Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-05-01

should return TO the town ana 80,
him food. This they did. and a. s,,' ..ae
night cane on they took hin, ,r, o. = =
town. where Ivan hid him In n,
fathers barn among the hay.
Early in the morning a nur,;o- :.
officials entered the town looktn. "
an escaped prisoner But he W.
they sought was safely hidden ~
ministered to by Ivan and Nina .s.s
searching the village in vain the -.
left, and the fugitive as we'll a. I.
| preservers breathed more freely r.
or three days after the officials, a.
ture Ivan took clothes and shawn,
materials to the loft. and the fuytt,-.
relieved himself Of his beard. crf 4.
hair and put on peasants suit Ia
he asked Ivan TO bring him Den -
and paper. and he wrote a letter Witt.
he addressed to some one in Nos.1-.
and asked Ivan to put it in the post q,
him.
After this the fugitive occas.,,.n,
left the barn and. growing more Vs.
turesome, at last took up his a1lar,s-.
at an inn. He invented a story that +,
had little money, with which he NJ
posed to buy a few acres of grornd
and was looking about him for ,ha,
purpose. This explanation of his uras
ence in y. was weakened by his mar.
ner. which, since he was rid Of his villa
appearance, marked him for pentla.
man. However, the people with whom
he mingled were not very acute. and
even had they known that he was an
escaped political prisoner would have
shielded him so far as was possible
After awhile he began to receive mail
which, of course. was addressed to him
under an assumed name.
Meanwhile the lottery scheme hv
which Nina was to be disposed of
dragged because so few tickets had
been sold. But at last they were dis
posed of. and the drawing was an.
nounced to take place at once. Some
curiosity was manifested to know who
had taken them. But the managers of
the affair would give no information.
On the evening of the drawing Nina
was present, as was customary for the
bride, with a despairing look on her
face that excited the commiseration Of
all. Ivan had saved enough money to
pay for ten tickets. But what were
ten chances in a thousand? The same
as one in a hundred. He could not
bring himself to attend the drawing
so he remained away During the draw.
ing he walked back and forth before
the building in which it took place
looking up at the place where the girl
he loved was to be disposed Of
Presently he heard a commotion,
which he believed followed the an
nouncement of the name of the win
ner. A wild hope sprang up in his
breast that one of his chances had
won. He ran up into the hall and
asked who had drawn the prize. He
was told that the name was Nicholas
Axelrod, but who Nicholas Axelrod
was no one seemed to know. His
heart fell. Wringing his hands, be
was about to turn away when the
manager of the lottery, standing on
the platform where the drawing had
taken place, advanced and read from
a paper he held in his hands:
III. Nicholas Axelrod win the prize. be-
ing a married man, give 1t to Ivan Ivan
off.
Shouts arose, and cries for Ivan
were heard. A man caught him by the
arm as he was leaving and. turning
him around, led him up to the platform
where Nina sat smile of delight on
her features. He kissed her, and the
shouting broke forth anew.
But who was Nicholas Axelrod:
There were cries for him, but he did
not respond. Persons looked about
them, expecting to see him arise and
make his way to the platform TO re-
ceive the ovation which it was evident
was awaiting him. But he did not ap-
pear. nor was he ever seen again in v
The happy couple sought him. but dia
not find him. 1t was rumored that ne
was a member of noble family; tnat
he had been pardoned by the car
that he had been returned TO SiDeria-
None of these rumors was ever
proved. Both Ivan and his wife beileve
today that he bought all the unsup
scribed chances in the lottery. thus
having three out of four chances ol
and that he had done thus 10
,epay them for succoring him.
Nicholas Axelrods real name was
Paul Gerowsky. a Pole. whose family
related to the kings of Poland, SUP
nitted only because they were ohlleeu
o submit TO the partition OF tneH
ountry among the three powers-Aus
ria, Germany and Russia. But tne
Ierowskys did not give up hope t0al
'oland would be redeemed and were
yer watching for an opportunity !"
ssert its reunion and independence
some years before the marriage u
vac and Nina. Paul GerowsRy oe
anne the leader of plot with TINS emu
n view. 1t was discovered. ana nc
vas sent 10 Siberia. His escape froni
here. his succor by the lovers, Ms
urchase of the unsold tickets 10 'ns
,ttery. as has been stated, WERE
hat was ever known OF him ny ~
eople of \. Under his own name
pent the rest OF his life as citizen "
ne United States.