The Washington herald., 1919-04-06
AND HERE 1T CONTINUES


exiled to Amiga.
AND HERE 1T CONTINUES
1t was a feast fit for the gods TO
them. and those of them who were
single asked me to board them regu-
FarIy, and 1 not only boarded them,
but I washed and repaired their
clothes as we'll / had a hut turned
into a bathhouse. and it was not long
before the politicals looked human
again. My duties in the house de-
manded all my time and energy, but
was happy in being able to serve.
The men regarded me as their mother,
and never tired of praising me.
planted a garden, and sOwed some
grain. as land was given by the COM
munity for the asking, there being
few settlers in spite Of the natural
riches of the region. The rivers in
Northern Siberia are fulNOf fish. and
there is no end to the wealth Of tim
ber Within a couple of hundred
versts from US gold mines were being
worked. On the strength of our own
ership of the butcher shop in Yakutsk
we were able to buy, on credit,
horse. and also borrow some money.
My popularity with the politicals
irTitated Yasha. He grew jealous of
their kind words. now suspecting one
man Of couTting me and now another
As he had nothing to do, he nursed
he jealousies till they expanded in his
Imagination. He took to playing cards,
which is very popular with the Yak
ute, who like to gamble. This led
gradually to his becoming a profess
sional gambler He would leave the
hnr0a 0afuhhnrfngr YaE1rf
tlement and stay away, frequently for
several days, spending all his time
in gambling. 1t finally became a
habit with HIM. -4e would disappear,
and reappear suddenly, only in dif-
ferent moods.
When he won ne would return all
In smiles. with money jingling in his
pockets, bringing me some presents,
and displaying great generosity gen.
orally. But that was not the usual
case. Most of the time he lost, and
then he would come back home in
gloom, depressed and detected. nerv-
Gus and irritable, picking ,luarrels and
acting provokingly. Especially was he
aroused whenever he found some po-
htical in the mouse. Consumed by
Jealousy. he would taunt me, and not
infrequently resort to blows.
''Ysshka, have you lost your
senses?' I would say. DO you need
some money? You know 1 am always
glad to help you out" and 1 would
dig into my small savings. knowing
that he had lost his last penny. But
that would not alleviate my suffering.
IL was with relief that l looked for
ward to his departures. and with ap-
prehension that l saw him return.
ha
we obtained permission to visit
fakutsk for the purpose of collecting
the money due to US for the butcher
shop, but the man to whom we in
trusted the business now denied oW-
ing US any money. claiming to have
paid fully at the time Of our exile IN
Amiga There was a viO1ent quarrel
but no money. As l delivered the
store to him on faith. we could not
suestantiate our claims and oust him
from his possession of the premises
There was nothing to be done but
return with empty hands, with The
burden Of the debts we had acquired
at Amiga weighing heavily on our
shoulders. There was the dreary
prospect of toll before me, of hard
and continuous toiling. to paw what
we owed.
One summer day a new party of
exiles arrived at Amiga. One of them
was a young fellow of about 20. Yasha
took a liking 10 him apd proposed
that he remain in our house to help
me along. Knowing OF Yasha's jeaI-
ousy. 1 objected.
Yashs." 1 argued. what are YOU
doing? You know how Jealous you
become when you find one Of the
colony in the house. and now YOU
want me to keep this yoangster here
with you away most of the time. You
are Just creating trouble for me, L
don't want him, need no help. Please
don't burden me with him."
Marusia," Yasha replied, tenderIy,
1 swear that won't be Jealous any
more. won't, dear. Forgive me for
all the pain l have caused you"
Yasha's words did not entirely paci-
fy me. but he overruled my objections.
promising to be reasonable in the fu-
ture. The same afternoon a Yakut
called for him, and they left together
to go to a gambling place The young
man remained with me. Nothing oc-
CURED the first day or two. Then.
one night, I was awakened by the
young man bending over me. I re-
PEELED him. appealing to his sense of
shame. but he persisted in his ad-
vances, and 1 struck him violently.
jumping out Of bed. grabbing a chair
and. shouting at the top of my voice
drove him out Of the house.
1t was about 1 o'clock in the MORN
ing. Prince Gutemurov was return
ing home from an evening with a
friend, and saw me put the young
man out into the night. The latter,
however. harbored a deep feeling OF
vengeaDce against me. He resolved
TO await Yashs's return, on the road
outside the village. and tell him a
false version Of the story
"A fine wife is yours" he addressed
Yssha. derisi<ely. as soon as the lat
ter appeared.
What's happened?'' questioned
fssha excitedly. The young man re-
Piled that the night before had come
70 him, but. being loyal friend to
fasha. ne drove me on and left the
house with the purpose of intereepting