Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1915-07-22

but since the car appointed Baron
Oberg to be governor general" and
she shrugged her shoulders without
finishing her sentence.
Baron Oberg-governor general of
Finland" l gasped.
Certainly. Did you not know?" she
said, dropping into French. 1T is
four years now that he has held su-
preme power to crush and Russify
these poor Firms. All, m'sieur! this
country, once 81 prosperous, is a blot
upon the face of Europe. His methods
are the worst and most INSCRIPTIONS
of any employed by Russia. Before he
came here he was the best hated man
in Petersburg, and that, they say, is
why the emperor sent him to u.s."
Where does this baron live?" l
asked, surprised that he should occupy
so high a place in Russian officialdom
the representative Of the car, with
powers as great as the emperor him
self.
"At the Government palace, in Hell
singfors."
"And Elma Heath is herein this
grim fortress! Why?"
"Ah, m'sieur, how can l tell? By
reason of family secrets, perhaps.
They account for so much, you know"
The fact that the baron was ruler Of
Finland amazed me, for l had half ex-
pected him to be some clever adven-
turer. Yet as the events of the past
flashed through my brain, l recollected
that in Rannoch Wood had been found
the miniature of the Russian Order Of
Saint Anne, a distinction which, in all
probability, had been conferred upon
.him. If so, the coincidence, to say the
least, was a remarkable one. | ques-
toned my companion further regard
ing the baron.
"Ah, m'sieur," she declared, they
call him The Stranger of the Films
1t was he who ordered the peasants of
Kasko to be fogged until four of them
died-and the car gave him the Star
of White Eagle for it-he who sup
pressed half the newspapers and put
eighteen editors in prison for publish
ing a report of a meeting of the
Swedes in ~Helsingfors; he who encour-
ages corruption and bribery among the
officials for the furtherance of Russian
interests; he who has ordered Rus
sian to be the official language, who
has restricted public education, who
has overtaxed and ground down the
people until now the mine is laid, and
Finland is ready for open revolt. The
prisons are filled with the innocent;
women are t1ogged; the poor are starv-
ing, and The Strangler,' as they call
him, reports to the ga that Finland
is submissive and is R~ussianized!"
l had heard something of this abom.
Unable state of affairs from time to
time from the English press, but had
never taken notice Of the name of the
oppressor. So the uncle of Elma
Heath was "The Stranger of Finland, u
the man who, in four years, had re.
duced a prosperous country to a state
Of ruin and revolt!
Cannot | see her at once?" | asked
feeling that we had remained too long
there. If my presence in that place
was perilous the sooner l escaped from
it the better.
Eyes, come" she said. "But silence.
Walk softly" and holding up the ole
horn lantern to give me light, she lee
me out into the low stone corridor
again, conducting me through a mum
Der of intricate passages, all bare ant
gloomy, the stones worn hollow by thu
feet of ages, into a small, square
chamber, the floor of which was car
peted, and where, suspended higl
above, was a lamp that shed but
faint light over the barely-furnishet
place. Beyond was another smalle
room into which the old nun disaI
peared for a moment; then she cam
forth leading a strange wan little fg
ure in a gray gown, a figure who's
lace WdS Lie ulOoL pCllCCI duu Illus
: lovely l had ever SEEN. Her wealt
] of chestnut hair fell disheveled abou
her shoulders, and as her hands wer
: clasped before her she looked straigh
: at me in surprise as she was led tt
. wards me.
She walked but feebly, and her cour
tenance was deathly pale. Her dress
as she came beneath the lamp, was,
saw, coarse, yet clean, and her beaut
full, regular features, which in he
i, photograph had held me in such Ease
! nation, were wen sweet an
! more matchless than I had believe
9 them to be. l stood before her dun
founded in admiration.
In silence she bowed gracefully, an
I then looked It me with as%tonishmen
!, apparently wondering what l, a pc
s feet stranger, required of her.
miss Elma Heath, | presume?"
exclaimed at last. May | introduc