THE ADVENTURES OF RUSSELL HOWARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 2884, 30 June 1909, Page 77

THE ADVENTURES OF RUSSELL HOWARD.

By A. E. JOBSOJT. j THE LADY WITH THE PINCE-NEZ. 'These pictures, Mr Howards : they are all souvenirs oi somethings you have seen," said Mr Bernstein. - Mr Isaac Bernstein, of the firm of Bernstein and Bernstein, the financiers /Who>had_ a European reputation, was looking round" Russell* Howard's room. "You are an artist, Mr Howards. I know many of these places mineself, and have seen other pictures of them also, but these have somethings or other about them ithat is haard to describe,- but is of the place itself, and the climate, and- the , atmosphere. -That is so !" '• i Mr Bernsteia spoke English in a soft •way that was pleasant to listen to. He smoothed off all thorough -comers, andi occasionally added an "s" to a word in a caressing manner that seemed; almost to improve it, although- marking his •nationality, if his features could leave that i for a moment in doubt. ' ' : Russell Howard -was.- lazily lying back in a comfortable - chair- looking at his visitor through -half-closed /eyes. He knew Jhat" Bernstein had n6t come to talk for the mere Treasure x>£. .talking, and when he had suddenly-risen from his chair and. Jstarted r a' tour' .of the room, looking at- the sketches that hung on the walls, he knew that his- visitor was makng up his mind to approach the object • of visit. - ) '"You have travelled much, Mr Howards, and you have also observed. These sketches of old Moscow^r-a wonderful j place that, Mr_ Howard's — a blendng of--two civilisations", ;the> old one of the East and the new one of the West. -And the,, colouring ! You have ca-ught it" here. "But St. Petersburg, Mr Howards ! That t is also a -city to see. You have perhaps j been there?" , . i "Only passing visits, Mr Berni'tein. I j had no opportunity of seeing as muchj as I should have wished, but hope to" 1 ' have the pleasure of going there again j ia the future." • . , Mr Bernstein came -to a pause before a sketch of part of the Kremlin. He ap-pea.red.to be studying it" interestedly. In reality he was finalljy making . up has mind. . ' • "How would you like to go there now, Mr Howards ?" he safd, with an appearance of great frankness. '-'The firm/ have business there, and desire some informa-'. tion. This is, of course, regaTded as a.* secret, Mr Howards, and if ygu arc- not prepared to accept- our offer you -will of . course not say anythihgs about it to, any- j one else." ' !- "Ail my undertakings are, of course, confidential. Mr Bernstein,", said Russell Howard, ''but can you give me some idea of what is required, Then I- can better cay whether I can help you or not."- * Mr Bernstein sat down in a chair facing Howard. He was a stout little man, and, hi.? -heavy " face- showed no expression — only his- sharp black eves were fixed on his companion's face while he spoke, and the fingers of • his hands, which he had clasped around his crossed knee, kept moving. * "It "is this way,' r he said. "Our firm has larure dealings with. Russia — in fact,, j has had for "yeats, and now with the i threat <ff a ' Japane&p way the Govern- ■ ment desires that .tliey sifall be larger. | "The. inducements thVv offer for money . are , large, but at "" the same time w-e re- ; quire to check information that they have ; given us by personal oheeirvation, as • -well as desiring knowledge'., of somethings that ihey do not see fit to communicate to us. These things aare purely political, and if you represent us tbexe- would be jio difficulties in your finding out what is want-cd, for we have many agents/, there with whom we would put you in communication. ! "No! -there would be no difficulties as to that. The troubles would .be to let us have the information here in Eng- j land. ' i "The time we have tc arrange things ! in is short, and we should want to li/ear some-things each day for, say, a week or a i fortnight after you reached St.,. Petersburg. Now, this is very ' necessary to us, and I will not disguise " from you that it will mean -some considerable amount J of money; and. I am telling you this ' because Abraham Levi, for whom you \ arranged that little matter of the dia- ,' monds, spoke well of you, and said I : „ mifrht trust you." Howard bowed his acknowledgment. "But," he said, "how would you propose that I should communicate with you? Am I to take it that the ordinary channels would he closed- to us?"' "That is it!" Mr Bernstein exclaimed j as "he uncrossed his legs and leant for- } ward closer to Howard. "A letter would j not, reach us without bein<r tampered with '■> — & cipher not at all. -Tlie Russian Government know as well as we do what it is we want, and it is to their- advantage to keep-it from us. Tbeir spies have so far been successful, -for we" have already made attempts "which have failed. "This is why we have corns to you, Mr Howards. You have a eputation for devLsiiuj schemes that no one else would .. think of. We want certain information, and' we want you to get it for us in the face of the Russian Government ; for you can take it^from me that they are watching every move." He took a sheet of- foolscap from his T>ocket. "This -is- "what we require to know. I would ask you to memorise" it and then destroy the ~p& per. It is all ordinary business. sAd cannot be against vouv conscience, and -we -are. prepared to ' treat you most liberally- Mr Howards, in the way of payment." ■" Howard. read through a list of questions relating for the most part to matters bearing on arrangements for a probable war with Japan : "some rejrardincr . arrangements with other Powers, and more .

