The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 15, 1904, Page 2

(3] THE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL. HIS is the second install- ment of “By a Hair’s Breadth,” which has al- ready begun to attract more attention than any novel published in The Sunday Call since its new literary poliey was inangurated, possibly be- cause it shows how marvel- ously the Czar is safeguarded by Russia’s Dreaded “Third Section.” Apart from that there is the merit of getting a new $1 50 book complete in four installments at the small cost of 20 cents. h he had 4 daugh- turned his any direc- , here is a seeing the all too willing at the opposite which there was “Let us dine to- ave been making the women all day, and a little blase of the te to in to t« down a first seat with that he Having se- pered th to was ordering, Vol- full view of the selected and span Italians from Istria, he of dull br bad match to his bair. It was a face ¥ the usages of nat to ¥ »een surmounted \ and lazily E s he gave an obse- qui ear to Dubrowski’s require- ments, and in doing so he became & at he w h If being sub- ar process by the wai- ot , by any means; but s an alert watchfulness at the the that Volborth's ng told and. The ess was perceptib) when the eturned with the first course, rth abstained from adding to ness under which he might , and affected not to notice fluence of the brilliant lights, ring plate, good wine, and the d military music which Austrian lity had provided as a send-off to their guests, temporarily cured Boris of his ill-humor, and he chat- terec the highest of boylish spirits of the g 1 would all have in Paris. The French capital w re- garded by the whole staff as the para- dise the pilgrimage, to whick the forma d Breslau, and | th expected at % formed the knew their 1 each vied with the other in = reminiscences thick of this inter- waiter had gone f the orth sprang to his feet d exclamation of dis- me!” he cried. “I t for ten thousand/ru- e me for two minutes, my while I run to the train for g case presented to me I have left it on on carriage, and who ailway man may dear Bo the gol fancy e the divinity's souvenir, by all re's to her health,” ecried aising his champagne glass. the waiter returned with dishes, Volborth hur- not had steps to the compartment traveled that he Making his way to of section agents, who were over the imperial sa- loon, he beckoned Restofski aside. “You know rjov by sight—the same who was suspected with good cause of arranging the bomb outrage arsaw in "$4?" he asked than I know you,” was the ‘Have I not this to remember by?” And Restofski held up his hand, short of the third finger, h three years befcre the desperate had bitten off in successfully the grouy keeping guard left . 1 never saw him,” proceeded “But there is a man in Volborth, there acting as waiter, who, judging by photographs only, might be Serjov dis- guised. 7 want you to have a look at it without allowing him, or Du- browski, with whom I am dining, ‘to see you. We are sitting to the left of that fourth window giving on’to the When I have had time to re- seat, come and take stock of platform sume T the 1 who is waiting on us. You W get the best view through the furthest pane If you think he is not > softly three times on the u identify him do nothing s. There is such a clatter that no one not listening for ng it will be likely you tap. If it i ard it won't much matter, as I purposely arranged for the audi- signal to be given in the event of ur pronouncing the man harmless.” omatically Restofski noddéd com- hension. One of the cherished hopes life was to track down the man who had mutilated him; but not by the flash of an eye or the quiver of a mus- cle would he own to personal anticipa- Iborth hastened back to the dining- m, not forgetting to take frem his ket the gold cigarette case—a pur- e of his own—which had done duty as an excuse. On re-entering he saw that Boris, with his eyes on the door, but immediately averted on seeing him, was tucking something into the breast of his undress tunic—something thin and white, suspiciously like a letter. The aide-de-camp’s manner had under- gone a change. He seemed {ll at ease, and hardly smiled when the cigarette case was triumphantly waved before him “It was all right, you see—the Bern- hardt souvenir,” sald Volborth, resum- ng his seat. “Ah, here is the salmi of quail. But where is that rascal of a waiter? He has run away again, and there is no red pepper.” Boris muttered something about the man having been there a moment ago, and suggested that he had gone to fetch the condiment. All the sparkle and gayety had left the young officer. Vol- borth, though scenting blood like a ti- ger, was as cool as ever. It was not till he knew that Restofski must have been at the window fully a minute that he imulated the natural indignation of a gourmand whose dinner was spolling for want of & necessary adjunct. “He he cried, hailing a passing waliter, “where is the fellow who is at- tending to us?" The man expressed ignorance, but said that he would summon the head stew- i, who promptly arrived, swelling th importance, tc inform ‘“‘their ex- cellencies” that the waiter .who had been attending upon them had been taken ill and had obtained leave to go, but that he would immediately detail nother man to their table. The stew- ard was true to his word. A fresh wai- ter came