The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1915-06-18
MANY YEARS
BY ALFRED WILLIAMS.


NNE1Aeh' W nat q WOAAA VI bANNNA
sweet memories rose within me!
l longed, yet dreaded, to be there.
Was Katrina still there? How would
she receive me? And Paul-ah, yes,
Paul. | %shuddered at the thought of
him But | must get to my destina-
ton; I must know the facts-the truth.
AS Ivan lashed up the horse it &C.
Cured to me that | had not known
peace of mind for a quarter of a cen
fury. Often had l wished to make the
trip, but a fourishing business had
required almost constant attention.
Settling back in the robes, | thought.
The landscape had not altered; no
recent buildings marked progress,
though the line of telegraph poles
along the roadside was new. Just
round the bend the horse ~houndered
to his shoulders in a mudhole; the
tarantass keeled to one side and |
alighted to assist Ivan.
1t was then ] caught sight of the old
Cossack guardhouse, high up on the
hill. Again shuddered.
Originally constructed from bricks
of baked clay and quartz sand, during
the Tatar invasion in GATHERINGS
time, it had later been used as a shell.
ter in the troublesome military days
of two hundred years ago. Near by
were the ruins of the officers quar-
tiers, and beyond, those of the men.
But the old ~guardhouse, partially
built into the solid, %frowning rock, had
resisted the ravages of time. 1t was
within the grim walls that l had seer
the last Of Paul previous to my depar
ture for America.
Again / let Ivan talk. With mucl
crossing, he told me Of its history; o
the scenes, brutal and cruel, that haC
taken place there! of the ghost tina
made his home in the building, ant
how everyone Stunned the very hill
Even the priests were afraid Of 1t, h,
said. l laughed to myself, for hat
been there many times, and Paul hal
been there once-iust once.
On a sudden impulse determined t
go there before going to the village
Ivan paled at the thought; not for
| million rubles would he accompan.
me. Tremblingly, he agreed to wal
! for me, and | ascended the steep hill
Paul and had been boys Of an ag'
I We had many quarrels and Away
hated each other with an ~intensit
: that almost amounted to affection.
s Perhaps the expression sound
strange; It is not-that is, to my minr
Both sons of comparatively ric
' parents, we had been orphaned abol
0 the same time. He did me many Il
o juries, petty WEAKNESSES Of boyhoo
and / retaliated in like name N
not in like manner; for my brain Wa
u quicker than his and more fertile
6 devising subtle revenges, as you wi
see.
But these are small things; lit
nothings Of no consequence compare
4 with the cause of my great hatred
Katrina, the starosta's daughte
L Katrina Of the Golden Hair, l Gale
her; for all the other girls were dar
:, and Katrlna-ah! who can descril
, Katrina?
), That she could prefer Paul new
once entered my mind. l was 4
cleverer, far better set-up But the
is no accounting for a woman's choiC
Paul won; he and my Katrina we
engaged.
At first l set about for revenge, b
soon realized that nothing l could
IS in the way Of retaliation could ma
IF up for that, Katrina his, Paul cou
afford to laugh at me. Finally, | cou
stand 1t no longer; made up L
re mind to leave for America, where
@. had relatives.
6 Setting my affairs in order, l SC
out my interests, houses, mill a
s. land.
e. Paul was away or a trip at the tin
20 80 l did not hurry, but sent my bi
o gage ahead to Karnoul, where It woJ
Ill await my arrival. On the day Of
}6 departure, ! drove over to a neighb
ing village, Pulaski, transacted ]
business, and in the afternoon Dire
back along the road below the qua
GO house.
= The trip that had taken Paul aw
AZ had been to a remote district on
Manchurian border, and as the "
av lay across the foothills. the road bel
rough, 1t had necessltated travel
" foot. Paul was not expected back
i. at least ten days more; 80 you n
Judge, then, of my establishment
meeting him on the road.
/ do not know what possessed
at the tlme-some devil or a twist
'Se the skeln of fate, perhaps. Anyw
he / alighted, and at the sight Of
,s+ cynical smile my blood set itself
fire. We we're alone-absolutely all
eW on the deserted road.
nj OF course he struggled with all
might. His strength was no match
mine, and soon I had him trussed
III like a fowl.
1ill Then l carried him up to the gul
70 house.
Fastened to the walls were str
at chains, ending in rings for the ha
th- and feet. collars for the neck