The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-03-15
By a Hairs Breadth nS 80; Z o. s'
Dealing with Life
Secre
y III e a d O N Hill

returned to the Hofburg. and he should
be safe there.r
Him. You forget the Russian chorus
this evening. replied Volborth thought
fully. Il wish that Franz Josef's interna-
tional courtesy could have spared US that
anxiety
do not make yourself uneasy" said
Restofski. Il contrived 10 get a sight of
the names of our fellow-countrywomen
who have been rehearsing, and 1 have since
seen them all personally. They are per-
fectly satisfactory"
There was TO be a concert in the evening
in the private theatre of the Hofburg pal
cae, and the allusion was to a feature in the
programme about which there had been
some misgivings in the minds of those re-
sponsible for the Tsar's safety. The per-
Torrance was to commence with the sing
ing of the Russian national hymn by Rus
sian ladies resident in Vienna.
1t being time to don evening dress, the
two colleagues returned separately to Hof-
burg, Restofsk to snatch a hasty meal
the Court function, and Volbroth to attend
the dinner of the Austrian and Russian
suites which preceded il. At the table he
perceived that lima was, or affected to be-
in exceptionally high spirits. Her fair race
looked radiant. She rallied Boris his
unexpected turn of duty, as If there were
no cloud between them; she chartered of
her experiences in the Art Galleries; and
she even addressed Volbroth i'm a breezy
vein which suggested that the incident
OF the morning was forgiven or forgotten.
Yet in all this eaiety there was a feverish
note which, taken in conjunction with one
other point, puzzled Volbroth not little.
He noticed that long after they were seated,
whenever a servant entered the room she
cast furtive glances at the door as though
she were watching for some one who never
came; and this the more strange be-
cause with one exception-not to include
the higher officers of state dining with the
Imperial party-all the members of the
suite were present. The one exception was
Restofski
What can the beautiful enigma want
with my colleague?" unused Volborth as
for the twentieth time her eyes sought the
opening door. to droop suddenly when only
a servant entered.
At the close of the dinner the Russian
guests, together with the Austrian suite,
were ushered by the court chamberlain to
the concert hall of the palace. The stage
at the upper end was as yet yelled by the
Venus and Adonis act-drop; but as the
brilliant throng trooped in, the electric
lights were turned up showing the walls
gaily decorated with flags and the floor
converted into fairyland of exotic plants
and flowers The front row of chairs near
est the footlights reserved for the Imper-
ial party, vacant. The other seats
were quickly filled by the expectant cour-
tiers.
Suddenly-sign that Franz Josef and his
visitors were about to enter the orchestra
glided into the sweet strains of the Aus
TRAN national anthem, and the curtain
rose slowly. disclosing the ladies who were
to sing the Russian chorus. They were
ranged in two rows facing each other on
| either S1Ue Oh the StdBe, anu III was KNOWN
| that at a given signal they would wheel
| toward the footlghts till they formed one
| line facing the audience.
At the moment of the raising of the
curtain, Volborth, from a chair at the ex-
IRENE end of a row, was watching Restof-
ski who, leaning against one of the col
umnS at the side of the hail. was in the
| act of taking a letter from a footman.
Turning his eyes to the superior attrac-
| tons of the stage. Volborths gaze was in
tercepted and brought back to his subor-
dinate by the sight of lima, who sitting
two rows in front of him, was staring
with untold horror at Restofski. The lat
| ters expression as he read the letter was
| the counterpart of that on the face of the
maid of honor.
| At that moment the audience rose in
age TO the central lane up which the tall
| figure of the Austrian Emperor was seen
advancing with the Queenly Tsarina on
| his arm, and the pale young Tsar escorting
| the Empress behind Volborth's glance
swept from them to the stage.
There, at the far end of the right-hand
| row of singers in such a position that
| In the center of the line Immediately oppo-
| site to, and not ten feet from the Tsar,
stood handsome woman, at the sight of
whom In that place even Volborth's iron
nerve quaied. Like the others of the cho-
| rus this singer was in evening dress, and,
holding the music before her, she kept her
| eyes demurely downcast-except for one
| brief flash. the Imperial personages
! neared their seats.
| deliberately disguised as she was with
| bl6hde wig and false complexion, IL was
only by the eyes that Nolborth recognized
| her-the fierce eyes of Anna Tchigorin,
| the Nihilist.