The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-03-21
Copyright by
Dodd,
Mead % Co.

A
is. | think. as well.
''One word more. and this also you may
pass on to Melton. l have arranged with
the Austrian police authorities to connive
at the escape of Anna Tchigorin and by
now she should be at large My reason for
taxing what may appear an over-bold step
you VIII appreciate. She is fairly certain
TO make with all speed for the rendezvous
where that queen wasp the Princess is at
work and failing a clew through Delaval
i thought 1t well to provide a second. Anna
will be followed by two of our best men
from the moment of her leaving Jail at
Vienna.
Il think that that is all, my dear For
tescue-except to assure that if you do not
care about doing my little commission at
Boulogne, your refusal will place no strain
on our mutual relations. | shall know that
you refuse for good reason. The same man
who brings this will call for your reply to-
morrow, as | do no think we shall be seen
have eyes in Breslau. and they might see
enough In our meeting TO lead to complica-
tons If your reply is affirmative. /
shall send you a photograph of the Prin-
upon her; shall also wire to Melton to
meet you on arrival al Boulogne. We start
on Monday. via Gorlitz and Kiel. for Copen-
hagen. Communications to me at the latter
place should be addressed care of the Chief
of Police. Yours, ""
Fortescue threw himself back in his chair
70 consider. He would have assented to
voloorths request at once. but for one
thing. He had dined that evening at the
Baroness Won Lindberg's and Laura Met
calf had taken the earliest opportunity Of
drawing him aside.
Spencer, who is that man, Paul Vol
porth with whom you were walking when
you met us?" she asked.
He guessed what had happened but he
merely said
An old friend of mine-an official friend,
to speak. He is attached to the Tsars
suite TO chronicle the events of the tour,
he tells me-
Don't you believe him. then, Laura re-
L a.
police-at least lima says so, and she ought
to know See what she has written me-
She handed him note which had been
brought round from the Stadthaus late in
the afternoon. In it lima endeavored to
explain her sudden fainting ft and in doing
so limited plainly. but without mentioning
names, at the cause of the estrangement
between herself and Boris She even, con-
hded her suspicious of the terrible use that
was being made of her faithless lover, her
object being to warn Laura against the Mon
sieur Volborth, with whom she was dis
tressed TO see that Mr.. Fortescue was on
terms OF acquaintance. The letter wound up
with pathetic appeal to her dear Eng
lish friend to throw every obstacle in Vol
borth's way, and 10 persuade her lover to
do the same, in the event of one whom she
believed to be an aegnt of the Third Sec
ton using the weapon which Boris had
rashly placed in his hand. She was feel
ing better, lima said. but she would not be
able TO see Laura again till they met in
Scotland when she hoped that her warning
about Volborth would be more than ever
observed. She pledged herself to watch
Boris increasingly lest harm should come to
their Majesties through his folly, and her
loyalty might be depended on to sacrifice
him If necessary. But though all was over
between them. she was bent on saving him
from the terrible punishment that she
feared he had incurred already. if the Third
Section could get proofs
That Volborth must be an awful wretch"
Laura had said on his returning the let
ter. Il cannot understand the principle on
which you choose your friends-to know a
horrid sneak of a spy, and at the same time
to be chums with a nice old party like
Herr Wtnckel."
"VUlborth has been useful to me in my
work, had been Fortescue's evasive reply.
Well: you must promise me faithfully
not TO be useful TO him in his-so far as
II means bounding down Captain Dubrow-
ski. Laura had urged. Il don't despair of
bringing those two together again if l get
a fair chance in Scotland. You wouldn't
like TO think that good old Winckel and /
had pranced about at midnight with lot
or dynamite only TO have our trouble for
nothing. would you?"
Fortescue had at once given the assur-
ance that he would not assist Voiborth to
Dubrowsk's detriment. Not only was he
unable to resist the pleading of the brave
young face upturned TO his, but Laura's re-
quest was in accord with bis own feelings.
| Unmannerly cub and faithless lover as
Dubrowski had shown himself, Fortescue
had a truly English horror of taking a
mean advantage. and Volborth's policy to-
| wards the junior aid-de-camp seemed just
Russians don't have friends-among
! Russfans-or IT is a case where, say in
England, could this be possible there.
| word in season from an older man might
have clapped the brake on long ago." the
young attache had said to himself while
| trying to make allowances.
| So IL was that, as a man of honor he
| could not instantly decide to undertake the
| comm ssion at Boulogne. 1t was necessary
| first TO be quite certain that IL in no degree
| infringed his promise TO Laura and after
| due elaboration he concluded that IL did
| not Volborth already knew all there was
| TO know OF the use Of DubrOwskis name
| sage TO the English detective could neither
| benefit nor injure the object Of his and
| Laura's solicitude. Before going to bed
| he wrote a note asserting to Volborths re-
| quest.
| The same silent messenger called in the
morning for his reply. and returned shortly
! with photograph of Olga Palitzn, the one
| word Thanks" being scrawled on the flap
| of the envelope. That day being Sunday,
| there were no public functions, and For
| tescue spent the greater part of it with the
| Metcalfs, seeing nothing of Volborth till
| the Monday morning. when he caught a
| glimpse of him in one of the carriages con-
veying the departing Russian visitors to
the station. The agent of the section ap-
peared to have no deeper design on hand
| than the amusement of Countess VaSsili,
whose shaking shoulders testified to the
| and preoccupied, and Boris defiant; but
| they were not in the same carriage.
| An hour later Fortescue and the Met
calls were themselves en- route, and, travel
! ing via Berlin, reached Paris at noon next
day. There, as previously arranged, they
took rooms at the Grand for the night,
| Lady MetcaIf enjoying a well-earned rest
| at the hotel, while the two young people
| crammed as much Paris as was possible
into their afternoon and evening.
Wednesday morning broke wet and
| stormy, and Lady Metcalf, who was had
sailor" was more than half inclined to re-
| main in Paris another day. Fortescue.
| however. knowing that Inspector Melton
would meet the train at Boulogne, persuad-
| weather did not moderate they could put
up at Boulogne till the morrow
| They were early at the Rue de Dunkerque,
| and Lady Metcalf, with a Scotswoman S
| antipathy to extra payments, disdaining a
| coupe, ForteScue secured seats in a vacant
| first-class carriage. Having done his best
10 preserve their privacy by giving the
| guard liberal pour-boire. he left the ladies
! while he went TO exchange greetings with a
! Foreign Office colleague whom he had seen
| in carriage further up the train. Here he
stood chatting till the starting bell warned
him that IL was time TO hurry back TO his
| own seat
| On approaching the compartment he was
surprised TO see Laura with her head and
shoulders out of the window, not looking
| in his direction, but toward the barrier
where a shabby little man i'm a frayed cloak
was parleying with a railway official Just
little man was permitted 70 pass on to the
platform. ana, running TO the train, began
to peer into the carriages
Jump in, Spencer. were Just off, said
| Laura, standing aside for him 10 enter but
Immediately resuming her place at the win