Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1909-01-21

usual intelligence. The other female
was her servant. One of the men was
rather ~aristocratic in appearance. He
said he occupied a minor ministerial
office and color was given to his state
ment by the portfolio which he had
in his hand. The other man, named
Lubkin, was a consumptive, about 20
years of age.
Where is your printing press?" de-
manded the officer.
Madame shrugged her delicate
shoulders and o~utstretched her hands
in a which said plainly enough
that the police were welcome to any
printing presses they might find in
that place.
A printing press is a bulky thing.
1t should not be hard to find. But the
officers searched the house from cellar
to garnet without result. All the while
the quartet sat in the large dining
room, prisoners. On the return of the
police, the two men and the two
women were put through the Sweat
ing" process, but they revealed moth
ing. The MISUNDERSTANDING young
man laid his portfolio aside for a mo-
ment. One of the policemen picked 1t
up and opened 1t. Astonishment made
him speeches.. He silently handed the
portfolio to his chief. 1t was filled with
manuscripts and proofs Of a pro-
hibited nihilist paper called Land and
Liberty" The misunderstanding per-
son with the portfolio merely smiled
at the CONSERVATION Of the officials.
He realized the gravity of his offense.
He knew the penalty. But he never
quailed for an instant.
Come" shouted the chief, you're
convicted already. You might as we'll
confess. Where is the press?"
The quartet remained silent. They
were not offensive. 1t was the silence
of submission-but not of fear. Sud
denly the chief gave a shout Of sur
prise and pointed to the cupboard. The
other policemen followed the urs in
Dictated by his accusing finger. They
saw nothing and their blank coun-
tenances said as much.
Don't you see?" almost shrieked
the official.
mo" replied his chief lieutenant.
what is it,"
"a daub of ink on the door of that
closet"
"a daub of ink?" repeated the other,
parrot-like and with no indica-
ton of intelligence.
Eyes! Yes!" he retorted, "a daub Of
printers ink"
Slowly a consciousness of the mean
ing of his words penetrated their dull
heads. At the same moment they
made a simultaneous dash for the
cupboard. To their amazement they
met with resistance. Nine. Kriloff, her
servant, the aristocratic man Of the
portfolio, and the c~onsumptive COM
positor were lined up in front of the
cupboard. All were armed and Nine.
Kriloff, pointing her pistol at the head
of the chief officer, said with great de-
liberation:
Advance a single step and I'll blow
out your brains. We're desperate.
Life means little to us now. Save
yours"
Here was a dilemma. The chief
knew if he made a to reach for
his pistol this frenzied woman would
carry out her threat. Only two other
policemen were in the room with him
and they were covered by the aristo-
crat and the consumptive compositor.
The remainder of his men were in 9th
err parts of the house. He backed out
by degrees. 1t was humiliating, but he
felt that 1t was polite. He must have
time to think and plan. His two COM
panions reiterated with him. AS they
reached the outer sill of the floor the
consumptive compositor slammed the
door violently and n of his asso-
ciates bolted 1t. The racket brought
the other policemen to the aid Of their
chief. There on the landing they held
a council of war. The besieged nihil-
lists, on their part, were sparring for
%time-they had something to conceal
or destroy.
The house was already strongly
guarded on the outside and the siege
held out for less than a minute. The
door was broken in and after a fierce
resistance the four nihilists sur,
rendered. The aristocrat fought like a
demon and at the last asked quarter
only for the women. While the police
were completing their work the con-
sumptive 'compositor had a violent
paroxysm of coughing and asked per-
mission to lie on a cot in an adjoin-
ing room.
The cupboard proved to be a veri-
table magic closet. 1t contained a com
plete printing outfit. Needless to say
the paraphernalia was extraordinarily
simple and adapted peculiarly to the
purposes of the co%nspirators. There
was a large cylinder covered with
cloth which answered the require
ments Of a press; a roller of a sort
of gummy substance; several fonts OF
type, display and otherwise; a few
jars of printing ink, benzine brushes,
and sponges. This was all packed to
be taken to police headquarters. Just
as the prisoners were being rounded
up a sharp pistol shot was heard from
the adjoining room. The chief hurried