The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1933-12-29
Ii FORBIDDEN VALLEY
~ ujGa~w Bqaox l'lowg4

fully. "Mr. Plekhanov, a. my friend
here told you, I'm . government
agent gathering data about the vari.
Gus foreign associations in this
country. Our object is altogether
friendly: we're merely making rec.
ords of their personnel and activities.
Miss volkov is secretary of your so.
ciety, and I'd like to find out few
facts about her. My friend tells mo
that you know her quite WE'LL"
Eyes, / know Princess Sonya for
twelve years, and her father before
that"
Princess Sonya-?" /
"Her father is Prince Stephn Vol.
kov."
Curt caught his breath sharply.
"Prince?" he managed. "A courtesy
title!"
Plekhanov smiled. bit conde-
scendingly. "You know very little
about Russian heraldry. friend. The
Volkovs are an old Kiev nobility, one
OF the oldest in the Empire" He
told his son, Bring our guests tha
picture that Prince Stephn gave u.s."
Curt whistled beneath his breath.
Sonya's father Lrince! He had sus.
pected she was well-born. But he had
never imagined that her blood was
quite SO blue, and she herself had
not once limited tEAt she was Of noble
birth.
"You mentioned her father-does
he live here in Canada?''
AT Victoria. And her brother
Carl"
"What do they do?'
when Prince Stephn first came
over. he accepted work in a lumber
yard as q grader Of timber. Like any
common muzhik." Plekhanov made
Z gesture OF shame at his country
mans lack Of pride. HE rose in his
employment: he is some official now,
and Carl is a field expert for the COM
pany. For time Sonya was govern
ess in rich family at Victoria. Now
she il teaching language in . pri-
vate school"
THE son handed Curt q photo, q
: medium.sized studio portrait.
With q queer mixture Of feelings
Curt looked at the picture Of Sonya's
father. At his first glance he saw
Sonya's resemblance to him-her
stubborn determination and that
proud poise to her head came natu.
ral-he could see the traits in every
line Of her fathers face.
He passed the photo to Baldwin
and listened to what Plekhanov was
saying.
He had first met Prince StephD
more than a generation ago in st.
Petersburg. Plekhanov said. A man
Of brilliant parts, Sonya's father had
been very close to the imperial court
at one time, but his liberal views
finally brought him into clash with
the reactionary clique that SUI.
rounded the Czarina. Az . genteel
Punishment to Siberia, he was made
commissar Of the Crown forests
along the Yanisei.
When the Empire crashed. he
threw in with Kerensky's Provision.
al Government, organized the vast
Irkurtz region In southern Siberia
and ruled 1t for the White Partizans.
When Kerensky in turn was over,
thrown by the Leninists, the Reds
put q price on his head. His long
liberal record did not save him:
nobleman, an estate holder, Z mod
crate. he was automatically con-
demned.
At Irkutsk, Sonya's mother and
sister and younger brother were
seized and shot, their home burned
their immediate friends killed. Her
father was at Vetemsk on the Lens
when he got word Of the butchery.
and by provident mercy Sonya and
Carl were with him at the time.
Taking his two surviving children,
no ned into the Lena Woods on
horseback, q hunted fugitive; and
began the long horror Of tho escape.
II met the Volkovs in q woods on
Lake BaiAal," Plekhanov recountsd.
his heart full Of his subject Songs
was but thirteen then, and her
brother fifteen. It had taken Prince
Stephn all winter to bring them
across that four hundred miles from
Vetemsk. They had frozen. starved;
had been wounded: had fought bat
ties to get through the cordons Of
their enemies. Once they met . rov.
Ing party Of Terrorists. six Of them,
and wiped out all six and took theif
guns, horses, food. They were Ill
three wounded badly when they
came to BAikal and sick with mala-
ria, and nearly driven mad-not b.
what they had endured. but by what
they had seen.
~Our little band Of refugees &C
Baikal were betrayed by q fisherman.
A company Of Reds. recruited from
tho convict colony at Chita, sur
prised % one night and rode down
our camp. with pistols and axss.
Only few Of MS managed TO escape
in the dark and across Z river On
Ice RATS"
(Copyst0ht, 1858. wilIion, b. NosossyI