THE "EAGLES"

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 198, 11 October 1909, Page 3

THE "EAGLES"

•CV-r vriv V.

A SEKSATiOriAL STORY OF LOVE AMD ADVENTURE.

• "♦

iwnr n. He had iif th'Ti'. I could not possibly ri-si-t an appeal made* In this form, and I replied wilh as much dignity as I could command : "I nm allachifl In the British l-jn-I*asny in fori;*, and am in St-Peters-burg on business connected with my department. My nam;* Is ll'ds-rt CSascoigne. and m,v cousin. the lion. Antony Filzgnakl. so* of Ui«* of Tippernry. has taken teui|>ornry lodgings in I his place, w here I have been payinjt him a visit. 1 trust. now. sir. that I may he permitted to go to my hotel in peace. a.< the intervention of your people has completely disturbed the pleasant evening which my cousin and I had arranged together." "It will certainly lie our desire to give you all the courtesy arid a*sistance in our power, nn.l. as a matter of form, may I have the pleasure of seeing your pawtport ? " "And my credentials also." I r.~ pii «d. in the fulness of my heart. The urbanity and respect of this gentleman was in such striking contract to the treatment of his subordinate that my heart we.rmetl toward.-* hint. ( hnd not )ooke«l at the paper* finr.- 1 took them from the countess, and f pn*s«*l them to him un«»;wn tl. He walked over to the light of (hi- lamp, perused them can-fully. (nM.<l them up carefully, and handed them back to me with another bow. "You are in rather nn unusual quarter of the town for Knglish vlsiors." he said, still speaking with studied |H»litene*s. "May I have the honour of escorting you safely to your hotel ? " and osk me to come with yo»." whis|*T>-i| Tony in Knglish. "1 should be grateful to you," I replied. "The district, as you say, is unknown to me. and late at night one does not like to l>e wnn<k'ring about strange streets. You'll come along and smoke n pipe with me liefor«* I turn in. Tony ? " I said turning to my cousin.

"Yi-s. I shall be glad If those gentlemen trill wnit n moment till I lock up m»- lodgings." said Antony. (,'nily. "I»y 11.-* way." ho add>"d. "Koiilil you like to .w my pnss|»ort ? " 11.- pnt his hand ill his breast - ami pulled out a bundle of |>;t|wr*.. I»it ihf official. with a smile, wnViHl I In-ill aside. Tony went into the inner room as if hj" had merely gone to brush his hair, nnil coming back. carefully put out the light mill waited till the rest of us had filed out then locked the door. With the high official we made our wny through wvcrol side streets and drti'.f in n ilruf»hl,y to the hotel. Of course, t could do no lesw than a*k the gentleman in. and he as readily B'tt'ptcfl my invitation. A* we paswl the concierge. the nfTit r'r halted n moment and tthi;j»Te.| a few hurri.il words to him. S■•ruHnsr a n»e-sage n-lii-vinj.' lilm .u' .lufy."" whiH|ic>red Ton> to tit*- in Ivnjii.Hh. "The old boy knows when h - hai found good company. We'll n.'t get rid of him this hide of iitumiita;." I va not particularly anno\«d at I'ir.v I wanted company, ami nlthottg'i I wan bursting lor a lons* chat about ot«l times with Toii>. the I of a third party |<erhu|»s would kiv|> us both from morali/insg. I wanted life and chatter, n«»t serious lalti to-night. We fiiiiml a cosy corner in the smoks'-room. The other |ns>pl- had all gone to l#d: and after I had s.-*n my guests fluty supplied with refreshments I wiiii up to my room to put things straight as to my duties. I did not reni ml»'r an early engag>*menl. but I thought it Ik si to look up my diary. I had just pushed it Iwk in on ■ of my bags with a c»-:»teiit- d ;.igh as I found therr wn» nothing on :• for the morrow, when a "light tap at my door was followed l»y the a|>pearanre of the concierge with the information that a gentleman wished to see me downstairs. f walked through the central hall, following the man up to the steps of the hotel, where a droshkv was drawn up with the door open. "Who wants to See me ? " f asked, looking from one to the other of the two men who stood on either side of the door. "We will explain later," said one t>( the men : and with that they *i*»fit jtel/ed me, and before I r-ould ciihtT struggle or cry out. t was lifted Imdily into the droshky which drove of! at a gallop. VJfe were not long in ar King at a big building which I easily recognized as an office of tha Secret Police. "What fx the meaning of this outrage ? '* I said, as .soon as 1 found tnyoeif in * carpeted room, where an officer sat writing at a desk. The man looked up and f recoun ted him In an Instant. It was the officer whom I had bluffed at the railway siding on the journey to St. Petersburg. He made no sign that he recognised me. but rising from his seat he asked in the same polite tones as his col|e*«ue for my passport. {we why am 1 brought here in thi» unwarrantably fashion?" I :aid indignantly. "Ik-fore 1 answer any questions f must ask you whom I have the honour of addressing." he said, repeating the phrase of his colleague ami holding out his hand for the papers. I handed them to him unopened, just as they had turn returned to ote half an hour before. 11c spread them out carefully before him and a grim smile overspread his face as he perused them. "They are hardly the same as 1 hey were when last 1 saw them." Mr. Gascolgne." he said, smoothly. "And they were not in the possession of the same person if 1 remember aright." How much did he rememl* r ? I wondered. I was not long left in rioubt "Shalt we speak in Russian or in Knglish 1 he said. "I congratulate you, sir. on >h-; spoed with J