especially touching. on their financial relations with several of the other countries. He read them through carefully. They were for the most part questions that could only be answered; by Govern-^ ment officials possessing a particular knowledge of these matters, andi he could see at a glance that it would be next to impossible for him. to obtain this information himself in the time at his disposal. He handed the paper back to Bernstein. "I am afraid, Mr Bernstein, that I should have to depend -wholly on your agents' in St. Petersburg for the matters you require to know. For me, a stranger, to obtain it at such short notice wotflcl, be an utter impossibility ; but, granting tHat all information were given me, I thjhk I could guarantee it reaching you' promptly." "That is it, Mr Howards ! We- will get you all the informations there. We have means — money can buys, us nearly everythings there — but unfortunately we cannot buy over_the censors, and what is the usf of knowing somethings in Russia that we cannot know here." "Would you have an.v objection," said Howard, "to a friend, of mine here receivring my messages and forwarding them on to you. It will be necessary for the. success of nij plan, and I will guarantee his absolute secrecy on the matter." - "We are in -your hands, Mr Howards? and if you. cannot arrange the business^, without th©*help of your " friend then we must, of course/ agree that be be included, though, naturally, we like to have 'as few as possible' know of our affairs." "Then,** said Howard, "you may leave it io me to get into prompt communication with' you from St. Petersburg." At the beginning of the next week Russell Howard, Esq., si>ecial representative of the Evening Mail, *"as in St. Petersburg, furnished with letters of introduction to a number of high bmoials and leading men, and. commissioned to write a series of articles on Russian affairs.. He was well known as a traveller who was able to write in an original and entertaining way of things that' he had seen, and it had been no hard matter to arrange with the editor of the Evening Mail ior a series of personal observations on the Russian crisis. He had- also arranged personally with his friend Harkness, the assistant* editor, through, whose hands the articles would pass, a simple cipher by means of which he would include in these articles messages to be delivered to the Srm of -Bernstein. x>ernstein's agent had already proved his activity by supplying* him with matter for his_ first message, which he hoped to . despatch on the morrow. That evening, on the invitation of the -assistant thief of police, he was to attend •a' ball at which it was promised him he should meet a number of distinguished persons who would be only too glad to place at li'is disposal their views on the present situation, to be disseminated ' by him among the members of the British nation through the medium of the press, that power in England , which • they 'so greatly respected. l . Howard had been received with frankness. Indeed, it appeared to him there was too much show of openness. He" was assured everywhere that the Britisher misunderstood the Russian, and they were at pains* to convince him of their genuineness. Just where the false note came in he could not say, but there "appeared to him something behind- all. this surface show -of frankness. _, However, he was careful not to show the slightest sign of mistrust, and asked questions and made notes with just as great a show of openness himself. The ball, half through, had been a brilliant success. Everyone was chattering and laughing.^ It seemed as jf any thought of ,coming trouble was sar removed. 'Now and again one' • >r another mentioned Hie Japs. "We'll eat them up," they said, "and then we'll go and have a. good time in Tokio." " - Russell Howard had been introduced to one general after another — some of them well known to him by repute," and others, while holding high positions, he now heard of for the -first .time. All of them Were extremely affable and polite, and anxious to give him their impressions of affairs if it should happen they were of any interest. At the same time he felt that he was being carefully guided along on a plannedout path. He went nowhere of his own volition, but was pa&iec 1 on from one to another. As soon as he had finished with one there was another at his elbow to bring him to be introduced to someone else. At last he found himself passed on to Madame Nemidoff. "' Madame Nemidoff," said General Stuyler, who introduced them, "can tell you everything that anybody else has not fold you." She is a perfect treasury of knowledge. She knows all the latest gossip and all that is doing. ' You can take my word for it that you will be well entertained." .Madame Nemidoff was a little woman we-nring pince-nez. She had extremely . mobile features, and as she talked' her face, which would not perhaps be classed as pretty, became so sparkling and vivacious that it compensated to the full for any mere absence of beauty. A knowledge of the Russian language was not one of Howard's achievements, so they spoke in French, and as she rattled along in that tongue, talking of this one and that in the room, telling amusing little stories of them all, ■with original little comments all her own. "Rus, s-ell Howard, who &aw many things to amuse himself, could not fail to be interested. They danced together through a waltz, and ti;en sat out in a cool conservatory. He noticed that none of the others