bustling up, his appearance g hailed by three gentle taps on the pane. iborth has placed it on record that in his career has he been sc near ing way to uncontrolled anger as at the moment when he had to sit there and hear the signal given over the wrong man. For, being now more than ever anxious to conceal his connection the police frem Boris, he could not excite remark by again leaving the dow room to institute inquiry. Yet the wali- ter's sudden disappearance confirmed not only the suspicion ihat he was Serjov, but strengthened the suspicion that his engagement had been planned with a definite purpose. That he had only excused himself from further at- tendance when that purpose was ved, in the handing of a letter to s, Volborth was fully convinced. t above all th considerations the urgent necessity remained of at once rning Restofski that there might be a dangerous Nihilist in the vicinity of the station, if not actually in the build- ing. The barest cutline of what had oc- curred, if such could be conveyed to his trusty lieutenant, would be sufficient to ensure the adoption of the right mea- s, and Volborth was not long dt a loss for means to communicate. Pen- ng a few lines on a leaf from his ocket-book, he remarked casually to Boris, as he folded the paper— “You do not speak Italian, I think?” The aide-de-camp, still silent and abstracted, replled in the negative. “Well,” proceeded Volborth, “see the effect upon this son of the South when he hears his native tongue.” And turn- ing to the new waiter, he gave him the scroll, and instructed him in Italian to take it out on to the platform and hand it to one of the Russian officialg on duty near the imperial saloon. He care- fully+abstained from mentioning Res- tofski by name, confident that any agent who might receive it would at once pass it to_his nominal chief. Grinning with delight at the sound of his own language, the Italian sped on his mission, and returned immediately with news of the note's safe delivery. In the meanwhile, in order to prevent Boris from speculating on the man’s er- rand, Volborth had harked back to what he knew was a “sore subject” with his companion, plunging into a dissertation on the discomfort of being accompanied by ladies. He soon saw, however, that this little stroke of chi- cane was unnecessary. Boris-was too intent on his own thoughts, and, judg- ing by the haste with which he was eating and drinking, in too great a hurry to finigh his dinner to revert to that grievance. He answered in mon- ack osyllables, and gulped giass arter glass of champagne. “He is burning to read the letter which Serjov—if Serjov it was—brought to him,” Volborth thought And.the contents of that letter { inust learn— before he does, if possible.” It was no easy task to conjure a let- ter from the tightly buttsned tunic of a man separated from him by three feet of dinner-table, but these matters were Volborth’s specialty, and he did not despair. Fortune favored him in one respect—since. the change of walters Boris had been drinking fast—and he decided on a bold stroke. “Talking of the ladles,” he said, “if I remember rightly, I met you at the house of the Princess Olga Palitzin on the day before we left Petersburg. A charming woman that.” Boris raised his wine-flushed face, and glared across at him, ‘but detected no trace of insinuation on Volborth's countenance he assented with more in- terest that he had lately shown. “She is all that,” he blurted. *“Here's to her.” And he drained his glass, Vol- borth followed suit. “I do not know,” proceeded the latter, lowering - 'his voice ' confidentially, “whether you are on such terms-of in- timacy as to be acquédinted with her handwriting. -1 have a reason—a per- fectly innccent reason, so far as I am concerned—for askin, “Yes, 1 know her writing.” Why? What reason?” stammered Borls, ey- ing him with a flerce curiosity now, and unconsciously raising his hand to the breast. of his tunic, but dropping it instantly. “It is rather a delicate subject, and must be kept strictly between our- selves,” resumed Volborth, producing from the pocket of his civilian frock- coat a packet of letters, from which he selected one that had reached him at Vienna—a report on some trifiing mat- ter from a female spy of the section. “This is an anonymous communication of a very flattering nature received by me yesterday. The only person -to whom I have shown it pronounces it to be in the handwriting of the Princess Olga.” i Boris essayed a scornful laugh, but his face was working with a jealous anger. “Whoever told you that told you a lie,” he snarled, glaring round the room as though in search of the culprit. “Ol- 8a would not debase herself by serding unsigned bill s-doux—certainly not to you.” *“‘Oh, I did not mean flattering in that sense,” replied Volborth, with a smile of genuine amusement at the thought that that snare might have served as well as the one he was setting. ‘‘The writer, whoever she is, flatters me in the same way those others have been doing recently—by attributing to me police functions. Assuming my In- quisitorial capacity, she warns me against one of the ladles of the suite— I am telling you this purposely, Du- browski—against Mademoiselle Vassill. This outrageous letter charges your be- trothed with revolutionary leanings.” “The writer lies vilely! Iima is above suspicion of that sort,” Boris exclaimed, his