The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-12-22

presentations that were made TO him.
and had the honor Of leading the way
to the Especial" which began to move
from the platform as soon as the last
IF the party had entered the train.
The railway arrangements were per-
fectly carried out, and we reached our
one stopping-place without a hitch.
Crawford is very picturesque; the lit
tie platform, with its wooden shed, is
one OF the most unassuming of rural
stations, and the stolid villagers be-
trayed no inquisitive interest in the
arrival Of the royal train. Lord Sell
Ven's park is just opposite the rail-
way station; here, under the spread
ing oak trees, his lordship's servants
had prepared q sumptuous breakfast
for the prince and company, to which
we all did justice, with appetites
whetted by the fresh morning air.
When the prince had finished eating
the company rose and, dispensing into
groups, strolled about on the green
sward, chatting gayly.
I was speaking to Capt. Clough
when Prince Sergius, accompanied by
the Russian ambassador, approached
us. Talk without smoke. gentle
men, is like a service without music
unsatisfactory" he remarked. "Will
you have a ~cigarette?"
He opened his case to hand it to me
and then burst out laughing. 1t was
empty.
II could have sworn Paul filled it
for me this morning; however, I must
be abstemious for a little" he said.
Immediately the ambassador and
presented our cases.
His imperial highness chose a cigar
cite from each. 81 will smoke the am-
bassador's first, and then yours, Sir
Georges" and nodding his thanks he
sauntered off with his companion.
"Have a cigarette, and act up to
the princes MAXIM" said CIough. I
helped myself from his case, and re-
ciprocated by giving him one from
the gold case that Princess Olga had
filled for me.
We walked along in silence for a few
minutes, when Clough suddenly sur
prised me by saying: 81 have noticed
/ AZ NoAN4AA "dLSA bAdB IOu dAA4. L4G
detectives have kept on my move
ments eve since the prince landed,
and have drawn my W conclusions
as to what you know or guess. You
need not be afraid Of me, though,
Fraser; I told Olga yesterday that I
refused to be a party to assassination;
she wanted me to offer cigarettes,
containing a powerful explosive, to
the prince"
Fortunately a small stream runs
through Lord Selven's grounds. With
out stopping to explain, I snatched
the half-smoked cigarette from
Clough's mouth and flung it into the
water. Then I tore off to where had
left the prince, cursing my folly as 1
ran.
Until Clough's speech, the bare pos
sibility of such an %atrocious and cow
ardly method of assassination had
never occurred to me. Now, I did not
doubt that the cigarettes in my gold
case las was afterwards proved) con-
tanned an explosive substance calcu-
lated to aus instant death to the
smoker as soon as the burning ash
touched it. Princess Olga's cunning
in placing harmless cigarettes in my
silver case, well knowing that I would
smoke these first, had duped me CON-
pletely, and her plot would have been
only too successful if Capt. Clough
had not been induced to confess to me
the secret under which he Iabored.
I shall never forget that two min-
utes' race along the turf of Selven
park. The life Of Prince Sergius and
the honor of Great Britain depended
on my speed, while a sickening horror
clutched at my heart telling me that,
perhaps, I was already too late; at
that moment the prince might be ly-
ing dead under the oak trees, killed,
unwittingly, by the hand of him who
had been appointed his guardian and
protector.
How that fend of a woman must
have chuckled when she made me the
unconscious instrument of her wicked
design.
These thoughts lent wings to my
feet, and I arrived, painting and
b~reathless, before his imperial high
ness just as he was putting a match
to the paper tube Of death.
stop, your highness, stopi" I cried,
and, relieved at the prevention of the
catastrophe, I stammered out an ex-
PLANTATION of my seeming impertinence.
"You came just in time, Sir George
remarked Prince sergius, patting me
afhectionateIy on the back as 1 CON
cluded. Another three minutes and
1 should have smoked Princess Olga's
cigarette"
Both the Russian and the English
secret service authorities maintain d
discreet silence as to the whereabouts
of the beautiful Olga Skobensky. I
have heard of a story which tells of a
nihilist princess being immured at
Cronstadt, who wal made every day to
smoke from a box containing 90 ordi-