El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-11-27

halls and night cafes. She spent many
hours with him wrapped in priceless
furs, resting on couches covered with
silk under the glare of electric lights
in an atmosphere heavy with perfume
but the bloody memories Of the past
haunted her mind and she did not for
get
At last she succeeded. One autumn
evening she was able to tell the execu-
toners the hour had come. Vetschine,
whose confidence. in her was ever
growing ana who told her a good deal
about his own affairs, was to come the
next day to her studio, which she had
rented under an assumed name and
which he had never entered before
Maria made herself ready for a hur-
ried departure. for she was to leave for
London the moment the deed was done.
She then went TO bed and slept
the sleep OF the just.
The next day in the morning she re-
CeiVed the comrades who were to carry
out the sentence Of death under the
leadership of Nicholas GOrOne. They
locked the door and conferred with her,
showing her the utmost respect and
admiration In their ewes she was a
heroine, and they talked of the cause.
the idea, with savage exaltatiOn, while
she looked at them without answering
and apparently without understanding
them.
Vetschine was to come at five and the
comrades expected Maria would stay
with them all the time until then, but
when they began to eat their frugal
meal she put on her cloak and left them
in spite of their protests.
It was raining outside and she
walked straight ahead without stop
ping, her eyes lowered, her cheeks
flushed and her lips pressed tightly to-
gether. She walked through crowded
streets, long deserted avenues, inter
minable boulevards, without knowing
where she was going For hours she
walked without getting tired, never
noticing, whom she met or what was
going on around her.
Suddenly, when il was almost dark,
she heard q clock striking the hour.
Maria trembled, stopped and counted
5 strokes. She seemed TO wake up
gave a cry and looked around to see
where she was.
In fog and mist she ran like mad to-
wards her studio. At last she reached
the house ran up the stairs arrived AT
her door and raped four times giving
her name The Whisperings inside
stopped suddenly. She heard steps APP
preaching. The door was opened and
Nicholas GOrone's imposing figure stod
before her, filling the whole doorway.
There was an expression Of joy in his
face which gave way to surprise when
he looked at her.
He did not Gomez He has not
Gomez" cried Maria breathlessly. He
has not come. Listeni I won't have it.
you must not do It."
The man, stupefied, stared at her and
understood A smile OF contempt
played about his lips and without a
word he stepped aside, disclosing the
studio dimIy lit by two lamps. And
there among the five brutal Russian
faces grinning at her, she saw him.
He was suspended from the ceiling by
a rope attached to a pulley. He was
still dangling. His feet almost touched
the floor. his hands were tied behind
his back and a sheet Of paper on which
the sentence Of death was written was
pinned TO his breast His face wore an
expression Of hatred and rage, though
the features had begun to relax in
death
There was dead silence. Maria
Wren opened her mouth and gasped for
SO you loved him! You loved
HIM"
Gorone caught hold of her brutally,
but she tore loose, pushed him back,
ran through the door and rent the air
with her cries:
''NTurderersi Assassinsr'
Still crying at the top of her voice
she rushed downstairs, where a crowd
was rapidly gathering. Doors were
thrown open and from the street po-
licemen came rushing in response to
her mad cries; ''Murderers! Assas-
sinsr
Upstairs the five men at a sign from
Nicholas Gorone were barricadinE the
door. putting out the lamps and clutch
ing their revolvers TO sell their lives as
dearly as possible. for the police were
mounting the stairs,