Troy weekly news. (Troy, Idaho) 1897-1933, 1905-06-30
CHAPTER I

Such is the address of the telegram /
found on the 18th of May when | arrived
at Tihis.
This is what the telegram said:
AS the matters in hand will terminate
OH the 18th instant, Claudius Bombarnac
will repair to Uzun Ada, port on the
east coast Of the Caspian. There he
will take the train by the direct Grand
Transasiatic, between the European from
tier dnd the capital of the Celestial EN-
pire. He will transmit his impressions
In the way OF news, interviewing remark
able people on the road, and report the
most trivial incidents by letter or tele-
gram as necessity dictates. The Twenti-
eth Century trusts to the zeal, intelli-
gence, activity and tact Of its correspond
ent, who can draw on its bankers to any
extent he may deem necessary"
1t was the very morning l had arrived
at Tihis, with the intention Of spending
three weeks there in a visit to the
Georgian provinces for the benefit Of my
newspaper, and also hoped for that Of
Its readers.
Here was the unexpected, indeed; the
uncertainty OF special correspondents
life. l had hardly arrived before | was
obliged to be off again without unstrap
ping my portmanteaul
1t was hard, but there was no way out
OF 1t. And to begin WITH Mt what o'clock
did the train for Tifis start from the
Caspian? l went to the railway station
at n run, and rushed into the departure
Office.
when is there train for Baku?" l
asked
six o'clock tonight"
nd xuhan dooq n tbara ~
"Seven o'clock In the morning"
as that In time to catch the boat for
Uzun AdaT
The man at the trap door replied to
my salute by salute of mechanical pre-
cision. The question OF passport did not
trouble me. The French consul would
know how to give me all the references
required by the Russian administration.
At B o'clock. having secured my pass
port. l hurry to the railway station.
There there Is a crowd OF Armenians,
Georgians, Mingrelians, Tartars, Kurds,
Israelites, Russians, from the shores of
the Caspian, some taking their tickets
direct for Baku, some for intermediate
stations
take ticket for Baku, first class.
go down on the platform to the carriages.
According to my custom, install myself
In a comfortable corner. A few travel
ers follow me, while the cosmopolitan
populace invade the second and third
class carriages. The doors are shut af-
ter the Visit OF the ticket Inspector. A
last scream OF the whistle announces that
the train Is about to start Suddenly
there Is a shout-a shout In which anger
Is mingled with despair-and l catch
these words In German:
-Stopl Stopp
l put down the window and look out.
A fat man, bag In hand, travelling cap on
head, his legs embarrassed In the skirts
OF huge overcoat, short and breathess.
He "a lats- The porters try to stop him.
Try to stop bomb In the middle of its
trajectory Once again has right to give
place to might.
The Teuton bomb describes a well-cal-
culated curve, and has Just fallen into the
compartment next 10 ours, through the
door a traveller had obligingiy left open.
Tho train begins TO move at the same In
slant. the engine wheels begin to slip on
the rails, then the speed increases. We
are off.
1t Is still daylight at o'clock In the
evening In this latitude. l have bought
a time table and l consult II. Then |
began to examine my travelling compan-
Ions. There were four OF us, and need
scarcely say that we occupied the four
corners OF the compartment. l had taken
the furthest corner, facing the engine. |
At the two opposite angles two travellers
were seated facing each other. As soon |
as they got In they pulled their caps
down on their eyes and wrapped them |
selves up In their cloaks-evidently they |
were Georgians as far as could see
In front OF me was quite a different
type, with nothing Of the oriental about
IT. thirty-two to thirty-fve years old, face
with reddish beard, very much alive in |
look, nose like that OF a dog standing at
point, mouth only too glad to talk, hands |
free and easy, ready for a shake with |
anybody; a tall, vigorous, broad-shoul- |
dered. powerful man. BY the way in |
which he settled himself and put down |
his bag, and unrolled his travelling rug
OF bright-hued tartan. l had recognized |
the Anglo-Saxon traveller, more accus-
toned to long journeys by land and sea
than to the comforts of his home, II he
had homo. He looked like CONNER
cial traveller. l noticed that his jewelry
was In profuson; rings on his fingers, Din
In his scarf, studs on his cuffs with pho-
tographic views in them. snowy trinkets
hanging from the watch chain across his
waist coat should not have been sur
prised II he turned out to be an Ameri-
can.
II | am not mistaken, he will be lust
as glad to speak to me as am to speak
to him-and reciprocally. Will see. But
fear restrains me- Suppose this Amer
lean should also be a special correspond
ent, and suppose he has also been or
dered 10 do this Grand Asiatic. That
would be most annoyingl He would be
rival
CHAPTER II.