Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1906-04-27
CHAPTER III.

CHAPTER III.
PONDEROUS coach numbered
IN slowly, almost painfully, along
HA the narrow road that skirted
- the base Of a mountain. 1t was
drawn by four horses, and upon the
seat sat two rough, unkempt Russians,
one holding the reins, the other lying
back in lazy doze. The month was
June, and all the world seemed soft
and sweet and joyous. To the right
flowed a turbulent mountain stream,
boiling savagely with the alien waters
Of the flood season. Ahead of. the
creaking coach rode four horsemen,
all heavily armed; another quartette
followed some distance in the rear.
At the side of the coach an officer of
the Russian mounted police was rid
Ing easily, jangling his accouterments
with vigor that disheartened at least
one occupant Of the vehicle. The VIM
dows Of the coach doors were lowered,
permitting the fresh mountain dir to
caress fondly the face of the young
woman who tried to find comfort in
one of the broad seats. Since early
morn she had struggled with the hard
ships of that seat, and the late after
noon found her very much out of pa
tience. The opposite seat was the rest
Ing place Of substantial colored wo-
man and stupendous pile of bags and
boxes, The boxes were continually
topping over, and the bags were for
ever getting under the feet of the once
placid servant, whose face, quite luck
lily, was much too black to reflect the
anger she was able otherwise, through
years of practice, to conceal.
"How much farther have we to go,
lieutenant?" asked the girl on the rear
seat plaintively, even humbly. The
man was very deliberate with his
English. He had been recommended
to her as the best linguist i'll the serv-
Ice at Radovitch, and he had a repu-
tation to sustain.
ut another hour is but yet" he man.
aged to inform her. with confident
smile.
ooh, DEAR" she sighed, "a whole hour
Of thisp'
eve soon be dar, Miss Bev'ly. Jes'
yo' max up yo' min to res easy-like,
an we"-But the faithful old colored
woman's advice was lost in the wrath
full exclamation that accompanied an
other dislodgment of bags and boxes
The wheels of the coach had dropped
suddenly into deep rut. Aunt Fan
nys growls were scarcely more potent
than poor Miss Beverly's means.
1T Is getting worse and worse" ex-
claimed Aunt Fanny's mistress petu-
lantly. I'm black and blue from head
to foot, aren't you, Aunt Fanny|
"Ah cain say as to de blue, Miss
Bev'ly. Hits mos monstrous bad
road, sho 'nough. Stay up dar, will
yo'?" she concluded, jamming bag
into an upper corner.
Miss Calhoun, tourist extraordinary
again consulted the linguist in the sad
die. She knew at the outset that the
quest would be hopeless, but she could
think of no better way to pass the next
hour than to extract mite of informa-
tlOu from lne Omcer.
"Now for good old chat" she said
beaming smile upon the grizzled Rus
sian. rs there decent hotel in the
village?" she asked.
They were on the edge of the village
before she succeeded in finding out all
that she could, and it was not great
deal, either. She learned that the town
Of Balak was in Axphain, scarcely
mile from the Graustark line. There
was an eating and sleeping house on
the main street, and the population Of
the place did not exceed 300.
When Miss Beverly awoke the next
morning, sore and distressed, she look
ed back upon the night with horror
that sleep had been kind enough to in
terrupt only at intervals. The wretched
hostelry lived long in her secret cata-
logue of terrors. Her bed was not
bed; 1t was torture. The room, the
table, the-but 1t was all too odious for
description. Fatigue was her only
friend In that miserable hole Aunt
Fanny had slept on the floor near her
mistress cot, and 1t was the good old
colored woman's grumbling that awoke
Beverly. The sun was climbing up the
mountains in the east, and there was
an air Of general activity about the
place. Beverly's watch told her that it
was past o'clock.
Good gracious" she exclaimed.
"It's nearly noon, Aunt Fanny. Hurry
along here and get me up. We must
leave this abominable place in ten min
utes." She was up and racing about
excltedly.
"Befo' breakfast" demanded Aunt
Fanny weakly.
Goodness, Aunt Fanny, is that all
you think about?"
"Well, honey, yo'll be thinkin'
moughty serious bout breakfas' long
toahds 'leben O'clock Dat i'll tum-
my O. yourn'll be pow'ful mad cause
yo' didn' -
very well, Aunt Fanny, you can
run along and have the woman put up
breakfast for us, and we'll eat 1t on
the road. positively refuse to eat
another mouthful in that awful dining
room. I'll be down In ten minutes"
She was down in less. Sleep, no
matter how hard earned, had revived
her spirits materially. She pronounced
herself ready for anything. There was
a wholesome disdain for the rigors of
the coming ride through the mountains
in the way she gave orders for the
start. The Russian officer met her
nc tIn II,