THE NIHILIST'S REVENGE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 60, 29 February 1908, Page 4

THE NIHILIST'S REVENGE.

(A Ileal Life Experience told by Paul Cinqucvalli, the Worid-Fauum* •higgler.)

Fiie story I am about to relate )>•.! while I was a member of a cuviis company which visited small ioun> and villages ill Bussia. We were r.u ::r a large crowd, carrying plenty ol and travelling with vans. It was a free and easy existence, and we nc.vcr knew exactly who was who, even with our own stall'.

The grooms, stablemen, and general helpers were taken on in a hapha/a--' 1 fashion, and any able-bodied man unapplied for such a job would he pretty sure to gel it. supposing we wanlcri somebody. Vou could not get any de cent sort of men for such work, so »w. were not able to be too particular. In consequence of this, and in view of the fact that we fretjuently carried a. gooil deal of loose money with us. we a I ways armed ourselves with loaded re volvel's. for the prolnction of ourselves and the property. We kept no vifo but the money would be hidden in oir of the vans, in the least ostcutalh'U manner possible, so as Lo avert s;ipicioii.

Occasionally various devices would In resorted to to establish the belief tlu the money had been dispatched else where, although it was reposing all th time in one of the vans.

As is generally known, on account o. the prevalence of JNihilism in Russia, all sorts a mi. conditions of people ar« subject to sudden arrest there, without any apparent explanation or reason. Secret service agents are constantly moving about the country in search of "wanted" persons, and doubtless we many times unknowingly entertained such emissaries by showing them over our camp, in addition to harbouring the

"wanted" individuals on our stall". Of one such occurrence, and its strange seijuel. 1 am now about to relate. At a place called Smolensk, a lew years ago, where -wo had pitched our ieuts. we were visited by a mail who asked to be taken on as a groom. He bore the appearance of an ordinary peasant, although it struck us that his clothes were rather new and over-clean, and his general " get-up" somewhat studied,

But it was no business ol' our manager's as to who the man really was, tiud, haying held a brief consultation, he decided to give the man a trial /or a few days. So he was engaged on that understanding. Nairn's were not of much importance to us, >o we were content to call our new hund " Ivanowitch." He was a big success, an excellent, workman, and .so he continued in our employment. Al a place called Lwihetgrad It.* asked to 1> ( . allowed to I«iy tht 1 >awdust in the ring, ami he was accordingly allotted (he tn.-k. The work was not so simple as it may sound, for the siwdust was in variou* colours, and f.uiey designs wero formed with it. Dot Iva now itch wa* equal to it, and aequitted himself admirably as the saw-dust-layer,

This convinced Us more than over that he was not (juite the bumpkin that '.u would have us believe, yml led, curiously enough, to hi# own undoing. On that same day we were visited by two men who had tin* appearance of ordinary traveller*, and who asked to be shown over the camp. This was done, and when t'hev came to the ring with the artistically -arranged sawdust they looked intently at the handiwork, ami asked who did it. They were told, and Ivanowitch poiuted out lo them. Th:*y thereupon left with suspicious abruptness. That evening our new hand disappeared, never having returned from an errand into the village. The explanation -was later forthcoming from one of thv two men who ha 1 honoured us with a visit, and who were detective;;, lie stating that the new groom would not trouble us any more, fie turned out to bo a notorious Nihilist, who had. hern "wanted ' for a long time, and -who had sought sanctuary in .mr midst, disguised as a peasant.

We naturally supposed that this was Ihe last w ( » should see or hear of Ivanowitch. But barely a year had elapsed, however, when lie again came under our notice in a very At a place called Kowno 1 happened to overhear a conversation between two of our stall' which interested me intensely. A sheet of canvas -was between myself and the men in question, I being inside a tent, and they on the outside. 'But I could hear their conversation, which was to the ell'ect that a scheme was afoot to rob the treasury of the circus, an attempt which had always been anticipated, but frustrated by us. My father was one of tbe proprietors of the circus, and to hiiu 1 couveyed the intelligence of the contemplated attack, with the result that a keen watch'was kept for the marauders, who were destined to have a warm reception. The long-threatened attack came at length at a place called Kherson. It was night, and we were trailing through a pine forest. I was astride the leading horse, and had almost forgotten all about the subject of the robbery, being plunged in one of those profound reveries which descend on a man during the still hours of the night. It was just at dawn when'my attention was suddenly attracted by a slight rustling in the undergrowth to the right of me. 1 sat bolt upright, and peered through the gloom as far as possible, but could disecry nothing that would account for the mysterious sound.

