Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1907-05-30

the other The prince, understanding
the captains quandary, looked up at
him and smiled, but made no attempt
to take advantage of his predicament.
Some one on board the English ship
shouted and futtered a handkerchief,
whereupon the prince waved his Gig
arctic In the air, and the big boat dis
appeared in the thickness of the east.
Lermontoff walked the deck, think
ing very seriously about his situation
and wondering where they intended to
take him. If he were to be put in
prison, 1t must be in some place of de-
tention on the coast Of Finland, which
seemed strange, because he understood
that the fortresses there were already
filed with dissatisfied inhabitants of
that disaffected land. His first impress
sion had been that banishment was in
tended, and he had expected to be
landed at some Swedish or German
port, but chance remark made by
the captain at breakfast inclined him
to believe that there were other pris-
oners on board not quite SO favorably
treated as himself But why should
he be sent out of Russia proper or even
removed from st. Petersburg, which,
he was well aware, suffered from no
lack of jails? The continued voyage
of the steamer through an open sea
again aroused the hope that Stock
holm was the objective point. If they
landed him there, it merely meant
little temporary inconvenience and,
once ashore, he hoped to concoct a
telegram so apparently innocent that
it would win through to his friend and
give Drummond at least the knowledge
of his abiding place. The thought OF
Drummond aroused all his old fear
that the Englishman was to be the real
victim, and this enforced voyage was
merely a convenient method of getting
himself out of the way.
After lunch a dismal drizzle set in
that presently increased to O steady
downpour, which drove Lermontoff to
his cabin, and, that room being unpro-
vided with either window OF electric
| light, the prince struck a match to one
OF the candles newly placed on the
washstand He pushed the electric
button summoning the steward and,
giving him some money, asked If there
was such thing as piece of stone on
board, carried as ballast or for any
other purpose The steward said he
would inquire and finally returned
with a sharpening stone used for the
knives in the galley. Boiling his door,
Lermontoff began an experiment and
at once forgot he was prisoner. He
filed the wash basin with water and,
opening one of the glass stoppered bot
ties, took out with the point of his
knife most minute portion of the sub
stance within, which he dissolved in
| the water with no apparent effect.
Standing the milestone up on end, he
filed the glass syringe and directed a
fine, vaporous spray against the stone.
It dissolved before his eyes as sand
castle on the shore dissolves at the
touch of an incoming tide.
by st. Peter of Russia" he cried,
'sI've got it at last! must write to
Katherine about this"
Summoning the steward again to
take away this fluid and bring him an
other pailful of fresh water, Lennon
toff endeavored to extract some infor-
nation from the deferential young
man.
"Have you ever been in Stockholm"
"No, excellency."
"Or in any of the German ports?"
"No, excellency."
"Do you know where we are making
for now?'
''No, exce1lency."
"Nor when we shall reach our desti-
nation7'
mo, excellency."
ssYou have some prisoners aboard"
"Three drunken sailors, exceilency."
eyes, that's what the captain said.
But If 1t meant death for sailor to
pc drunk the commerce of the worle
would speedily STOP"
This is q government steamer, ex-
celIency. and if sailor here disobeys
orders he is guilty Of mutiny. On a
merchant vessel they would merely
put him in irons'
II see Now, do you want to earn a
few gold pieces?'
"Excellency has been very generous
to me already" was the noncommittal
reply of the steward, whose eyes new
ertheless twinkled at the mention Of
gold.
"Well. here's enough to make a jim
| gle in your pocket, and here are two
letters which you are to try to get de-
livered when you return to St Peters
/ burg"
Eyes, excellency.''
"You will do your bestT
Yes, excellency."
"Well, If you succeed I'll make your
fortune when I'm released"
THANK you, excellency."
That night at dinner the captain
opened a bottle of vodka and conversed
genially on many topics without touch
ing upon the particular subject of lib
erty. He partook sparingly Of the
stimulant, and to Lermontoff's disap-
-