vSO 
 
AMERICAN SERIES 
 
 OF 
 
 FAMOUS FICTION 
 
 Edited by 
 
 Dr. Jno. Rudd, B.A. 
 
 The Gunmaker of 
 Moscow 
 
 BY 
 
 SYLVANUS COBB, JR. 
 
 4?.. 
 
 DEPOSIT, NEW YORK 
 THE A. S. WICKWIRE PRESS 
 
Old wood to burn! Old wine 
 to drink! Old friends to trust! 
 OLD BOOKS TO READ 
 
 912834 
 
THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 THE GUNMAKEB AND THE MONK. 
 
 The time at which we open our story is mid-winter 
 and towards the close of the seventeenth century. 
 Russia had passed through the long and bitter ordeal 
 of national Night. The Tartar yoke had been worn 
 till the very bones of the nation were galled ; and when 
 this was thrown off civil dissensions and insurrections 
 commenced. The Poles and Swedes plundered the 
 country, and amid general tumult and confusion some 
 half dozen men were clamoring for the throne. At 
 length a few patriotic citizens, pledging everything they 
 held dear on earth to the cause of freedom from this 
 curse of anarchy, and headed by a noble prince and an 
 humble, patriotic butcher, made a bold stand to save 
 the country. Moscow was retaken, and Michael Ko-. 
 manoff was chosen Czar; and this illustrious family 
 still occupies the imperial throne. And now the day 
 of Russian greatness dawned ; but the sun was not 
 fairly up the broad light opeued not upon the em- 
 pire until Peter came to the throne. 
 
8 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 In the department of the Globoda the suburbs of 
 Moscow-, ^and very near tli3 river Moskwa, stood an 
 humble cot, the exterior of which betrayed a neatness 
 of arrangement and show of taste that more than made 
 up for its smallness of size. Nor was it so very small 
 in fact, but only in contrast ; for near at hand about it 
 stood many large, shabby, dirty -looking structures that 
 overlooked the prim cot, as bleak mountains may look 
 down upon a verdant hill. And within, this cot was as 
 neat as without. The two apartments in front, one of 
 which was only used in winter, were furnished not 
 only with neatness, but with a fair show of ornament 
 and luxury. Back of these were a large cooking and 
 dining-room, and two small bed-rooms ; and back still 
 from these was an artisan's shop, and other out-build- 
 ings. This shop was devoted to the manufacture of 
 firearms, mostly. Some swords, and other edged wea- 
 pons, were made here upon special application. 
 
 The gunmaker now stood by his forge, watching the 
 white smoke as it curled up towards the throat of the 
 chimney. He was a young man, not over three-and- 
 twenty, and possessed a frame of more than ordinary 
 symmetry and muscular development. He was not 
 large not above medium size but a single glance at 
 the swelling chest, the broad shoulders, and the sinewy 
 ridges of the bare arms, told at once that he was master 
 of great physical power. His features were regular, yet 
 strongly marked, and eminently handsome ; his brow, 
 which was full and high, was half covered by the light 
 brown curls that waved over it ; while his eyes, which 
 were of a bright, brilliant, deep gray in color, lent a 
 cast of genius to the intellect of the brow. His name 
 
THE GUNMAKEB AND THE MONK. 9 
 
 was Euric Novel. His father had been killed in the 
 then late war with the Turks, and the son, leaving his^ 
 mother with a sufficiency of sustenance, wentJ;oJ3pain 
 soon after the bereavement. There he found work in 
 the most noted armories ; and now, well versed in the 
 trade, he had returned to his native city to follow his 
 calling, and support his mother. 
 
 Near by stood a boy-JBaul~J?eepon a bright intel- 
 ligent lad, some fifteen years of age, who had bound 
 himself to the gunmaker for the purpose of learning the 
 art. His hair and his eyes were darker than his mas- 
 ter's, and if he possessed not so much sound intellect, 
 he did surely possess an unwonted degree of keen, quick 
 wit, and a principle of unswerving integrity. 
 
 The sun had been some time below the horizon, and the 
 only light of any consequence that made things partially 
 visible within the shop came from the dull blaze of the 
 coals on the forge, as Paul aver and anon bore down 
 upon the brake that moved the bellows. Suddenly 
 Euric started back from the forge as his mind broke 
 from the deep reverie into which he had fallen, and 
 having bade his boy to see that matters were all prop- 
 erly disposed for the night, he turned towards the door, 
 and was soon in the kitchen, where his mother had sup- 
 per all prepared and set out. 
 
 was a noble-looking woman, and the 
 
 light of her still handsome countenance was never 
 brighter than when gazing upon her boy. She had 
 seen the snows of fifty winters, and if they had left 
 some silver upon her head, and some age-marks upon 
 her face, the sunshine of full as many summers had left 
 
10 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 her with a thankful, loving heart, and a prayerful, hope* 
 f ul soul. 
 
 " It is snowing again, faster than ever," remarked Paul, 
 as he took his seat at the table. 
 
 " Ah," returned Euric, resting his knife a few moments 
 while he bent his ear to listen to the voice of the storm, 
 u I had hoped 'twould snow no more for the present. 
 The snow is deep enough now. And how it blows ! " " 
 
 "Never mind," spoke the dame, in a trustful, easy 
 tone, " it must storm when it listeth, and we can only 
 thank God that we have shelter, and pray for those wb"> 
 have none." 
 
 " Amen ! " responded Euric, fervently. 
 
 After this the trio remained some minutes silent, 
 seeming to be busy in listening to the storm -notes that 
 came pealing about the cot. The wind was high, and 
 the snow now came dashing upon the windows with a 
 dreary, melancholy sound. The meal was at length 
 eaten, and the table set back, and shortly afterwards 
 Paul retired to his bed. It was his wont to retire 
 early, for he rose betimes to build the fires and pre- 
 pare for the labors of the day. 
 
 Euric drew his chair close up to the fireplace, and 
 leaning against the jamb he bowed his head and pon- 
 dered again. This had become a habit with him of late. 
 Sometimes he would sit thus during a whole hour with- 
 out speaking, or even moving, and his mother did not 
 interrupt him, as she supposed he might be solving 
 some mechanical problem that had arisen to bother 
 him. But these fits of thought had become too fre- 
 quent, too lengthy, and too moody for such a hypothesis, 
 and the good woman was forced to believe that they 
 
THE GUNMAKEB AND THE MONK. 11 
 
 were caused by something more remote than the busi- 
 ness of the forge or the lathe. The youth now sat with 
 his brow resting upon his hand, and his eyes bent upon 
 the hearth. For half an hour he had not moved, and 
 his face wore an anxious, troubled look. 
 
 " Euric, my son," spoke the mother, at length, in a 
 low, kind tone, " what is it that occupies your thoughts 
 so much ?" 
 
 The young man started and turned his gaze upon his 
 mother. 
 
 " Did you speak to me, my mother ?" he asked, after 
 having recalled his mind to things about him. 
 
 " Tes, my boy," she said. " I did speak to you. I 
 asked you what it was that occupied your thoughts." 
 
 As she spoke thus she moved her seat close to where 
 Euric sat, and placed her hand upon his arm. 
 
 " Tell me, my boy," she added, in a low, persuasive 
 tone, " what it is that dwells thus upon your mind." 
 
 Euric reached out and took his mother's hand, and 
 having gazed for some moments into her face, he said : 
 
 " I was thinking and I have been thinking much of 
 late, my mother of of Eosalind Valdai." 
 
 Claudia Nevel started as she heard that name, and 
 for the while the color forsook her cheeks. 
 
 " What, my dear boy what of her have you thought ?' 5 
 she asked tremulously. 
 
 " What, but of one thing could I think, my mother ? 
 You have seen her ? " 
 
 " Tes, Euric." 
 
 " And you have marked the grace the loveliness 1 
 the surpassing beauty of the noble girl ? " 
 
12 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " I know she is beautiful^ my son ; and also that she 
 is good at least, so I think." 
 
 " Then what but love could move me with deep 
 thought of her ? Oh, my mother, I do love her. I love 
 her with the whole strength of my heart and soul." 
 
 " Alas, my Ruric, she will never dare love thee." 
 
 " You know not that," the youth quickly replied, his 
 eyes burning deeply, and his open brow flushing. " Did 
 I not know she loved me, be sure I would never have 
 allowed my thoughts such range. We were children 
 together, aDcl even then we loved. FateTias dealt dif- 
 ferently by us in the years that have passed since those 
 childhood times ; but yet I am sure her love for me is 
 not changed, save as increasing age must change all the 
 emotions of our natures into deeper, stronger lights and 
 shades." 
 
 " But think, my boy : You, a mere artisan ; she, the 
 offspring of nobility and the ward of a duke a stern, 
 cold, proud aristocrat, who looks upon people of our 
 station only as harsh masters look upon their beasts of 
 burden. I fear you will find little else but misery in 
 such a course of thought." 
 
 " At least, my mother, I will see Eosalind ; and if 
 she loves me as I love her, and if she would accept my 
 hand" 
 
 " Hush s my boy. Do not cherish such hopes. Why 
 should she mate with thee when the richest nobles of 
 the land would kneel for her hand ? " 
 
 " Hold," cried Ruric, starting to his feet his hand- 
 some face flushed, and his bright eye burning. " Speak 
 not thus, at least, not now. I flatter not myself, but 
 I claim a soul as pure, and a heart as noble, as any man 
 
THE GUNMAKEB AND THE MONK. 13 
 
 in the land. My mind is as clear ; my hopes are as 
 high ; my ambition as true to real greatness, and my 
 will as firm, as any of them. If Rosalind seeks the love 
 of a true heart, and the protection of stout arms and 
 determined success, then I fear not to place myself by 
 the side of any suitor in the land. But if she seeks im- 
 mediate wealth, and the glitter for some high-sounding 
 title, then ah, I know she does not. But let it pass 
 now ; I will see her." 
 
 Claudia would not oppose the wishes of her son, and 
 she said no more upon the subject. For a while nothing 
 further was said, until Euric remarked upon the increas- 
 ing force of the storm. 
 
 " Hark!" exclaimed his mother, bending her ear in a 
 listening attitude. "Was that a knock upon our 
 door?" 
 
 " Surely no one is out on such a night that could 
 seek shelter here," continued Euric. " You must 
 have " 
 
 The youth did not finish his sentence, for at that 
 moment the knock came so loud that it was not to be 
 mistaken. The youth caught up the candle and hast- 
 ened to the door. He opened it, but the blast came 
 roaring in, whirling a cloud of snow into Euric's face, 
 and extinguishing the light at once. 
 
 " Is there any one here ?" the gunmaker asked, bow- 
 ing his head and shielding his eyes from the driving 
 snow with one hand. 
 
 " Yes," returned a voice from the Stygian darkness. 
 " In Heaven's name let me in, or I shall perish." 
 
 " Then follow quickly," said Euric. " Here, give me 
 your band. There now come." 
 
14 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 The youth found the thickly-gloved hand gloved 
 with the softest fur and having led the invisible ap- 
 plicant into the hall, he closed the door, and then led 
 the way into the kitchen. As soon as the candle was 
 re-lighted Ruric turned and gazed upon the new-comer. 
 \ He was a monk and habited something like one of tho 
 Black Monks of St. Michael. He was of medium 
 hight, and possessed a rotundity of person which was 
 comical to behold. He was fat and unwieldy, and 
 waddled about with laughable steps. His huge, black 
 robe, which reached from his chin to his toes, was seP 
 cured about the waist with a sash of the same color, 
 and the snow, which lay upon his shoulders and back, 
 presented a striking contrast. Buric brushed away the 
 snow with his own hand, and having taken his visitor's 
 thick fur bonnet, the latter took a seat near the fire. 
 
 Before a word was spoken, the youthful host care- 
 fully examined his guest's features; and the latter 
 seemed equally desirous of discovering what manner of 
 people he had fallen in with. The monk's face was a 
 peculiar one. The features were very dark and promi- 
 nent, and almost angular in their strongly -marked 
 outlines. His brow was very fair in mental development, 
 and his eyes were dark and brilliant. The slight circle 
 of hair that escaped from beneath the tight skull-cap 
 which he retained upon his head, was somewhat tinged 
 with silver, though his face did not betray such ad- 
 vanced age as this silvery hair would seem to indicate. 
 
 " You have been caught in a severe storm, good 
 father," said the youth, after his guest had somewhat 
 recovered from the effects of the cold. 
 
 " Aye that have I, my son," the monk returned, in a 
 
THE GUNMAKEB AND THE MONK. 15 
 
 deep, rumbling tone, " I left the Kremlin this morning, 
 little thinking of such a change. This storm has com- 
 menced since I started on my return. About half a 
 mile from here my horse got foundered in the snow, and 
 I left him with an honest peasant, and then started to 
 make the rest of my way on foot ; but I reckoned 
 wildly. The driving storm blinded me, and the piling 
 drifts swallowed me up at every dozen steps. My body 
 is not very well adapted to such work. Ha, ha ha! 
 But I saw your light, and I determined to seek shelter 
 here for the night. By St. Michael, but this is a most 
 severe storm ! yet you are comfortable here." 
 
 " Aye, father, we try to be comfortable," said Euric. 
 " My mother could hardly survive a winter in some of 
 the dwellings which stand hereabouts." 
 
 The monk made no answer to this save a sort of com- 
 mendatory nod; and shortly afterwards the youth 
 asked : 
 
 " Do you belong here in the city, good father ? " 
 
 " Aye at present I do," the monk replied. And then, 
 with a smile, he added : "I suppose you would like to 
 know whom you have thus received? My name is 
 JVladimir, and my home is wherever I may chance to be 
 on God's heritage. At present I am residing here in 
 Moscow. There could you ask me to be more frank ? " 
 
 Huric smiled, but he made no direct reply. He was 
 too deeply interested in the face of the monk to enter 
 with much eagerness into conversation. At length the 
 guest asked if he could be accommodated with some 
 sleeping-place, and being answered in the affirmative, 
 the youth lighted another candle and conducted him to 
 a chamber which was located directly over the kitchen, 
 
16 THE GTJNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 and which was very well wanned by means of several 
 iron tubes that connected with the furnace below. 
 
 " Mother," said Euric, as soon as he had returned tc 
 the kitchen, "who is that man? " 
 
 " How should I know ? " 
 
 " But have you never seen him before ? " Buric asked, 
 in an earnest, eager tone. 
 
 " I cannot tell, my son. His face most surely calk 
 up some strange emotions in my mind, but I think 1 
 never saw him before." 
 
 " And yet he seems familiar to me," the son resumed, 
 " Those eyes I surely have seen before, but to save my 
 soul I cannot remember when or where." 
 
 And so Euric pondered and pondered, but to no 
 avail. After he had retired to his bed he lay awake 
 and thought of the strange face ; and all through the 
 night his dreams were but startling visions of th* Blael 
 Monk. 
 
A STRANGE PROCEEDING^ 1? 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A STRANGE PROCEEDING. 
 
 When Euric came down in the morning he found the 
 monk already there, and breakfast nearly ready. But 
 little was said during the meal. The monk seemed 
 busy with thoughts of his own, and Euric was wholly 
 engrossed in studying the strange man's features, and 
 pondering upon the various doubts and surmises that 
 had entered his mind. After the meal was over the 
 monk accompanied the gunmaker to his shop, and there 
 he spent some time in examining the quaint articles of 
 machinery that were used in the manufacture of arms. 
 
 Euric was engaged in finishing a pair of pistols, and 
 for some minutes the monk had stood silently by his side 
 watching his movements. At length the youth stopped 
 in his work and laid the pistol down. 
 
 " Excuse me, good father," he said, rather nervously, 
 at the same time looking his visitor in the face ; " but 1 
 must ask you a question. Where have I seen you 
 before?" 
 
 " How should 1 know ? " the monk answered, with a 
 smile. 
 
 "Why," resumed Euric, with some hesitancy, "I 
 knew not but that you might enlighten me. I have 
 surely seen you somewhere." 
 
 " And are there not hundreds whom you have seen 
 
18 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 in this great city aye, thousands whom you might 
 recognize as you recognize me ?" 
 
 " Ah it may be so ; but not like this. There may be 
 a thousand faces I would recollect to have seen, but not 
 one of them would excite even a passing emotion in my 
 soul. But your face calls up some powerful emotion 
 some startling memory of the past which bothers me. 
 Who are you, good father ? What are you ? Where 
 have we met before ? Was it in Spain ?" 
 
 " No," said Vladimir, with a shake of the head. 
 And then, with a more serious shade upon his face, he 
 added " Let this pass now. I will not deny to you 
 that there may be some grounds for your strange fan- 
 cies ; but I assure you most sacredly that until last night 
 I never came in direct companionship with you before ; 
 at any rate, not to my knowledge. You have acted 
 the Good Samaritan towards me, and I hope I may 
 some time return the favor." 
 
 " No, no," quickly responded the youth ; " if you re- 
 turn it, then it will be a favor no more. I have only 
 done for you what every man should do for his neigh- 
 bor ; and so far from needing thanks for my services, I 
 would rather give them for the occasion, for I know of 
 no source of joy so pure and uncontaminated as that 
 feeling in the soul which tells us we have done a good 
 act." 
 
 The dark monk reached forth and took the youthful 
 artisan's hand, and, with more ^han ordinary emotion, 
 said : 
 
 " You touch the harp-strings of the soul with a noble 
 hand, my son ; and if any deed of kindness can give 
 me joy it will be a deed for you. We may meet again. 
 
A STBANGE PBOCEEDINa. 19 
 
 and until then I can only say, God bless and prosper 
 
 thee." 
 
 With these words the monk turned away, and, ere 
 Euric could command presence of mind enough to fol- 
 low him, he had gone from the house. The youth 
 wished to say something, but amid the varied emotions 
 that went leaping through his mind he could gather no 
 connected thoughts. 
 
 After the monk had gone Euric returned to his 
 bench and resumed his work. He asked his boy if he 
 had ever seen the strange man before, but Paul only 
 shook his head, and answered dubiously. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " the gunmaker asked, looking 
 the boy in the face. " Do you think you have seen 
 him before?" 
 
 "I cannot tell, my master. I may have seen him 
 before, and I may not. But surely you would not sup- 
 pose that my memory would serve you better than 
 your own." 
 
 Euric was not fully assured by this answer. He 
 gazed into Paul's face, and he fancied he detected some 
 show of intelligence there which had not been spoken. 
 But he resolved to ask no more questions at present. 
 He had asked enough, he thought, upon such a sub- 
 ject, and he made up his mind to bother himself no 
 more about it, feeling sure that if his boy knew any- 
 thing which would be for his master's interest to know 
 it would be communicated in due season. So he ap- 
 plied himself anew to his work, and at noon the pistols 
 were finished. 
 
 Towards the middle of the afternoon, just as Euric 
 had finished tempering some parts of a gun-lock, the 
 
20 THE GUNMAKEE OF MOSCOW. 
 
 back door of his shop was opened and two men en- 
 tered. They were young men, dressed in costly furs, 
 and both of them stout and good-looking. The gun- 
 maker recognized them as the Count Conrad Damonoff 
 and his friend Stephen Urzen. 
 
 " I think I speak with Buric Nevel," said the count, 
 moving forward. 
 
 " You do," returned Euric, not at all surprised at the 
 visit, since people of all classes were in the habit of 
 calilng at his place to order arms. 
 
 The count turned a shade paler than before, and his 
 nether lip trembled ; but Euric thought that might be 
 the result of coming from the cold into a warm atmos- 
 phere. However, he was soon undeceived, for the 
 count's next remark was significant. 
 
 " You are acquainted with the Lady Eosalind Val- 
 dai ? " he said. 
 
 " I am," answered Euric, now beginning to wonder. 
 
 " Well, sir," resumed Damonoff, with much haughti- 
 ness, " perhaps my business can be quickly and satis- 
 factorily settled. It is my desire to make the Lady 
 J Bosalind my wife." 
 
 Euric Nevel started at these words, and he clasped 
 his hands to hide their tremulousness. But he was not 
 long debating upon an answer. 
 
 "And why have you come to me with this inform- 
 ation, sir ?" he asked. 
 
 " You should know that already. Do you not love 
 the lady?" 
 
 " Sir Count, you ask me a strange question. What 
 right have you to question me upon such a theme ?" 
 
 " The right that every man has to pave the way for 
 
 r 
 
A STRANGE PROCEEDING. 21 
 
 his own rights," replied Damonoff, sharply. " But if 
 you choose not to answer, let it pass. I know you do 
 love the lady. And now I ask you to renounce all claims 
 to her hand." 
 
 " Sir Count, your tongue runs into strange moods of 
 speech. / renounce all claims to Eosalind Valdai's 
 hand ? "Was't so you meant ?" 
 
 " Aye, sir precisely so." 
 
 " Perhaps you will inform me what claims I may have 
 in that quarter," Kuric replied, with some tremulous- 
 ness in his tone, for the very subject was one that 
 moved him deeply. 
 
 " Kuric Nevel, you shall not say that I did not make 
 myself fully understood, and hence I will explain." The 
 count spoke this as speaks a man who feels that he is 
 doing a very condescending thing, and in the same tone 
 he proceeded : " The Lady Rosalind is of noble par- 
 entage and very wealthy. My own station and wealth 
 are equal with hers my station, at all events. She \ 
 may possess the undivided right to more property than 
 I_do. But that matters not. I love her, and must 
 have her for my wife. I have been to see the noble 
 jdufe, her guardian, and he objects not to my suit. But 
 he informed me that there was one impediment, and 
 that was her love for you. He knows full well as I 
 know, and as all must know that she could never be- 
 come your wife ; but yet he is anxious not to interfere 
 too much against her inclinations. So a simple denial 
 from you, to the effect that you can never claim her 
 hand, is all that is necessary. You understand me, I 
 trust. We seek this only for the fair lady's own gooh. 
 Of course, you must be aware that the duke would 
 
22 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 never consent to her union with you ; and yet he would 
 wish to have your denial to show to Kosalind when he 
 announces his decision. I have a paper here all drawn 
 up, and all that will be necessary is simply your sig- 
 nature. Here it is only a plain, simple avowal on 
 your part that you have no hopes nor thoughts of seek- 
 ing the hand of the lady in marriage." 
 
 As the count spoke he drew a paper from the bosom 
 of his marten doublet, and having opened it he handed 
 it towards the gunmaker. But Uric took it not. He 
 drew back and gazed the visitor sternly in the face. 
 
 " Sir Count," he cried, in a tone full of noble indig- 
 nation, " what do you suppose I am? Do you mean to 
 tell me that Olga, Duke of Tula, has commissioned you 
 to obtain such a renunciation of me?" 
 
 " Stephen," spoke the count, turning to his compan- 
 ion, " you heard the instructions the duke gave me this 
 morning ?" 
 
 "Aye," returned TTrzen, directing his speech to 
 Ruric. u I did hear ; and you have stated the case 
 plainly." 
 
 " I may be as much surprised as yourself," resumed 
 the count, haughtily, " at this strange taste of the duke. 
 Why he should seek this signal from you I can only 
 imagine upon his desire to call up no regrets in the 
 bosom of his fair ward. He knows that she was once 
 intimate with you, and that she now feels a warm friend- 
 ship for you. For her sake he would have this signal 
 from you." 
 
 11 But how for her sake ?" asked Ruric. 
 
 " Why," returned Damonoff, " do you not see ? Ro- 
 salind, in the simplicity of her heart, may think that 
 
A STRANGE PROCEEDING. 23 
 
 you a that you might claim her love; and out of 
 pure principle grant it to you simply because you were 
 the first claimant." 
 
 " But I never claimed her love," said Euric, warmly. 
 " If she loves me, she loves me from her own heart. 
 With the noble duke I never spoke but once, and then 
 he came here for me to temper his sword. If you 
 would marry with the lady, do so ; and if you seek help 
 in the work, seek it from those who have some power 
 in the matter," 
 
 " You mistake, sir," said the count, hotly. " I seek 
 not power- now. I only seek a simple word from one 
 who may have some influence even as a beggar, hav- 
 ing saved the life of a king, may, through royal grati- 
 tude, wield an influence. Will you sign the paper ?" 
 
 Now, all this seemed very strange to Euric, and he 
 knew that there was something behind the curtain 
 which he was not permitted to know. He knew the 
 proud and stubborn duke well enough to know that he 
 never would have sent such a message as this but for 
 some design more than had yet appeared. In short, 
 he could not understand the matter at all. It looked 
 dark and complex ; such conduct was in direct conflict 
 with the nature of the man from whom it now appeared 
 to have emanated. Euric pondered upon this a few 
 moments, and he made up his mind that he would on 
 no account yield an atom to the strange demand thus 
 made upon him. 
 
 " Sir Count," he said, calmly and firmly, " you have 
 plainly stated your proposition, and I will as plainly 
 answer. I cannot sign the paper." 
 
24 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 gasped Damonoff, in quick passion. " Do 
 you refuse ?" 
 
 " Most flatly." 
 
 For a few moments the count gazed into Eurie's face, 
 as though he doubted the evidence of his own senses. 
 
 " It is the duke's command," he said at length. 
 
 " The Duke of Tula holds no power of command over 
 me," was the gunmaker's calm reply. 
 
 " Beware ! Once more I say : Sign this paper !" 
 
 "You but waste your breath, Sir Count, in speaking 
 thus. You have my answer." 
 
 " By heavens ! Euric Nevel, you shall sign this!" the 
 count cried, madly. 
 
 " Never, sir." 
 
 " But look you, sirrah ! Here is my whole future of 
 life based upon my hopes of union with this fair girl. 
 Her guardian bids me get this paper of you ere I can 
 have her hand. And now, do you think I'll give it up 
 so easily ? No ! I'll have your name to this, or I'll 
 have your life !" 
 
 " Now, your tongue runs away with you, Sir Count. 
 I have given you my answer. Be sure that only one 
 man on earth can prevail upon me to place my name 
 upon that paper." 
 
 " And who is he ? " 
 
 " I mean the emperor." 
 
 " But you will sign it ! " hissed Damonoff, turning 
 pale with rage. " Here it is sign ! If you would live 
 sign ! " 
 
 " Perhaps he cannot write/' suggested Urzen, con* 
 temptuously. 
 
A STRANGE PROCEEDING. 25 
 
 " Then lie may make his mark," rejoined the count, 
 in the same contemptuous tone. 
 
 " It might not require much more urging to induce 
 me to make my mark in a manner not at all agreeable 
 to you, sir," the youth retorted, with his teeth now set, 
 and the dark veins upon his brow starting more plainly 
 out. " You have come upon my premises, and you have 
 sought your purpose. You now have your answer, and 
 for your own sake for my sake I beg you to leave 
 me." 
 
 " Not until your name is upon this paper ! " cried 
 Damonoff, shaking the missive furiously and crumpling 
 it in his hand. 
 
 "Are you mad, Sir Count? Do you think me a 
 fool ? " 
 
 " Aye a consummate one." 
 
 "Then," returned Euric, with a curl of utter con- 
 tempt upon his finely-chiselled lip, " you need have no 
 further dealings with me. There is my door, sir." 
 
 For some moments Conrad Damonoff seemed unable 
 to speak from very anger. He had surely some deep, 
 anxious purpose in obtaining Kuric's name to that 
 paper ; and to be thus thwarted by a common artisan 
 was maddening to one who, like him, based all his force 
 of character upon his title. 
 
 " Sign ! " he hissed. 
 
 " Fool ! " cried Kuric, unable longer to contain him- 
 self in view of such stupid persistence " Do you seek 
 a quarrel with me ? " 
 
 " Seek ? I seek what I will have. Will you sign V f 
 
 " Once more no I " 
 
26 THE GUNMAKEE OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " Then you shall know what it is to thwart such as 
 me ! How's that ? " 
 
 As these words passed from the count's lips in a low, 
 hissing whisper, he aimed a blow with his fist at Kuric's 
 head. The gunmaker had not dreamed of such a das- 
 tardly act, and he was not prepared for it. Yet he 
 dodged it sufficiently to escape the mark upon his face, 
 receiving the blow lightly upon the side of his head. 
 But he stopped not to consider now. As the count 
 drew back Kuric dealt him a blow upon the brow that 
 felled him to the floor. 
 
 " Beware, Stephen Urzen ! " he whispered to the 
 count's companion, as that individual made a movement 
 as though he would come forward. " I am not myself 
 now, and you are safest where you are." 
 
 The man thus addressed viewed the gunmaker a few 
 moments, and he seemed to conclude that he had bet- 
 ter avoid a personal encounter, for his fists relaxed, and 
 he moved to the side of his fallen friend and assisted 
 him to his feet. 
 
 Conrad Damonoff gazed into his antagonist's face a 
 few moments in silence. His face was deathly pale, 
 and his whole frame quivered. Upon his forehead there 
 was a livid spot where he had been struck, but the skin 
 was not broken. 
 
 " Ruric Nevel," he said, in a hissing, maddened tone, 
 " you will hear from me. The mad spirit of a ven- 
 geance such as mine can overlook your plebeian stock." 
 
 And with this he turned away. 
 
 " Paul," said the gunmaker, turning to his boy after 
 the men had gone, " not a word of this to my mother, 
 Be sure." 
 
LOVE. 27 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 LOVE. 
 
 That night Euric Nevel had strange fancies while 
 waking, and strange dreams while sleeping. Long and 
 deeply did he ponder upon the strange business which 
 had called Count Conrad to his shop, and in no way, 
 under no light, could he see any reason for it. Why he, 
 a youth who had never spoken with the proud duke, 
 save once on common business, and who was so far 
 down in the social scale, should have been thus called 
 upon to give a virtual consent to the bestowal of Rosa- 
 lind Valdai's hand, was beyond his ken. He was but a 
 poor artisan she, a wealthy heiress and a scion of no- 
 bility, and she was under the legal guardianship of the 
 duke, whose word, so far as she was concerned, was 
 law. And again, Conrad Damonoff was a count, and re- 
 puted to be wealthy. To be sure, he was somewhat 
 dissolute, but then a majority of his compeers were the 
 same. Now, if this count loved the Lady Eosalind, and 
 had asked for her hand, and the duke was willing he 
 should have it, why had this extraordinary proposal 
 been sent to the poor gunmaker ? 
 
 Euric asked this question of himself a hundred 
 times. He would commence and lay down all the 
 premises in his mind, and then he would try and make 
 the deduction ; but no reasonable one could he arrive 
 at. . One thought clung about him, like a dim spectre 
 
28 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 at night, which Hope would make an angel, and which 
 Fear would paint a demon. Could it be possible that 
 Rosalind had told her love for him, and that the duke 
 would pay some deference to it ? He tried to think so. 
 Hope whispered that it might be so. But Fear would 
 force itself in, and speak in tones so loud that they 
 could not be misunderstood. Finally the youth re- 
 solved upon the only reasonable course. He conclude'd 
 to let the matter rest, so far as his own surmises were 
 concerned, until he could see Rosalind, and that he 
 was determined to do as soon as possible. 
 
 On the following morning, as he was preparing for 
 breakfast, he saw Olga, the duke, pass by, and strike 
 off into the Borodino road. Now, thought he, is the 
 time for the visit to Kosalind ; and as soon as he had 
 eaten his breakfast, he prepared for the visit. He 
 dressed well, and no man in Moscow had a nobler look 
 when the dust of toil was removed from his brow and 
 garb. 
 
 " Paul," he said, entering the shop where the boy was 
 at work, " I may be back at noon. At any rate, such is 
 my intention ; and if either of those men calls who were 
 here yesterday, you may tell him so." 
 
 " But," returned the lad, " if they ask me any ques- 
 tions ? " 
 
 " Answer them as you think best." 
 
 " And if they should ask me if you would fight ? " 
 
 " Tell that I hold my life too dear at the expense of 
 an insult." 
 
 " But surely, my master, the count will challenge 
 you." 
 
 " I think he will. And," added Euric, as an entirely 
 
LOVE. 29 
 
 new thought came to his mind, " mayhap he came here 
 to create a quarrel to that end. I think he did." 
 
 " I am sure of it," said Paul. 
 
 A moment later Kuric's frame quivered with sup- 
 pressed passion, and then he said : 
 
 " Let them come, and if they come, or if either of 
 them comes, while I am gone, tell them, or him, that I 
 am their very humble servant in all things reasonable." 
 
 Paul promised and then the gunmaker turned away. 
 In the hall he threw on his heavy fur pelisse, and having 
 reached the nearest hostelry, he took a horse and sleigh 
 and started off for the Kremlin, within which the duke 
 resided. 
 
 Within one of the sumptuously furnished apartments 
 of the palace of the Duke of Tula sat Bosalincl Valdai. 
 She was a beautiful girl ; molded in perfect form, with 
 the full flush of health and vigor, and possessing a face 
 of peculiar sweetness and intelligence. She was only 
 nineteen years of age, and she had been ten years an 
 orphan. Her hair was of a golden hue, and the sunlight 
 loved to dwell amid the clustering curls. Her eyes, 
 which were of a deep liquid blue, sparkled brightly 
 when she was happy ; and when she smiled the lovely 
 dimples of her cheeks held the smile even after it had 
 faded from the lips. There was nothing of the aristo- 
 crat in her look nothing proud, nothing haughty ; 
 but gentleness and love were the true elements of her 
 soul, and she could only be happy when she knew that 
 she was truly loved. She liked respect, but she spurned 
 that respect which only aims at outward show, while the 
 heart may be reeking with vilest selfishness. 
 
