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THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
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THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 By 
 
 W. H. WILLIAMSON 
 
 Author of The Traitor's Wifey" A Family of 
 Influence," '* The Prince's Marriage/* etc. 
 
 DANA ESTES & COMPANY 
 ^ BOSTON 
 
 I 9 1 2 
 
All Rights Reserved. 
 
 Pnnted in Great Britain. 
 
%2^ 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chapter I . . .... . . 7 
 
 Chapter II . . . , . . • 15 
 
 Chapter III 28 
 
 Chapter IV . 39 
 
 Chapter V . . . . . . .52 
 
 Chapter VI 68 
 
 Chapter VII 82 
 
 ^ Chapter VIII . 94 
 
 ^ Chapter IX 105 
 
 Chapter X 117 
 
 ^ Chapter XI 130 
 
 v\ Chapter XII 142 
 
 Chapter XIII . . . . . . .151 
 
 ^ Chapter XIV 165 
 
 H Chapter XV ....... 175 
 
 5 
 
6 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chapter XVI 191 
 
 Chapter XVII 202 
 
 Chapter XVIII .215 
 
 Chapter XIX 230 
 
 Chapter XX . . . , . . .245 
 
 Chapter XXI . * 259 
 
 Chapter XXII . . . • . . ^ 271 
 
 Chapter XXIII 286 
 
 Chapter XXIV 298 
 
 Chapter XXV *, . . . . » . 312 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 ** A stony adversary, an inhuman wretch. 
 Incapable of pity, void and empty 
 From every drachm of mercy." 
 
 — Merchant of Venice. 
 
 THE sun was sinking in a blood-red flame. The 
 tall firs, outlined against the grey-blue sky, 
 showed like sentinels of a Nature, grim, callous and 
 unmoved. The soughing of a gentle wind just 
 caught the ear, and the rustling of the leaves on a 
 clump of birch added a wailing note, but otherwise 
 all was unrespcnsive. Hope seemed to lie neither over 
 the trees, towards the horizon, or with the flowing 
 river. Nature was vast and terrible, and many 
 men are born to pain. The sun sank to the colour 
 of blood. 
 
 A youth aged nineteen and a girl fifteen, with 
 faces white and fearful, betraying an agony of mind 
 too cruel for their years, stood together behind a 
 sheltering birch. He was holding her, she clutching 
 him in despair and the pain that moved her. An 
 old woman, with bent head and shaking body^ sit- 
 ting on a stone, held the skirt of the girl with a thin, 
 bony hand. She had been praying, but her soul 
 was numbed and without hope, and she prayed from 
 habit for relief. 
 
 7 
 
8 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 To this little group the powers of evil and the 
 evils of power were being made clear. 
 
 Just within sight of them a band of peasants, 
 with timid, sheep-like attitude, watched one o/ their 
 number, a stout, lusty giant, knout the steward. 
 The punishment was awful. At each stroke of the 
 hateful lash the bloody flesh of the poor steward 
 quivered, spurted its meed of blood, and then shiv- 
 ered and welled again. The groans of the victim 
 could be heard distinctly by his mother and two 
 children who stood near the birch tree. The mother, 
 when the knouting had begun, looked up to Heaven 
 and then at once shut her eyes and hung her head. 
 The girl buried her face on her brother's breast and 
 after the first sob and the almost paralysing pain 
 of it made no more noise, but just squeezed her 
 brother to her utmost and shut her lips with fierce- 
 ness. The youth seemed as though he must be held 
 back. He shook like a tree in a gale when he heard 
 the first swishes and the cries of his father. He shut 
 his eyes and twisted his face horribly as if the cruel 
 lash had cut him too. He had comforted his grand- 
 mother and sister as well as he could, and now, 
 dulled and weary, he waited for the end, so that he 
 might succour and soothe, if any chance remained 
 for ministrations of that kind. 
 
 The man with the bloody knout stopped, looked 
 at Count Stolemkin, his master, and waited. 
 
 " That will do," said the Count, and he gazed for 
 a moment at the broken piece of humanity lying 
 on the ground before him. 
 
 Then he turned to the peasants, his serfs, who 
 watched him now with expectant, dreading eyes. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 9 
 
 " That's the way I treat those who don't do their 
 duty," he shouted. You saw : Now you know. 
 
 Let me catch one of you " He nodded with 
 
 the simplest of gestures and the easiest of meanings. 
 *' Get off to your kennels," he added with an im- 
 perious wave of the hand, and the wretched crea- 
 tures slunk with one accord out of the sight of their 
 lord and master. 
 
 Count Stolemkin approached the battered steward. 
 
 " Lift him up," he said to the executioner, who 
 dropped the knout, walked to the helpless man with 
 the raw back lying groaning on the floor, and picked 
 him up. Peter Glebof, the humane steward, with 
 the humanity knouted out of him, groaned a little 
 more as he was moved. He did not understand 
 what this lifting up meant, for he really understood 
 very little at this moment. His grip on the world 
 was a very feeble thing after forty strokes with the 
 knout. He had merely enough understanding to 
 disdain life. The longer groan was involuntary. 
 
 It's my lord's hand," said the man who held 
 him. 
 
 But Peter Glebof cared nothing for my lord's 
 hand. He was in the hands of death. Eternity 
 was beckoning him to a marvellous rest, and my 
 , lord's hand was held to him to kiss ! He was also 
 to murmur, " I thank you," so as to keep count 
 with custom. 
 
 " My lord's hand ! " shouted the big ruffian. 
 
 My lord looked at the inert mass, at the raw-cut, 
 shivering flesh, and realized there was not much good 
 left in the man. 
 
 " Put him down and fetch a priest," he said, and 
 
10 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 he turned on his heel towards the castle, where a 
 luxurious meal was awaiting him. 
 
 Melibof said, *' Yes, your Excellency," and he put 
 the steward — such as he was now — on the ground 
 and made off towards the village where the priest 
 lived. 
 
 The youth by the tree looked and listened. 
 " They've gone," he said. 
 
 The girl, scarcely daring to open her eyes, loosened 
 very gradually her firm embrace. 
 
 " Oh ! where is he ? " she asked with horror and 
 agony in the voice of youth, ageing it and making 
 it preternaturally striking. 
 
 " Come on," said Juri, the youth. He looked 
 soul-tired, but something in his attitude was arrest- 
 ing, as if he had had his feelings crushed and yet 
 would move like a giant stirred by some terrific 
 emotion. He touched the bending woman. 
 They've gone, grandmother," he said. 
 
 She didn't move. 
 
 " Grandmother," said the girl. 
 
 " Eh — eh " It was a wail. Hope and peace 
 
 had been trampled under foot and her voice was a 
 Nunc Dimittis, 
 
 Juri lifted her up and she moaned, and then the 
 three went towards where the poor man, with the 
 back cut to ribbons, was lying. 
 
 The scene was poignant, for the grief was heart- 
 rending. The poor steward seemed to realize his 
 own were about him, but he knew he was nearer 
 kin to death than to anything living now. And his 
 own could give him no comfort, for they were un- 
 nerved and he was past human comfort. The 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 II 
 
 mother who had borne and suckled him took his 
 head in her lap, and his two children took his hands, 
 and they waited like dumb creatures, impotent 
 before a great disaster. He lay still, and they bent 
 helpless beside him. And death in kind fashion 
 called the steward from his sufferings. 
 
 The three living sat still, not knowing of the 
 release, and the priest and the executioner found 
 them there. 
 
 Melibof, seeing his handiwork noted by his vic- 
 tim's family, slunk away. Youth and old age, 
 children and mothers, can be very reproachful with- 
 out uttering a word. 
 
 "He is dead," said the priest. 
 
 The three started. They moaned and wailed. 
 The mother kissed her dead son's face. Juri took 
 his sister in his arms again. 
 
 The priest said a prayer and then went away. 
 
 In that day the story was common, particularly 
 in Russia, where men's passions were allowed an 
 outlet wild, savage and uncontrolled. Peter the 
 Great had knouted Russia, and the serfs and depen- 
 dents felt the crack of the whip whenever the anger 
 of a barbarous master was stirred. Count Stolem- 
 kin was a fierce man, with a keen zest for the strong 
 in life. He had fought at Pultowa under Peter the 
 Great, when the young hero of Sweden tasted defeat 
 and Russia rose to renown. He gambled high and 
 drank deep, and wanted more from his serfs than 
 they could give — and live. That was the reason 
 Peter Glebof died. 
 
 Peter Glebof was the Count's steward in one por- 
 
12 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 tion of his estate, and the Count being pressed for 
 money in Moscow sent for it to Nazeff where Glebof 
 was steward. The serfs toiled and moiled and Gle- 
 bof did what he could — that is, what a man with a 
 reasonable heart and mind could. He did not want 
 to send the peasants to find food on their hands and 
 knees like cattle, and it is possible the craftiest 
 among them took advantage of his leniency. That 
 is one of Nature's tricks. Spare the rod and spoil 
 yourself. The weak in passion or mind will always 
 go to excess and reap the harvest of wind sowing. 
 
 Count Stolemkin came from St. Petersburg in 
 an ugly mood. He had lost heavily, and in the 
 grab for rewards at Court he met men as capable as 
 himself, and so did not secure over much — at least, 
 as much as he wanted, though his friendship with 
 Ostermann was an asset. He first accused the steward 
 of peculation and then of idleness, then of a host 
 of misdeeds, but the charge was of small importance 
 — the essential was the example. His Excellency 
 was in the humour to stand no nonsense in the way 
 of sentiment or the pleadings of justice. His object 
 was increased wealth, and if he made an example of 
 one man he hoped to increase the fruits of many. 
 The idea is old, outrageously exaggerated and 
 essentially human. 
 
 So Count Stolemkin stormed, cursed, and struck. 
 The steward defended himself, but that only made 
 matters worse, for to attempt reasonableness with 
 a ruffian only stirs him to more rage. You are actu- 
 ally taking his excuse for violence from him, and his 
 emotion goeth not out but by blows and basting. 
 
 Hence this tragedy. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 The peasants huddled together in their semi- 
 underground huts : but beside Peter Glebof , as he 
 lay at peace at last on the ground, his mother and 
 his two children remained. They scarcely knew 
 what to do. The mother was passive : she had 
 known brutality all her life and very little of the 
 beautiful. But this was her son who had been good 
 to her, and his back — purple, vermilion, puce, black, 
 grey — was horrible. She was almost content he was 
 dead. It was ended now. She was ready to die 
 herself, for life was not uniformly pleasant. 
 
 The children were different. 
 
 " We'll go away," whispered the youth to his 
 sister. 
 
 She looked at him in some admiration and alarm, 
 and then nodded inquiringly towards the grand- 
 mother. 
 
 " Take her too," he said. He seemed full of 
 resolution's capacity. 
 
 The girl, Sofia, looked at him searchingly. She 
 felt the iron in his soul and will and liked both. 
 She herself felt capable of great deeds. 
 
 " Where shall we go ? " she asked. 
 
 He nodded towards the forests. 
 
 " Easily hide there — we shall be better oft than 
 here. And " 
 
 " Yes ? " 
 
 " Perhaps we will come back some day." 
 
 She looked at him admiringly and understood 
 quickly. She grasped his hand, and he knew then 
 she was at one with him. 
 
 " Some day," he muttered. 
 
 " Yes — don't you mind how they killed Jacob " 
 
14 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 Sh ! " he said with swift caution and looked 
 round. He nodded to her for understanding. She 
 sighed as if reheved. 
 
 Peter Glebof 's mother followed her son into eternal 
 rest the day the dead steward was buried. She 
 died willingly, refusing to clutch at life any longer. 
 
 A week later Juri and Sofia Glebof were missing 
 from Nazeff. There was a hue and cry and a 
 search, but these were superfluities. The runaways 
 were not caught. Moreover, Nazeff had not seen 
 the last of them. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 " Remember, it's as easy to marry a rich woman as a poor 
 woman.'* 
 
 — Pendennis: 
 
 FOUR years have passed — a little more, to be 
 precise — but we feel sure the reader is not 
 to a month or so. 
 
 Count Stolemkin is now in Petersburg, and still 
 desirous of increasing his supply of roubles. This 
 was a habit of his, engendered probably by other 
 habits. He was in the house he had been compelled 
 %y his illustrious master, Peter (now dead), to build 
 in this swamp. He preferred Moscow, but Peters- 
 burg was really a wonderful city. He sat this morn- 
 ing smoking, drinking and pondering. He was not 
 a philosopher, so his pondering must not be taken 
 too seriously. Roubles — that was the principal 
 theme, mingled with cards, beer, Hungarian wine, 
 brandy, women, the opportunities for ease and 
 satisfaction, some stories concerning the Princess 
 Elizabeth Petrovna, also some cunning affairs of 
 the Count Ostermann's, and most perhaps, what he 
 should do with his son Vasili. Not much in the 
 way of a gentle or genial philosophy. He was a 
 fairly big man, with cold, staring blue eyes, a squat 
 
 ^>6 
 
i6 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 nose, thick lips, and a bull neck. A man to knout 
 anybody in a passion and drink with the best. 
 
 He had fought well under Peter and been well 
 rewarded. He had quite a scent for rewards. But 
 with the sheathing of his sword and the card-table 
 occupying him more than the camp, he ceased to 
 increase his possessions, while his capacity for dis- 
 tribution remained enormous. He licked life gust- 
 ily nevertheless, and smacked his lips over it. 
 
 He was in a room of barbaric splendour and per- 
 plexing taste. Persian rugs of mellow richness lay 
 on a boarded floor of questionable cleanliness. 
 Chairs of French design and manufacture surrounded 
 a plain, uncovered deal table bought at Nijni Nov- 
 gorod. The incongruous tickled a man of parts the 
 moment he entered the room. Enter some one in 
 keeping — Baron Demidoff, as neat a man as you 
 would find on the Neva for procuring worry for his 
 friends when he could do it craftily. He looked at 
 the jewelled ikon in the corner and bowed magnifi- 
 cently. 
 
 Mier efdom Zjeiewoesonon," he said. " Peace 
 be in this house and those who dwell in it." 
 
 Peace ! Did Demidoff see the humour of it ? 
 
 Then he nodded to Count Stolemkin and drank 
 brandy with him — then beer. 
 
 " Have you heard, Anton Gregorovitch,*' said 
 Baron Demidoff, addressing his friend, " that Puroff 
 is dead ? " 
 
 " Puroff ? Peace to him. I won two thousand 
 roubles from him the last time I played with him. 
 Not a bad loser, though." 
 
 " And he did not lose on the whole, eh ? " 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 17 
 
 " No. He got his share, too, of pickings. Tsar 
 Peter was very good to him." 
 
 " Estates in Livonia, Revel, Ukraine and Moscow ; 
 jewels to set a Court staring ; enough wood and 
 stone to build a new Petersburg ; fishing rights 
 on the Volga worth a ransom, and thirty thousand 
 serfs." 
 
 Count Stolemkin's blue eyes twinkled with the 
 pleasant ideas that suggestions of wealth stirred up 
 in his mind. 
 
 " He grabbed," he said laconically. 
 Heartily and heavily." 
 
 " And now he is dead — what will he grab now, 
 eh, Paul Nicholavitch ? " 
 
 Paul Nicholavitch Demidoff pulled a face. Both 
 men were firm believers in this life and the next — 
 but this one more particularly. 
 
 " He has left one child, I believe," said Demidoff . 
 
 " Ha ! A boy ? " 
 
 " No— daughter." 
 
 " Daughter ! What will she do with those 
 estates ? " There was contempt and avarice in the 
 tone. A girl with those 
 
 Baron Demidoff paused, for his mischievous soul 
 was chuckling and he wished to let his next remark 
 stand out with excellent clearness. 
 
 Marry some one," he said, " who will relieve 
 her of her burdens." 
 
 His eyes had a droop that was hintful of possi- 
 bilities. 
 
 Coimt Stolemkin, though not particularly bright, 
 was not dull. 
 
 Marry ! By the saints ! She will be a good 
 
 B 
 
i8 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 match/' He stared at his friend. " His only child 
 did you say, Paul Nicholavitch ? " 
 
 " Who inherits all/' and Baron Paul Nicholavitch 
 Demidoff nodded his head affirmatively and em- 
 phasizingly. 
 
 Stolemkin was swallowing the bait. 
 
 " How old is she ? he asked with interest. 
 
 " The right age to marry, my friend.'' 
 
 " By St. Peter and St. Paul ! And Vasili, my 
 son, is also of the right age to marry " 
 
 Swallowed ! 
 
 " Anton Gregorovitch, you see far and well. 
 Vasili Antonovitch married to the heiress of our 
 deceased friend Puroff would have wealth to finance 
 a Charles XH." 
 
 Count Stolemkin called for champagne for his 
 friend. 
 
 My son Vasili is no King of Sweden," said 
 the candid parent, " but he may be more fortu- 
 nate." 
 
 " That is not difficult, considering you already 
 see him in possession of the Puroff estates," said 
 Demidoff, who wished to take his friend to a high 
 mountain, as it were, show him great and rich treas- 
 ures and tempt him with the possibilities. It was 
 not difficult to tempt Count Stolemkin. 
 
 " I suppose the Duke of Courland would help 
 me/' he said, in rather a ruminating kind of way, 
 as if he were not quite sure that Biren would. 
 
 " Why not ? " 
 
 " Exactly ; why not ? There will be no harm 
 in asking." 
 
 " Ncme whatever. \^Tio does not ask goes 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 19 
 
 hungry." He was also thinking : Not all who ask 
 get what they want. 
 
 Count Stolemkin decided that a marriage between 
 his son Vasili and the daughter (sole heiress !) of the 
 late Count Puroff would be a union blessed by 
 Providence. The idea was most cherishable. 
 
 The Count, when his friend had gone, called for his 
 son Vasili and expounded the proposal. 
 
