The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 18, 1900, Page 4

By Cliis Author of “By the ALL RIC the white plain stretching Orenburg and Saratov dges with thelr troikas of e swiftly traveling. The falling in great flakes of the travelers, covering them faces hem and s it, Ivan?" asked sledge; and the mustache and llar of his capots, a ts, your Excellency, s the response, and ack on his seat, draw- ound him. The sec- gh ke s at the same, dis- the rirst; the hors bit seemed anxlous to but were held sternly " two men with bent 10 the c ntured Shall 1 iv t pass, i a- in moving on be- traveier asked onded with at a hon 1 addressing it as to know if thei ‘their the 1p words were ut- he whipped up h flew over the snow & was v waurk lai L a nxious v Excell You ma remost k h e that ad P, up, sor a she donke . & his whip vig- s € animal. ““Do you for wolves?” € st his and a p s under the seat and ref priming. have r half a dozer said rse havir g struggled 1o s P Y € = ght arovpd . r R i over the ma w 2h wa w en £aining. Aga f w bleeding w nt it twenty | oid wolf bhec wolv rounded it about him 1 the traveler brought dow of his musket and, firing his pistols but withal there seemed driver by a inspiration cried out: *1f sey will but keep the 2 few I seconds 10t that ng wup the round, cut t hors 10w, screar, as the ned on the horse, which was v pulled down anG torn to pleces cocaped them this time, thiz,” said the driver. Dlous’s leaGcn megal which hung from have said the other after ay I ask you come from Moscow, a second’s hesitation. the same question?” Tere T am called Petnoff; but in Oren- burg my name was Varanzoff,” said the other laconically and sadly The newcomer started. here for—" “Charged with selling plans of Russian fortresses to the Turks; a crime of which 1 am innocent.’ “We are all innocent,” other, shrugging his shoulders: and then, as the officer turned on his beat and came toward them, they broke off their con- versation and bent steadily over their work. From that day these two men be- came sworn friends and allies. So rauch nd you are Marston, Lazy Scheldt,” etc, rejoined the RESERVED. a ribbon round his neck; “but look there,” and he pointed with his whip to where n the distance the two divi loping up to join their com The traveler smiled g as he =0 at least as was possible under the cir- away his rifle and pistols, covering them cumstances: and being members of the carefully from the snow. “That was 4 same working gang they were thrown narrow shave,” he said. *“How much far- much together. ther to the posting station?” At last Jff, whose less robust frame “Yonder, vour Exceliency,” and the mun could not so well withstand the effects of pointed to where, far ahead, a little groun the work and exposure, fell sick; and his of buildings, covered with snow, was friend devoted all his spare time to wait- barely visible on the white landscape ing on him. The man was indeed sick al- Avother ¢ hour brought the sledge MOSt unto death, and was eventually left by the docter to die. with the steal, and at | But Petnoff fed hi choicest morsels he could beg cheated the grim mon- safely intc m and the ard of the posting-housc hurried into the buildir vel me supper, a bed and a team of v 5 ; best horses by the break of day.” he said * s bbbt he to the host. a stout man, clad in Qiriy _ S dadion el Sulaeiia i rianais Quite unnt for work. ~You have been my “The supper and the bed, barin; but as o o4 WL Tl e his friend to the horses, I regret that it is impossi- Cot peside c when the Bk My last trolka has just gome o0 Gii-g'work was over. “If we are ever set atead, nd I shall not have fresh cnes gro. from this infernal place you shail until to-morrow at midda find that my gratitude will be boundless.” How?" cried the trav Potnoff smiled somewhat drearily 1 !11"m_l (“h.l-—‘ his face became a have heard men say the same things to ‘-“'1 nt.s.l send wv: nvm'} yeste their « wdes before, many time: he should want your best horse E “and when they say it they mean it “It was your Excellency, was it?" a comfort of their own homes the host, scratching his head in a 't these dreary wastes and the plexed mann they have left behind pining in “Dimitri V said the trav ivity. You will remember me for a “Ah the name week, my friend—possibly a month—ther 1 shall be forgotter )0 you mean to say, son of a finay HanveA Ak t me,” said the vou have given my team to others? other vehement] v sickness have offended unwittingly, been busy i escape They gave the name and 1 gave the horscs o ‘Do not think an hour or more ago.” he said. *I known men to And who are they? Speak, s — s and 1 have seen them brought “The party that arrived last befo back”—and he paused, shuddering. *Dv Excelle Their horses are still smoking in the stabie and utterly done The traveler glared at him re ave friends in loudly, to which, however, the 1 { we can but get not the slightest attention. I Prob- vy brother is an offi- abiy used to the pr 1 v garrison; J am certain that itri Varanzoff retire 3 \ill, patience and se we can where he paced up na ¢ ) his & and mut vay himseilf. 