Zara did as I requested. She seated herself upon the divan, and I sat

beside her, with my arm around her. She rested her head against my

shoulder, and in a low and dreamy tone she began, as if there had been

no hiatus, the continuation of that story which was to thrill me as

nothing else of the kind had ever done.

You must understand that she was pleading for my life, as she believed,

in the relation of this bit of history which I was soon to learn had

touched her so closely. She believed that my life could be saved only

by means of my joining with the nihilists, in consenting to take their

oath, and to become one with them. I have often, at retrospective

Advertisement..

moments, gone back again to that hour, and lived it over in thought,

wondering how I could still resist her when I listened to the passion

of her utterances, and to a recital of the terrible wrongs that had

been visited upon those whom Zara loved, in the name of the czar.

As before, she told the story as if I had been the participant in it;

as if the young woman whose history it touched most closely, had been

my own sister.

In the retelling of it, I purposely render it as concise as possible,

but I am utterly incapable of imparting to it the dramatic effect of

her recital, heightened and added to by her warm sympathies.

"Remember," she said, "that I am representing you as the brother of

this poor girl, Dubravnik. You, and your sister Yvonne, orphaned in

your youth, occupied together the great palace of your father's, and

were waited upon by an army of servants, many of whom had been in the

employ of your family before either of you were born.

"Among your acquaintances there is another officer, one who is as great

a favorite at court; and within the palace of the emperor, as you are.

He is of good family, handsome, accomplished, and rich. Nevertheless,

you dislike him, principally because he is in love with your sister and

you know that he is, in every way, unworthy of her. She shares the

aversion which you feel for this man, declining all his advances, and

at last refuses to receive him. Beginning with that time, he persecutes

her with his attentions, to the point where you are led to interfere;

but this man has already been to the czar, and has secured his royal

approval of the marriage. He laughs at you when you remonstrate. You

also go to the czar, who listens attentively to all that you have to

say, finally consenting that Yvonne shall not be forced into the

marriage against her will. This officer, when he hears of it, is

furious, and one night, at the club, he publicly insults you, so that

you have no other course than to challenge him. He is a practiced

duelist, and believes that he can kill you easily; thus he would leave

the coast clear for his further machinations. In the affair which

follows, you surprise everybody by wounding your adversary quite

seriously; and during a few months that succeed the duel, you are

relieved of further anxiety concerning the matter. But he recovers; he

returns to his former position at the palace; and misjudging his power

and influence, insults you again, almost in the presence of the

emperor. For that, he is banished from the palace, and degraded in the

army; and quite naturally he attributes his misfortunes to you, upon

whom he vows vengeance. You hear of his threats, but laugh at them--and

forget them. He does not.




Most Popular