 " It is time you wed, my son," said the calculat- 
 ing father, " and you will find no better match in 
 Russia." 
 
 " I may not like the — the Countess." 
 
 " Like her — pouf ! Estates in Livonia, Ukraine, 
 Revel and the Lord knows where, more jewels than 
 you will find in Moscow and Persia, wood and stone 
 enough to build ten cities like this, and enough fish 
 to feed the whole world if there happened to be a 
 famine. Do you like that ? " 
 
 " I am not over fond of fish, my father, and what 
 should I do with all that wood ? " 
 
 " My son, fish and wood can be exchanged for 
 roubles, and with roubles you can do pretty well 
 what you want, where you want, when you want, 
 and also how. Don't sniff at fish and wood. It is 
 time you married and started seeing the advantage 
 of exchanging fish and wood for roubles." 
 
 " I am not anxious, my father," said the pale, 
 anaemic Vasili, whose heart was fuller of decent 
 intentions than his legs and arms of muscles — com- 
 paratively, of course. 
 
 The big father scowled. 
 
 " By the Saints ! What have I done to offend 
 High Heaven that I should be cursed with a mew- 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 ling, puling son who daren't go out if it's cold, and 
 can't stir if it's warm, and seems to be afraid of a bit 
 of a wench. Not anxious/' He mimicked his frail 
 offspring's voice. 
 
 Count Vasili Antonovitch Stolemkin was a pale, 
 clean-shaven young man, just twenty years of age, 
 with thoughtful eyes (brown and timid), a thin- 
 nostrilled nose, thin lips, a weak chin with a dimple, 
 spindle legs and nice hands. A mother's son, 
 every inch of him, and no more a chip of the old 
 block than the mouse was like the mountain. 
 
 He looked fearsomely at his father. 
 
 " A bright store of honour you are going to bring 
 on your family, I can see," said the Count Stolem- 
 kin with rich irony. " Cover it with glory ! " He 
 shook his head as if he would like to take his son by 
 the neck (perhaps in his teeth) and shake him. 
 
 " I will do as you wish, my father." 
 
 " By all the demons of Hell ! I know you will. 
 I will make you climb Jacob's ladder, go down with 
 Jonah into the belly of the whale, or eat fish and 
 dance on wood till you are sick, if I wish. By the 
 blessed ikon ! I pray you may have a wife who will 
 help you to beget a son as unlike you as you are 
 unlike me. Here." 
 
 He poured him out a huge tumbler of brandy. 
 
 " Drink that." 
 
 Vasili shuddered and looked pleadingly at his 
 father. 
 
 " Drink it ! " shouted the old campaigner. 
 " All ? " came the timid voice. 
 " I'll fill a ' great eagle ' for you if you don't 
 swallow it at once." 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 21 
 
 Vasili prayed (silently) and drank. Then he 
 collapsed. The old man sneered and went out to 
 make arrangements for having an audience of Ernest 
 Biren, Duke of Courland, Lord Chamberlain of Russia, 
 Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, lover of the 
 Empress — the son of a game-keeper. The moral : 
 It is easier to rise by women than by talent. 
 
 Count Stolemkin managed to arrange for an 
 audience that day week, after informing the Lord 
 Chamberlain's Secretary of his business. 
 
 That day week he called, dressed in a suit of deli- 
 cate rose colour, to see the all-powerful German, who 
 practically ruled Russia. His lackeys bawled a 
 way for him, and then he waited the pleasure of the 
 Lord Chamberlain, who was detained by Her Majesty 
 the Empress to watch a performance by the Prin- 
 cesses Nastasia and Anisia. It was not a billed 
 affair though, considering the status of the actresses 
 and the nature of the performance, there is no doubt 
 but that the draw would have been colossal. The 
 originator and stage manager was the Empress 
 Anna. She was making the princesses (whose 
 names have already appeared on the programme) 
 gulp balls of pastry, then crouch on pails made 
 of bark and cackle as though they had laid 
 eggs ! 
 
 So while this went on and Lakosta, a Portuguese 
 Jew, one of the Empress's fools, amused the Court, 
 Count Stolemkin awaited the pleasure of the Lord 
 Chamberlain. 
 
 It was a varied crowd that waited, some with 
 appointments and some without, some with hope, 
 some with fear, and most with supplication. Prob- 
 
22 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 ably no court in Europe saw such changes of fortune 
 as the Russian in the eighteenth century. No 
 wonder the antechambers of the powerful were 
 crammed with those who waited ! 
 
 Count Stolemkin saw amongst the crowd two of 
 his friends, Baron Frolof and Count Bulavin. They 
 foregathered and gossiped. Baron Frolof was an 
 irresponsible-tongued creature and babbled of 
 everything. He had about as much discretion as 
 a parrot, and nobody who wished a thing to be 
 hidden told it to him. After he had mentioned all 
 the spicy gossip he knew concerning the Empress, 
 Biren and others, he blurted out : ''I wonder if 
 you will guess what I am here for ? " 
 
 Count Bulavin said — 
 
 " You want to be made chancellor ? " 
 
 Frolof looked round in fear. 
 
 " If Count Ostermann heard you I should be 
 broken on the wheel ! " Then he grinned, No." 
 He turned to Stolemkin. " Well, Anton Gregoro- 
 vitch ? " 
 
 Count Stolemkin looked mischievous. 
 " To ask Biren to give you a chance with the 
 Empress." 
 
 Baron Frolof looked fit for bleeding. He gasped. 
 
 " Oh ! my friends ! You would ruin me. Me — 
 and the blessed Empress " 
 
 Bulavin chuckled. Stolemkin was quite pleased 
 at the effect of his speech on his friend. 
 
 Frolof shook his head at them. 
 
 " Rogues ! " he said. Mind you don't get your 
 tongues cut out ! You are poor guessers. I want 
 to marry my son." 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 23 
 
 " Ah ! " said Bulavin in a quite colourless voice. 
 Stolemkin merely nodded. 
 
 " Yes." Frolof was exuberant. " To Puroff's 
 daughter." 
 
 "What!" 
 
 Frolof had a shock, for this exclamation came from 
 the two and was not at all colourless. It would be 
 difficult to name the colour — it was almost rainbow- 
 ish, for there were glowering, cloudy foreheads and 
 threatening eyes accompanying it, and heat seemed 
 sure. 
 
 Stolemkin and Bulavin looked at each other. 
 They were more wary and not given to babbling 
 freely, but their simultaneous ejaculation and their 
 anxious surprise was a distinct note of betrayal. 
 Frolof did not notice this, but they understood. 
 
 Count Bulavin looked at Frolof. 
 
 " By St. Nicholas and the Holy Synod ! What 
 do you want to marry your son to Puroff's daughter 
 for ? " 
 
 Baron Frolof, who was dressed in a violet coat 
 and purple breeches, looked surprised and wondered 
 if he ought not to be pained at such a remark. 
 
 Before he could answer, Stolemkin, with a very 
 serious look on his countenance, touched Bulavin 
 on his green breeches and said — 
 
 " And what have you come for, Nicholas Dimi- 
 trivitch — the same errand, by all the saints in the 
 calendar, eh ? " 
 
 And you, Anton Gregorovitch — do you want 
 to marry your stalwart son to this offspring of the 
 dead Puroff ? " 
 
 Stolemkin and Bulavin did not look at each other 
 
24 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 with pleasantness in their fa(;^es. Frolof began to 
 understand. 
 
 ''You too — and you? Surely we have not 
 
 all come ? " 
 
 " We have." 
 
 They resorted to silence. Frolof would have 
 " Well, well-d " and " Tut-tutted," but the other 
 two looked so grim and glum and anxious for 
 ferocity that he forbore. 
 
 When the first blast of passion had expended it- 
 self, the three men looked at each other calmly and 
 endeavoured to face the situation in the same spirit. 
 
 " I Avonder how many more are coming ? " said 
 Bulavin sourly. 
 
 " Every one with a spare son, I suppose," said 
 Stolemkin, feeling very ugly in spirit. 
 
 " It is preposterous," murmured Frolof. 
 
 " What is preposterous ? " snarled Stolemkin, 
 being in the humour for nasty business. 
 
 " Why, that three of us wish to find the daughter 
 of Puroff a husband. The little lady can't have 
 three husbands." 
 
 " That is really brilliant, Juri Alexievitch," said 
 Bulavin sneeringly. " Can't have three husbands, 
 eh ? — then suppose you retire and let your estimable 
 son find some lady whom he can possess solely and 
 exclusively." 
 
 But Frolof, though simple of tongue, had as keen 
 an eye for the main chance as the others, and he 
 could hold his own and reach forward for more, with 
 almost equal ability to theirs. 
 
 " While you, Nicholas Dimitrivitch, let your son 
 marry a wife he shares with another " 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 25 
 
 *' It's a fool's predicament," blurted out Stolem- 
 kin. 
 
 They agreed and ruminated once more. 
 And the Lord Chamberlain has evidently given 
 us an appointment at the same hour," said Bulavin 
 suspiciously after the pause. 
 
 " To laugh at us, eh ? " 
 
 " While he hands the maid over to a German 
 maybe." 
 
 Sh ! " 
 
 Men in temper will occasionally say such indis- 
 creet things ! But temper is indiscretion. 
 
 They waited sulky, brooding and despondent. 
 They gave up hope and only considered how to 
 escape from the Lord Chamberlain's presence with 
 the least loss of dignity. 
 
 They were, however, not quite so sure of their 
 dignity when the interview was over. They came 
 from the Lord Chancellor with feelings odd and rest- 
 less. They did not speak in joyful accents or exude 
 a jovial atmosphere. In fact, they looked deeply 
 and widely perturbed. As friends they seemed to 
 lack friendship : each revolved too much on his own 
 axis, as it were, and seemed to regard his companions 
 not so much as neighbourly and friendly suns as 
 hostile comets with wicked and dangerous orbits. 
 
 The truth is, the Lord Chamberlain had displayed 
 an astuteness quite natural to him and in keeping 
 with the general tenor of his ways. He had not 
 refused to listen to the three noblemen or appeared 
 harsh, cold, or of a bargaining character. They had 
 supposed there might be necessity for pleading, for 
 delicate hinting, for judicious dodging, et cetera; but 
 
26 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 the great Biren deluded them wholesomely. He 
 was wonderfully gracious and smiling, and got each 
 gentleman in turn to state the nature of his errand 
 and the burden of his petition. He listened to 
 all with an amiable air. 
 
 Then he granted their several requests. The 
 most benignant could scarcely have done more. 
 He could refuse none of them, he said, with a chuckle 
 in his capacious sleeve. They were, he knew, friends 
 devoted to him and to Her Majesty the Empress, 
 and their requests had found favour in her sight and 
 would be granted. 
 
 To Count Stolemkin the Empress was pleased to 
 say she approved of his plan to marry his son with 
 the daughter of the late Count Puroff. 
 
 To Count Bulavin the Empress was pleased to 
 say she approved of his plan to marry his son with 
 the daughter of the late Count Puroff. 
 
 To Baron Frolof the Empress was pleased to say 
 she approved of his plan to marry his son with the 
 daughter of the late Count Puroff. 
 
 No wonder Biren had said " only three." Had 
 there been three hundred and three he could have 
 reeled it off. " To X, Y, Z, the Empress was pleased, 
 etc., etc." And all would have been so simple if 
 only the late Count Puroff had had the perspicacity 
 to leave behind him a sufficient number of daughters. 
 Men were thoughtless ever ! 
 
 The three vicarious suitors had to appear to relish 
 the joke, for the Lord Chamberlain was not one to 
 suffer dullness gladly. They felt there was, however, 
 something wanting, and the gap was filled just before 
 they were shown out. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 27 
 
 " The lady cannot be the husband of three men," 
 said the Lord Chamberlain. " It would not be 
 seemly." (The three auditors tried to smile.) " Her 
 Majesty did not wish to choose between the claims 
 of three of such loyal subjects, so she allows the 
 Countess Puroff to be claimed in marriage by the son 
 of whichever of you first secures her person. A 
 suitable message will be given to each of you to pre- 
 sent to the Countess as your authority. She resides, 
 I believe, at present, in the Ukraine." 
 
 Then the Lord Chamberlain smiled. 
 
 The three friends retired, one might write it 
 without being accused of over picturesqueness, with 
 faces the colours of their respective breeches — green, 
 purple and pink. 
 
 They separated without even taking the trouble 
 to say good-bye to each other. 
 
 Biren doubtless enjoyed the jest, for he liked to 
 throw the apple of discord amongst the Russian 
 nobles. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 " A man should seek for himself three things — fortune, 
 fame and a wife.'* 
 
 — Anon. 
 
 COUNT STOLEMKIN was not the man, while 
 great prizes were at stake, to let others put 
 out their hands for them and make no effort him- 
 self to snatch the spoil. As a rule, his endeavours 
 in directions of that kind were vigorous and never 
 to be lightly treated. 
 
 Bulavin and Frolof in the race — for race of a kind 
 it was. 
 
 The Count cursed abundantly. And yet there 
 was something in the affair that attracted him. It 
 was in the nature of a gamble — a two to one chance — 
 and all Russians are garnblers. And one thing of 
 encouraging import was the character of the com- 
 petitors. Count Stolemkin considered he could give 
 Bulavin and Frolof a day's march in almost any 
 decent journey and beat them. Confidence in one's 
 self is part of the joy of life. 
 
 Stolemkin saw the need for careful planning and 
 prudent arrangement. Some one must go, armed 
 with the message of authority obtained from the 
 Lord Chamberlain, to bring the Countess Puroff to 
 her husband elect. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 29 
 
 The Count had no intention of being himself the 
 bearer of the message. Was he to give up the pleas- 
 ures of the capital to make a journey over hideous 
 roads, accompanied by savage discomforts, into the 
 heart of Russia ? Not if it could be avoided. And 
 Vasili, his son, could not be the messenger. There 
 would not only be bears and wolves in the path, but 
 brigands and — the two other suitors. Vasili Antono- 
 vitch would not get a wife if she had to be fought for. 
 
 At the thought of these things Count Stolemkin 
 wondered if the other two aspirants could not be 
 stopped — dropped into the Neva, arrested for some 
 cause or other and detained indefinitely in the fortress 
 dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul and to the 
 hospitality of obnoxious persons. 
 
 The Count was clearly not a pragmatic stickler for 
 formalities when he had opponents in a great adven- 
 ture. But he saw the futility of these wild ideas, 
 for the Lord Chamberlain meant to have his little 
 joke, so there must be a race. Stolemkin cudgelled 
 his brains for a messenger. That was his longing — 
 a messenger 
 
 He must be hardy, enterprising, capable of fatigue, 
 of good address with the tongue and the sword, 
 trustworthy, and likely to win. 
 
 There was all Petersburg to choose from, but there 
 was not ease in the choice as one may imagine. No- 
 body in the Count's entourage suggested himself as 
 a likely person. There was Minoff his nephew, but 
 — the Count shook his head, as if he thought Minoff 
 would probably fail him at the critical moment. 
 
 He ran through a long catalogue of names, but 
 A wouldn't do, and B wouldn't do, and when the 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 world — Stolemkin's world — appeared at its feeblest 
 the outline of a man appeared on the horizon. Count 
 Stolemkin held himself taut so as to be certain before 
 he moved, and then he stood up with a look of 
 intense satisfaction. His blue eyes, with much 
 of the lustre sped, looked eager, and he pursed his 
 thick lips together with a sense of relish. The vista 
 seemed pleasant : the prospect held promise of 
 success. 
 
 Count Stolemkin had in his mind one Louis 
 William Gordon, a soldier of fortune, a foreigner 
 truly, but since Peter had brought every distin- 
 guished (and undistinguished) foreigner he could 
 into Russia, the Swedes and Dutch and French and 
 German and English and Scotch did not find them- 
 selves without compatriots in the domain of the 
 Tsars. And Louis William Gordon was not the only 
 Scotchman there. Count Stolemkin scarcely paid 
 attention to the man's nationality. He was the 
 man for the task. There must be craft and speed 
 to engage him, and no time lost in thrusting him 
 forth on the momentous errand. 
 
 Count Stolemkin gave a passing thought to his 
 friends, Bulavin and Frolof , and was almost inclined 
 to go and tell them they would waste money and 
 labour and blast many hopes if they seriously thought 
 of securing the person of the Countess Puroff. Ho ! 
 Ho ! Ho ! The chuckle of immense satisfaction 
 (pierced through and through with the jeering note 
 of the shrieking victor) was Stolemkin's signal that 
 the prize was arranged for. 
 
 Louis William Gordon was the son of a Scotch 
 adventurer and a French countess who became 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 31 
 
 captivated with the tough soldier and threw in her 
 lot with his, greatly to her friends' disgust and her 
 own pecuniary loss. 
 
 Louis William's father had fought for Peter the 
 Great at Pultowa when his little son was barely two 
 years old, and died soon afterwards before reaping 
 the rewards he had long toiled for. The Countess 
 made friends with her offended relatives and gave 
 her son the best education she could. He spoke 
 English, Russian, French, and German, and was a 
 dashing captain of horse at eighteen. But the 
 occasional scrambles of war did not give him all the 
 chances he sought, and only the favour of the Prin- 
 cess Elizabeth, for whom he had executed a delicate 
 mission to the Marshal de Saxe (before that gifted 
 adventurer became a marshal), kept him in Russia. 
 Stolemkin knew of Gordon's ability and his desire 
 for the chance of distinguished employment, also 
 of his impecuniosity. So, intent on making arrange- 
 ments for the capture of the Countess Puroff, the 
 Count strode out into the atrocious streets of St. 
 Petersburg to search for Louis William Gordon. 
 
