Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-05-07

child had been blown to atoms The
escape of Petrovitch had been little
short of miraculous, and 1t was now
whispered that the conspiracy had no
political significance, but was an act
of private Vengeance
1 Whatever its motive might have
been, it had had the desired effect Of
preventing the doctor from returning
to Servia.
In various quarters Rolfe made dill
igent inquiry, and established without
a doubt that Maud Petrovitch had
within the past ten days or so been in
Belgrade.
A young officer of the kings guard,
lieutenant Yankovitch, had seen
her in the Ear Duschanowa Uliza. He
described her as wearing a white
serge gown, and big black hat. She
was walking with short, elderly.
gray haired woman, undoubtedly a
foreigner-English or American. He
was marching with his company or
would have stopped and spoken to
her.
Another person discovered by
Drukovitch was domestic who had
once been in the doctors service. She
declared that early one morning
when going from her home to the
house in the Krunska where she was
now employed, she met her young
mistress Maud with the same elderly
woman-a woman rather shabbily
dressed. The pair were passing the
Russian legation and she stopped and
spoke.
The young lady had told her that
she was only on flying trip to Bel
| grade and that she was leaving again
on the morrow To the servants in
quiries regarding the doctor, his
daughter was silent, as though she
did not wish to mention her father.
According to the servants descrip-
! ton, Mademoiselle Maud looked very
wan and pale, as though she had
passed many sleepless nights full of
anxiety and dread.
! The prime minister's wife had no
recollection Of telling her husband
about meeting the doctors daughter
Somebody else must have mentioned
it to the gray haired statesman, who,
full of the cares of Office, had forgot
ten who it had been.
A third person who had seen Maud,
! however, was one of the agents of
secret police on duty at the railroad
station 1t was this mans work to
watch arriving passengers and detail
agents to watch any suspected to be
foreign spies. According to his re-
port, made to the chief of police,
Mademoiselle Petrovitch, arrived i'll
Belgrade late one night with an elder
ly Englishwoman and a tall, thin man,
probably a German They hired cab
and drove out to an address near the
Botanical Gardens, on the opposite
side of the city. Recognizing who she
was, he did not instruct an agent to
follow her. The two ladies returned
to the railway station four days later
and left again by the Orient express
for Budapest.
The officials of the International ex-
press, in passing through Servia, are
compelled to furnish to the secret po-
lice the names and nationalities Of all
passengers travelling. When the train
arrives in Belgrade the commissario
is always handed the list, which is
filed for reference. Upon the list on
that particular day was shown the
names of Mademoiselle Maud Pavlo.
witch of Belgrade and Mrs. Wood of
London.
1 The girl had only slightly disguised
her name.
These results of Charles inquiry
showed quite plainly that his we'll
beloved was alive, and that she had
been in Servia with some secret OBJ
ject. The police were unaware of the
exact address near the Botanical
Gardens where the couple stayed. 1t
is only within their province to watch
suspected foreigners. OF Servians
they take no account.
Therefore, beyond the facts already
stated, Rolfe could discover moth.
ing.
Day after day he remained in Bel
grade, sometimes spending the after,
noon by going for trip across the
Danube to that dull and rather unin.
teresting frontier town of Hungary
Semlin. and always hoping to be able
to discover something further-some
clue to the strange disappearance OF
the doctor, or the real reason why
his Maud was so determined to hold
aloof from him.
Thrice he received wild kilograms
from Max Barclay, asking for informa
tion as to where he might best seek
news of Marion News of her? Her
brother was just as staggered by her
disappearance as was her lover
He telegraphed that she might per
!; haps be at the house Of an old serv
ant of their fathers at Boston, in Lin
: colnshire. But next day came report
dispatched from Boston that the goo6
man and his wife had heard nothing
j of their late masters daughter.
Again to Bridlington he sent Max
, to some friends there; but from that
place came similar response. Mar
: ion was. like Maud, in hiding! Bu1
why?
: In the bright morning sunshine he
strolled the streets which were Sc
full of quaint and interesting types
There in Belgrade, the gateway of the
east, one saw the Servian peasant IL
his high boots, his white shirt wor1
outside his trousers, and his round
high cap of astrachan. The better class
peasant wore his brown homespun
while the women with the gay color
od lyarchiefc m their heads wor,