The Spectator. (Ozark, Ark.) 1911-1916, 1915-09-10

finished packing, the three men re-
turned to the vessel all of them look
ing dark-faced and disappointed.
Woodroffe whispered some words to
the baron, after which ! went to
MuriePs cabin and wished her good
by, and we went ashore. taking the
train first to Cole Salvetti, thence to
Pisa, and afterwards to the beautiful
old city of Siena, which | had so
longed to see. One of my teeth gave
me pain, and the baron, after a couple
of days at the Hotel de Sienne, took
me to a queer-looking little old Italian
"a dentist who, he said, enjoyed an
excellent reputation. ! was quick to
notice that the two men had met be-
fore, and as ! sat in the chair and gas
was given to me | saw them exchange
meaning glances. In few moments
/ became insensible. but when / awoke
an hour later | was astounded to feel
a curious soreness in my ears. My
tongue, too, seemed paralyzed, and in
a few moments the awful truth
dawned upon me. had been rendered
deaf and dumb!
The baron pretended to be greatly
concerned about me-" 1t went on, but
quickly realized that / had been the
victim of a foul and dastardly plot,
and that he had conceived it, fearing
lest | might speak the truth concern
ing the Privy Councillor Polovstoff,
| for OF exposure he lived in constant
/ fear To encompass my end would
t be against his own interests. as he
would lose my fortune. so he had ST.
/ fenced me lest | should reveal the ter
I rible truth concerning both him and
his associates. He was not rich. and
/ have reason 10 believe that from
time to time he gave information as
/ to persons who possessed valuable
/ jewels, and thus shared in the plumber
obtained by those on the yacht.
From Italy we travelled or to Ber-
lin. thence to Petersburg. and back TO
dreary Helsingfors. journeying as
| quickly as we could, yet never allow
/ ing me opportunity of being with
| strangers. Both my ears and tongue
were very painful. but said nothing.
/ He was surely fiend in black coat,
and my only thought now was how to
j escape him From the moment when
/ that so-called dentist had ruined my
hearing and deprived me of power Of
/ speech, he kept me aloof from every
! one. The fear that ! should reveal
! everything had apparently grown 70
j l.. !, l,.c.l It .
/ terrible mode of silencing my lips
/ But the true depth of his villainy was
/ not yet apparent until | was back in
Finland
"On the night of our arrival he
+ called in his son, who had travelled
with us from Petersburg. and in
writing again demanded that | should
/ marry him. | wrote my reply-a firm
refusal. He struck the table angrilv
with his first and wrote saying that
! should either marry his son or die
Then next day. while walking alone
out beyond the town of Helsingfors
as | often used to do. was arrested
upon the false charge of an attempt
! upon the life of Madame Vakuroff
and transported. without trial. to the
terrible fortress of Kajana, some OF
the horrors of which you have your.
self experienced. The charge against
me was necessary before l could be
fncarcerated there, but once within. IL
was the scheme of the governor-gen-
eral to obtain my consent to the mar
riage by threats and by the constant
terrors of the place. He even went
for my Punishment to Saghalien and
! brought it to me TO kajana, declaring
| that If in one month did not consent
! he should allow me to be sent to exile.
/ While | was in Kajana he knew that
his secret was safe. therefore by every
means in his power he urged me to
consent to the odious union.
All the rest is known TO you-how
Providence directed you TO me as my
deliverer. and how Woodroffe followed
you in secret. and pretending to be
my friend. took me with him to Peters
burg. He had learned Of my fortune
from the baron. and intended to marry
me himself. But now that all is over
1t appears to me like some terrible
dream | never believed that so much
iniquity existed in the world. or that
men could fight a defenseless woman
with such double-dealing and cruel in
genuity. All, the tortures | endured
in Kajana are beyond human concep-
ton. Yet surely Oberg and Wood
roffe will obtain their well-merited de-
serts--if not in this world. then in the
world TO come. Are we not taught by
Holy Writ to forgive our enemies?
Therefore. let us forgive"
There my silent loves strange story
ended A bald. STRAIGHTFORWARD nara
tive that held us all for some moments
absolutely speechless--one of the
strangest and most startling stories
ever revealed
She watched every expression of
my countenance. and then. viii, had
finished reading and placed my arm