 The task was not so difficult or arduous as it 
 might be imagined. Certainly the Russian capital 
 was not clean either in street or savour, and the 
 frequent calls (Mr. Gordon was no respecter of 
 places, so long as he got the company and the pleas- 
 ure he desired) made the quest long. But Count 
 Stolemkin made light of difficulties when the prize 
 that beckoned was so rich and rare. He went from 
 place to place with the patience of the successful 
 searcher. He accosted all English and Scotch that 
 he knew, in the hope they would be able to tell him 
 
32 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 of the whereabouts of their compatriot. After all, 
 he had to be found, or some one else must be chosen 
 to take his place, and there was always a chance that 
 Bulavin or Frolof by a freak of Fate might find a 
 man of Gordon's equal and dispatch him without 
 loss of time. 
 
 Count Stolemkin was worried with thoughts like 
 these and felt tempted to curse. He wandered 
 towards the Neva, for these odd foreigners had a 
 liking for the salt water and the ships, and passed a 
 workyard established by Peter the Great where ships 
 were being most admirably put together, but of new 
 and unseasoned timber — the egregious deathtraps 
 of a misguided zeal ! The roads were wretched. 
 Tree trunks flung down provided a hard substance, 
 and then one exhausted its virtue. 
 
 In an inn that was frequently patronized by 
 travellers from a distance. Count Stolemkin at last 
 found the object of his search. 
 
 Louis William Gordon was speaking in the tongue 
 of his father with a braw Scotch skipper from Edin- 
 burgh. At the freshened sight of him Count 
 Stolemkin felt satisfied. If this man could not 
 bring the Countess Puroff to be wedded to his son 
 Vasili, who could ? 
 
 Gordon's bright complexion was a suggestion to 
 hope. His appearance was very comforting. He 
 was about six feet two inches in height and most 
 admirably proportioned, with a look of ease and 
 magnificence. Strength seemed his portion ; and 
 there was pleasantness in his face, from the lips 
 ready for a joke (or kisses) to the light of adventure 
 in the moderate-sized — but very bright — brown 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 33 
 
 eyes. He was clean-shaven save for a moustache, 
 and his hair was a curly brown. 
 
 The Count greeted him joyously : the occasion 
 was worth it. And Louis William, as became the 
 offspring of a Scotch father and French mother, 
 noted the effusiveness at once, and almost uttered 
 a prayer for the great adventure. 
 
 In less than five minutes he got an outline of 
 what was required and his bright eyes twinkled. He 
 saw himself in wild Russia bringing the lady to 
 the capital, and the reward ? 
 
 " It would be handsome," said the Count. 
 
 " Um — um,'' said Gordon with an astute gleam 
 in his eye, speaking the language of definite- 
 ness. 
 
 The Count was not intent on bargaining, for a 
 few roubles more or less were of no consequence in 
 comparison with the great prize. And Gordon, for 
 all his seeming desire to fix the reward, was mostly 
 keen on knowing that he would not be stinted on the 
 journey. 
 
 " Bring the little lady to St. Petersburg," he said. 
 " What did you say her name was ? " 
 " Countess Puroff." 
 
 " I knew her father : he fought under mine at 
 Pultowa. And it is his daughter ? " Gordon looked 
 at Stolemkin with an inviting curiosity, for the 
 Count's outline had been merely an outline. It was 
 desirable to bring the Countess Puroff to the capital, 
 and it was most expedient that she be brought 
 speedily, and, above all, that she be brought by 
 Louis William Gordon to Count Stolemkin. 
 
 Clearly, the average man's curiosity might have 
 
 C 
 
34 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 been awakened. Gordon felt somehow that he 
 was entitled to a few more details, for the hint that 
 expense was not to be considered but haste was, 
 gave food for speculation. 
 
 But Stolemkin had moved in courts as well as in 
 camps and knew the value of the unspoken word. 
 He never told all when half would serve. Roubles, 
 on occasions, were much cheaper than words. A 
 still tongue made a peaceful sleep, while the babbler 
 dwelt ever beside the block. He could frame sen- 
 tences like these quite handily, but he was best at 
 home with the sentiment — the essence of the busi- 
 ness — and was not so keen on the phraseology. But 
 here he felt that perhaps, after all, a little telling 
 would be not only advantageous but essential. 
 And when the advantageous combines with the 
 essential the valleys are filled and the rough places 
 made smooth. 
 
 So Stolemkin spoke, feeling his way, as it were. 
 
 " Yes, his daughter." 
 
 " Um ! " Gordon's eyes said. " Go on : there 
 must be more to tell." 
 
 " The fact is, but this is not for other ears." 
 
 Gordon nodded. 
 
 " She is to be my son's wife." 
 
 " I congratulate you, Count." 
 
 The Chancellor's authority was produced. Gor- 
 don read it with more care than he was wont to 
 cast on the written word when the spoken had told 
 him the context. " Her Majesty was pleased to 
 
 give her consent to the marriage of " and so 
 
 on. 
 
 There still seemed to be something lacking. Why 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 35 
 
 this searching out of him, Louis William Gordon, 
 to fetch the lady ? It seemed odd — a little out of 
 the common 
 
 " And I am to fetch her to her husband then ? " 
 he said. 
 
 *' Yes ; that is the business." 
 
 " Will she come willingly ? " 
 
 " I think so," said Stolemkin. He produced 
 another paper signed by the Lord Chamberlain 
 bidding the Countess Puroff accompany the bearer 
 to St. Petersburg. (There were two others of these 
 as there were two others of the " Consents," only 
 in the latter other names were mentioned). " That 
 you will show to the Countess." 
 
 Gordon took the document. 
 When would you like me to start ? " 
 
 " At once. The sooner the better. The reward 
 is yours if you bring the Countess safe to me in St. 
 Petersburg " 
 
 " I understand." 
 
 The Count thought a warning advisable. 
 
 " Be careful as well as speedy. I have reason to 
 think — ^at least, I believe it is possible there may be 
 attempts made to seize the person of the Countess : 
 frustrate them. You may use any efforts — ^legiti- 
 mate, of course." 
 
 " Legitimate ? " Gordon repeated the word with 
 a light of wonder on it. 
 
 The Count didn't laugh, but his smile was attrac- 
 tive. It suggested a broad interpretation. 
 
 " Any efforts," he repeated, that will not be to 
 your hurt or the lady's." 
 
 Gordon nodded understandingly. 
 
36 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " You believe," he said, " there will be at- 
 tempts ? " 
 
 " Yes, I believe so. That is why I ask you to 
 lose no time and be prudent : and why I have chosen 
 you. I want some one whom I can trust, some one 
 who will not be beaten when his honour and ability 
 are at stake." 
 
 The Count was, one perceives, not stupid in his 
 dealings with men. 
 
 Gordon, who was usually fluent with both men 
 and women, was now comparatively silent. He felt 
 (while he swallowed the flattery) that something in 
 the scheme was hidden. But he smiled and bowed. 
 So far as he envisaged the affair, his role seemed clear, 
 and, as a rule, he found it almost enough to know 
 what he had to do : though he always realized the 
 advantage he got from knowing what the others had 
 in view. 
 
 Still, for him to bring a youthful Countess for a 
 bride to St. Petersburg was a congenial task, and his 
 eye brightened at the thought of it. What did it 
 matter that this Count Stolemkin was a ruse villain, 
 up to ways dark and unseemly, that he was known 
 for cruelties and trickeries ? Gordon felt he was 
 nothing in the business. The great thing was the 
 adventure. An expedition with flying horses and 
 yelling postboys, through a country vast, wild, 
 full of the unexpected, and no stint of danger and 
 peril to limb and life, with a fine reward for entice- 
 ment and blood at its liveliest during the pursuit 
 for present guerdon. 
 
 Stolemkin, seeing he had his man, was lavish in 
 preparations and all the needs of the journey. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 He also added a warning note. 
 With the authority you have," he said, '* the 
 Countess must come with you to St. Petersburg, but 
 you need not mention the marriage." 
 
 " I must not, or need not ? " 
 
 Count Stolemkin hesitated. 
 I have told you," he said, " so that you may 
 understand ; but for a woman that is not always 
 necessary. She will learn all in St. Petersburg, and 
 — you have the authority to bring her, so I trust to 
 your discretion." 
 
 Gordon nodded. 
 
 For a moment or two he was thoughtful. He 
 conned the situation : he was to fetch a woman to 
 be married who clearly had no idea that her hus- 
 band had been chosen for her. There was romance 
 here, perhaps devilry, perhaps — ^but he had travelled 
 widely and seen much. Women were married every 
 day like this. And what did it matter ? Some 
 were happy and some were not, and that was the 
 case with all husbands and wives. The romantic 
 note hidden in the adventure made it all the more 
 alluring, and perhaps Stolemkin*s son was not like 
 his father. If he were — well, there might be more 
 adventures and more romance in St. Petersburg 
 afterwards. 
 
 It was a bright world after all ! 
 
 He kept these thoughts to himself. 
 
 " You will lose no time ? " said the Count, who 
 had been watching him closely and understood 
 httle. Beer, brandy and blood won't of necessity 
 let a man see in the heart of another. Count 
 Stolemkin never saw fairies in the forests, though 
 he could kill wolves. 
 
38 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 *' I will prepare at once," said Gordon. 
 
 He said good-bye to his friend the Scottish cap- 
 tain and said he was going to fetch a gleam of sun- 
 shine for the Prince of Darkness. 
 
 The man from Edinburgh laughed. 
 Mon, Louis, it's a mad idea ! Bottlin' simshine 
 is ower muckle deefficult, an' the Prince o' Darkness 
 is a damned poor master." 
 
 Louis winked. It was as if he said sunshine was 
 very much in his line and the Prince of Darkness not 
 to be feared. 
 
 " If I had your speerit," said the other, almost 
 sighing. 
 
 "You might have my pocket, too," rejoined 
 Louis. 
 
 The man from Edinburgh looked frightened and 
 then laughed. He continued laughing ! 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 ** Her virtues, graced with external gifts, 
 Do breed love's settled passions in my heart. ^ 
 
 — Henry VI. 
 
 THE Count was pleased beyond his expectation 
 on seeing his messenger go forth. There 
 was about Gordon an air that bred confidence, and 
 Stolemkin sniffed it to his comfort. 
 
 Louis in his kibitka (with a feather bed at the 
 bottom) was snug and full of the promise of glad- 
 ness. He took with him two trusty men for com- 
 pany and service in times of meals and mauls, and 
 set out drawn by eight horses, four abreast. 
 
 The Count brought his son to see Gordon go on 
 his errand. 
 
 He will come back with your wife," said the 
 calculating father to the frail and fearful son. 
 
 Vasili Antonovitch looked with staring eyes, 
 whose pupils got bigger and less. He looked fear- 
 fully anxious. 
 
 " I may not like her," he muttered. 
 
 His father thrust him away, swearing. 
 
 " May not like her," he repeated, with an abun- 
 dant emphasis. What was the present generation 
 coming to ? 
 
 The kibitka, a pile of hay behind, postillions, 
 
 39 
 
40 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 dressed in a coarse drugget, on the off horses, went 
 away with a dash. The postillions had no method 
 in their driving : merely humour. They made 
 the horses gallop when they chose : they made them 
 walk for a similar reason. So they sometimes 
 galloped up hills and walked down ; they dashed 
 over rough roads and crawled over smooth, and had 
 no notion that they did anything but God's will and 
 the pleasure of the great person in the carriage. 
 That is how ignorance wastes life. In some way or 
 other most of us insist on running up the hills and 
 CI awi ng down. 
 
 The Countess Piuroff, so Count Stolemkin had 
 discovered, was at this time living at her castle near 
 Buof , so Gordon had to ^tavel through Novgorod, 
 Tver, Moscow and Tula. ^ 
 
 He carried a great store of provisions with him 
 and drove day and night as much as he could. It 
 was the custom at that time, for hotels were few and 
 poor, and even the madness of postboys was to be 
 endured more easily than the doubtful food and 
 certain discomfort of the wayside inn. 
 
 Gordon got his adventures on the road. He 
 was dashed over a rickety w^ooden bridge with no 
 rail, and one wheel had a suicidal look at the water 
 below and was then dragged incontirent on to the 
 bank. Twice the kibitka went in a ditch and Louis 
 came forth with anathemas on his tongue and a 
 good stout whip in his hand. It certainly was dis- 
 comforting. At post houses, too, there were lazy 
 folk and disobliging folk, and a biting tongue and 
 cutting lash accomplished even less there than the 
 sight of the paper signed by the all-powerful Biren. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 41 
 
 There were also bears on the road and wolves in 
 the forest, and twice Gordon was warned of robbers. 
 They had been but a short time before to the village 
 and flogged a rich merchant to get money, and 
 nobody had dared to interfere. 
 
 Louis William Gordon was too sensible to rush 
 into danger for danger's sake, and he avoided robbers 
 for his own. So the incidents were mostly accidents 
 and generally without savour or the warming of the 
 heart : and it was with gladness that he heard the 
 postboy yelUng " Davai ! Davai ! " Horses ! 
 Horses ! for the last time before he arrived at the 
 castle of the Countess Puroff. 
 
 " Here we are, Johan Paulovitch," he said to one 
 of his two companions (Stephen Gregorovitch was 
 the other). Here comes to an end for the present 
 the genial idiocy of postillion and postman." 
 
 " For the present," said Johan Paulo vitch. 
 
 " Thank God ! even for the present," said Stephen 
 Grego ovitch, who liked comforts, and caught sight 
 of the castle on the hill. 
 
 It was not a feudal building, suggestive of sieges 
 and defiance, but a big rambling structure with the 
 lower part constructed of brick and the upper of 
 wood. 
 
 The postboys dashed the horses towards the 
 house with frantic haste, as if this was the last 
 chance for a gallop, and the stolid peasants who saw 
 bared their heads and bent them in reverence. 
 
 Gordon felt in better humour. This was far 
 pleasanter than swearing at blunderers. The house 
 suggested wealth. There were treasures of gold 
 and silver that made it alluring to the covetous 
 
42 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 and agreeable to most. Neither was it spoiled by 
 a mixture — a bad mixture of east and west. It was 
 Russian and west so far as furnishings went. 
 
 Then the Countess appeared, backed by a man, 
 a fine, stout, solid creature, towering even higher 
 than Gordon, with devotion tattoed on his soul — 
 you could read the lettering through his eyes. 
 
 But the big man was overcast by the maid. He 
 might have been a big tree, or a high wall, or a castle 
 even, but she was a glorious ray of sunlight. She 
 had a smile that might have been considered exuber- 
 ant in another, but with her was just and beautiful. 
 
 Gordon had not time to say that he came to her 
 as a messenger with authority from the Lord Cham- 
 berlain, before she welcomed him as a guest and 
 hoped he would make her house his home for as long 
 as it pleased him. 
 
 " The air of a queen because she has never been 
 to a court," said Gordon to himself. 
 
 He was elaborate, not overdoing it, but he felt 
 homagewards. He bowed gracefully and thanked 
 her with charm. For the moment he kept silent 
 over his errand. It seemed almost cruel to thrust 
 on her the news that she was to go to St. Petersburg 
 to be married to the son of Count Stolemkin. Gor- 
 don, away from Stolemkin and near to Melania 
 Nicholovna, Countess Puroff, took quite another 
 view of his mission. The Countess seemed to deserve 
 happiness : she conferred it, that was evident. 
 
 After they had drunk the wine of hospitality, Gor- 
 don began to remind himself that he had a mission 
 not a licence. It was not his part to disport himself 
 at his ease in this place, b*it to take the lady to St. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 43 
 
 Petersburg. Besides, there might be danger in 
 delay, for there were others on errands similar to 
 his own. But he looked at her as she talked and 
 walked, and wondered if he did right. 
 
 " You are journeying f ar ? " she asked, with a 
 smile. 
 
 Gordon hesitated a moment. The voice and the 
 smile were too good to be intruded upon by his 
 doings. But it had to be. 
 
 " Only so far as I have come. Countess." 
 
 " And you have come far ? " 
 
 " From St. Petersburg." 
 
 Her eyes, violet blue with depths and tales in 
 them, looked wonder and admiration. 
 
 From St. Petersburg," she repeated. " I have 
 never been since I was a child. My father " — her 
 face took on a curtain of sorrow for a brief moment, 
 but the beautiful life in her gently put the curtain 
 aside — " preferred I should be in the country." 
 
 " But now- " said Gordon, and he hesitated. 
 
 " I may go some day," she said. 
 
 " That, I think," he replied, is true. I have 
 come to take you there." 
 
 It was magnificent surprise and quite worth 
 the causing. She ceased to smile, looked as if to 
 say, " What ! To take me there — ^me — to St. 
 Petersburg ? " 
 
 There were heaps of suggestions in her eyes, and 
 her mouth gently opened up and framed — 
 
 " Oh ! " 
 Quite true, Countess." 
 
 " Is that what you have come f or ? " she asked 
 with surprise still on her face. 
 
44 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 "It is : that is my errand." 
 " I cannot understand," she said, with a winning 
 innocence. 
 
 Then Belof, the man in whom she now put all 
 her trust, her steward, adviser, major-domo and 
 general guide, with red hair all over his head and 
 face — nearly, leaned forward with a suspicious air. 
 
 " His authority, Melania Nicholovna — ask hhn 
 for his authority." 
 
 She hesitated. She felt that such a question 
 implied doubt, and she was innocent enough to 
 believe the improbable as well as the probable. As 
 for doubting the gallant gentleman who spoke with 
 her — impossible ! 
 
 Gordon was discreet. He drew forth his author- 
 ity, and the name of the Lord Chancellor awed both 
 the Countess and Belof. The Countess looked more 
 serious. (Probably Belof also felt more serious, 
 though he could not betray more.) 
 
 " Why ? " the lady asked, with a gentle, confid- 
 ing air. 
 
 " At the Court, Countess — you know — they are 
 always wanting something. They may just desire 
 to make your acquaintance, to learn what the people 
 are like in this part of the world. They have lots 
 of reasons of their own." 
 
