San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-10-24
THE : SUNDAY : LIGHT.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER "a, 1897,

other apartment furnished with rude
bed, two chairs and small table. The
heavy door was locked, and they were
alone.
"This is dreadful" exclaimed Phil,
throwing himself ON the bed 81 wish
we had never seen Russia"
keep up your spirits" replied
Maurice. "All will come right. My I'M
Gle will discover where we are before
the night is over"
Unable to sleep, the boys discussed
their strange situation for an hour or
more, expecting every moment to learn
that Vladimir Saradoff had arrived.
This was their belief when at last
the prison door was opened to admit the
officer who had conducted the examina-
ton. But no such glad tidings awaited
them.
The Russian seated himself on a
chair and sharply surveyed his prison
ers before he spoke.
Then he drew card from his pocket
which Maurice recognized as the one
given to him by the man he had saved
from death.
81 speak your language, " he said in
badly accented English. II may be able
to mitigate your lot, if you are sensi-
BILE. This card was found in your pos
session. We have reason to believe that
a conspiracy exists against his high
ness Colonel Jaroslav. Your own case
is hopeless. Any information you may
give will help yourselves and will be
used in secret"
The officer looked inquiringly at the
boys, who were quite at loss to know
what to make of this strange speech.
81 don't understand you," said Maui
rice. 81 only know that great mistake
has been made, and with your permits
sion / will try to explain"
The officer nodded, and straightway
Maurice related everything that had
happened to them from the moment
they left Berlin, dwelling especially on
his relationship to Vladimir Saradof.
AS he proceeded in his narration the
Russians face expressed a strange mix
ture of incredulity and anger. IL was
evident that he did not believe one word
that Maurice was saying.
"Stop," he exclaimed impatiently.
81 have listened to enough lies You
refuse my offer. You will repent it
when too late. You deny, then, that you
are the Englishmen, Cummings and
Burton, named in the passports; that
you are the agents of the revolutionists
in London; that you were bound to
Moscow with nihilstic placards and
books and letters addressed to danger
Gus and suspected persons. Our govern
ment is always alert. The minister of
the interior had accurate knowledge of
your movements, and by his instruc-
tion you were arrested on the train.
should have told you nothing, but l
wished to offer you this chance of bene-
fitting yourselves.
"Send for Vladimir Saradoffl" cried
Maurice excitedly- "This is all terri
BILE mistake, / assure you. My uncle
can help us"
The officer laughed disdainfully. His
excellency Vladimir Saradoff is in St.
Petersburg, and, as for this Ivan you
speak of, no such person reached the
Moscow station this evening. You re-
ject my offer. I wash my hands of
you"
Refusing to hear another word, he
FASTENED from the room, and the guard
in the corridor banged the heavy door.
Up to this moment neither of the
boys had even suspected the truth. 1t
remained for Maurice to make that
startling discovery, and as the realiza-
ton of his uncle's treachery forced it.
self upon him-dimly at first, but
= speedily strengthened by added proofs
he saw what stared him in the face.
With cry of despair he threw himself
on the bed, and when, at Phil's en-
treaties, he sat up his face was pitiful
in its hopelessness.
"We are lost, Phil" he said. 1--WE
shall never see America again. What
fools we were ever to venture ON Rus
sian soill l see it all-the perfdy of
the man who calls himself my uncle.
He never came to Moscow at all. That
was Vladimir Saradoff we saw in st.
Petersburg. Ivan was his accomplice,
and together they formed this conspir-
acy.
Ivan stole our cards, our passports,
every means of Identification we had,
and substituted false passports and the
other things which were found in our
bags We are lost.
''But how can such thing be?" ex-
claimed Phil in bewilderment. "Our
innocence must be discovered. You can
prove your relationship to Vladimir
Saradoff. f"
"You know little about Russia, re-
piled Maurice. "We are absolutely
helpless, Phil No one will listen to us
{ or believe us. We shall not be permit
ted to write letters, and ON the strength
of that evidence we shall be condemned
without shadow of trial Vladimir
Saradoff will cover up his tracks too
well For myself it matters little, but
you, Phil-your father and mother,
your sisters Here Maurice broke
down completely.
Phil bravely tried to comfort him,
and onf1x, ha booo,,,o ,,,cro oo,,,,o.,,l