The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1901-01-11

y 49,
IfeW to her side.
awaited for some little while. Borofsky
would and could do nothing immediate
ly after his arrival there His task, in
the nature Of it and in accordance with
his instructions, necessitated the great
est caution and deliberation-not
was to be done in hurry for fear of
causing suspicion and inspiring alarm.
A week passed. and there was no
news from our little detective; second
went by and still he had not written,
excepting q short note to report his
arrival in London, written two or three
days after reaching English shores.
Then mother began to grow despond-
ent. There must be hitch somewhere
she said. Poor dear father had, fitted
from the lodgings to which Percy had
traced him. and Borofsky had lost the
scent ,
..Neyer fear, mother, dearest, 2 as
sured her, Borofsky is on his mettle
His reputation is at stake; he will take
good care to strike the scene somewhere
and somehow
81 don't know. l have feeling of
depression, said mother. 81 do not
feel so sanguine as i did that the man
Percy found is really and truly my own
Vladimir, your dear father. The photo
graph is very like him, admit, though
when one examines it through mag
nifying glass, it appears less so than
with the eye alone. 1t would be so
dreadful now that our hopes have been
raised, if he should prove to be some
one else-some one with strange
though a very strong and undoubted re-
sem blance to father.
stBut, dearest, said. eff this photo
SO resembles father that both you and
I, the two people on earth who know
and love him best, instantly agreed that
this must be he and no other, how I'M
likely it is that any one else can posi-
bly, be so like him as to take us both in.
1t must be father. did not believe it
myself until saw the photo, because
could not understand why-I mean l
could not reconcile fathers secret dis
appearance with his character as
know and love it, but now / am con-
WINGED in spite of myself.
''The face looks coarser and more
weather beaten and haggard through
the magnifying glass, 2 said mother.
'sSee for yourselfi"
what mother meant. There were lines
of care or hard living, or what not.
The temples looked balder than father s
and the stubby beard he wore appeared
strangely vulgar after ia theirs carefully
shaven chin. l said guardedly that
this was SO.
''But. added, sin spite of all that,
mother. darling, think it must be ia
Their. Who else can it bes 1t is not as
though he Lad twin brother, or any
brother, SO like as to be mistaken for
| him.
To my horror mothers face suddenly
grew white. and she sat down quickly
in the nearest armchair. She placed her
hand to her heart. flew to her side.
| "What is it, mother, what is it 2" |
cried
"Oh, Boris, forgot, she murmur-
ed. 81 had never thought of it till this
moment forgot-he bade me forget it,
ind / did, for it was SO great shame
ind sorrow to him that he dared not
hear it mentioned. Yes. foolish woman
that have been and am, it must be he,
and have believed him thousands Of
miles away, and SO did my Vladimir
"Who. mother. who?" said in des-
peration. ''Of whom are you speaking ?
4 What shame and sorrow can there be in
connection with my dear father? Nil
me all, mother. l am your own son. Do
not be afraid to confide in me.
81 am not afraid" said poor mother
"Your father would have told you him
self in good time, maybe, but it is diff
ferent now, and will tell you. My
dear husband, good and true man as he
IS, and the soul of all honor, has or had
\ brother, of whom you have never
heard, who is his very opposite, as
wrong is of right. This man fell into
criminal ways while still almost a
youth and--I will tell you the details
another time-was sent to Siberia, a life
sentence He may have escaped. We
know nothing of him; as say, both
your father and have striven to forget
his very existence"
j Isee, !" l said, 81 see But did he SC
resemble father that one might be mis-
taken for the other?"
81 never saw him." said mother,
"but they are said to have been very
much alike as boys"
[ro BE Continued