Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 67, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 April 1904 — The Secret Dispatch [ARTICLE]

The Secret Dispatch

By JAMES GRANT

CHAPTER XVI— (Continued.) Bt feared to look much, or often, toroid the distant wood of the Honey Hrice lest watchful eyes might he upon It ini to gather hints therefrom; still more did he fear to visit Natalie again, lost, Rj doing so, he might lead to the diseortrj and arrest of all. So the days and nights of dread, of longing and suspt nur. passed slowly after each-other ■»». The barriers of rank and wealth had mR keen removed now and Natalie was jmtaeed to a level lower even than her hearer’s; yet he cursed the mad schemes hhat bad brought about Buoh a revoluhM and tossed feverishly and sleeplessly on his Led when lie thought of Natalie jHirrowna—his own loving and beloved Xatalic—so delicate and so tender, with Rcr white soft skin and silky lunr, her •ornest and beautiful eyes, lurking among ■tern and outlawed soldiers in yonder dtanp cavern of the rocks, upon her bed m 3 leaves and mass. _The whole affajr •eainded him of some of the old Scottish a£Ah or Jacobite plots, of years long paaird away; and it was fated to resernUt Ihe former more strongly in some of Ste features, as the dark sequel will show. The guards and sentinels at Schlusselwere doubled; the patrols were inaraeant by land, while on the lake the gunboats of Admiral Mackenzie cruised maar the walls; the cannons were loaded; tka Which words changed sometimes twice within four-and-twenty hours; and the ceaeral state of preparation for a sudden attack was unremitting. But time passed en quietly until the night of the 15th of September, when the crowning catastrophe came.

CHAPTER XVII. The past day had been unusually ihtoj for the season. The sun had Mt hi fiery clouds beyond the spires of ■i. Petersburg. Tbe night was without a noon and a strong east wind rolled the waters of the Ladoga in billows of inky Hue against the massive walls of the fortana in foam and fury on one side; while mm the other the waters of the Neva, •arofien by recent rains, gurgled and chnf«d round the moldy and moss-grown piers ad the drawbridge. ■ Since morning roll-call, Jagouski, the jtaouted, beaten and ill-used Cossack, hud Rees missing; he had quitted the fortress as some trivial pretense aud had not , since returned; patrols had seen nothing •f him. Then Colonel Bernikoff w;is more than ever on the alert; but Balgonie, who now deemed anything better than the torture of suspense, lias gone weary and feverishly to bed, to court for a time the happiness of oblivion, after Raring spent nearly the entire day upon the lake with an armed boat’s crew, patrolling by water. From sleep, however, a sudden sound aroused him; he looked nt his watch, and asw that the hands indicated 12 o’clock, midnight. In another moment the sound earnc again—the drums were beating to arms! He heard the clamor of hoarse Rinse twite voices in court and corridor; tfaa clanging of the castle bell; and he aaw the gleam of torches reddening the •Id black walls and towers, and flaring mm the grated windows as they were Rone to and fro.

His heart was beating with wild anxIkt* as he threw on his staff uniform, ftclted his saber about him, placed his pistols in his girdle, and hurried forth to meet —it might be cross blades —with the •oly friends he had in Russia! As he crossed the castle yard by to/ehHcbt, he could perceive that the Cossr.cks -were falling into their ranks with musKctocn and saber; and that the gunners were standing by their cannon tfith port Hies lighted; the latter casting a pale, Rk»U.v, and unearthly glare upon the pawning embrasures, the walls of the i(ha ll r i and on their own stolid visages, vhirli were pale and cadaverous, as those of people usually who are hastily snmmmied front sleep in the night-. The portcullis was up; and Balgonie «Mild see its row of lower bars, like a Km of black fangs in an open jaw, between him and the outline of the lighted archway. “•What is the matter. Colonel BerniJtaff?” he asked; “what is*the cause of all this alarm?” “Matter enough! We have had an •farm—the place seems to be invested tty troops —Tnf-rmtrT erf -the fftte- —the head of a column — look- for yourself, Balgoniel" exclaimed Bcrnikoff. To omit the Christian name of a pormoa addressed, and that of his father, aim, is a direct insult in Russia; but Xafgouic heeded it hot then, lie hurried a» the curtain wall which faced the land aiilr, the outer gate, and drawbridge, and nfcvca, by the light of a torch, lie could •mtliat which certainly seemed to be the timed of a column—a frjpit rank of nenrIJr fifty men. clad in the hideous uniform u&m worn by the Russian Tlicfit* .>jiits were green, lined nnd faced with very tight in the body, with proposnriousl.v long skirts, tight liroeches and Amts to the knees, with cocked hats, hnvlong flannel flaps to cover the ears in va eater. By the light of the same torch Bnltftxuv could see the bayonets fixed; nnd two officers, with their sabers ffnawß. ami a drummer, were, iu front of 'jfwtr little line. Having possession of the jwrmlr and countersign, which, no doubt, betrayed to them l»y the absent ,laigMatki. tltt* whole party had contrived to <*t£odc the sub-lieutenant in charge of outer guard, nnd were now past the that barrier, and had actually taken posamimi of the drawbridge, which they Bai lowered across the Neva. The gate wad guns of tiie second harrier were yet d» fie toned or passed; and thus these wdifciight visitors were in n species of Tee well could Bnlgouie recognize in tfWtwo officer* Basil Mierowtu, wearing TVbr fiamiliiir uniform of the ltegiment of tftaaainxko; nnd UsukolT, iu the gii.v trapjpjwpa of the (Jreaadiers of Yalikohi tx, madl mow, for the second time, their drumH» beat a summons for a parley, but mjit there was no response. Mfnoit hastened after Bernikoff nnd dr other officers. They had now ascend- . A

