May 16, 2025 • 34 mins
When the British Consulate in Leghorn falls victim to a puzzling burglary, and an enigmatic English yacht pays an unexpected visit, it sparks an enthralling journey of espionage and hidden criminal machinations. This thrilling tale sweeps the reader from London to Scotland, and finally to the oppressed lands of Finland, under the harsh rule of imperial Russia. Our protagonist is a man of exceptional acumen, a precursor to the likes of Double O Seven, who finds himself pushed to his limits as he navigates this web of intrigue and deception to uncover the truth. - Summary by Nicholas Clifford
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Chapter eighteen of The Tsar Spy. This Liebrivox recording is
in the public domain recording by Tom West. The Tsar
Spy by William Lekeu. Chapter eighteen contains Elma's story. Before
me stood my love, a slim, tragic, rather wan figure
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in a heavy, dark traveling coat, and felt toke her
sweet lips parted and a look of bewildered amazement upon
her countenance as I burst in so suddenly upon her
in silence, I grasped her tiny, black gloved hand, and then,
also in silence, raised it passionately to my eager lips.
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Her soft dark eyes, those eyes that spoke, although she
was mute, met mine, and in them was a look
that I had never seen there before, a look which,
as plainly as any words, told me that my wild
fever passion was reciprocated. She gazed beyond into the room
where the others had assembled, and then looked at me inquiringly.
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Whereupon I led her forward to where they were, and
Uriel fell upon her and kissed her, with tears streaming
from her eyes. I prepared this surprise for you, mister Gregg,
Muriel said, laughing through her tears of joy. Olinto learnt
that she was on her way to London, and I
sent him to meet her. The princess has managed magnificently,
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has she not? Yes, thank God, she is free, I exclaimed,
But we must induce her to tell us everything. Muriel
was already helping my love out of her heavy Russian coat,
a costly garment lined with sable. And when after greeting
Jack and Olinto, she was comfortably seated, I took some
notepaper from the little writing table by the window and
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scribbled in pencil the words I need not write. How
delighted I am that you are safe, that the Almighty
has heard my prayers for you. Jack and Muriel have
told me all about life, work and his scoundrelly associates.
I know too, dear, for I may call you that,
may I not how terribly you must have suffered in
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silence through it all. Lfepoort is dead. He sank the
yacht with all the stolen property on board, but by
accident was himself in gulf, bending and watching intently as
I wrote. She drew back in horror and surprise at
the words. Then I added, we are all four determined
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that the guilty shall not go unpunished, and that the
affliction placed upon you shall be adequately avenged. You are
my own love. I am bold enough to call you so.
Some strong but mysterious bond of affinity between us caused
me to seek you out, and your pictured face seemed
to call me to your side. Although I was unaware
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of your peril, I was sent to you by the
unseen power to extricate you from the hands of your enemies. Therefore,
tell us everything, all that you know without fear, for
now that we are united, no harm can assail us.
She took the pencil, and, holding it in her white fingers,
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sat staring first at us and then looking unhesitatingly at
the white paper before her. Her position amid a hundred
conflicting emotions was one of extreme difficulty. It seemed as
though even now she was loath to reveal to us
the absolute truth. Muriel, standing behind her chair, tenderly stroked
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back the wealth of chestnut hair from her white brow.
Her complexion was perfect, even though her face was pale
and jaded and her eyes heavy consequent upon her long
weary journey from the now frozen North. Presently, when by
signs both Jack and Olinto had urged her to write.
She bent suddenly, and her pencil began to run swiftly
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over the paper. All of us stood exchanging glances in silence,
neither looking over her, but each determined to wait in
patience until the end once started. However, she did not pause.
She after sheet she covered. The silence for a long
time was complete, broken only by the rapid running of
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the pencil over the rough surface of the paper. She
had apparently become seized by a sudden determination to explain
everything now that she saw we were in real dread. Earnest,
I watched her sweet face bent so intently, and as
the fire light fell across it, found it incomparable. Yes,
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she was afflicted by loss of speech, it was true,
yet she was surely inexpressibly sweet and womanly, peerless above
all others. With a deep drawn sigh, she at last finished,
and her head still bowed in an attitude of humiliation.
It seemed she handed what she had written to me
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in breathless eagerness. I read as follows. It is true,
dear Love, for I call you so in return that
you were impelled towards me by the mysterious hand that
directs all things. You came in search of me, and
you risked your life for mine at Kajana. Therefore you
have a right to know the truth. You, as my champion,
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and the Princess as my friend, have contrived to effect
my freedom. Were it not for you, I should ere
this have been on my way to Sircullian, to the
tomb to which Obert had so ingeniously contrived to consign me. Ah,
you do not know, You never can know all that
I had suffered ever since I was a girl. Here
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the statement broke off and recommenced as follows. In order
that you should understand the truth, I had better begin
at the beginning. My father was an English merchant in Petersburg,
and my mother, Vera Bessanov, who before her marriage with
my father, was celebrated at court for her beauty and
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was one of the maids of honor to the Czarina.
She was the only daughter of Count Paul Bessanov, ex
Governor of Karpov, and before marrying my father, she had
and with her mother, been a well known figure in society.
Immediately after her marriage, her father died, leaving her in
possession of an ample fortune. Which with my father's own wealth,
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placed them among the richest and most influential in Petersburgh.
Among my father's most intimate friends was Baron Xavier Oberg,
who at that time held the very subordinate post in
the Ministry of the Interior, and from my earliest recollections
I can remember him coming freequantly to our house and
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being invited to the brilliant entertainments which my mother gave.
When I was thirteen, however, my father died of a
chill contracted while boar hunting on his estate in Kiev,
and within a few months a further disaster happened to us.
One night, while I was sitting alone reading aloud to
my mother, two strangers were announced, and on being shown in,
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they arrested my dear mother on a charge of complicity
in a revolutionary plot against the Tsar, which had been
discovered at Peterhoff. I stood decliant and indignant, for my
mother was certainly known Nielus. Yet they said that the
bomb had been introduced into the palace by the Countess
and the shy prop one of the ladies in waiting,
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who was an intimate friend of my mother's and often
used to visit her. They alleged that the conspiracy had
been hatched in our house, color being lent to that
theory by the fact that a year before, a well
known Russian with whom my father had had many business dealing,
had been proved to be the author of the plot
by which the Tsar's train was blown up near Lividia.
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They tore my mother away from me and placed her
in that gray prison van, the sight of which, in
the streets of Petersburg strikes terror into the heart of
every Russian, for a person once in that rumbling vehicle is,
as you know, lost forever to the world. I watched
her from the window being placed in that fatal conveyance,
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and then I think I must have painted, for I
recollect nothing more until I found myself upon the floor
with the gray dawn spreading, and all the horrible truth
came back to me. My mother was gone from me forever.
