A Nihilist's Gratitude.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8032, 19 January 1906, Page 4

A Nihilist's Gratitude.

Michael Pctroff, one of the most prominent men in the secret police, was receiving his lust instructions from his chief. The task before him was to arrest a certain Nihilist, who had caused the Czar's police much trouble, and who was said to be the head of one of the most dangerous societies ever known in St. Petersburg, which had played a most important part in the Borki affair. Borinski, the Nihilist in question, had been discovered as working as a plain laborer in the imperial navy yard, and while the whole secret service had been hunting for him all over Russia he had been living quietly with his wife and children in St. Petersburg all the time. " You know how important this arrest ia, said the chief, kindly ; " there must be no slip, but do not forget that Borinski is an unscrupulous man of the most dangerous kind. If your life is in danger, make use of your revolver, but try to catch him alive." "He shall not escape us this time," answered Petroff, quietly, but with,a very determined expression ; "he has not the slightest idea that bis identity has been discovered, and I will arrest him in his own house." In the evening Petroff mounted the stairs of a tenement house near the Neva. Arrived at the top floor, he knocked at a door, which was opened by a poorly dressed woman, who trembled when 6he saw him. " Oh, I thought you were the doctor," she Baid, "he promised to call once more tonight." " I am indeed the doctor, my friend ; your regular physician was suddei.ly called away, and asked me to look in here to-night. How is the patient? " " The poor child is very sick, ~ the woman answered, and led him toward a door at the end of a narrow hall. Petroff opened ii quickly and went in. A tall, muscular man who was sitting near a bed jumped up with an expression of surprise. He had recog niscd Petrolf as a secret service man, but hefound himself covered by a revolver. "Throw up your hands, Borinski," Petrofi said, without a trace'of emotion, " the game is up. You are under arrest." The Nihilist leaned heavily against tin back of a chair, and his eyes sought his sick child.

" I have been betrayed by some miserabb coward," lie muttered between bis teeth. " Keep quiet, Paul I Do not forgot l.lia the doctor said little Dusuhi:i]:a must not b. disturbed." A te;u' (•listened in the Nihilist's eve. " l'ou are right, Milla, I must be i|uiot,"'hi said, looking toward the poor bed where u little girl of sis was evidently strugglm; with death. Presently she opened he' eyes. " Do not bo atraid, darling," Borinski softly whispered to the child. "I am going, but I will soon be haul;, and then you will be well olid I shall bring you a beautiful doll and we shall all be so happy Hurry up, Tetrofl, let us get away before she realises what is going on; she suffers enough already." The Nihilist's wife stood sobbing near the bed ; the little girl looked up and cried : "Oh, papa, papa, is the man going to take you away ? Oh, do not go away from me, J am so sielt, and I will die if I do not have you." " Maybe you have no little girl who is sick and who loves you us I love my pupa." retrod smiled sadly; lie suddenly felt ashamed of himself. He looked at Borinski, who was a picture oi despair. " It is true what she says," the Nihilist said, " she will die if I leave her now, but ol course you do not care ; what is she to you ? Let us go or I shall go insane." He snatched his hat from n nail and started toward the door, but stopped and looked once more upon bis dying child hi.lip 3 trembling and tears rolling down'intr bis great blond beard. Petroli' made a step toward the door, but his eyes could not tear themselves loose from the child. "By God, I cannot doit," he suddenly said, trying to conceal his emotion under n smile. " Borinski, stay with your child. 1 am no murderer. No, madame, do not thank me, thank your child," As if struck by'lightning the Nihilist fell to his knees.

"Sohelp me God, Petroff, I shall never forget you this, and the day may come when I shall be able to pay yon back ! " Half an hour Inter Petrol? reported to his chief that he had found Borinski gone. 0 Two years later the secret service were feverishly looking for a gang of Nihilists who bad sent out revolutionary manifests, which bad even found their way into the Czar's private apartments. Petroff thought to have discovered the headquarters of the gang in the house of a small merchant. On n dark night he had the house surrounded by the police, and when all was ready he went into the little store alone. While he was talking to the man he thought he heard voices from a room behind the store, aud started toward the door. The storekeeper whistled in a- peculiar way and immediately the floor gave way under Petroff's feet, and he felt himself falling down into a cellar. Before he had time to draw his revolver his arms were caught and he found himself surrounded by a dozen desperate men. One man kept on working a printing press in a corner, and he recognised Borinski. "Yon had better surrender," he said; "my men will be here in a second and you cannot escape." " That may be so, but not before we have killed you. String him up, comrades I " The man who spoke was a student. " That is right, let us hang him," shouted three or four others ; "we shall still have time to escape through the secret door." A rope was brought and a noose was" laid around Petroff's neck. He thought his last moments had come. Borinski had suddenly stopped his press aud stepped over to the others. "Comrades," he said in a voice trembling with emotion, " turn him over to me and save yourselves. I aui doouied anyway and I already hear (he police coming." " No, we will hang him first," shouted the student; "he has sent too many of us to Siberja ; he must die, even if we die with him," and he pulled the rope so hard that Petrol! thought it would have broken his neck. Then he saw a knife in Eorinski's hand. The rope was cut and ho could breathe once aiore. In the same moment ten policemen rushed into the room. The Nihilists ran toward the door, but found it guarded In a few seconds they were overpowered. Borinski alone stood motionless in tat centre of the room. " I have paid my debt," he whispered to Petroff. " Your life is in my hands." Then he quietly held out his hands for tbt handcuffs.