THE "EAGLES"

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 201, 21 October 1909, Page 4

THE "EAGLES"

asdf fa a

A SENSATIONAL STORY OF LOVE AND ADVEMTURE.

By I'At r. ' Is -VliT.

r.\ur ciiaitku win. "You'll be wond-ring how. In the whole rakmlnr of saints. I got here he said. "That's the beauty of lieIhb trained in the inificm condition of dear old Ireland. Alt. my l»oy. I tiller I. those old M-rret society men In the of Kdward Fitzgerald knew how to organise. ami. faith, if 1 hail only started on these thick-headed Russians with the same plan a little sooner we should have hail them reatlv. instead of renting forth, as I fear me they will do MHiie day. too soon, a disjointed miiti. However, dear l»oy. I'm not here to talk to you aliont these thr The point is. I am here." • Cihl forgive (hm*. Tony." I snitl, ' I »ii) glad you're here, though 1 I .vhouldn't l»e." * .shouldn't be? And why?" ' What is torture to me with my Sa\«»n philosophy would l«* death to v«»»» with your Celtic passion, old Ih»v." I said, sadly. but the torture isn't quilt the same, although it's bail enough in nfl ronseieniv. I<> know what you ore suffering." he said, with a catch in hi* voire. "N'i»l the fame? Have they. then, it grading of prisoners here ? "A grading of prisoners ! Xot that I'm aware of : ami faith, it s little of the prison* rs liesidejt yourself that I'll l.e aide to see. and I suppose I won" I lie able to talk to you for long."

A light dawned upon me. It was not qk bad »* 1 Tony, then. wiit not a prisoner. But how. in nit wonder. had h- Rot there ? "I !*#i* yitii don t quite Mini up the ?it nation correctly >et. hi' burst ill. *l**l nu» in a word or two explain it. I c;w"t Ml *ou tli- whole plan. toil ore not one of us. But this much I ran tell >oll—when you pet back to the ..1.1 roiintry. retneml« r if you can that it was the plot nti.l |»an oi on Irishman that worked the oracle for ymi. On ni) (other's estate is an old farmer who I did me how the lw»„vs worked in the of tin' He!»e!lion. They had anil group*. au«l they blended Ih>i:i together hi rt marvellous way. nFtd faith, when | heard of the Icmfih' anions; tli>* |«enple in Hussio, I i.r.xitiht it over here for their own «.p»v(.v! Iwn.fit. "Von pop|Htl in the other night in St. Petersburg I'll a group of twenty who can trust each other, but they know of no other ni'ii or of their dealings outside except through hie as their lender. I. in turn, am in a group of n dozen leaders of the groups. and we. in turn, through lender —which is mv-»*it. as you ni,iv Mippti'. —cpmmuiii< .>»•• wi«h other leaders of group*, and so on we spread the work of oi-g.ini/nt ion. until there are thousands of men walking: about day by day in clow with each oth r. working together. pof ibly living in the same h«»ti.«e. without knowing eath other. realizing that they all lielong t«» tJi- r 4 irri'» organization. If we had had the thing perfert. I'd have sent w..rd round and brought enough of thesn n'ong lo burst np this hj»lly and carry you off in triumph. But the n-M best tiling I „.ild do «B'f to ft myself out to i thitl a i-.i.Mi who was ouc of oUi'SelVe-s I"..!t(!>? that 1 had to use bnck,hkv«.h—at any rate, her.? I am. r. tT !v to kick my.-If for not dis--oveViiiK rarli r what had lnvonic of %,»>. and ready lo Ik- rnll.il a fool (,v Ibe b«rn idiot alive for i.o? tumbling to it that the bally ofiti-.-r that "night was too polite to t.e trust,d. ar.d that In- and the con-i-ierge Were working tie* oracle in that whis|ier«"d conversation a - » v»c passil through the hall." "You know what has happenril, ■ then ?