In sheer desperation, I went to the Ministry of the
Interior and sought an interview with the Baron, who, when
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I told him of the disaster, appeared greatly concerned and
went at once to the police department to make inquiry.
Next day, however, he came to me with the news
that the charge against my mother had been proved by
a state of the woman Shapirov herself, and that she
had already started on her long journey to Siberia. She
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had been exiled to one of those dreaded Arctic settlements
beyond Yakouts, a place where it is almost eternal winter
and where the conditions of life are such that half
the convicts are insane. The baron, however, declared that as
my father's friend, it was his duty to act as
guardian to me, and that, as my father had been English,
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I ought to be put to an English school. Therefore,
with his self assumed title of uncle, he took me
to Chichester for years. I remained there until one day
he came suddenly and fetched me away, taking me over
to Helsingfors, for the CSAR had now appointed him Governor
General to Finland. There for the first time, he introduced
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me to his son, Michael, pimply faced lieutenant of cavalry,
and said, in a most decisive manner, that I must
marry him. I naturally refused to marry a man for
whom I knew so little. Whereupon, finding me obdurate. He
quickly altered his tactics and became kindness itself, saying that
as I was young, he would allow me a year
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in which to make up my mind. A week later,
while living in the palace at Helsingfors, I overheard a
conversation between the Governor General and his son which revealed
to me a staggering truth that I had never suspected.
It was Obert himself who had benownced my mother to
the Minister of the Interior and had made those cruel,
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baseless charges against her. Then I discerned the reason she
being exiled. Her fortune, as well as that of my
father came to me. The reason they were scheming for
Michael to marry me was in order to obtain control
of my money. I I saw at once how helpless
I was in the hands of that unscrupulous pair, and
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I recognized too sufficient of the Baron's methods as the
strangler of Finland to show me what kind of character
he was beneath that calm eminently respectable, black coated exterior.
After deliberately sending my per mother to Siberia, he had
assumed the role of my guardian in order that he might,
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when I came of age, obtain control of my inheritance.
The idea, no doubt, being that I should marry Michael,
and then, after the necessary legal formalities, I should, on
a trumped up charge of conspiracy, share the same fate
as my mother had done the e colonel's scoundrel. I
ejaculated when I read for words while from Jack, who
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had been looking over my shoulder, escaped a fierce and
forcible vow of vengeance. The baron took me with him
to Petersburg when we went on official business, and we
remain there merely a month. The narrative went on. While there,
I received a secret message from the Red Priest, the
unseen and unknown power of Mealism, who has for so
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many years battled the police. I went to see him,
and he revealed to me how Oberg had contrived to
have my mother vanished upon a false charge. He warned
me against the man who had pretended to be my
father's friend, and also told me that he had known
my father intimately, and that if I got into any
further difficulty, I was to communicate with him and he
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would assist me. Obert took me back to Helsingfors a
few months later, and in summer we went to England.
He was a marvelously clever diplomatist. His tactics he could
change at will. When I was at school, he was
rough and brutal in his manner towards me, as he
was to all, But now he seemed to be endeavoring
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to inspire my confidence by treating me with kindly regard
and pleasant affability. In London, at Claridge's we met my
old schoolfellow Muriel and her father, a friend of Oberg's,
and in response to their invitation, went for a cruise
on their yacht, the Iris from Southampton. Our party was
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a very pleasant one and included woodruf and chatter, while
our crews across the Bay of This Pay and along
the Portuguese coast proved most delightful. One night, while we
were lying outside Lisbon, Woodruf and Chatter, together with olinto
went ashore, and when they returned in the early hours
of the morning, they awoke me by crossing the deck
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above my head. Then I heard some one outside my
cabin door, working as though with a screwdriver, unscrewing a
screw from the woodwork. This aroused my interest, and next
day I made a minute examination of the paneling, where
in one part I found two small brass screws that
had evidently been recent removed. Therefore, I succeeded in getting
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hold of a screwdriver from the carpenter's shop, and next night,
when everyone was asleep, I crept out and unscrewed the panel,
when to my surprise I saw that the secret cavity
behind was filled with beautiful jewelry, diamond collars, Tiara's necklace,
find pearls, emeralds, and turquoises, all thrown in indiscriminately. I
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replaced the panel and kept careful watch at Marseilles, where
we called more jewelry and a heavy bagful of plate
was brought aboard and secreted behind another panel. Then I
knew that the men were thieves, but surely continued the
strange story Mi nute Love had written. I need not
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describe all that occurred upon that eventful voyage, except to
tell you of one very curious incident which occurred. I
had spoken confidentially with Muriel regarding my suspicions of the
men who were our fellow guests, and when in secret,
I showed her several places on board the yacht where
valuables were secreted. She also became convinced that the men
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were expert feed to whom her father, for some unexplained reason,
rendered assistance an asylum. She told me that since she
had left school she had been on quite a number
of cruisers, and that the same party always accompanied her father.
She had, however, never suspected the truth until I pointed
it out to her. Well. One hot summer's night, we
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were lying off Naples, and as it was a grand
festa ashore and there was to be a gallop performance
at the theater, lyethegort took a box and the whole
party were rowed ashore. The crew were also given shortly
for the evening, but as the great heat had upset me,
I declined to accompany the theater party and remained on
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board with one sailor named Wilson to constitute the watch.
We had anchored about a half mile from land, and
earlier in the evening the Baron had gone ashore to
send telegrams to Russia, and had not returned. About ten
o'clock I went below to try and sleep, but I
had a slight attack of fever and was on able. Therefore,
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I redressed and sat with the light still out, gazing
across the Starlit Bay. Presently from my porthole, I saw
a shore boat approaching and recognized in it the baron
with a well dressed stranger. They both came on board,
and the boat, and having been paid, pulled back to
the shore. Then the baron and his friend, a dark,
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middle aged, full bearded fellow, evidently a person of refinement,
went below to the saloon, and after a few moments
called to the man Wilson, who was on the watch,
and gave him a glass of whiskey and water, which
he took up on deck to drink at his leisure.
The unusual character of my fellow guests on board that
craft was such that my suspicion was constantly on the alert. Therefore,
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curiosity tempted me to creep along and peek in at
the crack of the door. Standing ajar a closer due
revealed the fact that the stranger was a high Russian
official to whom I had once been introduced at the
Government palace at helsingfors the Private Councilor and Senator Paul Palostov.
