The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-10-08

IS HERE is a difficult web waiting
for you 10 unravel this time
Sir Edward began, as he re-
oeiVed me in his private room. Il cam
NOT strictly cali it an official affair. ]
nave taken It up and promised to DO
what l could 10 oblige an old friend
personally. 1 can do little or nothing
nut II you like 10 undertake the case
! can promise you that your services
VIII be most handsomely rewarded"
VIII you give me q few particulars
nrst?' / asked cautiously
The friend of whom / have spoken
IS Russian official of some distinction.
nut his position is not equal TO his ann
bition. He is Of "a restless. eager tenn
permanent, and is noe content To plOd
on slowly TO success. He wishes 10
carry the situation by a coup de main.
III he could give some valuable nfOr-
NATION to his gOverRment-s0meth
That would show he WAS "a man of UNI
usual capacity and resource-his for
tune would be made.
My friend has been on the watch
Tor such a chance for years. ara at
last he has hit on something, which.
II he could carry il through, would
give him all-and mOre-than he has
dared TO hope II would prove his
zeal and ability and could not fail TO
make him a persona gratissima at
court"
I looked up inquiringiy.
To our matter of fact notions the
scheme may seem a little wild and
theatrical, but perhaps We err ON the
side OF being Oyer-practical, a little
Imagination widens the horizon. Brief
~, then, Monsieur BouteneH has set
his heart on obtaining some papers be-
longing 10 a secret society giving de-
tails of plots against the government
They were I'm the possession of Count
DOnhoff, the notorious conspirator.
year ago, but Bouteneff has good rea~
son TO believe they We're never given
into anyone else's charge
And this Count DoHhoff where is
he now? Cannot Monsieur Boutenen
lay his hands ON him."
He has disappeared completely.
Donhoff was on the point OF being an
rested az ST. Petersburg when he made
his escape, and from that time 10 this
no one has ever seen or heard any
thSg of him. 10 is most complete
and mysterious disappearance lie WAS
conspicuous figure, both by reason
of his rank and his personal appear
auce, which was striiungly handsome.
He was a blonde giant OF over six feet,
With the bearing of q prince. and the
ambition Of Lucifer. Not a man TO
mde-OT be hidden-aWay in any hole
or corner you See,
And if be has disappeared SO COM
pletely for SO lons, why should Mon
sieur Bouteuen think there is any
chance OF finding him now?'
HE has been working on this scheme
for months and at last he has diScOV-
cred that Donhofi made his ESCAPE. on
q Russian brig-the SOnia-Which was
hound for the far north on d trading
expedition i'm skins and furs. As far as
he can ascertain-and on this point he
is practically pOsitive-the brig never
returned; it seems TO have vanished as
completely as the man. BOuteneff has.
however. obtained information which
leads him 10 believe that the vessel
might have been caught in an iCe-f1Oe
and frozen up. She was too far north
for the time of year, and when she was
last spoken in Davis strait she COM
planned of being hampered by the
drifting ice"
Ia am scarcely prepared to under
take an expedition TO the north pole on
such a vague chance" / said.
1T is hardly as bad as that Sir
Edward replied. with a smile. TAX
ing IL for granted, as BOuteneI does,
that the brig has been frozen up ali
the winter i'm Davis Strait. where she
would be shut of from amy outside
communication. he is of opinion that
unless she has already gone 10 pieces
there may be a chance of her being
released with the warmer weather,
which is now approaching. Ia which
case he has worked out, by studying
the tides and currents, she would
k.r. 81
j cannot give you the scientific eN-
PLANTATION he gave mel have not his
lmOWledge-but l think YOU may rely
on his facts and premises.
But what then, has become of the
Count and his companions" l asked.
Has Monsieur BOutenen formulated
some theory TO account for their dis
appearance"
He presumes that they would nat
urally have stayed on the vessel a.
long as there was any chance of sucCoT
o. OF The ice relaxing its grip. bal
when this hope was gone, and the long
Arctic winter stared them i'm the face
with death from starvation or cold.
they would abandon the ship and make
a struggle TO reach land and find some
human habitatiOn. Such il struggle al
such a region would be almost hopeless
from the beginning. particularly for
man like the Count who had never
rOushed it. The probability is that all
the crew have peTished-paJticUl
as nothing has been heard of any one
Of them-but / think it may be taken
for granted that Donhoff is dead"
IN which case" I said, what be-
comes of any chance Of recovering the
paDeTs2"
"BOuteueff maintains-and i'm this /
-. a. ID
that the Count would have burdened
himself with any but absolute ueces-
saries on such a difficult and dangerous
undertaking as an attempt TO reach
land. He would probably consider the
documents safer on board than on his
person, for an ice-bOund ship should
surely make a secure hiding-place."
You do not think it likely he would
have destroyed any discriminating
writings during the voyage or before
leaving the Vessef+"
IT should say not. from what Bout
eneff tells me. There must have been
some papers of Importance which
could not be replaced, and by means
OF which the sOcitey could keen It's
hold on any members whose enthusi-
asm for the Cause showed signs %
abdting. Besides. Donhoff was careless
10 the verge of Tecklessness. If he had
had time he might have destroyed any
dangerous matter when it came 10
leaving the ship, bat the probability is
that they left in haste al the last, and
the horrible death that stared them Ia
the face would have occupied all their
attention"
What was The name of the society,
do you know 90
The Hidden Hand, siguifying. /
reilly and in the dark IT is a most
dangerous and powerful association,
consisting chiefly OF members Of the
upper classes with money OF influence,