 Rosalind sat there in the apartment which was hers 
 
30 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW* 
 
 for her own private use, and she was sad and thought- 
 ful. One fair hand supported her pure brow, while 
 with the other she twisted the ends of the silken sash 
 that confined her heavy robe. Thus she sat when the 
 door of her apartment was opened and a young girl 
 entered. This new-coiner was a small, fair creature, 
 bright and quick, with that raven hair and those large, 
 dark eyes of dreamy light which bespeak the child of 
 Moslem blood. Her name was Zenobie, and she was 
 now about^ixtefiiLj-fiara of age. Rosalind's father had 
 picked her up on the battle-field from which the Turks 
 had fled, and being unable to find any claimants, he 
 had brought her home, then almost an infant. And 
 now she was Rosalind's attendant and companion. 
 She loved her kind and gentle mistress, and would 
 have laid down life itself in the service. 
 
 "How now, Zenobie ?" asked Eosalind, as she no- 
 ticed the girl hesitate. 
 
 " There is a gentleman below who would see you," 
 the girl replied. 
 
 " Then tell him I cannot see him," said Rosalind, 
 trembling. 
 
 " But this is Ruric Nevel, my mistress." 
 
 "Ruric!" exclaimed the fair maiden, starting up, 
 while the rich blood mounted to her brow and temples. 
 " Oh ! I am glad he has come. My prayers are surely 
 answered. Lead him thither, Zenobie." 
 
 The girl departed, and ere long afterwards Ruric 
 entered the apartment. He walked quickly to where 
 Rosalind had arisen to her feet, and taking one of her 
 hands in both his own, he pressed it to his lips. He 
 had had a well-formed speech upon his lips when en- 
 
LOVE. 31 
 
 iered the room, but 'twas gone now. He could only 
 gaze into the lovely face before him, and murmur the 
 name that sounded so sweetly on his lips. But the 
 emotions of his soul became calm at length, and then 
 he spoke with more freedom. 
 
 '" Lady," he said, after he had taken a seat, " you will 
 pardon me for this visit when you know its cause. And 
 you will pardon me, too, if I speak plainly what I have 
 to speak." 
 
 " Surely, sir" 
 
 " O call me Euric. Let us at least not forget the 
 the friendship of childhood." 
 
 " Then I am not a lady" said Eosalind, smiling. 
 
 " No, Eosalind." 
 
 " Ah, Euric." 
 
 " As we were in childhood," whispered the youth. 
 
 " In all but years," returned Eosalind, in the same 
 low tone. 
 
 " And I may wear the same image in my heart ? " 
 
 " I cannot cast 'it from mine if I would." 
 
 " The image of childhood, dear Eosalind ? " 
 
 " Aye save that it has grown to manhood, dear 
 Euric." 
 
 What more could he ask for love ? He had not 
 aimed at this confession so soon. But he put it not 
 from him now. He gazed a moment into the fair maid- 
 en's eye, and as he saw the love-lit tear gathering there, 
 and the happy smile working its way about the rosy 
 lips, and away into the joyous dimples, he opened his 
 arms and clasped the fondly loved one to his bosom. 
 
 "Oh, I am not deceived in this," he murmured 
 " Speak, dearest one." 
 
32 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " I cannot forget the love of the happy times agone," 
 the noble girl replied, gazing up through her happj 
 tears. "Oh, how many and many an hour have I 
 prayed to God that those days might return, and that 
 the one true heart of earth I loved might be mine once 
 more. Euric, why should I hide the truth, or why set 
 it aside ? To me thou art all in all. I have no one 
 else to love, and none to love me else, save the noble 
 girl who brought you hither. I can tell you no more." 
 
 Happy Euric! Happy at that moment forgetting 
 all else but the love that gleamed out upon him then, 
 and clasping the cherished object so ardently to his 
 bosom. 
 
 But the moments flew on, and, at length, his mind 
 came to the subject of his visit. 
 
 " Eosalind," he said, holding one of her fair hands in 
 his grasp, "you know the Count Conrad Damonoff? 
 
 " Aye," replied the maiden, with a shudder. " He 
 is here very often, and he has forced himself upon my 
 companionship when, if he had sense, he must have 
 known I liked it not." 
 
 " He is a suitor for your hand, is he not ? " 
 
 " He was ; but he is not now." 
 
 " Not now ? " repeated Euric, with surprise. " What 
 mean you ? " 
 
 " Why simply that he has asked the duke for my 
 hand, and that he was answered in the negative." 
 
 " Did you hear the duke answer him so ? " 
 
 " No ; but so the duke assured me he had done so. 
 But what mean you ? " 
 
 " I will tell you. Yesterday the count came to my 
 dwelling, accompanied by Stephen Urzen. He had a 
 
LOVE, 33 
 
 paper drawn up by the duke's own hand, in which 1 was 
 made to say or rather, by which the writer said, that 
 he disclaimed all pretensions to your hand, and that he 
 wished not to marry you that he freely gave you up, 
 meaning to seek within the sphere of his own social cir- 
 cle some companion when he wished. And this I was 
 asked to sign." 
 
 "By the count?" 
 
 " Yes, but by the duke's orders." 
 
 " Oh it cannot be," cried Eosalind, trembling. 
 
 (f And he further assured me that the duke had re- 
 quested him to obtain my signature thereto, so that h 
 might receive your hand without impediment." 
 
 " So that the count might receive my hand ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " But the duke assured me only yesterday that I 
 should not be troubled any more with the count. May 
 there not be some mistake ? " 
 
 " There can be none on my part. The instrument 
 was in the duke's own hand." 
 
 " But you did not sign it ? " 
 
 " Ask me if I took my own life if I made a curse foi 
 all I loved." 
 
 " It is strange," the maiden murmured, bowing hei 
 head a few moments. "And yet," she added, looking 
 up into her companion's face, " I do not think the duke 
 would be treacherous ? " 
 
 " He may be," answered Ruric. " He knows how 
 lightly our noble emperor holds empty titles, and per- 
 haps he fears that if this matter came to the imperial 
 ear, and you should claim the right to marry with 
 whom you pleased, Peter would grant your prayer. 
 
34 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW, 
 
 Hence he wished to get my claim set aside so that he 
 may have a clearer field in which to move. Do you 
 know how the duke's affairs stand at present ?" 
 
 Eosalind thought awhile ere she answered ; and then, 
 while a startled expression came to her face, she said : 
 
 " Euric, I do remember now that between the duke 
 and young Dampnoff there is some matter of dispute. 
 There is some question of property." 
 
 "Ah!" uttered the youth, earnestly. "How is 
 that ?" 
 
 " Why, as near as I can understand it, there was a 
 dispute between the duke and the elder Damonoff con- 
 cerning the ownership of Drotzen, the estate on the 
 Don, in Kaluga ; and since the father's death Conrad 
 has maintained his family claim. You know the duke 
 and the old count married sisters, and this estate be- 
 longed to them." 
 
 " And now," suggested Euric, " may not the duke 
 mean to compromise this matter by giving your hand 
 to the count and taking Drotzen in exchange ?" 
 
 "Oh, I cannot think so," the maiden returned, 
 earnestly. " The duke would not do that. He is kind 
 to me, I am sure. He loves me as though I were his 
 own child. I know he does, for in a thousand ways he 
 has shown it. He is mindful of my comfort, and an- 
 ticipates my every want. No, no if he is deceiving 
 any one he must be deceiving the count." 
 
 Euric started as the new suspicion flashed upon him. 
 Had the duke sent Damonoff upon that mission on 
 purpose to get him into a quarrel ? 
 
 " Aye," thought the youth to himself, " the duke 
 knows that I have taught the sword-play, and he knows 
 
LOVE. 35 
 
 q A 
 
 that the count would be no match for me. So he thinks 
 in this subtle manner to make me an instrument for 
 ridding him of a plague." 
 
 But the youth was careful not to let Rosalind know 
 of this. He thought she would be unhappy if she knew 
 that a duel was likely to come off between himself and 
 the count. 
 
 After some minutes of comparative silence, Ruric 
 touched upon a point which lay very near his heart. 
 
 " Rosalind," he said, taking both her hands in his 
 own, " there is one point upon which we have never 
 spoken ; and I know you would have me speak plainly 
 and candidly. You know my situation. My father and 
 your father fought side by side, but my father fell, while 
 yours returned to his home. For his eminent services 
 your father received a title and a noble estate from the 
 grateful Feodor, while my father was only forgotten. 
 Hence our stations are now widely different. Yet I am 
 not poor. No other man in the empire can compete 
 with me in the manufacture of arms, and from my labor 
 I derive a handsome income. You know all that. And 
 now, if other obstacles were removed, would you give 
 me your hand, and become mine for life ?" 
 
 1 1 Aye, Ruric," the noble girl answered, with beaming 
 eyes, and a joyful expression of countenance. " "Were 
 you reduced to the lowest estate of poverty, so long as 
 your generous, pure soul was free, I should only be the 
 more anxious to lift you up. Oh, my love knows only 
 the heart whereon it is secured, and for my future of 
 joy I ask only the truth of my husband's love." 
 
 " Bless you, dearest," Ruric murmured, as he drew 
 
36 THE GUNMAKER OP MOSCOW. 
 
 the maiden to his side ; and then he added : " You will 
 not allow the duke to give your hand away ? " 
 
 " Never, Buric." 
 
 " If he asks you for your hand to bestow upon any of 
 his friends, you will tell him 
 
 " That my heart is not mine to give, and that my 
 hand cannot go without it." 
 
 " O bless you, Bosalind bless you. God keep and 
 guard you ever." 
 
 Euric then took leave of Eosalind, and was soon in 
 the open court. Here he entered his sledge, and then 
 drove to the barracks in the Khitagorod, where he in- 
 quired for Alaric Orsa, a lieutenant of the guard. The 
 officer was quickly found, and as he met Buric his sal- 
 utation was warm and cordial. He was a young man, 
 not over five-and-twenty, and one of the finest looking 
 soldiers in the guard. 
 
 " Alaric," said the gunmaker, after the first friendly 
 salutations had passed, " I may have a meeting with 
 Conrad Count Damonoff. He has sought a quarrel 
 insulted me most grossly aimed a blow at my head 
 and I knocked him down. You can judge as well as I 
 what the result must be." 
 
 " Most surely he will challenge you," cried the officer, 
 excitedly. 
 
 " So I think," resumed Buric, calmly. " And now 
 will you serve me in the event ? " 
 
 " With pleasure." 
 
 " I may refer his messenger to you ? " 
 
 "Yes surely. And how shall I act? What will 
 you do?" 
 
JX)VE. 37 
 
 "Knock him down again under the same provo- 
 cation." 
 
 " I understand. You wish to retract nothing ? " 
 
 " No. Listen : I will tell you all since I seek your 
 aid." 
 
 And thereupon Ruric related all that had occurred at 
 the time of the count's visit to his shop. 
 
 " Good ! " said Alaric, as the gunmaker finished. 
 " He must challenge you, and then you'll punish him. 
 He's too proud now. He can handle some of his lilytops 
 who associate with him ; and perhaps he thinks he can 
 do the same when he comes out among the harder men. 
 But never mind I will be punctual and faithful." 
 
 Euric reached home just as his mother was spreading 
 the board for dinner. He often went away on businesSj 
 and she thought not of asking him any questions. 
 
38 THE GUNMAKEK OF MOSCOW, 
 
 CHAPTER IV, 
 
 THE CHALLENGE. 
 
 In the afternoon Ruric retired to his shop, where he 
 went to work upon a gun which had been ordered some 
 days before. As yet he had said nothing to Paul con- 
 cerning the affair of the day previous since his return 
 from the Kremlin. He asked him now, however, if 
 any one had called. 
 
 "Only the monk," returned Paul, without seeming 
 to consider that there was anything very important in 
 the visit. 
 
 "Do you mean the black monk Vladimir ? " 
 
 " Yes, my master. He called here about the middle 
 of the forenoon. He wanted one of the small daggers 
 with the pearl haft." 
 
 " And did you let him have one ? " 
 
 "Certainly. He paid me four ducats for it, and 
 would have paid more had I been willing to take it." 
 
 " And did he make any conversation ? " 
 
 " Yes. He asked me why the Count Damon off came 
 here yesterday." 
 
 " Ha ! How did he know of their visit ? " 
 
 " He was waiting at the inn for a sledge, and he 
 overheard the count and his companion conversing 
 upon the subject." 
 
 " And did he ask you any questions touching the 
 particulars ? " 
 
THE CHALLENGE, 39 
 
 " Yes many." 
 
 " And how answered you ? " 
 
 " I told him the whole story, from beginning to end. 
 t found he knew something of their purpose from what 
 he accidentally overheard, and rather than have him 
 go away full of surmises, I told him all." 
 
 " Of the message, too ? " 
 
 " Tes, my master. I told him all that happened, 
 from the showing of the paper which the duke had 
 drawn up, to the departure of the angry man." 
 
 " And what did the monk say ? " Euric asked, very 
 earnestly. 
 
 " Why, he said he knew the count, and that he was a 
 proud, reckless fellow, and worth but little to society. 
 That was all. He did not seern to care much about it 
 any way; only he said he should have done just as 
 you did, and that every law of justice would bear you 
 out. He had more curiosity than interest, though I 
 am sure all his sympathies are with you." 
 
 " Very well," returned Kuric. " It can matter but 
 little what the monk thinks about it, though I would 
 rather have him know the truth, if he must know any- 
 thing, for I would not be misunderstood." 
 
 " He understands it all now, my master; and I trust 
 you are not offended at the liberty I took in telling 
 him." 
 
 " Not at all, Paul not at all." 
 
 Here the conversation dropped, and the work was 
 resumed in silence. It was past three o'clock when 
 Euric's mother came and informed him that a gentle- 
 man, in the house, would speak with him. 
 
 " Is it, Stephen Urzen ? " asked the youth. 
 
40 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 His mother said it was. 
 
 " Then bid him come out here." 
 
 Claudia retired, and in a few moments more the 
 gentleman made his appearance. 
 
 " Kuric Nevel," he said, bowing very stiffly and 
 haughtily, " I bring a message from the Count Da* 
 monoff." 
 
 " Very well, sir," answered the gunmaker, proudly, 
 " I am ready to receive it." 
 
 Thereupon TJrzen drew a sealed note from his pocket, 
 and handed it to Ruric, who took it and broke the seal 
 He opened it, and read as follows : 
 
 " EUBIC NEVEL : An insult of the most aggravating 
 nature has for the time levelled all distinctions of caste 
 between us. Your blood alone can wash out the stain. 
 I would not murder you outright, and in no other way 
 but this can I reach you. My friend, the bearer of this, 
 will make all arrangements. If you dare not meet me, 
 say so, that all may know who is the coward. 
 
 " DAMONOFF." 
 
 When Ruric had read the missive he crushed it in 
 his hand, and gazed its bearer some moments in the 
 face without speaking. 
 
 " Will you answer ?" asked Urzen. He spoke more 
 softly than before, for he saw something in the gun- 
 maker's face which he dared not provoke. 
 
 " Are you acquainted with Alaric Orsa, a lieutenant 
 of the guard ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir I know him well." 
 
 " Then let me refer you to him. He will make all 
 necessary arrangements, and I shall hold myself bound 
 by his plans. I trust that is satisfactory ? " 
 
THE CHALLENGE. 41 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 " Then you and I need have no more to say." 
 
 " Only on one point," said Urzen, with some little 
 show of confusion. " You are the challenged party, and 
 you will have the choice of weapons. The count has 
 not mentioned this ; mind you, he has not ; but I, as 
 his friend, deem it no more than right to speak of it. I 
 trust you will choose a gentleman's weapon. In the 
 use of the pistol or the gun he is not versed." 
 
 " While you imagine I am," said Kuric, with a con- 
 temptuous curl of the lip ; for he knew that the man 
 was lying. He could see by the man's very looks that 
 Damonoff had commissioned him to broach this mat- 
 ter. 
 
 " Of course you are," returned Urzen. 
 
 " And the count is most excellently versed in the use 
 of the sword, is he not ? " 
 
 " He is accounted a fair swordsman." 
 
 " Aye so I thought. But it matters not to me. The 
 idea had not entered my mind before, save that I sup- 
 posed sv/ords would be the only weapons thought of. 
 However, Orsa will settle it with you. I have given 
 him no directions at all, save to serve me as he thinks 
 proper, and to act upon the understanding that if I 
 have given offence to the count I would do the same 
 again under provocation. You understand now ?" 
 
 " I do, sir," replied Urzen, in a choking tone. 
 
 " Then wait a moment, and I will give you a message 
 to Orsa." 
 
 Thus speaking, Euric went to his desk, and upon the 
 bottom of the missive he had received from the Count 
 he wrote : 
 
42 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " DEAR ALARIC : I send this to you by the same hand 
 that bore it to me, and you are hereby empowered to act 
 for me as you may deem proper. I shall be governed 
 strictly by your arrangements. 
 
 " BURIC." 
 
 Having written this he showed it to Urzen, and asked 
 him if he would bear it to the lieutenant. An affirmative 
 reply was given, and then simply folding the note in the 
 opposite way from the original fold, the gunmaker 
 superscribed it anew to the lieutenant, and handed it 
 to his visitor. Urzen took it, and with a stiff bow, but 
 without speaking, he turned and left the place. 
 
 That evening, about eight o'clock, a sledge drove up 
 to Euric's door, and Alaric Orsa entered the house. He 
 called the youth aside, and informed him that the ar- 
 rangements had all been made. 
 
 " Damonoff is in a hurry," he said, " and we have 
 appointed the meeting at ten o'clock to-morrow fore- 
 noon. It will take place at the bend of the river just 
 beyond the Viska Hill." 
 
 " And the weapons ? " asked Euric. 
 
 " Swords," returned Orsa. " The count will bring 
 his own, and he gives you the privilege of selecting 
 such an one as you choose." 
 
 " I thank you, Alaric, for your kindness thus far, and 
 you may rest assured that I shall be prompt." 
 
 " Suppose I call here in the morning for you? " sug- 
 gested the visitor. 
 
 " I should be pleased to have you do so." 
 
 " I will, then. I shall be along in good season with 
 my sledge, and we will both reach the ground to- 
 gether." 
 
THE CHALLENGE. 43 
 
 Thus it was arranged, and then Orsa took his leave. 
 
 When Kuric returned to his seat by the fireplace he 
 noticed that his mother watched him narrowly, and 
 with more than ordinary interest. He had once made 
 up his mind that he would say nothing to his mother 
 about the affair until it was over ; but as the time was 
 set, and the hour drew nigh, his mind wavered. When 
 it was over where might he be ! But he was cut short 
 in his reflections by the voice of his parent. 
 
 " Kuric," she said, and her voice trembled while she 
 spoke, " you will pardon me for prying into your affairs, 
 but I cannot hide from myself that something of more 
 than usual moment is on the tapis with you. Why are 
 these men calling to and fro ? and why are you so 
 thoughtful and moody ? You know a mother's feel- 
 ings and you will pardon a mother's anxiety." 
 
 " Surely, my mother," the youth replied, gazing up 
 for a moment, and then letting his eyes droop again. 
 At length he resumed " I had made up my mind to 
 tell you all ere you spoke." 
 
 There was something deep and significant in Kuric's 
 tone, and his mother quickly caught the spark. 
 
 " What is it ?" she tremblingly asked, moving her 
 chair nearer to her child's side. 
 
 " Listen," the young man said, and thereupon he de- 
 tailed the circumstances attending the visit of the Count 
 Damonoff to his shop. Then he told of his own visit 
 to Eosalind, and its results ; and then of the visit of 
 Stephen Urzen. 
 
 " And now, my mother," he added, without waiting 
 for any reply, " you know it all. You see how I am 
 situated. Bemember, our nation has reached its pres- 
 
44 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 ent point by successful war. The soul of the nation is 
 built upon military honor, and since our noble emperor 
 has opened the way of advancement to the lowest of his 
 subjects who are brave and true, the coward is looked 
 upon with disgust upon all hands. Yet, my mother, I 
 w ould have you speak." 
 
 For some moments Claudia Nevel was silent. But 
 at length she said, while a tear glistened in her eye : - 
 
 " I have given one loved being up to my country's 
 good. Eussia took my husband from me, and I could 
 ill afford now to lose my son. Yet, rather than one 
 stain should rest upon his name, I would see him dead 
 before me. O^JBoiria, you know whether dishonor 
 would rest upon you were you to refuse this chal- 
 lenge." 
 
 " I will speak plainly, my dear mother," returned 
 the youth, in a tremulous tone, for his parent's kindness 
 had moved him. " In my soul I should feel perfectly 
 justified in refusing this meeting, for no principle of 
 real honor is at stake. But were I to back out now 
 from this, I should never meet another generous look 
 hi Moscow. Every one would point the finger of scorn 
 at me, and the word coward would ring always in my 
 ears. It may be a false state of things I feel that it 
 really is so ; but how can I help it ? It is the curse of 
 all great military epochs. Battle alone makes heroes, 
 and so all must measure their honor by the force of 
 their arms. The count carries even now upon his brow 
 the mark of my blow, and all will say he has a 
 right to demand satisfaction ; though I know that he 
 provoked the quarrel on purpose. I cannot refuse him 
 
THE CHALLENGE. 45 
 
 on the ground of station, for lie is above me in that. I 
 must meet him." 
 
 " Then," said the mother, in a low, calm tone, but 
 with much effort, " you shall not feel that your mother 
 would thwart your design. If your own good judgment 
 says go then go. If they bring your body to me in 
 the stern grasp of death, I shall bow with submission, 
 and such resignation as I can, to the cruel blow. If 
 you come back to me alive I shall thank God that you . 
 are spared ; but alas ! the joy will be clouded with the 
 thought of blood upon your hands, and the knowledge 
 that my joy is another's grief." 
 
 " No, no, my mother," cried Euric, quickly and ear- 
 nestly, " I will not have a fellow-being's blood upon my 
 hand, if I can avoid it. Only to save my own life will 
 I take his. He has done all this himself all all. The 
 quarrel was his own, and the first blow was his. The 
 challenge is his, and now is not the responsibility his 
 also ?" 
 
 " It is, my son, so far as he alone is concerned. If 
 you have a responsibility it must be to your own soul. 
 But tell me has not the emperor made some law touch- 
 ing this practice of dueling ? 
 
 " Tes, but only the challenger is responsible. The 
 party challenged is held free from blame in the eyes of 
 the law." 
 
 " Then I shall interpose no more objections," said the 
 mother. She tried to speak hopefully, but she could 
 not hide the fearful sadness of her heart. " Could fer- 
 vent prayer avert the blow it should not fall ; but I can 
 only pray as one without power." 
 
 A long time after this was passed in silence. Botn 
 
46 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 the mother and son seemed to have something upon 
 their minds which they wished to say, but dared not. 
 But the former at length overcame her reluctance. 
 
 " Euric, my son," said she, keeping back the tears 
 that struggled for utterance in their silent speech, " is 
 there any little word you would leave ? any matter of 
 moment " 
 
 "No, no," Euric answered, speaking calmly by effort. 
 " I am yours, and all is yours. But I shall not fall." 
 
 " Ah, be not too confident, my son. Let no such as- 
 surance lead you to forget your God. I have heard of 
 this count. It was he who slew Eutger ; and Momjako, 
 too, he slew in the duel. He is an expert swordsman, 
 and surely means to kill you if he can." 
 
 " I am aware of that, my mother. But do you not 
 know that we are all prone to overlook our own powers 
 when wondering upon the feats of others ! I may be 
 pardoned for assuring you that the only man who has 
 yet overcome the count at the sword-play was one of 
 my own scholars. While in Spain I practiced with 
 some of the best swordsmen in the kingdom. But lis- 
 ten : I will send one word. For yourself I can tell you 
 nothing which you do not know ; but yet you may see 
 Eosalind. If you do, tell her But you know my soul. 
 You can tell her as you please. But I shall not fall." 
 
 It was now late, and ere long Euric kissed his mother, 
 and then retired to his bed. 
 
 And the widow was left alone. With her eyes she 
 followed the retreating form of her beloved son, and 
 when he was gone from her sight she bowed her head 
 and sobbed aloud. When she reached her humble 
 couch she knelt by the side thereof, and poured forth 
 
THE CHALLENGE. 47 
 
 her pent-up soul to God. When her head had pressed 
 the pillow she tried to hope she tried to fasten one 
 hope in her mind ; but she looked only into the night. 
 Not one ray of light reached her struggling soul. She 
 opened her eyes of promise in vain for she looked into 
 a gloom so utter that out of its depths loomed only the 
 blackness of despair. 
 
 Sleep on, Euric. But oh, couldst thou know how 
 thy fond mother's heart is racked there'd be na sleep 
 for thee ! 
 
48 THE GUNMAKEK OF MOSCOW. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE DUEL. 
 
 On the following morning Buric was up betimes, and 
 at the breakfast table not a word of the one all-absorb- 
 ing theme was uttered. After the meal was finished 
 the gunmaker went out to his shop, and took down 
 from one of the closets a long leathern case, in which 
 were two swords, both of the same make and finish, 
 only different in size. They were Toledo blades, and 
 of most exquisite workmanship and finish. Buric took 
 out the heavier one, which was a two-edged weapon, 
 with a cross-hilt of heavily gilded metal. He placed 
 the point upon the floor, and then with all his weight 
 he bent the blade till the pommel touched the point. 
 The lithe steel sprang back to its place with a sharp 
 clang, and the texture was not started. Then he 
 struck the flat of the blade upon the anvil with great 
 force. The ring was sharp and clear, and the weapon 
 remained unharmed. 
 
 " Paul, Moscow does not contain another blade like 
 that ! Damascus never saw a better." 
 
 Thus spoke the gunmaker to his boy, as he balanced 
 the beautiful weapon in his hand. 
 
 "I think you are right, my master," the boy re- 
 turned, who had beheld the trial of the blade with un- 
 bounded admiration. %< But," he added, " could yuu 
 not temper a blade like that ? " 
 
THE DUEL. 49 
 
 " Perhaps, if I had the steel. But I have it not. The 
 steel of these two blades came from India, and was 
 originally in one weapon a ponderous, two-handed 
 affair belonging to a Bengal chieftain. The metal pos- 
 sesses all the hardness of the finest razor, with the 
 elasticity of the most subtle spring. My old master at 
 Toledo gave me these as a memento. Were I to mention 
 the sum of money he was once offered for this largest 
 one you would hardly credit it." 
 
 , " How much ?" asked Paul, with a boy's curiosity. 
 
 " It was a sum equal to about seven hundred ducate." 
 
 " And yet he gave it away ?" 
 
 " Aye for its price was but imaginary, while its 
 worth to him was only commensurate with the good it 
 did him. If he told the truth he loved me, and these 
 he gave me as a parting gift, as the best patterns I 
 could wish for when making such." 
 
 After this Ruric put up the smaller sword, and then 
 gave Paul a few directions about the work, promising 
 to be back before rfight. The faithful boy shook his 
 head dubiously as he heard this promise, but he said 
 nothing, and shortly afterwards Ruric went into the 
 house. Just then Alaric Orsa drove up to the door. 
 
 Ruric was all ready but putting on his bonnet and 
 pelisse. His mother was in the kitchen. He went to 
 her with a smile upon his face. He put his arms about 
 her and drew her to his bosom. 
 
 " God bless you, my mother. I shall come back.' f 
 He said this, and then he kissed her. 
 
 " God keep and " 
 
 It was all she could say. 
 
50 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 Euric gazed a moment into her pale face ther* lie 
 kissed her again and again he said : 
 
 " God bless you, my mother. I shall come back." 
 
 He dared stop to speak no more. Gently seating his 
 fond mother upon a chair, he turned and hurried from 
 the place. In the hall he threw on his pelisse and bon- 
 net, and then he opened the door and passed out. 
 
 " Have you a good weapon ?" asked Orsa, as the 
 horse started on. 
 
 " I have a fair one. I think it will not deceive me." 
 
 " I asked," resumed Orsa, " because Dainonoff prides 
 himself upon the weapon he wears. It is a German 
 blade, and he thinks he can cut in twain the blade of 
 any other weapon in Moscow with it." 
 
 " I have a good weapon/' Euric said, quietly ; " and 
 one which has stood more tests than most swords will 
 bear." And after some further remarks he related the 
 peculiar circumstances attending the making of the 
 sword, and his possession of it. 
 
 At length they struck upon the river, and in half an 
 hour more they reached the appointed spot. The day 
 was beautiful. The sun shone brightly upon the glis- 
 tening snow, and the air was still and calm. The sharp 
 frost of the atmosphere served only to brace the system 
 up, and Euric threw open his pelisse, that he might 
 breathe more freely. He had been upon ground but a 
 few minutes when the other party came in sight around 
 the bend of the river. 
 
 As soon as the count and his second had arrived, and 
 the horses had been secured, the lieutenant proposed 
 that they should repair to the building, which was close 
 at hand. This was a large open boat-house, which was 
 
THE DUEL. 51 
 
 unused and deserted in the winter, and it was proposed 
 to go in there because the reflection of the strong sun- 
 light from the bright snow was calculated to blind and 
 blur the eye. 
 
 " Ha ! what means that ? " exclaimed Orsa, as he saw 
 a sledge just turning the bend of the river with an officer 
 in it. 
 
 " It is only a surgeon," replied Damonoff. " I would 
 not cut a man's flesh without giving him a fair chance 
 to survive it." 
 
 " And then you may find him serviceable to yourself, 
 eh ? " suggested the lieutenant. 
 
 " Of course. There is no telling what may happen." 
 
 In a moment more the new sledge came up, and Euric 
 recognized its inmate as an army surgeon whom he had 
 seen before, though he knew not his name. 
 
 " Now for the old boat-house, 1 ' cried Urzen. 
 
 " Aye," added Damonoff. " Let us have this busi- 
 ness done, for I would be back to dinner. I dine with 
 Olga to-day, and a fair maiden awaits my coming." 
 
 " Notice him not," whispered Orsa, who walked close 
 by Euric's side. " That is one of his chief points when 
 engaged in an affair of this kind. He hopes to get you 
 angry, and so unhinge your nerves." 
 
 " Never fear," answered the gunmaker. " Be sure he 
 only brings new danger to himself, for such efforts wilJ 
 find their point in the muscle of my arm." 
 
 The party halted when they reached the interior of 
 the rough structure, and the count threw off his pelisse 
 and drew his sword. Euric followed his example. 
 
 " Sir Count," the latter said as he moved a step for- 
 ward, " ere we commence this work I wish all present 
 
52 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 to understand distinctly how I stand. You have sought 
 this quarrel from the first. Without the least provoca- 
 tion from me you have insulted me most grossly, and 
 this is the climax. So, before God and man, be the re- 
 sult upon your own head." 
 
 " Out, lying knave " 
 
 " Hold," cried the surgeon, laying his hand heavily 
 upon the count's arm. " You have no right to speak 
 thus, for you lower yourself when you do it. If you 
 have come to fight, do so honorably." 
 
 An angry reply was upon Damonoff 's lips, but he did 
 not speak. He turned to his antagonist and said : 
 
 " Will you measure weapons, sir ? Mine may be a 
 mite the longest. I seek no advantage ; and I have one 
 here of the same length and weight as my own, if you 
 wish it." 
 
 " I am well satisfied as it is," replied Ruric. 
 
 " Then take your ground. Are you readv ?" 
 
 " I am !" 
 
 The two swords were crossed in an instant, with a 
 clear, sharp clang. 
 
 There was some contrast between the two combat 
 ants, but not much, apparently. The count was a little 
 the taller, and Ruric was some the heavier. But to a 
 close observer there was a peculiar contrast in the bear- 
 ing of the two men. That breast, swelling out so nobly, 
 and those massive shoulders, made for the seat of phys- 
 ical power, were Ruric's alone to possess. Yet Conrad 
 Damonoff was accounted a strong man. In the ath- 
 letic sports of the club-court he had few superiors, and 
 not many equals. But Ruric Nevel had never shown 
 his strength there. 
 
THE DUEL 53 
 
 Now, for the first time, that contemptuous look 
 passed from the count's face. As his eye caught his 
 antagonist's position as he noticed the calm, dignified, 
 quiet ease of every limb ; and as he caught the deep, 
 mystic fire of those expressive eyes, he knew that he 
 had no common amateur to deal with. 
 
 At length Conrad Damonoff started back, and a 
 quick cry escaped his lips. His antagonist's point had 
 touched his bosom it had pressed against his heart 
 and had not been driven home. Well he knew that his 
 life was his no longer, for the gunmaker had gained it, 
 and spared it. 
 
 " You fence well," he gasped, struggling to regain his 
 composure. 
 
 " You are not a novice," returned Buric, calmly, at 
 the same time allowing his point to drop. 
 
 "Come on," the count cried, now gathering all his 
 energies for another effort. 
 
 And again the weapons were crossed. This time 
 Damonoff was more guarded. Before he had been im- 
 pelled by his own assurance ; but now he was forced to 
 regard his opponent's power. Buric quickly found that 
 his foe was more careful than at first, and he carried his 
 own point accordingly. At the twelfth stroke the count 
 made a feint to the left then at the throat, and then, 
 with a quick, lightning-like motion, he thrust straight at 
 his antagonist's heart. But his meaning had been read 
 from the first by Buric. The youth caught the motion 
 of the eye, and he saw that his heart was the place 
 looked to. His own movement was almost instinctive. 
 He received his antagonist's sword midway upon his 
 own blade then moved his arm quickly forward and 
 
54 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 caught his enemy's point under his cross-guard; 
 then, with all his power, he wrenched his arm upward 
 and backward, and the count's sword went flying across 
 the building. It struck the opposite wall with a dull 
 clang, and on the next instant it was half buried in the 
 snow. 
 
