The indicator., 1904-07-02
CHAPTER VII

eiV even HIS
A1 decision yeti" asked Alma
B8lsa Jurniefr MS she met Orderly
Alexander Borge in the .,f
ridor of the living rooms a few days
after the traal
NO decision has been made public.
Mile. Jurnieff. There Is much secrecy.
There ls to be squad Of prisoners sent
to Siberia in a month. l believe the
American Is numbered among them"
siberia! They would not dure! To
send an innocent American to Siberia
would bring on war;
Not II he died." said Alexander,
with shrug. Some who are number
ed for Siberia never start. They die
before the time comes. Hush. Here
comes Colonel Jurniefrw
He walked away without saluting
her. and her face was devoid of express
sion when her eyes met those of her
uncle.
II have news for you." he said. close
ly observing the girl. 1.-The governor
10 to give ball to Prince Dellnikoff.
The prince will arrive in few days.
He will attend to his new official du-
ties while here, and the governor wish
e to entertain him."
There ls no objection, IL there7
What are the new duties of the
prince2"
He has bsen appointed inspector
general Of prisons for Stavropol. Tifis
and Astrakhan. 1t was probably
through the influence of the general,
your father, that he obtained this i'm
portant post. received letter from
your father today. Would you like to
read itf"
81 will read 1t II you WISH" answered
Alma listlessly.
at will save me the trouble Of re-
peating his wishes to you. Take the
letter to your room and study it. Con-
slider well Its contents. You will profit
By meeting your fathers wishes In this
matter. You have been severely pun
ished. know. by your semi-lmprison-
ment here. Hereafter l am going to
permit you to have your own way. 1
want you to meet the prince at the
ball. 1t may be necessary for you to
use the carriage any day between 2
and L."
Thank you" said Alma. She bowed
and went to her room.
Some plot" she murmured as she
shut her door. What deviltry is afoot
now7 So l am asked to read letter
from my father, the first of his letters
bat ST. 20,
She sat down and read:
Ny Dear Brother-You will doubtless be
surprised to hear OF the appointment Of
Prince Dellnikoff to the important post Of
Inspector general of prisons. 1t was .
happy thought of mine to have him ap-
pointed to . position Of power and impor-
tance. sufficiently SO to please him and
make his soJourn in your portion of Rus
sia not unwelcome. 1t will bring him
often to Tifils and give you an opportunity
to bring the prince and my obstinate
daughter together. It IL probable that the
governor will entertain the prince. II -.
shat will be a good opportunity. We must
ompel the girl to obey some way or 9TH
q. 1t is q cherished Idea OF mine to see
the families of Dellnikoff and JuTnlen
united. The father of Prince Alexis was
= good friend of mine and we spoke fre-
quently In other days of the pleasure 1t
united. Therefore do your utmost to bring
about this most desirable marriage.
shall not receive my daughter again until
she comes to me as the Princess Dell
nixon.
what kind and loving father!" ex-
claimed Alma as she crunched the let
ter In her hand. "This is threat-a
threat that my uncle preferred to have
In tn falI hirlSnlf
Let them threaten! But will attend
the ball and will assist in entertaining
Prince Dellnikoff, the most dissolute
prince In st. Petersburg"
"Have you received letter at last.
2" asked Marie as she en-
tered the room.
"At last, Marie, l have been permit
ted to read letter. 1t is not, however.
addressed to me. 1t Is one that was
sent by my father to my uncle with
some very interesting news. Prince
Dellnikofr is coming to Tifiis."
Heavens! To be marrled%
81 presume that is the real object.
Openly he comes as the inspector gen
eral of prisons"
inspector BeueTuI! Ilc VIII OC
proud one In that uniform"
why 80, Marie7 What distinguish
ing uniform does the inspector general
Of prisons wear7"
"All gold lace. mademoiselle. 1t is
Ane, I once knew the inspector gen.
sraI of prisons for Perm. He was a
uand looking man In his Uniform"
81 should like to see It," said Alma,
with a smile. 81 suppose will have
the opportunity soon."
II have a book with all the uniforms
sf Russia. Shall l get it?"
sNo, never mind. Well. get 1t. 1t
will serve to pass away a few miser-
able moments"
Marie brought q little leather cover
ID book.
"It is Alexander's, mademoiselle.
He hopes for promotion and is study
ins the fne uniform he will wear"
Alexander is noble and faithful.
hope he will win his promotion and not
disgrace himself by assisting me-"
"He would die for you, mademoi'
sslie."
Alma turned the pages Of the book.
Many of the brilliant uniforms she
saw pictured were familiar to her.
The uniform prescribed for the In
spector general of prisons was gor-
esous AFFAIR, all gold lace, shiny boots.
q cap and q medal that hung from the
roldep sash. She closed the book and
aank back In the chair with her eyes
closed, Instead Of returning the book
Alma rose from her chair and placed 1t