The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1906-09-15
Prisoners and Cdpfives
o.
By H. s. MERRIMAN

cOnSulCcQ tndC the VeSSel was crushed Dy
ice. Her crew and her officers have per.
shed.'
"You give u.s." said Miss Winter, "the
opinion of others. What is your own?'
"Mine?" he said, after pause. Mine
is the same. There is no reason to sup
pose-there is no hope whatever"
But / have something else to tell you
something which is not a matter OF
conjecture. But first l must ask you to
assure me that it goes no further. II
must be secret sacred to ourselves, Tor
it is the secret of two men who-well,
who know more than we do now"
"Of course" said Miss Winter.
"Of course" echoed Helen.
He went on at once, as If anxious to
show his perfect reliance in their discre-
ton.
This expedition" he said. was not
dispatched to discover the northeast pas
sage. 1t had quite another purpose.
There is a political side to the question.
At present the history of this generation
is not yet dry-it is like freshly written
page, and one cannot yet determine what
will stand out upon it when all the writ
ing is equally developed. But there Is a
huge blot, which will come out very black
y in the hereafter. When this century
is history. all the world will wonder why
Europe was so blind to the internal con-
dition of its greatest. 1 mean Russia. l
have given more than half my life to
this question. and Tyars!he knew a lot
about it. Together we worked out a
scheme for aiding the escape of a num-
Der of the most gifted nihilists-men and
women-who had been exiled to Siberia,
who were dragging out miserable felon's
existence at the mines for no other crime
than the love of their own country. Our
intention was not political; it was hui
name. Tyars and l dubbed together and
supplied the funds l was debarred from
going forbidden by the doctors-please
never forget that. But Tyars was the
best man for the purpose to be found
anywhere. and his subordinate officer, o.
win Grace, was even better than Tyars IN
his position. A rendezvous was fixed 1t
the mouth of the Yana river, and a date
was named. Three Russians were dis
patched from London to aid in the es-
cape. They did their share. The party
arrived at the spot fixed, but the ship
the Argo-never reached them. l have
been there. l have seen the dead bodies
of nine men-one of whom, Sergius Paw
loski, l knew-lying there. They seemed
to be waiting for the great Assize, when
judgment shall be given"
He stopped somewhat suddenly, with
a jerk, as man stops in the narration
of something which has left an inefface-
able pain in his life. After a little pause
he returned to the table and slowly folded
the rugged maps. The manner in which
he did so betrayed an intimate knowledge
of each frayed corner but the movements
of his fingers were stiff and awkward.
Helen was watching him.
"And you," she inquired gently; you
have endured great hardships?"
He folded the maps and placed them
in the breast pocket of his coat.
YES" he answered, without meeting
her eyes, Il have had bad time of it."
They waited, but he said nothing more.
That was the history of the last two
years. Presently Helen Grace rose to 20.
She appeared singularly careless of de-
tails. Part of the news she had learned
was old, the remainder was too fresh to
comment upon. She kissed Miss Winter,
shook hands with Matthew Mark Easton,
and quickly left the room.
Il always felt" said Miss Winter mus
ingly, "that something was being conceal
ed from u.s."
AT one time l thought you knew all
about it. You once warned US against
the Russian minister"
She thought for some moments, recall
ing the incident.
"Yes," she said at length, II remember.
1t was the merest accident. l suspected
nothing"
"Concealment," pleaded the American,
was absolutely necessary. 1t made no
difference to the expedition, neither add
ed to the danger nor detracted from it.
But did not want Miss Grace and your
self to think that these two men had
thrown away their lives in attempting
such futile achievement as the northeast
passage. They were better men than
that"
She smiled a little YEARLY.
mo one will ever suspect" she said ::
"for even now that you have told me the
story / can scarcely realize that it is
true. 1t sounds like some tale of by-gone
days; and yet we have living proof that
it is all true that it has all happened"
Helen Grace" he suggested.
"Of course you knew. And did you
know about him?'
He did not reply at once, but glanced
at her keenly.
II knew that he loved her." was the
answer.
"Are you going to stay in England? ?"
she asked.
mo-" and he offered her his hand; 81
am going back to America for some years,
at all events"
When you come back to England" she
said, in rather a faint voice, will you
come and see me?"
DO you mean that, Miss WinterY
YES"
His quick, dancing glance was fitting
over her whole person.
If l come" he said, with a sudden
relapse into Americanism, II surmise 1t
will be to tell you something else-some-
thing l thought I never should tell YOU"
She stood quite still, digni6ed, self
possessed woman, but never raised her
eyes.
DO you still mean it?"