Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1898-12-29
CHATTER 'v,Ir.
The white Fox Again.

For some minutes after Raoul ceased
speaking I sat dumb. l was more than
amazed, was COMPOUNDED at the au..
dacity Of this new plot against the es-
tablfshed order of things In Russia. i
was astonished at the resources, both
of intrigue and of material things
command Of men and of money-which
the carrying out Of such schemes in
volved. And I was hOrror-struck to
think that fate so awful should have
overtaken one whom had little rea-
son to regret, indeed, vet one whose
bread had eaten for months, one with
whom had been brought into famil-
lar, almost into daily, contact.
True In a sense, he had deserved his
fate. OF that l felt pretty we'll as
sured. But that made it none the less
terrible. And the poor Princess, his
wife! And Irene! What was to be-
come Of them? Were they ever to
know what had happened to husband
and father? How could summon up
courage to tell them what had just
heard? And what good end could be
served by my doing so?
l saw, too, that, in more ways than
one, the new policy was more to be
feared by the despotic rulers Of Russia
than the policy Of assassination which
it had superseded. The odium attached
to murder would be avoided. A rude
form of justice, sufficient to satisfy a
public conscience already debauched
by legal injustice, would be apparent
in the device Of inflicting upon the
agents of a rigid and cruel despotism
the very fate-imprisonment for an
unknown period without trial-which
they themselves had inflicted upon 9th.
erS.
Ard there could not be doubt that
the fear of this strange fate would ex-
ert far more terrifying influence upon
governors Of provinces and of prisons,
heads Of the police, officials Of all class
es, than the mere fear Of assassination.
The officials Of Russia, civil and mill
might be supposed to meet the bullet or
bomb of the assassin as they would
meet the bayonets or bullets Of an open
enemy.
But what man would not feel his
blood run chill to be told that he was
to follow in the footsteps Of one who
had vanished from the green earth like
a ghost, without leaving as much as a
footprint to tell where he had gone?
The mind Of the successor Of one who
had fallen a victim to the Black Terror
must always be on the stretch-always
eagerly and nervously watching for
some sign Of the fate that was about to
overtake him, and wondering, with
now and then a sickening dread, what
manner of fate that would be-
The cruelties and the brutal neglect
Of the man who had vanished would
be remembered, and the question would
force itself on mems minds: Was he
now suffering such things himself? 1t
would take a bold man, it seemed to
me, to risk drawing down on himself
the attention Of the conspirators until
it was at last known what had become
of their victims.
All this passed through my mind With
the rapidity Of lightning, and yet it
seemed a lcrg time before Raoul broke
the silence with:
II see you do not disapprove of our
methodist"
I stared at him.
"You are quite wrong" I said, cold.
ly.
He laughed, and said:
Come, now, confess that, as you
English say, the disappearance of the
Prince suits your book down to the
ground"
II don't know what you meanr' 1
cried, and knew that my face was
aflame, though my chief feeling was
one of establishment.
mean" exclaimed my friend, with a
laugh. "1t never occurred to you that
IL you succeeded in penetrating the
mystery that envelops the fate of the
Prince, and eventually restored him to
the arms Of his family, you would es-
tablish the very strongest claims upon
the house Of Kropenski? And yet, I
have been told that the Princess Irene
is lovely grip
Unpleasant as it was to hear my day
dreams, my hopes as yet too dim, too
presumptuous, to be whispered even in
the solitude Of my own chamber, thus
pillOried and insulted, Il had sense
enough to keep command Of my tenn
per, and burst into what seemed, l
hope, hearty laugh at Raouls chaff.
I had the satisfaction Of seeing that
my manner, apparently free from any
thing like sensitiveness on the subject,
somewhat disconnected him.
But you do want to know what ha'
become Of the Primer" he asked.
Certainly do; and I am sure the
Princess would pay handsomely for
any intelligence"
l stopped in some confusion, for the
look on Raouls face was an ugly one
as l had ever seen on the face of
man.
"Don't misunderstood mev' cried.
II only meant that perhaps the COM
mittee would be willing to tell, for a
consideration, what had become Of the
Prince, or perhaps, allow his family to
ransom him. never for a moment in
tended to hint that you were capable
OF betraying for money any secrets
that had been entrusted to you.'
You little know what manner Of
men the members Of the committe are"
said Raoul, coldly, 'if you think they
would sell any information, or part
with one Of their prisoners, for any
consideration whatever"
l replied that it was far from nv
wish to insult either Raoul or bis
friends. and l had scarcely succeeded
i'll restoring him to his usual good TEN.
| per when the door opened. and a map