, 1904-07-27

time ago OF not loving as you 40. itt
you sit calmly here and say you would
go to Tifis to ask permission to rescue
the girl you claim to love-"
81 am a soldier of the car"
"Verily you are. and well have you
learned your lesson. l am a soldier OF
commerce.. and love 1t. but | would
consider neither trade nor honor nor
citizenship against the chance of saw
ing the girl | love. To the deuce with a
patriotism that destroys love. Orskof.
do your duty! If you feel that 1t Is
your duty to take me and the robbers
to Tifis. do so. and forever bid fare
well to Koura Biartelkis."
"But what car | do? The girls are
by this time perhaps on Bokharan soil.
1t is against the orders of the car for
a Russian soldier to step foot In that
country"
'Tifis is several days journey from
here; Bokhara but n shor distance.
Somewhere. in the clutches Of the 30
kharans, are the girls you and | love.
Your duty calls you to desert them In
their need; mine calls upon me to die
for them II necessary. Rather than let
you take me back to Tiflis I'll fight you
to the DEATH"
Orskoff stared. Harvey turned and
resumed his walk. He took several
turns and closely watched Orskoff. The
Russian was deeply thinking, his brow
knitted in perplexity.
"Stopr' he commanded suddenly as
Harvey reached him again. "You sell
windmills. To no one save those who
employ you do you owe allegiance
You come and go al you see fit. You
are shrewd and brave and take your
wares to all countries and run risks OF
death to promote the commercial inter
ests of the company. You have spoken
of your love. Under the whiplash Of
your tongue l am torn In halves with
the bitterest conflict of my life. | have
led my company in battle and have
faced the enemy without a tremor, but
that is nothing compared to the hell
that Is surging In my breast now. In
me, In this breast, there Is a conflict
that overshadows anything In my ex-
perience."
II don't understand" said Harvey.
you would understand If you were
a man In love. Remember, l am per-
my duty when l place you un-
der arrest and take you back to Ti1is.
You are a condemned prisoner who has
escaped. With your innocence or guilt
have nothing to do. 1t is my duty to
take those robbers to Tifis, and it Is
not my duty to permit one of them to
talk. Yet, as against this duty, the
girl l love is in the hands Of the Bo-
kharans. You, the man who is most
wanted in Tifis, and these robbers are
the only men on earth who can help
me. For, once the girls are on Bokharan
soil, I am helpless"
"Helpless?"
81 cannot stir regiments to cross the
The order must come from st.
Petersburg. By the time we get that
order the girls will be married to the
princes"
''That Is what l have been striving to
show you-the uselessness of your
duty in this case. | claim your duty is
to go after the girls"
Impossible! There Is a secret corps
for such work. l am not a soldier once
off Russian soil unless sent there"
"Who asked you to be a soldier? Come
with me. Let US rescue the girls. Alma
has really committed a crime, l sup
pose, but we must risk the danger of
Tifis. I'll take care of that part when
we get the girls"
you would try to escape-would
even try to kill me to escape"
Nonsense. If you will assist in res
cuing the girls and let Alma Jurnieff
escape, | will go back to Tihis with you
and take my medicine"
you would risk death and disgrace
for the girl you loye?"
Eyes. I'd risk hell for the girl l
love"
"That is love! That is love! 1t is as
I feel myself. Let me think What a
problem for a "a to solve!"
He abruptly left Harvey, who sat
down, preferring to let Orskoff work
out the problem himself. Orskoff paced
gravely up and down, never once look
ing at Harvey.
Have you a plan?" he asked sud
denly, stopping before Harvey.
Give me your answer to the prob
lem you have set out to solve, and /
will give you the plan I have thought
Of"
Again that m%onotonous pacing up
and down the deck. 1t seemed to Irons
as though the Russian was growing
older looking each moment. Again the
feyerish eyes and working lips. 1t