ed to the chamber of the unfortunate Ivan, from whose presence they had somewhat roughly expelled the chaplain, Father Chrysostom. On entering, he found that the royal racluse had sprung from bed—inspired by natural alarm, onfinding his chamber suddenly entered at midnight, and full of nrmed men; but Ivan manifested no indignation—he was too gentle, too subdued, and completely broken in spirit for that. His singularly beautiful face was very pale; there was a strange calmness in his manner; and whatever he thought or anticipated, there was more of calm inquiry than of fear in his tone and in the expression of liis fine, soft e\ es. Over liis night dress he had thrown a robe do cliambre of tine scarlet cloth edged with white ermine; and in his attire, with his long hair and delicate features, so chastened in expression by long solitude and complete seclusion from the outer world, ho seemeil more like a tall handsome woman than a young man of three-and-twanty years. “.What is this you toll me, Colonel Bernikoff,” he was asking, as Kalgonie entered: “my unhappy life threatened, say you?” “Even so,’’ said Bernikoff hoarsely, while averting his stealthy eyes from the yonng man’s open and earnest face; “even so, Ivan Antonoviteh; but your death will not be of our seeking.” "Whose, then?” “Your friends.” “And wherefor?”

“There are those without the gates who seek you. and you must not fall alive into their hands,” said Captain Vlasfief sternly, as he felt the point of his saber with a finger. “Alas! 1 do not understand who can come to seek me!” replied the poor prince, shuddering now, while an expression of horror began to spread over his fine sac horror gathered from the fierce and relentless aspect lie read in. the visages of those around him—and he withdrew a pace or so toward his bed, saying in a touching voice: “Ah, do not leave me, good Colonel Bernikoff, or at least give me a sword — a sword ”

“Fool—child —dolt! thou with a sword, and for'what purpose?” thundered Bernikoff, as he sought to lash himself into the requisite pitch of fury; “for What purpose, I say?” “That I may defend myself.” “ ’Tis needless,” said Tschekin, with a cold smile; “we shall take care of you.” “Oh, Carl Ivanovitch Balgonie, my friend, my good friend; you I can trust —you I can command —come hither, and remain by my side,” said the prince, in an imploring accent, as a solemn foreboding came upon him when he saw the sabers stealthily drawn front their scabbards on every side; and even the terrible Nicholas Paulovitch drawing near, dagger in hand, with his long lock of hair, his scowling front, and a cruel expression, the very lust of blood in liis deepset, stony eyes. “Carl, Carl,” cried Ivan; “your hand!” “Captain Balgonie—he here!” roared Bernikoff, -with one of his terrible maledictions.

“Oh, excellency!” implored Balgonie, scarcely knowing what he should ask or urge. “Begone, sir, to the barrier gate, and keep the guard there to their duty ' begone, sir, I command you, on your allegiance to the Empress'.” To refuse or Huger were alike impossible, though a wild cry of entreaty escaped the lips of the young prince, who sprang forward, but was thrust roughly back toward his couch by many hands and many leveled weapons. The sword of Dnmoeres, which had hung over his unhappy head so long, was about to descend at last!