 " Fear not, sir," said Euric, as the count started back 
 with both hands raised. " I never strike an unarmed 
 man." 
 
 Damonoff's arms fell to his side, and a deep blush of 
 shame mantled his face. 
 
 " By St. Paul ! " cried the surgeon, " your life is 
 forfeit, Sir Count ; and now you should be satisfied." 
 
 " No, no," the discomfited man exclaimed, starting 
 up with rage and mortification. " That was but a slip. 
 "Twas a false step a cowardly feint. I am not yet 
 overcome." 
 
 " But man of mortality, even now your life is Nevel's. 
 He may run you through now if he chooses." 
 
 " But he has not," the count cried, springing to 
 where his sword had fallen and snatching it up.. 
 
 " Sir Count," here spoke Euric, calmly, but with 
 marked contempt, " you should not blame me for what 
 I have done, for thrice have you tried to break my 
 sword." 
 
 " Then try it again ! " Damonoff exclaimed. " Take 
 my sword again if you can." 
 
 " Perhaps not," our hero retorted. " But be sure 
 your sword shall be used no more after this day." 
 
 " Ha ! Brag not, but strike. If you can 
 
 The conclusion of the sentence was drowned by the 
 flash of steel. 
 
THE DUEL. 55 
 
 At the second stroke the count made another furious 
 thrust at his antagonist's heart. Euric sprang quickly 
 aside, and with the whole power of his good right arm 
 he struck Damonoff's blade close to the haft and broke 
 it in twain. 
 
 "My other sword! my other sword!" the count 
 shouted, now blinded by absolute madness. " Oh, give 
 me my other " 
 
 " Hold ! " cried both the surgeon and Stephen Urzen 
 in concert. " You are mad, Conrad." 
 
 " Mad ! Oh, I shall be mad ! Where is my sword ! " 
 the reckless man yelled, casting the bladeless pommel 
 down. 
 
 " But will you not listen one " 
 
 " Away, I say ! Shall I give up because my sword is 
 broken ? By the gods, the weapon deceived me. Where 
 is the other?" 
 
 "Deceived thee, Conrad?" repeated the surgeon, 
 sarcastically. " Had thy head but received a hundredth 
 part of that blow, 'twould not be upon thy shoulders 
 now." 
 
 But the count was beyond all reason. In his mad- 
 ness he saw not that his sword had been broken on 
 purpose. He did not see that he had been at his an- 
 tagonist's mercy. But his friends saw it all. 
 
 " Ha ! whom have we here ? " cried Alaric, whose eye 
 had caught a dark form at the entrance of the old 
 building. 
 
 It was Vladimir the monk. 
 
 " How now ? What seek you here ? " asked TJrzen, 
 as the fat, turly monk waddled towards the party. 
 
 " I heard the clash of arms, my son, as I rode by, 
 
66 THE GUNMAKEK OF MOSCOW. 
 
 and I stopped to see what it was. Surely, where the 
 work of death is going on, a child of the church may 
 come ? " 
 
 " Aye," cried the count, " come in welcome, but med- 
 dle not. Now ! my sword ! where is it ? " 
 
 Keluctantly Urzen brought forward the second sword, 
 but ere he gave it up he said : 
 
 " Beware. Conrad. You had better " 
 
 " Peace, babbler ! " the excited fool hissed, snatching 
 the weapon, and then turning quickly upon the gun- 
 maker. 
 
 Thus far Euric had remained silent, but he felt it his 
 duty to speak now. 
 
 " Sir Count," he said, in a tone so stern and authori- 
 tative, and with a look so commanding, that Damonofi 
 was held in abeyance by it, " I must speak one word. 
 You have provoked a quarrel with me and you have 
 challenged me. I have no fear of death when duty 
 calls for my life, but I would not die thus, nor would I 
 slay a fellow-being thus. Six separate times to-day 
 since our swords first crossed, have I spared your life." 
 
 "Liar!" 
 
 " And twice have I had you before me unarmed,' 7 
 Kuric continued, without noticing the interruption. 
 "I had hoped this would have shown you that I 
 sought not harm to you ; and, furthermore, that you 
 were no match for me at this kind of work." 
 
 " Out, fool ! yelled Damonoff, now fairly frothing with 
 rage. " If you dare not cross swords again, say so, but 
 do not crawl off like a coward ! 
 
 " One word more," said Kuric, paling for an instant 
 beneath the unmercif ul insult of the senseless tongue 
 
THE DUEL. 57 
 
 that assailed him, and he stood proudly erect while 
 he spoke, " before these men here assembled, and be- 
 fore my God, I swear, that thus far I have spared you ; 
 but my own life may be the forfeit if I trifle with you 
 more. So now beware ! You have sufficient warn- 
 ing!" 
 
 Perhaps the count really overlooked the facts of which 
 Kuric had spoken. In his ungovernable rage he may 
 have fancied 'twas only accident that had worked 
 against him. However, he started forward once more, 
 and made a furious lunge at his antagonist. 
 
 "Now," he gasped, " play your best, for my sword's 
 my own !" 
 
 But Ruric spoke not. He saw that the count was 
 stronger than before for his rage seemed to give him 
 a maniac's power and that he was earnest only for life 
 or death. He struck quickly and furiously, and his 
 movements were strange and unprecedented. He 
 threw up all rules of exercise, and cut and thrust only 
 in wild madness. Twice Euric came nigh being run 
 through. He lost all run of his opponent's play, and 
 quickly saw that he must put a stop to the conflict or 
 run the risk of leaving a childless mother in his home 
 to see that day's sun sink. 
 
 " Will you give o'er ?" he asked, as he struck the 
 count's point down. 
 
 " Never ! Submit to such as you ? Bah !" 
 
 A few moments more the conflict lasted. One more 
 opportunity he had at Damonoff's heart and he 
 spared him. All present saw it save the mad man. 
 
 " Fool!" muttered the monk, who trembled from 
 head to foot with excitement, his huge body shaking 
 
58 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 like a bag of jelly, "will you throw away your 
 life, Kuric Nevel ? Shall I toll your mother you left 
 her of your own will ?" 
 
 This mention of his mother drove the last lingering 
 doubt from Euric's mind. Again he struck the oppos- 
 ing point down, and then he pressed his own point 
 upon the count's bosom. He avoided the heart he 
 tried to avoid the vitals but he threw his arm forward, 
 and his glittering blade passed through the fool's body. 
 With an expression of pain upon his features he started 
 back, and rested his reeking point upon the trodden 
 snow. The count came furiously on again, but he 
 struck wildly and at random, Euric merely warding off 
 his blows, until finally his arm sank. On the next mo- 
 ment his sword dropped from his nerveless grasp, and 
 he fell fainting back into the arms of his attendants. 
 
BEFORE THE EMPEROR. 69 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 BEFORE THE EMPEROR. 
 
 " Is he dead ?" asked Euric, starting quickly forward. 
 
 " Hold, my son," said the monk, laying his hand upon 
 the young man's arm. " Surely you have nothing to 
 fear. It was none of your work no more than if you 
 had run your sword to the heart of a wild beast that 
 had attacked you." 
 
 " But I did not touch his heart," quickly returned the 
 youth. " I was careful of that. I would have struck 
 him upon the head with the flat of my sword, but I 
 feared I might break his skull." 
 
 " He is not dead yet," answered the surgeon, as 
 Euric pressed forward and asked the question a second 
 time. " He has only fainted from the shock of the 
 blow, coupled with his own fears and passions." 
 
 " But will he die ?" Euric asked, kneeling down by 
 the fallen man's side. 
 
 " I cannot yet tell," the doctor said, at the same time 
 wiping the blood away, which was flowing freely. 
 
 " But why not probe the wound now ?" suggested the 
 monk. " Now is the best time, for the place is not yet 
 inflamed ; and while he is thus insensible he will be free 
 from pain." 
 
 The surgeon at once saw the truth and propriety of 
 this, and he proceeded to act upon the suggestion. 
 
60 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 Having selected a probe which appeared applicable, 
 he examined the wound. Euric watched him eagerly, 
 and with a painful expression. 
 
 " I do not think this wound is mortal," the surgeon 
 reported, as he carefully felt his way along the course 
 the steel had taken. " It has passed below the right 
 lung, and only severed some of the smaller blood- 
 vessels. I think, with proper care, he may recover 
 
 " Thank God !" fervently ejaculated Euric, with his 
 hands clasped. 
 
 " But why so anxious ?" asked TTrzen. " You were 
 ready enough to accept his challenge." 
 
 "Aye, else you would have called me a coward," 
 answered the gunmaker, with a flashing eye. " Had I 
 refused to meet him, that fatal word would have met 
 me at every turn. I knew that such a man as he was 
 no match for me at any game where strength of arm 
 and sleight of hand were required. So I meant to dis- 
 arm him, and then give him up his life, believing that 
 such an act would end the combat. You know how I 
 labored to spare him. But I could not. Yet I would 
 not have the life of a fellow-being a countryman 
 upon my hands in such a quarrel. My father died 
 fighting for his country, and so would I die if my death 
 must come from the hand of man ; but to die thus 
 would be a curse upon my name and to inflict such 
 death upon another would be a curse in my memory." 
 
 " I believe you, my son," the monk said. " Only if 
 the count dies you should not allow such feelings as 
 you mention to overcome you. In no way are you to 
 blame for this." 
 
 " True, father you speak truly," added the surgeon, 
 
BEFOBE THE EMPEBOB. 61 
 
 " The young man has acted most nobly, and no blame 
 can be attached to him." 
 
 Kuric seemed somewhat relieved by these assurances, 
 and having seen the count's wound dressed, and 
 assisted in bearing the insensible form to the sledge, 
 he took Alaric's proffered arm and proceeded to his 
 own team. 
 
 u Who is that monk ?" asked the lieutenant as they 
 entered their sledge. 
 
 " I only know that he is called Vladimir," replied 
 Kuric. " I have only seen him once before. Have you 
 ever seen him ere this ?" 
 
 " Yes, several times about our barracks. He has 
 been there when some of our poor fellows have been 
 sick and dying. He seems to be a good-hearted man, 
 and, I should judge, quite intelligent." 
 
 " I agree with you there," our hero said. "I think 
 he is a good man ; but there is nevertheless a mystery 
 'about him which I cannot solve. His countenance is 
 familiar to me, and yet I cannot tell where nor when I 
 have seen him." 
 
 " Aye," added Alaric, quickly and eagerly ; " that is 
 precisely the case with me. I am very sure that I have 
 seen that man under different circumstances. And 
 others of our company have thought the same." 
 
 The two men watched the movements of the monk 
 while they thus spoke, and they noticed that he entered 
 his sledge and drove off towards Borodino. 
 
 " Kuric," said the lieutenant, after he had ridden 
 some little distance, and at the same time gazing won- 
 deringly into his companion's face, " you handle the 
 swjord like a magician. I'd give all I own at this pres- 
 
62 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 ent moment my commission and all if I could handle 
 the sword as you can." 
 
 "I do understand the weapon passing well," the 
 youth modestly answered ; " but I have worked hard to 
 gain the science." 
 
 " Ah, 'tis not all science," the officer added. " That 
 wondrous strength of yours is a host in itself." 
 
 " And yet," said Euric, " I have seen weaker men 
 than myself who would overcome me easily or, at least, 
 might overcome me." 
 
 " But they are not in this city," suggested Orsa, with 
 a peculiar shake of the head. 
 
 " True, Alaric. I am not in the habit of mentioning 
 my own powers, but yet I may say that there is no 
 man in Moscow who is my superior in the use of any 
 sort of offensive arms." 
 
 The lieutenant readily admitted the truth of this, 
 and then the conversation turned upon the subject of 
 the count, and the course he had pursued with respect 
 to the event which had just transpired. This conver- 
 sation lasted until they had reached the door of Buric's 
 residence, and having thanked his friend for his kind- 
 ness, and expressed the hope that at some time he 
 might have opportunity to return some adequate favor, 
 the gunmaker entered the house. 
 
 The widow sat in her great chair by the fire, and she 
 was pale and anxious. Her brow was supported by 
 her hands, and at every sound from without she would 
 start up with a frightened expression and listen. At 
 length the sound of bells struck upon her ear they 
 came nearer and nearer and they stopped at her door. 
 She would have arisen, but she could not. WWh her 
 
BEFORE THE EMPEROR. 63 
 
 hands clasped, she bent eagerly forward, and lis- 
 tened with a frantic interest. Soon the door opened. 
 Surely no one but him would enter without knocking ! 
 She started to her feet the inner door opened a male 
 form stood before her. 
 
 "Mother!" 
 
 " Euric ! my boy! safe ! " 
 
 She tottered forward and sank upon the bosom of her 
 noble son, and while she wound her arms tightly about 
 him she murmured her thanks to God. 
 
 By and by the widow became more calm, but still 
 there was an earnest, eager look of fear upon her face. 
 Euric saw it, and he knew well what it meant. 
 
 " Mother," he said, " the count is not dead." 
 
 " Nor wounded ? " she exclaimed, quickly and eagerly. 
 
 " Yes badly. But listen : I could not help it." 
 And thereupon he related all the circumstances con- 
 nected with the conflict. When he had concluded his 
 mother pondered a few moments, and then she said : 
 
 " Surely, my son, I will try and suffer nothing from 
 this, even should the wicked man die. In all you acted 
 but upon the defensive. From the first he has only 
 been intent on attacking you ; and on the battle-ground 
 he would have killed you if he could." 
 
 " Most surely he would, mother. Aye he would not 
 have hesitated to stab me in the back could he have 
 gained the opportunity. He was mad beyond all self- 
 control, and his eagerness to kill me was only equalled 
 by his chagrin at being overcome by one whom he had 
 hoped easily to conquer." 
 
 After this Euric went to his shop, but Paul mani- 
 fested no great emotion upon beholding him. 
 
64 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " You seem to take it as a matter of course that I 
 should return alive and well," said the gunmaker, with 
 a smile. 
 
 "Why of course," returned the boy, composedly. 
 " What would a score of such men as he be to you ? 
 Conrad Damonoff hold a sword before Euric Nevel ? 
 No, I only smiled when 1 heard his challenge. I should 
 have as soon thought of being anxious about your re- 
 turn from a marten hunt." 
 
 Euric smiled at his boy's peculiar eagerness of ex- 
 pression, but he felt a degree of pride in his words, 
 nevertheless. 
 
 It was towards the latter part of the afternoon that 
 Euric was somewhat startled by seeing some of the Im- 
 perial guard approaching his house ; and ere long af- 
 terwards his mother came to him pale and trembling, 
 and informed him that he was wanted by the emperor's 
 officers. 
 
 " Oh ! " she groaned, with clasped hands and tearful 
 eyes, " they will take you from me now." 
 
 " Fear not, my mother," the youth confidently replied. 
 " The emperor will not blame me when he knows all the 
 particulars. But come let us go in." 
 
 Euric found the officers three of them in the 
 kitchen, and he asked them if they sought him. 
 
 " We seek Euric Nevel, the gunmaker," returned the 
 leader. 
 
 u I am the man, sir. May I know what is wanted ? " 
 
 " Cannot you guess ? " 
 
 " Why yes, I suppose it must be on account of the 
 duel which was fought this morning." 
 
 " Exactly." 
 
BEFORE THE EMPEROR. 65 
 
 "And who wants me ?" 
 
 "Who should want you but the emperor?" 
 
 "Oh ! they would not take my noble boy from me !" 
 cried Claudia, catching the officer by the arm. "Tell our 
 good emperor that Russia has taken my husband from 
 me that he fell in his country's cause. Tell him my boy 
 was not to blame " 
 
 "Hush, mother," interposed Ruric. "Fear not yet." 
 
 "Come," said the leader, "it is growing late, and Peter 
 will not brook delay." 
 
 "But they will not harm him!" the mother frantically 
 cried, clinging now to her son. 
 
 "No, no, my mother. Rest you easy here until I re- 
 turn." And then turning to the guard he added, "Lead 
 on, and I will follow." 
 
 "Now rest you easy, 'my dear mother ;" and with these 
 words Ruric gently set her back into her chair, and then 
 hastened out after the officers. In the entry he put on 
 his bonnet and pelisse, and then followed his conductors 
 out to the street, where stood a double sledge, with two 
 horses attached. 
 
 "You seem to look upon the killing of a Russian noble- 
 man as a very small affair," said one of the officers, after 
 they had started on their way. 
 
 "Is he dead, then ?" Ruric quickly asked. 
 
 "The doctors think his case is a critical one. But that 
 is not the thing: You would have killed him if you 
 could/ 1 
 
66 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 "No, no. It is not so. All who were present will 
 swear that I tried to spare him/' 
 
 "Very well," returned the officer, "we shall see about 
 that when we come to the palace. Perhaps you may go 
 clear; but I would not willingly occupy your place." 
 
 Ruric cared not to argue the point with those who knew 
 nothing about the circumstances, so he remained silent 
 during the rest of the ride. It was near sundown when 
 they reached the imperial palace, and Ruric was con- 
 ducted at once into the emperor's presence. 
 
 The Emperor Peter was in one of the smaller audience 
 chambers, sitting at a large table covered with purple vel- 
 vet heavily wrought with gold, and upon either hand 
 stood some of his private attendants. He was a young 
 man, not yet so old as Ruric by some three years, but his 
 face already wore a mature look. His frame was solid, 
 but not large being rather slight than otherwise in 
 physical bulk. His dress betrayed negligence and care- 
 lessness, and was in marked contrast with the rich garbs 
 of his attendants. Such was Peter, of Russia yet a 
 youth small in frame, and careless of those graces which 
 go to make up the sum of court life ; but still able to bear 
 the affairs of a great nation upon his shoulders. Within 
 that head worked a mighty brain, and in that bosom beat 
 a heart thirsting more for the good of Russia than for 
 self or kindred. 
 
 Ruric saw Stephen Urzen and the surgeon there; and 
 he also saw the Duke of Tula there. He met the duke's 
 
BEFORE THE EMPEROR. 67 
 
 eye, and a peculiar sensation of fear ran through his 
 mind as he saw the stern, threatening expression that 
 rested upon Olga's face. 
 
 "Sire," spoke the leader of those who had conducted 
 the prisoner thither, "Ruric Nevel stands before you." 
 
 "Ah," said Peter, casting his eagle eye over the forms 
 before him. "Nevel advance." 
 
 With a bold yet modest step, Ruric advanced to the 
 table, and with a low bow he awaited the emperor's 
 pleasure. There was a shudder perceptible in the frames 
 of those who wished the prisoner well, for well they 
 knew their mighty ruler's iron will and sternness of legal 
 purpose. 
 
68 THF GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 A STARTLING TRIAL. 
 
 In order to understand the circumstances under which" 
 Ruric was brought before the emperor it will be neces- 
 sary to go back a few hours. The autocrat had occa- 
 sion to send for the surgeon, Kopani, who attended at the 
 duel, and as he was some time in answering the sum- 
 mons, he was questioned, when he did come, concerning 
 his tardiness. His answer was, that he had been at- 
 tending the Count Damonoff . 
 
 "And what ails the count?" asked the emperor. "He 
 was well yesterday." 
 
 "Yes but he has met with an accident to-day." 
 "Look you, Kopani," the young ruler cried, who saw in 
 an instant that something unusual had happened, "think 
 not to conceal anything from me. What is it, now?" 
 
 "Sire, I meant not to hide anything from you. The 
 count hath been engaged in a duel." 
 "Ha! was he challenged?" 
 "No, sire he was the challenger." 
 "So, so. And who was the other party ?" 
 "An humble gunmaker, sire, named Ruric Nevel." 
 "Nevel Nevel," soliloquized Peter. "The name is 
 familiar." 
 
A STARTLING TRIAL. 69 
 
 "His father was a captain in the last war with the 
 Turks. He rose from the ranks under Feodor, and was 
 one of the bravest of the brave." 
 
 "Captain Nevel. Ah, yes. I remember now. He and 
 Valdai were the first two that mounted the ramparts at 
 Izium. So the old dispatches read." 
 
 "Yes, sire. Poor Nevel was shot a month afterwards 
 while leading his brave company against a whole squad- 
 ron of Turkish infantry ; while Valdai came home and got 
 a colonel's commission." 
 
 "And afterwards received a title," added Peter. 
 
 "Yes, sire." 
 
 "And this gunmaker is that captain's son?" 
 
 "Yes, sire." 
 
 "And methinks Valdai left a child." 
 
 "He did, sire a daughter, who is now with Olga 
 she is his ward." 
 
 "Yes, yes. And the count fought a duel with young 
 Nevel, and got beaten, eh?" 
 
 Before the surgeon could answer, a page entered the 
 chamber and announced that the Duke of Tula wished 
 to see his imperial master. 
 
 The emperor directed that he should be admitted; and 
 ere long afterwards the proud duke entered the apart- 
 ment. He was a tall, stout man, with light hair and blue 
 eyes, and not far from five-and-forty years of age. His 
 bearing was haughty, though he was forced to a show of 
 respect now that he was before his master. 
 
 "Sire," spoke the duke, after the usual salutations had 
 passed, "I have come to demand justice at thy hands. My 
 young friend, the Count Conrad Damonoff, has been most 
 brutally murdered." 
 
 "Ha! Say you so, Olga?" 
 
70 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " Yes, sire." 
 
 "But how was it?" 
 
 " Thus it was, sire : On the day before yesterday I 
 sent the count with a message to one Ruric Nevel, who 
 is a gunmaker in the Sloboda. He went, as I wished, 
 and, while there, the gunmaker, who is a huge fellow, 
 provoked a quarrel, and knocked the nobleman down. 
 Of course the count was offended, and as the ruffian 
 threatened to repeat the offence, and as he furthermore 
 grossly insulted a noble lady whom the count held most 
 dear, he could hardly help challenging him. The fellow 
 accepted the challenge, and has succeeded by the most 
 cowardly manoeuvring, in inflicting upon him a mortal 
 wound." 
 
 " This is a serious affair," said the emperor, who had 
 not failed to notice the astonished look of the surgeon 
 while the duke was telling his story. 
 
 "It is most serious, sire; and surely the ruffian 
 should be at once executed." 
 
 "But did you not say that the count challenged 
 him?" 
 
 " I did, sire ; but you must remember that it was an 
 instinct of self-preservation with the noble count. The 
 fellow would have undoubtedly murdered him had he 
 not taken this course." 
 
 " Were you present at the duel, my lord ?" 
 
 " No, sire ; but I have a friend without who was 
 present." 
 
 " Then you may bring him in." 
 
 The duke departed, and when he returned Stephen 
 Urzen bore him company. 
 
A STABTLING TBIAL. 71 
 
 " This is the man, sire," Olga said, as he led his com- 
 panion forward. 
 
 The emperor gazed upon Urzen a few moments in 
 silence, and then he said : 
 
 " You were present at this duel, were you not, sir?" 
 
 " I was, sire," the man answered, bowing low. 
 
 " And he was at their first meeting also, sire," inter- 
 posed the duke. 
 
 " Ah yes. Then you know all about the affair ?" 
 
 " Yes, sire," answered Urzen. 
 
 " Then tell me about it." 
 
 " First, sire/" commenced the man, casting a sort of 
 assuring glance at the duke, "the count went to the 
 gunmaker's shop to get him to to " 
 
 " Let me explain here, sire," interrupted the duke, as 
 his puppet hesitated. " This man may not know prop- 
 erly about that mission. Living with me is a young 
 girl a ward of mine a gentle, timid being, who has 
 been somewhat a comfort to me in my loneliness. In 
 childhood she was acquainted with this Kuric Nevel, 
 and now the fellow has presumed thereupon several 
 times to insult her of late with his disgusting familiar- 
 ity. She dared not remonstrate with him for fear of 
 violence, so she referred the matter to me. The count 
 has been anxious to win her for a wife, so I thought him 
 not an improper person to send on the delicate mission. 
 Accordingly I wrote a sort of promise in the form of a 
 voluntary assurance pledging the signer not to make 
 himself familiar with the lady any more. And at the 
 same time he received the assurance that his presence 
 was very disagreeable to the person mentioned. This, 
 I supposed, he would sign at once ; and as the count 
 
72 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 aspired to her hand I deemed it no more than right that 
 he should render her this service. Now, sire, this gen- 
 tleman may continue." 
 
 Thus bidden Urzen resumed : 
 
 " The noble count was desirous, sire, that 1 should 
 accompany him, and I did so. Upon reaching the man's 
 shop we found him at work upon a gun-lock, I think 
 He received the note, but refused to sign it. The count 
 urged him to sign, in mild, persuasive language, until 
 the fellow became insolent. Then he used some stronger 
 terms, and I think he made some threat of what he 
 would do if his insults to the lady were repeated ; and 
 thereupon the gunmaker struck him a furious blow in 
 the face and knocked him down. I cannot remember 
 all the threatening language which the fellow used, but 
 it was fearful." 
 
 " And how about the duel ? " asked the emperor. 
 
 In answer to this Urzen related what he had pre- 
 pared on the subject ; and it need only be said that the 
 report was about on a par with what we have already 
 heard. He even went so far as to swear that the count 
 had tried repeatedly to compromise matters after the 
 conflict had begun that he begged of Nevel to give up 
 the battle ; but that the latter, thirsting for the young 
 nobleman's blood, kept hotly, madly at it ! 
 
 It was at this juncture, and without reference to the 
 surgeon, that the emperor sent for Ruric ; and having 
 learned that a lieutenant of the Khitagorod guard was 
 present at the duel, he sent for him also. Orsa arrived 
 first, and was present when Ruric came. 
 
 And now Ruric Nevel stood before his emperor. 
 
A STARTLING TRIAL. 73 
 
 Peter gazed upon him for some moments, and then he 
 said : 
 
 " Sir, thy bearing is bold." 
 
 " Why should it not be, sire, when I stand before one 
 whom I honor and respect and do not fear ? " So spoke 
 Buric, calmly, and with peculiar dignity. 
 
 " Not fear ? " repeated the autocrat, sternly. 
 
 " No, sire. Peter of Kussia is not a man to be feared 
 by those who love and honor him." 
 
 " Insolence ! " uttered the duke. 
 
 The emperor looked up into his face, and he added : 
 
 "Now, sire, you can see for yourself some of his 
 traits of character." 
 
 "Aye," returned Peter, " I see. They are wonderful. 
 I knew not that among my artisans there were men of 
 such boldness." 
 
 The duke knew not how to interpret this, and he 
 moved back a pace. 
 
 " Now, sir," resumed Peter, turning to the gunmaker, 
 " how dared you strike a Russian nobleman ? " 
 
 " I did not, sire. Conrad Damonoff came to my shop, 
 and he brought me a paper, in which I was required, or 
 ordered, to relinquish all claims to the hand of " 
 
 " Sire," interposed the duke, " he misstates " 
 
 " Never mind," broke in the emperor, with an author- 
 itative wave of the hand, " we will hear nothing about 
 the lady here. Why did you strike the count ? " 
 
 " Because, sire, he descended from his station and 
 struck me. He threw away that peculiar shield which 
 should protect the nobleman, and struck me without 
 provocation." 
 
 " And then you knocked him down ? " 
 
74 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 "I did, sire." 
 
 "And perhaps you would have done the same t<j 
 me?" 
 
 " Sire," answered the youth, quickly, " when Damon- 
 off tried by threats to make me sign his paper, I told 
 him that there was but one man on earth at whose 
 order I would do that thing. The man who has the 
 right to command shall never have occasion to strike 
 me." 
 
 There was something in this reply, and more in the 
 tone and bearing of him who spoke it, that made the 
 duke tremble. He saw plainly that the emperor's eyes 
 sparkled with admiration as they rested upon the gun- 
 maker. 
 
 " But now about this duel," resumed the emperor. 
 " How dared you take advantage of the count in the 
 conflict ?" 
 
 " Advantage, sire ?" repeated the youth, in surprise. 
 
 " Aye. Did he not, Stephen Urzen ?" 
 
 " He did, sire," replied the man thus addressed. 
 
 " And which of the two do you call the best swords- 
 man ?" Peter asked. 
 
 " Why, sire, the count is, or was, vastly his superior. 
 
 " And what say you, Sir Lieutenant ?" 
 
 Alaric trembled, for this was addressed to him. He 
 knew that the duke was anxious to crush his friend, and 
 he feared to draw the wrath of that powerful nobleman 
 down upon his head. But a happy thought came to his 
 aid. 
 
 " Sire," he said " I would rather you would judge of 
 that for yourself." 
 
 " I judge ? And how am 1 to do that ?" 
 
A STARTLING TRIAL. 75 
 
 " Let Euric Novel's skill be tried here before you. If 
 t mistake not, you have some good swordsmen near 
 your palace. There is Demetrius, the Greek." 
 
 " What my Master-at-Arms ?" 
 
 "Yes, sire." 
 
 " Why he is the best swordsman in my empire. I 
 think our young adventurer would fare badly in his 
 hands." 
 
 " Sire," spoke Euric, modestly, but yet frankly, " it 
 were sure no disgrace to be overcome by your tutor." 
 
 " And will you take a turn with him at the swords ?" 
 
 " Tes, sire if so it please you." 
 
 " Then," cried the emperor, leaping up, " we'll have 
 some diversion out of this trial. What ho, there ! Light 
 up the chamber. Let every lamp be lighted, for we 
 want sight now. Send Demetrius here and tell him 
 to bring his round-edged swords !" 
 
 .Both the duke and Urzen stood aghast at this new 
 turn ; but they had one hope : Demetrius might over- 
 come the gunmaker so easily that Peter should not see 
 his real power. 
 
 Demetrius soon came, and under his arm he carried 
 the swords. They were of the common size, but with 
 round edges and points on purpose for play. The 
 master-at-arms was a powerfully built man, and pos- 
 sessed a splendid form. He was a Greek by birth, and 
 was now retained by the emperor as a teacher of the 
 sword exercise. 
 
 " Demetrius," said Peter, " I have sent for you to 
 entertain us with a show of your skill. Here is a man 
 about whose power there is some dispute. Mind you it 
 is all in kindness. Euric Nevel, take your weapon." 
 
76 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 The youth stepped forward and extended his left hand 
 for the sword, and the right hand he extended for the 
 other to grasp. It was taken warmly, for the Greek 
 saw in an instant that he had a noble man to deal with. 
 And those two men were not much unlike in form. 
 Demetrius was an atom the taller, but Kuric showed the 
 most muscle. 
 
 The night had come on, but the great lamps were all 
 lighted, and the room was as bright as day. 
 
 " Sir," saidEuric, addressing the Greek, " this is none 
 of my seeking, though I will confess that for a long 
 while I have longed to cross a playful sword with you. 
 I play well." 
 
 " I like you," the Greek replied, bluntly and kindly ; 
 " and if you beat me I will not like you less. I can 
 afford to be beaten once, seeing that thus far I have 
 never been since first I offered to fence." 
 
 " Come, come," cried Peter, who was impatient for 
 the entertainment, " let's see the opening. Now, stand 
 aside, gentlemen." 
 
 Like two twins stood those swordsmen as their 
 weapons crossed with a clear, sharp clang. The Greek 
 led off carefully, and Kuric as carefully warded every 
 stroke. Then the former assumed a guard, and Ruric 
 led off in turn. Ere long the swords clashed with 
 sharper ring, and soon sparks of fire new out from the 
 clanging steel. Louder and louder grew the clang, and 
 quicker and quicker grew the strokes. The thrusts 
 were made with skill and force, but as vet neither had 
 been touched. 
 
 The emperor was in ecstasy. He clapped his hands 
 and shouted bravo with all his might. 
 
A STARTLING TRIAL. 77 
 
 By and by Euric's eye grew more intense in its 
 meaning fire. His opponent saw it, but he could not 
 tell what it meant. The youth was about to risk the 
 most daring feat of all he knew. Steadily burned his 
 eye, and his lips were set like steel. At length he saw 
 that the Greek was playing for a thrust, and he lowered 
 his point. Demetrius saw the chance, and drawing his 
 arm quickly back he made the thrust with all his power. 
 He was sure now he had won, for there was no earthly 
 way in which his point could be struck either down or 
 up. But see ! With a gliding motion a motion al- 
 most imperceptible Euric raises the sword and the 
 other slides upon its side, and the other point, instead 
 of touching his breast, is caught in the cross-guard of 
 his haft. Then, quick as lightning, and with all his 
 might, Euric bends his elbow downward with the 
 whole weight of his massive shoulder, and throws his 
 wrist upward. On that instant the Greek sees and 
 feels what meant that strange fire of the eye. He 
 feels his point caught, but before ho can close bis grasp 
 more firmly the haft is wrenched from his hand it 
 strikes the vaulted ceiling with a dull clang, and de- 
 scending, is caught by Euric Nevel fairly by the hilt ! 
 