 She fixed him with those violet eyes. 
 
 " And did they not tell one of them to you ? ** 
 
 Gordon had not spoken with conviction. He 
 was beginning to dislike his errand. To take a lily 
 like this to St. Petersburg and hand her over to the 
 son of Stolemkin. He found it very difiicult to 
 speak with sincerity. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 45 
 
 " What they told me, Countess," he replied, " was 
 to make haste here and make haste back, to protect 
 you from harm and bring you safe to St. Peters- 
 burg." 
 
 The last two instructions carried him over the 
 fence. There was a neat offer of service as well as 
 a duty in them : there was honour and responsi- 
 bility and may be danger laid on this gentleman's 
 shoulders. To catechize him further was curiosity 
 carried to unkindness. 
 
 Belof considered the hesitation weak and his 
 suspicions strong. 
 
 " I am grateful to you," said the Countess. " It 
 is most kind of you to do me this service." 
 
 " Countess, it is I who receive the kindness in 
 being allowed to be yom: most obedient ser- 
 vant." 
 
 She fluttered with delight. 
 
 " Oh ! " was aU she said, but she shook her head 
 as much as to say, That is too beautiful for me to 
 attempt to copy." 
 
 " I do not know your name ? " 
 
 " Gordon — Louis WilHam Gordon, Louis Alexan- 
 drovitch, if you prefer it, and unfalteringly at your 
 service." 
 
 " Louis Alexandrovitch." She said it prettily. 
 " I am Melania Nicholovna, and — and I thank you 
 for your service." 
 
 They both bowed gracefully. Also, the reader 
 will remark, they called each other by their Christian 
 names, and the Christian names of their fathers with 
 son added on for Gordon and daughter for the Coun- 
 tess's. That was and is the Russian custom. 
 
46 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " Louis Alexandre vitch, when would you like 
 me to start ? " she asked. 
 
 " At once — as soon as possible, Melania Nicholov- 
 na. My instructions on that point were precise." 
 
 He was thinking now of the two other obedient 
 servants who might arrive at any moment, and he 
 had no disposition now to surrender his charge to 
 any interloper. On the road there was a chance to 
 get across a horse with her in case of necessity. In 
 the house there were too many doors and windows. 
 
 " At once." She turned to Belof. " Did you 
 hear that ? I am to go to St. Petersburg at once 
 with this gentleman." 
 
 " Yes, Melania Nicholovna." He looked as if 
 he would like to add, And I don't think much of 
 the idea." 
 
 " Then I shall have to get ready at once ? " 
 
 " It would be best," said Gordon. 
 
 She turned to the man with the red hair. 
 
 " Paul Stephanovitch, see that everything is got 
 ready for me at once." She had authority in her 
 somehow — in her blood and upbringing, for this 
 big man, who was accustomed to guide and advise 
 her as much as possible, clearly disliked the pro- 
 jected journey, yet he turned as she spoke. 
 
 " Yes, Melania Nicholovna," he said, and strode 
 away to do his duty. 
 
 The Countess then excused herself and left Gor- 
 don to return to his two companions. But he did 
 not join Nickoff and Pendeff at once. He wondered 
 at his errand. He had set out gaily enough, for 
 adventures of this kind were sunlight and joy to 
 him. And one woman was not so different from 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 47 
 
 another woman. Not so very. But now, this violet- 
 eyed slip of a girl, with her mass of tinted auburn 
 hair that was plaited round and round because of 
 its length, and her winning confidence and captivat- 
 ing innocence, appealed to him as something differ- 
 ent from all other women on earth — at least, that 
 he had seen and known. And to take her to Stolem- 
 kin, to be handed over like a bottle of wine or the 
 roe of a sturgeon 
 
 And yet she would probably fare no better in 
 the hands of the others who came, all greedy with 
 greed, reeking of spoil, caring nothing for the real 
 treasure 
 
 Gordon wondered what was the matter with him 
 that he bothered like this over a girl with violet 
 eyes and auburn hair. 
 
 " Louis Alexandrovitch." Hadn't she said it 
 prettily ? 
 
 But this was preposterous, sentimental, woman- 
 ish silliness ! Gordon strode out to find his two 
 companions and to see that all was got ready for 
 the journey. He had a part to play, not clouds to 
 wander in. 
 
 Nickoff and Pendeff had apparently been hospit- 
 ably entertained. They were in the best of humours 
 and looked jovial. 
 
 Nickoff held out a goblet. 
 
 " Praised be the Saints in Heaven — ^here is a safe 
 journey back, Louis Alexandrovitch." He drank. 
 
 '* Don't drink too often to the Saints in Heaven, 
 Johan Paulovitch," replied Gordon. " They don't 
 appreciate that kind of thing, and you will want a 
 clear head to go back on the return journey." 
 
48 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 "Do we start at once ? " Pendeff asked. 
 " We do/' 
 
 " The Saints in Heaven be — ^no, that will scarcely 
 do. And I had hoped for decent bed and board for 
 two days and nights at least. At once ; what does 
 that mean ? " 
 
 " It means, Stephen Gregorovitch, that as soon 
 as Her Excellency, the Countess Puroff " (he wanted 
 to add, " Bless her ! " but didn't ; he paused all the 
 same), " is ready, we too shall be ready." 
 
 Then TU pray to the Saints she may take an 
 ordinary woman's time in getting ready for a long 
 journey." 
 
 *' The Countess is not an ordinary woman," said 
 Louis very quickly. 
 
 Pend £f slowly filled his goblet and raised it. 
 
 " Then I hope she will take an extraordinary 
 woman's time," he said, and drained his goblet with 
 gusto. 
 
 " Amen to that," said Nickoff. 
 
 " If you are not quite sober and quite ready when 
 I am, my friends," said Gordon with a bright look 
 in his eye, " something extraordinary will happen 
 to you," and he went out to sit by himself near 
 a clump of trees, for he felt in an uncommon 
 mood. 
 
 The country was not beautiful ; but there was 
 an atmosphere of bigness about the place. They 
 were just on the border-line of the black land and the 
 arable steppes. Here, according to Herodotus, 
 the Scythians lived by agriculture and Athens drew 
 her grain. In this famed black land the richest 
 harvests can be produced without manure, though 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 49 
 
 Ignorance can blight Nature as Stupidity can numb 
 the brain. 
 
 Where the Countess lived there were trees — the 
 fir and the birch — in plenty. A gentle wind blew 
 from the south and a resinous scent came to Gor- 
 don's nostrils as he sat looking across the vast 
 steppe. The vegetation in parts, where the land 
 was not tilled, grew luxuriantly wild to a height of 
 six or seven feet. It tossed a green mane to the 
 wind and gave back the challenge of the sun. Spring 
 was here. In the autumn all would be brown and 
 parched : but now there was promise everywhere. 
 
 Gordon looked and wondered. Countess Puroff 
 in this vast country, with big, mighty forces round 
 her, and as happy as a singing bird in a forest where 
 the snake and the lion lived and lusted. A silver 
 birch in a forest of oak. 
 
 Those violet eyes and that fresh cheek — that 
 
 innocent smile Gordon got up and wandered 
 
 back towards the house. He had never been so 
 disturbed by womankind before. The hussies, the 
 cozeners, the black-eyed, blue-eyed, brown-eyed 
 beauties whom he had ogled and kissed, made no 
 impression on him like this slip of a girl. 
 
 " God in Heaven ! I am in love with the girl ! " 
 he said to himself. " In love with her. And I am 
 taking her to be the wife of another man.'' 
 
 He shook himself — metaphorically. Literally, he 
 moved quickly and strode away, anywhere to be 
 alone. He felt it was impossible that he was in love 
 at last. And so speedily, too. As if he had toppled 
 over a bridge while looking at the water. But such 
 water— violet, with forests all round; trees of a 
 
 D 
 
50 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 gorgeous fancy framed with the most delicate 
 auburn blossom that one could fancy 
 
 Violet water ! Did anybody ever hear such non- 
 sense ? And auburn blossom ? 
 
 He tried swearing. It relieved him for a moment, 
 just as movement did, but it did not wear well. 
 He caught himself sighing, and that seemed proof 
 tremendous. 
 
 He faced the matter seriously. Was he really 
 and truly in love with the Countess Puroff ? Melania 
 Nicholovna. He repeated the words with a joyous 
 relish. He found he couldn't answer a straight- 
 forward question without thinking of the form and 
 features of a maiden he had only just seen, who 
 would, if she were beside him, reach to about there 
 — no, there 
 
 He doubled up his fists and walked briskly in 
 another direction. One fact, at least, was clear : 
 he was behaving in a most uncommon fashion, and 
 when he had a serious mission before him antics of 
 such irresponsibility were out of place. He screwed 
 himself up and walked back towards the house. He 
 was met by a servant. 
 
 Her Excellency was hurrying forward all her 
 preparations and would be ready to start at 
 dawn." 
 
 At dawn ! It was not a clear, fixed, matter-of- 
 fact period, unemotional and prosaic, but one 
 charged with poetry. " At dawn." It sounded now 
 like something most promising. It was the end of 
 night : the black figure had gone and the birth of a 
 new day rose on the horizon. It was the hour 
 Nature woke and the lazy earth turned over in its 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 51 
 
 bed, rubbed its eyes and then said, " Now things 
 will be different." 
 
 " The Saints preserve me ! said Gordon to him- 
 self. " I am indeed growing bletherish. This is 
 the way of children, of babes, milk-drinkers and 
 femininity in general. I, Louis William Gordon, 
 to be mooning like a blighted dove, driven about 
 like a sickly, unmuzzled poet — paf ! " 
 
 He strode back to his two companions, quickly, 
 resolutely, and with vigour. 
 
 " We leave at dawn," he said. " See you are 
 ready." 
 
 They looked up drowsily and nodded. They had 
 much to do before then and turned at once to sleep. 
 
 Gordon followed their example and dreamt of the 
 sun rising, only it had violet eyes and a superb 
 aureola of auburn hair. A preposterous dream. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 " Affliction is enamour' d of thy parts. 
 And thou art wedded to calamity.*' 
 
 — Romeo and Juliet 
 
 BEFORE the dawn there was hurrying and 
 scurrying. Men came out with parcels and 
 boxes and packed them on a carriage which was to 
 follow the Countess. Some of the men had lanterns, 
 and some carried the lighted pine torches of the 
 peasants, who could not generally afford candles. 
 These men were dressed in a coarse robe of drugget 
 which reached below the knee and was bound round 
 the waist with a sash. The linen of the trousers 
 was thick and coarse, and for stockings they wrapped 
 a woollen cloth round their legs, and fastened them 
 with strips of flexible bark — the material of which 
 their sandals were made. 
 
 Night seemed to be passing lazily. The air 
 clung to its children. No breeze came in madness 
 or mirth to disturb or freshen. Tree and shrub, 
 and leaf even, were still as if Rest held them, and the 
 air did its best to make no disturbance. Into the 
 greyness there stole some silver gleams, and the 
 clouds moved with a slow majesty as if they knew 
 their place and the manner of homage making to the 
 sun. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 53 
 
 " We shall soon be ready," said Melania Nicholov- 
 na to Gordon as they stood together watching the 
 men carry and fasten. She was dressed in a robe 
 of rose-coloured silk, tied round the waist with a 
 sash. The sleeves were white, and there were enamel 
 buttons of oriental design on the dress. She had 
 on a round cap of sable, and there were furs for her 
 in case she felt the cold. 
 
 " I hope we shall have a pleasant journey," said 
 Gordon. 
 
 "Is there need for haste ? " she asked. 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Why am I suddenly summoned to the capital ? 
 It is strange, Louis Alexandrovitch. Have you 
 no idea of the reason that calls me ? " 
 
 Pestilential question ! 
 
 Gordon looked diplomatic — as well as a pair of 
 violet eyes would let him. 
 
 "It is difficult to guess sometimes the motives 
 of the powerful, Melania Nicholovna, and occasion- 
 ally dangerous. I am a discreet man. For me it 
 is enough to obey orders ; just as I allow no one to 
 question mine. You — ^you are a great person. 
 Countess." 
 
 She sighed. 
 
 " A great person. I have known the great 
 become very small. And none of them seemed able 
 to command happiness. Don't you think happi- 
 ness is better than greatness ? " 
 
 " Greatness is to happiness as one of those pine 
 torches to the sun. It takes some labour to get 
 that, and the light and the heat give us some satis- 
 faction ; but the sun, which comes unsought and 
 
54 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 unasked for, will warm more and light more. If you 
 hunt for happiness you won't get it ; and if you 
 strive for greatness you will assuredly miss happi- 
 ness." 
 
 " That is not very encouraging, Louis Alexandro- 
 vitch." 
 
 " The truth doesn't bother with encouragements 
 or discouragements, dear lady. You take it as 
 you find it." 
 
 " From which you would have me infer that I 
 must go to St. Petersburg and ask no questions." 
 
 " It is not a bad way, Melania Nicholovna." 
 
 " You mean to St. Petersburg, or to happiness ? " 
 
 " The Saints howl at St. Petersburg — I meant 
 happiness. Do what you are told if that's your 
 business and take the nice things the Good God pro- 
 vides. There's a chance of happiness. Everything 
 else can go to — St. Petersburg." 
 
 " I wonder," she said after a pause, " if you are a 
 good guide." She had a look of doubt. 
 
 " That, Melania Nicholovna, you shall tell me 
 when you get to St. Petersburg," he replied. 
 
 He winced in mind as he thought of that arrival 
 in the capital, for it meant, of course, handing over 
 the Countess to the son of Stolemkin. 
 
 She looked quite grave as she said — 
 
 " I trust you, Louis Alexandrovitch." 
 
 It was meant for comfort, but it came ironically. 
 
 " I am honoured," he said, almost bitterly, for 
 he was beginning to dislike his job more and more. 
 Had the Countess been a grisly creature or merely 
 somewhat grizzled he might have gone with a gay 
 and gladsome heart back to the calculating Stolem- 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 53 
 
 kin : but this sweet innocent ! And she thanked 
 him and trusted him ! 
 
 But Belof was not hke his mistress. He seemed 
 to wonder and wonder and wonder what that man 
 meant who would take his mistress to St. Peters- 
 burg. He certainly did not trust him. Why did 
 he not tell why he came and took Melania Nicholov- 
 na to the capital ? What a pity there was a woman 
 on the throne ! One, too, who let the cursed Ger- 
 man do so much. The peasants said the crops would 
 not grow because a woman ruled, and they prayed 
 to Peter to come back and drive Biren the German 
 away. 
 
 But Belof was able to do nothing save watch and 
 wonder. The Countess gave him plenty of orders, 
 and he listened to them all and tried to watch Gor- 
 don at the same time. And finally all was ready. 
 The Countess with her woman got into the carriage 
 — a kibitka like Gordon's with a feather bed at the 
 bottom (two, to be accurate) — the postboys mounted, 
 Gordon got in his carriage, the peasants who were 
 about went on their knees, and the priest, who had 
 come in haste, uttered a prayer for the safety of the 
 Countess, and the calvalcade — including the carriages 
 — went on the road .towards the capital — and 
 adventure. 
 
 Gordon, at first, had decided to go alone in his 
 kibitka : then he changed his mind. That was his 
 humour for the moment. He took Nickoff and 
 Pendeff in the carriage with him. If he felt angry 
 they would be handy to kick : if he wanted conver- 
 sation they would be useful. 
 
 He did not kick, so he was not ill-humoured (which 
 
56 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 was commendable since Melania Nicholovna was 
 now not to be seen). 
 
 " I thought," said Nickoff, that we were to have 
 excitements, blood-stirring moments, prayers to 
 the Saints in times of danger, and a great catalogue 
 of fearsome scrapes and scapes. This," he nodded 
 contemptuously, " is more like a pious and not 
 unpleasant pilgrimage." 
 
 " Do you complain ? " asked Gordon. 
 
 " Say No," entreated Pendeff. " I don't like to 
 annoy Providence. I knew a man once who laughed 
 at danger, and he had his head split in two with a 
 dubine in Moscow only half an hour afterwards." 
 
 *' Directed by Providence because he boasted, 
 eh? " 
 
 " I don't know. I never catechize Providence. I 
 don't really understand : but I give you the story, 
 which is true." 
 
 " And if he had not boasted you think the playful 
 creature who flung the cudgel would not have hit 
 your friend ? Hit another man, eh ? Or missed 
 altogether because at that time nobody happened 
 to boast ? Providence seemingly having set on 
 that rough in Moscow to hurl a dubine at men who 
 laughed at danger." 
 
 Nickoff laughed. Gordon was seemingly in a 
 teasing mood (recognizable symptom !), but PendefE 
 shook his head. 
 
 " I don't know. I don't catechize Providence : 
 but what I tell you is true " 
 
 Nickoff laughed more loudly than before : an 
 annoying cachinnation. Pendeff went red. Gordon 
 shook his head and said — 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 57 
 
 " If you were not lusty with the sword and a 
 man to stand by at all times and in all weathers, 
 Stephen Gregorovitch, I would not have chosen 
 you to come with me. I like brightness, sunlight, 
 grace, delicacy, and the sweetest Saints in Heaven 
 would lure me in vain to give you those qualities. 
 You have the humour of the elephant : it is gigan- 
 tic. Your foot comes down on pleasantness with a 
 crash crescendo. Praised be the Saints ! You are 
 not my fool. You ought to be a jester at the Court, 
 Stephen Gregorovitch. Anna Ivanovna would appre- 
 ciate you as a jester. Your bons mots about Provi- 
 dence and the man in Moscow would have cured the 
 belly ache of half the Court and shocked the Archi- 
 mandrite into reverence." 
 
 Gordon laughed. He was, as we may observe, 
 in a gay humour. 
 
