The Glenwood post., 1905-10-21
CHAPTER XIII.
Sentenced to Siberia

| inmates of the Nihilist rendezvous.
1t was as a death knell, and had the
| surprise been less instantaneous than
it was, the conspirators would have
made desperate resistance. For
they well knew, that captured as they
We're, red-handed with all the evil
! dence of their guilt, that their doom
was sealed, and that from that mo-
ment their days-perhaps even their
very hours-were numbered.
| 1t was too late to attempt escape
| by the unseen doors that formed part
of the apparently solid walls, for a
dozen rifles covered them, and the
soldiers, with fingers on the triggers.
were only waiting The order to fire.
SO the prlsoners-some in defiance.
some in sullen resignation, some in
| hopeless despair, stood still; while in
| obedience to the command of the of
| ficer, half a dozen soldiers speedily
| descended and with drawn reyolyers
| pointed at the heads of the conspira-
| tors ordered them to throw up their
LANDS. Five minutes later, the cap
| tured. men and women alike. were in
|
| waiting the arrival of the prison vans
to bear them away.
Under the direction of the officers.
search was then made of the prem
/ ises. The bombs. the wires, ard the
battery left no doubt as to the pur-
| pose of the prisoners; nor was there
wanting still further proof of their
| guilt. For KirShkin, weak from loss
OF blood, and paralyzed by terror.
crawled on his knees to the officer
and begging for his life offered to
betray his companions. Without com
mitting himself to promise anything.
the officer induced Kirshkin to pro
ceed, and the fear-stricken wretch re-
vealed the hidden chambers on the
other side of the wall. Here were
found papers revealing the ramfca-
tons OF the conspiracy and implicat-
ing thousands OF Nihilists throughout
| the empire
Among all the prisoners there we're
none who felt their fearful position
more than did Ivan and Alexis. Olga
and Ida. With blanched faces they
locked into each others eyes, only
to receive in return "A sigh Of hope
less despair. Alexis, at the first mo-
ment, had drawn the hood of his
| greatcoat over his head, and Olga had
similarly concealed her features with
the cape OF her mantle But these
| precautions were needless at the
time, for when roughly ordered to
show their faces neither of hem
were recognized by the officer or by
any of his men. They Judged by
Alexis uniform. and by the rich and
elegant dress of Olga, that their pris-
oners were persons of no mean sta
ton: but, since it was known that
N!hilists were to be found in all
ranks of society, the only feeling of
The soldiers was one of gratifiCation
that they had evidently caught some
| great hsh in the net destined for
small fry. Their reward, they felt
sure, would be all the greater.
In few hurried words Ivan begged
Olga. who was almost fanting to
Keep up her courage; that some
means would be found to effec, her
release; but his words produced little
comfort to the stricken girl who.
with her hands claspcd in uusueak-
able anguish, sat gazing at her hus-
band with look of hopeless despair.
1t was not of herself that Olga
thought. lvan's fate: her fathers
grief her mothers deadly anger, the
blow to the prospects of Nicholas
all these, as the result OF her arrest.
flashed in turn through her distracted
mind.
Alexis sat, his hands clasped in
those of llda, prey to the most con-
tlicting emotions. He realized at
once that no explanation, however
true, could save him from the fate
which he felt certain awaited him.
degradation from his high rank. So
| cial ostracism. exile, perhaps death
itsclf-all these he felt We're the m
evitable result of his capture at su.h
a time and in such place. For
Alexis had been one of the first to
be searched and in the breast of his
coat had been found Ivan's cigar case
with the Red Rouble therein, He
felt that this ono fact had sealed his
fate, and with such fprtitude as he
could command he resigned himself
to the inevitable. and awaited the
ncxt move of the soldiers.
The vans arrived at length ard
under the escort of three troups of
Cossacks, the prisoners having been
bundled IN, the march began to the
great prison of Petropavlosk.
Ivan and Olga. Alexic and llda.
ironed 20 each other. were evidently
the grand prize in the eyes of the
soldiers and police, for the van in
which they were ordered 10 take their
rl'cc l"d owe entire troop as an es.
cort Following came the ether We.
hicl"s laden with prisoners. and last
Of tSc roc saion came "'l III" para