The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1902-05-10
BY Jules Verpe
CONTINUED

! present moment"
The old woman was silent for a mo-
ment.
"Was he tall?" she asked.
every tall"
"And very handsome-is it not sol
! Come, tell me, my girl"
"He was very handsome" answered
Nadia, blushing deeply.
ct was my son! tell you it was ny
sonw exclaimed the old woman, EN-.
bracing Nadia.
"Your sonv' said Nadia, amazed
"Your sonp'
"Come," said Maria, 'let us get to
| the bottom of this, my child. Your
companion, your friend, your protector
had mother. Did he never speak to
you of his mother?"
"Of his mother?" said Nadia. "He
spoke to rue Of his mother-as l spoke
to him of my father-often, always.
He adored her"
NADIA, Nadia, you have just told me
about my son." said the old woman.
And she added impetuously:
"Was he not going to see his mother,
whom you say he loved, on his way
through OmskY
NO" answered Nadia; mo, he was
not"
"Notw cried Marie. "You dare to
| tell me noti'
81 have said it, but it remains for me
known to me and which had to guide
him before every other consideration |
was given to understand that Nicholas
Korpanofr had to traverse the country
in the most absolute secrecy 1t was
for him question of life and of death
and, more sacred still, a question of
duty and honor"
"Of duty in reality, Of imperious
duty" said the old Siberian, "of that
kind for which a person sacrifices ev-
erything, for the accomplishment of
which he would deny himself every
thing, even the JOY of coming to give
kiss, the last perhaps, to his old moth
err All thai you do not know, Nadia,
all that l did not know myself at this
moment ] know. You have made me
understand all. But the light which
you have thrown into the deepest dark
ness of my heart, that light, alas
may not cause to enter your own. The
secret of my son, Nadia, since he las
not told it to you, must keep for him.
Forgive me, Nadia. The good deed you
have done me cannot return to you."
Mother, | ask nothing from you"
answered Nadia.
All was thus explained to the old ST.
berian, all, even the inexplcable con-
duct of her son with regard to herself
In the inn ut Omsk in presence of the
witnesses of their meeting There was
no douh that the young girls compan-
lon was Michael Strogoff and that
secret mission, some important dis
patch to be carried across the invaded
country, obliged him to conceal his
quality of the cars courier.
"Ah my brave boy!' thought Maria.
mo, will not betray you, and tortures
shall not wrest from me the avowal
that it was you whom l saw at Omsk."
Maria could with a word have paid
Nadia for all her devotion to her. She
could have told her that her compan-
Ion, Nicholas Korpanoff. or rather, Mi
chael Strogoff, had not persisted in the
waters of the Irish, since it was some
days after that incident that she had
met him, that she had spoken to him.
But she restrained herself, she was ST
lent and contented herself with saying:
Hope, my child. Misfortune will
not overwhelm you. You will see your
father again. l feel it. And perhaps
he who gave you the name of sister is
not dead. God cannot have allowed
your brave companion to perish. Hope,
my child, hope. Do as l do. The
mourning which wear Is not yet for
my son."
Such was now the situation of Maria
Strogoff and Nadia toward each other.
The old Siberian had understood all,
and if the young girl was ignorant
of the fact that her companion so
much regretted still lived she knew at
least the relationship which he held
toward her whom she had made her
mother, and she thanked God for hav-
ing given her that joy and pleasure
thus to be able to replace at the side
of the prisoner that son whom she had
lost
But that which neither the one nor
the other could know was that Michael
Strogoff, taken at Kalyvan, was one of
the same convoy and was bound like
themselves for Tomsk.
At length, on the 10Th of August, to-
ward evening, the convoy reached the
little town Of Zabedeiro, some thirty
versts from Tomsk. At this place the
route again lay along the course of the
Tom.
All this night the prisoners were to
camp on the banks of the Tom. The
emir. in fact, had deferred until the
next day the entry of his troops into
Tomsk. 1t had been decided that a
military display should mark the In
auguration Of the Tartar headquarters
In this important city. Feofar Khan
already occupied It's fortress, but the
body of his army bivouacked under the
walls, waiting for the moment to make
a solemn entry.
Ivan Ogareff had left the emir at
Tomsk, where they had both arrived