 What is it ? " asked Pendeff, a little surprised, 
 and he looked at Nickoff for elucidation. Gordon's 
 gaiety was unexpected. 
 
 Nickoff winked. He attempted to hum — 
 
 "Her hair was the red of the sunset. 
 Her eyes were the sea's deep blue." 
 
 Gordon glared so steadily that Nickoff slowly 
 hummed nothing more coherent. He felt it would 
 be a useless waste of bravado. Pendeff was still 
 in the dark. He looked from one to the other with 
 a curiously inquiring expression. 
 
 " I do not understand," he said, shaking his head. 
 
 One might judge from his attitude and receptivity 
 that he would stand and die at his post and never 
 
58 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 leave a friend. This kind of virtue does not make 
 us chuckle, and so nowadays such a man is voted a 
 very dull creature. The world is at the feet of the 
 laughter-makers, and yet it is probably the sober 
 folk who keep it going. Pendeff was regarded as a 
 boor except in certain critical hours, and then he 
 became the one person of importance. Gordon for- 
 tunately understood him ; and perception is a good 
 share of good living. 
 
 " It's just as well you don't," he said to Nickoff 
 in reply to his last remark, and then somehow there 
 stole Silence with a warning finger into the carriage. 
 
 Nickoff was discreet. Gordon was wondering 
 and thinking (we know, if we are only moderately 
 discerning, about whom he was thinking), and Pendeff 
 was hoping those fools of postboys would drive so 
 that there would be less jolting. 
 
 They drove now within sight of great fields of 
 mullet and rye, now by a thick forest of fir and birch, 
 with sentinels of elm and maple that seemed to have 
 pushed forward from the south. They crossed 
 rivers over strange bridges and changed horses at 
 the posting stations. 
 
 Here Gordon saw the Countess again, inquired 
 after her comfort, reaped her smile and thanks, and 
 then talked so that poor Pendeff could make neither 
 head nor tail of the conversation. 
 
 It was when they were passing along a road cut 
 through a forest that the crash came. Gordon 
 somehow had felt a sense of incident and was hold- 
 ing his pistol in his hand when there burst from 
 trees on either side of them and in front a body 
 of weirdly-dressed creatures, wild, ferocious, des- 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 59 
 
 perate and daring. They did not stop to parley. 
 They shot bang ! bang ! They shouted loudly as 
 they shot and then leapt at the horses and then at 
 the carriages. 
 
 There were shrieks and cries from the postboys ; 
 the horses plunged and reared, generally for the 
 last time as the assailants at once shot them to 
 stop further progress. 
 
 The Countess and her woman screamed for help. 
 
 " Come out here ! " shouted Gordon, and with 
 pistol and sword he leapt out of the carriage. Fury 
 was in his face. Was it because of a woman's cry 
 of distress ? 
 
 He fired at once and a man fell. He turned to 
 look in the direction of the Countess and shouted, 
 " This way " to Nickoff and Pendeff who were 
 beside him. 
 
 They dashed towards the figure in the rose and 
 white and hurled themselves into the group of men 
 there with a charge superb. Gordon's sword went 
 home twice with a sickly swiftness. His other 
 pistol emptied a saddle. He was at the Countess's 
 side, and she gave a cry as if she would fling herself 
 in his arms, when he was hit over the head with the 
 butt of a musket and dropped in a pitiable heap at 
 her feet. 
 
 She screamed and fell beside him, weeping and 
 praying. 
 
 Nickoff and Pendeff were cut and bleeding and 
 dropped from sheer weight of numbers. What 
 were half a dozen among so many ? 
 
 The Countess's men, who were behind her, had 
 been taken unawares, and received the first shots of 
 
6o THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 the attackers. Two were dead, three were dying, 
 and galloping hoofs told the tale of the others. 
 
 Voices rude, coarse and harsh shouted notes of 
 victory and satisfaction. Some swore over cuts and 
 thrusts and bullets. But there was general content 
 over the capture. The Countess was unhurt and 
 so was the maid. One of the bandits took her 
 woman by the arm and squeezed her. Two or 
 three of them near laughed at something he said 
 and she looked like a rabbit before a serpent. Then 
 she fell at her mistress's feet shaking like a cloth in 
 a wind. 
 
 The sun had risen and the day was already tough. 
 The thick forest, however, prevented the dancing 
 of the shadows, and the bandits, who were unhurt, 
 moved here and there like men who thoroughly 
 understood their business. A man in authority 
 ordered them about with ease and a commendable 
 command. The dead were buried ; the wounded 
 were placed in the carriages. 
 
 The Countess looked at Gordon on the ground and 
 stroked his face and then tried to staunch the wound 
 on his head, and though the sight of the matted locks 
 with their dark red entwining was disturbing to her, 
 she leaned over him tenderly and tried to do her 
 best. 
 
 The chief touched her on the shoulder. 
 
 " Get into the carriage," he said. 
 
 " He is wounded," she said with a tear in her 
 voice. So wounded. Will you see to him ? " 
 
 " You first, madam. To the carriage, please." 
 
 The tone was authoritative. She looked up 
 disdainfully, then rose. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 6i 
 
 If you do not attend to him, you will suffer for 
 it/' she said. 
 
 A faint smile — very faint — stole for an instant 
 over his face. Threatened by this tender woman — 
 a girl even — and he was not afraid of the soldiers of 
 the Empress ! It is one of the commonest of offences 
 to exaggerate our own importance and under- 
 estimate the power of others. No wonder he had 
 an inclination to smile. He nodded to two men and 
 pointed to the Countess and the carriage. He did 
 not speak. He was evidently a man who believed 
 in deeds more than words, and those people always 
 do things that count — either bad or good. It is 
 the uncertainty there that is so unsettling. 
 
 " How dare you ! " she began. But she turned 
 to look at Gordon again, for he had moved and 
 groaned. She had not time to attend to him, for the 
 two men took her by the arms and began to drag 
 her towards the carriage. She looked proudly indig- 
 nant. She, who had wielded almost absolute power 
 over her serfs, felt this tremendously. Her blood 
 rushed wildly at the insulting touch. But she could 
 find nothing to say and merely looked fiercely at the 
 chief again. He seemed to be an understanding 
 man. 
 
 " Go easily/' he said quietly to her, showing no 
 emotion. 
 
 She was calmed, perhaps by his calmness : emo- 
 tions are as infectious as fevers. She looked assailed 
 by a bewildering storm of thoughts, that somehow 
 were incoherent and yet touched certain definite 
 pictures of apprehension in her mind. She was 
 buffeted by her own feelings now and walked almost 
 
62 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 willingly if unsteadily towards the carriage. Her 
 woman, whiter than herself, held her. 
 
 " What is it, Marie ? " muttered the Countess. 
 
 But Marie was too frightened. 
 
 " I do not know, Melania Nicholovna," and she 
 burst into tears. 
 
 The Countess felt steadied : her woman's fear 
 had its effect. She clenched her hands lightly for a 
 moment, then crossed herself and prayed — prayed 
 not only for a vague help, but also for the poor man 
 who was so sore hurt, Louis William Gordon, Louis 
 Alexandrovitch. 
 
 The chief of the bandits nodded and the procession 
 went on its way, leaving precious little mark behind 
 of the wretched but common tragedy. 
 
 The reader need not be surprised at this daring 
 of the robber band. At that time — the reign of 
 the Empress Anne — these bands were so daring that 
 they resisted the regular troops, thej^ captured ships 
 on the Volga, and terrorized the people in the places 
 where they made a descent. Two or three brigands 
 had tortured a man before the whole village, so 
 cowed were these miserable creatures when the 
 robbers appeared. If people are treated as slaves they 
 will behave like them. It doesn't do to treat people 
 like angels, all the same. Extremes are only for the 
 very great or the very little. 
 
 Gordon, Nickoff and Pendeff were hors de combat. 
 They lay helpless and badly wounded in the carri- 
 ages. The brigands who were wounded wrapped 
 up their wounds, cursed their foes, and then thought 
 of the spoil. The little lady looked to be one who 
 had great possessions and her person was probably 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 63 
 
 a capture of value. So there was satisfaction in the 
 camp of the Philistines. 
 
 The little lady was now doing her best to envisage 
 the situation. A few nights ago she was living com- 
 fortably on her estate with her word law and none 
 to gainsay her wish. She had suddenly been sum- 
 moned to St. Petersburg, and while on the way — 
 the blood ran warm now — she saw Louis William 
 Gordon lying on the ground with matted hair and a 
 pale face . . . What were these men ? Into whose 
 hands had they fallen ? Were they just robbers ? 
 What would they do ? She was not comfortable. 
 
 " Marie." 
 
 " Yes, my lady." 
 
 " What are these people ? " She whispered it. 
 Marie crossed herself. 
 
 " They are awful, my lady, awful. Oh ! I am 
 
 afraid " 
 
 " Awful what ? " 
 
 " Robbers," whispered the terrified maid. 
 
 After a pause the mistress said — 
 
 " Will they kiU us, or just rob ? " 
 
 The maid who had heard the jest of a bandit 
 hoped it would be " just rob," but she feared it would 
 be more. 
 
 " I don't know, my lady," she whimpered. 
 
 " Don't cry, you goose," said the Countess, and 
 she fell to thinking of Gordon's poor face. Would 
 they kill him ? Was he already dead ? . . . 
 
 The procession went on without stopping, for 
 these robbers were hardy men who could go long 
 without food or rest when need arose. They made 
 for their lair in a corner of the forest, where they 
 
64 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 had their wooden huts and stables, and their women 
 waited. The bear and the wolf were glad to leave 
 this little nook untroubled and human beings rarely 
 ventured twice. 
 
 When the band arrived there the women came 
 out to welcome and mourn. That scene was com- 
 mon in that quarter. The booty was then collected • 
 by experienced hands and the prisoners were kept 
 in the meanwhile in their carriages. 
 
 The chief was joined by a woman of fine figure 
 and healthy look. She was young, about twenty, 
 but appeared older. 
 
 '* Good, Juri ? " she said. 
 
 " Yes, sister." 
 Not hurt ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 She turned away to see to other matters. 
 
 The chief was young too, not more than twenty- 
 four or twenty-five, but there was such resolution 
 in his face that Age seemed to touch him with no 
 carefulness. He was indifferent to all, save his 
 purpose. The men about were generally older, 
 though some were younger. They were of all 
 classes, tchins and nobles, deserters from the army, 
 unfrocked priests, cossacks, and peasants who had 
 fled from brutality to brigandage. There were even 
 noble ladies in the colony. 
 
 The chief, Juri Glebof, called " Captain " by his 
 followers, beckoned one of his men to him. 
 What about the prisoners ? " 
 
 " The women are unhurt. Captain : the men are 
 all unconscious." 
 
 " Bring the women here." 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 65 
 
 The Countess, looking very much out of place in 
 that motley band, came proudly to the Captain, 
 followed meekly by her maid. 
 
 Glebof looked at her critically. Morals did not 
 exist for most of these men ; but happily Glebof 
 was different. He had a purpose in life, perhaps a 
 vague one and not a nice one, but it kept him from 
 wandering too much to the right hand or to the left. 
 
 He was struck by her fresh, pure appearance. 
 Few of his captures had that. 
 
 " Your name, my lady ? " he said courteously. 
 
 She hesitated. Pride is very wilful, and can be 
 very audacious in a pretty woman. 
 
 II Why should I tell you ? " she said haughtily. 
 
 " Because it would be the best thing for you to 
 do/' he said coldly, but with such a ring in his voice 
 that she almost feared. Marie trembled. 
 
 The Countess looked at the speaker : but her 
 violet eyes were not made for bending others. 
 
 " I am the Countess Puroff," she said quietly, 
 with as much dignity as any lady under compulsion 
 could have shown. 
 
 Glebof bowed. 
 
 " You have doubtless jewels with you ? 
 
 She hesitated a moment : but the man spoke so 
 authoritatively and looked so unbendable that she 
 said after a pause — 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 Please give them up when asked for, without 
 my hesitation. It will be best. These men— are 
 :hey yours ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Friends ? " 
 
 B 
 
66 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " I — I don't think you should question me about 
 them/' 
 
 " You need not, Countess, think why I do things. 
 It is unnecessary/' 
 
 " How dare you speak to me Uke that ? " she 
 blazed out, and the next instant saw the futihty of 
 the emotion and the speech. The Captain's piercing 
 eyes and resolute expression — he had no need for 
 the emphasis which is the trumpet of the weak — 
 came to her understanding. 
 
 There was a slight pause again and it was she who 
 showed defeat. 
 
 " Friends ? " he repeated. 
 
 " I — I hope so. I have not known them long. 
 They are conducting me to St. Petersburg. And, 
 sir, will you see they are attended to, for they are 
 grievously hurt." 
 
 Now her eyes were eloquent of feeling : this was 
 where they shone. 
 
 He nodded. 
 
 " You need not be anxious. If they are useful to 
 us they may live, if not — but worry is not necessary 
 and we have precious little of it." 
 
 He bowed slightly, very slightly, as if he were not 
 accustomed to appease people with courtesies, and 
 turned on his heel. 
 
 As he went a man came to him with sundry papers. 
 Glebof took them casually and seemed to read them 
 with no interest till the name of Stolemkin caught his 
 attention. 
 
 The look that came in his face when he saw that 
 name was fearful and wonderful, ecstatic and hate- 
 ful. Columbus at the sight of land might have 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 67 
 
 shown something akin to it, but there was mingled 
 with the joy (debasing it, of course) the exultation 
 of the man who cries," Have I found thee, O mine 
 enemy ! " 
 
 " Bring the man to me/' he said, " on whom this 
 paper was found." 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 " From stratagem to stratagem we run." 
 
 — Dryden. 
 
 LEBOF went towards the hut which was his 
 
 " Sofia/' 
 
 She came at once to the door and he put the paper 
 before her. 
 
 " Count Stolemkin " She looked into his 
 
 face with the certainty that she should see there the 
 reflection of the satisfaction that did not soothe but 
 exulted her spirit. 
 
 He nodded and pressed his lips together. 
 
 " But he isn't here ? " she said a little excitedly. 
 
 " No, Sofia, but we are in the midst of one of his 
 schemes." 
 
 She saw there was room for rejoicing. 
 
 " Do you know what it is ? " 
 
 " Not yet. But I have sent for the man." 
 Doesn't she know ? " She nodded in the direc- 
 tion of the hut occupied by Melania Nicholovna. 
 
 " The little Countess ? " 
 
 " Countess, eh ? " 
 
 '* Yes, the Countess Puroff. She is no schemer, 
 but Stolemkin wants her." 
 
 " For his son, perhaps," she said, with the light- 
 
 sister's and called — 
 
 68 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 69 
 
 ning-like guess of a woman about a woman, which is 
 so often right. 
 
 Glebof smiled as if the suggestion pleased him. 
 " For his son perhaps." It was a choice idea ! 
 And there was exquisite satisfaction in the thought 
 that the Countess was here if that was Stolemkin's 
 plan. 
 
 " I think we can do something now, Sofia," he 
 said. 
 
 " He would not desire her for nothing. Is she 
 any relation ? " 
 " I wUl ask." 
 
 So it happened that the Countess came again to be 
 questioned by the robber captain at the same time 
 as Gordon was brought before him. 
 
 Gordon was conscious now and bandaged, and 
 when he saw the Countess safe — at least from 
 wound^he uttered a little cry of thankfulness. 
 
 She saw his expression and went towards him. 
 
 " Oh — you are wounded ? " 
 
 " Scratched — a mere nothing. But you, Melania 
 Nicholovna ? " 
 
 " I am unhurt. These people only want money," 
 she added. " They will do you no harm ? " she 
 asked anxiously and hurriedly. 
 
 " Some of them don't look like angels of mercy, 
 do they ? Imagine that man in " 
 
 His sentence was cut short by another one. 
 
 " Separate them," said Glebof. " Bring the 
 woman here." 
 
 The order was obeyed with celerity and thorough- 
 ness. Glebof was clearly a man who had the knack 
 of authority. He was ruthless when it came to 
 
70 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 expediency, and amongst robbers that type com- 
 mands. 
 
 " The woman first," he said. 
 
 Sofia had watched the Countess and Gordon with 
 a most observant keenness. The looks, the atti- 
 tudes, the soHcitation in each for the other told its 
 tale. Sofia, not knowing all, wondered what it 
 meant. 
 
 " Are you a connexion of Count Stolemkin's ? " 
 Glebof asked the Countess. 
 
 She looked surprised. 
 
 " No. I do not know him at all." 
 
 The surprise came to the other party now — at 
 hers as well as at her reply. 
 
 " Why are you going to " Then he stopped. 
 
 The scheme was perhaps more delicate than he 
 imagined and care might be of service. There 
 might be something in the suggestion of his 
 sister. 
 
 " Have you ever met Count Stolemkin ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " No — ^not that I remember." 
 
 " Where are you going ? " 
 
 She hesitated and then caught a look from the 
 autocrat's eyes. 
 
 We were going to St. Petersburg," she said 
 coldly and with just a hint of irony. She did not 
 care for Glebof's commanding ways. 
 
 " What for ? " 
 
 *' I do not know," she said quickly — almost too 
 quickly, for she wondered the next moment if she 
 did wisely to tell that. People who speak too 
 quickly generally sow seeds of repentance. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 71 
 
 Glebof was not satisfied. He wanted to know all, 
 for that is the basis of successful thwarting. He 
 thought of Gordon. 
 
 " Bring the man here," he said, and he motioned 
 his men to take the Countess away. 
 
 Sofia noticed that the Countess turned to look 
 and smile encouragingly at Gordon before she was 
 taken back to her hut. The reward of observation 
 is advantage. 
 
 " Who are you ? " asked Glebof of Gordon. 
 
 Gordon looked a curious sight in his bandaged 
 arm and head, but his eyes were bright and he was 
 rarely cowed by his enemies. He hesitated and 
 then came to the conclusion that his name was of no 
 importance. 
 