They were smoking together and discussing in Russian the means
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by which he Palovstov had arranged to obtain some plans
of some new British fortifications at Gibraltar. From what he said,
it seemed that some Russian woman married to an Englishman,
a captain in the garrison, had been impressed into the
Secret Service against her will, but that she had, in
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order to save herself, promised to obtain the photographs and
plans that were required. I heard the Englishman's name, and
I resolved to take some steps to inform him in
secret of the intentions of the Russian agent. Presently, the
two men took fresh cigars, ascended on deck, and cast
themselves in the long cane chairs amidships. Still all curiosity
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to hear further details on the ingenious piece of espionage
against my own nation, I took off my shoes and
crept up to a spot where I could crouch, concealed
and overhear. Their conversation for the Italian night was calm
and still. They talked mainly about affairs in Finland, and
with some of Obert's expressions of opinion, Plastov ventured to differ.
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This aroused the Baron's anger, and I knew from the
cold sarcasms of his remarks and the peculiarly hard tone
of his voice, that he was more incensed than he
outwardly showed himself to be. He rose and stood with
his back to the bulwarks, facing his friend, who still
sat leaning back in his deck chair, insisting upon his
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own views. He was quite calm and not in the
least perturbed by the evil blimp in the Baron's eye.
Perhaps he did not know him so well as I did.
He did not know what that look meant. Suddenly, while
the Privy Councilor lay back in his chair, pulling thoughtfully
at his cigar, there was a bright blood red flash,
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a dull report, and a man's short, agonized cry. Startled
I leaned around the corner of the deck house, when,
to my abject horror, I saw under the electric rays
the Tsar's Privy Councilor lying sideways in his chair, with
part of his face blown away. Then the hideous truth,
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in an instant became apparent. The cigar which Obert had
pressed upon him down in the saloon, had exploded, and
the small missile concealed inside the diabolical contrivance had passed
upwards into his brain. For a moment, I stood utterly stupefied.
Yet as I looked, I saw the Baron, in apparent's
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of rage, shake his fist in the dead man's face
and cried with a fearful imprecation. You hound, you have
plotted to replace me in the Tsar's favor. You intended
to become Governor General of Finland. You knew certain facts
which you intended to put out before his Majesty, knowing
that the revelations would result in my disgrace and downfall.
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But you infernal cur you did not know that those
who attempt could quart Xavier Oberg either die by accident
or go for life to Kajana or the mines. And
he spurned the body with his foot and laughed to
himself as he gloated over his dastardly crime. I watched
his rage, unable to utter a single word. I saw him,
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after he had searched the dead man's pockets, raise the
inert body with its awful, featureless face, and drag it
to the bulwarks. Then I rushed forward and faced him.
In an instant, he sprang at me and I said, scream,
but no aid came. The man Wilson was sleeping soundly
in the boughs, for the whiskey he had given him
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had been doctored, went on the narrative. Upon his face
was a fierce, murderous look, such as I had never
seen before. You, he screamed, his dark eyes starting from
their sockets as he realized that I had been a
witness of his cowardly crime. You have spied upon me, girl,
he hissed, and you shall die also. I sank upon
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my knees, imploring him to spare me, but he only
laughed at my entreaty. See, he cried, As you saw
how he enjoyed his cigar, you may as well see this.
And with an effort, he raised the dead body in
his arms, poised it for a moment on the vessel's side,
and then, with a hoarse laugh of triumph, heaved it
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into the sea. There was a splash, and then we
were alone. And you, he cried in a fierce voice,
you who have spied upon me. You will follow the water.
There will close your chattering mouth. I shrieked, begged, and implored,
But his trembling hands were upon my throat hirst. He
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dragged me to my feet. Then he threw me upon
my knees, and at last, with that grim brutality which
characterizes him, he directed me to go and get a
mop and bucket from the forecastle and remove the dark
red stains from the chair and death. This he actually
forced me to do, gloating over my horror as I
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removed for him the traces of his cowardly crime. Then,
with his hand upon my shoulder, he said, girl, recollect
that you keep to night's work secret. If not, you
shall die of death more painful than that dog has died,
one in which you shall experience all the tortures of
the dam. Recollect not a single word or death. Now
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go to your cabin and never fly into my affairs again.
I went back to my cabin as I was bid,
and sat speechless in abject horror. The fiendish actions of
the man who was my guardian frightened me, and yet
I was utterly helpless. What could I do? Who in
Holy Russia would hear me? Obert was a power in
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the empire. The Czar himself trusted him. If I spoke,
who would believe me? Who would heed the words? Of
a defenseless girl, whom he would at once declare to
be hysterical. Thus I waited alone in the darkness, watching
the lights of the port gleaming across the placid waters,
until nearly one o'clock, when the gay party returned, and
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the baron greeted them merrily, as though nothing had happened.
But my heart was frozen within me by the recollection
of the awful crime that had been committed. Why now,
I remember, cried muriel A Maze. I remember that night
quite well, how white you were when you came to
my cabin and asked to be allowed to sleep in
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my spare birth. You would tell me nothing and only
said you were ill. None of us had any idea
that such a terrible tragedy had been enacted, But of
course the Baron had arranged it all, for it was
at his instigation. I recollect that the crew had been
given Shorely. Mackintosh suggested that only half the crew should go,
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but he declared that if Wilson alone were left it
would be sufficient. I too, recollect the affair quite well,
Jack declared, tugging at his mustache, utterly amazed at my
love's strange story. It was a strange statement of her
astounding facts, and she now stood clinging to me, looking
eagerly into my eyes, meeting every thought that passed through
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my mind. A great sensation was caused when the body
was discovered. The squadron was lying off Naples about a
week after the Iris had left, and while we were
there of the body was washed up near Sorrento. At first,
but little notice was taken of it. But by the
marks on the dead man's linen, it was discovered that
he was Palastov, one of the highest Russian officials, who had,
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it was said, been worn on several occasions by the Nillis.
It was therefore concluded that his death had been due
to Nillis vengeance. Elma pointed to the paper and made
a sign that I was to read on this. I did,
and the statement ran as follows. The real reason why
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the baron spared my life was because if I died,
my fortune would pass through distant cousin living at Durham.
Yet his manner towards me was now most polite and pleasant,
a change that I felt voted no good. He intended
to obtain my money by marrying me to his son Michael,
whose evil reputation as a gambler was well known in Petersburg.
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We traveled back to Finnland in the autumn, and in
the winter he took me to stay with his sister
in niece. Yet almost daily he referred to that tragedy
at Naples and threatened me with death if ever I
uttered a single word or even admitted that I had
ever seen the man who was his rival and his victim.
