known
until her own connection with the af-
fair began. but few weeks ago. At
that time new aid had been needed by
the gang of which she had since became
cognizant. and she. as one who would
not dare betray her own father. had
been chosen. Since then she had been
constantly employed as Il messenger
between the members OF the organiza-
tion whenever messenger had been
needed.
For some weeks she had nnOwn that
q plot of magnitude had been silently
Matching, but in what direction she
could not conjecture. Her father had
been silent and careworn when at home,
which was rarely. She herself had been
dispatched hither and yon, to deliver
such messages as l had heard. at any
time of day or night. She had not dared
to rebel, for her fathers sake From
the messages which were necessarily
confided to her, she had learned that
the people with whom her father had
become entangled, belonged to large
society which had members and organ
izations in many countries. From tele-
grams and cables which she had been
required to send written in cipher, Of
which she had been able to acquire
come knowledge), she had learned that
, the plot which was forming in this
country was duplicated in many Euro
pean ones. and that the cOnsummation
was near she feared from many signs
which the designers had not been able
to Keep from her knowledge. Madame
of the White Shoulders was here the
leading spirit. Her brother of the
Russian legation lin the description of
whom l recognized both the man who
had given the note to the messenger
hoy and he who had assisted Jackson