The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1915-10-09

breath, ana L tnlnK must nave tulHeu
pale. My pocket was empty! NV
wallet had been stolen! Entirely and
helplessly had fallen into the hands
Of the tyrant of the car.
We faced each other. and looked
straight into his gray. bony face, and
answered in tone of defiance:
"Ah! you surely do not think that |,
| after ten years service in the British
diplomatic service, would dare to come
| to Finland upon this quest-would
dare to face the rotten and corrupt
officialdom which Russia has placed
within this country-without first TAX
ing some adequate precaution? No.
baron. Therefore l defy you, and l
leave Helsingfors tonight"
You will not. You are under ar
| rest"
laughed heartily and snapped my
fingers. saying: Before you give me
over to your police. first telegraph to
your minister of finance, Monsieur de
White, and inquire of him who and
| what am
uOH uIueTSIdHu you.
You have merely to send my name
| and description to the minister and
ask for a reply" said. HE will give
you instructions-or, if you SO desire,
ask his majesty yourself"
And why, pray, does his majesty
concern himself about you?" he asked.
at once puzzled.
You will learn later, after / am
confined in Kajana and your secret Is
known in Petersburg"
What do you mean?"
Il mean," said, Il mean that have
taken all the necessary steps to be
forearmed against you. The day | am
incarcerated by your order the whole
truth will be known. | shall not De
the sufferer-but you will"
My words, purposely enigmatical.
misled him. He saw the drift OF my
argument and being Of course una
ware of how much knew, he was still
in fear of me. My only uncertainty
was of the actual fate of poor Elma.
NV wallet had been stolen-with
purpose. without a doubt-for the
thief had deprived me of that most i'm
portant Of all documents, the open
sesame to every closed door. the ukase
of the car.
You defy mel" he said hoarsely,
turning back to the window with the
written order for my Imprisonment as
a political still in his hand. But we
shall see."
"You rule Finland" said in hard
tone, "but you have no power over
Gordon Gregg"
81 have power. and intend to exert
it."
For your own ruin" I remarked
with a self-confdent smile. THE car
may be your patron, and you his ia
vorite, but his majesty has no toler-
ance of officials who are guilty OF
what you are guilty of. You talk Of
arresting mel" added with a smile.
why, you ought rather to go on your
knees and beg my silence"
He went white with rage at my cut
ting sarcasm. He literally boiled over.
for he saw that was quite cool and
had no fear of him or of the terrible
punishment to which he intended to
consign me. Besides which. he was
filed with wonder regarding the exact
amount of information which Elma
had impaired to me.
ARREST me if you like. Denounce
me by means of any lie that arises to
your lips, but remember that the truth
is known beyond the confines Of the
Russian empire, and for that reason
traces will be sought of me and full
explanation demanded. l have taken
precaution, Xavier Oberg," l added.
therefore do your worst. I repeat
again that defy you'll"
He paced the big room, his thin,
clawlike hands still clenched, his yell
low teeth grinding, his dark deep-set
eyes fixed straight before him. II he
had dared he would have struck me
down at his feet. But he did not dare.
saw too plainly that even though my
wallet was gone l still held the trump
card-that he feared me.
had led him to believe that knew
everything, and that his future was in
my hands, while he, on his part, was
anxious to hold me prisoner, and yet
dared not do so.
The baron had halted, and was look.
ing through one of the great windows
down upon the courtyard below, where
sentries were pacing. The palace was
for him a gilded prison, for he dared
not go out for drive in one or other
of the parks or for a row on the wa
ter across to Hogholmen or Dagero,
being compelled to remain there for
months without showing himself pub
licly. People in Abo had told me that
when he did 60 out into the streets of
Helsingfors it was at night, and he
usually disguised himself in the uni
form of a private soldier of the
guard, thus escaping recognition by
those who, driven to desperation by
injustice, sought his life.
TO BE CONTINUED)