• I ran pretty w« ll pn.*** When von «li*l n«>i rum'" l«aek. and that worm «»< n polio-man s»o>«l lie could mil nail any longer. I ninth* inquiries tit «h.* hotel. nr.d was told that you hail left in a rnrringe. I'd a pretty good id *a what (lint meant. nn«l I yoit to Mieve in.* that, although 1 mn> lo Ikivp slow*. I h„*,. n(t | {*i-ri let I tog l In* grass grow imvl'T my fwl. ttlfn yon know A hii more alHiul IliK rot ten r"«'nt r S yon will dlMovi'r. however. what it m«<m*s «" discover a man onre the Sm l Service ha* got hold of him." ■"Well, it"* good at you, Tony, to ri>|, <tn much, especially as it nceiiis Imp l s»." "Not nt all. Nothing is hopeless ,t* J.»n* as you have muscles anil hrninft on »>«!«*. though lin Itound lo ronf«i« tji >«)» thai I hove no very rlrnr plans in my hejid at tin* moment. 'flu* great thing l» that ore t«igeth«*r. anil now we must make tome plan for getting you out of this beastly nusw. I have managed to secure ju!*t n few minutes with you. but I shall keep hanging „n to the trail of this ragged regiment. and I want you to !*• always on the lof>k-out for mc. If at any i ::»»• a man whisper* I" p . ar or «■«!!.* out in some apparently irrele,,ni iiience the words. 'Time is on ,nir Ik* ready to " \ t>if* burly form blotted out the m.-mftgiu «nd Tony suddenly turned t , fiß'l as the heavy ward -r confront-

nl US. •'Y»M«r lime b «hort/* he *aiu to Tony. gruffly. The coincidence startled m.'. Hod he Jieard Tony's words, ami was this a fitreu of brutal cynicism ? Sum—thing In tt|o pifin's tone- manner, or look apparently attr«r!«) Tony's attention. 1 saw his bright, black Irish eyes #parkle with excitement, but getting his big. muscular frame between myself ond n»y gaoler, he appeared at first to be meditating physical resentment of the interruption, and as I saw how well his athletic limbs matched ihc slae and bulk of the Russian's, and knew that while the sites coincided, there was, flesh bet wern the uniform where there was hard muscle beneath the mufti. I would have quite content«*d to I*-' mv rhano-s of freedom on A romh.tf h.-»v. ti Uv two. ln»l«'«vi ni u hc'.v-", .t, 111*' It •' i I'it*/ a!t !t T

• .-» ion. v.hiih. with the: ■: th- i:np<M'i anre o: . . : rrst at»■< I me b\\"i:l endiianr-. !two or three minutes they mlkaed it gradually dawn d upon me •>:-r <a< It was fencing with the other ■;!; l h. Ol d Tony ask in a tone of apparent unconcern : "Are you a true Russian? " "I am a trite nmti."' replied the official. The Irishman, leaning forward, whispered hurriedly in the other man's car. The oflicer hesitated awhile. and then drew him away in the darkness. In a very short time he returned, but without Tony, and 1 sow no more of my cousin that night. As the fellow ptish'-d me along he lieitt over me and whispered a little less gruffly than he had even yet addri'HX*d me : "Have you the lilood of the I-itz-geralds in you ? What a remarkable question to ask in this wilderness And then I thought suddenly of the strange likeness to Tony, and meeting one qucstfon with another, said : "Have you ? " The man hesitated, and. wheeling me round till we stood facing each other in the moonlight, he said, in his thick Russian voice, but with a strange softness here and there that seemed foreign to the rest : "It's a story our grandfathers talk about, but I have been taught to love the name of Fitzgerald as 1 have also I teen taught to hate the country I thought you came from."

"Well, you haven't shown me a great deal of love. I'll admit." I retorti-d. amazed at my own daring. "Oh. that's a necessary pari of the game." I.- said, with a catch in his i,in<s thai brought In-fore ine like a ilash his torture at the hideotis double life he was forced to lend. "Hut think yourself lucky all the vanie." he added, "that the comrade We have just left has intervened on your In-half. They tell me Ireland is a lietter (dace now than it once was but when my ancestors were driven out they were forced to line! refuge wherever there was soil to pluce their feet upon." 1 have heard often of the übiquitous Scot, and have lieen told that the Irishman is not a long way I tell ind him. It was another case of th«* Irishman being in office wherever he go«-s except in his own country. The man had got a somewhat dis-

