The Spectator., 1915-07-23

Where does this baron liver" l asked, surprised that he should occupy so high place in Russian officialdom the representative of the czar, 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?"
 An, m'sieur, how can I 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, 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 remarkable one. I ques- toned my companion further regard ing the baron.
 An, m'sieur," she declared, they call him The Strangler of the Films It was he who ordered the peasants of kasko to be fiogged until four of them died-and the cZar 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 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 f1ogged; the poor are starv- ing, and The Strangler,' as they call him, reports to the czar that Finland is submissive and is Russianized."
 l had heard something of this abom- inable 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 Strangler of Finland" the man who, in four years, had re- duoed prosperous country to state of ruin and revolt!
 Cannot l see her at once?" I 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.
 Yes, come" she said. But silence. Walk softly" and holding up the old horn lantern to give me light, she led me out into the low stone corridor again, conducting me through a mum Der of intricate passages, all bare and gloomy, the stones worn hollow by the feet of ages, into a small, square chamber, the floor of which was car peted, and where, suspended high above, was lamp that shed but a faint light over the barely-furnished place. Beyond was another smaller room into which the old nun disap- peared for moment; then she came forth leading A strange wan little fig ure in gray gown, figure whose face was the most perfect and most of chestnut hair fell disheveled about her shoulders. and as her hands were clasped before her she looked straight at me in surprise as she was led to- wards me.
 She walked but feebly, and her coun- tenance was deathly pale. Her dress. as she came beneath the lamp, was. saw, coarse. yet clean, and her beauti- ful, regular features, which in her photograph had held me in such fasci- nation. were even more sweet and more matchless than l had believed them to be. l stood before her dunn founded in admiration.
 In silence she bowed gracefully, and then looked at me with astonishment, apparently wondering what I. a per feet stranger, required of her.
 Miss Elma Heath. l presumeT exclaimed at last May l introduce myself to you? My name is Gordon Gregg, English by birth. cosmopolitan by instinct. I have come here to ask you a question-a question that con- cerns myself. Lydia Moreton has sent me to you"
 I noticed that her great brown eyes watched my lips and not my face.
 Her own lips moved, but she looked at me with an inexpressible sadness. No sound escaped her.
 stood rigid before her as one turned to stone, for in that instant. in a flash indeed, l realized the awful truth.
 She was both deaf and dumb!
 She raised her clasped hands to me in silence. yet with tears yelling in her splendid eyes. I saw that upon her wrists were pair of bright steel gyves.,
 What is this placer" demanded of the woman in the religious habit,