The sun. (Jacksonville, Fla.) 1905-1908, 1906-05-19

sat modify watching the panorama VI
wood and river as we slowly wound up
the tortuous ascents and descended the
steep gradients. had not even a news
paper with which to while away the
time, only my own apprehensive thoughts
of whittier my helpless love was oeing
conducted.
Surely to no man was there ever pre-
sented such a complicated problem as
that which I was now trying so vigor'
ously to solve. I loved Elma Heath.
The more reflected, the deeper did her
sweet countenance and tender grace i'm
press themselves upon my hart. loved
her, therefore / was striving to overtake
her.
The steamer, learned, would call at
Hango and Helsingfors. Would they,
wonder, disembark at either of those
places? Was the man whom had
known as Horribly, the owner of the Lola,
taking her to place her again in the
fiendish hands Of Xavier Obergi The
very thought of 1t caused me to hold my
breath.
Daylight came at last, cold and gray,
over those dreary interminable marshes
where game, especially snipe, seemed
abundant, and at a small station at the
head of lake called Davidstadt I took
my morning glass of tea; then we re-
sumed our journey down to Viborg,
where a short, thick-set Russian of the
commercial class, but something of a
dandy, entered my compartment, and we
left express for Petersburg.
We had passed by small station
called Galitsina, near which were many
villas occupied in summer by families
from Petersburg, and were travelling
through the dense gloomy pine woods,
when my fellow-traveler, having asked
permission to smoke, commenced to chat
affably. He seemed pleasant fellow,
and told me that he was a wool mer.
chant, and that he had been having q
pleasant vacation trout fishing in the
Vuoski above the falls of the Imatra,
where the pools between the rapids
abound, with fish.
He had told me that on account of the
shore being so full of weeds and the
clearness Of the water, fishing from the
banks was almost an impossibility, and
how they had to accustom themselves to
troll from a boat 80 small as to only
accommodate the rover and the fisher
man.
Then he remarked suddenly
You are English, I presume-pos-
sibly from Helsingfors!"
"No," I answered. "From Abo. 7
crossed from Stockholm, and am going
to Petersburg" 9
"And I also. I live in Petersburg. -
he added. eve may perhaps meet one
day. Do you know the capitali"
| explained that had visited it once
before and had done the usual round of
sightseeing. His manner was brisk and
to the point, as became man of bust.
ness, but when we stopped at Belle. Ost-
ROT, on the opposite side of the small
winding river that separates Finland
from Russia proper, the customs officer
who came to examine our baggage ex-
changed curious meaning look with
him.
My fellow-traveler believed I had not
observed, yet, keenly on the alert as I
now was, was shrewd to detect the
least sign or look, and I at once re.
solved to tell the fellow nothing further
OF my own affairs. He was, no doubt, a
spy of "The Strangers" who had fol.
lowed me all the way from Abo, and had
only entered my carriage for the final
stage of the journey.
This revelation caused me some I'M.
easiness, for even though I was able to
evade the man on arrival in PETERSBURG
he could no doubt quickly obtain news
of my whereabouts from the police To
whom my passport must be sent. I pre-
tended TO doze, and lay back with my
eyes haif-closed watching him. When
he found me disinclined to talk further
ne TOOK up the paper he had bought and
became e,ngrossed in it. while 1, on my
mart. pndaovOrod IN for,., oo...o