The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-03-24

Madam" said Holmes, II am sure
that II is the truth. l fear that you
are far from we'll"
She had turned dreadful color, the
more ghastly under the dark dust
streaks upon her face. She seated her
self on the side of the bed; then she
resumed.
Il have only little time here" she
said, but | would have you to know
the whole truth. / am this mans wife.
He is not an Englishman. He is Rus
sian. His name will not tell"
For the first time the old man stirred.
God bless you. Annap he cried. God
bless your
She cast a look of the deepest dis
dain in his direction. why should
you cling so hard to that wretched life
Of yours, Sergius?" said she. 1T has
done harm to many, and good TO none
not even to yourself. However, il is
not for me to cause the frail thread to
be snapped before Gods time have
enough already upon my soul since !
crossed the threshold Of this cursed
house. But / must speak or shall be
too late.
II have said, gentlement that am
this mans wife. He was fifty and I
a foolish girl of twenty when we mar
ried. II was in city Of Russia, uni
versity-l will not name the place"
God bless you, Anna" murmured
the old man again.
1--WE were eformers-revolutioni
-Nihilists, you understand. He and I
and many more. Then there. came
time Of trouble, police officer was
killed, many were arrested, evidence
was wanted, and in order to save his
own life and to earn a great reward,
my husband betrayed his own wife and
his companions. Yes, we were all ar
rested upon his confession. Some of
us found our way to the gallows, and
some TO Siberia. was among these
last, but my term was not for life. My
husband came to England with his i'll
gotten gains, and has lived in quiet ever
since, knowing we'll that il the brother
hood knew where he was not a week
would pass before justice would be
done"
The old man reached out a trembling
hand, and helped himself to cigarette.
Il am in your hands, Anna" said he.
You were always good to me-"
II have not yet told you the height
of his villainy." said she. Among our
comrades of the order there was one
who was the friend of my heart. He
was noble, unselhsh, loving-all that
my husband was not. He hated yio-
lence. We were all guilty-if that is
guilt-but he was not. He wrote for
ever dissuading US from such course.
These letters would have saved him.
So would my diary, in which, from day
to day, had entered both my feelings
toward him and the view which each
of US had taken. My husband found
and kept both diary and letters. He
hid them, and he tried hard to swear
away the young mans life. In this he
failed, but Alexis was sent a convict
to Siberia, where now, at this moment,
he works in a salt mine. Think of
that, you villain, you villain NOW,
now, at this very moment Alexis, a
man whose name you are not worthy to
speak, works and lives like slave;
and yet l have your life in my hands,
and | let you 60"
You were always a noble woman,
Anna" said the old man, putting at
his cigarette.
She had risen, but she fell back again
with a cry of pain
II must finish," she said "When my
term was over l set myself to get the
diary and letters which, if sent to the
Russian government, would procure my
friends release. i knew that my hus-
band had come to England. After
months of searching I discovered where
he was. | knew that he still had the
diary, for when / was in Siberia / had
a letter from him once, reproaching me
and quoting some passages from its
pages Yet l was sure that, with his
revengeful nature, he would never give
it to me of his own free will | must
get it for myself With this object |
engaged an agent from a private detec-
tive firm, who entered my husbands
house as a secretary--it was your sec
ond secretary, Sergius, the one who
left you SO hurriedly. He found that
papers were kept in the cupboard, and
he got all impression of the key: He
would not go farther. He furnished
me with plan of the house, and he
told me that in the forenoon the study
was always empty, as the secretary was