The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-10-01

half, service for which they would be
handsomely paid.
The arrival of six bottles of first-rate
Tokay gave all the confirmation to my
words that was required. AS the wine
vanished down their throats, the gip-
sizes laid aside all reserve, and freely
impaired to me what information they
possessed.
They told me, in the first place, that
the six batteries I was tracing were
within few yards Of us, skillfully
hidden among the trees. Their arrival
brought the force designed for the occu-
patton of Galicia up to total strength
Of $4,000 men and seventy-two guns, all
of whom had been secretly brought
across the frontier at different points
during the last few days, and were now
ready to move in concert as soon as the
signal was given, and overrun the I'M
prepared province.
Vast conveys of provisions were be-
ing held in readiness on the Russian
side Of the frontier, and second army
of 100000 men was to be secretly mo-
bilized in and around Warsaw, ready
to come to the support of the first, in
the event Of serious resistance on the
part Of the Austrian government.
This last item rested on hearsay, but
the presence of two army corps on Ga
lician soil was fact for which nv in
formants wer able to vouch from their
own observation. The fact was known
to every smuggler along the Galician
frontier, and yet, so profuse were the
brides they had received, and so
perfect was. their secrecy, that not the
slightest hint had been suffered to
reach the Austrian government.
j. ]. j.
4. I spent some hours Of the most agon-
izing suspense I have ever known, in
the company of these drunken out
get away. Their suspicious, or, rather,
their natural distrustfulness, caused
them to raise all sorts. of objections to
my departure. It was only by swear
ing on the sacred pentagram that no
hair Of their heads should ever be i'm
periled by any action of mine, that I
was able to tear myself away.
When I got out on the high road
again, at the spot where l had left my
it was no longer there. I turned at
haphazard in the direction of the from
tier post. AS soon as I came in sight
of the Russian guardhouse, I saw, to
my delight, my car standing on the
road in front of the door, with a
group Of interested soldiers curiously
inspecting every part of it.
Now the car happened to be a Pan
hard, Of the most powerful construc-
ton yet turned out by the famous
French firm.
I strolled up carelessly, greeted the
astonished soldiers in broken Russian,
and asked them if they were familiar
with the machine. The lieutenant of
the post, man in education and In
telligence below the level of an English
sergeant, hustled out and began ques-
tioning me, with the evident intention
OF ordering my arrest.
/ handed him my passport to read, a
process which takes some time with an
illiterate Russian officer, and went or
explaining the mechanism of the cal
to the inquisitive soldiers. Finally
came to the driving power.
And now, my friends,o said, "1
will show you how. the car is pro
PEELED. Stand back clear Of the wheels
il you please, You see this lever.
sstay,'' a shouted tie l. the he officer, divin
ing the danger in this demonstration.
He spoke too late. AS my hanc
grasped the lever, I vaulted into thu
car, and before the excited soldiers re
allied that it was under way, the Pan
hard was tearing towards the BOUNDARY
line at the rate of twenty-five miles al
hour.
The Russian sentry ran out into tn,
middle Of the road to stop me. He wa
poor peasant, perhaps from the bank
Of the Volra, who must have though
that the Evil One himself was upo1
him. saw his face blanch. and al
most heard the chattering Of his teeth
but he did not finch from his duty.
4 rode right over him, and [ am sorry t,
say that I believe he was killed.
The Austrian sentry simply fire,
of his gun as warning to hi