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Last June commenced another paragraph. We were in Helsingfors when
one day the baron called me suddenly and told me
to prepare for a journey. We were to cross the
Stockholm and thence to the hall where the Iris was
awaiting us, for mister Lythepoot and Muriel had invited us
for a summer cruise to the Greek islands. We boarded
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the yacht much against my will, yet I was powerless,
and dare not acknowledge the facts that I had already
established concerning our fellow guests. Muriel and I, it seemed,
were taken merely in order to blind the shore guards
and customs officials as to the real nature of the best, which,
when safely out of the channel, was repainted and renamed
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the Lola, until her exterior presented quite a different appearance
from the Irish. The port of le Gorn was our
first place of call, and for some reason we ran
purposely upon a sand bank and were towed off by
Italian torpedo boats. Next evening you came on board and dined.
Muriel and myself, having strict daughters not to show ourselves.
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We however, watched you, and I saw you pick up
my photograph, which I had that day torn up. Then,
immediately after you had left, Woodruff, Chatter and Macintosh went
ashore and were away a couple of hours. In the
middle of the night, just before they returned, the baron
rapped at the door of my cabin, saying that he
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must go ashore, and telling me to dress and accompany him.
He would never allow me the luxury of a maid,
fearing I suppose that she might burn too much. In obedience,
I rose and dressed, and when I went forth, he
told me to get my traveling cloak and dressing bag,
adding that he was compelled to go north as to
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continue the cruise would occupy too much time. He was
due back at his official duties. He said, as soon
as I had finished packing, the three men returned to
the vessel, all of them looking dark faced and disappointed.
Woodrup whispered some words to the Baron, after which I
went to Muriel's cabin and wished her to die, and
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we went ashore, taking the train first to please Salvetti,
then to Pisa, and afterwards to the beautiful old city
of Siena, which I had so longed to see. One
of my teeth gave me pain, and the Baron, after
a couple of days at the hotel Disiennes, took me
to a queer looking little old Italian, a dentist, who
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he said, enjoyed an excellent reputation. I was quick to
notice that the two men had met before, and as
I sat in the chair and gas was given to me,
I saw them exchange meaning glances. In a few moments,
I became insensible, but when I awoke an hour later,
I was astounded to feel a curious soreness in my ears.
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My tongue too seemed paralyzed, and in a few moments
the awful truth dawned upon me. I had been rendered
deaf and dumb. The Baron pretended to be greatly concerned
about me. It went on, but I quickly realized that
I had been the victim of a foul and dastardly plot,
and that he had conceived it Fearing lest I might
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speak the truth concerning the Privy councilor Philostov for of exposure.
He lived in constant fear. To encompass my end would
be against his own interest, as he would lose my fortune.
So he had me silence lest I should reveal the
terrible truth concerning both him and his associ He was
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not rich, and I have reason to believe that from
time to time he gave information as the persons who
possessed valuable jewels, and thus shared in the plunder obtained
by those on the yacht. From Italy, we traveled on
to Berlin, thence to Petersburg and back to Drerey, helsingfors
journeying as quickly as we could, yet never allowing me
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opportunity of being with strangers. Both my ears and tongue
were very painful, but I said nothing. He was surely
a fiend in a black coat, and my only thought
now was how to escape him. From the moment when
that so called dentist had ruined my hearing and deprived
me a power of speech. He kept me aloof from everyone.
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The fear that I should reveal everything had apparently grown
to haunt him, and he had conceived that terrible mood
of silencing my lips. But the true depth of his
villainy was not yet apparent until I was back in Finland.
On the night of our arrival, he called in his son,
who had traveled with us from Petersburg, and in writing
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again demanded that I should marry him. I wrote my
reply a firm refusal. He struck the table angrily with
his fist and wrote saying that I should either marry
his son or die. The next day, while walking alone
out beyond the town of Helsingfors, as I often used
to do, I was arrested upon the false charge of
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an attempt upon the life of Madame b Koorov, and
transported without trial to the terrible fortress of Kajana, some
of the horrors of which you have yourself experienced. The
charge against me was necessary before I could be incarcerated there,
but once within it it was the scheme of the
Governor General to obtain my consent to the marriage by
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threats and by the constant terrors of the place. He
even went so far as to obtain a ministerial order
from my banishment to Suchilium, and brought it to me
to Kajana, declaring that if in one month I did
not consent, he should allow me to be sent to exile.
While I was in Kajana, he knew that his secret
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was safe. Therefore, by every means in his power, he
urged me to consent to the odious union. All the
rest is known to you, how Providence directed you to
me as my deliverer, and how Woudra followed you in secret, and,
pretending to be my friend, took me with him to Petersburg.
He had learnt of my fortune from the baron and
(32:40):
intended to marry me himself. But now that all is over,
it appears to me like some terrible dream. I never
believed that so much iniquity existed in the world, or
that men could fight a defenseless woman with such double
dealing and cruel ingenuity. Ah, the tortures I endured in
Kaja are beyond human conception. Yet surely Obert and Woodruf
(33:04):
will obtain their well merited deserts if not in this world,
then in the world to come. Are we not taught
by holy writ to forgive our enemies? Therefore let us
forgive there my silent love. Strange story ended, a bald,
straightforward narrative that held us all for some moments absolutely speechless.
(33:28):
One of the strangest and most startling stories ever revealed.
She watched every expression of my countenance, and then, when
I had finished reading and placed my arm tenderly about
her slim waist, she raised her beautiful face to mine
to receive the passionate kiss I imprinted upon those soft,
full lips. This, of course, makes everything plain, exclaimed Jack
(33:53):
the Lostov was a very liberal minded and upright official
who was greatly in favor of the Czar and a
series his rival to Oberg, whose drastic and merciless methods
in Finland were not exactly approved by the Emperor. The
baron was well aware of this, and by ingeniously enticing
him on board the Iris, he succeeded by handing that
(34:14):
small bomb concealed in his cigar, a Nielus contrivance that
had probably been seized by his police in Finland, in
freeing himself from the rival, who was destined to occupy
his post. Yes, I said, with a sigh. The mystery
is cleared up. It is true. Yet my poor Elma
is still the victim. And I kissed my love passionately,
(34:36):
again and again upon the lips and the chapter eighteen
recording by Tom Waits
Chapter eighteen of The Tsar Spy. This Liebrivox recording is
in the public domain recording by Tom West. The Tsar
Spy by William Lekeu. Chapter eighteen contains Elma's story. Before
me stood my love, a slim, tragic, rather wan figure
(00:25):
in a heavy, dark traveling coat, and felt toke her
sweet lips parted and a look of bewildered amazement upon
her countenance as I burst in so suddenly upon her
in silence, I grasped her tiny, black gloved hand, and then,
also in silence, raised it passionately to my eager lips.