torted view of things outside Russia, and much mixture of Russian blood with this strain of the Fitzgerald .lan had smothered the brightness and romance of the Celtic temperament. Hni tJte little drop that remained sufficed to make him a born conspirator. With a diplomacy that was possibly excusable under the circumstances I refrained from telling him that my relationship with Tony was not one that cave me any claim to lie a Fitzgernhl. In any ra«e there was no time now for more talking. We had already been too long away, anil in a few minutes I was sleeping ihe first comfortable nap I had bad since my arrest. In the morning I fell refreshed and lit, not only by the events of the

night, but also by the brightness of the morning. It hail Mopped snowing, and the n?r was dear, crisp, and bracing. The snowdrifts and icicles on tho lr«H"s glistened in the sun. Compared with Inst night's picture the situation was quite charming. There was a rugged grandeur about it, after nil. in spite of its desolation and despair. Kx|»ecling to l>e hustled on at daybreak. we were somewhat surprised to Ilnfl ourselves allowed to sleep as long ns we wished ; our food was brought round to us with much grumbling but with no commands to

hurry up. An hour or two later wc were brought mil and moved on a mile or ><> where n sort of rough apology for a gaol Mood on a piece of rising ground. It was pretty much of a ruin wish the excepiion of a strong wall whiih ran right round it. It was obviously not |»eriiianently occupied anil liii! for the fact that we were to Ik- kept waiting some time they would not have taken the trouble to put it in order for us. I now understood why my gaoler had I toon able to bring Tony and me together lost night. The sii|»erior officers had gone ahead, and lit ted up a more or less comfort able place for themselves where they had enjoyed a Harchanalian evening. In the early morning the soldiers and officials had l»een preparing the place for lis. and as wc marched in it become evident I hat our plans had been suddenly changed. Instead of King manacled in ft wayside camp, guarded l«y soldiers while wc slept, to Im. iiiowd on at daybreak. It had IttH'ii decided to keep us In the neighIxMirhood for some little time and we were put In-hind this wall so that some of the soldiers could l»' spared. t was driven into a blockhouse standing on the highest part of the hlo|k'. from which I was able to g«-t n good view of th«* road. I hough that Impregnable wall, all round which there was ft deep dip in the ground from the inside, effectively separated me from the traffic without. As the morning on the situation more clearly explained iiself. Soldiers were sent off on horseback along the road with orders whi«li some of the prisoners overheard. Further batches of people were l>eing brought on and we were'to wait in this spot for th'em. In t|jo favourable weather the passengers on the road became more numerous. I was permit l«*d to exercise myself outside the blockhouse, I Watched their sledges with something piorc tlian a casual interest. To look upon free men whq wore officials was "t>ecomlng a novel sight for inc. The jingling of th<- bells bad a strange fascination, and I was specially attracted by a fine team of horses that came cantering along with a splendidly-equipped sledge : gild as it drew near the camp I noticed it had pnly one pccupaqt—ft lady amply wrapped in the richest sables. I,.could sec from the distance tjiftt she was a lieautiful woman, who sat with a proud bearing, as though she thoroughly enjoyed the crisp winter air. How many such women had I met and danced with a'. Court balls in the days I was beginning to forget ! I had often discussed with them these cold drives across the plain, and heard th'in speak in glowing terms of 'he <)'■"- lights of si.-dcing on a bright winter's da\ ! T oilier in chartr' 1 rtu f^T-

ward \v»ili a i"i'i a< ' the li'.r—< bark on ih-:r huur.rh.-. The la'ly i 111<-it<l< -<i to ii«* an inspection of the ronvids with Ivr morninir drive. 'lhis was t' l " i'; 1 ' 1 -' 1 for inc. I had i:ut become sulM'''."ntly hardened to submit myseli n.-.e a cag'd tiger as part of a sho-.v. I turned back into the blockhouse and made for the farthest cnnicr, where 1 curled myself up in flv hope that the lady would miss run sh; went the. round of the othei monstrosities. I was not allowed to hide myself for long. The ofli'ial accompanying the visitor promptly kicked all the other occupants of the blockhouse out into tlv open, ami bowing to the lady, left her contemplating me as I lay sulking on the floor. "There's no special reason, is there, why you should hide your face from me ? " she said. "Good heavens ! It was the countess. What fiendish plot was now on foot to torture me ? "I think you might give me a wanner welcome, Hulicrt," she pleaded. "I have driven miles through the snow to see you and to save you." The woman spoke in such a ioft, tender, winsome voice that I could hardly believe stub beauty and tenderness could Ite associated with so much that was vile and detestable. Perhaps T was getting weaker with suffering, but I admit that I arose to my feet with something akin to friendliness towards this woman, who whatever her faults, could speak a kind word—a treasure, indeed, nowadays. As I might have guessed had I been able to reason, she misconstrued my meaning entirely as I murmured a'few awkward words of gratitude. Throwing her arms round my neck, allowing her soft sables to comfort me with a delightful warmth I had not felt for days, she whispered : "Thank CJod I am in time. You will leave here within an hour. In my sledge we will drive back together to freedom, to happiness, to love."