 For a moment all is still as death in that chamber. 
 Euric is the first to break the silence. He advances to 
 the Greek, and as he hands back both swords, he says : 
 
 " Demetrius, remember your promise. I know you 
 are a brave man, for I can see it in your forgiving 
 glance. You will not like me less for this ? " 
 
 " No ! " the noble Greek cried, dropping both the 
 swords, and extending both hands, which the gunmaker 
 grasped. " I honor you ! I love you ! " 
 
78 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 Peter Alexiowitz, the impetuous emperor then in 
 the zeal and fire of youth leaped from his standing- 
 place and caught Kuric by the hand. 
 
 " By St. Michael ! " he cried, earnestly and loudly, 
 " you stand clear of all blame, for full well do I now 
 know that had you so desired you could have slain 
 Conrad Damonoff at your first intent." 
 
 " Sire," answered the youth, now speaking tremur 
 lously, " twice did I disarm the count, and yet spare 
 him. And when in my rage I broke his weapon in 
 twain to bring him to his senses, he seized a second 
 sword." 
 
 " Sir Duke," spoke the emperor, turning towards 
 Olga, who stood trembling with rage and mortification, 
 x you see you must have labored under a mistake. You 
 can retire now. Not a word, sir ! " 
 
 With quivering lip and trembling step the duke left 
 the apartment, and after him went Stephen Urzen. 
 
 " Now, Ruric Nevel, if you leave Moscow without my 
 consent, you do so at your peril. I would not lose sight 
 of you. You are at liberty." 
 
 In an hour more Kuric was upon his mother's bosom. 
 He told her all that had happened all but the last 
 words of the emperor. He did not tell her of those, for 
 he knew not whether they boded him good or evil. 
 
THE MASK FALLS FROM A VILLAIN'S FACE. 79 
 
 CHAPTER VHI. 
 
 THE MASK FALLS FEOM A YILLAIN's FACE. 
 
 It was about two weeks after the events last recorded 
 that Rosalind Valdai sat in her own apartment, with 
 Zenobie for her companion. It was in the afternoon, 
 and a severe storm was raging without. 
 
 1 ' Now, Zenobie," spoke the beautiful maiden, " we 
 have a moment alone the first since morning. And 
 now tell me about that black monk. What did he say 
 his name was ?" 
 
 "Vladimir." 
 
 " Ah, yes. I have heard his name, and, if I mistake 
 not, he is a sort of mysterious being." 
 
 " He is, my mistress ; and I am just as confident 
 that I have seen him before as I am that I have seen 
 you before." 
 
 " How ? Seen him before ?' 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "But where?" 
 
 " Ah," returned the young girl with a dubious shake 
 of the head, " there is the mystery. For the life of me 
 I cannot tell. He knew me he knows everybody 
 and yet he has not been long in the city, if one might 
 judge from his conversation." 
 
 " But what did he stop you for ? Where was it ?" 
 asked Rosalind, eagerly. 
 
80 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " It was in the church he stopped me in our church 
 of St. Stephen. He was at the altar, and he beckoned 
 to me as I arose to come out. I went to him and he 
 asked me about you ?" 
 
 " About me ?" 
 
 " Tes and about Euric Nevel." 
 
 " And what about us ?" the maiden asked, blushing. 
 
 " He asked me if I thought you loved the young gun- 
 maker. He was so kind and he seemed so anxious to 
 know and then he seemed to take such an interest in 
 Euric, that I could not refuse to answer him." 
 
 " But what did you tell him ? " 
 
 " I told him you did love Euric. I told him how you 
 had been children together and how you would now 
 give your hand to him sooner than to the proudest noble 
 in the land. He asked me some things about the duke, 
 but I would not tell him that. When I must tell of 
 evil if I tell the truth, I will not speak if I can properly 
 avoid it." 
 
 " You were right, Zenobie. You were very right 
 about this last part ; but you should not have told all 
 you knew concerning me and Euric." 
 
 " I hope I did nothing wrong. Oh ! I should be 
 proud to acknowledge my love for such a man." 
 
 " Aye and so am I, my little sprite. I love Euric 
 with my whole soul, and would be proud to give him 
 my hand this day ; but that is no reason why you 
 should tell of it." 
 
 " Surely, my mistress, I meant no harm," the young 
 girl cried, eagerly. 
 
 " Hush, Zenobie. I do not blame you. Only 1 
 would have you careful." 
 
THE MASK FALLS FROM A VILLAIN'S FACE. 81 
 
 " And I would be careful. But oh ! you could not 
 have resisted him. He drew it from me almost ere I 
 knew it. He put his questions in such a strange man- 
 ner that I could not speak without telling him what he 
 wanted to know. He did not say, * Does she love 
 Ruric Nevel ? ' but he took it for granted that such was 
 the case, and then ere I was aware of it he had made 
 me say so. But he surely does not mean you harm ; 
 nor does he mean harm to Ruric. He is a good man, I 
 know." 
 
 " I wish I could see him," said Rosalind, half to her- 
 self. 
 
 " You cannot mistake him if you ever do see him, my 
 mistress. He is a strange-looking man ; and then he 
 dresses differently from most of our church officers. 
 He dresses all in black to-day it was in black velvet. 
 But his shape is his most striking characteristic. He 
 is the fattest man in Moscow, and his chin seems to 
 sink clear out of sight. He would be a funny man, and 
 would make me laugh, if he did not puzzle me so." 
 
 " And did he ask you about anything else ?" 
 
 "No only he asked me if I knew how the duke 
 stood with the emperor, and I told him I thought he 
 stood very well. Then he said he had heard that they 
 had had some dispute concerning the duel between the 
 Count Damonoff and Ruric. But I told him I guessed 
 that had resulted in no estrangement, for the duke was 
 as much at court as ever. And after that he told me 
 about the duel, as he was there and saw nearly the 
 whole of the affair." 
 
 And Zenobie went on and told all that the monk re- 
 lated about Ruric's bravery, and Rosalind listened now 
 
82 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 attentively and eagerly. It was a theme that pleased 
 her. The attendant saw how gratefully the account 
 came upon the ears of her mistress, and she closed the 
 recital with some opinions of her own, wherein Buric 
 Nevel was held up as a pattern after which all men who 
 wished to win the love of woman should be made. 
 
 But before any answer could be made by Bosalind 
 the door of the apartment was opened, and the duke 
 entered. He smiled very kindly as he bowed to his 
 ward, and then, with a wave of his hand, he motioned 
 for Zenobie to withdraw ; and after the attendant was 
 gone he took a seat close by his fair charge. The 
 maiden looked up into his face, and though there was 
 no very serious look there as yet, still she could plainly 
 see that he had something of more than usual impor- 
 tance in his mind. She shuddered as she gazed upon 
 him, for she could not help it. There was something 
 in the look of the man a sort of hidden intent which 
 came out in his tone and glance a deep meaning 
 something which he had never spoken, but which was 
 yet manifest that moved her thus. What it was she 
 could not tell. It was the prompting of that instinct 
 of the human soul which may repel an object while yet 
 the working mind detects nothing evil. 
 
 But she was not to remain in the dark much longer. 
 The evil one was loose, and his bonds of restraint were 
 cast off. He had marked his prey, and the meshes 
 were gathering about it. 
 
 " Bosalind/' the duke said, in a tone which he meant 
 should have been easy and frank, but which, neverthe- 
 less, was marked strongly with effort, " there is some 
 
THE MASK FALLS FBOM A VILLAIN'S FACE. 83 
 
 talk among the surgeons now that Count Damonoff may 
 recover." 
 
 " Oh, I am glad of that," Eosalind earnestly replied 
 
 " Yes, I suppose so," resumed Olga, eyeing her 
 sharply. " But you have no particular care for him, I 
 presume." 
 
 " For for the count." 
 
 " Aye it was of him I was speaking." 
 
 " No, sir. I care only for him as I care for all who 
 need to become better ere they die." 
 
 " Aha yes," said the duke, biting his lip, for in his 
 own mind he had the frankness to acknowledge that he 
 was about as needy of virtue as was the count. " But," 
 he resumed with a faint smile, " you never loved the 
 man?" 
 
 " No, sir," the maiden answered, gazing up into her 
 guardian's face with an inquisitive look. 
 
 " So I thought so I thought." As Olga thus spoke 
 he smiled again, and moved his chair nearer to Eosa- 
 lind. " I am well aware," he resumed, " that your af- 
 fections have not yet been set upon any one who is 
 capable of making a proper companion for you through 
 all the ups and downs of coming life." 
 
 "Rosalind's eyes drooped beneath the steady gaze of 
 the speaker and her frame trembled. But ere she 
 could make any reply the duke went on : 
 
 " My dear Rosalind, I have come now upon a busi- 
 ness which I may justly call the most important of my 
 life. I have not approached this subject lightly, nor 
 with over zeal ; but I have come to it through careful 
 consideration and anxious study." 
 
 Here the duke stopped and gazed into Rosalinds 
 
84 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 face. She met his gaze, ^and her eyes drooped again. 
 She trembled more than before, and a dim, dreadful 
 fear worked its way to her mind. 
 
 " Kosalind," the nobleman continued, " when I was 
 but nineteen years of age I was married with a girl 
 whom I loved. She lived with me four short, hap- 
 py years. In that time we were blessed with two 
 children, but they lived not long to cheer us. And 
 then my beautiful wife died, and the world was all dark 
 and drear to me. I thought I should never love again. 
 Time passed on, and you were placed in my charge. 
 When you first came I loved you ; and I wondered if 
 you were to take the place of the children I had lost. 
 But you grew quickly up. Your mind was expanded, 
 and your heart was large. I found that I could not make 
 a child of you ; and then I sat down all alone and asked 
 myself what place it was you had assumed in my heart. 
 Can you guess the answer, Eosalind ? " 
 
 " As a little child," answered the maiden, trembling 
 violently. 
 
 " No, no, sweet one. I pondered, and I studied ; and 
 I examined myself carefully ; and I found that the mem- 
 ory of my departed wife was fast fading away before 
 the rising of another one just as pure and just as holy. 
 Now do you understand ? " 
 
 " No, no Oh, no ! " the maiden uttered in a fright- 
 ened whisper. 
 
 " Then listen further," continued the nobleman, in a 
 low, earnest tone, and with a strange fire in his deep 
 blue eyes : "As your charms oi uotli mind and per- 
 son were gradually developed I came to look upon you 
 with new feelings, or, I should say, with the old feeling 
 
 ' <,;'. ' . 
 
THE MASK FALLS FROM A VILLAIN'S FACE. 85 
 
 more fully developed. I looked around me. I saw my 
 sumptuous palace without a legitimate female head. In 
 my parties I had no companion to assist and guide me, 
 and in my loneliness I had no mate to cheer and enli- 
 ven me. I wished not that such should be the case. At 
 length my eyes were opened, and I saw plainly the 
 spirit that was moving upon my soul. I looked upon 
 you, and I knew that I had found the woman who was 
 to give me joy once more. Rosalind, I love you truly, 
 fondly ; and I would make you my wife. Now you can- 
 not fail to understand me can you ? " 
 
 Eosalind gazed up into the face of her guardian, and 
 she was pale as death. 
 
 " You do not mean Oh !" 
 
 It was a deep, painful groan, and the fair girl clasped 
 her hands towards the man before her. 
 
 " Hold," he said, almost sternly. " I am not trifling 
 now. I am not only serious, but firm in purpose. 
 When you were placed under my charge your father 
 bade me do as I would ; and now I would make you my 
 wife. The Count Damonoff was the first who came for 
 your hand, and had he been a proper man, and had you 
 loved him, I should have interposed no objections ; but 
 you did not love him, and that affair is passed. Now I 
 lay my claim upon you, and my fortune and title I lay 
 at your feet." 
 
 " And what is to become of my estate ?" the maiden 
 asked, quickly and meaningly, for the thought flashed 
 upon her. 
 
 " Why, we'll have the two united," returned the 
 duke with some hesitation. 
 
86 THE GUNMAKEK OF MOSCOW. 
 
 "No, no," Rosalind cried; "you will not do this. 
 Oh, spare me from such a fate !" 
 
 " Spare thee, girl ? Spare thee from becoming the 
 wife of one of the most powerful noblemen in the em- 
 pire ? You must be crazy." 
 
 " My guardian," said Rosalind, now looking her com- 
 panion steadily in the face, " you only do this to try 
 me. When you know that such a union would make 
 me miserable forever when you know it would cast out 
 all the joys of life, and extinguish the last hope of 
 peace from my soul, you surely will not press it." 
 
 " Eosalind Valdai, I have resolved that you shall be 
 my wife. Mind you, this is one of the firm, fixed pur- 
 poses of my soul ; and those who know the Duke of 
 Tula best know that he never gives up a purpose once 
 fixed in his mind. You cannot mistake me now." 
 
 Slowly the stern fact dawned upon Rosalind's mind 
 There had been a lingering hope that he might be onl} 
 trying to see if she loved him, or if she would willingly 
 become his wife. Awhile she remained with her head 
 bowed, and her bosom heaving with the wild emotion 
 thus called up, but at length she looked up and spoke : 
 
 "Sir," she said, faintly, but with marked decision^ 
 " you cannot make me your wife." 
 
 "Ah! and why not?" 
 
 " Because I will never consent." 
 
 " Ah, say you so ? " 
 
 " I do ; and mean it." 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha ! You know little of my power if you 
 think you can thwart me in my purpose. I tell thee, as 
 sure as the God of heaven lives, you shall be my wife ! " 
 
 " No. no. Before heaven, I protest against such an 
 
THE MASK FALLS FROM A VILLAIN'S FACE. 87 
 
 nnholy union. You cannot have my heart, and such a 
 union would be but foul mockery." 
 
 " Oho now you come to the point. I can't have 
 your heart, eh ? Perhaps your heart is given to the 
 gunmaker ? " 
 
 Kosalind's eyes flashed in an instant. The words of 
 the duke were spoken sneeringly and contemptuously, 
 and they jarred upon the fair girl's soul. 
 
 "Aye," she quickly uttered, and boldly, too, " I do 
 love Euric Nevel ; and he is worthy of my love." 
 
 " Now, my pretty ward," resumed Olga, in a tone of 
 peculiar irony, " you have spoken as I hoped you would 
 speak plainly and to the point ; so I can answer just 
 as plainly. Know, then, that Ruric Nevel can never be 
 your husband. He stands charged with a horrid crime, 
 and the emperor only waits to see whether the count 
 recovers or not ere he awards the punishment. The 
 gunmaker is forbidden, on pain of death, to leave the 
 city. So you may cast him from your thoughts as soon 
 as possible." 
 
 " What crime is Kuric accused of?" the maiden 
 asked. 
 
 " Of murder." 
 
 " In wounding the count ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Oh, how can you bring your tongue to such speech ? 
 You know the noble youth was not to blame in this af- 
 fair. He was " 
 
 " Hold, Eosalind. I want no argument on this ques- 
 tion. You have heard what I have said, and be assured 
 that I mean it. I had hoped you would receive my pro- 
 posal with more favor ; but I did not enter into the 
 
88 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 plan until my mind was all made up, and the thing all 
 fixed. You will become my wife within a month !" 
 
 " I will flee to the emperor," gasped Rosalind. 
 
 " You will not leave this place again until you are the 
 Duchess of Tula /" 
 
 " I will never speak the word that is 'necessary to 
 make me your wife never ! At the altar, if you be by 
 my side, my lips shall be sealed, and no power on earth 
 shall loose them !" 
 
 " Do you mean this ?" whispered the duke. 
 
 " As God lives, I do." 
 
 " Then mark me." The stout, dark nobleman gazed 
 fixedly into the maiden's face as he spoke, and in his 
 look and tone there was a fiendish expression which 
 could not be mistaken. " Eosalind Valdai," he hissed, 
 " you shall be my wife. My will shall be your master! 
 And if you attempt to set me at defiance, I will find 
 means to make you repenb your audacity, with tears of 
 anguish during every hour of your life." 
 
 With one deep, soul-dying moan, the poor girl sank 
 down shivering and pale. The duke caught her as she 
 fell, and having laid her senseless form back upon the 
 couch, he strode from the apartment. 
 
THE MASK FALLS AND BEVEALS THE HEABT. 89 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 THE MASK FALLS AND BEVEALS THE HEABT. 
 
 It was early evening ere Zenobie entered the apartment 
 of her young mistress. As she opened the door she found 
 dark within. She moved into the room, and shading 
 her candle with her hand, she gazed about. The wind 
 still howled fearfully without, and the snow came driv- 
 ing against the windows. When the girl had reached 
 the extremity of the place she called her mistress's name, 
 and was answered by a low groan from the couch in 
 the corner. Thither she hastened, and there she found 
 her mistress. 
 
 " Kosalind ! My mistress ! " she cried, kneeling 
 down. 
 
 " Who is it ? " the maiden asked, starting up, and 
 gazing frantically around. 
 
 " It is I Zenobie. Say, my dear good mistress, 
 what is it ? What is the matter ? What has happened ?" 
 
 With a quick movement Kosalind put her attendant 
 away and sat up ; and having gazed about her for some 
 moments, she murmured : 
 
 " Where am I ? Who is here ? " 
 
 " It is I. You are in your own chamber. Come, you 
 are cold here." 
 
 Without resistance the maiden suffered herself to be 
 led to the place where the heated air came up the 
 from the furnace below, and there she sat down. 
 
90 THE GUNMAKEB OP MOSCOW. 
 
 " What is it ? " again asked Zenobie, eagerly. " What 
 has happened? 
 
 Eosalind bowed her head upon her hands, and after 
 some moments of thought she looked up. She was very 
 pale, and a fearful tremor shook her frame. 
 
 " Zenobie," she uttered, in a low strange whisper, 
 " ask me no more now. I am not well. Oh, ask me 
 no more now." 
 
 " My mistress," returned the faithful girl, placing one 
 arm about Rosalind's neck, " you know what you may 
 tell me, and what you may not ; but whom will you 
 trust if you trust not me ? Oh, give me your love, and 
 if I can serve you let me do so." 
 
 " I would trust you with life itself," the maiden re- 
 plied ; " and some time, you shall know all that has 
 happened here ; but not now not now. Oh, I cannot 
 speak it now." 
 
 " Say no more, my mistress ; only let me serve you. 
 You will have some refreshment something to eat ? " 
 
 " You may bring me some wine, Zenobie." 
 
 And thereupon the young girl hastened away. 
 
 In the meantime the duke was in his private room 
 below. He was pacing to and fro across the floor with 
 his hands behind him, and his brow was dark and low- 
 ering. Ever and anon he would stop near the door and 
 listen, and then proceed. At length there came a rap 
 upon the door, and the duke said " Enter." It was a 
 priest who entered the apartment a small, deformed 
 man, somewhat about fifty years of age. His face was 
 very dark ; his features sharp and angular ; his eyes 
 dark and sunk deep into his head ; his brow heavy 
 above the eyes, where the shaggy brows hung over, but 
 
THE MASK FALLS AND REVEALS THE HEART. 91 
 
 sloping back from thence, leaving the points where 
 phrenologists L Jocjifi__Eenevolence and Veneration defi- 
 cient and flat. Upon his shoulders he wore a huge, un- 
 gainly hump ; and, all in all, he was just such a man as 
 a timid person would shun. His name was Savotano. 
 The duke had been the means of getting him into the 
 church, and in consideration thereof he had bound 
 himself to do the duke's evil work. But this was not 
 all. 
 
 Some years before there had been a murder in Mos- 
 cow, and Savotano did the bloody deed. It was a work 
 of pure vengeance. Olga had him apprehended ; but 
 he was not brought to justice. The duke found him to 
 be a shrewd, unscrupulous wretch, willing to serve those 
 who would pay him well, and ready to let himself then 
 to any one who could save his life. Olga was a man of 
 plots and schemes. He fancied that such a man as 
 Savotano might be of use to him ; so he proposed to 
 save the wretch if he would serve him. The villain was 
 glad enough to accept the proposition, and the bargain 
 was made. Could Savotano enter the church, and as- 
 sume the sacred garb, he might in many cases work to 
 better advantage. The wretch readily agreed to this s 
 too ; and through Olga's powerful influence he gained 
 a place in the church. He knew that the duke held 
 his very life, and he failed not to serve him. His cleri- 
 cal robes shielded him from suspicion ; and, moreover, 
 the place gave him additional advantages to work at 
 his diabolical trade. His salary from government was 
 sufficient for his support, while an occasional sum from 
 his master enabled him to enjoy many of those luxuries 
 which were denied to most of his brethren. Olga feared 
 
92 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 not to trust this man, for the fellow had nothing to gaia 
 by betrayal, but everything to lose. 
 
 And such was the man who now entered the duke's 
 private room. He entered with a bold air, for though 
 he was somewhat in the duke's power, yet there was a 
 peculiar satisfaction in knowing that when he fell the 
 noble lord must fall with him, part way, at least. 
 Brethren in crime cannot count much upon respect: 
 
 " I have come, my lord," the priest said, as he shook 
 the snow from his robe, and then took a seat by the 
 furnace-pipe. 
 
 " And how is the count? " asked Olga. 
 
 " He is recovering, I am sure." 
 
 " Does Kopani say so ? " 
 
 "Yes. He says he will have him out within a 
 month." 
 
 " No, no ! Savotano, this must not be." 
 
 " But tell me, my lord, what is the particular need of 
 the count's departing ? " 
 
 The duke gazed his visitor a few moments in the face, 
 and then he said : 
 
 "Why, since the affair interests you, I'll tell you. 
 Thus far I have paid you promptly all your dues, but I 
 cannot do so much longer unless we can make some of 
 our points work. My property is on the decrease fast. 
 I have not enough left to live on. Within the past three 
 years I have made some bad ventures. I put into 
 But never mind suffice it for me, to say that I am at 
 the end of my fortune." 
 
 The duke was about to say that he had placed large 
 sums in the hands of the Minister Galitzin for the pur- 
 pose of carrying out the conspiracy by which the 
 
THE MASK FALLS AND REVEALS THE HEART. 93 
 
 Princess Sophia was to have been placed upon the 
 throne, with Galitzin for her prime minister, and him- 
 self also high in power. He chose not to tell of this 
 and no wonder, for heads had ere then be taken to pay 
 for such indiscretions. 
 
 " And now, if this count survives, I thus have one 
 source cut off. My half of Drotzen is used up and 
 mortgaged to him, but if he dies the whole comes to me. 
 His father and myself married sisters, and they owned 
 Drotzen, and on his side the count is the only heir ; so 
 in the event of his death the whole comes to me. You 
 understand this now." 
 
 " Perfectly," returned the priest. " And 'tis a pity 
 your first effort did not succeed." 
 
 " So it is," said the duke, uneasily. " When I sent 
 him with that message to the gunmaker I felt sure he 
 would be slain, and then I hoped that the other could 
 be disposed of for having slain him. But the emperor 
 has turned all my plans upside down, for the present, 
 at least. Savotano, you must have a hand in Damon- 
 off's medicine ! " 
 
 " That is easily done, my lord," replied the priest, 
 quietly. 
 
 " You have free access there ?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " And can you not watch with him some night ?" 
 
 " I think I can." 
 
 " Then do so. When he is dead two hundred ducats 
 are yours." 
 
 "Then he dies!" 
 
 " Good ! And now there is one more. This gun- 
 maker must be got out of the way." 
 
94: THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 "Ah," uttered Savotano, looking up incredulously. 
 " Do you mean so ?" 
 
 " Most assuredly I do." 
 
 " But why him ?" 
 
 " Do you fear to undertake the work ?" 
 
 " Not at all, my lord ; I only wished to know why he 
 was wanted out of the way." 
 
 " The reason is simple. I must marry with Rosa- 
 lind Valdai. Her property is worth the whole of Drot- 
 zen twice told over two million of ducats." 
 
 " So much ?" uttered the priest, opening his eyes 
 with greedy wonder. 
 
 " Yes ; it is one of the finest estates in Moscow, and 
 it pays her now a yearly income of a hundred thousand 
 ducats. She does not know it. Ha, ha, ha ! " 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha! " laughed the priest in concert. " She 
 doesn't, eh ? " 
 
 " No she knows nothing about it. But I must 
 secure this ; and in order to do this I must marry her ; 
 and if I would be sure of that this accursed gunmaker 
 must be got out of the way." 
 
 " But what is he to her ? " 
 
 " She loves him." 
 
 " And is not your authority " 
 
 " Hold, Savotano. I'll explain to you, in a few words 
 I'm afraid the emperor has taken a fancy to this young- 
 ster, and if he has he may be appealed to in this case. 
 The girl will take marriage hard. I shall have to hire 
 you to perform the ceremony." 
 
 " Which I should be pleased to do," returned the 
 priest w r ith a coarse smile. 
 
THE MASK FALLS AND REVEALS THE HEART. 95 
 
 " You shall have the opportunity. But first we must 
 have this young Nevel taken care of." 
 
 " I think I can manage that, my lord. " 
 
 " And how will you do it ? " 
 
 " I suppose you don't want him put where he can get 
 off and come back here. 3 * 
 
 " No. Finish him while you are about it! " 
 
 I will." 
 
 . " But mind : It must be done so that in no possible 
 way suspicion can fall upon me. You must contrive 
 some way so that suspicion shall be led at once to some 
 apparent point and there baffled." 
 
 " Leave me alone for that, my lord. I can call help 
 if I want it." 
 
 " Are there not places in the city where a body can 
 be hidden ? where theymay be so disposed of as never 
 to be found ? " asked the duke, as the thought came to 
 his mind. 
 
 " Never mind," returned the other, with a confident 
 nod of the head. " If I meddle with with the matter, it 
 shall be well done." 
 
 " Very well. I'll trust it with you." 
 
 For a few moments after this there was a dead si- 
 lence, during which only the moaning of the wind could 
 be heard. But at length the duke started up, and with 
 sudden energy he said : 
 
 " Ah, Savotano, there is one thing I came nigh for- 
 getting. You have heard of this strange monk Vladi- 
 mir his name is." 
 
 " Aye and I have seen him, too. You mean that 
 huge lump of human fat ?" 
 
 " Yes. And now tell me who and what he is. He was 
 
96 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 at the duel ; and I know he has been here to my house. 
 Who is he?" 
 
 " You ask me too much, my lord, for I can tell you 
 no more about him than I can about the man in the 
 moon. In short, no one seems to know him, save that 
 he is a monk of some Eoman order, and named Vladi- 
 mir. He has been here only a few months, as near as I 
 can find out. And yet I think I know what his busi- 
 ness is or, at least, why he's here." 
 
 "Ah you suspect." 
 
 "Yes and if my suspicions be correct we could 
 have him taken care of at any moment." 
 
 " Explain." 
 
 " Why I think he is a spy of the pope sent here 
 from Rome to learn something of our emperor's plans." 
 
 " But he has not visited the imperial palace." 
 
 " O, yes, my lord. He has been there several times ; 
 and once the emperor himself was obliged to send him 
 out of the audience chamber." 
 
 " But have you any particular reasons for thinking 
 him a spy from the pope ?" 
 
 " Why he is a Eomish monk ; and he hangs about 
 the most important places in our city. Even the cir- 
 cumstance I have just related his trying to remain in 
 the audience chamber while private business was going 
 on, and having to be ordered out by the emperor, is 
 some ground for suspicion. I mean to watch him, at 
 all events. " 
 
 " That's right," returned the duke. And then, after 
 a moment's thought, he added " I do not see why he 
 should be around after every petty duel that may be 
 fought, if he is a spy from Rome. And besides, I have 
 
THE MASK FALLS AND REVEALS THE HEART. 97 
 
 heard one or two persons say that they were sure they had 
 seen him before." 
 
 "O, that may be only the result of some strong re- 
 semblance which he bears to some one else. I am sure 
 he was never here before not in Moscow." 
 
 Again the hump-backed priest was cautioned about the 
 work he had in hand, and having promised over and over 
 again to be very careful, he took his leave. 
 
 And Olga, Duke of Tula, was left alone with his own 
 thoughts. Better for him had that wicked priest been his 
 executioner! Better for him had he been upon the 
 count's bed, racked with dying pains ! Better for him had 
 he been a poor gunmaker, so he had been honest ! Oh ! 
 better for him had he been the meanest beggar that 
 walked the earth, than what he was! But he did not 
 realize this. He had a goal ahead, and he tried to over- 
 look the black, dreadful gulf that yawned between him 
 and it ! v ; 
 
 
98 THE GUNMAKBR OF MOSCOW, 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A STRANGE DISCOVERY. 
 
 The news went out that the Count Conrad Damonoff 
 must die. A few days before, the best surgeon in Mos- 
 cow said he would recover; but now that same surgeon 
 said he must fall. A strange change had come over him; 
 it was not a fever, but rather a consuming of vitality. 
 He was failing fast, and no art of medicine could re- 
 vive him. Some thought he must be bleeding inwardly, 
 but others knew better than this, because in that case 
 there would be some outward symptom. The wound itself 
 was healing, but the disease was not. The physician and 
 the priest were now in daily, and the former in almost 
 hourly, attendance. The surgeon was Kopani, and the 
 priest was the hump-backed Savotano! 
 
 Thus lay the count upon his bed, weak and faint, but 
 at present almost free from pain, and an old woman was 
 his only attendant, the priest having just left. It was 
 just after noon. The dying man had just taken a power- 
 ful stimulating draught, though it was against the injunc- 
 tions of the priest, as he said that by such means the 
 invalid might die bereft of sense, and thus lose his hold 
 upon salvation he had just taken this draught when 
 there was a low rap upon the door. The woman arose to 
 
A STRANGE DISCOVERY. 99 
 
 answer the summons. She conversed a few moments with 
 the girl who had knocked, and when she returned to the 
 bed she announced that Ruric Nevel wished to enter. 
 
 "Let him come in/' whispered the count. 
 
 "But" 
 
 "Never mind," he interrupted, as the woman com- 
 menced thus to expostulate. "Let him come in. If he is 
 my enemy let me see him. It may serve to arouse me." 
 
 So the woman went to the door again, and soon after- 
 wards Ruric Nevel entered the apartment. He stepped 
 lightly, noiselessly, to the bedside, but it was moments ere 
 he could distinguish objects by the subdued light of the 
 place. By and by, however, he overcame the difficulty, 
 and he started back in horror as he beheld the features of 
 his adversary. How pale and sunken ! How deathlike 
 and ghastly ! The count noticed the movement and he 
 noticed the look. 
 
 "Conrad Damonoff," said the gunmaker, in a low, 
 solemn tone, "a few days since I heard that you were 
 recovering, and I thanked God. But to-day they told 
 me you were dying, and I have come to ask that I may 
 take your hand ere you pass away from earth. As God is 
 my Maker and my Judge, I would rather lie down here 
 and die for you than have you pass away with a curse of 
 me upon your soul or on your lips. Forgive me for what 
 I have done, and never again will I engage in such a 
 wicked work. For my own life, it is my country's and 
 my mother's, and I have no right to throw it away; and 
 
100 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 my antagonist's life is the sacred property of God, which 
 I have no right to touch but in self-defence. Forgive me." 
 
 Slowly and heavily moved the dying man over, and 
 then he extended his thin and wasted hand. 
 
 "Ruric," he said and his voice was stronger now, for 
 the potion was working "I am glad you have come 
 very glad; for I have wished, above all else of earth, to 
 see you. I could not send for you, for I knew not how 
 you might come. I have been all wrong in the things 
 that have passed betwixt thee and me. I was mad, and a 
 fool. I blame you not ; but rather do I thank you for your 
 kindness through all this scene. I forgive you with all 
 my heart ; and now tell me that I am forgiven !" 
 
 "Forgiven!" repeated Ruric, with a trembling lip, still 
 holding the count's hand within both his own. "Oh, 
 would to God I could call you back to life ! Forgiven ? 
 God, who reads all hearts, knows how humble, how sacred 
 is my forgiveness to you ! Could I call you back could 
 I wipe out the past from my memory, I could die content." 
 
 "Enough," returned the count warmly. "This was my 
 dearest wish, though pride has kept back its utterance. I 
 feared you would gloat over my death that you would be 
 glad when I was gone." 
 
 "No, no I should have been a monster then." 
 
 "There are many such. And yet I wronged you by the 
 thought. But I could not help it." 
 
 A moment more passed in silence, and then the invalid 
 resumed : 
 
A STRANGE DISCOVER?. 101 
 
 "There is one reason why I should like to live; I 
 should be prepared for a feeder ,Me. Sin<^ death has 
 come since I have known- that he stood waiting by my 
 bed I have wondered, at the evi: lift I Ivve led; and I 
 have thought that if the dark king would let me remain 
 here a few years more I could be a better man. But 'tis 
 too late now. The die is cast. Yet I have some joy in 
 this. You have shed a happy light upon my dying hour. 
 God bless you." 
 
 Ruric's feelings were easily moved, and there was 
 something in the deep solemnity of this occasion that 
 started his heart to a tender mood, and the last words of 
 the dying man overflowed the cup. He bowed his head, 
 and covering his eyes with one hand, while he held in the 
 other the hand of Conrad, he wept freely and silently. 
 
 At this moment the woman arose and left the room. 
 
 "She's gone," said the count, after he had recovered 
 somewhat from the deep emotions which had been stirred 
 within his own soul. "Sit down here beside me." 
 
 Ruric obeyed the request, and after he had seated 
 himself he gazed sadly into the sick man's face. 
 
 "Say, Ruric," the count asked, while an eager look 
 overspread his face, "was't true what Kopani told me that 
 you overcame Demetrius the Greek with the sword?" 
 