I was oil the point of dismissing the matter from my mind as too trivial .for serious consideration, when I distinctly heard a similar sound, that of stealthy creeping, on my left hand!

f felt there could be no mistake about it this time, and was on Ihe point of giving the alarm, when a rifle shot rang out on my right, and a bullet whizzed past mv head! Then ensued a scene that almost ImJl'les description. Men rushed firing from the bush, and shouting, "Hands npt" from both sides, liitattack being pressed with great, vigour. Fortunately. I managed to slip out of the way before they had time to locale me. am! escaped injury. I Ikmrd' my father's voice shout, "No surrender! Loose the dogs!" and the robber* found themselves attacked in turn by a pack of hug,' wolf-hound*. Our pei#| le also kept up a brisk lire from shelter upon the attackers, being careful of the li\eof our comrade*.

I'ut the most drastic incident of the attaek occurred in one of the living vans, in which was .Mrs. t'heisi, wile of one of Hie proprietors. In this van the money was concealed, and il. « is clear tli.it its whereabouts had heon correctly revealed to the hand of roliliers. I'm- the leader of the hrijiands. iilie in hand. went. to this van anil demanded the money. Iml .Mr-. Cheisi wa> not to be intimidated.

II so happened that she wa« at the moiueul engaged in some eiiliuary oecupation. and snatching up a handful m pep|ier. .she hurled it full ill the eves o' the rohher. The latter, with a sliri-U of pain, fell hack and collapsed, being easily secured.

In the meantime the light was being carried on in a ih'terinined manner, bill at length it inclined to our side, and eventually we succeeded in heating ol' those we had not secured and disarmed In the end we secured eijilii prisoners our casualties being two dogs killed am one wounded, lint the biggest Miipvis, we were treated to that night was tie discovery that the half-blinded chief o the gang was none other than our for nicr accomplished and yeiuleinan'.x groom, Ivanowitcli!

e conveyed all our prisoners lo tli ileal cm tow n with e--. lilt', del,.- a- posible. where in 111" i.ipla'u Tee ;,oli: recognised one .lamiwski. en oiillav whom the authorities had'been strivin: lo catch 'or some time. Ili s histon was a , irioii- one. tt appeared Ilia •' "I ir "rt'M-m'il from the hands " the police li. Ihese same brigands, whos. ranks he had then joined.

Their chief dying, and the n-w mom bcr bi-inir a iiiuii of education :i„d aliili ly. ' I--■> unanimous!,■ elected h'ni io the v o an! chieftainship, in wliic!, capacit. I: ' led not heen slow lo make histnr for ''imself. lie had ~l t, V ilVs enteri'.ine'd Ih" conviction that his airi'M at l,:sZb ftrad, while rii our employ, was (lie out- ; l >-'"'l"'.y on our p„n. all(I w , s0n ": tm "' l"'omNed himself I'll' pleasuie ill one dav paviii" li-icl ! l"-i- fancied indebtedness. ' ' °

! -""'"'W f '"'" littiiij; opporltinilY. l " 1 n"l I'i'csenle.i iiself lm |i| the , ocea-i„n in ,piesiion. when he had s„e- ---: I-.1 in getting a couple of his sni - I "'M our employ, who al len-th were I "l-'o whereabnulc |ol the cash. Ihese two men were those , whose conversiilion T overheard, and iw ! «•" wore able to lake ,K , IciU've measures. On,- captures led I, I'' '"r -aptures. (he whole ; -ang being al lyn.trrli brukvu up,