'• Countess, you misunderstand me ' I said, my repugnant - .- fully aroused. •'This is as embarrassing to me as it is unjust to \oiirs--lf. The la>t word between us was said—or should have been said —when we parted in St. Petersburg." She pared the floor of the blockhouse excitedly. There was a war of passion within her. and I stood aside and waited. Would pride or low prevail, ami this distressing scene be ended ? 1 had not. the wrath of the newly-injured to goad me on to hitler words. I was beginning to settle down to the grim philosophy of endurance, but I wanteel the woman gone. Of a sudden she halted, and, placing her hand on my arm she said, with enforced calmness : "Mr. Oascoigne, I have brought ton to this. To s»*e 40U sufTer, to know that you have gone into the world of outer darkness is more than. I can l>ear. Whether you love me, or whether you hate me, you must and shall escape from this. I make no terms. T ask no conditions —now. I have in iny possession that which will make you fre;*. It is mine to use or not, as 1 please. Will you drive me to the nearest waysido hostelry and there, if you will, wo may part for ever." It was a tempting offer and I had a feeling that it was made in all good faith. No human.being is entirely bad. and this woman with all her lx*auty and her charm, must surely have some good points. She saw that I hesitated. One of her hands was still on my arm, the handcuffs had been removed from my wrists now that we were within walls, and she put her other hand in mine confidinglyWe must have looked a weird pair in that prison-housi, —a gorgeouslydressed niemlKT of the llussian nobility apparently caressing a criminal. I was framing the words in which to answer her offer, and I still held her hand in mine. She leaned forward till her face plmost touched mine, and whispered : "Have pity on me ! At least relieve me of the torture of a lifelong remorse."

"Xow. then, this is your place for the present." I started at the sound of the warder's voice. I started still more as two persons were thrust into the |>lpckhouse. 1 still held the countess's hand : her other hand was still on my anil. Her back was to floor. She did not sec the newcomers. She only knew that we had l>cen interrupted, and that time was precious. "Yes. or no ? " she whispered passionately. •*Xo," I said ; and as the count--ss turni-d round in her despair, she found herself face to face with Flora von (JrnhoMii and her father. There was a sound of galloping horses, the officer appeared at the d<»or. l>eckoned the countess out, and then drew himself up smartly at tho salute. Somebody high in authority had arrived. I remember vaguely realizing this, although my immediate thoughts were for Flora. "Hood heavens L ' 1 cried. "I-loia are you here 7 What is tho meaning of this'. Thank Cod I am here too, at any rate."The girl drew herself up proudly, liiked me in tie- eyes for just mo-

ni.-nt. then, inclining her head sngh'lv Knvarils Hi'- door where the cunn-:.-ss still s-ood be.-dde the ollicer sh" took li.-r father by, the arm and 1-a him slowly away to a rough bench ill the far corner of the blockho J could hear the bells outsid.- ' jingling as the horses shook ' selves, and a man's voice ! - hi commanding tones —a ma' >• that I was not long in recognizingtoo, had recognized it, ai:d r saw old Von Ciahaim turn I a!' ■•Mirski," he muttered. Kvcn Flora. I could s.-- ot <>i corner of my eye. was alas »!••»!. I noted V. ith n a:n : atisfaction that. v.h\n h«-i i l . ' in-ntionefl th ■ i-' " '•••*' looked at me quicx:y ' ' r ' whom she mitrhbiipport. It wa--> or. •• -a-v- » a second ; , '' V was si'ting t 'n--r-• v. turned to m", w- I '• ! fu! a l -' vvvl". ! To be Cor.tn:'-i'--d,