 "I did," the youth replied, in a whisper. 
 
 "But you did not disarm him? you did not fairly take 
 his sword from him?" 
 
 "I did, Conrad." 
 
 "My soul, is it possible? And where have you been 
 all your life?" 
 
 "In Moscow and in Spain." 
 
 "And yet obscure." 
 
102 THE GUNMAKER OP MOSCOW. 
 
 "Never mind that now," interposed Ruric. "I have 
 something of more interest x Do you But you will 
 pardon me for what 1 may say, for I assure you I mean 
 it all for, your gra>d.'. ? 
 
 "Speak on," said Conrad, at the same time running his 
 eyes almost enviously over the gunmaker's nobly-de- 
 veloped breast and shoulders. 
 
 "Then, first I have just come from the lady Rosalind, 
 Ah ! I meant not " 
 
 "Go on. I may have felt a pang at the mention of 
 that name, but I know she loves you, and were I strong 
 at this moment as ever I'd relinquish all claims of her to 
 you. So fear not." 
 
 "Thank you, Count, for this. But I was remarking: 
 I am not long from her presence, and between us both 
 we have suspected some dark things. Do you think the 
 duke was really your friend?" 
 
 The count started, and a strange gleam shot from his 
 eyes. 
 
 "Go on," he uttered. 
 
 "Then listen: Before you ever came to my shop the 
 duke had most solemnly promised Rosalind that she should 
 receive no more trouble from you that you would claim 
 her hand no more." 
 
 "Do you know this?" 
 
 "I do." 
 
 "But it cannot be. Why should he have sent me on 
 that mission to you?" 
 
 "I had taught one of his officers the sword exercise, 
 and he knew I was your superior in strength and the use 
 of the weapon." 
 
 "Well go on," whispered the count, nervously and 
 anxiously. 
 
A STRANGE DISCOVERY. 103 
 
 11 Why he thought very likely that we should not 
 meet on such a question without a quarrel. He knew 
 your natural impetuosity and my strength of arm, and 
 he hoped you would fall." 
 
 " But go on !" 
 
 " His estate is running out, and he wants the whole 
 of Drotzen !" 
 
 " Ah ! I see it now !" 
 
 " The duke has proposed himself for Eosalind's 
 hand," resumed Euric. " He says he has loved her long; 
 and he will force her to wed him if he can, though it 
 break her heart !" 
 
 " Ha ! " gasped the count, fairly starting up to a sit- 
 ting posture. " How blind I have been ! By my soul, 
 he never was cordial never kind." 
 
 Euric gently laid the sick man back, and then he 
 said: 
 
 " From all I can see and understand, the proud duke 
 meant to get all your wealth and all of Eosalind's." 
 
 The count spoke not yet. He lay with his eyes 
 closed, and groaned in the agony of the strange revela- 
 tions that were breaking in upon him. 
 
 But see ? Why starts Euric so suddenly ? and why 
 does he turn so pale? Why do his hands tremble? 
 and why is his brow bent so eagerly ? 
 
 "What is it?" asked the count, startled by the 
 strange event. 
 
 " Hold ! " whispered Euric, in a frantic tone. " You 
 were recovering once ? " 
 
 " From this wound ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Yes. I was getting well fast, and the doctor said I 
 
104 THE GTJNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 should be stout and well in a month. But suddenly 
 this change came on. Let's see on Friday morning I 
 felt the first relapse." 
 
 " The very time ! " gasped Euric to himself. 
 
 The count moved his head forward, and would have 
 caught his companion by the hand if he could. " For 
 mercy's sake, Euric, what is it ? " 
 
 " As I came this way I saw a hump-backed priest 
 pass out from this house ? " said the gunmaker, inter- 
 rogatively. 
 
 " Yes, yes," returned the count, speaking shortly and 
 quickly. " It was Savotano. He has attended me. 
 The duke recommended him." 
 
 " And was he here Thursday night ? " 
 
 "Thursday? Ah yes he watched with me that 
 night." 
 
 " And has he been in attendance since ? " 
 
 " Yes every day. But why do you ask ? Say 
 what is that meaning upon your face ? What is it ? " 
 
 At this moment the door of the apartment was 
 quietly, noiselessly opened, and Kopani, the surgeon, 
 entered the place. 
 
 " Ha!" cried Euric, starting towards him, and grasp- 
 ing him by the arm, "your patient is poisoned! A 
 deadly poison has been given him, and it is even now 
 eating his life away!" 
 
 " Impossible!" gasped the surgeon, straining his eyes 
 to see plainly who it was that spoke to him. " Ah," he 
 uttered, as he became somewhat used to the gloom of 
 the apartment, " is it you, sir?" 
 
 " Aye, but mind not that now. Cannot you do 
 something for the count ? He has been poisoned!" 
 
A STRANGE DISCOVERY. 105 
 
 " It cannot be!" 
 
 " I am ! I am!" cried Conrad Damonoff, starting up 
 to a sitting posture; "he speaks the truth! That 
 accursed priest! Oh, Olga! Olga! I never dreamed 
 that thou wast mine enemy!" 
 
 " But what is it all ?" the surgeon asked, gazing 
 first upon Euric and then upon the count. " Speak, 
 some one." 
 
 " Tell him," groaned Conrad. 
 
 " Listen," said the gunmaker. " I have my sus- 
 picions, but mind you, they are founded on facts, and 
 the facts are these : The Duke of Tula is well-nigh free 
 from the possession of property. His half of Drotzen 
 is all mortgaged, and he wants the other half. That 
 other half he cannot have while Damonoff lives. The 
 duke, too, has sworn that Eosalind Valdai shall be 
 his wife so he would have her property also. This 
 hump-backed priest is Olga's special tool. It was Olga 
 got him into the church, and it was Olga who freed 
 him more than once from deserved punishment. Last 
 Thursday evening he was with the duke in private 
 council, and he came from thence directly to this 
 place. Now you can judge for yourself." 
 
 The surgeon started slightly, and then he bowed his 
 head. A few moments he remained thus, and then he 
 leaped up and clasped his hands. 
 
 " You are right," he cried. " It is ! it is ! There is 
 no burning up, as I thought, of icy, wintry fire ; but 
 the fiendish work is from a human hand ! Hold ! I 
 know the symptoms. I know them now. Be quiet, 
 Conrad. It may not yet be too late." 
 
 As the surgeon spoke he hastily opened a small 
 
106 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 leathern case he carried with him, and from thence lie 
 took a powerful emetic. The woman was sent for, and 
 when she came she obtained warm water. The potion 
 was given a small quantity at a time at intervals of 
 about five minutes, until the desired effect was pro- 
 duced. A strange mass of stuff was thrown up, and 
 Kopani took it to the light and examined it. Most of 
 it was of dark, brownish color, but with streaks of yel- 
 low, and coarse blotches of red and green. The yellow 
 substance was of a mucous formation, while the red and 
 green seemed to be more liquid. 
 
 " 'Tis poison !" the surgeon said ; " and it has been 
 administered in small quantities." 
 
 " And cannot something be done ?" asked Euric, 
 eagerly. "Oh! save him if you can! save him, and 
 I'll bless you ever. You can oh! say you can !" 
 
 The surgeon caught the youth by the hand. There 
 was something in this noble spirit that moved him 
 and he knew now that all must have been forgiven be- 
 tween the two men. 
 
 " I'll try," he said, " I have antidotes with me. All 
 is not lost yet." 
 
 " Then hasten," urged Euric, half crazed beneath the 
 might of the strange discovery, which he had thus 
 helped to make. 
 
 " Be not uneasy. I will see that he suffers not for 
 want of human skill." And as the surgeon thus spoke 
 he moved to the side-board and fixed on an antidote ; 
 but he did not give it until the invalid had vomited all 
 he could. 
 
 " Hold !" cried Euric, as the surgeon took up the 
 
A STRANGE DISCOVERY. 107 
 
 wine -bottle to mix the antidote with. " Touch not a 
 thing here. Perhaps, the villain has poisoned them all !" 
 
 " So it may be," Kopani said, setting down the 
 bottle. He then turned to the woman, who had 
 remained standing by the fire like one in a trance, and 
 asked her to bring a fresh bottle of wine. She quickly 
 obeyed, and when she was gone Kopani took all. the 
 articles upon the table and set them on one side. He 
 would not throw them away, for he meant to analyze 
 them. 
 
 "When the woman returned Kopani mixed the new 
 potion, and administered it, and ere long afterwards 
 the count fell asleep. 
 
 " Ruric Nevel," said the surgeon, as soon as he was 
 sure the invalid would sleep, " will you remain here 
 awhile ? I wish to go and analyze some of these things. 
 I have only to go to the Academy. I will be back in 
 an hour at the furthest." 
 
 The gunmaker gladly consented to this ; and having 
 gathered up the phials and the wine-bottle, and con- 
 cealed them beneath his pelisse, the surgeon left. 
 
 Ruric Nevel was happier now, for hope was with 
 him while he prayed that God might spare the 
 unfortunate count. 
 
108 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW, 
 
 CHAPTEE XL 
 
 AN ASTOUNDING AFFAIR. 
 
 Half an hour had the gunmaker sat by the side of the 
 sick man's bed when he was aroused from the reverie 
 into which he had fallen by the gentle opening of the 
 door. He turned and beheld a human form emerging 
 from the narrow, dark entry way. As it came into the 
 room the watcher started, for he beheld the hump-backed 
 priest, Savotano. 
 
 " Who is here ? " the arch fiend whispered, shading 
 his eyes aud trying to peer into the gloom. 
 
 " sh !" whispered Ruric. " The count is asleep." 
 
 By this time our hero had so far overcome the first 
 emotion caused by the villain's entrance that he could 
 be calm. 
 
 " And who is this ? " the priest whispered, moving 
 nearer to the bed. " Ha ! The gunmaker ! " 
 
 " Yes," replied the youth, watching every look and 
 movement of the fellow most closely. 
 
 " You are in a strange place, I should say," Savotano 
 whispered, not looking the young man directly in the 
 face, but casting upon him a sidelong glance, as though 
 he dared not look direct. 
 
 " Speak not too loud, Sir Priest," said our he*o, deter- 
 mined to enter into no conversation with the man if he 
 could avoid it. " Do not awaken the count, for he is 
 very faint and weak." 
 
AN ASTOUNDING AFFAIR. 109 
 
 And then Euric had another reason. He feared if 
 Damonoff should awake that the strange discovery they 
 had made might be revealed ; and, of course, he wished 
 not that the villain should yet know how well he was 
 understood. 
 
 " But why are you here ? " pursued Savotano, who 
 seemed determined to know. " I am this poor man's 
 spiritual comforter, and I surely have a right to know 
 wherefore is the presence of one bearing the peculiar 
 relations towards him which are sustained by you. yi 
 
 Euric's first impulse was one of disgust and wrath* 
 but he managed to keep it to himself. 
 
 " Sir Priest," he returned, moving his chair noise-* 
 lessly nearer to the visitor, so that his whisper might 
 not disturb the sleeper, " I heard that the count was 
 dying, and I would not have him die without first for- 
 giving me for all that I had done." 
 
 " And has he done it ?" 
 
 "He has." 
 
 " And why do you remain here ? Where is his at- 
 tendant ?" 
 
 " She is out somewhere. The count has had a 
 strange fit a startling spasm and I feared if he had 
 another the woman could not manage him alone." 
 
 " Ah," uttered Savotano. " A spasm !" 
 
 " Yes, a most strange one as though something were 
 -at his heart as though his brain were on fire, and his 
 whole system shaking." 
 
 The priest turned his head away, but Euric saw 
 plainly the exultant look which rested there. There 
 was no mistaking any more. That one look for Euric 
 saw it was proof enough. 
 
110 THE GUNMAKEB OP MOSCOW. 
 
 " Well, well," the misshapen villain said, " I will call 
 again when he is awake. I would not have him die, and 
 I not by him." 
 
 Thus speaking, Savotano arose, and moved towards 
 the door. His step was eager, and his every look 
 betrayed some anxious purpose. He stopped as he 
 reached the door and looked back, but he did not 
 speak. Ruric was afraid he might go to the side-board 
 to look at the medicine, but he did not. He simply 
 cast one more glance at the watcher, and then left the 
 room. 
 
 In half an hour more the surgeon returned. His 
 face wore a clear, emphatic expression, and his move- 
 ments were all quick and prompt, as though each one 
 was for the purpose of announcing some self-evident 
 decision. 
 
 " Well," he said, with a quickly drawn breath, " we 
 have put the medicine to a test." And then he leaned 
 back and looked into Ruric's face. 
 
 " And what did you find ?" the young man asked. 
 
 " Just what we had expected. We have detected 
 arsenic in three of the medicines which the count had 
 to take ; but this poison is not alone. There is much 
 opium in the wine, even so that we could smell it when 
 our suspicions guided us. The poison has been most 
 adroitly fixed. The priest must have one of those re- 
 cipes which have been used by scientific poisoners, for 
 no physician in Moscow could have concocted the deadly 
 poison." 
 
 " But wherein was it so wondrously peculiar ?" asked 
 Ruric, with interest. 
 
 " Why in this : Arsenic was the principal poisoning 
 
AN ASTOUNDING AFFAIB. Ill 
 
 agent, but that alone would produce symptoms which 
 any physician would know at once. In this case there 
 was something present which overcame all the outward 
 signs of the poison, and only let it eat upon the vitals. 
 I know not the secret, though I know there is such an 
 one. Had it not been for your fortunate suspicions the 
 count would have died, and we should have supposed 
 he only died from the effects of the wound. The poison 
 was working silently, and surely without pain, and 
 without outward sign different from the usual sinking of 
 the worn and fainting body. But I have hopes now. 
 The villain must not know that we have discovered him. 
 We will let the thing run for the present." 
 
 Kopani was not a little surprised when he found that 
 the priest had been there during his absence, but be- 
 fore he could make any further remark the count 
 awoke. He felt very faint, but that strange sickness at 
 the stomach was lessened. The surgeon prepared some 
 suitable diluents, and having called in the woman he 
 gave directions that they should be given in large quan- 
 tities ; and also directed her to prepare some strong bar- 
 ley water for the patient to drink as he wanted bever- 
 age. 
 
 All the phials were replaced upon the sideboard, and 
 then refilled with liquids somewhat like those they had 
 before contained ; but the nurse was directed not to use 
 them. Everything that her patient was to take she was 
 to keep under her own charge in the kitchen ; and she 
 was also most particularly cautioned against allowing 
 the priest to gain anything from her. But Kopani 
 meant to be sure on that score. He had a little busi- 
 ness to transact, and then he was coming back to spend 
 
112 THE GUNMAKER OP MOSCOW. 
 
 the night himself by the count's side. He meant, at 
 all events, that the poisoner should have no more op- 
 portunity to exercise his diabolical science upon the 
 sick nobleman. He promised the count that he should 
 have safe and competent watchers thereafter. 
 
 It was fairly dark now, as Euric could see by raising 
 the curtain and looking out. He had no idea it was so 
 late. Time had passed without his notice. He moved 
 to the side of the bed and took the invalid's hand. 
 
 " I must go now," he said, " but if you are willing I 
 will come again 
 
 " You will come," cried Conrad, in reply, returning 
 the grasp of the hand with all his feeble power. " Oh ! 
 you must come often now. I hope I shall live. Per- 
 haps I shall. If I do, I shall owe that life to you. And 
 God knows for the feeling is even now firm in my 
 soul that I shall always remember how you saved me; 
 and I will never think, never, of the sad blow you struck 
 me. Come come to me when you can, for now now 
 as God lives I speak the truth now I love you ! " 
 
 " God bless and keep you," murmured Euric, in a 
 husky, tremulous voice ; and with these words, coming 
 from the very depths of his soul, he turned away and 
 left the room. He heard the voice of the count as he 
 moved the door open, and thanked God that 'twas a 
 blessing which fell upon his ears. 
 
 Ah, those who know not what true forgiveness is, 
 know not the holiest emotion of earth ! 
 
 Euric had left his sledge at a neighboring inn, and as 
 soon as he gained the street he bent his steps that way. 
 He had not gone half the distance from the residence 
 of the count to the inn, and was just upon the point of 
 
AN ASTOUNDING AFFAIR. 113 
 
 crossing the street, when he heard his name pronounced 
 by some one behind him. He stopped and looked 
 around, and saw a man approaching him. 
 
 It was too dark to distinguish faces plainly, even at 
 a usual conversational distance ; yet Kuric was not long 
 in concluding that the man who had thus hailed him 
 was a stranger. He was a medium sized man, and so 
 closely enveloped in his bonnet and pelisse that his 
 form and features would have been hidden, even had it 
 been lighter than it was. 
 
 "Did you speak to me?" asked the youth, as the 
 man came up. 
 
 " Yes, sir. Is your name Ruric Nevel ? " 
 
 " It is." 
 
 " Then you are wanted a few moments at the residence 
 of a lieutenant named Orsa." 
 
 " Alaric Orsa ?" asked Ruric. 
 
 "The same." 
 
 " But he does not live here in the Kremlin." 
 
 "He is here now, at any rate, and would see you." 
 
 " But you said he was at his residence," suggested 
 our hero, who was fearful that some evil might be 
 meant for him. 
 
 " I know nothing to the contrary, sir," the stranger 
 returned, promptly. " All I can say is Alaric Orsa 
 has fallen upon the ice, and hurt himself severely, and 
 upon being informed that you were near by with a 
 sledge, he asked that you might be sent for." 
 
 " Hurt himself, has he ?" 
 
 Yes, sir." 
 
 "Badly?" 
 
114 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " I believe no bones are broken, but he is so badly 
 sprained that he cannot walk." 
 
 "Ah then perhaps he wants me to carry him 
 home." 
 
 " I can't say as to that, sir. They only sent me to 
 find you. I don't know the man myself." 
 
 There was something so frank in the statement thus 
 made that Euric believed it all honest, and he stood no 
 longer in doubt. 
 
 " I will go," he said ; " but lead the way quickly, for 
 I have no time to waste." 
 
 " I will lead as fast as you will want to follow," an- 
 swered the man. 
 
 And thus speaking he turned back, and having gone 
 Some dozen rods by the way they had both come, he 
 turned down a narrow street which led towards the 
 river. Half way down this he went, and then he turned 
 again this time to the left and thus Euric found him- 
 self in a narrow, dark lane, within which the snow was 
 deep and almost untrodden. 
 
 " Look you," cried the youth, stopping as he found 
 himself over knees in snow, " I think we have gone 
 about far enough in this direction." 
 
 " This is the shortest way," said the stranger guide, 
 apologetically. " I did not think the snow was so deep 
 here. But it's only in the next street." 
 
 " Then on you go." 
 
 Again the stranger started, and Euric followed. The 
 lane was a crooked one, and more than once the youth 
 had another inclination to stop. He had no direct 
 fear, but yet he had some just grounds for doubt. 
 Had he not seen what had been attempted against the 
 
AN ASTOUNDING AFFAIR. 115 
 
 count he might have had no such doubts now ; but as 
 it was, he thought that if one attempt had been made 
 to ruin him through the emperor's displeasure by the 
 man who was now trying to murder the count, it would 
 not be at all improbable that some more effective plan 
 should be adopted towards him. He was pondering 
 thus when they came to a cross lane full as narrow as 
 the one they had been traversing, into which the guide 
 turned. 
 
 "Look you once more, sirrah," cried the youth, now 
 stopping short. "Do you call this a street?" 
 
 " Yes, sir ; and on this street we shall find the man 
 we seek. It is only a short cut from where he is to the 
 inn where your horse is ; so you won't have to retrace 
 these dubious ways. Only a little further, sir." 
 
 " But I don't like tide." 
 
 " Why, bless you, sir, if you wish to go direct to the 
 inn where your horse is, this will be the nearest way." 
 
 "Well, on you go." 
 
 And on they went again now slipping on the ice 
 now in the snow to their knees and anon stumbling 
 along over frozen hubbies and deep holes. At length 
 the guide stopped and opened a small gate which was 
 fixed in a high, thick, brick wall. Ruric hesitated here 
 again. He had no weapon of any kind. If he had had 
 even a pistol, or a sword, he would have cared not. 
 But he did not show his thoughts to his guide. The 
 gate opened with a creak upon its frosty hinges, and 
 by the dim starlight the youth could see an open court 
 beyond, and, further still, a house of some kind loomed 
 up. 
 
 " This place seems not to be used much," remarked 
 
116 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 Buric, as he saw the snow in the court was trodden but 
 little only one or two tracks being visible from the 
 gate to the house. 
 
 " Ah yes you said what ? " 
 
 " I said this place didn't seem to be used much," the 
 youth repeated, though he was sure the fellow heard 
 the first time. 
 
 "Ah! yes a the usual entrance is the other way, 
 by the sledge path." 
 
 " And where is that ? " Euric asked, not being able 
 to see any such path. 
 
 " O it's around on the other side." 
 
 By this time they had reached the door of the house, 
 which our hero could now see had an old, dilapidated 
 appearance, and the guide plied the iron knocker with 
 zeal. Ere long a man made his appearance with a 
 lantern in his hand. 
 
 " Ah ! has the gunmaker come ? " the latter asked. 
 
 " Yes," returned the guide,, 
 
 " Well I'm glad he's here, but I don't believe Orsa 
 is fit to move," said the first speaker. And then turn- 
 ing to Euric he said : 
 
 " But I'm glad you've come, sir, for the lieutenant 
 wishes to see you very much. This way, sir." 
 
 This was all so frank and prompt that the young man 
 began to think he had been a fool for being frightened. 
 He followed the man with the lantern into the hall, and 
 from thence down a long flight of stairs into a base- 
 ment. The lantern did not give much light, but it was 
 sufficient to reveal the fact that the house was an old 
 one, and not very large, for Euric could see windows 
 upon the opposite side of the hall which looked out of 
 
AN ASTOUNDINO AFFAIR. 117 
 
 doors. As he reached the foot of the stairs he found 
 himself upon a brick floor, and he saw that the walls 
 were of stone. A little further on a door was opened, 
 and this led to a small apartment within which was a 
 fireplace and a good fire burning. 
 
 " There, good sir," said the second guide, " if you 
 will wait a few moments, I will go and see how the lieu- 
 tenant is." 
 
 As soon as Euric was left alone he looked about him. 
 The room was of moderate size for a small house, and 
 the idea of inhabiting the cellars was a common one in 
 Moscow in the winter season. The windows, two in 
 number, were closed up to the ceiling, and very small, 
 and were patched with pieces of board in two or three 
 places. Ere long the man came back, and with him 
 came three others, one of whom the youth recognized 
 as the individual who had conducted him to the house. 
 
 " Orsa will see you, sir," said he with the lantern. 
 
 Euric arose to follow him, the other three men ap- 
 proaching the fire as though they would remain there. 
 He had reached the door and passed through into the 
 room beyond, when he thought he heard footsteps be- 
 hind him. It was a sliding, shuffling sound, and he 
 turned his head to see what it was. As he did so he 
 received a blow which staggered him, and which would 
 have felled an ordinary man to the floor. He gathered 
 himself quickly up, but before he could fairly turr 
 about he received a second blow, ^heavier than the first, 
 which brought him upon his knees. In an instant all 
 four of the men were upon him, and he could see that 
 they had ropes in their hands with which to bind him. 
 all his might he threw the fellow who held his 
 
118 THE GTTNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 right hand back against the wall, and another he sent 
 in an opposite direction, and in a moment more he 
 would have been upon his feet ; but just at bhat instant 
 a noose was adroitly slipped over his head, and as the 
 rope tightened about his neck he was drawn back upon 
 the brick floor again. 
 
 " Now resist any more, and we'll choke you as sure 
 as fate," cried the man who had held the lantern, and 
 who now had a hold upon the rope. 
 
 " Oh," groaned Buric, while the massive cords 
 worked like cables in his arms and shoulders, " give me 
 a fair chance. Let me be up and free then lock your 
 doors, if you please." 
 
 " No, no, good sir," replied the ruffiian, with a wicked 
 smile. " "We know your power, and we are not dis- 
 posed to test it further. We have had trouble enough 
 already. Shall we " 
 
 The man stopped speaking, for at that moment an- 
 other noose was slipped down over Buric's head, and 
 ere he could avoid it, it had been drawn tightly about 
 his arms. He was now at the mercy of his captors, 
 and having rolled him over upon his breast, they pro- 
 ceeded to secure his arms behind him, which being 
 done, they bade him arise. Of course he could have 
 no desire to lie upon the cold bricks, and he got upon 
 his feet as well as he could. 
 
 " Now, Buric Nevel, I will conduct you to your own 
 apartment," said the leader of the gang. 
 
 "But wherefore is this?" the gunmaker gasped, 
 rendered almost speechless with the mingled emotions 
 of surprise and anger. " Why have you done this ? 
 Whose hirelings are you, that you thus waylay and 
 
AN ASTOUNDING AFFAIR. 119 
 
 seize upon an honest man, who has done no harm to 
 any of you ? " 
 
 " Never mind that now, sir," the ruffian coolly an- 
 swered ; " suffice it for you to know that you are safe 
 for the present." 
 
 " But will you not tell me what this is for ? There 
 is some intent." 
 
 "Yes and come with me and you shall see. Come." 
 
 Thus speaking the man turned once more, and hav- 
 ing picked up his lantern be moved on, while the 
 others, taking Ruric by the ai-ms, followed after. The 
 prisoner made no resistance now, for he knew that it 
 would be useless. At a short distance another flight 
 of stairs was reached. 
 
 " Down here ? " cried Kuric, with a shudder. 
 
 " Of course. You'd freeze up here." 
 
 These words struck harshly upon the youth's soul, foi 
 they meant that he was to be detained is this lonesome, 
 place. 
 
 At the bottom of these stairs they came to a vaulted 
 passage, at the end of which was a door. This was 
 opened, and Euric was led through into the place be- 
 yond. He cast his eyes quickly about, and he found 
 himself in a narrow apartment, the walls and floor of 
 which were of stone, and the roof of brick, the latter 
 being arched. In one corner was a couch, and upon it 
 were some old skins. 
 
 And here the youth was to be left. His guide sim^ 
 ply pointed to the low couch, and then turned away, 
 Kuric asked a question, but it was not answered. In a 
 few momer^s more the heavy door was closed upon him, 
 and he was in total darkness. He sought the couch, 
 and with a deep groan he sank down ! 
 
120 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A CONFEEENCE, AND HOW IT WAS INTEBBUPTED. 
 
 Rosalind Valdai and Zenobie were together in theif 
 sitting-room, and the former had been weeping. She 
 looked paler than when we saw her before, and her brow 
 was heavy. Smiles no longer crept about the dimples 
 of her cheeks, and her eyes had a sad, mournful look. 
 Her face plainly showed that she had suffered much. 
 
 " My dear mistress," urged the faithful Zenobie, 
 throwing her arms about Rosalind's neck, and drawing 
 her head upon her bosom, " weep no more. Oh, there 
 must be some hope ! My mistress, are you sure the 
 duke will persist in this ?" 
 
 " Aye, Zenobie, I know he will," Rosalind answered, 
 while the old shudder came back to her frame, and the 
 old grief to her soul. 
 
 " And have you no hope ?" 
 
 " Only one in Ruric. He may help me." 
 
 " I hope he can. He is a noble man. " 
 
 Rosalind answered with a look of gratitude, and Ze- 
 nobie proceeded : 
 
 " Where is the titled lord more noble than he ? Oh, 
 were I to choose a husband how, and he was free, and 
 I were in your position, I'd choose Ruric Nevel before 
 all the emperors of earth !" 
 
 " So would I," murmured the fair maiden. 
 
A CONFERENCE, AND HOW IT WAS INTERRUPTED. 121 
 
 " If I were a countess, as you are, how I should love 
 to make such a man a count." 
 
 " But my marrying him would not make him a count. 
 Were he a count, and I like what he is now in station, 
 his marrying me would give me the title ; but we poor 
 women do not have that power." 
 
 " Well then we should so much the more have the 
 right to choose our own husbands." 
 
 Eosalind made no verbal answer, but her look showed 
 that she sympathized with the sentiment. 
 
 " My mistress," at length spoke Zenobie again, this 
 time in a low whisper, " why may we not leave this 
 place?" 
 
 Eosalind started as though she had heard the speech 
 of a spirit, and for a moment a look of hope gleamed 
 upon her face ; but it quickly passed away. 
 
 " Alas ! where should we go ?" 
 
 This was a part of the plan which Zenobie had not 
 thought of ; and ere she could make any reply, one of 
 the female domestics entered the apartment and an- 
 nounced that a woman wished to see her young mis- 
 tress. Eosalind asked who it was, but the girl could 
 only tell her that it was a middle-aged woman, and very 
 good-looking. The young countess bade Zenobie go 
 down and conduct her up. Ere long afterwards the at- 
 tendant returned, and with her came Claudia Nevel. 
 Eosalind had not seen her for over a year, but she knew 
 her at once, and starting up from her seat, she bounded 
 forward and embraced her warmly. 
 
 " Ah, Aunt Claudia, I am glad you have come. You 
 will let me call you aunt, as I did in those happy times 
 gone by." 
 
122 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " Aye, sweet Rosalind," returned the widow, imprint* 
 ing a warm kiss upon the fair white brow. 
 
 The countess noticed the strange sadness of Madame 
 Nevel's tone, and then, for the first time, also, she no- 
 ticed the sadness of her look. 
 
 " Aunt Claudia, you look sad," she said, while a chill 
 dread struck to her heart. 
 
 " Aye," the widow uttered, as though she were afraid 
 to venture the question she wished to ask. " I have 
 been very sad, because I have had a terrible fear. Has 
 has not Euric been here ?" 
 
 " When ?" asked the maiden, catching the whole fear 
 now. 
 
 " Within these three days ?" 
 
 " Just then. Day before yesterday he was here in 
 the forenoon." 
 
 " And I have not seen him since !" the poor woman 
 groaned. 
 
 " Not seen him ? Ruric gone ? Oh ! where, where ?" 
 
 " He said he was going to see the Count Damonoff 
 when he left here," interposed Zenobie, who joined in 
 the grief. 
 
 " Aye so he told me," returned the mother. " I have 
 been there, and they have not seen him since that 
 evening. The surgeon who attends the count went out 
 to the inn where Euric put up his horse, and the ani- 
 mal was still there, his owner having not called there 
 for him." 
 
 "Oh! God have mercy I" ejaculated the young coun- 
 tess, in a paroxysm of grief. 
 
 At this moment there came a rap upon the door, and 
 
A CONFERENCE, AND HOW IT WAS INTERRUPTED. 123 
 
 Zenobie went to answer the summons. It was the black 
 monk, Vladimir, who thus demanded admittance. At 
 any other time both Rosalind and Claudia might have 
 been startled by the strange visit, but now they in- 
 stinctively hailed his coming as a source of hope. 
 
 " Ladies," spoke the fat monk, approaching the spot 
 where they stood, and bowing very low, " you will par- 
 don this unseemly method of gaining admission here, 
 but I had no other choice, for I feared the duke would 
 refuse me did I apply to him. I have come to learn, if 
 possible, where Ruric Nevel may be." 
 
 The widow tried to answer, but instead of speaking 
 she burst into tears. Rosalind struggled a moment with 
 the deep emotions that stirred within her, and then she 
 too fell to weeping. Zenobie was obliged to answer. 
 
 " Good father," she said, " we are all seeking the same 
 knowledge. His poor mother has come here to try if 
 she might find some clew to the noble youth ; and thus 
 did my mistress gain the first intelligence that he was 
 gone. Pray, good sir, do you know anything about 
 him ? What have you heard ?" 
 
 Both Claudia and the countess now raised their 
 heads, for they would hear what reply the monk could 
 make. 
 
 " I only know that he is missing," Vladimir replied. 
 " A little while ago I called upon the sick count, and 
 there I learned that Ruric Nevel had mysteriously dis- 
 appeared. And I learned, also, of the noble purpose 
 for which he visited the count." 
 
 "Aye," interposed Claudia, with sudden energy, " he 
 went to try and gain the count's forgiveness. I don't 
 
124 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 think they spoke falsely there. I don't think any there 
 would wish him harm from any lingering revenge." 
 
 " No, no," returned the monk ; " his mission thither 
 was most nobly fulfilled. But," he continued, relapsing 
 into perplexity, " I cannot imagine what has become of 
 him. But hold my dear child is there not a hump- 
 backed, ungainly priest who sometimes visits your 
 guardian ?" 
 
 This was addressed to Rosalind, and a fearful tremor 
 shook her frame as she heard it 3 for its import was at 
 once apparent. 
 
 " Do you suspect She had started forward and 
 grasped the monk's arm, as she thus commenced, but 
 she could not continue. The thought she would have 
 uttered was terrible. 
 
 " Go on," whispered Valdimir, bending his head low 
 down so as to catch her very thoughts if they left her 
 lips. " What would you say ?" 
 
 " Oh ! I ought not and yet I know his soul is capa- 
 ble even of that." 
 
 Thus much the fair countess murmured to herself ; 
 and then she gazed up and spoke to the strange man 
 before her : 
 
 " Do you suspect my guardian ?" 
 
 " Do you suspect him ?" the monk returned. 
 
 " Oh, I know not what to think." 
 
