The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-01-11
CHAPTER XIV.

OUT OF THE CHAINS. r.
The horror of the situation was SO great
that Princess Olga's brain could not &C
cept it all at once.
certainty that if she was rescued she
would also be discovered In this act
against the rule Of Neslerov Powerful as
was her family, she was now absolutely at
the mercy of the governor of Tomsk,
whom she knew to be merciless. Who
could ever know that Princess Olga, the
rich and beautiful NesleroY died in the
dungeons under her cousins palace? ~
To her vivid imagination already the
horrors Of starvation loomed up. To lie
in that cold, dark place and suffer and
slowly waste away, to lose her mind, to
| rave in madness-all these thoughts
burned into her brain. Then, looking at
poo Therese, the girls heart was stirred
with pity.
Il am not only suicide, but I am a
murderer as WE'LL" she said. 81. should
| not have induced Therese to come"
Therese stirred. 'E'-.. '+
''Ah, Therese! Good Therese! Speak to
me, will you not?" pleaded the princess.
"You should not have come. 1t was hor-
rible, that den! And perhaps 1 brought
you here to die
Il don't want to die!" exclaimed
Therese, sitting upright as though the
word had acted like an electric shock.
Il do not wish to die either; but we are
! lost, Therese."
| Lost! How can we be lost? Are we
not under the palace?"
Yes, we are under the palace, but we
| are nevertheless lost. l have lost the
way. See all these passages? I do not
know by which one we entered this ter
rible place.
I'VE seem to be almost at the center.
They cannot all lead to the stairs
NO. certainly not. And there is little
chance of telling which does lead to the
| stairs. I do not even know In which d.
rection the stairs lie. We are lost, The
reese, and will perhaps die here of star
vation.'.
you must not! You shall mott" ex-
claimed Therese, made stronger now by
the evident need of some one to assist
the princess. She did not think so much
| Of herself as she did of Olga.
| ''There must be a way out and close at
| hand" said Olga.
! The terrible silence acted upon the
shaken nerves of poor Therese, and she
began to scream historically
Il will not die! Heaven help us both!
Help! Help! Help!'
rang in weird echoes through the cav
erns
1.-The echoes mock mel" she cried. 'Is
there no one to help?"
"Hark!" said Olga. 81 think heard a
voice."
"A voice! heard thousand Of them
| and they are all my own"
! NO. but this was not 1t was a mans
voice. Wait till call"
! The caverns were still.
els there any one here?" rang out
! Olga's clear voice. 1--WE are lost in the
| passa ges-two women. Is there any one
here?"
Here, here, here!" came back the
echoes.
II am here-a prisoner!" came an an
! swering cry.
-prisoner-isoner!" came the
echoes. ....,
Where are you?" called Olga.
| ''You-you-you" echoed the hooking
| caverns. s.'.
II must be near you"-the voices sound
not far-"follow the sound Of my whis-
| tle!" came a louder voice.
istle-istle-istle!" came the trou-
| bled echoes.
Immediately there began, not far from
them, the tune of ''The Star Spangled
Banner" Olga knew it was an American
i tune and instinctively realized that the
person who was guiding them must be the
one who had been trying to solve the mys-
| terry of Graslov and had been imprisoned
| by Jansky. lisa.
After a few moments she managed to
distinguish between the real sound and
! the echoes, and began slowly to work he1
| way toward it. Therese, trembling with
weakness and terror, followed.
! At last the whistle led her into one Of
the passages and she swung her lantern
high to see where there was dungeon
1t was nit far away, and the CLEANS Of the
lantern went through the door Of a gloomy
cell. The light fell upon man chained
to the walls. One chain was around his
waist, another held his feet, and each
arm was extended and held to the wal
by a smaller but stout chain. These
chains were built into the wall and theil
ends locked together.
who are your asked Olga. why are
you prisoner here?'
"My name is Denton" was the reply
IT am an American, and my arrest is al
outrage that will not go unpublished"
'It shall not, I promise that, If an!
of us ever get out alive"
But who are you, and what are yo,
doing here?' asked Denton.
Il am Neslerov and came to liberat'
you and Vladimir Paulpoff."
In the light of her lantern she coult
see him stare.
you! A Neslerov! When did vol
come to Tomsk?"
1.-TWO days ago. The governor is
distant relation of mine. / am here upol