(00:45):
Her soft dark eyes, those eyes that spoke, although she
was mute, met mine, and in them was a look
that I had never seen there before, a look which,
as plainly as any words, told me that my wild
fever passion was reciprocated. She gazed beyond into the room
where the others had assembled, and then looked at me inquiringly.
(01:08):
Whereupon I led her forward to where they were, and
Uriel fell upon her and kissed her, with tears streaming
from her eyes. I prepared this surprise for you, mister Gregg,
Muriel said, laughing through her tears of joy. Olinto learnt
that she was on her way to London, and I
sent him to meet her. The princess has managed magnificently,
(01:31):
has she not? Yes, thank God, she is free, I exclaimed,
But we must induce her to tell us everything. Muriel
was already helping my love out of her heavy Russian coat,
a costly garment lined with sable. And when after greeting
Jack and Olinto, she was comfortably seated, I took some
notepaper from the little writing table by the window and
(01:54):
scribbled in pencil the words I need not write. How
delighted I am that you are safe, that the Almighty
has heard my prayers for you. Jack and Muriel have
told me all about life, work and his scoundrelly associates.
I know too, dear, for I may call you that,
may I not how terribly you must have suffered in
(02:16):
silence through it all. Lfepoort is dead. He sank the
yacht with all the stolen property on board, but by
accident was himself in gulf, bending and watching intently as
I wrote. She drew back in horror and surprise at
the words. Then I added, we are all four determined
(02:37):
that the guilty shall not go unpunished, and that the
affliction placed upon you shall be adequately avenged. You are
my own love. I am bold enough to call you so.
Some strong but mysterious bond of affinity between us caused
me to seek you out, and your pictured face seemed
to call me to your side. Although I was unaware
(03:00):
of your peril, I was sent to you by the
unseen power to extricate you from the hands of your enemies. Therefore,
tell us everything, all that you know without fear, for
now that we are united, no harm can assail us.
She took the pencil, and, holding it in her white fingers,
(03:21):
sat staring first at us and then looking unhesitatingly at
the white paper before her. Her position amid a hundred
conflicting emotions was one of extreme difficulty. It seemed as
though even now she was loath to reveal to us
the absolute truth. Muriel, standing behind her chair, tenderly stroked
(03:43):
back the wealth of chestnut hair from her white brow.
Her complexion was perfect, even though her face was pale
and jaded and her eyes heavy consequent upon her long
weary journey from the now frozen North. Presently, when by
signs both Jack and Olinto had urged her to write.
She bent suddenly, and her pencil began to run swiftly
(04:06):
over the paper. All of us stood exchanging glances in silence,
neither looking over her, but each determined to wait in
patience until the end once started. However, she did not pause.
She after sheet she covered. The silence for a long
time was complete, broken only by the rapid running of
(04:27):
the pencil over the rough surface of the paper. She
had apparently become seized by a sudden determination to explain
everything now that she saw we were in real dread. Earnest,
I watched her sweet face bent so intently, and as
the fire light fell across it, found it incomparable. Yes,
(04:48):
she was afflicted by loss of speech, it was true,
yet she was surely inexpressibly sweet and womanly, peerless above
all others. With a deep drawn sigh, she at last finished,
and her head still bowed in an attitude of humiliation.
It seemed she handed what she had written to me
(05:09):
in breathless eagerness. I read as follows. It is true,
dear Love, for I call you so in return that
you were impelled towards me by the mysterious hand that
directs all things. You came in search of me, and
you risked your life for mine at Kajana. Therefore you
have a right to know the truth. You, as my champion,
(05:33):
and the Princess as my friend, have contrived to effect
my freedom. Were it not for you, I should ere
this have been on my way to Sircullian, to the
tomb to which Obert had so ingeniously contrived to consign me. Ah,
you do not know, You never can know all that
I had suffered ever since I was a girl. Here
(05:55):
the statement broke off and recommenced as follows. In order
that you should understand the truth, I had better begin
at the beginning. My father was an English merchant in Petersburg,
and my mother, Vera Bessanov, who before her marriage with
my father, was celebrated at court for her beauty and
(06:16):
was one of the maids of honor to the Czarina.
She was the only daughter of Count Paul Bessanov, ex
Governor of Karpov, and before marrying my father, she had
and with her mother, been a well known figure in society.
Immediately after her marriage, her father died, leaving her in
possession of an ample fortune. Which with my father's own wealth,
(06:41):
placed them among the richest and most influential in Petersburgh.
Among my father's most intimate friends was Baron Xavier Oberg,
who at that time held the very subordinate post in
the Ministry of the Interior, and from my earliest recollections
I can remember him coming freequantly to our house and
(07:01):
being invited to the brilliant entertainments which my mother gave.
When I was thirteen, however, my father died of a
chill contracted while boar hunting on his estate in Kiev,
and within a few months a further disaster happened to us.
One night, while I was sitting alone reading aloud to
my mother, two strangers were announced, and on being shown in,
(07:23):
they arrested my dear mother on a charge of complicity
in a revolutionary plot against the Tsar, which had been
discovered at Peterhoff. I stood decliant and indignant, for my
mother was certainly known Nielus. Yet they said that the
bomb had been introduced into the palace by the Countess
and the shy prop one of the ladies in waiting,
(07:44):
who was an intimate friend of my mother's and often
used to visit her. They alleged that the conspiracy had
been hatched in our house, color being lent to that
theory by the fact that a year before, a well
known Russian with whom my father had had many business dealing,
had been proved to be the author of the plot
by which the Tsar's train was blown up near Lividia.
(08:08):
They tore my mother away from me and placed her
in that gray prison van, the sight of which, in
the streets of Petersburg strikes terror into the heart of
every Russian, for a person once in that rumbling vehicle is,
as you know, lost forever to the world. I watched
her from the window being placed in that fatal conveyance,
(08:30):
and then I think I must have painted, for I
recollect nothing more until I found myself upon the floor
with the gray dawn spreading, and all the horrible truth
came back to me. My mother was gone from me forever.
In sheer desperation, I went to the Ministry of the
Interior and sought an interview with the Baron, who, when
(08:52):
I told him of the disaster, appeared greatly concerned and
went at once to the police department to make inquiry.
