Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1909-03-05
Too Many Funerals.

Stepan Metrof rushed into his house,
where his wife was getting the dinner,
pale as a ghost and his eyes starting
out Of his head.
"What is it, Stepan? For the love of
God, what is it? Have you been
drawn?"
Eyes; l must kill the minister of the
interior"
The wife covered her face with her
hands and trembled; then she said, at
is you who must die, not the minis
fer"
Rather, we must both die"
ST mean you must die to the world"
GLOW ear | do that, Natalie?"
Leave 1t to me-"
Metrof shook his head doubtfully.
Nevertheless he had confidence in his
wife's ingenuity and hoped. In a
week he was apparently very Ill. His
wife sent for Alex Gagin, president of
the circle, to come and see him. Me
trof was in bed. His wife said that
worry over the order to kill the min
lister was driving him into the grave.
In two weeks from that time Natalie
sent again for Gagin, who came and
saw Metrof lying in his coffin. Natalie
had painted his face so that he made
a disagreeable looking corpse.
"See what you have done!' she said,
covering her hands and weeping CO.
piously.
"Ach!' exclaimed Gagin contemp-
l.-.-z SGxyo.., I,.cIoal r-an N oODv
ard" and went away. But In a mo-
ment he returned and, taking a hand
glass, placed 1t before Metrof's nos
trils. Metrof heard him ask for the
glass and when the test was made held
his breath. Gagin, catching no mois-
ture on the glass, went away again
this time for good.
The next day Natalie, in the garb
of q widow, followed a coffin in which
there were stones and boards to the
grave, and a new man was chosen to
kill the minister.
Two years later Metrof and his wife
were living In New York, keeping a
wine shop. One day a man entered
the shop and. sitting at a table, called
" u EluCO vi III Al NAh ACtAC
he looked at him keenly. Metrof went
into a back room, where he found
Natalie and told her that Peter Kata-
visof, one of the circle which had or
dered him to kill the minister, was in
the shop and had recognized him. 81
shall be followed and murdered" he
added.
Natalie, instead of giving way to
grief, began to think.
"You must die again." she said pres
emily.
''That game will not work twice"
sit will. but must be done different
ly."
kepaaaATevvrTeF@t huuse.
His wifS went out and got a paper
of red dye and a little sponge. Put
ting water and the dye on the sponge
and handing her husband the revolver
loaded with blank cartridges, she gave
him instructions what to do. Metrof
went out into the shop, where he
found the stranger waiting. Metrof
went up to him and said: You have
recognized me. I am lost. But l can
stand this strain no longer. I will save
you the trouble Of Furnishing me-"
With that he stepped back to the door
through which he had come, put the
revolver to his temple and fired. He
fell into Natalie's arms, and a red
stream trickled from his temple h
had squeezed the sponge. b drew
him into the room and shut the door,
refusing to admit any n but the po-
lice.
The next morning the papers men
toned a suicide in the Bowery, and
Metrof's representative corpse was
buried again.
After the funeral Natalie, a widow
for the second time, sold the shop and
went west, where she was Joined by
her husband. Having bought a farm,
they settled to it's cultivation, hoping
that there would be no necessity for
any more funerals.
One day when the couple were on a
train who should walk down the aisle
but Peter Katavisof. AS he passed
them and saw Metrof he stopped, his
eyes fixed on him with a-stonishment.
Then he passed on. and the hunted
man knew that his life was again the
object Of the dreaded circle.
Metrof believed that Katavisof would
report him to the circle at st. Peters
burg and some one would be commits
stoned to kill him.. He never went out
of his house at night and in the day
always carried weapons. One night
there was a knock at his door. Nata-
lie motioned him to conceal himself
while she answered the summons. A
man with shocky hair and beard,
whom both recognized for a Russian,
entered and asked for something to
eat. The reply to his request was a
bullet from Metrof sent through the
heart.
Natalie found on the body papers to
satisfy her that he had bean sent to