 " But listen," resumed Yladimir, earnestly. " I would 
 know all that you know, and then perhaps I can assist 
 you. I mean to save Kuric, if I can ; and if I can but 
 gain a clew to him now, I can surely save you both. I 
 possess a wondrous power for the good of those who 
 
A CONFERENCE, AND HOW IT WAS INTERRUPTED. 125 
 
 trust me. Now, what end could the duke have in view 
 in wishing for Euric's removal ?" 
 
 In spite of all doubts Rosalind found herself trusting 
 the monk. There was an air of conscious truth and 
 power in his look and tone that won upon her. 
 
 " Good father," she returned, after a few moments' 
 thought, " the duke has sworn by a most fearful oath 
 that he will have .me for his wife ! " 
 
 " Ha ! " cried the monk, starting back a pace and 
 clenching his hands, does he mean that ?" 
 
 " Oh, most truly he does," the young countess re- 
 plied; and she spoke more firmly now, for there was 
 something in the sudden energy of the monk's exclam- 
 ation that gave her hope. 
 
 " Then he wants your estates, too. He is aiming for 
 wealth with a high hand. And do you suppose he fears 
 Euric Nevel in connection with this scheme ?" 
 
 " Yes, father I will speak plainly, for I trust you. 
 He knows that I love Euric, and he knows, too, that 
 Euric loves me. May he not, under such circumstances, 
 fear that the noble youth will try to thwart him ?" 
 
 " Very likely," returned Vladimir, thoughtfully. " I 
 will profit by this, and I am much mistaken if you do 
 not also profit by it. I have those in Moscow who will 
 work for me. I cannot, of course, directly assure you 
 of salvation, for Euric may never be found!" 
 
 A quick groan escaped from Claudia's lips as the 
 monk thus spoke ; but before Eosalind could speak the 
 door of the apartment was opened and the Duke of 
 Tula strode in ! He stopped as he came nigh to where 
 the company stood, and his eyes flashed and his frame 
 trembled with passion. 
 
126 THE GUNMAKEE OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " How now ?" he cried, as soon as he could command 
 speech. " What means this gathering here in my own 
 palace ? Meddling monk, how dare you drag your de- 
 testable form hither? Out, reptile! Out! And let 
 me catch you here again and my dogs shall tear you up 
 as they do carrion !" 
 
 Without a word the monk turned away. His face was 
 pale as death, and his hands were clenched till the 
 fingers' ends seemed to settle themselves into the palms. 
 
 " Bemember," the duke exclaimed, as Valdimir 
 reached the door, " if you dare to cross my doorstool 
 again : 
 
 " Hold !" gasped the monk, in a hoarse, startling tone, 
 " Offer no more threats. But mark me, proud Duke. 
 You shall see the day on which you'll wish God had 
 made you a dog ere he gave you speech to arouse the 
 just vengeance of Vladimir!" 
 
 And thus speaking the black monk disappeared. 
 
 " And you, woman who art thou ?" Olga exclaimed, 
 turning an angry look upon Claudia. 
 
 " I am a mourning mother in search of her lost son," 
 the woman sadly replied. 
 
 " Ha ! I see the likeness now. You are the woman 
 Nevel mother of the young villain who bears that 
 name ! Leave my place at once, and don't you dare to 
 enter it again!" 
 
 The poor woman tried to speak, but she could not. 
 With a deep sob she turned away, and slowly walked 
 from the room. 
 
 " Now," resumed the duke, turning towards Bosalind, 
 " what means this sacred council ?" 
 
 " My lord," returned the countess, struggling hard to 
 
A CONFERENCE, AND HOW IT WAS INTERRUPTED. 127 
 
 overcome her powerful emotions, " they were here to- 
 to" 
 
 But she could not finish the sentence. Her soul was 
 too deeply moved. She only gave the foul wretch one 
 look of horror and disgust, and then covering her face 
 with her hands, she sobbed aloud. 
 
 If the bad man had anything further to say, he re 
 served it for some future time. 
 
128 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE PLOTTER IS AT WORK. 
 
 The Count Conrad Damonoff was able to sit up. He 
 was in a great stuffed chair, playing with a favorite dog, 
 while near by him sat Stephen Urzen. The young 
 nobleman had gained rapidly since the visit of Euric, 
 for the antidotes he had taken had proved efficient, and 
 he soon came back to the point he had reached before 
 the administering of the poison. 
 
 " Stephen," he said, pushing his dog gently from him, 
 " has anything been heard yet from Ruric Nevel ?" 
 
 " Not that I know of," returned Urzen. 
 
 " I wish I were able to assist in the search. But 
 have you heard anything of what suspicions may be 
 afloat?" 
 
 " Only that the hump-backed priest is looked upon 
 by some as having had some hand in it." 
 
 Urzen did not know the secret of his friend's strange 
 relapse, for that had been kept private ; so he had no 
 clew to the priest's true character such as the count 
 possessed. 
 
 " I believe the fellow is a villain," Urzen resumed. 
 " He is surely a villainous-looking man." 
 
 " So he is," responded the count. 
 
 " I never saw such a wicked look before in any human 
 faoa" 
 
THE PLOTTEE IS AT WORK. 129 
 
 " Ah," uttered a voice close by the door, " who comes 
 in for the flattering remark, my friend ?" 
 
 Both the count and Stephen turned, and the hump- 
 backed priest stood in their presence. 
 
 " Ha !" he uttered, as he noticed the position of the 
 invalid. " Up ? So you are recovering ?" 
 
 " Aye," returned Conrad, " I am gaining fast now, as 
 you may see." 
 
 The priest struggled hard with his feelings, and at 
 length he managed to conceal the deep disappointment 
 he felt. That is, he hid it from Stephen's eyes, but the 
 count knew him too well. 
 
 " You have not been very punctual of late, father," 
 the latter said, also trying to conceal his real feelings. 
 
 " No, no," returned Savotano, in a perplexed manner, 
 " I admit it ; but, the fact is, I have been called away. 
 Let's see I have not been here since the evening on 
 which I found a stranger sitting by your side while you 
 were asleep." 
 
 " Who was the stranger ? " 
 
 "I don't know. I think I never saw him before. 
 He was a good looking young man. Perhaps he was 
 some relative of yours." 
 
 This downright falsehood so bold and flagrant 
 astonished even the count, for he knew the conversation 
 which the priest had held with Euric on that occasion. 
 
 " I thought you knew that man," the count said, 
 looking the priest sharply in the face. 
 
 " No. I may have seen him before, but I did not 
 surely recognize him then. And now, how happened 
 this sudden change in your disease, my son ? The 
 doctors thought you were dying when I was here last." 
 
130 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " Yea I know," answered the count, still hiding the 
 deep disgust that moved within him ; " but a new 
 physician was called in, and he prescribed a new medi- 
 cine. He said the medicine I had been taking was un- 
 suited to my case, and so he gave me new. You can see 
 the result." 
 
 " Yes I see," was the reply ; " and as you seem to 
 have very good company I'll take my leave. I have 
 several calls to make before night." 
 
 The count made no reply to this, and as the priest 
 found that he was not urged to remain he arose at 
 once. He stopped twice before he reached the door, 
 but in neither case did he speak. As soon as he gained 
 the street he turned towards the upper part of the city, 
 and he stopped not until he had reached the palace of 
 the Duke of Tula. The old porter admitted him with- 
 out question, and he made his way at once to the hall, 
 where he inquired for the duke. One of the servants 
 went in search of his master, and when he returned he 
 bade the priest follow. 
 
 The duke was in his private room, and as soon as the 
 servant had withdrawn he bade his visitor take a seat. 
 
 " Now, Savotano, how is it ? " he asked ; " have you 
 seen the count ? " 
 
 " Aye I am from there now. By all that's bad, my 
 lord, the villain is gaming." 
 
 "Gaining?" repeated Olga, with surprise. "But 
 you assured me he was well nigh gone." 
 
 " So he was so he was. But he is recovering now." 
 
 "But how is it?" 
 
 " Why he tells me he had a new physician, and that 
 
THE PLOTTER IS AT WORK. 131 
 
 the old medicine is all condemned, and an entire new 
 course prescribed." 
 
 "And under this new treatment he is recovering, 
 eh?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "Well, have jou not taken some measures to fix this 
 new medicine ? Savotano, you must not let him slip 
 now." 
 
 " Ah, my lord, I have only told you how he explained 
 the matter. 1 have another explanation." 
 
 " What is it, sir priest. 
 
 " Why they simply know that some one has at- 
 tempted to poison the count." 
 
 " Ha ! Did they say anything ? " 
 
 " No there was no need. I know that the medicine 
 he was taking before was the right kind of medicine, so 
 far as it came from the hands of the surgeon. And 
 then there is another thing : The count must have had 
 some powerful antidote on purpose for the poison." 
 
 " How do you know that ?" 
 
 " Simply because he would not have now been alive 
 had not such been the case. You may be sure, my 
 lord, that they know poison has been administered. 
 They have discovered it in some way, and taken the 
 most effective and speedy method to overcome it. I 
 know this." 
 
 "And do you think they suspect you?" the duke 
 asked with some show of uneasiness. 
 
 " I don't know, but I fear they do. However, that 
 amounts to nothing only to prevent me from working 
 any farther at present in the same direction. I have 
 not laid myself open to detection in any way. 'Tis too 
 
132 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 bad ! In four-and-twenty hours more he would have 
 been a dead man." 
 
 " Then you know when the discovery was made ?" 
 
 "Yes on the afternoon before Euric Nevel was 
 captured. I was there just before night, and the gun- 
 maker was then there, and I noticed that the phials 
 were gone from the table, though I gave no signs then 
 of having noticed it. They had even then commenced 
 some treatment for his cure, for I could see that the 
 appearance of his skin had changed. You must not 
 blame me." 
 
 " I do not, Savotano. But there may be some way 
 left yet." 
 
 " O, yes there are hundred ways in which we can 
 dispose of him. But I may find some way yet before 
 he gets out." 
 
 " Look you," the duke said, after a short pondering 
 over his own thoughts, " you must watch every chance. 
 Something may turn up in our favor. You may find 
 some opportunity to finish him yet. I wish you 
 could." 
 
 " I will do all I can, be sure of that. I shall watch 
 narrowly. And now about the other one. Young 
 Nevel is safe, and can be disposed of at any moment. 
 I have let him live thus far because I had no orders 
 otherwise." 
 
 " Ay that was right," replied Olga ; and as he did 
 so he arose and commenced to pace the room. The 
 priest followed him with his eyes, but said nothing. 
 At length the duke stopped and looked Savotano in the 
 face. 
 
THE PLOTTER IS AT WORK. 133 
 
 " It would not be a difficult case to kill him ?" he ut- 
 iered, in a low whisper. 
 
 " Not at all. Nothing could be more easy. 13 
 
 " And could detection ensue ?" 
 
 " In no possible way." 
 
 " Then" 
 
 " Listen," spoke the hump-back, as Olga hesitated,, 
 " I strongly suspect that 'twas this same gunmaker that 
 led to the investigation of that medicine ; and if it was 
 he, then you will be more quickly suspected than I 
 shall." 
 
 " Ha ! Why think you so ?" 
 
 " Because he is a fellow of wondrous wit and intelli- 
 gence, and can see without being told. He has had 
 several conferences here, and it was from here that he 
 went direct to the count's residence. He knows by 
 this time why the duel was hatched up, and if he has 
 half the mind I give him credit for he will know that 
 you are at the bottom of the poisoning business. I 
 am sure of this." 
 
 " You are right, Savotano. Let him dio !" 
 
 " I had thought myself that that would be the best 
 way ; for if he were at large you would not be safe." 
 
 " You can have him killed without noise or disturb- 
 ance ?" 
 
 " I think so," replied the priest, with a wicked smile. 
 " At all events, his noise would not hurt any one, for he 
 is rather too far away fiom the world to make himself 
 heard." 
 
 "Where is he?" 
 
 " Why, where you recommended : In the furthest 
 
134 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 vault beneath your old bathing-house; and that is a 
 place where he cannot be readily found." 
 
 " And what disposition can you make of the body 
 after the work is done ?" 
 
 " Why that is simple. It can be hidden in the old 
 conduit. You know the conduit still exists there, and 
 probably in some places between there and the river it 
 is perfect ; but near the building it is all in ruins. The 
 body can be hidden so far in that no stench can come 
 from it in summer time even to those in the vault it- 
 self. So you see that is easy." 
 
 " Then let the work be done to-night." 
 
 " To-morrow night, my lord, will do as well, for I am 
 engaged to-night." 
 
 " Very well let it be to-morrow. But mind this 
 is settled. There is no more question about this affair. 
 When I see you again I trust you will have no reason 
 to offer jsviiy Euric Nevel has not been disposed of." 
 
 " You need have no fears on that head, my lord. You 
 may consider that the gunmaker is dead." 
 
 " Eight ! So let it be." 
 
 And thus did the stout duke dispose of Euric Nevel ! 
 
 Again Olga took a turn across the room, and when 
 he stopped there was a dark cloud upon his brow. 
 
 " Savotano," he said, " there is one more man whom 
 I at least would be assured is not in my way. I mean 
 that infernal monk." 
 
 " I saw him this morning, my lord, and I am sure he 
 is watching me. And he is not alone. He has others 
 with him. I have been followed, and one of my men 
 the one who entrapped Nevel told me, not two hours 
 ago, that he knew his steps had been followed." 
 
THE PLOTTEB IS AT WORK. 135 
 
 " And do you think this monk is at the bottom of 
 " asked the duke, with some uneasiness. 
 
 " I know it, for I have seen him when I knew he was 
 watching me." 
 
 " Then why have you not got him out of the way ? " 
 
 " Aha," uttered the priest, with a dubious shake of 
 the head, " we cannot always do as we would. But he 
 shall not live long if I can help him off ; and 1 think 
 the opportunity may offer itself." 
 
 " He is a bold fellow. Why I found him only yes- 
 terday in my own palace in the chamber of the 
 countess." 
 
 " Indeed ! And you could not have disposed of him 
 then ? " 
 
 " Not well. It was in broad day, and people were 
 about. But if I find him there again my sword shall 
 find his heart. I have given him legal warning. But," 
 continued the duke, after some further thought, "you 
 must be careful in your dealings with him. He may 
 have some organized band always about him." 
 
 "I will be caught in no trap," returned the priest, 
 confidently. " He shall find that I can be as keen as he 
 can. But it is very strange " 
 
 " What is strange ? " asked Olga, starting, for he, 
 too, had been thinking of a very strange thing. 
 
 " Why that this black monk should turn up here in 
 Moscow so suddenly, and commence, the first thing, to 
 dog my footsteps, and hang about your palace." 
 
 "Aye," responded Olga. "And the same thought 
 was in my mind when you spoke. But never mind he 
 shall not escape me if he presumes much more. They 
 shall know that the Duke of Tula is not to be trifled 
 
136 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 with. There is but one power in Moscow above mine, 
 and that is the emperor himself ; and I may say that 
 even he is not above me. He cannot get along without 
 me. Does anything turn up to puzzle him he sends 
 straightway for me." 
 
 " Then use your power for your own good, my lord." 
 
 " I will. Fear not for me on that score." 
 
 At this juncture the priest arose to take his leave. 
 
 " You have your instructions," said Olga. 
 
 " I remember them well, my lord and they shall be 
 carried out to the letter." 
 
 " And when done, let me know." 
 
 " I will obey." 
 
 And once more the misshapen priest was in the 
 street, and the duke was alone. 
 
 " Ah, my lord," muttered the pliant tool to himself, 
 as he walked thoughtfully along, " you may be a little 
 too confident of your own power. I have known such 
 things in Russia ! " 
 
THE MYSTIC TBIBUNAL. 137 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 THE MYSTIC TBIBUNAL. 
 
 Away back of the old cathedral of Moscow, and in a 
 narrow, dark court which was overlooked by the towers 
 of the giant edifice, stood a curiously constructed stone 
 building, which, though not connected bodily with the 
 cathedral, yet seemed to belong to it. It was low and 
 broad, with a flat, tiled roof, and without a visible win- 
 dow. Within one of the apartments of this building 
 an apartment away down in the bowels of the earth, 
 where the light of day never came were seated six men. 
 The room was of fair size, and the floor, the walls and 
 the ceiling were of dark stone. Wooden benches were 
 arranged about the place ; and there were some other 
 articles of furniture there, too strange contrivances 
 they were, and fashioned after various shapes and pat- 
 terns. But of that anon. The place was lighted by a 
 large hanging lamp, which had just power enough to 
 make the room gloomy and dismal. The six men sat 
 about a table, on which were a book and sword, and 
 the most prominent man there was Vladimir the Monk ! 
 
 And Vladimir alone exposed his face. All the rest 
 wore black masks, their robes being of the same melan- 
 choly hue. They sat there silent as death, Vladimir 
 gazing down upon the table, and the other five gazing 
 fixedly upon him. They were stout men, all of them, 
 
138 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 and they bore themselves toward Vladimir as bears a 
 servant to his acknowledged master. 
 
 " The hour is waxing late," said Vladimir, at length 
 looking up from the table. His voice sounded in that 
 place like the echo of a tomb. It was low and hollow, 
 and the others started as they heard it. 
 
 "There's time yet to spare, master," replied one who 
 sat next the monk. 
 
 " I trust we shall not be disappointed," said Vladi- 
 mir, at the expiration of a few moments more. 
 
 To this no answer was returned. 
 
 At length there came a dull echo from overhead, and 
 the six dark sitters started up to listen. The sound 
 grew louder, and soon it sent down into that dismal 
 chamber the notes of coming footsteps. In a few 
 moments more the heavy iron door creaked upon its 
 hinges, and three men entered, and soon behind them 
 came three more. Those who came in advance were 
 two of them leading the third as a prisoner. And so 
 it was with those behind. The iron door creaked 
 again, and when the heavy bolts had been shoved into 
 their sockets, the two prisoners were led forward. 
 
 "Master," spoke one of the new-comers, "we have 
 brought the prisoners two of them as you com- 
 manded." 
 
 " It is well," said Vladimir. " Let them be brought 
 before us." 
 
 As the two men are brought where the light can strike 
 upon their faces we see the two guides who conducted 
 Euric Nevel to his place of confinement. One of them 
 was he who met Ruric in the street, and the other is 
 the one who guided him into the old bath-house with 
 
THE MYSTIC TRIBUNAL. 139 
 
 the lantern in his hand. They shuddered fearfully as 
 they gazed around upon the dismal scene, and their 
 looks plainly showed that they knew not why they had 
 been brought thither. 
 
 " Lesko Totma /" pronounced Vladimir. 
 
 The first of the prisoners he who had met Euric in 
 the street started as he heard that name, and tried to 
 speak. 
 
 " Are you the man ?" asked the monk, looking into 
 his face. 
 
 " Yes, holy father," the wretch tremblingly replied. 
 
 " Then stand you here in front of me." 
 
 The fellow was moved up in front of the table, and 
 surprise and fear seemed to be struggling for the mas- 
 tery over him, for he recognized now the strange monk 
 about whom he had probably heard so much. 
 
 " Lesko Totma," said Vladimir, lowly and slowly, 
 " you have been seen much in the company of a hump- 
 backed priest named Savotano. You know such a priest, 
 do you not ?" 
 
 The man hesitated. He gazed furtively about him, 
 and trembled more than before. 
 
 "Answer me!" 
 
 " Yes, sir I know him." 
 
 " And now, sir, be sure that you answer me directly 
 and truly. Do you know a young gunmaker named 
 RuricNevel?" 
 
 The fellow started with a perceptible quake as this 
 question was asked, but he seemed to have been pre- 
 pared for it, for his answer was direct. 
 
 " No, sir I do not." 
 
 " Ha beware ! Think well, before you speak." 
 
140 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " If you mean the man who fought the duel with the 
 Count Damonoff, then I have heard of him ; but I do 
 not know that I ever saw him." 
 
 " You are sure of this ? " 
 
 " Of course I am." 
 
 "Frederick Viska!" 
 
 The second prisoner now came forward. He was a 
 few years younger than his companion, though some- 
 what larger, and evidently more bold. Totma was con* 
 ducted out of the apartment as Viska came forward. 
 
 " You, too, have been in the company of this priest, 
 Savotano, have you not ? " the monk asked. 
 
 " I know him," Viska replied, with a slight touch of 
 defiance in his tone. He had not surely looked about 
 him to see those strange contrivances by which he was 
 surrounded, or he would not have ventured such a tone. 
 
 " And you have been some in his company ? " 
 
 " Perhaps so." 
 
 " Very well. And now do you not also know Buric 
 Nevel?" 
 
 " I have seen him, too, sir." 
 
 "And now can you tell me where he is at this 
 present time ? " 
 
 " No," was the answer, short and quick. 
 
 " Beware ! If you have any regard for your own 
 welfare you will answer me truly. "Where is Buric 
 Nevel?" 
 
 " I tell you I know nothing about him nothing at 
 all." 
 
 " And of this you are sure ? 
 
 " Who are you that assume to question me thus? I 
 know you not." 
 
THE MYSTIC TRIBUNAL. 141 
 
 Viska spoke this in a tone of virtuous indignation, 
 probably thinking that that turn might serve him. 
 
 " We will let you into the secret by and by," the 
 monk returned, with a peculiar shake of the head. 
 " But I will ask you once more : Do you know where 
 Nevelis?" 
 
 *-JfoF 
 
 "You need not speak quite so loud. We hear 
 easily." 
 
 " Then don't ask me impertinent questions," retorted 
 the prisoner. 
 
 Vladimir started half way up, and his fists were 
 clenched ; but the quick flush passed from his face, and 
 he sat back again. 
 
 " Look you," he said, as soon as he was sure his 
 anger would not manifest itself, " were I not sure that 
 you know what I ask, I would not question you thus. 
 And now, once more, I ask you will you give me some 
 clew to the whereabouts of Euric Nevel ?" 
 
 " I'll answer you once more. I know nothing about 
 him. You must not think that this dark place, and you 
 men all dressed in black, can frighten me into telling a 
 lie, as it would a child." 
 
 At this point Vladimir turned to one of his men 
 one of those who helped bring the prisoners in and 
 said : 
 
 " You know this to be the man ?" 
 
 "Yes, my master." 
 
 " And you have seen him in private confab with the 
 hump-backed priest ?" 
 
 "I have." 
 
 " And the other things you told me are true ?" 
 
142 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " They are, master." 
 
 " Then let down those interpreters" 
 
 At this command two of the attendants moved to the 
 back side of the room, where they unhooked a stout 
 chain from the wall, and as they allowed it to slide 
 through their hands, a curious piece of machinery de- 
 scended directly in front of the table. It consisted of a 
 stout bar of iron, which was suspended midway upon 
 the chain, and there rested parallel with the ceiling. 
 Upon each end of this bar were straps of iron, armed 
 with springs and screws. At a motion from the monk 
 the prisoner was led back till he stood directly beneath 
 the bar, and then his arms were seized and raised up. 
 He struggled some, and cursed more, but he was soon 
 overcome. The iron bands were passed around his 
 wrists, and connected with these were two small cups 
 which were slipped over the thumbs. After these had 
 been firmly secured the chain was tightened, and the 
 man's hands were raised far above his head. There 
 were two results produced by tightening the chain : It 
 not only tended to draw the thumbs back upon the 
 wrists, but it also twisted the thumb, the two cups being 
 armed with file-like teeth within, and closing tightly 
 upon the flesh. 
 
 " Now, sir," spoke Vladimir, lowly and deeply, " I am 
 going to ask those questions again, and you will do well 
 to answer them truly. Will you tell me where Burio 
 Nevel is ?" 
 
 "I don't know." 
 
 " Will you tell me where you saw him last ?" 
 
 " I haven't seen him since he fought the duel with 
 Damonoff." 
 
THE MYSTIC TRIBUNAL. 143 
 
 "Beware!" 
 
 "I have not." 
 
 " Mark me : I have had you watched, and I know 
 that you have seen Nevel within these three days. This 
 ,1 know, so I have no hesitation in the course I am about 
 to pursue. Once more where is Ruric Nevel ? " 
 
 The man hesitated now ; but his answer was still the 
 same. He would not tell. 
 
 Vladimir made a motion to the two men who stood 
 by the wall, and they gave a pull upon the chain. 
 
 " Oh ! oh ! " gasped the prisoner, as the painful 
 twist and wrench came upon his thumbs. 
 
 " Will you answer ? " 
 
 " How can I ? How can I ? " 
 
 " By speaking what you know." 
 
 " I know nothing." 
 
 Another signal was made to the men at the chain, 
 and they pulled again. Another groan from the pris- 
 oner, but no response. 
 
 Another signal and another pull. 
 
 " Mercy ! " shrieked the poor wretch, quivering with 
 pain. 
 
 " Will you answer ? " 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 " Then we must try again." 
 
 " No, no. Oh, no more ! " 
 
 " But you must answer." 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 " Then you must have forgotten, and such treacher 
 ous memories need starting up." 
 
 As Vladimir thus spoke he waved his hand again. 
 
144 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " Oh, God have mercy ! Oh-o-o ! Save me ! Save 
 me!" 
 
 " Save yourself." 
 
 The wretch was in torment now without ceasing. 
 Nearly the whole of his weight bore upon his wrists and 
 thumbs, and the latter were drawn over almost to the 
 wrist. But he would not answer. He had a deeper 
 fear than this. He feared to break the horrid oaths by 
 which he was bound to the scheming priest. 
 
 One more pull upon the chain and the man's feet 
 were clear of the floor. His whole weight now bore 
 wrenchingly upon his thumbs, and he groaned in the 
 agony of torture. He bore it a few moments, but his 
 coward soul could bear no more. 
 
 " Oh, mercy ! Down ! down ! Let me down !" 
 
 " But answer. Where is Euric Nevel ? " 
 
 l_l -don't " 
 
 " Hold, thou false-hearted villain ! " shouted Vladi- 
 mir, in a voice of thunder. " This is the last of this 
 torture ; but when we take you from here we can put 
 you into a state compared with which the pain you 
 now experience is real joy ! Each particular limb shall 
 be wrenched out of shape, and your very eyes shall 
 start out like 
 
 " Down ! down ! Oh, have mercy ! down ! " 
 
 " Where is Ruric Nevel ? " 
 
 " I'll tell you I'll tell you if you spare me ! " 
 
 "Tell me first!" 
 
 There was a moment more of hesitation one single 
 moment and then the miserable wretch gave up. 
 
 " He's in the old bath-house." 
 
 "Ha! Where?" 
 
THE MYSTIC TEIBUNAL. 145 
 
 " In the old bath, near the river on the Tula pass- 
 in one of the vaults ! " 
 
 " Very well. Let him down." 
 
 The chain was slacked up, and Frederick Viska was 
 once more upon his feet. He trembled yet, for there 
 was pain in his arms. 
 
 " Now carry him out," ordered Vladimir, " and bring 
 the other one in." 
 
 In a few moments more Lesko Totma was before the 
 strange tribunal. He trembled fearfully, for he had 
 been where he could hear his companion's groans with- 
 out hearing what he said. 
 
 " Lesko Totma," spoke the monk, in a low, deep 
 tone, " we have given you time for thought, and may- 
 hap you have your memory brightened by this time* 
 Now, where is Euric Nevel ? " 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 " Ah, you still forget, eh ? " 
 
 " I never knew." 
 
 " A most strange forgetfulness, I must confess. Let 
 the interpreters be adjusted ! " 
 
 " Oh, mercy ! Don't murder me ! " 
 
 But no notice was taken of his cries. The straps and 
 conical cups were adjusted, and the chain drawn tight. 
 At the first turn of the self-acting screw the fellow 
 shrieked. It was not so much with present pain as 
 with the fear of what was to come. The very presage 
 of the place, so dark and dismal, had more effect upon 
 his mind than it had upon his companion's. 
 
 At a second pull of the chain he groaned and begged 
 for mercy. He had heard of this dark place, and he 
 
146 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 fancied that men who came there seldom went away 
 alive. 
 
 " Hark you, you base wretch," the monk said, " if 
 you do not tell me where the young gunmaker is I'll 
 have YOU torn limb from limb! another pull, there!" 
 
 As the wrench came again the villain fairly shouted 
 with pain. 
 
 " Oh ! let me go ! let me go ! Ill tell all ! " 
 
 " Then tell. You leave not this place alive until you 
 have told!" 
 
 " He is Oh ! he is in the old bath ! " 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 " The duke's bath on the pass of Tula ! " 
 
 " Whereabouts there ? " 
 
 " In the lowest, furthest vault. Oh ! Spare ! " 
 
 Vladimir waved his hand, and the quaking wretch 
 was freed from his torture. 
 
 " Now conduct them both to the dungeons, and lock 
 them up. They must not run at large for the present, 
 Let them be secure." 
 
 " No, no," cried Viska, who had been brought back, 
 " You were to let me go if I told you." 
 
 " Not free, sir," said Vladimir. 
 
 "But you have no right to hold me thus. I am 
 nearly dead with pain now where you have torn my 
 hands in pieces. By the " 
 
 " Silence, dog ! My authority here is my power. My 
 right is my might. I have you, and I will keep you. 
 Were I to let you go I might not have the power to 
 catch you again, as legal officers could. Lead them off, 
 and then we'll turn our attention to the duke's bath!" 
 
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE DUKE'S BATH. 147 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 WHAT HAPPENED AT THE DUKE'S BATH. 
 
 Buric Nevel could keep no account of time. Dark- 
 ness, and darkness only, dwelt with him in his prison 
 house darkness so utter that the only effect of open- 
 ing the eyes was the nervous reality of the motion. In 
 fact, 'twas lighter with the eyes closed than with them 
 opened, for when tightly closed there were peculiar fan- 
 tastic shapes floating in the imagination, and even this 
 was a relief ; and then there was a sort of kaleidoscopic 
 succession of colors when the lids were tightly pressed 
 that seemed grateful to the nerves, and gave variety to 
 the mind. But when the eyes were open only a cold 
 impenetrable blackness was present, within which there 
 were no shapes, no forms, save the one form of utter 
 chaos. 
 
 Euric felt sure he had been there four days, and at 
 times it appeared longer than that. Food and drink 
 had been brought to him thrice, and he was now with- 
 out both. His strength had not yet left him, though 
 there were pains in his limbs, and a chilling sensation 
 about the heart. He had broken the rope from his 
 arms on the first day of his confinement ; and he had 
 hoped to overcome the man who brought him food and 
 drink, and thus make his escape ; but no human being 
 had yet come in to him. His food had been passed 
 through a small wicket. 
 
148 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " And this is the end of life ! " he murmured to him- 
 self, as he paced slowly to and fro across the dungeon. 
 " Thus end all the hopes of youth, and here the prayers 
 of a lifetime must close in one last hope one hope of 
 Heaven when earth has passed away ! My mother, no 
 farewell can reach thee from the lips of thy son. He 
 will lie down in the dark slumber of death, and thou 
 shall not know his resting-place ! And, thou loved 
 one Oh ! thou fondly-cherished, wildly-worshiped be- 
 ing, thy smiles can shine no more for me. Oh ! Rosa- 
 lind, would that I could see thee but once that once 
 more I might press thee to my bosom, and bid thee re- 
 member me when I am gone. Had I never seen thee I 
 might not be here now! And yet, O God, for life 
 itself I would not wipe away the written story of that 
 holy love from my heart ! " 
 
 The thought of Rosalind came heavily upon him. All 
 else he could give up in a higher hope than that of 
 earth ; but for her he held a strange fear. She would 
 be another's. 
 
 " And must it be so ? " he continued, after some min- 
 utes of painful reflection. " Alas ! she will be nothing 
 to me hereafter ! My mother will know her son, but 
 Rosalind will know another ! And yet she may carry 
 the old love with her always. She may never forget it. 
 Oh ! could I but once " 
 
 He stopped suddenly, for he heard a footfall in the 
 low passage close by the dungeon. He listened, and 
 he heard more. There were several feet and soon he 
 heard voices. He moved back to the extremity of the 
 vault and listened. The feet stopped, and the sound 
 of grating iron, like the drawing of a bolt, was heard 
 
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE DUKE'S BATH. 149 
 
 Soon afterwards the door was opened, and the light 
 from a lantern flashed into the place. For a few mo- 
 ments the prisoner was blinded by the sudden transi- 
 tion, but by degrees he overcame the difficulty, and was 
 able to look up. 
 
 The first object upon which his eyes fell was the 
 hump-backed priest, Savotano. There were four others 
 behind him, but Euric noticed them not yet. He saw 
 before him the man whom he believed to be the instru- 
 ment of his suffering, and with one bound he reached 
 him and felled him to the floor. 
 
 " Hold !" cried one of the others one who held the 
 lantern "we have come to conduct thee out from 
 here." 
 
 " Ha! say you so?" 
 
 " Most surely we have." 
 
 " Then stand aside and let me go." 
 
 " Just as you say. The doors are open and you may 
 go. You may follow us, or you may go in advance." 
 
 " Then lead on," returned Euric, " and I will follow." 
 
 " As you say." 
 
 Thus speaking the man assisted the priest to his feet, 
 and led him out from the cell. In a few moments 
 more the others went out also, and Euric prepared to 
 follow. He heard the priest cursing, but he noticed 
 that one of the others led him off. The youth stepped 
 forth into the passage, but he did not place the fullest 
 confidence in what he had heard. He reached the foot 
 of the stairs, and the others were nearly up. He started 
 to follow them, and had nearly gained the top, when a 
 quick, lightning-like shadow flitted before him. He 
 would have started back but 'twas too late. There 
 
150 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 came a blow upon his head, and with a dull, crashing 
 sensation he sank down. He realized that he was 
 turned over, and that a rope was being lashed about 
 his arms. 
 
