IIt!'l!!fl i ill ! !, H!l!limHllllHIHUIII(llllllllllimillllfMilllHIIHI DICK DONOVAN'S DETECTIVE STORIES. Post 8vo., illustrated boards, 2s. each ; cloth, as. 6d. each. THE MAN-HUNTER. CAUGHT AT LAST ! TRACKED AND TAKEN. A DETECTIVE'S TRIUMPHS. WHO POISONED HETTY DUNCAN? IN THE GRIP OF THE LAW. WANTED ! LINK BY LINK. FROM INFORMATION RECEIVED. SUSPICION AROUSED. DARK DEEDS. RIDDLES READ. Crown 8vo., cloth extra, 3s. 6d. each ; post 8vo., illustrated boards, 2s. each ; cloth limp, 2s. 6d. each. TRACKED TO DOOM. With 6 illustrations by Gordon Browne. THE MAN FROM MANCHESTER. With 23 illustrations by J. H. Russell. THE MYSTERY OF JAMAICA TERRACE. Crown 8vo., cloth, 3s. 6d. CHRONICLES OF MICHAEL DANEVITCH. London: CHATTO & WINDUS, in St. Martin's Lane, W.C. THE CHRONICLES OF MICHAEL DANEVITCH THE CHRONICLES OK MICHAEL DANEVITCH OF THE RUSSIAN SECRET SERVICE BY DICK DONOVAN author of 'the man-hunter,' 'tracked and taken,' 'caught at last, 'a detective's triumphs,' 'vidocq,' etc L - lock./ c ETners*-* 7 LONDON CHATTO & WINDUS 1897 TVs CONTENTS THE CHRONICLES OF MICHAEL DANEVITCH : INTRODUCTION . . . . .1 THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF A MILLION ROUBLES 7 A MODERN BORGIA . . . . .33 THE STRANGE STORY OF AN ATTACHE . • 60 THE FATE OF VASSILO IVANOFF . . -91 THE MERCHANT OF RIGA . . . . Il6 THE GREAT CONSPIRACY . . . .143 THE CROWN JEWELS . . . . . l66 THE STRANGE STORY OF A SECRET TREATY . .193 HOW PETER TRESKIN WAS LURED TO DOOM . . 227 THE CLUE OF THE DEAD HAND : I. NEW YEAR'S EVE : THE MYSTERY BEGINS . . 262 II. THE MYSTERY DEEPENS — THE NARRATIVE CONTINUED BY PETER BRODIE, OF THE DETECTIVE SERVICE . 276 III. THE DEAD HAND SMITES . . . . 288 MICHAEL DANEVITCH INTRODUCTION. A year or two before the outbreak of the Franco Prussian War a daring- attempt was made upon the life of the Emperor of Russia. He had been out shooting in the neighbourhood of St. Petersburg, and was returning at dusk in company with numerous friends and a large suite. As the Royal carriage passed an isolated house on a country road, which was bordered on each side by a dense pine forest, a bomb was hurled from an upper window of the house. Fortunately it did not strike the carriage, as was intended, but, going over it, fell between the horses of two of the Royal Guard. The horses were blown to pieces, the riders were killed on the spot, and several other men were more or less injured. For some minutes a panic ensued. The Emperor's driver whipped his horses into a gallop, and everybody seemed at a loss what to do. The house, however, was soon surrounded, and a man and woman were seized as they were in the very act of escaping. It was soon made evident that this man and woman were mere tools, and the arch-conspirators had availed them- selves of the confusion caused by the bursting bomb to get off. Darkness favoured the fugitives, and though the forest was scoured they were not captui-ed. Subsequent investigation brought to light that the plot for the Emperors taking off had been the work chieiiv of a daring 1 2 MICHAEL DANEVITCH and notorious Nihilist, whose capture the Russian Govern- ment had long been trying to effect. His connection with this dastardly attempt caused a heavy price to be set upon his head, and every effort was made to arrest him. But, extraordinary as it seems, he succeeded in evading his pursuers, and, alter travelling many hundreds of miles through the country in various disguises, he managed to get on board of a vessel bound to Constantinople — so much of his flight was subsequently learnt when it was too late ; but at Constantinople all trace of him was lost, though there was reason to believe that he had escaped to either France or England, and a large staff of the most able Russian and Polish detectives were sent out to scour Europe. One winter night of that memorable year, I was on my way from Paris to London via Calais. It had been a wild and stormy day ; a high wind, bitter cold, snow, sleet, hail, rain — such were the atmospheric conditions. We had had an assortment of the worst samples of weather, and as night approached it was onlv too evident we were in for ' a buster. 1 There were very few passengers by the night train from Paris. It was not a night when anyone was likely to be travelling for pleasure. On our reaching Calais Station the wind had attained the force of a heavy gale, causing a tremendous sea to run in the Channel, and we who were pressed for time heard with dismay that the boat was not likely to attempt the crossing before the morning. The cramped and starved passengers made a rush for the buffet, but I had to see the guard of the train, owing to a hand-bag of mine having gone astray. This bit of business occupied me for quite twenty minutes, and then, almost frozen to the marrow, I made my way to the buffet. The large stove in the centre of the room was surrounded by the passengers, so I seated myself at one of the long tables and called for hot soup. It was not until I had finished the steaming bouillon, and had begun to thaw, that I became conscious I had a vis-a-vi.