better self asserting itself to de- nounce what he knew was a false ac- cusation against an innocent girl. And then, as' Volborth had expected, the thought must have crossed his mind that of all people in the world Olga Pa- litzin had most interest in vilifying II- ma were she base enough to do so. He did not believe that she was so base, but he was all eagerness to convince himself that she was not—again just as Volborth had expected. “Show me that writing,” he said. Snatching the letter Volborth handed to him. he glanced at it and broke igto a hearty laugh. “That is no more Olga Palitzin's writing than it is mine,” he said. “See here”—and in his zeal to confound the double lie he pulled an unopened letter from his tunie. “This is Olga’s writing. Compare the two, and confess that your informant lied.” So are traps laid for the unwary. It ‘was now Volborth’s turn to reach over for the letters, and they were at once surrendered for his inspection. Plac- ing them beside his plate he affected to compare them, and he saw that the letter received by Dubrowski was ‘n Ol- ga's writing, with which he was really perfectly familiar. The envelope bore no stamp or postmarks, the inference being that it had been inclosed under cover to the individual whe had deliv- ered it. His own letter had also been an inclosure, so that the two differed only in the writing. This discovery as it stood was valua- ble, but how to get a sight of the con- tents was the problem. In erder to gain time, while freely admitting that the letters could not have been written by the same hand, Volborth went on to descant upon the salient points of dif- ference, and he was making Boris laugh with ridicule of the fictitious ac- cuser, when he saw his chance. The Countess Vassili and Ilma, at- tended by old Woronzoff and General de Boisdeffre, had risen from the table where they had dined and were about to return to the'train. On their Way to the door they would have to pass close to the table at which Boris and Volborth were sitting. The latter’s quick eye noted that the imposing pro- portions of the Countess took up most of the space in the alleyway, between the tables. He so contrived that in passing she should jerk his elbow, with the result that both the letters, which he had taken in his hand with the ap- parent intention of returning them to Boris, fell to the floor. At the same time, to all seeming from the same cause, a cup of black coffee at his side crashed down on the letters, copl- ously staining them in equal propor- tions with the dark fluid. Instantly he stooped down to recover the letters, hoping that amid the babel of apology and explanation, which as he had loreseen promptly drose, and also because of Ilma's presence, Boris would forthwith put away the letter which he would pass to him. This would not be the one from the Princess, and the substitution would be facitita- ted by the coffee stains. The contents of his own letter being in the cipher of the section would be unintelligibie to Boris when he discovered the “mis- take.” His grasp had already closed on his own letter, and he was reaching for the more important one, when a set of taper fingers almost touched his own, and lo! the precious missive was spir- ited away. Resgaining his seat he was Just in time to see Ilma handing the letter to its rightful owner. “You were about to give it to Boris,” sald the maid-of-honor, regarding him with a giveet smile. “In saving you the trouble I have made amends for my mother’s accident, have I not?” “You have more than dcne that, mademoiselle,” replied Volborth, both literally and figuratively showing his teeth a little. “You have placed me un- der an obligation which I shall do my best to repay.” Every one laughed at what was taken for an exaggeration of politeness in- tended to be amusing. But Ilma's ex- pressive eyes showed that the real sig- nificance of the reply was not lost upon her; and thus even in the moment of his defeat Volborth scored a minor vie- tory by satisfying himself that his dis- comfiture was no freak of chance. In his love of keen fence he would have lked to congratulate his fair young antagonist had the issues been less tre- mendous. The Countess and her party passed on, and a minute later the clang of the warning bell told him that further de- signs upon the letter must be post- poned. For Boris rose and went out on the platform, where Volborth had to leave him in order to confer with’ Res- tofski before the train started. He found his colleague walting at the pre- viously appointed rendezvous—a lamp- room at the end of the station—and learned that the inquiry set on foot about the supposed Serjov had led to no eniightenment. Restofski had seen the head steward of the Austrian re- freshment contractor, and had gathered that the man had been engaged. with many others, especlally for the occa- sion, on the best of sntials. A mes- senger had been despatched to the ad- dress which he had ¥ but had re- turned th the report at no one an- iption was known swering there. For the rvest, nothing had oc- curred during the stay of the train to signify present danger. Having in turn informed Restofski of what had happened in the dining-room, Volborth hagtened back to rejoin Boris, and he quickemed his steps when far down the long vista of the platform he saw the alde-de-camp under one of the station lamps reading his letter. A fresh ruse for possessing himself of it had already half formed in Volborth's mind, and then he was suddenly brought to a standstill by a hand on his shoulder and a volce in his ear— “Whither away so fast, stormy pe- trel?” The speaker was Prince Lobanaf, re- turning to his own compartment from the imperial saloon, where he had been dining. “I have very urgent business, if your Excellency will excuse me,” Valborth replied, directing the Prince’s gaze to the distant Boris. “Ah!"” sald Lobanof. “There are new developments, then? Getting serious, eh? Well, I will not detain you.