whi''h V' l hi'-i- j: trir lani:h. thnt is notiulf;." I 'mi. I rv- :: to put a bold (ao* <;pi>:i the • t !■ "I found you could sjH-nk I:lish tlt*" last time we mot. and ,i•• an Knglishman never like.s to talk .mother language If he can avoid it, presumed upon your mastery of •mr tongue." "Complimented. I'm sure." he replied. bowing frigidly. "But the Karl of Lanarkshire " He waited with a cynical smile on his face. lie thought he had me. Itut. as a matter of fact, I thought I had him. " 'The Almanac d«- Ootha,' if you have one. will show you. I think, that lam as much entitled to that ion as to the one you see written there. fJascoigne. I may inorin you. is my family name, ami the earldom of I-anarkshire is one of our courtesy titles." My own spccinl claim to the title was not open to the very strictest investigation in British heraldry 1 knew, but it was sufficiently accurate to confuse a foreigner. The Police I'irector accepted it for the moment, and turned agnin to my pat>ers. "At all events." I said, pointing to these, "vou hove there my credential*. and if you have anything further to sn.v to me 1 shall Ik* pleased to see you at the Embassy to-mor-row morning. Meantime I have friends at my hotel who will be awaiting me." "Yes." saiil the man. drily, "and friends who have eyes in their neads." As he said this he walked over to the liirht and rend the pn|iers holding them just as th" other official had :lone in Tony's room.

'"I believe." he added, in that •tmooth. satirical voice, which was iieginning to get on my nerves, "the ;redentials of llultert CJascoigne Esq. nave been handed to me for inspection by some other |»erson once before. Do you know anything of that incident ? " "Those are my papers." I replied, boldly, "and if any other |»erson has shown you papers in my name, they arc probably forgeries." I was priding myself on the diplomacy of this answei. when the Director quietly shifted the small movable light over to thu corner of the desk nearest me.

"I think," he said, "you arc correct in one resp.-ct. There arc forgeries in existence, anil I have thetn at this moment in my hand. Kindly look at that." As he said this he held the thin imssport over the lamp, ami with a feeling of utter horror I saw that instead of the well-known water-mark at the top. the paper on which this facsimile of my passport was printed bore the trade mark of a Russian lirni.

The official struck the small gong twice, two uniformed men rame into the room, and tit a signal from my inquisitor I was led off between them As we walked along a narrow passage with iron-bound cells on either side, the words of the countess came back to me : "Fefore two hours are over, you will l»e under close arrest; and when thnt happens in Russia, (•eople disap|»ear without any comment."

