Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-06-04

Lingard will not proceed upon the In
formation until my return"
Getchikoff read the consul's note, and
he snapped his jaws together like an
angry boar.
II will take my chances" he said at
last.
"Perhaps you do not fully compre-
hend," said Darrell gently. "Your trou-
bles will also include charge Of for
gerry"
Getchikoff laid his hand upon the
hilt of his sword.
"Be calm," said Darrell. "Let Us
reason upon the matter and see exactly
how you stand. Your private affairs
are at this moment Of far more conse-
quence than the strength Of these con-
tending armies. have had consider
able time since we parted to mediate
upon your case. for one has much lei
sure In prison. l have decided that
you are q thoroughly selfish man; that
your chief terror Is your father; that
your chief desire Is to quit the army.
Stavropol. everything Of your old life,
and live in wealth and luxury in Paris.
Your marriage will make that possible.
Am l right in these matters:
81 shall do the things you name" an
swered Getchikoff, land dead man
buried in the Caucasus mountains will
not prevent me-"
"You are what we call in America q
buffer" said Darrell. AT this pres
ent moment you are shaking in your
boots, and the cause Is that one word
forgery Oh, l have reasoned this
thing all out. Who tore up the docu-
ment found beside the body of Ladis-
Low in Paris? Ladislov himself; the
thing is certain. Why did he attempt
to destroy it? My friend Gordon an
swers the question from Paris. Here
is copy of the telegram"
And he gave it to Getchikoff, whose
brow dripped as he read.
"That was q warrant for the Prin-
cess Vera Shevaloff," continued Dar-
rell. 1T was the sort of document that
is sometimes furnished in blank to GER
tain officials, including the governor
generals of provinces. 1t bore the czar's
name and was apparently countersign-
ed by your father. OF course such doe
uments possess no validity as war.
rants outside of Russian dominions,
but creatures like Ladislov, the spy.
occasionally have to exhibit them when
making kidnapping arrests that are
winked at by the police Of continental
cities. and in any case the warrants
have to be shown when the prisoners
reach the Russian frontier.
"A1y friend Gordon telegraphs that
the document is forgery. He means
that your fathers countersign as gov
er1for general Of Stavropol, the prov
lnce to which the prisoner was to be
taken, was forged. The sign manual
Of the car was undoubtedly genuine.
You observe that my friend says So.
Who, then, filled in this document
fraudulently and signed your fathers
name"
81 don't know exclaimed Getchi-
koff, with dry throat. You cannot
prove that did it."
"My dear general. you were seen to do
It." answered Darrell "YOu filled that
document out in the French cafe the
day | refused to lend you my pen.
| Gordon knows it and has his witness.
es." he continued. making his story the
stronger as he saw the others terror
increase. "Let us he just to you. You
were drunk when YOU did it-carefully
intoxicated to the right point by your
good friend, Captain LadiSlov. We will
consider Ladislov for a moment. He
was in the pay of the Gorski family,
who are Stavropol people, and they
desired revenge upon the Princess Vera
for the death of their relative. In
some way they contrived to have this
blank warrant distracted from your
fathers papers and sent to Ladislov.
There Is no other possible method of
accounting for his possession and use
Of it. Your father, believing that the
Getchikoffs had injured Vera's family
enough. had refused to aid in her cap
ture"-
"You can't know all these things!
exclaimed Getchikoff.
"Why, man. you told me that your
SELF" rejoined Darrell. You men-
toned your fathers sentiments to NE
Willie we were riding down from Paris
to Stavropol-whle you were plotting
to have me suppressed OH my arrival
and it was the only sincere thing you
said to me. He was away from the
city during these events, which made
matters easier. But let us return to
Ladislov. You were the man who
could forge your fathers hand. If you
should do it, Ladslov figured that your
father, should it be impossible to keep
Vera's arrest from his knowledge,
would not dare to punish those con-
cerned in it because you were the Chief
sinner. 1t Is no small thing, my friend,
to tamper with q document bearing the
cars signature. 1t bars you, for your
life's sake, from Stavropol. You have
said that only one Of us can return
You are not the One!
Getchikoff reached out his hand Tor
a pitcher Of water that stood on the
table and in clasping it broke Off the
handle and upset the vessel upon the
floor.
"Be calm" said Darrell. Remember
that these facts are known to Gordon
In Paris and most Of them to our con-
sui in Stavropol. alone can suppress
them. Well. we have now barred you
from your native land. How about
Paris! Gordon says Ladislov helped
| .,, ,,,,+h ,.o,r matrimonial venture