 Gordon, by the grace of God ! of the Gordons of 
 Abergeldie, a place that you are probably never 
 likely to see, for if you carry on this pretty career 
 much longer you are very sure to drop in Hell 
 first " 
 
 Glebof waved his hand and looked very stern. 
 Do not waste words," he said with more in 
 the suggestiveness of the tone than the mildness 
 of the words seemed to warrant. " Gordon — a 
 foreigner ? " 
 
 " Thank God ! " 
 
 " Or the devil ! Never mind. A foreigner — 
 what is your business with Count Stolemkin ? " 
 
 Gordon looked at his questioner keenly. 
 Precious small." 
 
 " Do you thank God or the devil this time ? " 
 Glebof asked. 
 
 " Since you have made it very small, I suppose I 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 ought to say the devil — but I don't thank him, sir. 
 That is all." 
 
 " You enjoy life ? " said Glebof a little unbending. 
 
 " When I have it : don't you ? " 
 
 " I enjoy its opportunities," replied Glebof with 
 a little more meaning than Gordon liked. 
 
 " The devil ! " he said, but his eyes looked bright 
 the next instant. " Opportunities for what, Cap- 
 tain ? " 
 
 Amongst other things, emptying people's pock- 
 ets." 
 
 " What for ? To fill your own beUy ? " 
 
 " That — also amongst other things. And now I 
 want you to tell me exactly what your relations are 
 with Count Stolemkin and why you are taking that 
 lady — the Countess Puroff — to St. Petersburg." 
 
 " And if I refuse ? " 
 
 " I shall torture you." 
 
 Gordon whistled and bowed. 
 
 " I like frankness," he said. 
 
 " I too," said Glebof. 
 
 They were silent for a moment. Glebof could 
 afford to be quiet : Gordon found it advantageous. 
 They were both men who could make their minds 
 speak their thoughts clearly and act with resolution. 
 
 " Why shouldn't I tell you ? " said Gordon. 
 
 Glebof did not speak. 
 
 " Why should I tell you ? " 
 
 Glebof did not speak, but he looked at Gordon 
 with depressing power. 
 
 Gordon laughed. 
 
 " And again, why should I not ? I take the Coun- 
 tess Puroff to St. Petersburg to Count Stolemkin " 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 73 
 
 " WeU ? " 
 
 Gordon hesitated, for his joUity was killed by 
 reality. He thought of the Countess, not as the 
 Countess Puroff with great possessions, but as a 
 woman, innocent and sweet. 
 
 Because I am a hound," he said with a kind of 
 disgust in his face, a hireling, a creature bought 
 and sold, ready for the highest offer and the lowest 
 work. Yes, I will tell you, Beelzebub, son of Mephis- 
 topheles, for it matters very little now who knows 
 why " 
 
 He stopped. His repentance seemed to be carry- 
 ing him too far. After all, repentance as well as 
 being a virtue is a reward. It gains happiness or 
 forgiveness for us. Gordon said quietly — 
 
 " By God ! it does matter." 
 
 " What matters ? " 
 
 " If she knows why I am taking her to St. Peters- 
 burg to Count Stolemkin." 
 
 " I ask, not she," said Glebof quietly, but with 
 eyes so keen that they reflected a fire somewhere. 
 
 " You won't tell her ? " said Gordon quickly. 
 
 " I will use my discretion." 
 
 " Yes, yes. And why should you not tell her ? 
 Let her know what I am. What am I to her ? She 
 will probably prefer you to me. You do rob and 
 attack like men. I — I get paid to take her to that 
 Stolemkin so that he can marry her to his son. She 
 
 to Sh ! " His voice sank to a whisper. 
 
 " Don't tell her yet. She must know, but not yet." 
 
 Glebof waved his hand to silence him. 
 
 " That will do," he said. " I am glad you have 
 told me. Take him back," he said to some of his 
 
74 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 men : and as they were going away he added, See 
 he has what he wants and is comfortable." 
 
 Glebof turned and walked to where his sister was 
 waiting. There was triumph in his stride and joy 
 and exultation, but held down as if he had been 
 accustomed to keep a strong hand on his passions. 
 
 " Sofia," he said. 
 
 She came to him quickly, catching the ring in his 
 voice. 
 
 " You were right," he said. *' Stolemkin wants 
 her to marry his son." 
 She clenched her hands. 
 
 "Thank God! Thank God! Thank God!" 
 she said. 
 
 " Now to trick him," he said. 
 
 " We have her, at any rate." 
 
 " That isn't enough." 
 But it is something. She will be rich, eh ? '* 
 
 '*Yes, she will be rich, or Stolemkin the Viper 
 would not want her for his son." 
 
 " But he shall not have her," she said. 
 
 " No. And that is not enough. At any rate, 
 little sister, we are in the middle of the spider's web 
 now, and we ought to be able to do something." 
 
 They were both silent and felt no need for words. 
 He and she were both thinking of the same thing — 
 how to repay a debt of vengeance to Count Stolem- 
 kin. They had no need of speech to fan the flame 
 of their feeling : what they wanted now was an idea 
 (a very common want in all times and in all places). 
 They wished to utilize their advantage to the 
 uttermost. How could they hurt Count Stolemkin ? 
 They could prevent the marriage, they could exact 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 75 
 
 ransom. . . . But they wished to hurt, to humihate. 
 The humiHation of others is where man shows his 
 superiority over the brute creation. From which it 
 is clear that we develop in all directions bad as well 
 as good. 
 
 Sofia sat down on the stump of an old tree that 
 had been cut down to provide wood for the hut- 
 building. There were many things to impress on 
 her that the weak must minister to the strong, a 
 doctrine she had learned with tears and nursed with 
 bitterness. Now she was among the strong. The 
 finer people are what they themselves think they 
 are : the coarser what others think them. 
 
 Sofia and Juri Glebof, the children of the Count 
 Stolemkin's dead steward, were now themselves the 
 wielders of power, and the arbiters of life and death. 
 Juri, by his concentration, his fury, his courage in 
 fight as well as by his character and ability, was soon 
 made chief of the band to which he and his sister 
 allied themselves. Sofia had many temptations, for 
 men were passionate and daring, and some of the 
 robbers were of noble blood. But Juri protected 
 her, and once he became chief his sister was respected 
 for his sake : subsequently they honoured her for her 
 own. She shirked nothing and shared all. She 
 was also, in her way, well educated. When books 
 were got she read them : soldiers told her histories 
 of wars, priests discussed theology and philosophy 
 with her, nobles told her of the court and travellers 
 of other lands. 
 
 In the meanwhile men of the order of Count 
 Stolemkin suffered, and he fell into no trouble. 
 But if one sails on one always sails home at last. 
 
76 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 Amidst their vicissitudes the Glebofs had remem- 
 bered their father, flogged to death by the order 
 of Count Stolemkin. 
 
 And now they had got hold of something which 
 might allow them to expend some of their feelings 
 in the way they desired. The worst of vengeance is, 
 it does as much damage to the pursuer's sorJ as it 
 does to the body of the victim. But that is by the 
 way. 
 
 Juri Glebof turned aside to think. As a rule he 
 made excellent use of his opportunities, and that 
 kind of man makes his mark. The greatest men, of 
 course, make their opportunities. The majority 
 of his men were now eating and drinking and making 
 merry over the captures of the day. They sang 
 songs and told tales and drank wine, beer and 
 brandy. 
 
 Glebof, dressed in long top-boots, a long coat 
 buckled at the waist and a round fur hat, went back 
 towards his sister. 
 
 " Well, Sofia, have you thought of anything ? " 
 
 *' What does the man say ? " she asked. 
 
 " Gordon is his name — a foreigner. He was 
 merely conducting her to St. Petersburg." 
 
 " Ah ! — He would like to marry her himself, I 
 fancy." 
 
 " That is an idea." 
 
 " It would not please Stolemkin.'* 
 
 He looked as if the idea pleased him. 
 
 " That will do, Sofia. And we could get our share 
 of the Countess's wealth, too, for the privilege." 
 
 '* I think she would like it, too. I wonder if she 
 cares for Stolemkin's son ? " 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " She has never met Stolemkin — does not know 
 him." 
 
 "Does she know why she goes to St. Peters- 
 burg?" 
 
 " No. Stolemkin has sent this man Gordon to 
 fetch her, and seemingly will wed her to his son when 
 he gets possession of her." 
 
 " Juri " 
 
 She stood up." 
 
 " If she has not seen the Stolemkin, nor he her, 
 and they do not know each other " 
 
 " The devil, Sofia — any cat from the mouth of 
 Hell would do," he said swiftly, catching her sugges- 
 tion madly. " Any of these she-devils round here 
 packed to St. Petersburg as the Countess What's- 
 her-name would be received by the villain as well as 
 the real thing, and — phew ! be married to his son — 
 to Count Stolemkin's son." 
 
 They looked at each other. 
 
 " If it can be done," he whispered. 
 
 " If it can be done," she repeated. " He must 
 be deceived — Juri — a big marriage in the capital 
 with all St. Petersburg there, and the Count Stolem- 
 kin's son marries " She laughed. 
 
 " And afterwards, when the news gets out and all 
 St. Petersburg sees what a fool the Count Stolemkin 
 has been " 
 
 "It is worth it," she said. 
 
 " I would let all this woman's treasure go to do 
 it," he said. 
 
 " What is treasure to that ? " 
 
 " Aye ! aye ! " 
 
 They were silent again, conning the suggestion. 
 
78 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 getting ahead of it and seeing what they wanted : 
 the humihation and rage of Count Stolemkin. 
 
 " I will have this foreigner here again and discover 
 all he knows." 
 
 " Yes. What the son of the Count is like and — 
 and " 
 
 " Can you think of any one who could be trusted 
 to go to St. Petersburg as this little Countess ? " 
 
 *' I think so. I have some one in my mind. But 
 send for the foreigner first." 
 
 So Gordon was sent for again, and came wonder- 
 ing at the frequent catechizing. He was struck with 
 the force of the young leader and the compact youth 
 of the girl. Their heads seemed much older than 
 their bodies : but that is the stamp of the observant 
 and those who remember. 
 
 Gordon could not tell them overmuch. He spoke 
 freely of Stolemkin and confessed he did not know 
 the son. He thought the Count mighty eager to get 
 hold of the Countess. By this time he was disgusted 
 with his mission. Not on account of this seeming 
 failure — that would have nerved him to success — 
 but for other reasons, which the reader has already 
 noted. 
 
 Sofia was right. Gordon felt very much battered 
 in soul and body : but after his conversation with 
 the Glebof s he felt better — in soul, at any rate. He 
 almost rejoiced he had been thwarted in his attempt 
 to take the Countess to St. Petersburg to be married 
 to Stolemkin's son. 
 
 Melania Nicholovna 
 
 But he wasn't quite sure that he ought to rejoice : 
 perhaps she would be better the wife of Stolemkin 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 79 
 
 than — than — ^phew ! in the hands of these bandits ! 
 Food for reflection there. 
 
 Thank God ! the chief — what a young piece of 
 steel he was ! — had no nonsense about him. Might 
 be an old Puritan Ironside reincarnated ! But the 
 others ! What a lot ! The scum of a battlefield 
 with all the vices of war. 
 
 There would not be much peace of mind for Louis 
 William Gordon till the Countess Puroff was out of 
 contact with these robbers. 
 
 " You had better see the Countess now, Juri," 
 said Sofia, when Gordon had been reconducted to his 
 quarters. 
 
 So Melania Nicholovna was brought forth once 
 more to understand how power is a matter of geo- 
 graphy. A few versts away — comparatively speak- 
 ing — she was all-powerful. Here in this forest, with 
 the pine lifting their straight limbs towards the sky, 
 with the birch hinting at all kinds of pleasant things 
 with their silver coats, with the mossy carpet under- 
 foot, and roystering sounds from thick throats, she 
 was of no account. A mere pawn in the hands of 
 players. The autocrat has lost power through the 
 decrease of distance. When Russia has as many 
 railways to the square mile as England the Tsar will 
 have no more power than the most constitutional 
 monarch in Europe. 
 
 Sofia looked keenly at the Countess as Juri ques- 
 tioned her, and was struck by her choiceness. She 
 was worth marrying — yet Stolemkin had not seen her. 
 
 " Have you ever seen Count Stolemkin's son ? " 
 Glebof asked her. 
 
 " No ; why do you ask ? " 
 
8o THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " And you do not know why you are going to St. 
 Petersburg — to Count Stolemkin ? " 
 
 " To Count Stolemkin ? " she repeated. 
 
 " Can you not guess ? " said Sofia very quetly. 
 
 The Countess turned to look at her. They were 
 all watching each other closely, trying to see behind 
 the veil. 
 
 " He has a son," said Glebof. 
 
 Either she would not or did not understand at 
 first : but then she paled. 
 
 " A son — oh, no ! " The cry was involuntary. 
 " I do not know him. And Louis Alexandrovitch — 
 but he would not do that'' She looked at Glebof 
 with a pain-struck face. 
 
 He said nothing. 
 
 Sofia, brown-eyed, calm, strong and penetrating, 
 spoke quietly. 
 
 " Are you rich ? " 
 
 The Countess paused. The remark was less a 
 question than a hint, a key to the puzzle. 
 
 I have estates,'' said Melania Nicholovna almost 
 sorrowfully. 
 
 " And serfs ? " 
 
 " Perhaps thirty thousand." 
 
 " The villain, Count Stolemkin — ^he is a black 
 villain," said Sofia, " would marry his son to your 
 estates and your thirty thousand serfs." 
 
 Melania Nicholovna looked like a rudderless ship in 
 the storm. Then her pride came to her rescue and 
 she looked stiff er, as one accustomed to be consulted. 
 
 " He dare not," she said, and her face was white. 
 The German, Biren, would make you if Stolem- 
 kin a ked him," said Glebof. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 8i 
 
 She was readily accessible to facts. Pride and 
 fear ran through her hke currents in a deep sea. 
 " Help me ! " she said. 
 
 Glebof pressed his lips tightly : his business was 
 rather destruction than succour. 
 
 But Sofia touched her kindly. 
 
 " We hate that Stolemkin," she said, and the 
 Countess knew at once that she might hope for 
 sympathy in that quarter. " You shall never marry 
 his son." 
 
 " Thank God ! and thank you ! " 
 
 When Glebof asked his sister later in the day whom 
 they should send to St. Petersburg as the Countess 
 Puroff, she rephed: " I will tell you to-morrow." 
 
 r 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 " I have set my life upon a cast. 
 And I will stand the hazard of the die.'* 
 
 — Richard III. 
 
 A A mother with her first-born could scarcely 
 have been more glad. An idea to tease, torment, 
 humiliate Count Stolemkin was one to command 
 almost whole-hearted attention from Glebof and 
 his sister. 
 
 Marrying Count Stolemkin's son, to whom ? 
 Glebof thought of the women in his company. 
 They were a garish lot. Most were impossible, of 
 course, for age is inexorable. Some, with all the 
 qualifications of vice and ugliness, lacked ability 
 to play the role. It was difficult the more one 
 thinks of it, for the choice was restricted to women 
 of casual morals living with robbers ! What a 
 choice for the ambitious Stolemkin ! And what 
 gratification for his friends ! The Count's son 
 married to an impossibility, who was deemed to be 
 the wealthy Countess Puroff ! St. Petersburg and 
 Moscow would not hold the laughter, and what 
 would Stolemkin's wrath be like ? 
 
 In the meanwhile, of course. Count Stolemkin 
 
 cherished the idea with delight. 
 
 83 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 83 
 
 was waiting with great hope and confidence in the 
 capital for the arrival of Gordon. 
 
 And Glebof was feeling more and more content. 
 He had tried to find a fitting mate for Stolemkin's 
 son, but had shaken his head over almost all the 
 women of his company. A, B, C — ugh ! They 
 were very desirable from his point of view, but they 
 would not impose on Stolemkin. At least, Glebof 
 thought the risk too great, and he was accustomed 
 to risk a great deal. This, of course, was differ- 
 ent, for failure would be bitter and success a thing 
 ecstatic. 
 
 He had risen early, and the sun's early rays had 
 filtered through the tracery of the forest with deli- 
 cate persistency. The sentries of the camp were 
 at their post keeping watch against man and beast. 
 The others slept ; most of them the sleep of the 
 drunken, for the age of brass was succeeded by that 
 of beer and brandy. When we reach the abstemious 
 age, beware ! 
 
 Sofia was also about early. Although only about 
 twenty years of age, she looked older. If iron enters 
 the soul young the face reflects the hardness. Yet 
 Sofia Glebof was attractive as a woman. She was 
 well formed, healthy-looking, and a little too capable 
 for a man about the average. He would never 
 know what to make of her, and probably in despair 
 
 curse her and say, " These women " with a 
 
 cluck of the tongue and a waggle of the head. A 
 clever man would understand and a fool — the kind 
 i that possesses wisdom — would follow her. 
 j She had straight well-defined eyebrows and her 
 I nose held up her forehead and had a good wide 
 
84 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 bridge. She certainly possessed a nose, but short, 
 squat noses were (and are) common in Russia. So 
 it was no offence. Her eyes, brown and blue and 
 green — quite varied-hued, were changeful and lumin- 
 ous. They were set well under her eyebrows and 
 had the sparkle of precious diamonds, the depths of 
 rivers, and the reflection of mirrors. Her mouth 
 was not tiny, but it was as clear-cut as a cameo, 
 and she had a chin full of warning to the discerning. 
 The dull, of course, would not notice it. 
 
 Juri was her brother in appearance as well as in 
 reality, and he added to a fire and daring a prudence 
 and self-control that were remarkable in one so 
 tutored and so young. 
 
 Well,'' he said to his sister, " I have been think- 
 ing of the one to go to the villain, but I cannot find 
 her." 
 
