The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1900-01-26
ward Celebrating the painful mystery
of his disappearance or the still more
painful and bewildering mystery Of his

. -
silence.
Here was father obviously a free
agent and able if he chose to write home
with explanations of his absence, yet
he preferred to live a secret and semi
hidden life in a slummy, OF at least
third rate, quarter of London. He was
free and living alone. Those rascals
who had carried him off from Erinofka
and conveyed him over the frontier and
away were no longer with him. He was
out Of their power. But. if out Of their
power, why did he not return or write I?
Had they some mysterious hold upon
him, f%orbidding him under pain of
sudden death--a death such as had be-
fallen the unfortunate little talebearer
at Erinofka Ito communicate in any
way whatever with those who were
familiar with him at home?
"No." said I heartily. when this
theory was put forward by Percy, Seer
tainly not. Father would never tamely
submit to such a thing. Once out Of
their hanGs and free to do as he liked,
father would soon find means to turn
the tables on the r~ascals, bIackmailers
VI WudbCScl tLCy may .DCs dht ! 10
quite possible, if they exist at all in
connection with this affair that they
are blackmailers.'
"What would they blacklnail your
father for?' asked Percy quite indig-
nantly. "He is not at all the man to have
q skeleton in the cupboard that he is
afraid to show to all the world"
"Quite true" II said, "but there's
that precious brother that mother told
us of, the nihilist Johnny, who muir
dered or helped to murder some one.
These chaps, if they exist, may have
found ont all about it and are threaten
ing father with heaven knows what if
he does not pay up some huge sun of
money. But even this doesn't explain
his silence or his mysterious journey to
London, either, unless he has gone to
raise funds. But lie would have let
mother know as soon as he was free. l
am cocksure Of it,"
"Unless they have driven him out of
his senses for the time being" mother
sighed.
"No, mother" I said, ''I'll tell you
what I think. I've come to the conclu-
sion that those Erinofka rascals have
nothing whatever to do with it or with
us. Their affair was merely a coinci-
dence as regards father and his disap-
pearance. They were there, granted, and
they were up to some game which need
ed secrecy and even murdered a man
who divulged their secret, but the drug
ged man q conclude he was drugged)
or the sick man was not father. We
thought we had struck a trail, but it
was a f . scent"
"Gou grant it. dear Boris" said
mother, ''for I cannot bear to think of
your father having fallen into such
hands. But why have you come to this
conclusionY
"For two reasons-one is that if
these fellows had any good reason for
bagging father and carrying him away
they would not have let him go free as
they have done, and the other is that,
as I have said, now father is free and
we know that he is. If his silence and
disappearance and all had been brought
about by these people, he would GER
tainly communicate with us. There
must be another reason for his flight.
These Erinofka fellows had nothing to
do with it."
Yet, neither I nor mother nor Percy
could put forth any good theory to re.
place the old one, and the situation re-
manned unchanged and the mystery I'M
solved. We must await further devel-
opments from the other side Of the wa
ter. and trust to Borofsky's talent and
exertions to bring light into our dark
places, and this he could only do by re-
storing poor father to his right mind
and persuading him to return to us.
I think I should have set out myself,
presently, in order to see father and find
out, in person, what allied him and
whether an appeal from me, and in
mother name, would restore him to
reason, but a few days later we had a
second and a very exciting letter from
Borofsky.
81 have met with astonishing success
since my last letter, he wrote, Though
not without much patience and some
personal risk"
personal risk !" echoed mother, in.
terrupting me as / read aloud.
"Then those rascals are still hanging
about. May God,protect dear Vladimir
and also this poor B~orofskyl''
l, too, had been surprised to see the
expression used-"personal risk l
continued to read the letter aloud:
"The count, at our last interview.
had suddenly closed the conversation,
angrily giving me to understand that
he considered my last remark a liberty.
He rose from the table, bowed and left
the restaurant, I following a minute
later. The count returned home. l saw
him to his lodgings and I re-entered my
own, which were nearly opposite, and
wrote and posted my letter.
"That evening later / was surprised
to see a cab drive up to the door Of the