Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1904-03-19
The Secret Dispatch
BY JAMES GRANT
CHAPTER NJ.

sr. W -, = ., - A., u,.,.
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Wy o. w" W." -. .,.i,., ,to N,y,
ess .u', "' To-, and
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VI ~" ~. !, ,.,,,,J 4. hr;,t ,he
60. ...,,,,, 4. .,,,,,. ,,nr hu,,Irod yards |
.o.,.,,'. e.. ,s,i,, aro 10 .,nno n,,ss;ve,
.l., s,,, Gov, T., haic,i,, ,orn,;,o,iny In
sn..,'',, H All ,,,r,n,a y, on,;,mo form.
,r,,. ,,n..n "." ,,';a 49,, 4. i,v a iony
drawhr;dye'
The guar, which kcpt this formidable
state nrison whore many n homeless sigh
wns waited ,hrouuh the rusty bars of its
or;son uri,ios ,cross tbe waters of In
,,opo. was composcd entirely of n body of
,iismounted cossocks selected for the
nurnosc ns tho task Of kccpinr or seclud.
inc tho jcthroncd Empcror Ivan was
ono of M snail responsibility and i'm.
portancc.
A guard of these men received Bal
gonie at the gate and drawbri,lgc with
a profound military salutc and pictur.
esque aspect they presented, as their
arms flashed In the murky light of the
great oil lantern that swung in the dark,
weird and decp-mouthed nrchway.
The great masses Of the fortress,
ghostly and shrouded, with faint red
lights cleaning out here and there; the
enormous strength of the gates. together
with the difficulties he experienced IN
procuring admission. all served to i'm
press unpleasantly OH the mind Of Charlie
Bnlgonie u state of extreme watchful-
ness, of suspicion. and mistrust; and
also sense of vast responsibility or the
charge confided by Catherine 10 Colonel
bernikOf.
That gallant officer and cstimnble per-
sonage had retired long since, and Lieu
tenant Tschekin informed Balgonie,
would be quite invisible till breakfast
time tomorrow. when the dispatch
would be delivered to him; and a sigh
Of real annoyance escaped Charlie when
he found that this odious paper was to be
yet some eight hours or more In his
secret pocket.
lie repnircd 10 the officers runrdroom
nj the barrier gate md there wropped
I'm his clook. Inv down 70 sleep. and II
oossih,c IN droom NJ Natalie. hnt ho had
Undergone too much toll for such pcntle
phontasms. 40 no slcnt like n dormousc
I'm the sun was high in heaven, unuwok.
encJ even by tho deem boom of the morn.
inu cun. os II ncnicd across the Lake of
Indora: bur ultimately no was reused by
Tscbekin and CAPTAIN vIosiief. n very
handsome Young man, but cruel and
heartless. whom ultimately he dctested.
These. after shaking hands heartily, an.
nounced that Colonel BcrnikoT awaited
him nt breakfast and was not In mood
to brook much delay.
His misty toilet WINS soon complctc.
and he was speedily ushercd into a plain.
almost naked whitewnshed ana rtment
nrched with stone Hero. Mt n table Of
main NcmcI timber. destitute of cloth.
hut on which massive silver vessels with
rmdolv formed wooden bowIs md Mat.
tors were oddly interminrled. Was scented
tho Governor.
"Hnil m you--I wish Won health" soid
Bcrnikoff. conrtcously enough. In The old
Russian fashion. nnI prcscn,inp his bnnd
IN Charlie. who took II. shudderinr ns
no remembered the fate OF Peter IN:
"welcome 10 Schlusselburr. Captain
lyonoyitcb Ba,ronie."
Rcrnikofr. who wore n dirk green mn.
dress uniform faced with scarlet. was n
man well up In years; he had fierce and
shining black eyes that made soldier
and serf alike quail beneath their gaze;
yet they were small, cunning and twink
ling eyes, the lnshcs OF which were half
closed-the eyes OF one who could net
the cruel tyrnnt on one hand and the
bringing slave on the other.
"seot vourso,s contoin. md nroceed
N breakfost willis I reod your dis.
no,ch !" soi1 ,ho yoverpor ar ia from,
T,nthnrine Christianownn herself! THE
Cyorina IL rrent. but heaven ia hipher!''
ha "IIad nIocin, rho noner on his fore.
hoo% ny ha howed oyor r.. and then tok.
,r~ an .normons pinch NJ .nrty ba nro.
"asd"S =" naruso Tint docmn,"nt which
Ma ,,.,vod ~ swch tro,hlo % Tho h"or
m" avos or Ro,vonie TschoLin and
v,.s8ef who nlons were present. were
6xed inauiringly upon him, and they
could see that the contents disturbed him
greatly; he grew pale and flushed by
turns: his brOws contracted 10 a terrible
frown; a red spark Of light glittered In
his eyes. and his lips were compressed
"Ah. the Asiatics! the accursed Asiat.
icv!' he muttcred. This 10 most oppro.
brious epithet In Russia, and excited
some surprise In his hearers.
ia ca,asu,,v folded thu disnatch. and
tr,rinc sterniv IN Charlie. who wns
Ss.nIno Ma .ve. IN MIN. and drinkin0
~. 800. ,ho while no .o;d.
"Ivanovitch R.ioonis there 4. . s..,h,
.. In Tho ss"l-ths u.nsI sion ~ hasts
among us here In Russia; vet you have