Next day, however, he came to me with the news
that the charge against my mother had been proved by
a state of the woman Shapirov herself, and that she
had already started on her long journey to Siberia. She
(09:12):
had been exiled to one of those dreaded Arctic settlements
beyond Yakouts, a place where it is almost eternal winter
and where the conditions of life are such that half
the convicts are insane. The baron, however, declared that as
my father's friend, it was his duty to act as
guardian to me, and that, as my father had been English,
(09:35):
I ought to be put to an English school. Therefore,
with his self assumed title of uncle, he took me
to Chichester for years. I remained there until one day
he came suddenly and fetched me away, taking me over
to Helsingfors, for the CSAR had now appointed him Governor
General to Finland. There for the first time, he introduced
(09:57):
me to his son, Michael, pimply faced lieutenant of cavalry,
and said, in a most decisive manner, that I must
marry him. I naturally refused to marry a man for
whom I knew so little. Whereupon, finding me obdurate. He
quickly altered his tactics and became kindness itself, saying that
as I was young, he would allow me a year
(10:20):
in which to make up my mind. A week later,
while living in the palace at Helsingfors, I overheard a
conversation between the Governor General and his son which revealed
to me a staggering truth that I had never suspected.
It was Obert himself who had benownced my mother to
the Minister of the Interior and had made those cruel,
(10:42):
baseless charges against her. Then I discerned the reason she
being exiled. Her fortune, as well as that of my
father came to me. The reason they were scheming for
Michael to marry me was in order to obtain control
of my money. I I saw at once how helpless
I was in the hands of that unscrupulous pair, and
(11:05):
I recognized too sufficient of the Baron's methods as the
strangler of Finland to show me what kind of character
he was beneath that calm eminently respectable, black coated exterior.
After deliberately sending my per mother to Siberia, he had
assumed the role of my guardian in order that he might,
(11:25):
when I came of age, obtain control of my inheritance.
The idea, no doubt, being that I should marry Michael,
and then, after the necessary legal formalities, I should, on
a trumped up charge of conspiracy, share the same fate
as my mother had done the e colonel's scoundrel. I
ejaculated when I read for words while from Jack, who
(11:48):
had been looking over my shoulder, escaped a fierce and
forcible vow of vengeance. The baron took me with him
to Petersburg when we went on official business, and we
remain there merely a month. The narrative went on. While there,
I received a secret message from the Red Priest, the
unseen and unknown power of Mealism, who has for so
(12:12):
many years battled the police. I went to see him,
and he revealed to me how Oberg had contrived to
have my mother vanished upon a false charge. He warned
me against the man who had pretended to be my
father's friend, and also told me that he had known
my father intimately, and that if I got into any
further difficulty, I was to communicate with him and he
(12:35):
would assist me. Obert took me back to Helsingfors a
few months later, and in summer we went to England.
He was a marvelously clever diplomatist. His tactics he could
change at will. When I was at school, he was
rough and brutal in his manner towards me, as he
was to all, But now he seemed to be endeavoring
(12:57):
to inspire my confidence by treating me with kindly regard
and pleasant affability. In London, at Claridge's we met my
old schoolfellow Muriel and her father, a friend of Oberg's,
and in response to their invitation, went for a cruise
on their yacht, the Iris from Southampton. Our party was
(13:17):
a very pleasant one and included woodruf and chatter, while
our crews across the Bay of This Pay and along
the Portuguese coast proved most delightful. One night, while we
were lying outside Lisbon, Woodruf and Chatter, together with olinto
went ashore, and when they returned in the early hours
of the morning, they awoke me by crossing the deck
(13:39):
above my head. Then I heard some one outside my
cabin door, working as though with a screwdriver, unscrewing a
screw from the woodwork. This aroused my interest, and next
day I made a minute examination of the paneling, where
in one part I found two small brass screws that
had evidently been recent removed. Therefore, I succeeded in getting
(14:02):
hold of a screwdriver from the carpenter's shop, and next night,
when everyone was asleep, I crept out and unscrewed the panel,
when to my surprise I saw that the secret cavity
behind was filled with beautiful jewelry, diamond collars, Tiara's necklace,
find pearls, emeralds, and turquoises, all thrown in indiscriminately. I
(14:25):
replaced the panel and kept careful watch at Marseilles, where
we called more jewelry and a heavy bagful of plate
was brought aboard and secreted behind another panel. Then I
knew that the men were thieves, but surely continued the
strange story Mi nute Love had written. I need not
(14:46):
describe all that occurred upon that eventful voyage, except to
tell you of one very curious incident which occurred. I
had spoken confidentially with Muriel regarding my suspicions of the
men who were our fellow guests, and when in secret,
I showed her several places on board the yacht where
valuables were secreted. She also became convinced that the men
(15:09):
were expert feed to whom her father, for some unexplained reason,
rendered assistance an asylum. She told me that since she
had left school she had been on quite a number
of cruisers, and that the same party always accompanied her father.
She had, however, never suspected the truth until I pointed
it out to her. Well. One hot summer's night, we
(15:32):
were lying off Naples, and as it was a grand
festa ashore and there was to be a gallop performance
at the theater, lyethegort took a box and the whole
party were rowed ashore. The crew were also given shortly
for the evening, but as the great heat had upset me,
I declined to accompany the theater party and remained on
(15:54):
board with one sailor named Wilson to constitute the watch.
We had anchored about a half mile from land, and
earlier in the evening the Baron had gone ashore to
send telegrams to Russia, and had not returned. About ten
o'clock I went below to try and sleep, but I
had a slight attack of fever and was on able. Therefore,
(16:17):
I redressed and sat with the light still out, gazing
across the Starlit Bay. Presently from my porthole, I saw
a shore boat approaching and recognized in it the baron
with a well dressed stranger. They both came on board,
and the boat, and having been paid, pulled back to
the shore. Then the baron and his friend, a dark,
(16:39):
middle aged, full bearded fellow, evidently a person of refinement,
went below to the saloon, and after a few moments
called to the man Wilson, who was on the watch,
and gave him a glass of whiskey and water, which
he took up on deck to drink at his leisure.
The unusual character of my fellow guests on board that
craft was such that my suspicion was constantly on the alert. Therefore,
(17:03):
curiosity tempted me to creep along and peek in at
the crack of the door. Standing ajar a closer due
revealed the fact that the stranger was a high Russian
official to whom I had once been introduced at the
Government palace at helsingfors the Private Councilor and Senator Paul Palostov.
