The indicator., 1904-06-25

to Harvey: II have been paid well to
hand you this. Take ii. Swallow 1t
when you have read it,
It was a note written on thin paper
In pencil. 1t read:
Ny Dear n Irons-I have been weeping
~ eyes out since learned that you were
h prison. After our meeting at the fair
last year my father sent me here to Colo
nsl Jurnisn. his brother. / have been al
most q prisoner ever since. 1 have not
bosn able to ascertain where you were.
Your letters. even had you known where
] was, would have been seized.
] assure you l know you were not
guilty Of killing NJ. Biartelkis or taking
away his daughter. but my uncle will try
to have you convicted and sent to Siberia
! shall do ali ! can to reach your Ameri-
can representative at st. Petersburg. but
may not be able to accomplish It, have
but two friends. One of them Is bribing
the guard to give you this. Whatever
happens. remember / love you and be-
6sve in you. ALMA.
Harvey kissed the note and sobbed
"Ay poor darling" he murmured.
Bit by bit he chewed the paper and
swallowed 1t.
Then came the trial. The tribunal
was semimilitary. Colonel Jurnieff and
magistrate. n stern old man, looked
with unsympathetic eyes upon Harvey
and with loathing upon Hassan. Cap
tain Orskoff first offered what he knew
or what he did not know, which Har-
vey felt amounted to the same thing 10
far as his chances were concerned
"In performing my duties during the
fair" said the captain, 81 saw Hafz
Effendi, who was known to be dealer
in the slave girls Of Circassia and Geor-
Eia before his imperial highness the
car issued his ukase that all such traf-
fic be stopped. l watched Haflz Effen-
di, but could discover nothing that
would lead me to believe he contem-
plated breaking the law. I saw him
with this man from Bokhara who calls
himself Milk, and when learned that
Biartelkis and Koura were missing l
suspected them. They denied having
anything to do with the crime. Ac-
cording to the brother of Hafiz, who
keeps coffee house, both of them
spent that night ut his place. There
was no one at the bazaar who could
tell where the proprietor had gone.
discovered that boat manned chiefly
by native sailors and captained by
Hassan, Turk, had left Tif1is during
the night. No one had seen the boat
depart, and there seemed to me some
thing mysterious in this. sent word
to Lieutenant Thokt, who at once start
ed to intercept the boat. The gunboat
overlook Hassan on the Caspian. He
had spoken a vessel with black ball,
but the persons on board evidently
wished to have nothing to do with
Hassan, for the black boat went away.
Lieutenant Thokt arrived In time 10
prevent the escape of Hassan. He can
tell himself what he did"
~ went on board" said Lieutenant
Thokt, land found Hassan In COM
mand and this other prisoner, evidently
as much In hurry to escape as Has
san. He said he was an American go
Ing to Astrakhan. The vessel had not
at any time been headed for the volga.
Hassan told me his story and the
American told me his. They agreed in
some respects, but differed in others.
] found Koura Blartelkis on board, q
prisoner. and brought her back to Ti1is
and arrested Hassan and the Ameri-
can"
20 great ones Of earthr' moaned
Hassan when called upon to speak for
himself. at is with trembling tongue
! attempt to tell even the truth, for
what am II What am I that I should
speak to such us thee? But 1t was a.
I said and as will say again. came
to the fair with my boat nlled with
rich stuffs to sell to the bazaars. did
well. excellencies, and made a profit
on my goods. but 1t does not pay to
hire sailors for two ways and carry
goods only one, SO l remained at ths
wharf waiting for a cargo to take to
Astrakhan, where knew there await
Cd me a valuable cargo to take to
Astrabad, but l waited too long, o
sxcellencies. and It came time for me-
to depart without a cargo.
"In preparing to leave Tihis discov-
cred some linen which l knew Igpatg
Biartelkis would purchase. could not
wait till morning. for then l could not
reach Astrakhan early enough to take
on my cargo. l went to the bazaar Of
Biartelkis and told him Of my discov-
~. Biartelkis was just closing his
bazaar, and when he heard of the linen
he and his daughter accompanied me
back to my boat. took them to my
cabin and set wine before them and
went to prepare the linen for e1amina-
ton. was suddenly attacked and
- ~ 80 I.AA
placed In my mouth. l heard the young
woman scream, but l could not 60 to
her assistance.
81 heard Biartelkis begging for mer-
e and some one talking to him. Then
some one took command of my boat,
and we moved down the river. 1 was
kept in ignorance for hours, your ex-
tonished to see two men on board that
I had never seen before One was q
tall man. looking like a Russian. and
the other was certainly an OsmanH
They informed me that unless and
my sailors did as was bid would
be killed. They did not release me,
but we kept on down the river. Just be-
fore we reached salain they left the
boat. They told me that Biartelkis had
agreed to the sale of his daughter to an
American who would board my boat
at 6alain and that l must take them
both to Astrakhan. They told me that
I would be watched and unless obey
ID would be killed. They said
could not go back to This without BE-
Ing murdered.
81 was afraid, your excellencies, and
did what they told me. At Salain, how
ever, 1t was not my intention to take
on the American. but to proceed until
I reached a Russian gunboat, whan l
would turn over the young lady. But
the American knew which boat she
was on, for he came out In small beat