Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1915-11-26

complaint. None came. Then he sent
OUT some powder manufactured by the
OLD process Very soon a report came
that a proportion of these shells would
not explode
linen Peter went to the governor of
the works and told him that he had
invented a powder for shells that had
worked perfectly. The governor at
tempted to get the secret but Peter
Kept it. This he could easily do since
there was one ingredient the nature of
Whlch no one knew but himself. He
oHered to sell the formula to the gov
eminent provided that in addition TO
the price paid he should be free to
leave the factory.
Graft predominates in Russia. and
the governor determined to force Pc.
ters secret from him to use 1t for his
own benefit He put Peter in irons in
a dungeon and on bread and water
IL quite likely that Peter would
nave given way under this treatment
hau IL not been that by holding out he
might secure his terms. If he did he
could marry Marya, who had assured
MN that she would never be the wife
or any one else. If he did not succeed
death might relieve him of his inpris-
onment.
Complaints came SO thick and fast
or the shells sent out from the fac
tory that one day the governor ordered
Peter to be brought to his Office
When he arrived all others were Or
dered out, and when the two were
alone together the governor said:
nave concluded to recommend to
the government to buy your formula.
How much do you ask for it?"
Ten thousand rubles."
Very Wei; it will be paid. NV COM
mission will be one-half"
Il will pay no commission. A man
who brides a government official is as
culpable as that official"
you will think better of this" said
the governor. go back to your dun
geon."
Peter returned to his dungeon, He
was full of eXpedients and endeavored
TO md one by which he could COM
munlcate with Marya. He could write
to her, but all letters from those in
side the factory were examined by q
censor. Peter induced the man who
brought him his food to bring also writ
ing material and bottle on the shelves
IN the laboratory, giving him the name
on the label Upon receiving them Pc
ter wrote letter to Marya in ordinary
INK ana across its face with the chem
1cal a message stating that he had in
vented new explosive, but was pre-
vented from using it. What was writ
ten in plain ink contained this sentence:
we are suffering with the heat" This
was to convey an instruction to Marva
to heat his letter.
Now, the message that Peter had
written across the face of his letter in
the chemical that had been brought
him was invisible, but by being heated
1t came out plainly in visible letters
The censor who read the letters that
went out, reading Peters letter, noticed
the words I'VE are suffering with the
heat" but could not understand them
because it is seldom warm in Russia
He sent for Peter and asked him what
he meant by writing that it was warm.
Peter said he had made mistake, and.
drawing a pen over the word heat, he
wrote ''cOld," but the word heat was
not erased.
Marya did not need the hint, for she
read the letter by the light of blazing
logs, and under the warmth the mes
sage came out in dark brown letters.
She thought long while about this
communication, but, not realizing its
full import, took it to her father. He
saw in it more than she did, but could
suggest nothing.
One morning Marya was missing.
She had saved little money, which
was missing also. She had started to
Petrograd, using the money to pay her
way so far as it would go. When she
reached the capital she saw no way to
give Peters letter to the car. Learn
ing the hour that he reached the pal
ace, she tied the letter to a stone and,
standing on the sidewalk behind the
line of soldiers, tossed it into his car
riage. The car, thinking it was a pc
tition, handed it to an attendant to ex
anime.
One day Peter was taken from his
dungeon and led up to the governors
office. An aid-de-camp to the czar and
the governor were the only persons
present. The aid held Peters letter In
his hand and asked him If he wrote It.
When Peter admitted that he did he
was taken into a conveyance with the
aid and carried to Petrograd. There he
communicated his secret to one ap-
pointed to receive 1t.
Peter was paid liberal sum for his
formula and sent back to the factory
in place of the governor, who disap-
peared. Some said that he was i'm
prisoned by order Of the car, others
that he was sent to Siberia. At any
rate, he never appeared at the works
again.
Peter as governor Of the factory
could go and come as he pleased. He
married Marya. but had no time for a
honeymoon. Marya lived with him in
the dwelling used by the governor I'M
til the works were destroyed by Ger
man emissaries Then Peter was sent
to another point, where he was expect
ed to spend his time investigating and
inventing munitions Of war.