The Argosy, Vol. XXV, No. 1 — page 99: what you’re looking at

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

BY RIGHT OF SWORD. 99 spoken to me by any one in authority; and then I was ushered into the presence of a man I did not know. ‘“‘T am sorry to trouble you, Lieutenant Petrovitch, but there are one or two questions you can answer; and J need not say that as a Russian officer, bearing the emperor’s commission, we shall look to you to reply very fully.’’ I bowed. It was a fit preface to a conversation which should end as such things generally did. But at any rate I should learn what they iti'tended to do with me. Before he spoke again I asked that the letter I had written to Olga might be sent; but he put the question aside, with a curt reply that it could wait until the emperor’s business was finished ; and again I bowed in acquiescence. I could do nothing. ‘“ Please to tell me exactly what passed between you and M. Tueski yester- day,’’ he said. ‘‘ And particularly how you obtained the permits for your- self and sister. I invite you to be particularly frank.’’ The question startled me. I couldn’t understand it. ‘“Your question surprises me,’’ I replied, to gain a little time to think. ‘“M. Tueski himself knows and can surely tell you everything.”’ ‘“T ask my questions in the name of the emperor, sir,’’ returned my exanliner sternly. ‘“M. Tueski had done me the honor of trying to have me murdered, and I went to see him to demand the reason. He did not deny it. I persuaded him in the end to abandon his private malice and prevailed upon him to give me the permits for myself and my sister to leave Russia for a while. When he had given them to me I left him.’’ ‘“Where are they ?’”’ ‘Here is one. ‘The other is with my sister, who leaves Moscow at mid- day.’’ ‘You may stop her attempting to leave. It will be useless. What else passed?’’ And he then plunged into the closest cross examination of me, the real object of which I could not guess, unless it meant that Tueski had in some way got into a mess for letting me have the permits. I answered all the questions as fully as possible, taking care only to avoid mentioning Paula Tueski’s name in connection with the compact with her husband. To my surprise I seemed to satisfy the man for the time. When he had about turned me inside out, he sat for some minutes looking over my answers and comparing them with some of his notes; after which he remained thinking closely. ‘‘ What did you do after leaving M. Tueski?’’ ‘I went straight to my rooms and my sister; together we drove Madame Tueski to her house ; I then went home with my sister, remained there about an hour, or perhaps less, and went home and to bed.”’ ‘“ You have told me all you know, lieutenant ?’’ ‘You can ask M. Tueski,’’ I returned. He fixed his eyes steadily on me while I could have counted twenty, and then said slowly and with deep emphasis : ‘“M. Tueski is dead.’’ ‘‘ Dead !’’ I repeated in the profoundest surprise. CopmmiclaoolK< (©)