 But the prisoner had not been fully stunned. He re- 
 turned to consciousness as they lifted him to his feet, 
 and his first impulse was to try and force his bonds 
 asunder, but this he could not do. He gazed up now, 
 and he found only two men with him, and they wore 
 masks upon their faces. They were stout, powerful 
 men, and their very bearing was murderous, and his 
 heart sank within him. 
 
 " Come," said one of them. " You'll go with us. We 
 won't force you if you'll walk." 
 
 " But where ?" asked the youth. " What mean you ?" 
 
 "You'll see when you get there. But there's no 
 time to waste ; so come." 
 
 What could the prisoner do ? His hands were firmly 
 bound behind him, and his great strength availed him 
 not a bit. He knew that he could no4; resist, so he 
 simply bowed his head in token of submission, and pre- 
 pared to follow his conductors. But they left him not 
 to follow at will. They took him by either arm, and 
 thus led him away. He remembered the room into 
 which he had been first conducted on the evening of his 
 capture, but he was not detained there. From here a 
 long corridor led off to where a wing of the building 
 had been partly torn away, and they soon came to a 
 large circular apartment, in the centre of which was a 
 deep basin, where, in years gone by, people had been 
 wont to bathe. The walls looked grim and ragged by 
 the feeble rays of the lantern, and the chill wind came 
 
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE DUKE'S BATH. 151 
 
 moaning through the cracks and crevices in the decay- 
 ing masonry. 
 
 " There," spoke one of the guides, as he set his lan- 
 tern upon the top of a broken column, " we will stop 
 here." 
 
 The words were spoken in a sort of hushed, unmer- 
 ciful tone, and Euric felt them strike fearfully upon him. 
 He gazed upon the man who had spoken, and he saw 
 that he was preparing to throw off his pelisse, which 
 he had thus far worn. As soon as this was off, he 
 moved to where his companion stood and commenced to 
 whisper. 
 
 Could Euric mistake longer ? What reason, but one, 
 could there have been for bringing him to such a place ? 
 To the left, where the basin had once emptied itself, 
 there was a dark, deep cave-like place, at the mouth of 
 which a heap of rubbish had collected. What a place 
 in which to hide a dead body ! So thought Euric. But 
 he was startled from the dark reverie by a darker reality. 
 
 One of the men had taken a club a long, heavy 
 bludgeon which the youth had not before seen and was 
 just balancing it in one hand while he spit upon the 
 other. 
 
 " You will not murder me here in cold blood ! " cried 
 Euric starting back. 
 
 The stout ruffian clutched his club in both hands, but 
 made no verbal answer. 
 
 " Speak ! Answer me ! " the prisoner exclaimed, 
 starting back another pace. " Do you mean to murder 
 me?" 
 
 " Why," answered the man with the club ? in a cool 
 
152 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 off-hand manner, " since you are so anxious to know 
 I'll tell you. You will die within a minute ! " 
 
 " And will you take the life of one who never harmed 
 you ? Hold ! If money be your object 
 
 " Stop," interrupted the villain. " You can't argue 
 us out of it in that way. You've got to die, and the 
 sooner you go the sooner you'll get over it. You won't 
 suffer a bit if you don't go to kick up a fuss. There, 
 now if you hadn't bothered me 'twould have been all 
 over by this time." 
 
 What would not Euric have given at that moment for 
 the use of one of his arms ! But that was beyond pray- 
 ing for. Yet he had his feet. He said nothing more, 
 but he allowed the man to come within a few yards of 
 him, and then he prepared for the only means of de- 
 fence he had. The huge club was raised, and at that 
 moment Euric saw that the other man also had a club. 
 He knew then that they had been concealed there until 
 now. 
 
 " Hark !" uttered the second villain, just as his com- 
 panion had raised his club. " What noise is that ?" 
 
 " I suppose they're coming to see if we've finished 
 the job," returned the other, " and we ought to have 
 done it ere this. But they shall find it done ?" 
 
 The ponderous club was raised again, and with a 
 quick, decisive movement the man advanced. Euric 
 made a movement of the body as though he would bow 
 his head for the stroke. Every nerve and muscle of his 
 frame was set for the trial, and for the instant his heart 
 stood still. Quick as thought his body bent his light 
 knee was brought almost to his chin and then, with all 
 the force he could command, he planted his foot in the 
 
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE DUKE*S BATH. 153 
 
 pit of the assassin's stomach. The effect was electrical. 
 The wretch bent like a broken stick, and sank down 
 without a single sign of life. 
 
 The second man uttered an oath, and sprang forward 
 with uplifted club, but Euric easily dodged the blow, 
 and then, as the thought for the first time flashed upon 
 his mind, he darted to where the lantern stood, and 
 overturned it. He had noticed an open passage close 
 at hand, which seemed to lead to some sort of a dress- 
 ing-room, and, guided by his memory alone, for it was 
 now dark as Erebus there, he glided swiftly into it. 
 When he knocked over the lantern he had upset 
 column and all, and just as he reached the passage ho 
 heard a heavy fall, and he knew that his enemy had 
 stumbled over the fallen column. He heard the curses, 
 loud and deep, which dropped from the lips of the 
 baffled man as he picked himself up, and in a moment 
 more he was edified by conversation between the two : 
 for villain number one had revived, though the tone of 
 his voice plainly indicated that he had a severe pain 
 still lingering with him. 
 
 " Michael ! Michael !" groaned number one ; and as 
 he spoke Euric could hear him scrambling upon his 
 feet. 
 
 " Hi, Orel," returned number two. 
 
 " Have you dropped him ?" 
 
 " No!" cried Michael with a curse, which we do not 
 choose to transcribe. " He's a perfect devil !" 
 
 " But where's the lantern ?" 
 
 " He put it out." 
 
 " But you ought to have knocked him down, you 
 clown." 
 
154 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " So had you." 
 
 " Me ? Why, he kicked me over." 
 
 " Well, he dodged by me, and kicked over the 
 lantern." 
 
 u But where is he now ?" 
 
 " He's gone. Hark ! Ha ! I guess they've caught 
 him. Don't you hear ?" 
 
 " Yes; they've caught somebody." 
 
 " And of course it's him. He went that way. Let's 
 go and find 
 
 He did not finish the sentence, for at that moment 
 a voice came up in thunder tones, and it said : 
 
 " EURIC! KURIC!" 
 
 " What is that ?" gasped villain number one. 
 
 "BuRic! EURIC!" 
 
 " That is not from any of our men ! " cried the second 
 villain. " Ha ! they are coming this way ! " 
 
 " EURIC! EURIC!" 
 
 " Where shall we flee ?" cried Michael. 
 
 " There is but one place," returned Orel. " Here, in 
 the little dressing-room. Come let's find it. Oh I 
 curses on that gunmaker's head ! If he be not the very 
 devil, then he is a bound partner of his. Have you 
 found the entrance, Michael ?" 
 
 "No. It is near you somewhere. Can't you Hai 
 In! in!" 
 
 At that moment the flare of a flaming torch flashed 
 through the gloom of the place, and the two villains 
 stood revealed. A dozen stout men, all well armed, 
 appeared in the only passage by which they could 
 make escape, for to have fled into the dressing-room of 
 which they had spoken would avail them nothing. 
 
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE DUKE'S BATH. 155 
 
 " Ho, villains ! " shouted Vladimir the monk; raising 
 his flaming torch high above his head with his left 
 hand, while with his right he waved a heavy sword; 
 " where is Ruric Nevel?" 
 
 " Here ! here ! " cried our hero, starting forward into 
 the larger room. 
 
 "What! safe? alive? well?" Vladimir fairly 
 shouted. 
 
 "Aye my noblest friends. But cast off this ac- 
 cursed bond from my arms. It eats into the flesh." 
 
 The rope was quickly taken off, and then the youth 
 embraced his deliverer. No questions were asked there. 
 Only a few sincere thanks were uttered, and then atten- 
 tion was turned to the two villains who yet stood 
 trembling near them. They had not attempted an es- 
 cape, for the way was blocked up. They were quickly 
 secured, and then the party turned away from the 
 place ; and as they went Ruric gave the monk an ac- 
 count of the manner in which he had been entrapped, 
 and of the events which had transpired since. 
 
 " Merciful Heavens !" ejaculated Vladimir, as Ruric 
 closed his account of the manner in which he had over- 
 come the two men who had thought to murder him. 
 " It was a narrow escape." 
 
 " But I might not have 'escaped without your com- 
 ing," the youth said, " for they would surely have found 
 me. With my hands lashed behind me, as they were ; 
 I could not have escaped." 
 
 " True true," returned Vladimir, thoughtfully. " It 
 was a narrow chance. But it is over now." 
 
 " And how gained you the knowledge of my where- 
 abouts?" asked Ruric. 
 
156 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " I'll explain it to you when we have time. But did 
 I understand you to say the hump-backed priest was 
 here?" 
 
 " He came to my dungeon with the rest, and 'twas he 
 that I knocked down. Have you not found him ?" 
 
 " No we have seen nothing of him. We found two 
 men in the hall, that was all." 
 
 The place was searched all through for the priest, 
 but he could not be found, and when Vladimir was as- 
 sured that the arch villain had made his escape he pre- 
 pared to leave the building. The prisoners four of 
 them were led out first, and taken away by the monk's 
 followers. 
 
 When Ruric reached the street the stars were all out, 
 and the* cool, frosty air struck gratefully upon his brow. 
 He turned toward his mysterious companion, and un- 
 der the grateful impulse of the moment he stopped. 
 He raised his hands toward heaven uttered one fer- 
 vent sentence of thanksgiving to God and then moved 
 on again. 
 
THWARTED, BUT NOT SUBDUED. 167 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THWARTED, BUT NOT SUBDUED. 
 
 It was long after midnight, and yet the widow Nevel 
 had not sought her bed. She was now pacing to and 
 fro across her kitchen, and the boy Paul sat nodding in 
 his chair. Suddenly the woman stopped, and Paul 
 started up. 
 
 " Do you think that message was a false one ?" she 
 asked, looking the boy in the face. 
 
 " I don't know," he returned. " If he came from the 
 black monk, as he said he did, then I think he spoke 
 the truth." 
 
 " Oh ! They would not have deceived me." 
 
 " No, my mistress, I am sure they would not." 
 
 " But it is very late." 
 
 " Hark! There are bells." 
 
 The widow heard them, and with a wildly fluttering 
 heart she sank into a chair. 
 
 ' ' They have stopped in front of the house," said Paul 
 whose head was bent in a listening attitude. 
 
 " Go go open " 
 
 Paul started. The widow heard the door opened, 
 and she heard voices in the hall. In a moment the 
 inner door was opened, and she looked up. She saw 
 a manly form she heard the magic word Mother 
 trembling upon the air. With one low cry of joy she 
 
158 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 started to her feet, and on the next moment she was 
 clasped to the bosom of her son. 
 
 u Did I not say I'd bring him back to you?" cried 
 Vladimir, rubbing his hands with joy. 
 
 " Oh ! God bless you, sir !" the widow murmured, 
 gazing through her tears into the monk's face. 
 
 " So, so," returned the strange man. " The bless- 
 ing of an honest soul is reward enough for one night, sc 
 111 take myself off for the present." 
 
 " No, no," cried Ruric. " You'll remain here till 
 morning." 
 
 But the monk could not be prevailed upon so to do. 
 He had business to attend to, and he could not stop ; 
 and he hurried away as quickly as possible to avoid 
 the thanks that were showered upon him. 
 
 After Vladimir was gone, Euric sat down and related 
 to his mother all that had occurred since that day on 
 which he left her to go and see the count. She trem- 
 bled fearfully as he related the diabolical attempts that 
 had been made upon him ; and when he had concluded 
 she sat for a few moments like one in a painful trance. 
 
 " And do you think," she said at length, while a cold 
 shudder ran through her frame, "that the Duke of Tula 
 was the cause of all this ?" 
 
 " I am sure of it, my mother." 
 
 " Then you are not safe yet." 
 
 " But I shall see the emperor." 
 
 " I have seen him, my son." 
 
 " Ah and what said he ? 
 
 " Why he said if we could find out who had done 
 you harm he would punish them. Then I asked him 
 suppose it was a duke V and he said in that case he 
 
THWABTED, BUT NOT SUBDUED. 159 
 
 should have to look into the matter. Oh ! I fear he 
 would not dare to punish the powerful Olga." 
 
 " Perhaps not ; but yet, iny mother, I will give him 
 credit for better things. Yet," the youth continued, in 
 a sad tone, "there is one for whom I care more than 
 self, and who is now within the wicked duke's power. 
 Oh ! she is his beyond any power of the emperor 1" 
 
 " Not absolutely beyond his power, is she ?" the 
 mother asked. 
 
 " Why of course Peter has the power to set aside 
 any wardship, but 'twould not be policy for him to in- 
 terfere in the domestic affairs of his powerful nobles. I 
 feel sure that his heart would bid him interfere, but his 
 judgment would oppose it. You have seen Rosalind ?" 
 " Yes.' 5 
 
 " And was she unhappy when she knew that I was 
 missing ?" 
 
 "Ah, Euric, returned the mother, with a kindling 
 eye, "you do not know how that noble girl loves you. 
 Her heart was almost broken when she knew that evil 
 had befallen you." 
 
 The widow had it in her mind to tell of the scene 
 which had transpired upon the duke's coming into the 
 maiden's presence when she was there, but she thought 
 a second time ere she spoke, and then she concluded 
 not to speak of it at present, for she knew 'twould only ' 
 serve to give her son additional pain without bestowing 
 any benefit. 
 
 "By heavens!" uttered Euric, at the end of a 
 troubled reverie, and at the same time clasping his 
 hands vehemently together, " was ever man so sur- 
 rounded by impenetrable mystery before ? This monk 
 
160 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 is surely a good man. He has served me well, and I 
 am sure he would serve me more if opportunity offered. 
 But who is he ? Have you found out anything con- 
 cerning him ? " 
 
 " I have not, my son." 
 
 " But is it not strange ? " 
 
 "It is." 
 
 And so they conversed until their drooping lids 
 would no longer remain apart, and then, having first 
 rendered up their thanks to God, and asked His help 
 for the future, they retired to their respective places of 
 rest. Ruric had strange dreams, and for the life of 
 him he could not tell whether they were good or bad. 
 Once he dreamed he was a duke himself, and that he 
 had a wife whose face he had never seen. She would 
 not raise her veil until the ceremony was performed. 
 Then she removed the obstruction, and Ruric started 
 on beholding the face of Vladimir the monk! And 
 then Vladimir seemed to say : " All this I have done 
 for thee. Do you like it?" And Ruric dared not 
 object because Vladimir had done so much for him. 
 
 And now, while Ruric awakes from his dreams and 
 wonders what they meant, let us look in and see what 
 is going on in the ducal palace. 
 
 It was early morning, and the Duke of Tula was once 
 more in his own private apartment. He had not slept 
 well, for he, too, had had dreams, and they were trouble- 
 some ones. They hung about him even now, and they 
 filled his mind with dark and gloomy forebodings. He 
 paced to and fro across the apartment, sometimes stop- 
 ping and bowing his head, and then starting on again 
 with new clouds upon his brow. Thus he walked and 
 
THWABTEI>, BUT NOT SUBDUED. 161 
 
 pondered until he was aroused by a stealthy footfall 
 close to the door. He stopped and listened. He knew 
 the step. 'Twas the one he had been waiting for. He 
 moved to the door and opened it, and the hump- 
 backed priest, Savotano, entered the apartment. 
 
 "Ah, Savotano, I feared you would never come," 
 said the duke, as his workman closed the door behind 
 him. 
 
 " I would have come sooner if I could, my lord ; but 
 even now it is early morning. The sun is hardly above 
 the city walls." 
 
 " Well it is early, I know ; but I have not slept 
 well." 
 
 " I have not slept at all, my lord." 
 
 "No? Savatano, you look worn and weary. But 
 you have been at work." 
 
 Aye I have." 
 
 " And you have come to tell me the result of that 
 work. Does it move you so to do such work ? I 
 thought you were used to it ? " 
 
 The priest gazed into his master's face, but he did 
 not speak. 
 
 " Bah ! " said Olga, contemptuously. " What is the 
 killing of a man ? But tell me did you conceal the 
 body so that no one will find it ? " 
 
 It was some moments before Savotano spoke. His 
 frame trembled, and his hands worked nervously to- 
 gether. But at length he said, in a hesitating tone : 
 
 " He is not dead, my lord." 
 
 " Not dead yet ? But you promised me he should 
 be." 
 
 " I know but we could not do it." 
 
162 THE GtJNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " I gave you credit for more firmness. Not kill a 
 man ? What is there so terrible in it ?" 
 
 " You misunderstood me, my lord. We did all we 
 could towards killing him, but he escaped us." 
 
 " Hold !" cried the duke, starting forward and grasp- 
 ing the priest by the shoulder. " You do not meac 
 that Euric Nevel has escaped you ?" 
 
 "He has, my lord." 
 
 " But not entirely ? You do not mean that he has 
 fairly gone from out your hands ?" 
 
 " He has, my lord. But listen " 
 
 " Listen, thou bungler ! What story can you tell to 
 make that smooth and reasonable ? You had him in 
 your power, and you should have kept him." 
 
 " But, my lord, Satan himself is working for that 
 man. We went last night to kill the fellow, and I 
 waited all of two hours for Totma and Viska, but the 
 rascals did not come, and I engaged others." 
 
 " And did they prove treacherous ?" cried Olga, in 
 sudden passion. 
 
 " No, my lord they did their best, but they were in- 
 tercepted by that accursed black monk, who came 
 backed by some dozen men." 
 
 " What ! Do you mean that Vladimir came there ? 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " And with a band of armed men ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Then, by the gods, there's treachery somewhere ?" 
 
 "I know not what to think, my lord," returned Savo- 
 tano, in an uneasy,, perplexed tone. " The only men 
 who are absent are Lesko Totma and Frederick Viska ; 
 and they are surely our best men." 
 
THWARTED, BUT NOT SUBDUED. 163 
 
 " But you see plainly that there must have been 
 treachery !" exclaimed the duke, passionately. " Oh ! 
 how I would like to know the man! And did this 
 monk carry off the gunmaker ?" 
 
 "He did. And he captured four of our men. I 
 escaped without being seen." 
 
 " That is fortunate" 
 
 "I mean that the monk did not see me nor did any 
 of his followers. But the gunmaker saw me." 
 
 " And do you think he mistrusted you had any hand 
 in the matter of his imprisonment ?" 
 
 " I should judge so," returned the priest, with a pe- 
 culiar twinge of vengeance about the lips. " The vil- 
 lain knocked me down." 
 
 " Ha !" 
 
 " Aye the moment he saw me." 
 
 " But do you think he knows anything about it ?" 
 
 "No, I do not think he does. He can only sus- 
 pect." 
 
 " Then we'll be prepared for him, if your own men 
 are to be depended upon. But leave that to me. I'll 
 fix that matter with the emperor. I'll see him this very 
 day, and be sure he shall have a story that can destroy 
 all evidence which these fellows can hatch up." 
 
 " But I must flee, my lord." 
 
 " Not yet, Savotano. I must have your help within 
 a very short time. The Countess Eosalind Valdai 
 shall be my wife within the present week. I'll place 
 the seal of fact upon that matter at once. Fear not, 
 for I know my influence over the emperor will shield 
 you from all harm. Why, Peter would sooner lose his 
 right arm than lose me." 
 
164 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW* 
 
 "Then most surely I will remain, my lord, for I 
 much wish to perform that ceremony for you. But 
 who is this black monk ? this Vladimir ?" 
 
 The duke started across the floor, and for some mo- 
 ments he continued pacing to and fro. When he stopped 
 he brought his hands together with an energetic move- 
 ment, and looking the priest sternly in the face, he said : 
 
 " Let that monk be who he may, I'll destroy him ! .1 
 have the power, and I'll use it. As warden of the city 
 I have the power to arrest him upon suspicion of con- 
 spiracy. I'll do it. Where is he now ? " 
 
 " I know not." 
 
 " Never mind. I'll to the emperor first. I'll study 
 my plan, and ere the sun sets it shall be carried out. 
 I'll be baffled thus no more. I could have wished that 
 this gunmaker had been quietly out of the way, for then 
 all would have been clear and plain, and I should not 
 have feared the trouble of his clamoring about my ears. 
 But let him go. I would not give much for the life he 
 has left. I'll dispose of him soon. But that monk he 
 dies at once, and without consultation with the emperor ; 
 for I can swear he is a conspirator." 
 
 " Good! " ejaculated the priest. 
 
 And thus the business was arranged for the present. 
 Passion helped the duke wondrously in his conclusions ; 
 and the wish was made into the power. But even be- 
 fore the priest left the stout nobleman began to wish 
 that he had a very little more power. In fact, as he 
 came to reason he began to doubt ; but he gave up not 
 one idea of the plan he had formed for the vengeance 
 his soul so madly craved. 
 
TRANSACTIONS OF A NIGHT. 165 
 
 CHAPTEE XVII. 
 
 TRANSACTIONS OF A NIGHT. 
 
 " I dare not ! Oh, I dare not ! " 
 
 " But it is your only hope." 
 
 " And whither shall we go ? " 
 
 " Anywhere, rather than remain here. Oh ! my mis- 
 tress, if you stay here you know the fate which awaits 
 you. There is no other means of escape from the 
 wicked duke's power." 
 
 " And I must thus cast myself among strangers lose 
 my all of earth 
 
 " Hold, Eosalind. There is surely one in Moscow 
 who will help you. Let us go to the emperor. Oh, if 
 he be the man I have heard, he will surely listen." 
 
 " Ah, Zenobie, the duke is high in power, and his in- 
 fluence is great at court. Peter would not dare to 
 thwart him." 
 
 " It may be so, but I do not believe it. And yet, my 
 mistress, just think, for one moment, how you stand in^ 
 that respect. You have nothing to lose. This life of 
 earth, with all its pains and sorrows, and with its most 
 exquisite tortures, holds nothing worse for you within 
 the bounds of possibility than to become the duke's 
 wife. If there were but one chance in the thousand, 
 you had better try it. Eemember you cannot possibly 
 lose anything, but the chances are for you. Let us go 
 to the emperor." 
 
166 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 "But how, Zenobie?" 
 
 "This evening after the darkness of night has 
 gathered over the city let us go. I tell you I do not 
 believe the emperor will deliberately suffer a great 
 wrong to be done for the sake of pacifying the duke 
 He has more noble independence than that." 
 
 The young countess did not answer at once. She 
 pressed her small white hand hard upon her brow, and 
 thus she remained for some time buried in profound 
 thought. At length she raised her head, and the fire of 
 determination was in her eye. 
 
 " I will go," she said. " I will go to the emperor. 
 He will help me if he has a human heart." 
 
 " You have one satisfaction, my mistress : he cannot 
 harm you." 
 
 "Cannot?" 
 
 " I mean that you can but be made to marry with 
 Olga ; and all other harm would be as nothing compared 
 with that:" 
 
 " Aye, you are right, Zenobie. We will go this very 
 night." 
 
 The more Rosalind pondered upon this new resolve 
 the more hope did she derive from it. Ere long she 
 conversed more freely with her attendant, and at times 
 that old smile would struggle for a moment upon her 
 face. Yet she had gloomy moments, too. Her fear 
 was too deeply fixed to be swept away so easily. 
 
 The afternoon passed away, and as the shades of 
 night gathered over the great city, the two girls were 
 astir. Zenobie gathered together such articles of cloth- 
 ing as would be needed, and proceeded to prepare her 
 mistress for the adventure. 
 
TRANSACTIONS OF JT NIGITx 167 
 
 " Fear not," she said, as she drew on Rosalind's robe 
 of fur, " for there can be no danger worse than that we 
 flee from. Try only to remember that you flee from 
 the duke." 
 
 This served to nerve the fair young countess up to 
 the task, and her frame ceased its trembling. 
 
 " I shall not falter now," she said. " But shall we 
 find the emperor at this late hour ?" 
 
 " Bless me, 'tis not late. But even if we do not see 
 him to-night, we can do it in the morning. We shall 
 find plenty in the imperial palace who will shelter us 
 till then." 
 
 The girls were now ready, and all that remained was 
 to start on their strange mission. With noiseless steps 
 they left the apartment where they had dressed, and 
 proceeded along the corridor to the great staircase. 
 Zenobie knew there would be less danger there than to 
 go down the other way among the servants. Having 
 descended these stairs they came to the great hall, 
 which opened one way into the salons. They took the 
 former course, and were soon in the court. The only 
 trouble now was in passing the porter's lodge at the 
 gate, for they knew the great gate was not open, and 
 to gain the street they must pass through the room 
 where the porter always staid. Zenobie went ahead 
 and looked in. The porter sat by the fire playing with 
 his dog. 
 
 " My mistress," whispered the girl, as she came back, 
 " old John is in the lodge, and we need have no fear. 
 He is a simple, good-natured fellow, and I am sure J 
 can get by him. Do you go in advance cover up your 
 
168 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 face don't look at him ; and be sure you don't tremble. 
 Leave it all to me. Remember now : you have " 
 
 " Fear not, Zenobie. Go on." 
 
 So on they went, and when they reached the lodge 
 Rosalind went in first and stood by the wicket, while 
 Zenobie followed, and opened the door that looked into 
 the porter's room. 
 
 " Good John," she uttered, in anxious tones, " come 
 and open the wicket for me quick. My good mistress 
 is very ill, and Tilda and I are going for the doctor. 
 Come be quick." 
 
 " But why don't some of the men go ? " asked John, 
 as he started up and forced his dog back. 
 
 " Because 'twould take them longer to do the errand 
 than 'twill us. But don't detain us. We shan't be 
 gone long." 
 
 The honest porter had orders not to allow the count- 
 ess to pass out, but he thought not of that now. He 
 had known the gentle girl from a child, and so well did 
 he love her that he might not have stopped her even 
 had he known she was then waiting to pass out. At 
 all events, he could not refuse the present request, so 
 he came out and opened the wicket without further 
 question, and the girls passed through. 
 
 " Now now," said Zenobie, in nervous haste, " we 
 are clear of the palace. Here is the street. Our walk 
 is not long." 
 
 Rosalind answered not, but drawing her robe more 
 closely about her to keep out the cold, biting wind, she 
 hastened along by the side of her companion. Hope 
 was now alive within her. She turned one glance- 
 behind her, and she could see the light which she had 
 
TRANSACTIONS OP A NIGHT. 169 
 
 left burning in her chamber. It seemed at that 
 moment to be the fiery eye of a demon gazing after 
 
 her, and instinctively she quickened her pace. 
 
 * * * * * # 
 
 Twice during the day did the Duke of Tula call at 
 the imperial palace without being able to find the 
 emperor ; but in the evening he was more fortunate. 
 The emperor was in, and Olga was admitted at once to 
 his presence. 
 
 " Well, my lord duke," said Peter, as Olga ap- 
 proached, " what business calls you from home at this 
 hour?" 
 
 " Business of importance, sire. Business of less 
 moment to me than to the state." 
 
 "Ah! Proceed." 
 
 Only two attendants were with the emperor, one of 
 whom was Demetrius the Greek, and the place of 
 audience was in one of the private apartments near the 
 bed-chamber, where only privileged ones were ever 
 allowed to come. 
 
 " Sire," commenced the duke, "you remember the 
 gunmaker who was before you not long since ?" 
 
 " Ah yes. The one who took my Greek's sword 
 from him ?" 
 
 " The same, sire. Have you heard from him since ?" 
 
 " I had well nigh forgotten the fellow. Yes, yes I 
 remember him well now. He was a right stout knave." 
 
 " Aye and a dangerous one, too, sire. A dangerous 
 man, said the duke, with a dubious shake of the head. 
 
 " Ah what has he done ? 
 
 " Why he has been engaged in various robberies to 
 my certain knowledge ; and only a few evening since 
 
170 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 he knocked down one of our holy priests and robbed 
 him of all he had. He is at the head of a numerous 
 band of desperadoes." 
 
 " Is it possible ?" 
 
 " I know it, sire." 
 
 " I should not have believed this." 
 
 " Nor would I have believed it, sire, had I not re- 
 ceived proofs not to be questioned. I, as is my duty, 
 have long been anxious to ferret out this gang of rob- 
 bers" 
 
 " But I have never heard of them, Olga," interrupted 
 Peter. 
 
 " Ah, sire, because I gave directions that you should 
 not be troubled with the affair. But I have them now. 
 It is only last evening that I got a clew upon them. 
 We found them in an old building near the river, here 
 in the Kremlin, and this same Ruric Nevel was with 
 them. But he made his escape." 
 
 "I do remember me now that the fellow had a bold 
 bearing and a fearless look," said the emperor, half to 
 himself ; " and if such a man turns villain there must 
 be danger in it." 
 
 " Aye, sire you speak truly. And now, with your 
 order, I can apprehend the fellow at once." 
 
 " I can send and have it done, my dear Duke." 
 
 " But your officers may not find him. I know where 
 he is, and can have him taken at once. He has sev- 
 eral hiding-places." 
 
 " Well then you might do the work with more ad- 
 advantage." 
 
 " Aye ; and I can have him tried and disposed of 
 without further trouble to you, sire." 
 
TEANSACTIOKS OF A NIGHT. 171 
 
 " No, no. I wish to see him," returned th,e emperor. 
 " I will give you the necessary order, and you may 
 bring him here." 
 
 Peter then turned to his secretary, and bade him fill 
 an order for Euric Nevel's arrest. The stout master-at- 
 arms looked on with a troubled countenance, and his 
 glances toward the duke were anything but loving. He 
 did not seem to relish the business at all, and the ex- 
 pression of his countenance would seem to indicate that 
 he did not believe all that the duke had said. 
 
 However, the order was soon in the duke's posses- 
 sion. 
 
 " Remember," said Peter " you must bring him be- 
 fore me." 
 
 " You shall be obeyed, .sire." 
 
 If the emperor did not notice the strange, dark look 
 of the duke as he turned away, the Greek did ; and he 
 fancied, too, that he knew what it meant. But he said 
 nothing then. 
 
 Olga bowed low as he clutched the order, and having 
 once more promised obedience, he hurried from the 
 imperial presence. As he passed out through the 
 wide court he walked slowly and thoughtfully, and 
 with his head bowed ; but soon he started up his 
 hands came together with an emphatic movement, and 
 he moved on more quickly. He had gained the street, 
 and approached a small court within which stood a 
 house of entertainment, where he stopped. In a few 
 moments more a man came out from the inn, and as 
 soon as he had satisfied himself that the new-comer was 
 the duke, he spoke. 
 Olga is't you ?" 
 
172 THE GUNMAKEK OF MOSCOW. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 It needed but a single glance in the dim starlight to 
 recognize the form of the hump-backed priest. He 
 walked quickly to where the duke stood, and the two 
 moved off together. 
 
 " Now what luck ?" Savotano asked, as they gained 
 the street once more. 
 
 " Good as good as I could even hope," returned the 
 duke. " I have the power for arresting the gunmaker." 
 
 " And for executing him ?" 
 
 " It amounts to the same. I am ordered to bring him 
 before the emperor ; but that is easily managed." 
 
 Here the duke stopped and gazed about him, and 
 then bending his head, so that no word could possibly 
 pass beyond his companion's ears, he continued : 
 
 " You can call upon three of your best men, and I 
 can furnish two from among my own servants. Early 
 in the morning by the time the sun is up they must 
 be at the gunmaker's dwelling. They must make him 
 angry of course, he will resist and then kill him. 
 It is very simple very. They can easily dispatch him 
 thus, and then we have only to tell the emperor that he 
 resisted the imperial authority even unto death. So 
 you see this is even better than k would have been had 
 I received direct authority for his death ; for then some 
 form of trial would have been necessary, but now we 
 have only to go to his house provoke him to quarrel 
 kill him and then tell the emperor how it happened. 
 What think you?" 
 
 " Why," returned the priest, with a wicked chuckle, 
 " I can only say that Master Nevel is done for he is a 
 dead man." 
 
TBANSACTIONS OF A NIGHT. 173 
 
 " Exactly. Nothing could be better nothing." 
 
 After the explanation of this fiendish scheme, the two 
 walked on some distance in silence. 
 
 " Stop," uttered the duke, catching his companion by 
 the arm. " There come two persons this way. We 
 must not meet them. Here into this passage 
 quick !" 
 
 It was a narrow, dark passage leading to the next 
 street, into which the duke dragged his companion, and 
 here he meant to remain until the two persons had 
 passed. The fact was, the duke did not wish to be seen 
 with the priest at that hour in the street, and it is no 
 matter of surprise that he should at that moment have 
 been influenced by guilty fear. The two pedestrians 
 came on, and passed the spot where the men stood. 
 They were females, and one of them the priest saw in 
 the face. The features were upturned to the starlight, 
 and he recognized them. He caught the duke quickly 
 and nervously by the arm. 
 
 " 'Twas the countess!" he whispered. 
 
 " Hosalind ?" gasped Olga. 
 
 " Yes as sure as death !" 
 
 " Then come quick !" 
 
