The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-03-19

with the weariness that he had so
long fought back, for he had had
not slept since full forty hours, he
Law down beside her with sigh OF
thankfulness. He had scarce more
than composed his limbs when he
sank into deep slumber, and the clock
on the wall licked solemnly on, It's
slow moving hands traversing, with
the sluggish inexorableness OF time
ITSELF the last section of the twenty
four fateful hours that were marked
upon its face.
1t wanted but ten minutes TO the
close of the twenty-fourth hour when
Sophia Karenov awoke with a start
At first there came no memory of all
this gloomy tragedy that hovered up
on them, had darkened their lives,
and had made the Tsar of all Slavia
more unhappy than any one OF his
unhappy subjects; she saw only Alex
ander sleeping peacefully by her side.
and a flood OF tenderness came upon
her. She touched gentle kiss upon
his forehead, soft as the petals of
the rose to which her red lips were
kin, so that it could not arouse him,
and for a moment she gazed fondly
upon him in this first flush of her
awakening; then her eye caught the
unwonted tapestery of the wall be-
hind him, Startled with slow dawning
remembrance, she began to turn her
head almost imperceptibly, dread and
horror fixing themselves upon her
face BY the time her reluctant gaze
had made the circle of the apart
ment, her eyes freshly glowing from
sleep, had turned glazed and haggard
as they rested upon the clock where
the minute hand was slowly, insensi
bly, overtaking hour-hand. AS they
crept nearer and nearer to the twen-
ty-fourth mark, she clutched her
hands swiftly to her losom to still
the sharp pang that, like a mortal
sting at her heart, was reflected in
the twitch of agony upon her sud
denly drawn lips.
The Red brotherhood. That dread
organization which was the fiercest
menace of the nation, which had
sworn to free Slavia or destroy her,
which counted neither life nor lib
erty, which had even brought So
phia's beauty before AleXanders eyes
that, in the hour of need, it might
have an arm within reach of his
breast! The Red Brotherhood-and
her vowl
"Oh, no-no-no," she cried, ris-
ing to her feet with her hands clasp
ed down before her and upturning
her eyes. Dear God, no." she
breathei, her voice failing her. and,
turning again to the couch, she whis-
pered in anguish: Wake, Alexander;
| bid thee wake"
But Alexander slept on, and Sophia
gazed down at him in gathering ter
ror, her mild eyes filled with
strange CLEAN akin to madness. She
shivere1 from head to foot, and then
some will stronger than her own
seemed to take possession of her, for
her right hand rising SLOWLY toward
her bosom, her left hand caught the
wrist and seemed to strive to keep
it back. Still steadily, tensely, rig
idly, that right hand came up and
sought its way into her bosom. It
came forth as tensely, with the left
hand still striving to impede it's
molten, and in its clasp it held a
pointed, shining dagger.
The little clock upon the wall be.
gan TO whir. The last moments of
March the twenty-fifth were passing
and with them all danger, but the last
strokes OF the chime echoed upon an
absolutely empty room, for no soul
now reposed within it. There were
only two useless tenements there
upon the couch, paling lips upon pal
ing lips, to prove that no man may
hide from Fate, and to form the last
mysterious chapter in the centuries
long secret of the Alexanders.