The Washington weekly post., 1899-07-25

vas more than likely, taking into consid-
Grafton the change of room at the last
moment. which would show the officials
the existence Of suspicion in the mes>en-
gers mind. or in tIfe minds OF those who
sent him. that the natural surmise would
be that another messenger had gone with
the real document. and that the robbed
man was merely a blind 10 deluGe s;he
Russian police. In any case. Jennie con-
cluded, there was absolutely nothing 90
d. but remain awake all night and guard
the treasure which good luck mad bestow-
ell upon her. She stood up IN her bed,
about to stuff her handkerchief into the
hele bored in the partition. but suddenly
paused and came down 10 the floor again.
No. discomforting as il was 70 remain IN
a room under possible espionage. she
dared not stop the openings. as that would
show she had cognizance Of them, and
arouse the conductors suspicion that.
after all. she had understood what had
beer said. whereas. X she leG them as
they were, the fact OF her doing so would
be strong confirmation OF her ignorance.
She took from her bag scarf. tied one
enc round her wrist and the other 10 he
door. 50 that Il could not be opened
SHU4lu Slt idlG dSlctU- WITHOUT aHIkfHAHk
her. Before intrenchinr herself thus she
drew the eyelids down over the lamp and
left her room in darkness. Then, IL any
enc did spy upon her. they would not see
the dark scarf which united her wrist
with the door
In spite of the danger OF her situation
she had the utmost difficulty in keeping
awake. The rumble OF the train had
she started UP. fearing that she had been
slumbering- once she experienced a
Tightening sensation in her throat. and
sprang TO tie floor. seeing the rising gas,
somehow made visible. the color OF blood
The scarf drew her TO her knees, ana for
a moment she thought some one clutehed
her wrist. Painting, she undid the scarf
and flooded the room with light. Her
heart was beating Wildly, but all was
still. save the ever-present rumble Of the
train rushing through the darkness over
the beuRdless plains of Russia. She locked
at her tiny watch; il was O'clock in the
morning She knew then that she must
have fallen asleep in spite Of her strong
resolutions. The letter was still In the in
side pocket of her jacket, and all was well
a in the morning. No eye appeared at
either Of the apertures, so she covered up
the light once more, and lay down again,
signing to think how rumpled her costume
would look in the morning. Now, she was
resolved not to go asleep, If force Of will
could keep her awake. A moment later
she was startled by some one beating
down the partition with an ak. She sp-ang
up, and again the scarf pulled her back
She united from her wrist, and noticed
that daylight flooded the compartment
This amazed her. How could it be day
light so soon. in Northern Russia? After
a breathless pause there was rap at her
door. and the voice of the conductor said
breakfast at Luga, madame, in three
quarters of an hour"
Very goOd,' she replied in English, her
voice trembling with fear Slowly she
united the scarf from the door and placed
it in her hand bag. She shivered not
withstanding her effort at self-cOntrol for
she knew she had slept through the night
and far into the morning In agitation
she unbuttoned her jacket. Yes, there
was the letter. just where she had placed
it. She did not dare take il out and exam
inc it, fearing still that she might be
watched from some unseen quarter, but
THANK God" she said to herself fervent-
ly, this horrible night is ended. Once
over the frontier am safe" She smooth
ed and brushed down her dress as well as
she was able, and was greatly refreshed
by her wash in cold water which is one
of the luxuries not the least acceptable
on a sleeping car.
CIeyt Week-Ar rniorked-for EncouuterO