They were smoking together and discussing in Russian the means
(17:26):
by which he Palovstov had arranged to obtain some plans
of some new British fortifications at Gibraltar. From what he said,
it seemed that some Russian woman married to an Englishman,
a captain in the garrison, had been impressed into the
Secret Service against her will, but that she had, in
(17:46):
order to save herself, promised to obtain the photographs and
plans that were required. I heard the Englishman's name, and
I resolved to take some steps to inform him in
secret of the intentions of the Russian agent. Presently, the
two men took fresh cigars, ascended on deck, and cast
themselves in the long cane chairs amidships. Still all curiosity
(18:09):
to hear further details on the ingenious piece of espionage
against my own nation, I took off my shoes and
crept up to a spot where I could crouch, concealed
and overhear. Their conversation for the Italian night was calm
and still. They talked mainly about affairs in Finland, and
with some of Obert's expressions of opinion, Plastov ventured to differ.
(18:34):
This aroused the Baron's anger, and I knew from the
cold sarcasms of his remarks and the peculiarly hard tone
of his voice, that he was more incensed than he
outwardly showed himself to be. He rose and stood with
his back to the bulwarks, facing his friend, who still
sat leaning back in his deck chair, insisting upon his
(18:54):
own views. He was quite calm and not in the
least perturbed by the evil blimp in the Baron's eye.
Perhaps he did not know him so well as I did.
He did not know what that look meant. Suddenly, while
the Privy Councilor lay back in his chair, pulling thoughtfully
at his cigar, there was a bright blood red flash,
(19:17):
a dull report, and a man's short, agonized cry. Startled
I leaned around the corner of the deck house, when,
to my abject horror, I saw under the electric rays
the Tsar's Privy Councilor lying sideways in his chair, with
part of his face blown away. Then the hideous truth,
(19:38):
in an instant became apparent. The cigar which Obert had
pressed upon him down in the saloon, had exploded, and
the small missile concealed inside the diabolical contrivance had passed
upwards into his brain. For a moment, I stood utterly stupefied.
Yet as I looked, I saw the Baron, in apparent's
(20:00):
of rage, shake his fist in the dead man's face
and cried with a fearful imprecation. You hound, you have
plotted to replace me in the Tsar's favor. You intended
to become Governor General of Finland. You knew certain facts
which you intended to put out before his Majesty, knowing
that the revelations would result in my disgrace and downfall.
(20:22):
But you infernal cur you did not know that those
who attempt could quart Xavier Oberg either die by accident
or go for life to Kajana or the mines. And
he spurned the body with his foot and laughed to
himself as he gloated over his dastardly crime. I watched
his rage, unable to utter a single word. I saw him,
(20:46):
after he had searched the dead man's pockets, raise the
inert body with its awful, featureless face, and drag it
to the bulwarks. Then I rushed forward and faced him.
In an instant, he sprang at me and I said, scream,
but no aid came. The man Wilson was sleeping soundly
in the boughs, for the whiskey he had given him
(21:07):
had been doctored, went on the narrative. Upon his face
was a fierce, murderous look, such as I had never
seen before. You, he screamed, his dark eyes starting from
their sockets as he realized that I had been a
witness of his cowardly crime. You have spied upon me, girl,
he hissed, and you shall die also. I sank upon
(21:30):
my knees, imploring him to spare me, but he only
laughed at my entreaty. See, he cried, As you saw
how he enjoyed his cigar, you may as well see this.
And with an effort, he raised the dead body in
his arms, poised it for a moment on the vessel's side,
and then, with a hoarse laugh of triumph, heaved it
(21:50):
into the sea. There was a splash, and then we
were alone. And you, he cried in a fierce voice,
you who have spied upon me. You will follow the water.
There will close your chattering mouth. I shrieked, begged, and implored,
But his trembling hands were upon my throat hirst. He
(22:12):
dragged me to my feet. Then he threw me upon
my knees, and at last, with that grim brutality which
characterizes him, he directed me to go and get a
mop and bucket from the forecastle and remove the dark
red stains from the chair and death. This he actually
forced me to do, gloating over my horror as I
(22:32):
removed for him the traces of his cowardly crime. Then,
with his hand upon my shoulder, he said, girl, recollect
that you keep to night's work secret. If not, you
shall die of death more painful than that dog has died,
one in which you shall experience all the tortures of
the dam. Recollect not a single word or death. Now
(22:56):
go to your cabin and never fly into my affairs again.
I went back to my cabin as I was bid,
and sat speechless in abject horror. The fiendish actions of
the man who was my guardian frightened me, and yet
I was utterly helpless. What could I do? Who in
Holy Russia would hear me? Obert was a power in
(23:19):
the empire. The Czar himself trusted him. If I spoke,
who would believe me? Who would heed the words? Of
a defenseless girl, whom he would at once declare to
be hysterical. Thus I waited alone in the darkness, watching
the lights of the port gleaming across the placid waters,
until nearly one o'clock, when the gay party returned, and
(23:42):
the baron greeted them merrily, as though nothing had happened.
But my heart was frozen within me by the recollection
of the awful crime that had been committed. Why now,
I remember, cried muriel A Maze. I remember that night
quite well, how white you were when you came to
my cabin and asked to be allowed to sleep in
(24:04):
my spare birth. You would tell me nothing and only
said you were ill. None of us had any idea
that such a terrible tragedy had been enacted, But of
course the Baron had arranged it all, for it was
at his instigation. I recollect that the crew had been
given Shorely. Mackintosh suggested that only half the crew should go,
(24:25):
but he declared that if Wilson alone were left it
would be sufficient. I too, recollect the affair quite well,
Jack declared, tugging at his mustache, utterly amazed at my
love's strange story. It was a strange statement of her
astounding facts, and she now stood clinging to me, looking
eagerly into my eyes, meeting every thought that passed through
(24:49):
my mind. A great sensation was caused when the body
was discovered. The squadron was lying off Naples about a
week after the Iris had left, and while we were
there of the body was washed up near Sorrento. At first,
but little notice was taken of it. But by the
marks on the dead man's linen, it was discovered that
he was Palastov, one of the highest Russian officials, who had,
(25:13):
it was said, been worn on several occasions by the Nillis.
It was therefore concluded that his death had been due
to Nillis vengeance. Elma pointed to the paper and made
a sign that I was to read on this. I did,
and the statement ran as follows. The real reason why
(25:34):
the baron spared my life was because if I died,
my fortune would pass through distant cousin living at Durham.
Yet his manner towards me was now most polite and pleasant,
a change that I felt voted no good. He intended
to obtain my money by marrying me to his son Michael,
whose evil reputation as a gambler was well known in Petersburg.
(25:58):
We traveled back to Finnland in the autumn, and in
the winter he took me to stay with his sister
in niece. Yet almost daily he referred to that tragedy
at Naples and threatened me with death if ever I
uttered a single word or even admitted that I had
ever seen the man who was his rival and his victim.
