New-York tribune., 1905-06-11


and the rebel leader
There are times in a mans life if the man be of
the dominant type. when anger be so over
whclning that he remains outwardlv calm. so with
Prince Melnikoff when he found how he had been
overreaChcd
Nalletort natural anxiety to meet his daughter,
and Lord Carlinghams ready acceptance of any
means which brought him to his sister played into
the hands Of the insurgents Now they had four
important hostages instead of two, and Ivan
not slow to point out this fact.
In his communication he asked the Prince to
cement The fortunes of their house by carrying out
the compact made by his father,
Once You are married to Natushla,' y he wrote
the warning clements Will be united. Had not
YOUR father and mine been a dishonorable man, this
feud would have been healed generation ago Now
i must cease. / have cured Your madness by we'd
ding this English girl to the young officer who 50
fortunately appeared from Moscow. Do YOU prove
yourself capable of abandoning folly and give Ma
tlshka position which hers bv right and should
be hers by law If there was law in Russia
\ postscript had the significant words: The
affair OF your servant, Livansi, Will be attended
to"
The Prince, whose terrible wrath was masked by
a hardly perceptible palor turned to the Cossack
officer. Know YOU anything of the contents OF
these letters - he asked.
No. excelenCv. l feared to return without
the English gentlemen. When they sided with that
written statements. l trust that they have borne
out my words:'
Yes I hold YOU blarneless. How many hours
ride Is this mine distant:
About two and half hours, eXcellency.
Assemble every armed man in the castle. Let
forage and food for three days be brought. Send
q messenger TO the camp for three MaXims and a
couple OF tied-guns. There must be no delay You
understand,
The officer did grasp one part Of the Princes
intent There was be fighting. and quickly He
saluted and vanished.
Boris Mclnikoff was the parting Of the ways
From small beginnings the domestic disturbances IN
his life had grown suddenly into affair OF national
irllportanCe-the cloud no bigger than a hand had
swollen into ternptst-and he. the Governor OF
Province, saw his projects wrecked and his career
threatened by number OF ignorant rustlcs led
by a fanatic.
He had hesi,ated too long. II Errnyntrude and
the Others Though he refused to credit the absurd
statement that she already was married to Arm
strong left the country fugltvcs, the resultant
scandal would reach imperial circles. In Russia, II
anywhere in the world, the eleventh commandment
holds swav-if one Is rich and nobly born, and
sufficiently far away from ST. Petersburg. he
may do as he likes, but he must not be found out
II was high time he drew the sword IN earnest.
Old ties must be roughly broken. What sword
and rifle began, the hangman should complete
Il was well known TO him that the mountain
STRONGHOLD Of his ancestor inpregnablc under
ordinary conditions. Yet he smiled gr1nly when
his officers told him that he would court disaster to
attempt penetrate the recesses OF the mine with
out guides while artillery was useless against a
rrcciuice three hundred feet high.
For large body OF troops to approach the clt
itself would REQUIRE the labor Of months The
whole valley was crarnmed with the thorn thlckets
for which the district famous FIFTY miles
away q convict settlement needed guards only at
the main gates. No prisoner could escape at any
+ her -I-t because OF these tlOrnV barriers. Mel