Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-07-29
A RUSSIAN woRkMAN's PERIL.
tOriginaLl

the fOotboard and was helped by the
guard into one OF the compartments.
Opposite me sat man. evidently in
a humble walk of life, who watched
eagerly the one who boarded the train,
leaned out of the window when he
was helped into the compartment, then
fell back on the cushion white as Il
sheet.
Dangerous attempt" l remarked.
THE fellow might have been killed"
My vis-a-vis made no reply for some
time. Then he said eagerly:
This train makes no stop for over
an hour, l believer"
You are right"
Then it will he dark"
Right again"
Another silence followed, during
which the man sat revolving some
question in his mind Finally. looking
me straight in the eyes, he said:
You do not recognize me, superin-
tendenty"
Il do not"
Il am one OF the workmen in the
factory
"SoE'
Yes. | am Ivan Sviazhski"
'One of the men who got up the re-
cent petition to the czarE"
Yes. They are after me. That man
who boarded the train is one of the
police. As soon as the train stops he
will arrest me. Then there remain for
me the horrors of Siberia"
He had known that l sympathiZed
with GIe Russian workmen-in indeed,
that sympathy was one of the reasons
for my leaving husband had con-
iided IN me for this reason. l wished
/ could help him, but saw no way. l
would have given him my passport,
but he told me he was known to the
police and could not pass as another
man. His plan was to risk death by
jumping from the train as soon as it
was dark. l did not think there was
one chance in a hundred for him III
this course and told him so, but failed
to move him.
AS soon as IL was dark he climbed
out Of the window and. standing on
the fOotboard, babe me goodby and
walked away from the window. 1
looked after him till he disappeared in
the darkness, then. drawing in my
head, sat and thought about him till
the train made the first stop.
There It was surrounded by the pO-
lice who had doubtless been telegraph
ed, and every passenger was examined
critically. The man they looked for
was not to be found. The police. con
Guiding that he had jumped from the
train, gave up the search, permitted US
TO proceed. and l suppose went back
over the road to discover the result
l knew that there was no time that
the train had not speeded SO fast that
the man must have been killed, and ON
the way kept thinking Of his mangled
body lying by the track. could not
sleep and was glad when morning
came and We reached the border.
At the station there l was going into
a dining room TO get breakfast when
l was stopped by railroad hand whom
took for locomotive fireman.
Are you the American superintend
entE' he asked
Il suppose So l replied, puzzled.
Come with me"
In u twinkIing it occurred to me that
he might have news OF the man L was
interested in. and l followed him, he
keeping some distance ahead of me. He
took me q few hundred yards up the
road, where stood locomotive. The en-
gincer was cleaning his engine, and one
or two oilers were gaping at the ma
chine. The man l had followed glanced
at them meaningly. and / knew we
must wait for them to go away. When
the last one had gone the fireman-for
such he was-g got up into the tender
and whispered something to some one,
could not tell whom, for there was
nothing there SO far as could see but
coal Then he beckoned me TO climb
up and, removing lump of coal. ex-
posed a mans face. the face of Ivan
Sviazhski.
II was plain to me that SyiaZhski
had walked along the fOOtboard 10 the
tender, climbed over il and, finding
sympathetic laborers in the engineer
and fireman, they had concealed him
under the coal. He had sent for me
hoping that | would furnish him with
means to 60 to America and find en-
ployment for him when he arrived
there. l placed some money in the
hands of the engineer for him and APP
pointed place Of meeting provided
he could get safely ont of Russian
territory. l left him still in an uncom-
Portable position under the coal-for
the time had not come when he could
be released without too great a risk
waited at the rendezvous. and as
he did not appear / feared tlrNt after
all he had been captured. made up
my mind to write what knew about
him TO his family and proceed on my
way when | was told that there was
an old man at the door OF the hotel |
who wished TO see me. went out,
thinking that he might be nv man
disguised, but on seeing him could
see not the slightest resemblance. He
fooled me for several minutes befsre )