1 ver he excls I at las has so iarge waste : nile 1 as he is. Now 1 k avk leavi whom 1 es was sent to and my m emed the he crs ac le ran: irity aw k which is w a me to have ready best hor to-morrow morning. m of the lock did 1 ce n for from ather travelers becaus 1 would not part wit} hour or two a troika, smoking er and travelers in a fever f impatience. ‘A trotka for Dimitfi Varanzoff they cried; then swal- lowed some vod- ka and a few morsels of bread, and were off like the wind, ‘Dis- the of Mcscow ver uttered ves th were all the words to Now comes name and also poor fellow me. me “@ In the fortress of Kazan the revei had sounded, and > courtyard a band i mer stand with pickaxes, mat- tocks and snade 1 officer niform » which ves of, the opportunity that pre- ou but patient and t sec him them 1 prisoner z redl or im i here the Governor ot fazan on a tour of forts under his n W « tted ked out among the men °t figure, w ¥ lI _".I s of am- beard, had been already an inmate rrovisions, wero: to t to the fort in th ¢ course of the wriress ears. and Was following week. . B hr“mr “»’.v’(‘ ;' Now is our time,” whispered Strogofft Al et Russian \2 Bis friend; “Vassills assurcs me that & ne Dlane ol ussian we can be stowed away in one of the re- sxes to o sowe: been turning 11y o v wit X an officer § = N S n_company with broken arms and damaged vder. al m of informatic oG gunpowder. He g quently exception my orders to b e (ho es V. S i He passed by the name that they may .~rfix:hzhf|f?~r;c;a;gx."xll)|'-:2 p- are safe within th previous day a fresh batch of There was unu ! jurrived, and ggtoofl found rees, us a long tra ing side by =id® with a tull the gates; and all the prisoners were set ry looking man with black hafr and milit & 1o wo to store away the ammunition beard A been irightfully in- and provistons which had drrived. jurea an explosio: When t . right. fo-night" muttered Strogoft passed beyond earshot, {o Petnoff; gn to sleep, but keep your- began to com e In low self av tones. ar ou, and whence do you In the gray, cold morning, when the come ed Petnoff. earth had not ” t 3 vet awoke from’ifs slum- My name is Michael Strogoff, and I ber, the empty wagons lumbered out of the courtyard, accompanied by an escort of twenty men on their way to Novgorod. Ju the last wagon, concealed under a rering of loose hay, and in the near viginity of old disabled guns and damaged gunpowder, crouched Strogoff and Petnoif with their Cossack deliverer, breathless and half naked, their hearts palpitating with anxiety and fear. » guards and the outposts were passed, after what seemed to the poor captives an eter- of time nd they dared at last to their heads and to converse in low asked Petnol fearfully. “All bought,” answered Strogoff; anid the Cossack, joining in, remarked thot he hoped there would be no mistake about payment, as he had given his word th the promises would be redecmed when they reached Novgorod, Then ue produca1 a loaf of bread, a lump of cheese and a bottle of vodka, and they ate and drank and were mightily refreshed. The day was declining as they neared their journey's end, and in the distance th could see the towe nd cupolas of Novgorod. he hors: which” had gone all the time at a quick pace, were Whiped up and broke into a gallop, and the half empty wagons lumbered and banged a’ong over mud and ruts, making the jourrey anything but an easy one to the occups of one of them. When they were withi a verst of the city they heard the c i of rifles in the distance, and looking cau- tiou: from the wagon, were aware ol 2 body of cavalry on the verge of the hovi- zon. “Our flight is discovered,” said the Cossack in dismay, @ they looked into which was blanched each oth with terror. “But they are yet far off d if we are once insid vgorod, we are sa f f: * said Strozoff; he gates ¢ N a few words to the he Cossack spok nearest soidier, who immediately galloped on to the front; and presently they hcard the cracking of whips, and were ms painfully aware that the pace had Juick- ened. But- the troop of horsemen were com- ing on at a rapid gallop and would soon be within rifle shot; and although the wagons kept on at speed, eir pursuers gained upoa Lhe nly kalf a ve only half a ve grear Strogoff )ly aints! To be captured in sight of b 2 few hundred vards from the ga out from b ilLe nearest rang stantly thrywe and open they coule. see ‘he sentries insias, * standing awaiting the:. entrance. A shot whistie. over the heads of the fugitives, an. other burst through the tarpaulin cover- ing the wagon. In his fear and anxiety, Petnoff forgot ail prudence. and standing up he parted the covering and- stood fully exposed to the pursuers. In an instant he was thrown to the floor of the wagon and covered by some heavy body as a volley of rifles rang out. He was half stunned but supposed that he must be wounded. Then he heard the great gates clash to behind the wagon, which stopped instantly and he was lifted out. *“Ah,” he said, seeing that he was covered with blood, “I am wounded.” Then he saw that men were carrying away on a litter something covered over, from which the blood dripped as they went along. That night, after Petnoff had beeu refreshed by a bath and a supper, he was summoned to an upper room in the garrison. It was a poor little