The Bomb of Slonesk.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8002, 13 December 1905, Page 4

The Bomb of Slonesk.

Blbou in a Frenchman and travelling in m* Gupo Express which passes through a put ot the Cz&r'i dominions at a snail'B |*m. Sick of the dost, the smoke and the atßoephere of his carriage he alighted at Bloncslc, the slowest village on the route, and left his luggage to go on to the next station. He walked down the weed grown road to a fceer garden and turning in sat down. •' Motion is sacrilege here, I suppose ?" ha •aid to the woman who answered bis call. She drawled something, and eyed him from under ber heavjr lids. "Precisely," said Dubois, nodding. She Flared and walked away slowly. The absurditr of his own energy in such a slouch of indolence struck Dubois afresh, so that be bunt into a fit of laughter. " Yoa langh, sir?" Whether the person who now addressed him had been in the garden previously or had just entered, Dubois could not tell. He waa a tall, slender man, his beard soft and pointed, his eyes incessantly blinking behind glasses. He leaned on a stick, and in his left band he dangled a plain dicker basket ot some sixe, carefully. "lon are amused, sir," he Jpeated with jnst the suspicion of irritation. It seemed that he considered the laugh at fcis expense, and was offended. " Why, sir," said Dubois eouteously," I laughed, I think, with gmi reason. I find myself stranded in what 1 take leave to consider the sleepiest place in the world." "Too are a tourist then!" " Exactly," said Dubois. "Ana yoa are looking fix something exThe old man smiled. "I see yon are young, sir, and yet one can make adventures easily enough." " Ton are very sanguine; but do yon understand my mood ? A dcor knocker would not content me. I most find a princess-one that has slays bsre a thousand years, 1 suppose a Maple of giants for a skirmish, a wizard to keep me employed, and for the finale, a rough and tnmble'with a dracon. Such an eiperienoe as one pictures in the blue moon." "Would yon call this n)oon blue 7" "I should be happy to think it," Dubois. "Or me a vizard? " "Nothing would give me greater plea sure—" " Then, sir," said the stranger, with a enrious excitement " if you are in the mood, I can promise you, if not an adventure, at least a diversion. You perceive this basket ?" He pointed to the wicker work case that dangled from his wrist Dubois nodded. " Any one carrying it to the manager of the company now playing ' Tlie Luck of a Masquerade' at the Slonesk Theatre would receive from him a ticket for the play, and any one attending the play to-night will be certain ofa diversion." " Ton recommend the play ? " "Unreservedly." "Then," said Dubois, rising, "1 shnll be happy to take your basket for you." And he stretched out bis hsmi. "One moment," said the man. "The basket must be carried with care. T|ic contents are brittle glass, let us call it—you comprehend ? And again, when vol give it to the manager, uill yoa remember to s:iy, 'lor Act 111. Hcene V?' 'Simply that." The moon was hijh now. :unl glittering from a very clear sky, while the air was' grown cooler front the fall of night. -Inst such an hour well Imve riven li!t tll to the idea of a blue moontime. a period of unwonted possibilities, when tiling t:ike other sKiJws' than the day permits, "and men's blood is quickened to give them strange expectations. Even DulkiU. wlw «ras not imaginative, felt some of ite influence and Walked aiong briskly, scarcely realising the weight of the basket he was carrying. He marked bis destination from some distance by the glare oatside, and the crowds hustling at the doors. There, it seemed, the people of Slonesk had collected men, each in his own cloud of smoke, their wives clinging to tlieir arn>3 and rocifeiating at their stolid children to keep close if they would Live good place*. The entrance was besieged. Dubois couldn't get in at lite main door and so went down the only available p::«nge. It was damp and squalid and at the end vv;is a door at which he knocked. " Enter," said a voice in Ficneh. The room w;»q a litter of cheap fin«TV. and on the onlychair sat a giri. a beautiful girl daspito her surroundings. &he did not look ap but said: * Make haste Marie. My shoes ; I take ooldand there is notime towage." Dubois fell on his knee and mumbled an apology as he reached for the sJur.s before him. Then she looked down mid started, and Dubois rose to his feet and apologised. Explnin," she said. The intruder did so and the actress laughed—"You bit it is for M. Stylviteh.the manager, that you have brought the basket?" she asked, as he «*t to work. " Itwastobe delivered with the words, 1 for Act 111, Scene V," he explained. " Whyihcn," she said, nodding, " it uiust be the bomb." " The bomb? " he repeated, a suspicion suddenly starting. 44 My bomb," she said, proudly. " Yor tmdtrstend, we act a m*k>dntni», and in Scene 5 when the prince is surrounded by traitors threatening him, I come forward and tow I will throw it, unless they disperse on the instant. Oh, it would never have done if the bomb had been lost." " It seems strange tnat it should have been left for a chance ine&>engcr," remarked Dubois, half to himself. "The one we had was broken en route," the explained. "M. Stylvitch sent for another this morning specially. He will be in a fret till it arrives." "It's unusually beaTy—l doubt if you can lift it." The actress ran off for the manager, and, left to himself Dubois began to indulge in unpleasant reflections. Suppose!—recollections of Russian crimes leapt into his inain, and he opened the basket. He looked and fell back, for here was the blue moon with a vengeance. He was an expert in ordnance, and this was a bomb charged with dynamite made to be exploded by the simple action of a percussion cap. The actress returned preceding the manager, and saw that something was wrong. "Speak!" she whispered. "I have felt a sense of horror ever since I joined the company. There are too many villains ol! the lUge." Dubois told her, and then the manager entered. He was, in truth, tbe ugliest of his species- with a head out of all proportion to his body. " What i« it ?" be asked. " Dubois explained, and said he waß to have a ticket for bringing the basket. "You shall haTe two," was the reply. "Gome!" " Excuse me, but I have made a discovery. The bomb contains dynamite " The manager stared—"lmpossible!" "No; it contains dynamite, and it is a matter for the police." 11 Yoa say so ? Then come; and you, Amelie, too—you shall be a witness.' They went through a door, and down another passage, andiinalJy into a room which was dark sare for the bluish streaks that came through the windows opposite.