The more I pond.over the threat of Count <•** Hlave.ski, the more hideous did my suspicion become. Here was I in the cell of a Itussinn |»ri.«<on. nit ufl from the rest ,<( the world, under the control of a man nlimii I had l»efool«*d and who held documents presented by me which Were obvious forgeries. Nobody had seen me except th» hotel concierge and he was undoubtedly an agent of the police. There would In* no inquiries for mo at the Kiubassy. because I was not due there. I tri.-d to sleep, but the hnril comfort of the n-ll was grating and repugnant. Look at it which i»ver way I could I was in about the tightest corner 1 had ever known in my life. In the early hours of the morning 1 heard the oHii-inl* moving about, and 1 knew that my fellow prisoners were iH-itig ruddy di.si urlied from such slmulN-rs as they had I teen able to enjoy. I waited pntis-ntly for my turn : anything was better than this intolerable susf»ense. Hut nobody seemed in any particular hurry t(i bother with me. I wailed and ' waited. ami fumed find fretted, until the morning had well advanced, when a big. bearded brute of a gaoler o|>ened the cell door, and but a grunt motioned me lo come out. I was taken along the passage to the room where 1 had been examined the night tiefore. The same suave and cynical official was sitting at his table, and motioning (o the gaoler In leave us he pointed to a chair. I was not to be treated as a felon just yet, which was some consolation. Although had I known more of the ways • of the Russian police I should probably have regarded this as no very great cause for thankfulness. "I am afraid the hospitality of our temfiorary home here is not equal to that of your hotel, iny lord," said the officer in a quiet mocking tone that strongly tempted iflc to pitch the furniture at hitn. "The hospitality does not matter much," I replied, with as much grace as I could command, "hut I (rust you will find it convenient as wion as possible to send to the British Embassy and inform them that I am here." "And who shall *c say has called? A gentleman professing to be the Ivor I of ILanarkshire, with forged papers in the name of Hubert Gascoigne. Esq., who can speak only Knglinh when he is officially questioned. but acquires a remarkable mastery* of Russian when he is found )oi{cring in one of the most questionable parts of the city ? " "You may tell them what you please." I answered, putting on an air of Itoldness which I am afraid I did not feel- "So long as somebody in authority is brought here, that is all I ask.'* "And tp that somebody In authority you will probably play the heroic llritfsher. demand a good deal of public fuss, and thus give ample warning to those with whom you are associated. That is not quite the way we are accustomed to deal with things here. If you gentleman with severly Western ideas of the prim iples of government will interfere in matters that do not'concern you y.,-i must be content to abide hy th - < ; - toms of the country in uhhh gratify your tastes f.>r m.iMhr.v - "1 assure you. Sir. I have • v : j tastes or de.oire than •<., own busin- I ~f

whui you n!••• to r 'a!l the <.f I:.- :: v.'i'h s. •.'• r.-ly Westu 'fair y d-nr myself. ' - f'H \!' r ! :!: XV. The ofTV'-r •• [■•rged papers Which Tim'.'/ ul. ii!.-; i.luttingpad gcn'ly with his fore.'injrrr. "We know there are s.-vcral docu merits of this k,:.<i in exis'iw«. ami we Iwlieve we are doing t!v kindest art to the Hritish (Joveniment in dealing promptly and strongly with them and tlieir possessors. liiit we ner-d not argue Ihe matter. I have wnt for yoti because I have one or two questions to put to you. There were two of you on the train which f was compelled to hold up the other Jay. Who was the other man ? " "What other man ? " I asked, with 3 view of gaining time. "The person in the private compartment whose face 1 rep ret to admit I did not see, and whose passport I accepted as that of Hubert f.ascoigne. If you are Hubert CJas--oigbe. who was he? Jf he Ik* llu!>eri (Jascoigne, you are clearly an impost nr."' The logic was irresistible. Was I lo give away the Czar nnd save my•ielf ? I had never gained anything at his hands. He had brought the whole of this trouble upon me by his :riminal neglect of blundering stupidity in not handing jhc back my papers before I left the train. I did not in this moment of my indignation with the ICmi>eror. rrm*mber it would have been far easier for me to have sought him out ami got my pa|H.-rs back, than for him to have rome along the train in public to look for me. Hut the very fact that the person appeared to my mind as a weak and stupid creature .weighed all the more strongly in his favour. I had long since had a suspicion which amount?d to a certainty that this wellmeaning young man was the tool <>f circumstances, and was moulded the desires and ambitions of stroneer minds with power behind th'-;n. -r which he exercised a nominal trol. Had he been a fellow s'rur.i: enough to look after him.v!:" I do:, know that I should have h-Ii" <i him in the first instance. Hut ;h fact , remained that I had forced my comradeship upon him, and it was out of the question to let him down now. As I was thus rapidly reviewing the situation within myself the police officer kept his ferret eyes upon me, and interrupted my self-examina-tion with a peremptory—"Well ? "

