Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1915-07-08

sion on the Nevsky Prospect, on the
day after the royal apparition was said
to have made it's appearance. We were
enjoying a tete-a-tete after dinner, be-
fore proceeding to ball given that
night at the palace, when we were In
terrupted by the arrival of the young
Boris, dressed in the imposing uniform
of his office. He was quite a lad: in
deed, when had formerly known him
he was a mere child, and had been
accustomed to consider me in the light
of father.
"He entered the room in which we
were seated more abruptly that was,
perhaps, consistent with his filial re-
spect, but the agitation under which
he evidently labored furnished some
excuse.
Mother he cried out as soon as
he was inside the door, have you heard
about the event Of last night?
THE princess, with gesture full OF
dignity, drew his attention to my pres
ence.
"'Boris.' she exclaimed in voice
of reproof You have omitted to pay
your respects to the baron.
The young prince blushed, and has
tened to make his apologies, with that
grace which he inherits from his par
ent
Say no more commanded; 1T is
easy to see that you have something
of Importance which you wish to COM
municate to your mother With
madame's permission, will withdraw
But this neither of them would
hear Of, both mother and son assuring
me that there was no secret which
they would not intrust to my dis
cretion.
1T was then that my young friend
proceeded to disclose the reason for
his sudden appearance, and to aStound
us with the intelligence that he was
himself the author of the rumor which
had so perturbed the society of st.
Petersburg. 1t will, perhaps, save time
if | repeat the substance Of his story
in my own words.
"You must know that the winter pal
ace is one of the most colossal build
ings in the world. Whole suites of
apartments in it are never used even,
but, in order to guard against all dan
ger from the odious attempts OF the
Nihilists, q certain watch Is maintained
even in the most deserted quarters OF
the palace.
THE imperial suite, comprising eight
principal rooms, is traversed through
out its length by a corridor which
opens at one end on the first landing
of the grand staircase, at which point
two of the pages are always on duty,
day and night. At the other end the
corridor is closed by a door which is
always kept locked. On the further
side of this door is a disused gallery,
overlooking garden in the rear OF the
palace, and leading to suite OF rooms
which had not been used for years.
1t was at this spot that the young
prince had been on duty the preceding
night.
You will understand that the task
of keeping guard at night in deserted
gallery was by no means a pleasant
one, although no one page was re-
uuired to be there for more than three
hours in the twenty-four. Moreover, a
small room opening out of the gallery
had been suitably furnished for the
he, n1,yng n
their solitary watch.
"On the night in question Boris had
repaired to the gallery to relieve his
comrade at nine o'clock. He had sim
ply to remain there till twelve, and
then, as soon as the clock struck, he
was at liberty to retire to his own
quarters.
1T wanted very few minutes to the
hour, and he was pacing the gallery,
impatiently waiting for his release,
when he happened to stop opposite one
of the windows, and look out into the
grounds. 1t was bright moonlight
night, and every tree and shrub In the
garden stood out with startling dis
tinctnesS.
He gazed idly, letting his eye roam
over the eXpanse, when all at once his
attention was arrested by sight cal
culated to disturb anyone living in the
alarmist atmosphere of the Russian
court. This was tall and closely muf-
fled figure, stealing along in the
broken shadows of the trees, and max
ing its way towards the nearest cor
ner of the building.
1T was inevitable shat the startled
page should at once connect this hg-
ure with the audacious intrigues of the
dreaded secret society whose plots con-
stitute a perpetual menace to the i'm
perial throne. His impression that
he was watching Nihilist emissary
was confirmed when he saw him con-
fidently approaching a door in the wall
of the palace, which was never used,
and was supposed to be securely fas-
tened against ingress and egress. This
door, on the contrary, appeared to
yield to a touch of the mysterious WIS.,
itor who disappeared from sight be-
meath it's arch.
Greatly disturbed by what he had
seen, Boris kept his station in the gal
lery, considering what it was advisable
for him to do To have given the alarm
might have been Of the greatest dan
ger to the prince. The first person
whom he approached with the news
might have been secret Nihilist. and