Connecticut western news., 1909-10-21
AN ELUSIVE MISSION.
By WINSLOW HUNT.
Copyright. 1909, by American Press Asso-
 riat{p,

tlou or lne 1Fanu Duke ScrsluS, was sent 10 catch Vera Trepcrhoff, q young girl whom the police knew to have concOcted the murder. l will omit how l tracked her 10 the border and take up the story after she had passed it. She made directly for Austria and thence for Venice. This indicated that she would go to America rather than England and that she would probably sail from one of the two principal Ital- ian ports-GenOa and Naples. Genoa being the shorter distance took the train for that city, hoping to head her off before she left the port.
 The reason for my being chosen for this work was that had seen the girl quite often during her trial on a charge of having hcen implicated in another political crime. Having boarded the train at Venice soon after it's dcpar- ture. thinking there might hc one chance in a dozen that Vera TrCpprhoff would he aboard. l walked through the side aisle. locking into every com. partment. In the middle compartment Of the th,r'' ear noticed a youth with 'E" ,i2hI r'h "..A ,'-rs of the north. and in H twinkling Sruttpd my qunrry %rt Wi%l:A, Io make myself known. l passed on
 l cunclud"d uUt to make any attempt at arrest till the girl left the train. This would np"essitate my watching the departures at every station and the risk that she might elude me. Bu: l knew the stops and kept my eye on her as soon as we slowed up until we were again well on the way. My in tention was to have her arrested at Genoa or wherever she alighted since I could better fulfill the legal condi- tions at definite point. Besides. did not believe she knew her danger.
 The last time saw Vera Treperhoff was in leaving Alessandria. The com partment in which she sat had been emptipd except by herself. I kept nay eye on her till the train had reached pace of some forty miles an hour. There would be no further stop till we arrived at Genoa, and felt conf dent that I should take the girl back to Moscow and gain the commenda tion of the government. also a hand s0me reward.
 Just before reachin~ Genoa I took my hand Luggage to the compartment where Vera TrepPrhoff sat. with the intention of remaining there till the train pulled up at the station. She was not in the compartment. She was nf In hN gTh train from front 10 rear. opening every closet. but nothing could l find of the girl I wanted I scrutiniZed every pas spnger, man and woman. boy and girl. but Vera was not among them. Short ly before wc slowed up for Genoa l made up my mind that she had, after all rrcuru;Zru mp and preferred death by jumping from the train to tho hor. TOTS of Siberia.
 At Genoa I engaged q special loco motive 10 go over the route to find the body or any trace of the culprlt. ill., vestigalrd every kilometrr of the track between the terminus and Alessundrin. but found nothing 10 give me the slightest clpw. was informed that the rate of travel over the section where I had missed the girl was fifty mics nn hour. No one could have jumped from the train and retained sufficient life 10 crawl away. l offered a reward of 10000 rubles to any one in the vicinity who would give me any information whatever leading to clpw. The offer brought many re~ ports of a girl limpng through the country. but they all proved to hay" hecn made up.
 Never in all my official experience have been So utterly incapable of forming d theory as to any escape from my clutches. Familiar with every device that could have been adopted, I went over them carefully and elim- mated all of them. That a young girl not over twenty years old could have left train going at rate of hfty miles an hour seemed incredible. To assume that she could have passed from it later in disguise would be an insult 10 my professional skill.
 feared 10 return 10 Russia and tell the truth lest l should be accused Of connivinG at Vera Treperhoff's escape. and ii lied I would be detected. l chose the alternative of going to Ar;Pr- iva to make a new home. sailed from Genoa. and. going on deck one morning. there in steamer chair in excellent health was Vera Treperhoif Approaching her. l informed her that she had nothing to fear from me and asked her how she had left the train This WIS hor reply:
 'I recognized you the moment l saw you a"d knew your errand. Between Alessandria and Genoa is Y in the railroad connecting it with the road to piacenza. knew from my lime table that there was no further stop till Genoa ard you would arrest mc there. While on this Y a train going in the same direction and nearly at the same speed occupied the next track. In a twinklng I was out through the window on the footboard and stepped to tbn fOotboord Of tho other train