Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1899-01-19
rom the east. 1t looked as if it might

from the east. 1t looked as il 1t might
rain.
Lying there alone, ! could rot but
think Of the strange and doubtful adj
venture on which | was bound. dld
not SO much rs know the quarter OF
the globe to which | was about to
travel / was about to cut myself OF
from the society of decent people, 10
abandon the safeguards which the law
provides for those who travel in the
beaten paths Of life, and cast my LEI
with men who were the enemies OF so
ciety, and who probably considered
themselves bound by no law human
or Divine. 1t was quite withia the
bounds of possibility that in conse-
quence of some quarrel, or some refus.
al on my part to carry out their conl-
mands. | might be made a prisoner
and kept in confinement for years. /
| had nothing to trust to but the WORD
of men who. by their very position,
must be accustomed to be a law unto
themselves.
Nor had / the slightest idea what
was the nature OF that service which
the Committee wished me to perform
for them-theiservice for which'I was
TO ransom the Prince. Won Mitscilkn
had told me thar it might be called q
crime, or not, according 10 the views
of the speaker. This was as much as
to say that,jn the eye Of 'fhesliw IL
would he d crime. Most hkely. /
thought. ii would turn apt to be s1lpa
desperate deed which honor, and en-
science would forbid my touching. In
that case the Prince must femain in
prison. and III that case the h?oe of
winning Irene would vanish among,
the mists from which it had sprung.
But 1t would be something to be able
To tell Irene that. E'had seen her father,
and carry n message to her from him.
And here | nay take the opportunity
OF saying that.I had strictly adhefed to,
the injunctions. laid on me in the letter.
of instructions | had received from
the Committee, except in II point.
Besides my change of clothing my lit
tie bag held a seryiceable revolver and
q score or two of cartridges. | scarce
Iy thought il was necessary to take
them, especially as | am, for a light
weight, pretty good at my fists: but 1t
was impossible for me To tell what
dangers | might be exposed to before
/ found myself in Old England again,
and | decided that it would be safer to
have the weapon with me.
| had knocked the ashes out of my
pipe for the second time, and was de-
batting with myself whether | should
return to the inn for a cup of tea.
when / noticed a shadow, such rs
would be east by a mans head, moving
above the shadow line thrown by tie
eo,uI b;1lloIc 1trnp thn hnaah IT dis
appeared, and | thought no more of it
till. In surrounding the nearest sand
hill, / deserted the figure OF mNfriend
the mineral water man, stealing of
across the dunes.
Ny first thought was that the COM
mercial. having nothing better TO 90,
had come in search of me for the sake
OF my and. having failed TO
find me, was now on his way back to
the inn. But then ii occurred TO re
that, when | saw the shadow OF his
head appearing above the shadow east
by the sand hills. he must have been
able to see over them. 1t was almost
certain THAT he had observed me, and
had tried, by stealing off in the direc-
ton of the inn to conceal the fact that
he had been watching me. The Ques-
tion was-had this watching any sre-
cial meaningi In other words, was the
fellow a paid SPY, II had he been
haunting my steps through mere idle
curiosity?
| can scarcely describe the strange
feeling that canne over me as i put this
question to myself. l had kept my X
periences in Russia, and my present
enterprise a profound secret from ev-
eryone in England. 1t followed that II
this mar were really shadowing me, he
had bean employed by someone who
tool his Instructions from st. Peters.
burg. 1t was possible, it was even
probable, that the Russian police had
q spy in the household of Prince Kro
penski. 1t was likely. therefore. that
they knew that / had received a com.
|, municati0n Of some kind from the con,
spirators. They must suspect the
French valet-I had suspected him my.
/, seh-and they might easily connect his
visit to the house with my sudden &c
, parture for London. Lit vas quite pcs
sible that they had sent instructions
I through the Russian embassy TO en-
, gage a C.lvate detective to keep an
/ eve on my movements, in case | Should
, be Il link of communications between
the Nihilists in st. Petersburg and
!. their friends in England. BY follow
, ing me they might hope to learn wh.
, these friends WERE, and where the,
. were 10 be found.
! Clearly ii would never do to allow
|, the detective to see me on the pier a
= O'Clock in the m~oIning-the time an,
o place appointed for my meeting Vol
Mitschka's agent. My first business
: must be TO discover whether this com
) mercial traveller was in truth n spy o
not. And 1t struck ne as a suspicious
Z circumstance that he should come I,
A an out-of-the-way voltage like Brier
7 wick to sell mineral waters.
+ In order 10 set my mind at rest abou
. this mans true occupation. l wakes
|. rapidly back to the inn, passing hin
: on the way, and when l got there
questioned lie barmaid rather closel.
concerning an imaginary friend .
= mine. WHOM | said | had expected t
! find mt the inn.
q | then went into the coffee room an;
= closed the door, as soon as the tignr
V OF the traveller appeared ON the porch
q After g time he came into the co..e
n room. and began a conversation abou
q nothing with me, which | cut short a
. soon as | could. After paving a yisi
"a TO my bed room, to throw the man OF
his guard, L went again to the barmaid