room, mean- ly furnished, and on a small camp bed lay something covered over with a sheet. An officer in rich uniform stood beside it. As Petnoff approached he turned back the sheet and revealed the dead face of Strog- off. The escaped fugitive threw himself by the corpse of his friend and covered the cold face and hands with tears and kisses “He gave his life for vours,” said the officer huskily. “He received his death wounds in shielding you: and he only lived an hour after he was brought in here. “Ah! my friend! my friend!” cried Pet- noft. “Before he died,” resumed the officer, “he was able to conve: a little, and 1 then Jlearned for the first time who was the companion of his flight, of which he had managed to send me word before- hand. He told me to tell you that this was his expiation.” Expiation,” repeated Petnoff, be- wildered. “Carry your thoughts back nearly four years to”a journey you made by sledge from Orenburg to Sanator, when you were attacked by wolves.” Petnoff nodded. “You were passed en route by another sledge containing two men, who took ad- vantage .of your arrangements and using your name got possession of the teum you had ordered.” Again Petnoff nodded, won to what this, might tend. “These men,” contin- ued the officer, ‘“‘were my brother and myself, We had, by the hands of a Cossack servant in- troduced into your house, obtained copies of the plans of towns and forti- fications which you had been commissioned by the Russian Govern- ment to make. These copies we sold to the Turkish Government for a large sum, leav- ing you to suffer the congequenc Had the crime been fully proved against you. a traitor's’ death would have been your portion; hut they gave you ths benefit of the doubt, and im- prisoned you for a crime you never committed. We were well cnsed, and thought little What would you? We are = Poles—and a T TR T i every Russian is to us an enemy, to be served as we would will- Ingly serve the whole .race. = Then my -brother went to St. Petersburg, Where I was to have jolned him. and in the new world we were going to found a colony for our oppressed nation, but he was singularly incautious—my poor Paul! He was suspected and arrested—tried— but, as in your case, full proof was want- ing. T have labored for his liberation. But -a mightier hand than mine has set him free.” —————————— “Hasn't she a past?” inquired the gossipy man. : “Yes." answered the sensational actress, “but it Isn't much-use to her. Somehow she doesn’t seem able to get any of it in- to the newspapers,”—Washington Star. tering ——— One of the first requisites, whether the rider be delicate or strong, is moderation. Riding for speed subverts the very end of the exercise—it is like rowing or running or doing anything else for speed Iy conquers the conqueror—-and n sickening, harrowing sight is the contin ous race. The associations of wheelmen should do all in their power to suppress these public exhibitions of human idioe Another essential, especially for wome is an appropriate dress, and there is no law against a gentieman also being ap- propriately dres I never could under- stand why it was necessary that a man should wear the garb of a circus clown in order to ride a wheel. In the past year or two women have come noblv to the rescue in the mat- ter of genteel dre The short hair, the bloomer and the chewing - n have disap p e The plain oth me- dium width, medium further and econc 200d ra valking advant ¥ of be ¢ gown fc ssential ; er to lzarn how to ride ny a riding without this knowledge. There a few mechanical principles to be served. One fs to have the gearing so ar- ranged 0 as to have th with the foot when the Another is to have rddle so pla 28 to bring the weight of the ho rectly over the nedal when the latter is its lowest voint. Still anather is to lower the handle-bars sufficiently to allow the body to bend for- ward slightly from the not stooping from the shoulders, thereby compreseing the Iungs. N ¥ all beginners bend the spine backward from the nips. rule, young children, if the gearing is correct take the normal position. g Finally, the rider should sit., as in a chair, upon the bones or tuberosities of the pelvis, and should on no account allow the weight of ine body to rest upon the tissues situated between these bony prom- di- 7 inences. jury res riding a ng saddle constructed in anatomical princ of correct x s it is always wise to ref sac n to Beside the Ve saddle is that of be thoroughly well r materfal and it must D a wheel & of. Too to ring and very WOLVES? X EI R R I A R A A KAL) . That ¢ weed, known frequentiy 0 feet. trong a auantitie by the i nds. wh ows to a he ster of course, an upward t e keeps the stem on the >t the us weed in & rze mead- owlike islads ar which are oft ‘.\ so big as to impede pavigation . ropes made from the stems of the plant are used for bullding purposes, and (he bailoons- when dried make very service- —_——————— are probabiy the tallest peo- ple in Europe, and have, on the whole erect, handsome figures. To soms extent this advantage is du physical exer- to cise. for Ling's Swedish symnastics ate compulsory in the elementary 3 and much used in chools and cor nd other schools and col-