Dubois fteard the key turn, tcA rifea lame time saw six sullen men against (ha window All armed with knives. * " Might I inquire tbe meaning ?" he asked derisively. Tbe manager threw open the lid of a box. 11 You perceive this box?" he said, "and the canal just below the windows ? It is mr intention to lower this box into the canal, which maintains at this spot a depth of 12 feet. I have the honor to request you to enter the box." " For what reason ? n asked Dubois indifferently, but somewhat cooled notwith Standing. The other wagged his great head. "We are not apt to hnggl* over reasons, bnt if will have one, why you cauie here--ofyour own will, you made a discovery—of your own curiosity. We were, it is needless to say, fully acquainted with the contents of that bomb, which we intend to use in the theatre to-night, as originally. Yon represent something antagonistic to our intention. Therefore, wc are compelled, in any case, and very willingly also, to deprive you of your liberty and your life." " You are, then, some kind of anarchists ?" "Names, we are not concerned with names. The herd might call us anarchists, but our point in banding together is to be revenged." " On whom ? " "On the world. We are those who in some manner have not our pleasure out of life. Some of ns are poor; some diseased ; some born into black moods. I myself have a head too large for the world in general to admire, but we are not moles or bats. We are simple, direct, unprincipled—we live to kill." « And as Dubois set Ills back to the wall and clenched his fists, he plucked out a knife and began to creep toward him. The others followed. Then quite suddenly the girl spoke. "Go back I" she called, lifting up the bomb. " Through the windows, fools. I give yoa ten seconds. Yon know what is In it; God knows we shall die together." Two of the men edged to the door and fumbled with tbe lock. The rest stayed, hesitant. " T cannot hold it she seemed " All!" Dubois saw tha . scuffle of feet, screams, f window-panes. Then »ftor another the men ito the canal. (luor unexploded. I taken off the cap," sa>d the i_, ,u Dubois contentedly, and then, " Confess that I can act!" His admiration kept him speechless. "You will not say that I can act?" she pouted. He went up and took her in his arms. " To perfection," he said, " but I insist on being tbe prince."