 " I too," she said. 
 
 " It is difficult. These women are not much good 
 — except to breed." 
 
 " And bad for that," she said. " Some of them 
 are worth no more than clothes and less than a 
 horse." 
 
 " And yet we must choose one of them." 
 " You could not think which ? " 
 " I thought of the Palinofi[." 
 She shook her head. 
 
 " She would get drunk and tell all," Sofia said. 
 " I pictured her at that." 
 
 " Yes, there is only one woman here who can 
 go." 
 
 " And that is ? " 
 " Myself." 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 85 
 
 Glebof looked at his sister. This was certainly 
 out of his reckoning, for marriage was a thing pre- 
 cious as rubies for a woman — so he thought — and 
 there could be little gratification in prospect for 
 Sofia Glebof married to the son of Count Stolemkin 
 after a piece of daring imposture. 
 
 " You ! " Everybody will easily understand 
 exactly how it was said. 
 
 Sofia, being human and a woman, enjoyed the 
 note of surprise, but she did not dwell on it, for she 
 was really a person above the average. 
 
 Yes," she said quickly. " Nobody else can 
 
 do." 
 
 He knew that was true, for the drabs about the 
 camp were incapable of the delicate role a spurious 
 Countess would have to play in St. Petersburg. 
 No. But, Sofia— you dare ? " 
 
 It was half a compliment and half a doubt. She 
 was sensible, feminine and egotistic, and took it 
 wholly as a compliment. 
 Yes." 
 
 " There are risks." 
 
 " I will run them." 
 
 " And will you marry the man ? " 
 
 She nodded. 
 
 He took her by the arms. 
 
 Sofia, that is for life, perhaps 
 
 She shrugged her shoulders. 
 
 Or for a ceremony," she said. 
 He stared and wondered at her decision. 
 " You have thought it all out — what it will 
 mean ? " 
 
 " We both know what it will mean, Juri." 
 
86 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " Yes, to him. But to you ? Married — what 
 will you do ? " 
 " Leave him." 
 He thought a moment. 
 
 Yes — yes. But then, you cannot marry again." 
 She shook her head. 
 
 " Swine !" she said with a wave of her hand 
 towards the sleeping wives and others — married. 
 I do not want a husband, Juri." 
 
 " You may — there are better men than these." 
 He was, one observes, piqued a little in his sex. 
 Husbands should not be treated with disdain and 
 the capture of one with contempt. The prejudices 
 of sex will be overcome when the millennium arrives, 
 not before. 
 
 She shuddered. A man may regard marriage as 
 folly, but not with disgust : with the woman it is 
 the other way about. 
 
 Fortunately he was quick to observe : though he 
 was disappointed. 
 
 " Sofia," he said, " this is what I did not expect. 
 You must not run the risk unless you think you can 
 escape safely." 
 
 '* No one else can do it," she said. " I can. And 
 I will, Juri." 
 
 He was too surprised to say more for the moment 
 than : " Let me think it over." 
 
 He walked away from her along a line of oak 
 trees which sheltered his camp, and when he came 
 back saw his sister where he had left her. That 
 perhaps was a hint of her character : when she made 
 up her mind she was not easily moved. 
 ( Brother and sister had gone together through 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 87 
 
 days and nights of trials and troubles, and each 
 knew the other's worth. Robbery like soldiery was 
 a fair enough calling in Russia in those days : in 
 fact, there was little to choose between them except 
 on the ground of thoroughness and extent, in which 
 the soldiers were easily first. 
 
 But a man will think he is looking after a woman, 
 while -all the time she feels she is mothering 
 him. 
 
 " I don't like to let you go, Sofia." 
 
 " What is there to fear ? " 
 
 " If you are detected " 
 
 " Why should I be ? Count Stolemkin does not 
 know the Countess, nor me. I will go with her 
 dresses, her maid, and she will tell me all I need 
 know." 
 
 Her maid — if she should betray you ? " 
 " I will shoot her." She spoke calmly. " But 
 she will be sensible, not for my sake, but for her 
 mistress's. The Countess will stay here till I come 
 back." 
 
 " Yes, yes, Sofia. I will keep her till you return. 
 She shall be a hostage for you. And this foreigner, 
 Gordon, he must take you. It seems that we shall 
 have to trust to many." 
 
 " Yes, to two — him and the woman. But the 
 Countess will make them discreet. Particularly 
 the man. He, I think, will be very glad that the 
 Countess will not marry Stolemkin's son." 
 
 Juri watched her. He was still cherishing the 
 idea that Sofia herself was going to St. Petersburg, 
 to meet Count Stolemkin, and perhaps a great many 
 other Counts and influential people, to marry his 
 
88 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 son and be the observed of dozens of critical eyes. 
 It was a risk. 
 
 " I wish I were going instead of you, Sofia," he 
 said. 
 
 If you were going I should have a wish like 
 that," she retorted. " And your turn will come." 
 
 Perhaps — perhaps. After this, I shall not ask 
 Jor much." 
 
 " This wiU be something," she said. 
 
 " All St. Petersburg will watch you — perhaps 
 even the Empress — and Biren." 
 
 " So much the better," she said quietly. 
 
 " We shall make fools of a great many," he said. 
 
 " A great many deserve it, and most of them will 
 howl at the Stolemkin. They will rejoice over his 
 humiliation. They will even be ready to forgive — 
 perhaps reward me for it." 
 
 " You will escape at once after the ceremony ? " 
 
 " We may go for a honeymoon to one of — my 
 estates," she said roguishly, " and on the way you 
 could meet us, Juri " 
 
 He was as near to smiling as a desperate, idea- 
 dominated man of twenty-five could be. 
 
 I will meet you — and your husband," he said — 
 as if the only part reserved to him to be played would 
 be performed without a hitch and without reproach. 
 
 " Will you tell the Countess, Juri ? " she asked. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 She turned away without further ado. She and 
 her brother were linked by more than a common 
 parentage — they had common perils endured, com- 
 mon triumphs enjoyed, and an idea that burned in 
 them both. They knew each other's wishes well. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 89 
 
 In this camp the huts were made of wood cut 
 almost entirely by the axe. Sofia had her own abode, 
 and no one ever molested her. She had a position 
 respected and unquestioned, and she rarely inter- 
 fered with the followers of her brother or joined in 
 their carousings — hence her title of Saint Sofia. 
 But she was not a saint, except on the theory that 
 various kinds of saints must people the earth. 
 
 The Countess had been hard hit by the news of 
 Stolemkin's plan. It blasted the joyous romance 
 that had stimulated her to glorious fancy at certain 
 moments and wrecked her trust in joy. To be 
 married like that ! Ordered to come to St. Peters- 
 burg to take a husband, or rather (much rather) be 
 taken for a wife by a man before she could even 
 hesitate ! It was a cruel humiliation ! And yet it 
 was common. She knew a number of wives who 
 had been married by order. Even Prince Galitsuin 
 had been forced to marry a Kalmink girl of common 
 birth. The Empress Anna had ordered it and there 
 was no hesitation : there was the ice palace, too, 
 built for this odd couple, in which they spent the 
 first night of their married life. Where there is 
 power unlimited there is folly immeasurable. 
 
 But the Countess, humiliated and struck as she 
 was by the fate that had been destined her, was in- 
 clined, after a night's reflection, to find comfort 
 in her situation. Her capture by these robbers 
 might turn out to her advantage. There was hope 
 that she would escape this projected marriage, and 
 if so — well, when romance came peeping in with the 
 rising sun, Cupid got on the table. In fact, Countess 
 Puroff, being young and of a pleasant disposition. 
 
go 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 was fast becoming an excellent optimist, and believ- 
 ing that all was turning out for the best in this best 
 of all possible worlds. It is a capital outlook, good 
 for the liver, the digestion, the expression and life 
 generally, only one wants a certain amount of 
 philosophy, tolerance and blindness to keep up to 
 the mark. 
 
 Glebof, who did not let the grass grow imder his 
 feet, had an interview with the Countess again early 
 in the morning. He wanted to see that he quite 
 understood the case and could build on a sure found- 
 ation — the elementary proceeding of all sound archi- 
 tects. 
 
 He wasted little time in preliminaries. He wanted 
 her to tell him exactly what had happened from the 
 time Gordon had called on her to her capture. 
 
 She spoke frankly and found herself boggling 
 over the part played by Louis Alexandrovitch. 
 She began to realize the truth at last, though she 
 would not believe it tiU Glebof told her. 
 
 " Louis Alexandrovitch — did he know ? " she 
 asked, and he saw her anxiety, but had no desire to 
 alleviate it. He bore things and was not accus- 
 tomed to delicacies and hints. 
 
 " Yes. He knew he was taking you to your 
 husband." 
 
 Now she went white. She suffered now. She 
 clasped her hands tightly and her eyes, just covered 
 with a gentle mist, hid the full measmre of the storm 
 that raged within her. The other blow was a thing 
 impersonal, a kind of result of forces ; but this was 
 different. Louis Alexandrovitch was one who had 
 appeared to her to be a courtly, gallant gentleman 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 91 
 
 with just the qualities and graces to please a woman. 
 She had met him, taken salt with him, drank wine 
 and eaten bread with him. And he seemingly had 
 tricked her. 
 
 He had gaily taken her from her home with the 
 intention of handing her to Count Stolemkin as a 
 wife for his son. That was infamous ! It degraded. 
 
 In her anger she saved herself from tears. She 
 tried to put from her the image of Gordon, the figure 
 of the gallant who called on her, and the brave man 
 who fought for her and was wounded for her. . . . 
 This picture softened her. She was not quite so 
 sure of herself now. He had fought nobly. . . . 
 
 Glebof watched her as if she were telling him all 
 the truth of the business. 
 
 She felt the need for action, words — something, 
 and said warmly, I will not go," with a fine figure 
 of pride, showing disdain of consequence. It was 
 as if she said, You can take me to the altar, but you 
 can't make me say ' I will.' " 
 
 Her attitude amused Glebof, who was accustomed 
 to defiance and generally broke it, or rendered 
 it nevermore possible in the defiant person. And 
 though he was by nature a direct man he had his 
 subtle moments. 
 
 " I could take you to St. Petersburg though, if I 
 wished," he said, " and put you in the arms of Count 
 Stolemkin — if I wished." 
 
 She tried to look indifferent to threats — and prob- 
 ably managed it successfully for a moment — but the 
 swift consideration of the power of this man who 
 had taken her prisoner was sufiicient to induce her 
 to follow tact rather than fling defiance. 
 
92 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " Possibly/' she said very quietly, indicating that 
 if the flag had to be lowered, it would be done with- 
 out undue humiliation. 
 
 Certainly," he corrected. But it may please 
 me, Countess, to please you." 
 
 " I do not want to marry this Count Stolemkin's 
 son," she said quietly, for I do not know him." 
 
 " I do not wish that you should. But you must 
 help me." 
 
 To escape this marriage ? " She spoke gladly. 
 " Yes." 
 
 " That I will do willingly." 
 
 " It is well said. Some one must go. It would 
 not do for Count Stolemkin to be disappointed, and 
 so — my sister will take your place." 
 
 Surprise flatters us, makes us think we have 
 achieved something, else why does it give us such 
 pleasure ? Those who cannot keep secrets are 
 folks very susceptible to flattery as a rule, over-fond 
 of adulation. Glebof was too earnest for triviali- 
 ties even at twenty-five, so the Countess's fine 
 surprise was no oblation to him. 
 
 It was something startling, nevertheless. " You 
 need not go to be married : I will send some one in 
 your place ! " Told almost casually too ! It was 
 almost uncanny. 
 
 " Your sister will go in my place ? " she said. 
 
 It needed a little digestion, as one sees. 
 
 " Yes, my sister. Nobody else will do. Some- 
 body must go to delude Count Stolemkin, you under- 
 stand. He must think the person who goes to 
 St. Petersburg to marry his son is the Countess 
 Puroff — you understand that also ? " 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 93 
 
 " Oh ! but " They came like the move- 
 ments of a mind not accustomed to deeds of this 
 kind. 
 
 Glebof continued — 
 
 " So my sister will go. We can, unfortunately, 
 trust nobody else. You will therefore give her all 
 the information you can concerning yourself and 
 your family." 
 
 The Countess was too astonished to make protest 
 or comment. It was the situation in which a per- 
 son says : "I was so surprised I could not utter a 
 word " ; or, ''It was the strangest thing that ever 
 happened." 
 
 Glebof took it so calmly, he might have been 
 arranging different wives for unsuspecting hus- 
 bands for a long time. 
 
 " There is my sister," he said. " You had better 
 go and talk to her." 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 •'Facilis descensus Avemo est." 
 
 — Virgil. 
 
 THE Countess having well digested the idea 
 became at one moment mutinous (on grounds 
 of principle) and then perfectly resigned (on grounds 
 of expediency). 
 
 Sofia converted her quietly. She explained rather 
 than argued. The Countess wished to know the 
 reason of this plotting, and Sofia, not minding -A^ho 
 knew the motive, told. So the conversation took 
 a peculiar turn. At one instant the Countess 
 would explain that her father's friends were So-and- 
 so and So-and-so, that he had been here and there 
 and done such and such things, and at the next she 
 would clasp her hands in amazement that these 
 things should be, pray to the saints to protect her, 
 and ask Sofia what it felt like going to be married 
 — ^like that. Very mixed ! 
 
 Sofia kept repeating phrases, expressions, names, 
 et cetera, so that she would be well armed with know- 
 ledge when she reached St. Petersburg. She did 
 not explain how she felt at the prospect of marriage 
 — the contemplation of the episode did not move 
 her. 
 
 But the Countess was more a woman than when 
 
 94 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 95 
 
 she set out. Destined for marriage with a man she 
 had never seen, taken by a man whom she was 
 beginning to regard with a deep interest, captured 
 by brigands, and now assisting at a gigantic impos- 
 ture ! She knew the risk she ran, but the Glebof s — 
 brother and sister — calmly said that worse things 
 would befall her unless she consented. And the 
 force of a future storm is less than the attraction 
 of a present harbour. Her own future was vague 
 and very uncertain, but at present her life was not 
 sorrowful. 
 
 She tried to keep Gordon from her thoughts, but 
 could not succeed, and one day said to Sofia — 
 " Who will take you, Sofia Petrovna ? " 
 " The foreigner — Gordon.'' 
 " He knows ? " 
 
 " Yes. My brother has told him." 
 
 " And he will ? " 
 
 A pause, then : " Certainly." 
 
 " But he — ^he knows who you are. Will he 
 say you are the Countess Puroff ? " 
 Of course." 
 
 " Oh ! . . The Countess was disturbed. 
 
 " He must, Melania Nicholovna," said Sofia. 
 "If he does not, somebody else wiU and he will 
 die." 
 
 " Oh ! " 
 
 " You would not like him to die ? " 
 " I — I would not like anybody to die," she said 
 tenderly. 
 
 " I thought not. So it is much better that he 
 live and go to St. Petersburg than die and go to 
 Purgatory." 
 
96 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 The Countess quite agreed in that. 
 
 The train being laid, Sofia being possessed of 
 almost all the Puroff knowledge available, all 
 that now remained was to decide on the escort for 
 the journey. Gordon was recovered and indispens- 
 able — ^being available. Nobody is really indispens- 
 able : that is how we crow over Death. At first 
 Glebof thought he might let Nickoff and Pendeff go 
 as Gordon pleaded for them, but there was too 
 much risk. They were not asked if they would 
 connive in the imposture, for Glebof's refusal to let 
 them go made that a superfluity. 
 
 Gordon asked to be allowed to see the Countess 
 before leaving and Glebof consented. 
 
 The Countess, however, at first refused. She 
 was much disturbed in spirit over Gordon, and when 
 she declared she would not see him, knew that she 
 longed to meet him. But pride somehow ordered 
 her tongue. It is tantalizing when the emotions 
 get hold of us at the time we desire to act accord- 
 ing to the dictates of our reason. Sensation is 
 stronger than judgment : that is why women are 
 not the best judges. It was Sofia who said that 
 Gordon desired the interview, and Melania Nicholov- 
 na's No " was such a weak thing that Sofia, under- 
 standing, said — 
 
 " I will send him. Will you see him here ? " 
 
 Melania Nicholovna paused (while there was a 
 slight tussle between pride and feeling) and then 
 said meekly, Here." 
 
 So Gordon came and the Countess imagined it 
 her bounden duty to assume an attitude of indiffer- 
 ence. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 But Gordon did not come with the air of a con- 
 queror, in the style of one who woos by winning, 
 in the majesty of a master. His wound was healed, 
 but his face was pale and his heart was tremulous. 
 This girl with the violet eyes and the soul of some- 
 thing so different from the accustomed army bent 
 Gordon to a kind of awe. 
 
 " I am going to St. Petersburg, Melania Nicholov- 
 na." 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " I hope I may have your forgiveness for — for 
 this misadventure." 
 
 She looked at him in surprise. 
 
 " You mean for allowing me to be captured by 
 these robbers ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " You have my forgiveness for that, though there 
 was no need of it. This you could not help. You 
 were not paid to deliver me to these robbers and 
 you did your best, I grant that, to preserve me from 
 them." 
 
 He bowed. She had after all a right to remind 
 him he had been paid to serve her ill. 
 
 " You know why I was taking you to St. Peters- 
 burg ?" 
 
 " I do." 
 
 " Do you forgive me for that too ? " 
 She did not answer. 
 
 " I do not forgive myself," he said quietly. 
 
 Still she did not answer, though she had a desire 
 to look at him, to see what expression he bore, to 
 read the story in his eyes. But she did not dare. 
 
 " May I explain ? " he asked. 
 
98 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " Is it necessary ? " She longed to hear him 
 speak, else she would have cut short the interview. 
 
