IN THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13278, 10 September 1906, Page 3

IN THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM.

[PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.]

. BY A. W. MAECHMONT, ' _ Author of "The Queen's Advocate. 1 "A Courier of Fortune," "By the Wit of a Woman," etc. '" " ' [COPYRIGHT.] SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING -CHAPTERS. Chapter Robert Anstruther, an Englishman, who is visiting Russian Poland lor thepurpose of shooting over the estate of his friend, Count Ladislas Tuleski. narrates the story. He is interviewed in his room at the inn in Bratinsk by a' 1 police agent from Warsaw, who demands to see his papers in consequence of suspicion aroused as the result of a raid made in Warsaw upon a house sheltering a patriotic society known as the Polish Freedom Fraternity, in which a Count Peter Valdemar is a leading spirit. ' Anstruther shows his passport to his visitor, withholding those of his chum, Robert Garrett, and Ins sister Margaret, who had intended to journey with him but had been prevented. Angry at being suspected of being a spy, Anstruther determines to leave Bratinsk for Warsaw, and for that purpose repairs to the railway station. Here he is besought by the stationmaater, Blauben, to speak to a lady who refuses to leave, in spite of the law which compels the closing of the station. Anstruther is led tip to a beautiful girl, who pretends to be English, to whom he explains tha situation, but she insists on waiting for her servant. Eventually they wait together outside, Anstruther noting her agitation at the delay. The servant returns and proves to be Count Peter Valdemar, the originator of a dozen conspiracies, in disguise. Anstruther warns him quietly of the activity of the police and departs. Chapter. II Anstruther meets the police agent hurrying after the count, and detains him for some, hours, learning that the count is urgently wanted for complicity in the late raid. Anstruther goes tor a ride and. ascending a steep hill called the Devil's Staircase, meets a runaway carriage, containing Count. Peter and his companion. The vehicle is wrecked . and the occupants thrown out. . Count Peter is killed, and Anstruther eventually, restores the lady to consciousness. He learns that Valdemar was carrying papers to Cracow, involving the Fraternity, and as he is securing them from the dead man the police agent appears and demands their surrender, threatening force if his wishes are not complied with. Chapter 111.---After much trouble with the intruder Anstruther disarms him and be gallops away. The girl is placed on the back of her deliverer's horse and they repair to the house of sonic peasants near bv, friends of Anstruther s. He bids them, Michel and Testa, his sister, ride down the Devil's Staircase and on for some hours, under the names 01' Mary Smith and Ivan Grubel, her servant (the names that Valdemar and his companion had adopted). . ', CHAPTER lll.—(Continued.) , As soon as they were out of sight we set off for Bratinsk, across the fields; and I explained the' next part of my plain. This was to use the two passports of Bob Garrett and, his sister. "I have not told you my real name," said my companion. "We scarcely seem to have had time to speak of anything yet. We've been pretty busy, you see." "'it"is Volnai Drakona. My father, is dead; my dear mother is in feeble health. I have a half-brother and half-sister— and Katinka." " "The passports will give you another sort of brother till we get to Cracow. Only for a few hours, however, if all goes well. Volna! I have never heard that name before." . "It is my mother's—" she said simply. Then, " You like it?" "It is Southern in its sweetness." "My mother is from the South. Do you think I. could write to her and let her know that all is well with me? She may bear of my uncle's death, and the anxiety will almost kill her. We are deep-' ly attached to one another." ■ ' ' " There is no reason why you should not. And from Cracow it may be safe to telegraph." ' . " You speak as if we were quite certain of getting through." ', "Why shouldn't we? I have had another thought. My servant is at Bratinsk and I i shall use him to create another scent for the police. I shall send him off toward Warsaw in my name while we go to Cracow sis the two' Garretts. 1 look for no trouble in Bratinsk. The police agent is not likely to think we shall venture -to return there, I expect he will just get the help he needs and rattle back to make the arrest. He will then follow Michel and his sister; and as this will take up some hours at least, we ought to be clear away and near Cracow before he even returns.„ to Bratinsk. ' *.-.':' " You make it seem very simple and easy." " So it ought to be; but I shall feel better when we are in the train speeding west. There is one thing, by the bye ; you had better make some kind of change in your appearance. I can do it easily by shaving my beard and changing my clothes. Do you think you could buy something in Bratinsk? Your description is sure to be tele.graphed in all directions." We discussed the means of doing this and had scarcely settled matters when we reached 15ratinsk. Having arranged where to meet I went to the inn and Volna to procure the change of costume. The dusk was beginning to* fall, and, deeming it best to be cautious, I entered the inn by a side door and succeeded in slipping to my rooms unnoticed. My servant, Felsen, was not there; but, afraid to lose time in waiting, and unwilling to risk asking for him, I set to work and shaved off my beard and moustache. As I changed my clothes I found the police agent's revolver, and took it with me. As -Felsen always looked after my things I did not notice anything amiss, except that he seemed to keep them very carelessly; but as soon as I went into the sitting-room, which opened from the bedroom, J scented trouble. Every drawer and cupboard in. the place had been ransacked and papers and books were all left in the greatest confusion. The reason was plain. It was the work of the police. My friend of the Devil's Staircase had set his comrades to work. Instinctively I ran back into the bedroom and destroyed the evidences of my shaving operation,'and was in the act of leaving the room when I heard voices approaching it,- ••.'.-■ I had barely time to step into a cupboard when the door was' opened and two men entered. One was Felsen, the other astranger. His curt, sharp tone and manner suggested the police. They passed through into the sittingroom beyond. " Your master has not come back then, it seems?" " I shouldn't think he'll come back after what you say." - , •- He'll probably be brought back." This with a sneer. "We know how to deal with spies and traitors." • There was a pause and then Felsen said: "I suppose if he's caught he won't be let out for a long while." "Our prison doors only, open one way easily," chuckled the other. "then I may as well look after myself, I suppose." .' ••■'•■■,"' " Yes. He's evidently made a fool of you." " Well, it's my turn now. Have a cigar?" I heard matches struck and smelt my best cigars, j " We can wait downstairs as well as here," said he police agent. ''I'll lock the doors this time to make sure." .He came into the bedroom, locked the door on the inside, and then went back. The other d. or was then locked and the two men wc-nt downstairs. Fortunately he had left the key -in the bedroom door, and the instant the way was clear I went out, crept along the corridor, and down the back stairway to the door by which I had entered. I gained the street safely and walked away toward the railway station, trusting to the gloom of the evening and my shaven face to save me from recognition. But the action of the police and the fact that they were already on the lookout for me had "crumpled up my plan. And there was still worse to come. >- ' ; CHAPTER IV. A BOF..SEDEAT.I.VG TRANSACTION. ' As I hurried to the station I tried to think over the position coollv and carefully. .: i: In the first .place I was now a fugitive from the police : but. as I had done no wrong, the fact had a sort of fascination, for me. The scent of adventure and the prospective excitement attracted me, and the idea of a trial of wits with the authorities roused every combative instinct in my nature. '■ . r- (i v - >■- ■ ,;V,' .■*•. ■, ?'''■■■'•'' *./ . Even had there been no one else 'involved I should have gone,through with the thing for its own sake. But there was Volna. Her safely and that of her mother depended

