The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1900-01-05

Of this that has unnerved me, But you
are right, We ought still to hope, my
Boris, will be brave, l will hope as
you do, We will not despair until we
have done all that there Is TO be done,
What shall he cur first move? Come,
tell me, You have done me good al
ready, Thank God that / have still a
brave son. What Ia to he doneY'
percy Ia coming to help me tomor,
row or next day" l said, II thought
it would be as well to have him here,
You know him and like him"
"Kind Percy murmured mother
"He il a friend indeed"
"And meanwhile | shall "a to Erin,
ofka by the very first train ! can catch
tomorrow morning in order to make In.
qniries on the spot, Whom did you send
from here?"
"The second coachman, Pavel. an
honest fellow, He knows the keeper,
Armin, and interviewed him at Erin,
ofka, Armin could give him no salts.
faction"
81 shall see Armin for myself and
many other people besides, f" I said. .I
shall make preliminary inquiries to.
morrow and then come back for Percy
and continue them together with him.
"But have you any sort Of notion as
to what can have occurredY That is
what Ia 80 dreadful to me that l cannot
imagine what nature of calamity could
possibly have happened to him, feel
80 helpless about It,, +
~ cannot, really, until | have made
inquiries, dear mother, It Ia possible
that poor father may only have fallen
from the train EN- route and rolled down
an emhunkment. You have not seen the
line to Erinofka, 1t Ia a mere toy rail
way, with a gauge but three feet wide
and tiny carriages like small busses
with balconies. Tho train runs most
unsteadily, and father might have fallen
asleep and been jerked from the bal
cony without any one seeing, He might
have lain stunned until some one found
and took him into shelter, The finder,
unaware OF his name, would be unable
to communicate with his friends, and
poor father still too i'll perhaps to give
him any information. That Ia at least
a theory and would account for the alb
sence Of news Then there Is another
thing that might possibly have hap.
pened, though I admit 1t does not seem
very likely
"Go on, Boris. tell me everything
you have thought Of, said poor moth
er, who wept quietly through my some
what grewaome recital. "How dreadful
to think that my poor dear Vladimir
may be lying ever now unconscious,
and we unable to help him because liz.
norant where to look for him-God
grant II IL not thatr'
"He will have found kind friends,
never fear" l said, "but my other
theory Is less painful to contemplate. !
told You the worst first. 1t Ia this: Fa.
ther IL well known and known to be
rich too, 1t may DO that some wretched
fellows, desperate perhaps for want Of
money, may have formed a band. like
Greek brigands, to abduct him. II 10,
they will send a deputation one day,
presently, or a message, claiming a sum
Of money for his ransom"
els that possible, here in civilized
Russia p said mother wistfully. ~
have never heard Of anything Of the
kind, have your At all events, not in
this part of Russia"
was obliged to confess that ! had
not.
"But we must not reject the idea on
that account. We must weigh and in.
vestignte every notion either Of us has,
however wild or impossible 1t may be-.
"Yes, yes, that Is true, W. will not
leave a stone unturnedl" said mother.
Travelled up to Erinofka the next
morning, ! could not help thinking, rs
l stood upon the balcony outside the lit.
tie railway carriage, that any n tired
from a hard days shooting ave the
moors and leaning on the rail az now
leaned might most easily be pitched out
by q jerk OF the train, Jerks, violent
ones. wers common enough, for the
train was but a makeshift thing and
the line very narrow and badly laid. 1t
had been made for the sole use Of a fac
tory of some sort, close to Erinofka, the
manufactured goods being sent by it's
means to st. Petersburg, while the raw
materials were carried up from town to
the works,
Accidents were OF frequent occur.
renee, though tho train went 80 slowly
that personal injury was rare. Passen-
gers were allowed to use the line, which
was thus most useful for my fathe. and
his fellow sportsmen. He might easily
have fallen out then. But in that case
would not Hulbert--who was shooting
with him that day. as | had ascertained
known of 1t either at nee or
when the train arrived at st. Peters
burgY At any rate, he would have miss.
cd my father and have given the alarm,
Al a matter Of fact, and as ! discovered
presently, Hubert had remained behind
for another days sport when my father
returned. Hubert returning on the
Thursday and father on the Wednesday,
10 that the accident-if 1t happened