The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1902-10-03

ing great risks TO show hfmseR AZ
openly as he did. He moved about in
perfect unconcern for ten days, being
most of the time in my company, and
we had no adventure. Then he asked
me one morning TO accompany him to
the police station, where he was going
to seek certain information. l no
ticed that he had a package under
his arm, but gave it no particular at
tention. As we walked along the
street he was as chatty as usual. and
he led the way into the police build
ing without the slightest hesitation.
1t was two story building of stone
and brick. There was a prison in the
basement and Offices were on the first
and second floors. We entered the main
room. presided over by captain of po-
| lice on one side and an information
bureau on the other. There were a
number of people making inquiries. and
Grodno and j sat down on one Of the
benches to wait. He stepped to
window, asked a question I did not
catch, and then passed out, and fol-.
| lowed. / noticed that he was pale andi
| furried, and when l joked him about
/ II he said that he had seen a visitor.
in the room whom he thought he rec
ognized. He had another errand, he,
said, and asked me to wait at the.
hotel for him. He left me on a street.
corner with a wave of his hand, and:
that was the last ever saw Of him
Two hours had passed, and l wasl
| still waiting i'm the Office of the hotel,
| when the town was suddenly shaken;
as with an earthquake, and FIVE min
utes later it was known everywhere
that the police station had been blown.
up. I rushed to the scene with thou
sands Of others, and the sight WIS one.
never to be forgotten. The fine. large
building was nothing but S. ioking
pile. 1t had collapsed. the walls block
ing up the street, and the roof was ly-
ing on the floor of the first story. In
the cells of the basement were twenty
eight prisoners, all of whom escaped'
harm. On the two floors were thirty,
police officials. including the chief, and
not one of them escaped death. 1t was
day and night before the debris was
removed and the bodies were recovered
and another day before an investiga-
ton was begun During this interval
heard nothing whatever from Grod-
no After day had gone by l made
up my mind that he was among the
killed 1t came to me that he was not
', carrying the package when he left the
. building, and l figured that he had re-
turned for it and had been made q
victim with the Others l got look
: at every body taken out, but his waa
not among them.
II 1t was only when public investiga-
| tion had begun and the newspapers
; were talking about nihilists and ex'
plosives that l suddenly caught my
breath. In less than an hour l wal
Z speeding out of Cracow by train, and
& it was not until was beyond the linn
! its of Austria that dared try to think
: it out. Grodno had come to Cracow to
do exactly as he had done. He owed
the police a grudge, and he left that
package to blow up the building
q Whether it was exploded by clockworf
or by some one seeking to open Il
could not be told. but it certainly
caused the disaster and he had made
!. good his escape before it happened
y learned that the investigation threw NJ
y light on the matter except that som'
!. explosive had been used, and it wal
u not even laid TO nihilists. | could hay'
told a story; but. innocent as was o
u any completely, it would have resuite<
u in my death on the gallows. -.