 Savotano understood the meaning of this, and he fol- 
 lowed the duke quickly out. At a few bounds Olga 
 reached the females, and one of them he caught by the 
 arm. She uttered a sharp, quick cry, and as she turned 
 her face up she revealed the fair features of the Countess 
 Rosalind Yaldai ! The priest tad no need to stop the 
 other girl, for she stopped of her own accord as soon as 
 she found that her mistress was captured. 
 
 " Aha !" Olga uttered, when he saw that pale face. 
 
174 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " What now, eh ? Where are you bound at this un- 
 seemly hour ?" 
 
 " Oh, God !" It was all the poor girl could utter. 
 She saw the dark face of her hated and feared guardian, 
 and the last glimmer of hope faded from her soul. 
 
 "It is fortunate I have found you," the duke re- 
 sumed, fastening his grip surely upon the maiden's 
 arm, "for you might have fallen into difficulty else. 
 You were bound for the imperial palace, eh?" 
 
 At first Kosalind thought of struggling for escape, but 
 she felt the strong gripe upon her arm, and she knew 
 that such a movement could result only in her own 
 harm. 
 
 " Say," repeated the duke, " were you not bound for 
 the palace ?" 
 
 " Aye, proud duke, I was," the countess replied, 
 gazing up into the man's face. " 1 was trying to escape 
 from your power !" 
 
 " Aha ! But come we'll turn towards home. You'll 
 be better off there. And this is our little Zenobie, is 
 it?" 
 
 The attendant looked up, but she made no reply. 
 Then Olga turned to the priest. 
 
 " Savotano, hurry off your men in the morning, and 
 then come to me. I'll have work for you to-morrow." 
 
 And then, with a sinking, breaking he&rt, Eosalind 
 Valdai was led back towards the ducal palace. 
 
STRANGE AND COMPLICATED. 175 
 
 CHAPTEE XVIII. 
 
 STRANGE AND COMPLICATED. 
 
 Euric Nevel dreamed that he was a great general, 
 and that he was upon the eve of an engagement. He 
 gained a view of the commander of the opposing army, 
 and he saw that it was the Duke of Tula. Yet the duke 
 had an enormous hump upon his back, and instead of 
 the usual uniform he wore the garb of a priest. This 
 was very strange; at least, so ran Euric's thoughts 
 in the dream. Soon the engagement commenced, and 
 the loud-mouthed artillery opened its thunder. The 
 din was deafening and strange, and Euric shouted in 
 vain to his aids, for the roar of cannon drank up his 
 words direct from his lips. Louder and more loud grew 
 the crash, and finally Euric started for the charge. His 
 horse was shot under him, and with a quick leap he 
 reached his feet. 
 
 " JRuric ! Ruric ! My Master /" 
 
 Slowly the youth opened his eyes, and Paul stood by 
 
 him in his night-clothes. He gazed about him, and 
 
 found that he had leaped from his bed, and now stood 
 
 * shivering upon the floor. The boy held a lighted candle 
 
 in his hand. 
 
 " Don't you hear that racket at the door?" asked 
 Paul. 
 
 " What ! ha ! there is some one knocking 1" 
 
176 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " And have you not heard it before ?" 
 
 ' No." 
 
 " Why did you leap up thus?" 
 
 "I was dreaming." 
 
 " I thought 'twas the noise below. Why they Ve 
 been making a perfect thunder of noise down there. 
 Shall I go down?" 
 
 " Yes, go, Paul, and I will dress as soon as possible. 
 What time is it ?" 
 
 " It must be near daybreak." 
 
 And thus speaking, Paul turned and went to his own 
 room, where he threw on an outer garment, and then 
 he went down. At the door he found a stout man, 
 wrapped up in furs, while close by stood a sledge with 
 two horses attached to it. In 'the east the golden tinfcs 
 of morn were already visible. 
 
 " A gunmaker named Nevel lives here, does he not ?" 
 asked the applicant, after having first made some pass- 
 ing remark on the trouble he had had in starting some 
 one up. 
 
 Paul feared that there might be something out of the 
 way, but he dared not tell a falsehood where it could 
 not possibly be of any use, so he answered in the 
 affirmative. 
 
 " Then let me see him as speedily as possible." 
 
 " He is preparing to come down, sir. If you will 
 walk in you may see him very soon." 
 
 The stranger followed the boy into the kitchen, 
 where it was quite warm, the fire in the furnace having 
 been burning all night. Ere long Buric came down 
 and the visitor started up. 
 
STRANGE AND COMPLICATED. 177 
 
 "How?" said the gunmaker, starting forward and 
 and extending his hand. " Demetrius ?" 
 
 " Aye, my friend," the Greek replied, with a smile. 
 " I am an early visitor, eh ?" 
 
 " I should say so ; but early or late, you are wel- 
 come " 
 
 "Thank you. But we must not spend much time 
 here now. My sledge is here at your door, and I wish 
 you to accompany me. 
 
 "But wherefore is this?" asked the youth, in sur- 
 prise. " What has happened now ?" 
 
 " I'll tell you : Last night Olga, the duke, came to 
 see the emperor. I had just l^een giving his majesty 
 some exercise at the sword, so I was present at the in- 
 terview. The duke wished for power to arrest you; 
 and in explanation of the request, he stated that you 
 were at the head of a band of robbers here in the city, 
 and that you had already committed several robberies. 
 I needn't tell you all he said, but he made you out to 
 be a most unmitigated villain, and with this the em- 
 peror granted his request. Olga wished for power to 
 execute you at once, but Peter would not go so far as 
 that. He gave the power of arrest, but ordered the 
 duke to bring you before him." 
 
 Kuric stood for a few moments like one confounded. 
 
 " Then he must carry me to the emperor," he said at 
 length. 
 
 " Ah," returned Demetrius, with a dubious shake of 
 the head, " be not too sure of that. I saw a look upon 
 his face when he turned away that meant more than he 
 dared to speak. As sure as fate he never means that 
 
178 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 you shall see the emperor. I know it I saw it in his 
 evil eye." 
 
 " But will he dare disobey the order?" 
 
 " Yes, for he hopes to escape by falsehood. How 
 easy for him to swear that he had to kill you to take 
 you." 
 
 I see I see." 
 
 " Then come with me." 
 
 " Did the emperor send you ? " 
 
 " No ; but I take the responsibility. I will take you 
 to him myself. Be sure the duke's hirelings will be 
 here before long. Trust to me and all shall be well." 
 
 Euric pondered a few moments, and he saw that his 
 friend was right. 
 
 " Let me go and see my mother," he said, " and then 
 I will go with you." 
 
 " But make haste," urged the Greek, " for the duke's 
 men may be here soon, and I do not wish them to see 
 you. And tell your mother to inform whoever may 
 call, that she knows not where you are gone, but that 
 you will be back at night." 
 
 The youth nodded assent, and then went into his 
 mother's room, where he explained to her what had 
 happened, and what he was about to do. 
 
 " And how long must these things ,be ? " the mother 
 cried, gazing eagerly upon her son. 
 
 " Not long," returned Euric. " I may do much to- 
 wards settling the matter to-day. But fear not, for I 
 am now safe, and shall be until I see you again." 
 
 The widow promised all that her son asked, and soon 
 became assured that all was well ; but Paul was left 
 with the duty of attending to those who might come 
 
STRANGE AND COMPLICATED. 179 
 
 for Ruric, though they might see the widow if they per- 
 sisted. The boy promised to tell all that asked for his 
 master that he was gone away on business, and would 
 not return till evening. 
 
 The mother came out before Ruric was ready to start, 
 and her examination of the Greek's countenance seemed 
 to be satisfactory, for the anxious look left her face, 
 and she looked upon the visitor kindly. 
 
 As Ruric entered the sledge the dawn of day was 
 plainly announced in the east, and the stars were pal- 
 ing in the sky. The Greek did not take the direct road 
 to the Kremlin, but struck off to the westward, and so 
 entered by the Neglina. 
 
 An hour later a party of five men drove up to the 
 gunmaker's cot. They were dark, villainous looking 
 men, and murder was plainly stamped upon their faces. 
 They entered the dwelling, but they found not their 
 prey. They stormed and swore, but to no purpose, and 
 when they were convinced 'hat the gunmaker was not 
 there they went away. 
 
 An hour later still, and another party drove up to the 
 same cot. It consisted of two men in a double sledge, 
 one of whom was Vladimir the monk. The fat, mystic 
 man entered the cot, and there he remained for gome 
 time. When he came out the widow and Paul accom- 
 panied him ; and they all got into the sledge and drovf 
 off together. 
 
 What did it mean ? 
 
 * # * # # # 
 
 It was past noon. The proud duke was once more 
 alone in his private room, and he was pacing uneasily 
 to and fro. There was a cloud upon his brow and 
 
180 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 trouble in his soul. His lips were firmly set, and his 
 hands clenched. Ever and anon he muttered to him- 
 self, and when he did so his hands would work nervously 
 and emphatically. He looked often at his watch, and 
 often he stopped near the door and hearkened. 
 
 At length came that well-known shuffling, uncertain, 
 cat-like tread. He threw open his door, and the dark 
 priest glided in. 
 
 " Ha, Savotano, I've waited for you," the duke 
 uttered, sinking into a chair, for his nervous walking 
 had made him weary. " Now tell me the work is done. 
 Oh, don't tell me again of failure ! " 
 
 " Alas ! my lord' 1 
 
 " Hold, Savotano ! You are not going to tell me of 
 failure ! " 
 
 " Not really a failure, my lord," the priest returned, 
 nervously. " But our men did not find the gunmaker 
 at home. He had gone when we got there, and no one 
 knew where." 
 
 " No one knew ? Did not his mother know ?" 
 
 u No. She said he did not tell her where he was go- 
 ing. He only left word that he was going on business, 
 and should not return till evening." 
 
 " By heavens ! I think he has fled." 
 
 " No, my lord. I do not think so. I think he must 
 have had business." 
 
 " But what time were you there ?" 
 
 " Shortly after sunrise." 
 
 " And had he gone then ?" 
 
 " Aye, he had been gone an hour." 
 
 " It looks suspicious. But the men must be there 
 this evening. Jle shall not escape me now." 
 
6TRANGE AND COMPLICATED. 181 
 
 " There is no fear of that, my lord. I will see that 
 he is apprehended as soon as he returns." 
 
 " Eight, Savotano right ! And now to the other 
 matter. I am to be married this afternoon !" 
 
 "Ah, so soon?" 
 
 " Yes ; I waste no more time. What is the use ?" 
 
 " None, my lord none at all." 
 
 " Then you must remain, for the ceremony shall be 
 performed as soon as possible." 
 
 "And does the countess know of your determina- 
 tion ?" 
 
 " Yes, She knew it ere she rested last night. I told 
 her she should not escape again till she could carry my 
 name with her. By the mass, sir, she sealed her own 
 doom ! Ha, ha, ha ! the Duke of Tula will have his 
 coffers filled again. Money must come somehow, and 
 how else so easily as this ?" 
 
 " Sure enough," returned the priest, with that old 
 coarse, wicked smile " sure enough, my lord, how ?" 
 
 " In no way. Ho ! I'll put the seal upon that budget, 
 and stamp it mine ! So here you remain until I am 
 married. To-day until that ceremony is performed, I 
 am not sure ; but to-morrow they cannot harm me. 
 Oh she shall be mine then ! She shall be mine, Savo- 
 tano. To-day she is my wife and to-morrow all the 
 powers combined cannot undo the work. I have 
 waited long enough. I have worked and schemed, and 
 have puzzled my brain to one great purpose ; and yet 
 each step I have marked out has failed me. Damonoff 
 lives the gunmaker lives the Black Monk lives but I 
 too, live ! Ha ! / live Savotano ! and now the work 
 
 > 
 
182 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 shall be done as it might have been done at first, had I 
 been so disposed ! " 
 
 The duke had arisen to his feet while speaking thus, 
 and his manner had been frantic and excited. As he 
 ceased speaking he sank back into his chair and gazed 
 the priest in the face. He was all iron now. Every 
 nerve and muscle was set, and a fierce determination 
 
 was in his soul. 
 
 * * # * * * 
 
 There is one more scene in the ducal palace, and it 
 goes on at the very time while the duke and his tool 
 are together. 
 
 Vladimir the monk was in the chamber of the 
 countess, and the fair occupant and her maid were 
 there with him. 
 
 " And you are sure he means to make you his wife 
 to-day? " said the monk, in continuation of a conversa- 
 tion which had been going on for some moments 
 "that he will have the ceremony performed whether 
 you consent or not ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir," the countess murmured. She gazed into 
 the strange man's face a few moments after she had 
 spoken, and then, starting quickly up, she threw herself 
 upon her knees before him. 
 
 " Oh ! " she cried, with her clasped hands raised be- 
 fore him, " can you not help me in this bitter moment ? 
 Do not say no. Oh, I know you have some strange 
 power and you may help me. You cannot know the 
 misery I suffer. Oh ! earth has no pangs more cruel ! 
 In the whole catalogue of woes there is nothing more 
 bitter. Sir " and the maiden raised both hands 
 toward heaven as she thus continued " sooner than be 
 
STRANGE AND COMPLICATED. 183 
 
 that man's wife I would with my own hand let my life- 
 blood, were not the act a sin against my God ! But you 
 may help me." 
 
 " Alas, lady ! I cannot assure you now." 
 
 " Oh say not so. You can help me flee from here 
 you can find me some hiding-place some place where 
 my days can be spent in safety from this great evil." 
 
 " But how can I help you away, lady ? " 
 
 " Because you know some secret entrance to the pal- 
 ace. You know some secret passage, else you would 
 not be here now." 
 
 " True," the monk replied, in a perplexed tone, " I 
 do know such a way, for by that way I came, and by 
 that way shall I return ; but I cannot convey you away 
 thus. I am sorry that " 
 
 The monk stopped here for at that moment a heavy 
 footfall sounded without. He had started up from his 
 seat when the door opened, and the stout duke entered. 
 The countess uttered one low, quick cry, and sank 
 down. She would have sunk to the floor had not Ze- 
 nobie caught her and bore her to the couch. 
 
 The monk stood erect, with his arms folded across 
 his breast, but his right hand was hidden within the 
 the bosom of his robe. The duke started back like one 
 thunderstruck, and it was some moments ere he could 
 gain the power of speech. He turned first as pale as 
 death, and then the blood mounted hotly, fiercely, to 
 his brow. 
 
 " How came you here ? " he gasped, in a hissing, 
 frantic tone. 
 
 " To learn of your wickedness, Duke of Tula." calmly 
 responded Vladimir. 
 
184 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " Ha ! do you beard me in my very palace, dog ? But 
 you have ventured here once too often. As sure as there 
 is life in me you go not hence alive ! " 
 
 "Hold, Olga ! " spoke the monk ; and so strange and 
 powerful was the tone that though the duke had turned 
 towards the door, yet he stopped. " This lady tells me 
 you mean to make her your wife ? Is it so ? " 
 
 " Out, accursed monk ! Who gave thee right to ques- 
 tion me ? " 
 
 " Proud duke, you shall know that anon. But listen : 
 If you force this lady to that thing you do it at your 
 peril ! You had better seek the fabled potion of the 
 gods, and drink and be a dog, than do that thing ! " 
 
 " Hold a moment, monk ! " cried the duke, now nearly 
 blind with passion. " You go not hence alive ! What 
 ho, there ! Without, I say ! Zenobie, pull that bell- 
 cord! Quick! Back, monk! You pass not here alive! 
 What ho ! Without, there ! " 
 
 " Beware, Olga ! " spoke the monk, as calmly as be- 
 fore, at the same time drawing a heavy pistol from his 
 bosom and cocking it. "I would shoot you as I would 
 a dog ! Offer one motion of impediment to my passage 
 and you die on the instant ! " 
 
 Instinctively the duke moved on one side. There was 
 something in the look and tone of the strange man that 
 he dared not cope with then. The monk passed out, but 
 as soon as he was gone the duke sprang -to the bell-cord 
 and pulled it till he broke it. In a few moments more 
 the servants came rushing in. 
 
 " Out, dogs ! " the madman shouted, " and stop that 
 monk from leaving the palace. Kill him on the spot 
 where you find him if he dares to offer the least resist- 
 
STRANGE AND COMPLICATED. 185 
 
 ance ! Kill him you have my orders, and I am alone 
 responsible.'* 
 
 Thus speaking the duke rushed from the apartment 
 to start up more of his household. First to the gate of 
 the court he went, but the monk was not there, nor had 
 he been there. Then he rushed to the postern, but that 
 was locked, and the snow was untrodden before it. He 
 returned to the hall, and one by one the servants came 
 back from the search. 
 
 No monk could be found ! 
 
 At first Olga was tempted to believe that his servants 
 deceived him; but he quickly set that thought aside, 
 for he could see by their countenances that they were 
 as much astonished as he. The search was renewed, 
 but the strange man was not to be found. There was 
 some wonder, and -some uneasiness. 
 
186 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Pale as death sat the fair young countess in her 
 dressing-room. She did not tremble now, for every 
 nerve had become fixed in utter despair. 
 
 " Will you not change your dress, my mistress ?" 
 asked Zenobie, in a low, tremulous tone. 
 
 " No, no," the maiden replied ; and her voice sounded 
 strangely even in her own ear, it was so low and hol- 
 low. " Why should I dress for the sacrifice ? The 
 dumb beast may suffer garlands about its neck before 
 being led to the heathen altar ; but, alas ! God has not 
 given me a brute's ignorance to help me now. No, no, 
 Zenobie, I will not dress for the bride." 
 
 " But the duke expects it." 
 
 u I care not. He cannot ask me to do it. He may 
 do all he wills, for I am helpless here, but he dare not 
 ask." 
 
 " Oh ! my dear mistress," cried the faithful girl, 
 throwing her arms about the neck of her mistress, and 
 weeping as she did so, " would to God that I could 
 bear this for you." 
 
 " I thank you all the same, my dearest friend," the 
 countess replied, gazing gratefully up into her attend- 
 ant's face; "but it matters not much now. I shall not 
 suffer long. My sorrow will soon cease." 
 
 Zenobie looked inquiringly up, but she did not 
 speak. 
 
CONCLUSION. 187 
 
 " God will soon take me home," the wretched maiden 
 murmured, after a pause. " I feel the chill hand upon 
 my heart even now, and I know that earth cannot bind 
 my spirit long with such a curse upon it ! " 
 
 Zenobie had no words of consolation more to offer, 
 so she did all she could do. She drew the head of her 
 mistress upon her bosom, and there she held it for a 
 long time. She held it thus until the door of the apart- 
 ment was opened and a female domestic entered. 
 
 " Lady," the new-comer said, trembling perceptibly 
 while she spoke, " the duke bade me tell you he awaited 
 your coming below in the hall." 
 
 She stopped here, and seemed to wait for an answer ; 
 but Kosalind did not speak. 
 
 " What answer shall I give him, lady ? " 
 
 At this the countess started up, but she sank back 
 again without speaking. 
 
 " Tell him we will come," interposed Zenobie, who 
 saw that the announcement had taken the last power of 
 effort from her mistress. 
 
 " Yes yes," whispered the countess, as the messen- 
 ger hesitated and gazed inquisitively into her face. 
 
 And with this the woman left the apartment. 
 
 " My dear mistress," spoke Zenobie, now calling all 
 her power of self-control to her aid, " all means of help 
 and escape we have tried in vain. The time has 
 come " 
 
 " Oh, God have mercy ! " groaned the countess. 
 
 " And we must meet it, since there is no further hope. 
 It will be better to go down at once than to arouse the 
 bad man's anger by more delay. Were there the least 
 glimmer of hope, we would not go ; but there is not. 
 You know what I mean." 
 
188 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 A few moments Kosalind sat like one dead. Then she 
 started up, with her hands clasped, and raised her eyes 
 towards heaven. She did not speak aloud, but her lips 
 moved, and she slowly uttered a prayer to God and it 
 was none the less eloquent because it was silent. Then 
 she turned to her companion. Her lips were set and 
 colorless, and a deathly look had overspread her whole 
 face. 
 
 " Zenobie.," she said, in a tone which bore no feeling 
 more than the gliding of cold, icy sound, " I am ready. 
 Once more, before the last joy of earth departs from 
 me, let me bless thee, and press thee to my bosom." 
 
 She opened her arms as she spoke, and when she 
 closed them again Zenobie was within their embrace. 
 
 " Bless you bless you ever ! God keep and guide 
 you to the end of life, and then receive you home to 
 Himself ! Kiss me. There I am ready now !" 
 
 The broken-hearted girl wiped the tear from her eye, 
 and in a moment more she was as cold and passionless 
 as before. 
 
 " Lead OH, Zenobie. I shall walk without help." 
 
 Without looking around the Moslem maiden led the 
 way to the hall. She walked slowly, and she fancied 
 she could hear the beating of her mistress's heart. In 
 the hall stood the duke with some half-dozen of his own 
 male attendants. He took the hand of the countess as 
 she approached him, and gazed earnestly into her face ; 
 but he did not speak. He led her towards one of the 
 drawing-rooms, and when they entered there they found 
 the hump-backed priest already in waiting. Eosalind 
 came well-nigh fainting when she saw this miserable 
 villain ready for his work. She knew now that the 
 priest was like the master. 
 
CONCLUSION. 189 
 
 " You see, my dear Countess," spoke the duke, in a 
 low, hypocritical tone, "that we have all prepared. I 
 trust we shall have no trouble before this holy man." 
 
 This last sentence was spoken in a threatening tone, 
 but it had no effect upon Rosalind. She hardly heard 
 the words he spoke. 
 
 " Come, father," said Olga, turning now to the priest. 
 " We are ready." 
 
 Savotano moved forward and mumbled a Latin prayer. 
 Then he looked upon the twain before him, and directed 
 them to kneel. 
 
 " No ! no ! no ! " gasped the fair countess, trembling 
 for the first time. " I cannot do that ! " 
 
 " Kneel ! " hissed the duke, between his clenched 
 teeth. And as he spoke he grasped the maiden more 
 firmly by the arm and forced her down. She uttered a 
 quick cry of pain as she felt the unmerciful grip, but she 
 could not resist the strong arm of her persecutor. 
 
 "Now go on! " the duke cried as he held the maiden 
 down. " Go on, Savotano, and let the business be 
 done as soon as possible." 
 
 " Hold ! " 
 
 It was a voice of thunder which spoke thus, and it 
 came from the door. The duke started to his feet, and 
 beheld Euric Nevel, the gunmaker, approaching the 
 spot. But the youth came not alone. Behind him 
 came the huge bulk of Vladimir the monk. And more 
 still back of the monk came the widow, Claudia Nevel, 
 and the boy Paul. And then there was, besides all this, 
 a heavy tramp of feet in the hall, and the clang of 
 steeL 
 
 "Hold! Stop this accursed mockery '." Kuric shouted, 
 as he strod.e up the apartment. 
 
190 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 " Miserable dog ! " gasped the duke, mad and frantic 
 with rage, " how dare you come hither ? " 
 
 "Look you, proud duke," the monk interposed, 
 coming quickly forward, "I am at the bottom of all 
 this, /have come to stop this foul work ! " 
 
 Eosalind had started to her feet when she first heard 
 Euric's voice ; and now, as the monk spoke, a ray of 
 hope darted to her soul, and with a quick bound she 
 reached her lover's side. 
 
 " Euric ! Euric ! " It was all she could say ; and 
 with a gushing, whelming flood of tears she pillowed 
 her head upon his bosom, and his stout arms were 
 wound fondly about her. 
 
 " Fear not," he whispered, " for oh ! Eosalind, thou 
 art safe now." 
 
 The mad duke saw the movement, and with a bitter 
 curse he started towards them. 
 
 "Now by the living gods! "-he shouted, with his 
 fists clenched and his eyes flashing fire, " you have corne 
 to your death ! What, ho, there ! Without I Slaves, 
 where are you ? " 
 
 In a moment more the side door was thrown open, 
 and a dozen of the duke's servants came rushing in. 
 
 " Ha ! " Olga cried, " you are in time ! Seize these 
 dogs ! Kill them on the spot if they offer one act of 
 resistance. At them now ! Down with the dogs ! " 
 
 " HOLD ! " It was Vladimir who spoke, and every 
 arm dropped as they heard that voice. It was different 
 from the voice they had heard the fat monk use before. 
 
 The duke started as though a thunderbolt had burst 
 at his feet. 
 
 " Who art thou ? " he gasped, staggering further 
 back. 
 
CONCLUSION. 191 
 
 " Olga Duke of Tula" spoke the monk, in tones 
 which sounded strange for him, because they were so 
 different from those he had been wont to use, " I am 
 thy master ! " 
 
 As he spoke he threw open the long black robe which 
 enveloped his person, and cast it upon the floor at his 
 feet, and there let it lay, a huge pile of wadding and 
 stuffing ! The vast rotundity of his person was gone, 
 and the strange man now stood in his own fair form. 
 His chin that prominent chin was no more hidden, 
 and he was but a small man not much larger than the 
 boy Paul who stood near him. Next he placed his 
 hand to his head and tore away the tight skull-cap, and 
 the ring of gray hair came away with it, leaving a 
 cluster of glossy hair floating down over the neck and 
 shoulders ! 
 
 " It is the EMPEEOK ! " gasped Savatano, staggering 
 back. 
 
 " Aye ! " cried Peter, turning his darkly -flashing eyes 
 upon the staggering duke, " I am your Emperor. Paul, 
 go and call the guard." 
 
 The boy hastened from the palace, and when he re- 
 turned he was followed by a party of the Imperial 
 guard. 
 
 " Mercy ! mercy ! sire ! " gasped the duke, sinking 
 down on his knees. 
 
 But the emperor answered him not. He only turned 
 to his guard and bade them secure the duke and the 
 foul priest. 
 
 Eosalind Yaldai gazed upon the transformed man 
 until the strange truth worked its way to her struggling 
 mind, and then she turned once more to Kuric. She 
 
192 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 gazed up into his face, and she saw the holy smile 
 which rested there. The joyful truth came to her now, 
 and with one long, low . cry of frantic hope and bliss 
 she sank upon her noble lover's bosom. She could 
 not speak she could only cling closely and more close 
 to her loved protector, and with her head pillowed on 
 his breast close by the heart that beat for her, she wept 
 away all the grief of her opened soul. 
 
 " Olga," spoke the emperor, after the nobleman had 
 been firmly bound, " your race of iniquity is run." 
 
 " No, no, sire," the duke cried, in humble, supplicat- 
 ing tones, " say not so. In this single thing I may 
 have been wrong, but let my mad, consuming love be 
 some palliation for my offence. Oh ! you will not 
 crush me with public shame for this. You will not 
 cast from you one who loves you well." 
 
 " Oh, miserable man ! " said Peter, with a look of 
 utter contempt upon the base wretch, " add not perjury 
 to your already accumulated crimes. Hark you : Some 
 months since I knew there was a conspiracy in my capi- 
 tal, and I knew there was much of evil, too, which was 
 never reported to me. I resolved to ferret it out, and 
 to that end I meant to mingle among my people with- 
 out their knowing me. So I had that robe made, and 
 so stuffed and wadded thai" I could even hide my chin 
 in the seeming fat. I assumed the garb, and my own 
 master-at-arms did not at first know mo. Once in a 
 while I made my page assume the garb, anJ be seen in 
 it about the city, and thus all thought of suspecting me 
 was cut off. I have been at work, Olga, and I have 
 found out all I sought. It was mere accident that threw 
 me in the way of this young gun maker, and it was by 
 
CONCLUSION. 193 
 
 accident, too, that I overheard the Count Damonoff and 
 uis companion discussing the subject of their mission 
 to the gunmaker's shop. Of course, I followed that 
 scheme up, and I should have snatched our fair young 
 countess from your grasp ere this had I not been de- 
 sirous of arriving at another point first. Perhaps you 
 know that the Princess Sophia and the Minister Ga- 
 litzin have planned a grand overturn of my throne. 
 Ah, you tremble ! And now, my noble duke," the em- 
 peror continued, in a deeper tone, " I have learned of 
 your own guilt in that affair. O ! you love me, do you? 
 But I know you now. Two of your poor tools are in 
 my hands. They are named Totma and Viska. They 
 have made a full confession, and I know all your vil- 
 lainies. I know what you have planned against this 
 noble countess, and against her noble lover ; I know 
 what you planned against the Count Damonoff ; and I 
 know, too, what you have planned against the emperor. 
 Not a word, sir ! You are the Duke of Tula no more. 
 A more worthy man wears the ducal coronet from this 
 hour. Ruric Nevel shall assume the station you have 
 disgraced, and I know he will ennoble it once more." 
 
 As Peter ceased speaking he waved his hand to his 
 officers, and they bore the prisoners from the room. The 
 priest said not a word, but Olga cursed loudly and bit- 
 terly. 
 
 When the dark villains had gone, Peter stepped for- 
 ward and took Eosalind's hand. There was a tear in 
 his bright eye, and his nether lip trembled. 
 
 " Fair cousin," he said, in a low, soft tone, " I could 
 not promise thee that thou shouldst not wed with the 
 Duke of Tula, for I had even then planned that y*u 
 
194 THE GUNMAKEB OF MOSCOW. 
 
 should do that thing. But it will not be very hard, 
 will it?" 
 
 The countess gazed up, and a murmur of thanks was 
 upon her lips ; but the gushing flood started forth anew 
 and she could only look the joyful blessings she could 
 not speak. Peter imprinted a kiss upon her pure brow, 
 and then gave her hand to Euric, and as he did so he 
 said, with a warm smile : 
 
 "You must be her guardian hereafter, and should 
 you tire of the duty your emperor will be ever ready to 
 grant her the asylum she needs." 
 
 * #V **#-'## 
 
 A week had passed away, from the time of the 
 strange scene just recorded. The former duke, Olga, 
 had been convicted of treason, and was now on his way 
 to the eternal wilds of Siberia. But let me say here : 
 He never reached the land of his banishment. His 
 proud heart broke on the road, and he died, unknown 
 and uncared for, in a peasant's cot among the rugged 
 mountains of Uralia. He had begged of the officer 
 who guarded him not to tell his station, and the 
 peasants supposed they were burying a common trav- 
 eler when they laid away the mortal remains of Olga 
 in the cold grave they had prepared. 
 
 Savotano, the hump-backed priest, was executed as a 
 common murderer, while his companions in crime were 
 punished as their various degrees of guilt demanded. 
 
 And now comes the closing scene. 
 
 Within the largest apartment of the ducal palace 
 were assembled a brilliant company, and the emperor 
 himself was master of the ceremonies. 
 
 Buric Nevel, the Gunmaker of Moscow, knelt at the 
 
CONCLUSION. 195 
 
 amperor's feet ; and Peter drew his sword and laid the 
 glittering blade upon Buric's shoulders. And as he did 
 so he said : 
 
 " Arise, Sir Euric, Duke of Tula, and receive thy 
 just title and bonded instruments." 
 
 The youth arose, pale and trembling with the strange 
 excitement of the moment, and then the emperor handed 
 him a broad parchment roll, with its heavy seals and 
 vignette bearing the arms of the dukedom. 
 
 " Now," cried Peter, whose brow was flushed with the 
 joy he himself was making, " let the rest of the work 
 go on. Come, holy father, we need your help to per- 
 form the rest of the ceremony." 
 
 Euric was pale no longer. As he felt the warm hand 
 of Eosalind trembling within his own the rich blood 
 mounted to his brow and temples, and in his dark eyes 
 the strange love-light danced like reflected sunbeams. 
 
 The word was spoken the bond of union was made, 
 and after all, Eosalind Valdai had become Duchess of 
 Tula. The widowed mother was the first to bless them 
 and the emperor came next. Then came Paul and Ze- 
 nobie, hand in hand. 
 
 " Aha/' spoke the happy duchess, as she caught the 
 new light of Zenobie's eye, and then turned to the glow- 
 ing face of Paul, " you are playing at the game of love." 
 
 " You will not object," whispered the fair girl, hiding 
 her face upon the bosom of her mistress. 
 
 " No, no, Zenobie." 
 
 " And you, my master," spoke Paul, gazing eagerly 
 into Euric's face, " you will not say nay." 
 
 " No, no, my noble Paul. If you can win her you 
 may have my consent " 
 
196 THE GUNMAKER OF MOSCOW. 
 
 She was won already. 
 
 There was yet one more to come. Conrad, Count 
 Damonoff, somewhat pale and weak, but yet on the 
 sure road to health, moved slowly forward and took the 
 hand of the joyous bride. Then he reached forth the 
 other hand and took the palm of Euric, and as he thus 
 held both their hands, he said : 
 
 " My lord and lady and, I must say, my best friend 
 let this moment atone for all of darkness between us 
 in the past. Be you happy both, and may God bless 
 you. Let me be accounted among your friends, and let 
 the future prove how grateful I can be." 
 
 " Aye," cried Euric, grasping the count's hand more 
 firmly, " let the future show how grateful we can all be 
 for the blessings of this hour ; and while we look to 
 God for help we will not fail to remember in our 
 prayers the author of our joys our noble emperor 
 Peter of Eussia !" 
 
 And so closed the scene as it should with one long > 
 loud shout of : 
 
 " God bless our emperor !" 
 
 Peter never forgot that moment. In the long years 
 thereafter, when he sometimes let the clouds of passion 
 settle upon his soul, he remembered that scene and that 
 shout. It was one of the bright spots in the memory 
 of his youth which he cherished always. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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