(26:20):
Last June commenced another paragraph. We were in Helsingfors when
one day the baron called me suddenly and told me
to prepare for a journey. We were to cross the
Stockholm and thence to the hall where the Iris was
awaiting us, for mister Lythepoot and Muriel had invited us
for a summer cruise to the Greek islands. We boarded
(26:42):
the yacht much against my will, yet I was powerless,
and dare not acknowledge the facts that I had already
established concerning our fellow guests. Muriel and I, it seemed,
were taken merely in order to blind the shore guards
and customs officials as to the real nature of the best, which,
when safely out of the channel, was repainted and renamed
(27:05):
the Lola, until her exterior presented quite a different appearance
from the Irish. The port of le Gorn was our
first place of call, and for some reason we ran
purposely upon a sand bank and were towed off by
Italian torpedo boats. Next evening you came on board and dined.
Muriel and myself, having strict daughters not to show ourselves.
(27:28):
We however, watched you, and I saw you pick up
my photograph, which I had that day torn up. Then,
immediately after you had left, Woodruff, Chatter and Macintosh went
ashore and were away a couple of hours. In the
middle of the night, just before they returned, the baron
rapped at the door of my cabin, saying that he
(27:49):
must go ashore, and telling me to dress and accompany him.
He would never allow me the luxury of a maid,
fearing I suppose that she might burn too much. In obedience,
I rose and dressed, and when I went forth, he
told me to get my traveling cloak and dressing bag,
adding that he was compelled to go north as to
(28:10):
continue the cruise would occupy too much time. He was
due back at his official duties. He said, as soon
as I had finished packing, the three men returned to
the vessel, all of them looking dark faced and disappointed.
Woodrup whispered some words to the Baron, after which I
went to Muriel's cabin and wished her to die, and
(28:32):
we went ashore, taking the train first to please Salvetti,
then to Pisa, and afterwards to the beautiful old city
of Siena, which I had so longed to see. One
of my teeth gave me pain, and the Baron, after
a couple of days at the hotel Disiennes, took me
to a queer looking little old Italian, a dentist, who
(28:53):
he said, enjoyed an excellent reputation. I was quick to
notice that the two men had met before, and as
I sat in the chair and gas was given to me,
I saw them exchange meaning glances. In a few moments,
I became insensible, but when I awoke an hour later,
I was astounded to feel a curious soreness in my ears.
(29:17):
My tongue too seemed paralyzed, and in a few moments
the awful truth dawned upon me. I had been rendered
deaf and dumb. The Baron pretended to be greatly concerned
about me. It went on, but I quickly realized that
I had been the victim of a foul and dastardly plot,
and that he had conceived it Fearing lest I might
(29:40):
speak the truth concerning the Privy councilor Philostov for of exposure.
He lived in constant fear. To encompass my end would
be against his own interest, as he would lose my fortune.
So he had me silence lest I should reveal the
terrible truth concerning both him and his associ He was
(30:02):
not rich, and I have reason to believe that from
time to time he gave information as the persons who
possessed valuable jewels, and thus shared in the plunder obtained
by those on the yacht. From Italy, we traveled on
to Berlin, thence to Petersburg and back to Drerey, helsingfors
journeying as quickly as we could, yet never allowing me
(30:25):
opportunity of being with strangers. Both my ears and tongue
were very painful, but I said nothing. He was surely
a fiend in a black coat, and my only thought
now was how to escape him. From the moment when
that so called dentist had ruined my hearing and deprived
me a power of speech. He kept me aloof from everyone.
(30:47):
The fear that I should reveal everything had apparently grown
to haunt him, and he had conceived that terrible mood
of silencing my lips. But the true depth of his
villainy was not yet apparent until I was back in Finland.
On the night of our arrival, he called in his son,
who had traveled with us from Petersburg, and in writing
(31:10):
again demanded that I should marry him. I wrote my
reply a firm refusal. He struck the table angrily with
his fist and wrote saying that I should either marry
his son or die. The next day, while walking alone
out beyond the town of Helsingfors, as I often used
to do, I was arrested upon the false charge of
(31:33):
an attempt upon the life of Madame b Koorov, and
transported without trial to the terrible fortress of Kajana, some
of the horrors of which you have yourself experienced. The
charge against me was necessary before I could be incarcerated there,
but once within it it was the scheme of the
Governor General to obtain my consent to the marriage by
(31:56):
threats and by the constant terrors of the place. He
even went so far as to obtain a ministerial order
from my banishment to Suchilium, and brought it to me
to Kajana, declaring that if in one month I did
not consent, he should allow me to be sent to exile.
While I was in Kajana, he knew that his secret
(32:17):
was safe. Therefore, by every means in his power, he
urged me to consent to the odious union. All the
rest is known to you, how Providence directed you to
me as my deliverer, and how Woudra followed you in secret, and,
pretending to be my friend, took me with him to Petersburg.
He had learnt of my fortune from the baron and
(32:40):
intended to marry me himself. But now that all is over,
it appears to me like some terrible dream. I never
believed that so much iniquity existed in the world, or
that men could fight a defenseless woman with such double
dealing and cruel ingenuity. Ah, the tortures I endured in
Kaja are beyond human conception. Yet surely Obert and Woodruf
(33:04):
will obtain their well merited deserts if not in this world,
then in the world to come. Are we not taught
by holy writ to forgive our enemies? Therefore let us
forgive there my silent love. Strange story ended, a bald,
straightforward narrative that held us all for some moments absolutely speechless.
(33:28):
One of the strangest and most startling stories ever revealed.
She watched every expression of my countenance, and then, when
I had finished reading and placed my arm tenderly about
her slim waist, she raised her beautiful face to mine
to receive the passionate kiss I imprinted upon those soft,
full lips. This, of course, makes everything plain, exclaimed Jack
(33:53):
the Lostov was a very liberal minded and upright official
who was greatly in favor of the Czar and a
series his rival to Oberg, whose drastic and merciless methods
in Finland were not exactly approved by the Emperor. The
baron was well aware of this, and by ingeniously enticing
him on board the Iris, he succeeded by handing that
(34:14):
small bomb concealed in his cigar, a Nielus contrivance that
had probably been seized by his police in Finland, in
freeing himself from the rival, who was destined to occupy
his post. Yes, I said, with a sigh. The mystery
is cleared up. It is true. Yet my poor Elma
is still the victim. And I kissed my love passionately,
(34:36):
again and again upon the lips and the chapter eighteen
recording by Tom Waits
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