Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1899-09-09

81 suppose not" I grcaned. But,
great heavens, what are we to do2 How
are we to get at the authoritiesf Will
they believe usf"
"Ah, that is very delicate question
/ should say they will not. but it is
worth trying"
"What will Andres attitude be,
supposing we go to the police and ex-
plain that, though passing as the count,
my father, this man is not my father.
but an impostor2"
"My dear sir, do I know the mind of
Andrea Though acquainted with him,
as you are aware. I cannot therefore
state what he would do under any given
circumstances But I will say this
that probably our good friend has not
neglected to prepare himself for such
an emergency. He must know that at
any time you might for reasons Of your
own disown him and declare that,
though you9have pretended that he is
Count Landrinof, he is in effect nothing
of the kind, but Mr.. Kornilof, the
escaped convict. He will probably say
that You are mad, and that your moth
er, the countess, is no less, or that the
countess has reasons for cherishing ami
mostly against him, and that you are
with her-being a mothers child-to
rid her in this crude way Of husband
of whom she has grown tired"
rSuch a ridiculous cock and bull
story would never take in the policer
I cried scornfully.
"My dear sir" said the student
blandly, "you are forgetting one thing
and that is that the police will be preju-
diced in favor of Mr.. Andre, or rather
of the count. as they suppose him."
"WhyH" I said angrily. "You are
talking nonsense, my friend"
"Nonsense or wisdom, 1t is neverthe-
less true. See here, now. The police
have committed one Of the stupidest
blunders that ever effete officialdom
performed, and that lie saying much.
The have sent the wrong man to 81
IBERIA and left dangerous revolutionist
at large. Do you suppose, as a reason
able, reasoning creature. that they will
be so very ready to admit their error at
your bidding and on so himsy story
as this you will bring them in support
Of your assertionH They will laugh in
your face and say that you are mad
schoolboy and had better 60 back to
your English school or to the English
asylum you have escaped from. Even
if they believe your tale-which, OF
course. they may do, though they will
pretend they do not-they will still
laugh in your face and refuse to move
in the matter.
do you seriously mean that they
will refuse to set right this fearful
blunder that they themselves have COM
mittedf" I said. "You are saying all
this, as Andres friend, in the hope that
I will allow matters to remain as they
are. You wish to screen Andre. and my
fathers fate is nothing to you. But do
not make that mistake, my friend.
shall move heaven and earth. shall
spend thousands of pounds. I shall nev-
er rest night and day until I have COM
PEELED the authorities to redeem their
sinful blunder.
my dear sir, you rave" said the
student coolly. "Your fathers fate is,
of course, of little interest to me, ex-
cepting in so far as-out of compliment
to yourself-I should like to see so po-
lite a friend as you have proved your
self grati6ed. But neither is Andre g
fate of any interest to me- To me it is
nothing whether he lives in this palace
or in Sakhalin. have no personal at
fection for him. To prove that I do not
wish to screen him. invite you to go
as soon as you please to the nearest
pristaf of police, tell him the whole
story and see what he will Say. You
will not. of course. mention me, or give
any hint of my existence. or. indeed,
speak of the details Of your father g
capture, and 30 on. Tell them simply
that their recapture of Kornilof en- such
and such day was blunder. that they
took this wrong man and that the right
man is at this moment in your house
See what the pristaf will say. He will
laugh in your face"
"And IL he does. if he and his supe-
riors refuse to set the thing right, am I
to concur tamely in their decisiona Not
I, my friend. I will go to the czar him
self, but I will see justice done to my
dear fatherI"
"There will be no need to go to the
czar," laughed the student. 'Go to a
lesser man, though perhaps as worthy
one. Gc-or rather come back-to
me. l shall have something to propose,
only there must be another arrangement
in this event-and another check!'
TO BE CONTINUED.