Evening star., 1901-11-09

When consciousness first returned TO
owen he knew that his arm was broken.
He lay still for moment on the snort
grass, staring up into the sky and won
dering why the boys had left him on the
field. Then, with start, he remembered
that ii was not foot ball but a wicked blow
from behind which had felled him and that
it was not the field at New Haven, but a
lonely roadside in Russian Lithuania which
pillowed his aching head.
The sun was just rising, so he knew that
he must have dropped like log and lain
there half the night. 1t was deadly quiet
Something aside from the aching of his
whole body told him that he was badly
hurt so that when he tried to move he fell
back with groan of pain, with the sweat
gathering in beads upon his forehead and
around his mouth.
He had plenty of time to recall the cir
cumstances which, placed him there. lie
remembered quite distinctly that Prince
Korolenko had warned him that trouble
might surely be expected. In fact that
was chiefly why the young American had
undertaken the survey.
Owen was a civil engineer of some re-
nown, and at a dinner of the ambassadors
in St. Petersburg he had sat next the Rus
sian, the boundary of whose estates IN
Lithuania, Russian Poland, were holly
disputed by the Countess SySkiewicz and
her sons. whose estates abutted on Prince
Korolenko's. This dispute had been held In
allegiance for years, but now, as the prince
wished to sell, the quarrel which hereto
fore had been largely kept up by the peas
ants on the two estates must be settled
by law. The prince. always courteous, had
formally suggested arbitration to his Pol
ish neighbor, and had requested her to Sc
lect an engineer who would be biased by
neither Polish nor Russian sympathies. To
this the elegant old countess had replied
with equal courtesy that she would suggest
an American, of whose engineering skiil
she had heard some marvellous accounts,
but owing to the fact that she was widow
and had withdrawn from public affairs, she
left the selection of the American to Prince
Korolenko, who mingled with the world
and in whose integrity she had full conf
dence.
Greatly pleased by this courtesy. the
prince had asked Owen if he cared to un-
dertake it, explaining that he had nothing
10 fear from the gentry, but that the blind
partfsanship Of the pesants, especially
when augmented by vodke, was apt to Ih-
suit in broken head.
We'll, If not a broken head, a broken
everything else" thought Owen.
The sun was perhaps two hours high
when the stiffness was broken by sharp
jingling of bells. and the clatter of gallop-
ing hOOfS and the roll of wheels.
"A troika!' exclaimed owen. trying to
raise himself. The effort was too much for
him. and he fell back. Then a thought
came to him and with his uninjured hand,
he pulled out his handkerchief and held it
up The morning breeze fiuttered the pale
nag Of truce and it caught the eye of the
driver, who shouted to the occupant of the
troika Owen could see that the young girl
IN the troisa was standing up and urging
on the fiery horses by her cries.
The coachman pulled up his horses be-
side where Owen lay. and the young girl
sprang out and knelt down by his side
saying in English. but with the slightest
possible accent:
"Oh, on; how sorry we arei We have
just heard of it. and mamma is hard at york
In the little pavilion which ordinarily she