Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-03-01

class she had come to hate-one more
stone In the sepulcher Of her tender,
girlish ideals. When the time came
she Travelled to Graustaxk In response
10 the call Of tho committee of ten; she
came prepared to kill the creature she
would be asked to kill. And yet down
in her heart she was sore afraid.
She was there not to kill q man
grown old in wrongs to her people, but
to destroy the life Of q gentle, inno-
cent boy Of seven!
There were times when her heart
shrank from the unholy deed she had
been selected to perform. But there
was never thought of receding from
the bloody task set down for her.
On Saturday night. following the
last visit of Truxton King to the
armorer, the committee Of ten met in
the underground room to hear the lat
est word from one who could not be
with them in person, but was always
there In spirit. IL they were to believe
his most jealous utterances. The Iron
Count Marlanx, professed hater Of all
that was rich and noble. was the
power behind the COMMITTEES Of ten.
The assassination OF the little prince
and the overthrow Of tho royal fam
lily awaited his pleasure. He was the
man who would Give tho word.
Alas for the committee of tent The
widest fox In tho history Of the world
was never 30 willy as the Iron Count.
Some day they were to find out that
be was using them to pull his choicest
chestnuts from tho FIRE.
The committee was seated around
the long table In the sitting. breath.
less room, the armorer at the head.
Those who came by way Of the sewer
had performed ablutions in the queer
toilet room that once had been secret
vault for the storing Of feudal plum
der. What air there was came from
the narrow ventilator that burrowed
its way up to the shop Of William
Spantz or through the chimney hole
In the ceiling. Olga Platanova sat far
down the side, moody, inscrutabls
expression in her dark eyes. At
spantz's right lounged Peter Brutus,
a lawyer, formerly secretary to the
Iron Count and now his sole represent
alive among these people. He was a
dark faced, snaky eyed young man,
with a mop Of coarse black hair that
hung ominously low over his high, re-
ceding forehead.
Julius Spantz, the armorer's son, a
placid young man Of goodly physical
proportions, sat next to Brutus, while
down the table ranged others deep In
the consideration Of the worlds gray
est problems. One Of the women was
Nine. Drovnask, whose husband had
been sent to Siberia for life. and the
other Anna Cromer, rabid red lee
turer, who had been driven from the
United States, together with her anna
BILE husband, an assassin Of some dis
hnction and many aliases, at present
foreman In charge Of one of the bridge
building crews on the new railroad.
Every man In the party, and there
were eight, for Olga was not a MEM
Der Of the "ten," wore over the lower
part Of his face false black beard Of
huge dimensions-not that they were
averse to recognition among them
selves, but In the fear that by some
hook or crook Dangloss or his agents
might be able to look in upon them.
Bratus was speaking. 1.-THE man is
a spy. He has been brought here
from America to Tullis"
1--WE shall continue to watch his
every movement" said William spantz.
thine will tell. When we are posi-
tive that he Is detective and that
he IL dangerous there Ia q way to stop
his operations"
"Dangloss suspects more than one Of
u.s." ventured Brutus. his gaze travel
Ing toward Olga. There was lewd adj
miration In that steady glance. "But
we'll fool the old fox. The time will
soon be here for the blow that frees
Graustark from the yoke"
It appeared in the course Of his re-
marks that Marlanx had friends and
supporters In all parts OF GraEstark.
Hundreds Of men IN the hills. tnclud-
ing honest shepherds and the dishonest
bfisands who thrived on them. coal
miners and wood stealefs. hunters and
outlaws were ready to do his bidding
when the time was ripe. Moreover.
Mnrlanx had been successful In his
design to al the railway construction
crews with the rintraff Of all Europe,
Oh Of whom were under the control ct