The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-03-31

Catrina Gcspised all men but one.
! That one she worshiped. she lived
night and day with one great desire,
beside which heaven and hell were
/ mere words. Neither the hope of tie
one nor the fear of the other in any
way touched or affected her desire.
j She wanted to make Paul Alexis love
| her, and, womanlike, she chung to the
one womanly charm that was hers, the
wonderful golden hair.
Srddcn!.: she stopped plat
| leaped to her feet. She did not go to
! the window. but stood listening beside
the piano. The beat of horses hoofs
! on the narrow road was distinctly au-
dible hollow and sodden us is the
| sound Of wooden road 1t came near
er and nearer. and a certain unsteadi-
ness indicated that the horse was tired.
Il thought he might have come" she
whispered, and she sat down breath
| lessiy
| When the servant came into the
room few minutes later Catrina was
at the piano.
| Il
maid.
/ Lay it on the table, answered Ca
trina without looking round. she was
: playing the closing bars Of a nocturne.
She rose slowly, turned and seized
the letter as starving man seiZes
food There was something almost
wolf-like in her eyes.
"Steinmetz" she exclaimed, reading
the address. "Stcinmetz. Oh. why
won't he write to me-"
She tore open the letter, read it and
stood holding it in her hand, looking
out over the trackless pine woods with
absorbed, speculative eyes. The sun
had Just set. The farthcst ridge of pine
trees stood out like the teeth of saw
| in black relief on the rosy sky. Catri-
ma Lanovitch watched the rosiness
fade into pearly gray.
Thors lay groaning under the scourSc
of cholera, and the Countess Lanoyitch
shut herself within her stone walls,
shivering with fear. begging her
daughter to return to st. Petersburg.
1t was nearly dark when Karl Stein
metz and the Moscow doctor rode into
the little village to find the starosta, a
simple Russian farmer, awaiting them.
Steinmetz knew the man and imme-
diately took command of the situation
with that unquestioned sense of au-
thority which in Russia places the
BARN on much the same footing as
| that taken by the Anglo-Indian in an
eastern empire.
"Now. starosta'' he said, Eve have
only an hour to spend in Thors. This
is the Moscow doctor. If you listen to
what he tells you, you will soon have
no sickness in the village. The worst
houses tirst-and quickly. You need
not be afraid, but if you do not care to
come in you may stay outside
- AS they walked down the struggling
village street the Moscow doctor told
the starosta in no measured terms, as
was his wont, wherein lay the heart OF
the sickness. Here, as in Osterno, dirt
and neglect were at the base of all the
trouble. ats
The starosta prudently remained out
side the first house to which lie intro
duced TIE visitors. Paul went fearless
" in, while Steinmetz stood in the door
way, holding open the door.
AS he was standing there he rercciv-
ed Pickering light approaching him.
| The light was evidently that of an or
binary hand lantern, and from the
swinging motion it was easy to divine
that it was being carried by some one
who was walking quickly.
"Who is this?" asked Ste;nmctz.
"It is likely to be the Countess Ca
trina, eXcelency."
Does she visit the cottages?" asked
Steinmctz sharply.
"Shc does, God be with her! She has
no fear. She is an angel. Without her
we should all be dead"
''She won't visit this if can help it.
muttered SteinmetZ.
The light flickered along the road
toward them. In the course of q few
minutes it fell on the stricken cottage,
on the starosta standing in the road,
on Steinmetz in the doorway.
''Herr Steinmetz. is that your asked
n voice deep and musical in the dark
ness.
"At your command" answered Stein
metz, without moving.
Catrina came ND to him. She was
clad in long dark cloak. n dark hat
and wore no gloves. She brought with
her clean aromatic odor of disn-
fectants. She carried the lantern her
self, while behind her walked man
servant in livery, with large basket
in either hand.
at is good of you" she said. "to
come to Us in our need, also to per
suade the good doctor to come with
you. May l go in?''
She looked I'D at him. expecting him
to step aside and allow her to pass into
the cottage but Steinmetz stood quite
still. looking down at her with his
pleasant smile. He did not move.
81 think not. This Moscow man is
eccentric. He likes to do good sub
rosa. He prefers to be alone"
Catrina tried to look into the cot
tage, but Karl Steinmetz, as we know.
was fat and filled up the whole door
way.
There was little pause. From the
interior of the cottage came the MUIR
INJURED gratitude Of the peasants, bro
ken at times by a wall of agony-the