The Aberdeen Democrat. (Aberdeen, South Dakota) 1???-1909, 1905-02-03

oeAS NN
NOR which was sometimes his. Come,
let us drag him beneath that pine tree
and ride on to Tver. We shall do no
good, my dear Alexis, wasting our time
over the possible antecedents Of a gen.
tleman who for reasons OF his own is
silent on the subject"
Paul rose from the ground. His
movements were those of a strong and
supple man, one whose muscles had
never had time to grow stiff. He was
an active man, who never hurried.
Standing thus upright lie was very tall,
nearly a giant. Only in st. Petersburg,
OF all the cities Of the world, could he
expect to pass unnoticed, the city of
tall men and plain N He rubbed
his two hands together in a singularly
professional manner which sat amiss
on him.
What do you propose doing?" he
asked. you know the laws of this
country better than do"
Steinmetz scratched his forehead
with his forefinger.
Our theatrical friends, the police"
he said, ARE going to enjoy this. Sup.
pose we prop him up sitting against
that tree-no one will run away with
hlm-and lead his horse into Tver. l
will give notice to the police, but l will
not do so until you are in the st. Pc
tersburg train. l will. Of course, give
them to understand that your princely
mind could not be bothered by such
details as this; that you have proceed
ed Oh your journey"
II do not like leaving the poor beg.
gar alone all night" said Paul. "There
may be wolves-the crows in the early
morning."
Bah! That is because you are so
soft hearted. My dear fellow, what
business is it of ours if the universal
laws of nature are Illustrated upon
this unpleasant object? We all live
on each other. The wolves and the
crows have the last word. Come, let
us carry him to that tree"
The two living men carried the name
less, unrecognizable dead to a resting
place beneath a stunted pine a few
PAGES removed from the road. They
laid him decently at full length, cross
ing his soil begrimed hands over his
breast, tying the handkerchief down
over his face.
Then they turned and left him alone
In that luminous night-a waif that had
fallen by the great highway without
q word, without a sign; a half run race,
a story cut off in the middle, for he was
a young man still. His hair, all dusty,
draggled and blood stained, had no
streak Of gray; his hands were smooth
and youthful. There was a vague sus-
p1cion Of sensual s%oftness about his
body, as if this might have beer a
man who loved comfort and ease, who
had always chosen the primrose path.
Of self denial. The incipient stoutness
of limb contrasted strangely with the
drawn meagerness of his body, which
was contracted by want of food. Paul
Alexis was right. This man had died
Of starvation within ten miles Of the
great Volga, within nine miles Of the
outskirts of Tver, a city second to
Moscow and once her rival. Therefore
1t could only be that lie had purposely
avoided the dwellings Of men, that he
was a fugitive of some sort or another.
Pauls theory that this was an English
man had not been received with en-
thusiasm by Steinmetz, but that phi
l0sopher had stopped to inspect the
narrow, telltale fingers. Steinmetz, be
it noted, had an infinite capacity for
holding his tongue.
Thnu mounted fhoir horcoo nrH rr1n
away without looking back, but they
did not speak, as if each were deep in
his own thoughts. Material had indeed
been afforded them, for who could tell
who this featureless man might be?
They were left in a state Of hopeless
curiosity, as who having picked up a
page with 'Finis' written upon it falls
to wondering what the story may have
been.
Steinmetz had thrown the bride Of
the straying horse over his arm, and
the animal trotted %obediently by the
side of the fidgety little Cossacks.
"That was bad luck" exclaimed the
elder man at length; bad luck. In
this country the less you find the less
you see; the less you understand the
simpler is your existence. Those nj
hilists. with their mysterious ways and
their r~eprehensible love of explosives,
have made honest mems lives a burden
to them"
'Their motives were originally good"
put in Paul.
'That is possible, but a good motive
Ia no excuse for a bad means. They
wanted to, get along too quickly. They
are pigheaded, exalted, impractical to
q man. l do not mention the women,
because when women NEEDLE in poll;
tics they make fools Of themselves,
ever in England. These nihilists would
have beer all very we'll if they had
been content to SOW for posterity. But
they wanted to see the fruits Of their
labors in one generation. Education
does not grow like that. 1t requires a
couple Of generations to terminate. 1t
has to be MANFRED by the brains Of
fools before it is Of any use. In Eng