Balgonie, his heart swollen almost to bursting with shame, rage and grief, rushed down the stair of the keep; but at the foot, nnd just as he passed where the old chaplain Chrysostom was saying devoutly on his knees the prayers for the dying, he heard a shrill and protracted cry of agony ring through the vaulted tower —a cry that made his blood run cold! Humanity, generosity, nnd all his own good impulses would have drawn him back to the side, and, if possible, to the aid, of Ivan; but the force of discipline, and a knowledge of his own utter powerlessness, made him pause, lor lie was but one man —a foreigner, ton—opposed to a whole garrison of ferocious and unscrupulous soldiers. When, from the inner barrier gate, he looked up to the window of Ivan’s room, he saw that the lights had been extinguished and all was darkness-UQjv, -

CHAPTER XVIII. When Bornikoff appeared with his group of officers, Charlie Balgonie perceived that there were spots of blood upon his long, white * leather gauntlets, that his saber blade was*broken off within six inches of the hilt, nml that a terrible expression of ferocity clouded his features and those of all around him. At that moment the drummer of the summoners beat a call for the third time, and Bernikoff, advancing to the wicket, in the palisades of the second inner gate, opened it. and,’ with a great sternness of manner, demanded what they required. “The release of His-Imperial Majesty Ivan 11'..” replied Basil Microwit/., in a firm voice, while courteously saluting Bernikoff in recognition of his superior rank. “If 1 refuse ” “You do so at your own peril,” replied Basil, as sternly and as proudly ns if, instead of a few discontented deserters nnd enthusiasts, the whole armies of Russia were nt his back. •“You cannot be mnd enough, Basil Mierowitz, to think of assaulting us?” “That may or not he, excellency; according to circumstances,” was the reply. “Wlint_ are those under yojir ord ere?” , guard of honor for the Emperor, if yon peacefully .tomply—the first portion of an Inventing force if you refuse," replied Mierowitt; but a sinister gleam

of triumph flachM !n the malicious eyes of Bernikoff, who gathered more of hit real weakness from this evasive reply than the rash young noble intended. “Listen, Colonel .Bernikoff,” he continued, While drawing from his brenst a long paper of official aspect, to which several green and scarlet seals were attacked. “Her Majesty Catharine 11.,

having come to the conclusion of resignimperial crown arid of replacing it on tlie bead of the Emperor Ivan, whom she now feels herself compelled to acknowledge as her lawful sovereign, though basely deposed in infancy by her predecessors, the Empress Elizabeth, and the Emperor Peter IIP; therefore she hereby commands you. Colonel Bernikoff, Governor of her Castle of Schlusselburg, to set the prince at liberty, with all speed and honor.”

For a document and summons of this artful and remarkable nature, Bernikoff was altogether unprepared. For a moment he grow deadly pale, but for n moment only, and glanced at the startled faces of those around him. Had he been too precipitate in bloodshed ? “Where is Her Majesty just now?” ha asked. “In the palace of the Czars, at Novgorod.” “Was Novgorod so empty of all the great nobles and officers of Russia that a document of such a nature was intrusted to a mere lieutenant of infantry—a deserter from Livonia!” said Bernikoff,

with a sudden rage. “ ’Tis an imposture —a forgery; there is but one monarch on earth, the Empress Catherine; and you, Mierowitz, and all who league with you, are but base dogs and traitors!” “Forward!” cried- Basil, brandishing his saber; “storm the gate—bayonet all who oppose us!” “Long lire Ivan Antonoviteh—long live the Emperor!” exclaimed his soldiers, rushing forward. But the wicket in the palisades was at once closed, and secured against them by an enormous transverse beam of wood; and though a confused volley of musketry was exchanged between them and the main guard, no one was struck, save Bernikoff, who staggered back into the arms of Vlasfief, having been bayoneted in tiie. breast by the deserter Jagouski, who drove his weapon between the palisades, nearly finishing what Basil had begun by the blow of a musket, but which crushed the colonel’s hat and nearly fractured his skull. “Ah! dogs and Asiatics, you have struck me!” shouted Bernikoff. whose voice was hoarse with rage and pain. “Dost know the penalty of wounding an officer —of striking a soldier who wears a decoration?” “Accursed Tartar. I neither know nor care. I revenge my brother's death at Zorndorf, my own wrongs, and the murder of Peter III!” replied the exulting Cossack, with a bitter laugh. “May my right hand wither, and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, when most I need them both, if I have not a terrible vengeance for all this work!’’ cried Bernikoff. “Vlasfief, Tscliekin,. show them their prince!” While the undaunted Basil and his friend Usakoff, with their soldiers, proceeded to wheel round a cannon of the outworks, a thirty-two pounder, for the purpose of blowing open the wicket inner barrier; and while Balgonie.' a silent but excited and sick-hearted spectator of the whole affair, lingered close by, heedless whether the round-sliot and grape, with wtiich they were charging the gun, came his way or not —a window in the first story of the keep was dashed open, and while every torch and'every eye were uplifted to the place, a terrible spectacle, which hashed all into momentary silence, was exhibited. It was the dead body of the young and handsome Ivan, suspended by the neck, at the end of a rope, stripped even of his night dress, cold and white as the marble of Paros, and gashed with Lea gaping wounds. (To be continued.)