™ And the distinguished Ministerpassed on, little thinking with what conse- quences that twenty seconds’ delay was fraught—to himself most of all. When Volborth turned again toward Du- browski the latter was tearing the let- ter into a thousand pleces with the air of having thoroughly mastered the eon- tents. The next moment he stepped forward and flung the fragments into a brazier of live charcoal, thus once:for all preventing the eommunication from being seen by any one. Baffled for the second time that night, Volborth refused to aceept final defeat, and set himself to the only possible way of learning the contents of the letter— that of begulling the information from Boris himself. The train started imme- diately, and he stuck close to the aide- de-camp, following him into the smok- ing-car, and subjecting him to every subtle device that human ingenuity could invent. But it was all to no avail. BY no means he could emp circuitous, could he bring the letter. In fact, the y had imbibed so freely at d was disinclined for tete-a-t r that he e conver- sation of any sort, and was soon the center of other lively young blades of the staff, who kept things going mer lant hs till bedtime. When the att to say that the sleeping were down in the gentlemen's car, Velborth was not one whit the wiser All through the summer night the imperial train rushed across the fer Qalician plains, stopping nowhere b at Jaroslau, and, two hours later in the gray of dawn, at Lemberg, where Vol- berth stole from his car,. while every one was sleeping, to seek a few words with the ever-wakeful Restofski, Here, too, he inquired for a telegram which was duly forthcoming and informed him that the placed Anna Tchigorin on the Hofburg concert hall was nounced by the St. Petersburg Im- presario as a forgery. At 7 in the morning the frontier sta- tion of Radziwillow, flanked by -its chain of frowning forts, was reached, and the familiar uniforms on the plat- form told that the Tsar wa n the soil of his own holy Russia nce more. Thence the train sped onward to Sdolbunow, where, while the engine ‘was changed, breakfast was served In the cars. Every one was about again now, the ladies in fresh morning toilettes, and the military members of the suite In full-dress uniform, ready for the state arrival at Kieff in the afternoon. Vol- forth had contrived to efface all traces of a nearly sleepless night, and was ap- parently in the most careless high spirits; but ‘Boris had lost the jerky noisiness that had marked him over- night, and seemed either dull or pre- occupled. Volberth fumed inwardly. He would have given half he possessed for the next six hours to be over, for with the Tsar safe in Kieff, hedged in by all the normal precautions of the section, as only possible on native ground, he himself would be like a boy let out to play. He has since stated that at this period of the journey so overwrought was he with a sense of foreboding that at the slightest sign of anything tangible he would have abandoned his secret policy, and would have handed over the sullen, silent aide-de-camp to Restofski in the police car. But he could not well order an officer of the Emperor’s staff into arrest for having a strange manner, and the de- sire to spread his net for the real erim- inals helped him to master himself. There was always, too, the thought of the consternation which an open course would bring to the imperial travelers. And presently his gelf-cantrol was as- sisted by Boris himself, who gradually thawed during the forty-mile run from Sdolbunow to Scheptowka, and by the time the train stopped at the latter place was chattering gayly once more. “Perhaps he awoke in ill-humeor from the wine he drunk at Cracow. On the other hand, he may have been puzzling out some problem which he sees clearly Volborth stage 3 de- at last, thought, -as he stepped from the car to stretch his legs with the rest of the suite. To his sur- prise Boris, on whom he was in ¢l attendance, at once went up to Ilma and commenced to walk the platform at her side. Volborth perforce fell back a little—but not far. Scheptowka is on the edge of -the Russian corn land. The landscape was one vast expanse of golden wheat ripen- ing for harvest, broken only by a wood of lime trees half a mile from the sta- tion. Outside the iron railings a troop of fiithy emigrants squatted in the dust, patiently wasting till the autocrat whose realms they werg leaving should have passed on. The conversation with which Boris began volably to entertain Ima had reference, it Seemed to no- thing more important than these de- tails of scenery. As he came opposite to the great green and gold saloon he halted sud- denly and pointed to the wood. “That grove which you see to left,”. he sald, speaking rather loudly, L) ‘ introduction which had u.‘