The Argosy, Vol. XXV, No. 1 — page 86: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

86 BY RIGHT OF SWORD. I questioned the girl as to who gave it to her, and where the person was ; but getting no satisfactory account, dismissed her with a few kopecks. It beat me. Obviously it was from Paula Tueski. Equally obviously it was ail appointment at which she had seemingly something to say of impor- tance. But where the deuce the ‘‘old rendezvous’’ was I knew no more than the dead. I am not one to waste time over the impossible; and as I certainly could not go toa place I did not know of, I tore the letter into shreds and went on home. I let myself in and found that my servant was out—a most unusual thing at that time of the day; but I had begun to fear that the man was below rather than above the average of Russian servants and was already contem- plating his dismissal. I did not attach much importance to his present absence, however; and throwing myself into a chair sat and thought, or tried to think, of some scheme by which I could induce Olga to leave the country, and some means by which her departure could be safely arranged. She must go at once. She had promised me to go when I could tell her it was necessary for my safety ; and I could truthfully say that now. If she would go, I would have a dash for liberty myself. While I was thinking in this strain some one knocked at my outer door, and when I opened it, to my surprise, Paula Tueski rushed in quickly. A glance at her face showed me she was in an sapectinaay ill temper ; as indeed it appeared to me she generally was. ‘* Where is your servant ?’’ was her first Baronet, buragaly asked. ‘*T really don’t know. Out somewhere ; but ‘* His absence means danger, Alexis. Why didn’t you come to me when I sent a message to you just now? You read it, questioned the girl, and then tore it up and threw it in the gutter; and all this as unconcernedly as if you did not know full well that from our window you mist be in full view: of me. Are you always going toscorn me?”’ I took care to show no surprise ; but it was clear I had blundered badly, and that the rendezvous was close to the spot where the paper had been given to me. ‘“‘T could not come. I had to hurry home. J——’’ ‘‘Bah! Don’t trifle with me like that. Haven’t you had enough of your prison during the last two days?”’ ‘“Vou know the news, then?’’ said I, following her gladly off the track. ‘“Tt is you who do not know the news. Ah, Alexis, you are giving me ~ more trouble in this new character of yours than ever you did in the old one— much as you harassed me then.’’ ‘What do you mean about new character?’’ I asked. Her phrase had startled me. ‘‘T like it better than the old. Fifty thousand times better ‘ that devil, Alexis,’ than ‘that roue, Petrovitch.’? But whenever I think of the change, I cannot understand it; I don’t understand you. I could almost swear, sometimes, you are not the same man.’’ She came close up to me and put- ting her hands on my shoulders, stared long and earnestly right into my Eomicbooks (S@)