The Washington weekly post., 1899-07-25

tall man gave tse DoN D1Ck 10 l0t tvhNst
tor. then took the letter from betwseE hi'
knees. holding IL in his right hand. whet
Jennie. as il swayed bT the car. lsrchs'
against him. and with q sieight OF hahd
that would have made her reputation OF
a necromantic stage she jerked the letter
from the amazed and frightened man, a.
the same moment allowing the bogus doc
ument 10 drop on the floor OF the cAI
from her other hand. The conductor hae
Just emerged from room A. holding his
nose and looking eomical enough as hs
stood there in that position. amazed a.
the sudden spparition OF the lady. Tne
Russian struck down the conductors nm
gers with his right hand. and by a sTifi
motion Of the left closed the door Of com
pertinent A. all OF which happened in s
tenth Of the time taken 10 tell it
"Oh, pardon meF' cried Jennie TN
afraid & lurch Of the car threw me against
you"
The Russian. before answering, cast q
look AT the floor and saw the large envel'
ope lying there with its seal uppsrmost
lie quietly placed his huge foot upon II,
and then said, with an effort at polite
ness:
1T is no matter. madame. | am afraid
that am 90 bulky i have taken up most
of the passage"
1T is very good CT you 10 excuse NE.
said Jennie Il merely came out 10 asa
the conductor if he would make up my
berth. Would you be good enough to
translate that to him?'
The Russian surliiy told the conductor
to attend 10 the wants of the lazy. The
conductor muttered reply, and that re-
ply the Russian translated.
He viii be at your service in few mo-
ments, madame. He must first make up
the berth of the gentleman in room a
"Oh. thank you very much"' returned
Jennie. Il an in no hurry; any time
within an hour viii do
With that she retired again into her
compartment, the real latter concealed in
the folds OF her dress, the bogus one on
the floor under the Russians foot She
closed the door tightly. Then, taking care
that she was not observed through either
OF the holes the conductor had Dored in
the partition, she swiftly placed he I'M
portant document In q deep inside pocket
of her jacket. AS a general rule. women
have inside pockets in their eapes and
outside pockets in their jackets, but Jen-
ME, dealing as she did with many dscu-
ments in the course OF her profession
had had this Jacket especially made, Win
It's deep and roomy inside pocket she
sat in a corner of her sofa wondering
what was 10 be the fate of the rnior-
tunate messenger. for in spite of the
sudden shutting of the door by the Rus
sian. she caught a glimpse of the man "
ing face downward on the floor of his
sitting room. She also had received a
/. NJ IN
had been used, that seemed now 10 be
tincturing the whole atmosphere OF tue
car. especially in the long, narrow pas
sage
II is not likely they intended to kill the
man. for his death would cause an aWk-
ward Investigation. while his statement
that he had been rendered insensibie
might easily be denied. As she sat there.
the silence disturbed only by the low,
soothing rumble of the train, she heard
the ring Of the metal cylinder against the
woodwork of the next compartment. T1e
men were evidently removing their ap-
paratus. 4 little later the train slowed,
finally coming to q standstill, and, looking
out of the window into the darkness, she
found they were stopping at an ill-lighted
country station. Covering the light in
side. herself unobserved, she noted the
conductor and another man place the
bulky cylinder on the platform without
the slightest effort at concealment. The
tall Russian stood by and gave curt or
ders. An instant later the train moved
on again, and when well under way there
was a rap at her door. When sEe cpered
il, the conductor said that he would make
UP her berth now. if II so pleased her.
She stood out in the corridor while this
was deftly and swiftly done. She could
not restrain her curiosity regarding the
mysterious occupant of room A, and to
satisfy it, she walked slowly up and down
the corridor, her hands behind her, p2ss-
ing and repassing the open door of her
own room and noticing that ever and
anon the conductor cast a suspicious eve
in her direction. The door of room A
was partly open, but the shaded lamp
in the ceiling left the interior in dark
ness. There was now no trace OF the in
toXicating gas in the corridor. ard as
she passed room A she noticed that a
fresh breeze was blowing through the
half-open doorway; therefore the window
must be up. Once as she passed her own
door she saw the conductor engaged in
a task which would keep him from Look
ing into the corridor for at least a min.
ute, and in that interval she set bsr
doubts at rest by putting her head swiftly
into room A and az swiftly vithdraNino
it. The man had been lifted on TO his
sofa, and lay with his face toward The
wall, his head on a pillow The Dispatch
box rested on a corner Of the sofa. where
doubtless, he had left it. He was breath
ing heavily, like a man in a drunken
sleep. but the air in the room was sweet
ana fresh, and he would doubtless re-
cover Jennie still paced up and dou-n
thinking deeply over what had happened
Al hrst, when she had secured tbe inn
portant document, she had made IN bar
mind TO return it 10 the messenger. but
further pondering induced her 10 chspsa
her mind. The messenger had been rob-
bed by the Russian police. He would fen
his superi0rs exactly what had hapDencd
and yet the letter would reach IFS desti-
ration as speedily as if he mad broro.,t
IL himself-as if he had never been roh-
bed. knowing the purpose which Nr
Hardwck had in his mind. Jennie saw
tnat the letter now was of tenfold moro
value TO him than IL would have been had
she taken It from the messenger. II v-.f,
evident that the British Embassy v.-o- tba
messenger himself, had suspicious thar ~,
attempt was TO be made 10 obtain the
document; otherwise room c of the sIeeD-
ing car would not have been changed for
room \ az the very last moment. As IT.
was, the editor could say TO the official.
Fhe Russian police robbed your mes
senger in spite OF all the precautions that
could De taken, and my emissary cozcncd
the Russians. So, you see, have ac-
complished what the whole power Il the
British government was powerIess TO e.
feet; therefore. il viii be wisdom on your
part 20 come 70 terms with me-"
Jennie made up her mind TO relate 10
Hardwlck exactly how she came into Dos
session Of the document, and she knew
his alert nature well enough 10 be sure
he would make the most Of the trump
card dealt 10 him
Your room is ready Tor you," said the
conductor in French.
She had presence OF mind enough not
10 comprehend his phrase until. with
motion Of his hand, he explained his mean
ing She entered her compartment and
closed the door
Having decided what disposal 20 make