upon me; and that fact was the most powerful incentive I could have had to urge me to my utmost effort. The thought of helping such a splendid girl was just a sheer delight. - . Those paper!-- had to be got to Cracow. The mother's safety required this; and the risk involved in the attempt formed the spice of the adventure. I had powerful and influential friends both at Homo and on the Continent who would readily help me to get, out of any bother so far as matters i had gone at present; but it would be a very different thing if in the present ex- I cited state of the Empire I was caught S helping the " P.F.F." by carrying seditious j documents . for revolutionary purposes. , Volna also had run no great risk as yet. The mere, fact that she was , travelling with I Count Peter Valdemar was not by itself likely to involve her in any serious consequences. If the papers could have been destroyed, therefore, we could easily have put an end to the complication. But this was impossible. Their delivery in Cracow was imperative. We stood thus at the dividing line between safety and risk; and there was noth- \ ing for it but to go through with the matter | to the end. i

My experience at the inn had its lesson. I recognised that I must move very warily indeed in making any inquiries at*the station. The fussy little stationmaster Blauben might recognise me despite the change in my appearance; and I did not at all relish the prospect of interviewing him. But in this one respect the luck was with me. I was surprised to see a small crowd of people at" the generally descried station, and it was an easy matter to mingle with them without being observed. That was all the luck there was, however, as the reason for the crowd spelt further disaster to my plans of escape. The place was in a hubbub of excitement ; and I soon learnt that there had been a very serious accident on the line at a, place called Pulta, some seven or eight miles west of Bratinsk. As a result of this the line to Cracow was blocked. • There would be no train going west that night. The people in the station were travellers from the opposite direction Aviso bad been put out and told, with the usual courtesy of the railway authorities, that they must shift for themselves until the line was clear. They might think themselves lucky, I overheard little Blauben tell one man, if they got on by noon the following day. This was check with a vengeance, if not checkmate.

I hung about for some time with the object of ascertaining the chance of getting a train in the other direction — to get out of Bratinsk —and was pretending to study one of the time-bills when I caught my own name. "''Know the Englishman, Anstruther? Of course I do." It was Blauben's voice. "If he comes here I'll stop him." "We.think he may try and bolt." " How's he going to bolt? There's no train west and nothing east except the midnight express. But what's it all about?" The reply was given in a low tone and escaped me. But part of the stationmaster's answer was enough. "Spy? Rubbish! Why, he was here shooting last year. You people would find spies growing on gooseberry bushes. No. I have already told a hundred of you that there will be no train"— to a questioner in a tone of exasperation ; and I saw; him hurry off gesticulating frantically. I 'could do no good by waiting longer, so I slipped out of the station and went back to the village to meet Volna, After.all, the accident at Pulta might not prove an unmitigated evil. The few sentences I had overheard showed that the police were watching the station for me, and an attempt to leave would probably have landed us right into their hands. Then it occurred to me that wo might even turn* the accident to good account. If we could get to Pulta soon we could give an. excellent reason for our presence; that we wished to inquire about some friend supposed to have been in the wrecked train; and, as the line from there to Cracow would-be open, we could do the journey after all by rail.

(To be continued daily.)