interrupted him now, and wondered what was expected of his 'companion. They sat on a comfortable leather lounge. He was facing the door," where through the parted curtains he could get glimpses of the dancers in their bright uniforms and gay dresses. She rested against the end of the lounge, but, not for long at a time. " Her spirits were irresistible,- and she bent forward 1 and leant back as she talked. She most deliberately flirted with him — and he with her — when he saw that was expected of him. *" "Your eyes,-' Monsieur Howard," -she said after __ his last laughing remark, "■belie you. "Men withr eyes like yours hardly ever" flirt— they are too serious — ' but you are serious underneath and frivolous on top too.? . "And your eyes, madame/' he said; " what can I see in yours? " and he leant forward laughing, and gazed steadily into them. " ~ -' He had to turn sideways as he did so, as she leant against the end of the lounge, and her head was slightly turned to the back of the seat. JEler eves sparkled* mischievously* behind her pince-nez, which seemed to make them brighter, and at first he. noticed them only. Then his, eyes wete caught, by the reflection, on her glasses?. They, showed as if in ■" ' a mirror that part of Tthe room behind him,^and he could have sworn something moved;. _ .„--"•» „ --. , Her eyes fell befove his intense regard, i and she coloured up,- but' he'was now conj oerned with the reflected room. He could see the back of the lounge beliind him, and as he" looked 'two wild j faces' gradually appeared above it. He L made a slights movement as if to turn, \ and they jd once dropjged out of sight. " Your ' eyes, -madame, betray you," he 1 said. « j "And how do they betray me?" she 1 asked with a smile. . " Well, because no one could look at them and not see the flirt. And yet," he continued, ." I believe that you also could be serious too — for a minute, perhaps." . For the space of perhaps, half that time she did- look serious; - her face paled, and there came an older look into it, but . she shook her head ' and shrugged her » shoulders with a merry-, little, laugh. Past the curtained doorway Russell , Howard saw two' officers in uniform etroll towards their room. They were talking unconcernedly as they came, and paused ju^t outside, engrossed. in- their argument.i±e turned to his- companion*. She was smiling now and smoothing her silken skirts with dainty little pats. "It is time we went back," she said, and '-rose, giving her dress a .slight shake as she did so. ~ Before she stood straight upon her feet Russell Howard bent forward and gripped the, lounge on which, -"they had been sitting with both hands beside Ms knees, I and rising suddenly, with all his strength it over backwards 'and dashed to the door. - • .He turned when well outside, and standing alongside the ' two officers who had placed themselves there looked back. Two dark, struggling forms, gripping knives that flashed in the light, rose up from beneath the overturned lounge, and, tumbling" ferns and palms, rushed away thvoughj^another door befoie a move could be made to stop tKem. With muttered, curses .the two officers, at last gathering their wits, made after them, while Russell Howard went to help madame, who showed signs of fainting. However, other Jadies soon appeared on the scene,'* and they took her- away with them. , The excitement was intense when it was known that two Anarchists had endeavoured to kill the newly-arrived Ungilshman, and he , was overwhelmed with congratulations on his narrow escape, although no one was able to explain why he should have been singled out, as, being a stranger, he could not have been of any great concern' to them. • The most general idea was that he had, been mistaken for someone eke. He accepted all their congratulations, and said he considered he was lucky to have caught sight 'of the men in hiding and had managed to escaped ■ He was full of apologies, which lie desired to be made to Madame Xemidoff, foi having left her in -danger, and' was de>?olate to think that in ths excitement he had thought of himself fir^t •and had departed her for ever so short a time. To General Stuyler. the Am^tant Chief of Police, ha msde light of the affair, brushing aside his regrets that such a thing should happen while practically under his care, and laughingly assuring him that it would be an expeirience out of which be could make splendid copy. On leaving General Stnyler furnished him with an escort to bis hole], and asked that he would call the next day, when they fully expected to have word of h ; s would-be assailant.?. Russell Howard called the next afternoon, and ivas received by G<>nen - al StuyIC'V with many additional a polonies. Two liven had been fought, and they had every reason io belieVe they were the two concerned in last night's affair. Mr Howard mi^ht re^t a.