Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1911-02-02
THE CURSE
OF GOLD
By CARL SARGENT CHASE
Copyright, 1910. by American Press
Association.

when 1 was young and how absolutely
passed away is that world in which /
then lived. A stranger matter is that
I passed out Of it when it still existed.
! l was considered dead.
1 I'm q Russian by birth and when
l vas growing up to womanhood i'm
bibed the ideas Of a band that were
then called nihilists. They have since
become revolutionists in Russia, but in
other countries the most desperate
wing of the sect are anarchists. l was
then too young to discriminate between
the different beliefs; but, having always
been very poor, 1 readily fell in with
those who believed the poor suffer a
great injustice on the part Of the rich
and that the wealth of the world
should be divided up among the poor,
With this object in view governments
which protect the rich should be de-
stroyed.
1 had not been a nihilist long before
1 was ordered to assassinate the min
lister of the interior. A member of the
circle to which 1 belonged was a friend
Of and trusted by the minister. This
friend was to secure me a position as
nurse in the victims family and I was
to poison him.
A few days after l received the order
a letter came from America, where
an uncle of mine had gone when a boy,
stating that he had died and left me a
large fortune. What a wonderful
change the announcement made i'll me!
Far from thinking that l should divide
with the poor. l thought that my for
tune should be my own
How l left Russia secretly, how I
reached America I'M was put in pos
session Of my fortune I will not give
here. No one but myself knew of my
Inheritance till after it had been paid
me. But | was sur that it would
serve to identify me and that some
one would be sent to inflict upon me
a sentence Of death for not having car
ried out the edict of the society.
I converted my fortune-it amounted
to 500, O00-into gold. 1 could get no
interest on gold, but I did not dare to
purchase securities, for my name must
appear on them. Even il l put my
money in a savings bank, taking a
book in lieu of a receipt, l could not
get it back without signing my anne.
And now began the most dreadful
period of my life, dreadful in this-I
must spend money to live besides
money to go from place to place, for l
dared not remain in one location. l
was therefore obliged to draw on my
capital. Besides this. | must take care
of and move my gold, which was very
heavy. l was in constant dread not
only Of robbery, but that while trav-
cling my gold would be lost. I had a
very strong ironbound trunk made.
padded inside. and in this l put my
gold in little bags. each bag containing
Il thousand dollars. This trunk | new
er lost sight of and was continually
troubled about it. Sometimes the
strangeness of my position would oc-
cur to me. l had believed that the
poor should take away the possessions
Of the rich. and here was l. rich. con-
tinually on the rack about my posses
sions. Miserable as l had been in pow
erty, l sometimes envied my former
lot. This money that had seemed so
desirable to me. what comfort was |
getting out Of it? Carting around a
trunk that | was constantly afraid |
would lose OF would betray me was
certainly nc pleasure.
Ten years Of this kind of life passed,
during which on several occasions !
met my. own cOuntrymen who l knew
were nihilists. Finally | met a Rus
sian friend who had no utilization with
the nihilists. She agreed to write to
those | had left behind that she had
seen me in a hospital. where ! was
lying at the point of death. and that
l had died there. She afterward told
me that her story was believed and !
would oon be forgotten both by those
who loved me and those who had con-
demned me.
l saw now a new life before me. 1
took another name and invested my
money. Of which l had $4,000 left.
But I lived an exile's life and did not
make friends. My money could not
give me happiness. I tried to interest
myself in banks. but / had not been
educated, and l took no interest in
them. Time hung heavy on my hands.
One day l went past a factory.
Working girls were coming out, and
none Of them had the unhappy face
that I had. thought of the day
when I, too. was a working girl and
realized that, after all, I was happier
then than / was now. If l could only
be occupied the days would not seem
sc long to me.
The next day I went to the factory
where / had seen the girls and asked
for a position without pay till / could
learn the work to be done. My offer
was accepted, and / went to work the
next morning.
/ worked for five years, then mar
ried a fellow laborer. Since my mar
riage my occupation has been caring
for my home and my children. The
cursed gold left me by my uncle is