The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-10-25
A STORY OF GRAUSTARK
GEORGE BARR MCCUTCHEON
Copyright 1899. by Dodd. Mead & Co.

Copyright 1899. by Dodd. Mead & Co.
i Graustarldan, hating and execratfng in
return Wlth a tentOld greater venom.
hallauN, the man who had been driven
/ iroln wealth and power by the sharp
I edlct OF Prince Robins mother the la
ilenled AeuVe, In the DAYS of her most
/ 5l l.,, felsn' this man, deep in ms
La6LiiE Aestftr was In complete accord
/ WIN the desperate band OF Reds who
/ ltetchtu equality aud planned disaster.
/ Oisa PiatanoVa was the latest aC-
QUESTION 20 this select circle. A word
/ concerning her. she was the daughter
or FrOI. FIatanOVa, one time Ocu-
/ hst and sOciolOsist in a large German
/ university. lie had been one of the
/ most brilliant men in Europe and a
/ member of noble family There
/ was welcome for him in the homes OF
I the nobility he nobnObbed, so to
/ speak. with the leading men of the
/ saw. was one of the most inviting and
/ exclusive an that great city. The pro-
| lessor enthusiasm finally carried
/ nm from the conservative paths IN
] which he had walked; after ne had
I passed his Eftieth year he became an
/ aNOWed leader among the anarchists
I and revolutOnists in Poland. his native
I state Less tuan year before the
/ opening of this tale he was executed.
! for treason ana conspiracy against the
/ empire.
=
( enc of the most beautiful and cultured
/ women in Warsaw. Her suitors seemed
/ 10 be without number, nor were they
/ confined TO the student and untitled
! classes with whom she was naturally
| thrown by force of circumstances. More
I than one lOrdIy advenUurer in the lists
/ Of love paid homage to her grace and
[ beauty. Finally there came one who
/ conquered and was beloved. He was
/ the son of mighty duke. a prince Of
| the blood.
/ It was true love for both of them.
Inc young prince pledged himself to
marry her despite all opposition. He
/ was ready TO give up his noble inherit
/ ance Tor the sake OF love. But there
were other forces greater than young
/ man IOEe al work Inc aIl-pOWertui
ruler Of the empire learned of this pro-
posed mesalliance and was Mortified
/ Two weeks afterward the prince was
/ known TO nim and-he obeyed- Olga
/ PlatanOVa was cast aside, but not for
/ gotten He became the husband of an
| unloved, scrawny lady Of diadems.
/ he could bear. he blew out his brains
/ when olga heard the news OF his
/ death she was not stricken by grief
/ she cried out her JOY TO now cloud
| less sky, for he had justified the great
/ love that had been theirs and would
\ be theirs TO the end of time.
! From a passive believer In the doc
! trines OF her father and his circle she
! became at once their most imprisoned
/ exponent. over night she changed from
/ a gentle-hearted girl into a woman
! whose breast famed with a lust for
vengeance against a class from which
! death alone could free her lover She
/ threw herself heart and soul, into the
/ deliberations and transactions Of the
| great red circle; her father understood
and yet was amazed
Then he was put 10 death by the
| class she had come TO hate one more
stone ia the sepulchre Of her tender.
I
| she Travelled to Graustark in response
/ to the call Of the committee Of ten;
/ she came prepared 10 Kill the creature
i she would be asked to kill And yet
! down in her heart she was sore afraid
She was there not to XIII man
grown old in wrongs &c her people, bat
TO destroy the life Of a gentle innocent
I boy Of seven.
\ There were times when her heart
I shrank from the unhOiy deed she had
! been selected to perform, she even
/ before the hour In which she was 20
I do this eEecTable thing IN behalf OF
/ the humanity she served But there
I was never q thought OF recedluB from
/ the bloody task set down for her-a
/ task so morbid, so hOrrid that even
! the most vicious of men gIOated in
3 satisfaction that they had not been
/ chosen in her place Weeks before
she came TO GrauSJark olga Plata
nova had been chosen by lot TO be the
one 10 do this diabOlicaI murder. She
did not finch, but came resOlute and
ready. Even the men IN the com
mittee Of ten looked upon the slender,
Z dark-eyed girl with an awe that could
not be conquered. she had not the
/ manner OF an assassin, and Yet thty
knew that she would not draw back.
she was as soft and as sweet as the
MadOnuas they secretly Worshiped
z and yet her heart was steeled TO a
] purpose that appalled, the hercest Of
them.
on a Saturday night. following the
M rr fr.- u e
mOrcT, the committee OF ten met iu
the underground room 10 hear the
J latest word from one who could not
be with them in person, but was al
I ways there in splrlt-if they were to
believe his most Jealous utterauCes.
The Iron Count llarlauX, DTofessed
hater OF all that was rich and noble,
/ was the power behind the committee
OF ten. Tie assassination of the little
prince and the overthrow Of the royal
family awaited his pleasure; he was
tle man who would give the word.
Not until bic was ready could any
! thing Doe done. for MaTlanx had prom
iSc4 10 put the committee OF ten i'm
control Of this pioneer community
Wheu IL came under the dominion OF
anarchists.
Alas, for the committee Of ten, The
widest FOX in the history Of the world
~as never SO WHY as the iron count.
Some day they were 10 ind out that he
was using them 20 pull his choicest
chestnuts from the fire.
'lr EA-l44llAlLEE Was seated around the
long table in the sitting, GREATNESS
room, the armor=r al the head Those
who came 10y way of the sewer had per-
formed abluucus ia the queer toilet
room that once had been a secret vault
for The storing Of Ieudal plumber. What
air there was came from the narrow
veut.lator that burrOwed its way 10 the
SHOP OI william SpanlZ.. or through the
cHlmneyhOle in the ceiling. olga Plata
nova sat far down the side, "a IuOGav
iuacrutable expression in her dark eyes
She sat silent and oppressed through an
the aCTld, bitter discussions which car
Eiad the c1nclaye Gan past the midnight
hour I'm her heart she knew that these
i men and women were already thinking
of her as rCglcide. III was settIed-Ii
was ordained. AZ Spantz's right IOuuged
Peter Brutus, a laWyer-faI mer secre-
taTy TO tuc .ron count. and now his sole
represeutatIye amOUE these people He
Wa= uarE-fa-ed, zuaEy-eEed y0uul
, man. with "a msp OF coarse black hair
r. THAT hung omluDusly low over his high
. recejius forehead. This man was the
chosen villain among ali Tho heuchmer
& who came az the beck and call of the
b. iron count
: Julius Spautz. the armorer's son, a
placid young man Of 6ooiIy physiCa
- TIugorti0H=. sat next TO Brutus, while
: u.