"I do not know that I am to be expected to romomlK'r all the incidents of a long and wearisome lailway journey. I only know that you stopped us, that I gave you as my name one of the titles that belongs to my family, and at the timv I did not happen to have my passport handy, and did not sec the necessity of going to seek for it." "Do you refer to this ? " he asked, lapping the papers I had handed him and smiling with that Mephistophelean leer of his. "Xo : I do not,"- I replied hotly.

• "I refer to my original papers which have l>een purloined, and for which these have Ixfn substituted by some malicious person in order to entrap me. Hut havr> a care, sir ; you are doubtless under the impression that you have in your custody some harmless faddist whose disappearance will not be noticed, and who will be forgotten within six months. But I may inform you that I have travelled in Kurops before, and I always make a point of having my movements cover.<l. I ask you to send to the Kmbassv for me. I put it in that way because, as one who has tnan.v friends in your country and as one whose mission here is one of goodwill and international peace, I would prefer it done that way. I wish to give you the fullest opportunity of proving to my superiors that [K-rfeet good faith to which I desire lo believe you have up to now exercised. Hut J think it also my duty to warn you that if you do not send to them, they will send to you." Although I had gathered eloquence as I went along, my rhetoric did not disturb this cold-blooded official. He heard me patiently, did not make the slightest attempt to interrupt my lengthy speech, and, when I had finished smiled indulgently. Yet 1 somehow thought by the look that came into his eyes that my words had occasioned some little doubt ii\ his mind. The secret movements of Jhe people who arrested me, tlu ir scrupulous oar« to avoid publicity, the whispered message to the concierge of the official who brought me to the hotel, all pointed to a desire for privacy. Following up my little advantage, I a tided ; *'Your men possibly imagined themselves exceedingly clever. They probably did not know that their kidnapping was not quite so perfect as they imagined." Having said this with a smile and a bow that I tried to make as mysterious as possible. I took refuge in the wisdom of silence. 1 thought I had made a slight impression and tried to keep it up. The ofli-ial struck his gong $-rico, and 1 was again led off to tb« cells.

I cannot sav that for a prisoner I was treated very barfly. Th-y f ■<! me fairly well, It was not quit,- up to Romano's but I have had w-irs • many a tim<\ and although ih<- p:;>m wooden bedstead was hard enough for an operating table, tiny had not yet put nic on the plank bed and black bread. Knowing what I did of continental prisons I ecu i«- i< ;h" conclusion that some other n. than mere imprisonment \as in ihe minds of my captors. Still, the time passed all too s' r.vly, and I was tortured every hour of it by the thought that Flora night be ill danger. If had seen m«. cither going to or coining from her father'B mysterious dwelling, might they not {lssuiv.;> from that more fact that she was in some way bound up with the plot for which they suspected me? The thought of my little FJora being shut up in a prison, condemned to obacure and ignominious exile possibly, with all ih horrors and dangers, the nam-! - indignities of such a life, dr.,'.- :n.j frantic. Would som'-borfy not com« r.'/iir suiiic human being with a soul, s. l.orlv who would talk to fj'; • "ivl v. i< h bu: v I:,.- if tV.-- d ? A:,;. M.u.ji 1..:--Cl.-M. l'l-rr.-T-r vwj huiuaJi ir.a' i. i n«, •••• i'b hi- wo.-ni-a »miic and (To be Cur.'.ii/iod.) M. S. Lau I'ie, Te Awamutu,