-iur°r] that they wculd be examined, and certainiv receive the severest pimU-hrpent. etcetera. Howard li^tsnefl to it all with a ffiiiel smile until the General hsd finished. Then 119 said, "I \v\ve thought it over pince last night, General. Then I ua<= t^o excited to notice things that have tesmsd strange to -ms tlii.-; morning. ''In the first place, Madame Xemidoff, who is a friend of yours, took me to that lounge in the conservatory where t-ho?e men were a'readv hidden " "But, my dear Mr Howaid, 3 - ou suiely do not fancy for one "moment that . c he could have known of their existence ?" "On the contrary. General, I am certain that sha knew, for a? she sat Mie was facing them, while they were at my back, and I was warned by seeing their reflection in her gla c ses."

The General gave a slight start. - It -was ever so slight, but Russell Howard, who was watching for it, saw it. If be had been altogether innocent nis surprise ; would have been greater." As it was, he said, "You must have been mistaken, Mr Howard ! I am sure Madame Nemidoff can be trusted, and that she was i as surprised as you were when she found they were there. The shoek 7 was great to her, an<? .she is ill in bed to-day ; besides, Mr Howard, what could have been our motive in this attack if you insist upon blaming ' us. You are representing an English paper, and we have made a point of presenting out position to you in its true light and withholding, ! nothing. Why, _if we had any yeason ; for getting rid of you, as you suggest, to prevent you sending information to your paper which we do not* wish published, I can assure you it would have been within our power to attain this result without taking such extreme measures." ■ - Howard allowed himself to , be slowly persuaded that the General could have no, possible reason for wishing for his removal, and at last handed to" him, the manuscript of his first letter to the Everring Mail. "»-.»-.. .„_■*-_ -- "It "is possible, General, " he' sfeiid, "that I may have included 'something - here which it would be unwise for you to allow to be 'published at the present • time. . Now; you have been frank with -met ". X.will return tbfe'eompfimerit ■ by" ■bringing you all I write- to mjy paper, and, I will promise you that it will" be aU the correspondsnee I shall send' away, j I think you -owe me something' for the shock I got, last night at the hands"! ' of your so if you.are wishfuJ ~to do anything for rnle you' cannot oblige me more than by sending my letters through proniptly." ' General Stuyler promised 1 to help him j 1 in' this, way where possible; and Russell Howard had the satisfaction "next day of: ' being assured that his articles had ' been ' 1 forwarded practically' as he had written tham.' The worthy General would have re- ' oeived a rudle shock had he. known that' : a cunningly-devised cipher, based on.', the . j commencing letters of the words in seve- • j ivJ sentences in a pre-arranged position, i was included in each letter so" .promptly : j forwa-rded through his agency. He- had grave suspicions of Howard, and subjected his correspondence to every known test for hidden messages, but without result, and on theWnole' he i was inclined to think that these letters I were broufajht to him as a blind • while ha was endeavouring by some other means to forward other information.. 1 ,> J^ i ' s ' T i' vs P icion! S Tan • more on the lines that Howard had been employed as a , spy by, the. Japanese, and the thought that he was in the employ of the Bernstein Brothers never 'entered hira headj On the idea that dead men tell no I ! tales he had endeavoured to rid himself , ] of a suspicious character, but had failed and KiisseM Howard had so managed that , j ms failure should benefit himself. ■ . Duririor the rest of Howard's stay ia | Russia he was never out of -sight of | General Stu.yler's. B pies X but Bernstein's , agents adopted bettor andi more discreet, means of supplying him with information, and General -Stuyler continued unwittingly to act as an antenwedrary in conveying iit to the" Berusteins. by wav of the sub-editor of the Evening Mail