The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1915-11-25
LOVERS BEFORE
THEY HAD MET
Romance That Began In a
Siberian Prison.

] u WIS NY Hfst night IN Siberian
prison. But twenty-five years old, on
the very threshold Of life. and con.
demncd 10 spend twenty years-from
youth to the beginning OF old age-in
| confinement.
Tick. tlckcty. tick.
Some one Is rapplng on the heating
| pipe which runs up to the floor above.
All political prisoners know the code,
and ] was not long In spelling out the
remainder Of n sentence. The begin
ming ! had lost.
so lonely"
i must condense two years into few
sentences. The rapper. occupying a cell
directly above mine. was n girl, Anna
Nronsky. the daughter OF a university
professor She had been sent to Slbe-
ria for teaching the peasants. She had
been placed In solitary confinement
and at the time she made my acquaint.
ance was on the verge OF insanity. To
save her | exerted myself To the ut
most. encouraging her. telling her of
escapes OF which ! had heard and of
escapes ] Invented. For this sympa-
thy she was grateful. and / was not
long In turning her gratitude TO love.
There IL nothing like love TO stimu-
late both hope and endeavor. ! spent
all my time In planning an escape both
for her and me. Escape was not i'm
possible. for the prison system was bad
and the prison officials corrupt. II was
recapture that feared. To gain time
after leaving the prison and by time
distance | hit upon the plan Of having
dummies I'm our cells.
This plan I communicated TO Anna,
suggesting that when the guard brought
her meals she should always sit in the
same position and answer no questions.
This was to get the guard used to what
a dummy would be. Anna began the
process ut once. as I did. BY our rap
ping code other prisoners told us that
there was an hour, supper time. when
one might walk out OF the prison I'M
seen: but. as Anna and ! could not
rely upon escaping ut the same time.
We were to meet. II possible. at a dis
tant town where exiles having served
their terms were permitted to live.
made a dummy out OF my mattress
and my bedclothing. Every time my
guard appeared | sat with my head
bent on my bed as though I'm melan-
choly. ! arranged by the code with a
prisoner at the end OF the corridor
that at three coughs from me he was
to shrek. One evening ! gave the sig
nal. The guard. without relocking my
cell. hurried to the prisoner l set up
my dummy and walked out. I sue
ceeded In getting out OF the prison
without being seen except by one man.
who supposed ] was privileged con-
Wet. II was very dark. and hid In a
corner Of the wall. ! had noticed from
my cell window a place where one
could get on low building with a
chance Of escape. Finding a piece of
scantling In the prison yard, used II
first TO climb on the building and next
to reach the top OF the wall. from
which jumped down and escaped.
My dummy must have worked sue
cessfully. for was not pursued. and
II pursued I should surely have been
captured. | went to the rendezvous
and waited there as long as dared for
Anna vronsky. but she did not appear.
Then ! reluctantly made my way to
Russia, stopping just beyond the Dor
der. where I remained under an as
sumed name. Indeed. my identity with
my former self was unrecognizable. l
made living trading In furs and kept
lookout for escaped prisoners. from
some Of whom l hoped to hear some
thing OF Anna vronsky.
Ii seems strange that n man should
love and continue 10 love a girl he has
never seen. but there was more be-
tween me and my fellow sufferer than
between most lovers who had been
brought up together. And this Is the
reason why l remained IN what to me
was the most dangerous position In
Russia. near the Siberian border.
Six years passed One day went up
TO Kara bay to make purchases and on
my way back stopped for supper and
the night at a little farmhouse. the
only occupants being an old woman
and her niece. From the moment !
saw the niece ! felt that she alone
could take the place Of my imprisoned
love. chatted with the two women
TIL the aunt went TO bed. The girl was
about to follow her when l. fancying
from a sadness stamped on her face
that she might have suffered as polit-
zeal prisoner. tapped with lead pencil
ON the table from force Of habit spell
ing words that had often spelled In
prison:
"Anna. love you"
The change In the girl before me was
astonishing. She turned first white.
then a rosy red.
"Are you
"Yes. and your
I started forward and clasped her In
my arms. oh. the happiness Of that
embrace! Except for our hearts beat
ing against each other there was ST.
lence. Then ] asked her II she would
love the real as she had loved the ideal.
She said she would.
The woman with whom she lived
was no relation TO her. and she had
been with her only a few months.
took Anna away with me, and We have