 " Yes/' he replied. " I agreed to take you to 
 St. Petersburg to Count Stolemkin because I was 
 glad of something to do. If I had not come another 
 would. And there was honour in being first to you 
 for there were others on the road. You might have 
 been — so different from what you are. And maids 
 are married without much protest here. So it was 
 nothing to me that I came for Count Stolemkin, 
 and now, it is something that I go to him as I 
 do." 
 
 She wanted to speak and could not. 
 
 " I am glad Count Stolemkin will be baulked, 
 Melania Nicholovna." 
 
 " You are not a very faithful servant." She 
 boggled at the name and refused it. She was glad 
 to be able to speak, for she wished to forgive and 
 yet to remind without undue piquancy. 
 
 " Like master, like servant. I can be faithful, 
 in some cases, Melania Nicholovna, unto death." 
 
 " I did not wish to reproach you on the ground 
 of unfaithfulness, Louis Alexandrovitch," she said. 
 
 " I am glad. You know what I am going to do ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "I am taking the Countess Puroff to Count 
 Stolemkin — you understand ? " 
 
 She hesitated. She was made a party to the 
 imposture. 
 
 " Yes," she muttered. 
 
 " It is the best way. I believe he deserves it. 
 And you will forgive me ? " 
 She fixed her eyes on him and was too young to 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 99 
 
 dwell in resentment, when he spoke and looked as 
 he did. 
 
 " I forgive you/' she said. 
 
 He took her hand with a courtly attitude and 
 kissed it. She was not unwilling. 
 
 " I can, Melania Nicholovna," he repeated, " be 
 faithful unto death," and there was no mistaking 
 the fervour in the voice. 
 
 Her bosom heaved. He was the first man to 
 have touched her heart. She looked at him with 
 more than gratitude. 
 
 " I believe you," she murmured. 
 
 " I will come back," he said 
 
 " But you run a risk, a great risk in St. Peters- 
 burg " 
 
 She was quickly laying aside pride and pomp. 
 
 " I have run much greater, dear lady, and shall 
 come back to you — to take you safely from these." 
 He made a motion with his arm to signify her present 
 captors. 
 
 " I — I shall be glad to see you — safe out of St. 
 Petersburg." 
 
 ''I am most grateful, Melania Nicholovna. I 
 shall go now with hope and return with joy." 
 I shall mind neither Stolemkin nor his pranks and 
 tricks, for I know you will be glad to see me 
 again." 
 
 " Safe out of St. Petersburg," she said quickly, 
 with her heart beating somewhat quickly too, " For 
 I fear, Louis Alexandrovitch, I fear." 
 
 " Not for me. I shall come now I know you will 
 be glad to see me again " 
 
 He waited for her to finish the sentence once more 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 if she would. He hung as upon a precipice, waved 
 
 a defiant flag and 
 
 She held her peace. 
 
 So he took her hand again and the colour now went 
 to her face and her limbs trembled with a wild emo- 
 tion. He bent on one knee and kissed her hand, 
 holding it well. 
 
 " Now I have your forgiveness I am happy, and 
 yet not so happy as at the news you will be glad 
 to see me again." 
 
 " Yes, come again," she mmrmured. 
 
 He took leave of her as one who goes fully armed 
 and with all confidence to reach his great wish. 
 And she watched him go with eyes aflame, with 
 cheeks burning and a fire of such gladness in her 
 heart as she had never known before. 
 
 Sofia was now the Countess Puroff. She knew 
 the histories of all her dead relatives and the pecu- 
 liarities of the living ones. She was not likely to 
 meet anybody in St. Petersburg who had seen her 
 since she was a small child, so that curiosity would 
 easily be satisfied and suspicion unawakened. 
 
 The maid was coached, drilled, and warned. The 
 safety of her mistress depended on somebody else 
 successfully taking her place. Marie was dubious 
 of many things at first, but the Countess — the real 
 one — spoke to her so distinctly that finally she under- 
 stood with the thoroughness of the dull. 
 
 Gordon had his kibitka to himself this time and 
 Sofia had hers. She was naturally self-contained 
 and did not paint her emotions on her face to attract 
 the casual. But there was a look of serener seri- 
 ousness about her as she left her brother. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE lor 
 
 '* If anything happens, Sofia," he said, " I will kill 
 Stolemkin." 
 
 Things will happen as we wish, Juri." 
 
 That is the way the strong talk, and Sofia Glebof 
 was no weakling. 
 
 Glebof sent two of his most trusted men to watch 
 over Sofia and be at hand in case of need to bring 
 messages to him of importance. 
 
 So Gordon, not unhappy, was going to risk much 
 in a great imposture. It had not taken him long 
 to realize the inevitableness of the situation. When 
 Glebof had first suggested his taking some one else 
 as the Countess Puroff to Stolemkin, Gordon had 
 laughed at him. The thing was preposterous from 
 so many points of view. That is the worst of first 
 impressions — a gentle incline is a mountain, a cloud 
 a thing of substance, a trivial act one of importance, 
 and so on. Glebof with power behind him spoke 
 quietly and to the point. Gordon's connivance was 
 necessary, otherwise to spite Stolemkin the real 
 Countess would be killed and hers and Gordon's ears 
 sent to St. Petersburg as testamentary evidence. 
 There was no advantage in that to the Countess or 
 to Gordon. And Louis, seeing the way of salvation 
 for the slip of a woman with violet eyes, and a great 
 game for himself to play in a world where imposture 
 was forgiven to daring, and the reward went to the 
 bold, actually came to welcome the idea. He even 
 put aside the manifold advantages and pleased him- 
 self with the idea that Stolemkin deserved it. It 
 was Providence bruising the head of the devil. 
 And there were certainly risks, which was spice in 
 the wine, hiunour in the drama. 
 
102 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 They left tears behind — the Countess's. She 
 was young, alone, and somewhat in love. Tears were 
 natural and becoming. And it was a risky situa- 
 tion for a woman, young and beautiful, to be 
 alone amongst a pack of robbers. In Russia in the 
 eighteenth century risky situations for men and 
 women were as common as the days. 
 
 Through the thick forest went Gordon and Sofia. 
 The firs dark, almost black underneath, showed a 
 refreshing green light where the sun's rays pierced 
 the army of arboreal spears and struck companion- 
 ship with the ends of the boughs. The road was 
 littered with the slaughter of the wind and tempest 
 and the season's scythe. The broken lower branches 
 of the firs, too, gave ambition's lesson from Nature : 
 what to-day we delight in, to-morrow we spurn. 
 
 And then out of the forest, past land that heaved 
 slowly like a leviathan, over rivers creeping snake- 
 wise towards their Nirvana, through towns, on they 
 went towards their goal. 
 
 They changed horses at the post-houses, replen- 
 ished their stock with the things they required, and 
 they entered on the final stage of the journey to 
 Stolemkin and the great imposture. 
 
 Gordon found himself mightily disturbed. He 
 called Sofia Melania Nicholovna and the act seemed 
 to grip his vitals. He could not pronounce that 
 name without seeing the real owner of it and he 
 dwelt on it like a musician on a beautiful chord. 
 
 Sofia might have been brass, polished, attractive 
 and warm-looking, but nerveless and cold. Yet she 
 was not that by zones. She had a will uncommon 
 to most women, for the danger she incurred was great. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 103 
 
 Having her tongue cut out would probably be one 
 of the least of her sufferings if she were caught at 
 her audacious game. 
 
 Gordon, too, carried plenty in his hands, but 
 principally he went for his heart's sake, and that will 
 take a man to altaltissimo. 
 
 They both looked with bright eyes as they entered 
 Peter's new capital, for their thoughts were nudging 
 each other in anticipation. There was, in fact, a 
 slight scuffle at the very entrance to the town. A 
 man with sharp, tiny eyes standing at the corner of 
 a street as Gordon passed threw a cudgel, which 
 missed Louis William's head by a bare inch. 
 
 Gordon was out in a trice with sword and pistol. 
 Two other men seemed to make for the carriage 
 where Sofia was, but at the sight of the pistol and 
 Gordon's eyes and stride they hung back, then with- 
 drew with ample discretion. 
 
 It was like Frolof's work : a fair plan lacking 
 thorough management. 
 
 Count Stolemkin's joy was exuberant and almost 
 ostentatious when the postboys dashed to his door. 
 He came out with jovial tongue, irrepressible ges- 
 ture and triumph in every attitude. He shook 
 hands with Gordon as if his hands were the maws of 4 
 an alligator and was greatly surprised at Gordon's 
 coolness. It was a characteristic of the foreigner, 
 he imagined — cold-blooded, brave and very useful. 
 But his blue eyes showed their colour (not much at 
 the best of times, but interesting in their steely hue) 
 when he saw Sofia. 
 
 She, too, was cool and his blood, bubbling at 
 magnificence point, made him w^onder why they were 
 
104 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 both so cool. He thought it remarkable : then 
 realized it was foolish to expect them to feel what 
 he felt : they knew nothing of his thoughts. So 
 he welcomed Countess Puroff with warmth, was 
 delighted to welcome her for her father's sake, but 
 now that he had seen her, for her own. 
 
 She was calm and reserved. She thanked him 
 and discreetly let him do almost all the talking. 
 
 Phew ! He whistled to himself when they were 
 indoors. She is a prize. Air of an empress. 
 What grandchildren! She will be a mother in a 
 million." 
 
 He drained a large tankard of beer. He chuckled 
 loudly, chuckled heartily. . . " Frolof and Bulavin," 
 he muttered. Ho ! ho ! ho ! What a face ! 
 And breasts and hips. . . " He was half inclined 
 to marry the girl himself and find another mate for 
 his son. 
 
 He chuckled immensely. 
 
 For the matter of that so did Sofia, only she made 
 no fuss about it. 
 
 And Gordon knew how to hide his feelings. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 " As a rule men freely believe what they wish.'* 
 
 — Caesar. 
 
 THE introduction of Stolemkin's son to his 
 future wife was a moment of impressions. 
 Vasili Antonovitch had wondered very much " if 
 he would Hke her or not." His timid eyes looked 
 rabbit-Uke at an unusual figure. But Sofia, self- 
 possessed, modest, inclined to be timorous, and not 
 the least forward, gave him every encouragement. 
 She bowed submissively and said nothing. He 
 was tongue-tied too, for she surprised him and he 
 was uncommonly nervous. The big Count laughed. 
 
 He is all right," said the heavy father. He 
 is his mother's son and will be a kind husband." 
 
 " He will control his wife less than any I know," 
 said Sofia to herself. To Stolemkin she looked a 
 picture of the perfect woman (in a man's eyes), and 
 the ideal wife (in her husband's). For a second time 
 he thought his son such a lucky creature that he 
 almost envied him. 
 
 Sofia played her role so admirably that Stolemkin 
 boasted through St. Petersburg of the coming wed- 
 ding and his elect daughter-in-law's virtues. 
 
 Biren had ratified the promise, and Frolof and 
 Bulavin, cursing somewhat, had pretended to join 
 
 105 
 
io6 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 in the general congratulations. Bulavin's man had 
 returned home, but Frolof's had not. Frolof, 
 knowing he had lost, did not mind what had become 
 of his emissary — so long as it was something un- 
 pleasant, for he felt hugely vindictive. 
 
 St. Petersburg tongues wagged, of course, for 
 Stolemkin's capture was rather dazzling. The 
 match-making mothers and advantage-seeking 
 fathers wondered why they had allowed such a prize 
 to be secured by the Stolemkin bear. They sniffed 
 for a weakness in the trail. ^ 
 
 " Have you seen her ? " 
 
 " Yes. A perfect moujik — ^hands like a wood- 
 man's." 
 
 ''Incredible! Hands like a woodman's. . . And 
 her manners ? " 
 
 " She scarcely moves : barely opens her mouth." 
 " And all that wealth ! " 
 
 " Preposterous ! And Stolemkin's son is a poor 
 wight, is he not ? " 
 
 Pouf ! St. Peter ! — only quarter of a man. A 
 worm with a groan, but watches the clouds they tell 
 me and reads poetry." 
 
 They will be a fine match." 
 " But the girl has something in her." The lady 
 wagged her head. 
 
 '' Ah ! Intelligent ? " 
 
 '' I cannot say. She is deep — like a pool, so it is 
 difficult to say what : but there is something in her. 
 She has a jaw." 
 
 A jaw ! And hands like a woodman's." 
 " And yet, one won't take liberties with her." 
 Men or women ? " 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 107 
 
 " Neither. The men won't want and the women 
 won't dare." 
 
 " A tigress, eh ? She will suit Stolemkin — but 
 what wealth ! And how he boasts ! " 
 
 "'He always did. A perfect beast. I wish his 
 moujik would scratch his eyes out. Have you 
 heard " 
 
 This was about other matters and does not con- 
 cern our people. The conversation was only typi- 
 cal. There was malice in it, of course, but women 
 are not chivalrous in defeat, and in the scramble for 
 laurel and leisure which keeps idle society going, 
 gossip is part of the game. It is indeed by conver- 
 sations such as these that one gathers contemporary 
 views (with a reduction of fifty per cent, at least 
 to account for the bias). 
 
 The fact is noteworthy : Stolemkin scored and, 
 knowing it, blazed it abroad. The story of the 
 race leaked out and that put a frame of Romance 
 round Sofia. Gordon, too, was mentioned freely, 
 but he kept in the dark places as much as possible, 
 and refused to speak of the journey. Silence is good, 
 but the right word at the right time is better. Even 
 Gordon's silence made one observant man wonder, 
 and that was to be deprecated at present. 
 
 Stolemkin, knowing there was many a slip be- 
 tween the cup and the lip, hastened the preparations 
 for the marriage. He did not care to let Sofia out 
 of his keeping and sent his son to live with an uncle. 
 
 Sofia puzzled him. He was not of the most pene- 
 trating breed, but he could not reconcile many of 
 her actions with her bearing and her looks. It was 
 patent — as the lady had remarked — no one could 
 
io8 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 take liberties with her : yet she seemed lamb-like 
 on occasions, easily led, of no resistance. The truth 
 was Sofia felt her way amid customs and ceremonies 
 that were as novel to her as furniture and frivolities. 
 
 St. Petersburg society had the morals of the farm- 
 yard, and Stolemkin, repeating something lewd con- 
 cerning one distinguished and noble lady, saw Sofia 
 look modest and angry. He became envious of his 
 son again and giggled to himself. 
 
 Sofia felt her way with wondrous caution. She 
 made use of Marie to the limit of possibilities. She 
 made her fetch and carry gossip, discover intentions, 
 explain methods and give instruction. The maid 
 was nervous but elated — swelling her head with pride 
 and fearing greatly for her skin. 
 
 Sofia was making sure of Stolemkin's faith in her. 
 She held him firmly, and no one was keener of drag- 
 ging this peasant girl into the Stolemkin family 
 circle than he. He pushed his son to Sofia, slapped 
 him, almost kicked him, on to her, feeling all the 
 time the girl was far too good for him. 
 
 Vasili Antonovitch was regular in his attendance, 
 and the Count, his father, almost as regular in his 
 jeers. 
 
 " Come on, you milk-faced, petticoat soul ! " 
 he cried out as he saw his son bowing before the 
 ikon. " She is too good for you, but by the saints ! 
 she will help you to beget decent sons. Seen her 
 hips, boy ? If you start any mooning with her she 
 will put you across her knee — and serve you right. 
 Waken you up ! Are you satisfied with her ? " 
 
 " Yes, father." 
 
 " Is she satisfied with you ? " He laughed jeer- 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 ingly. " Here/' he handed him a stiff glass of 
 brandy. " Drink that. Get life into you, man, 
 when you go near a woman like Melania Nicholovna." 
 
 Vasili Antonovitch took the brandy and with an 
 eye on the ikon (as a prayer to Heaven) and a 
 thought for Melania Nicholovna drank the spirit 
 almost with gusto. He might have been a knight- 
 errant taking a holy potion. His father looked up 
 in surprise : then he strode to him and slapped him 
 (hard) on the back 
 
 " Bravo ! By the saints ! you are improving. 
 Is she making you take to a good drink, or is it 
 the brandy driving you to her ? Let me look at 
 you." He turned him about as he might have 
 turned a joint on a jack and slapped him as he might 
 have hit a horse on the buttock. 
 
 Vasili Antonovitch shook. 
 
 The big man laughed. 
 
 " She will play the devil with you, I'll warrant. 
 Son o' mine, trussed by a woman ... It will be, I can 
 see that. By Heaven ! she is too good for you. I 
 may have to take her myself." 
 
 Vasili Antonovitch winced and in self-defence 
 and self-assertion stretched himself. The motive 
 was patent and the man of blood and beer laughed. 
 
 To see Vasili push out his chest like a soldier was 
 comical. After all the peacock has done more 
 brilliant things for his womankind, and puffing a chest 
 is a small matter, though it may signify much. 
 
 " Go to her," shouted Stolemkin pere, " Let her 
 lick you before she eats you." He imitated the 
 puffing of the chest and laughed. " By God ! but 
 you are stirred : the blood's moving. Go to her." 
 
no THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 The father in him was almost pleased. His ofi- 
 spring had more in him than had been reckoned on. 
 Stolemkin went out to boast — far from nicely — that 
 his son was doing his wooing like a lion. 
 
 Sofia, meek and modest at first with Vasili Anton- 
 ovitch, grew bolder as she discovered his character. 
 A woman invariably, almost instinctively, measures 
 the length, breadth and height of a man. She 
 wants to know how far she can go with him and 
 what he really weighs in the balance. A man, with 
 the heritage of rule in him, goes floundering like 
 an elephant in a flower-garden. The slave watches 
 his master's eye and understands it : the master 
 bludgeons and blunders. 
 
 Vasili Antonovitch, being somewhat feminine, 
 felt his way and quickly discovered that Melania 
 Nicholovna (i.e., Sofia — it is hoped the reader won't 
 find the nomenclature troublesome) desired to be 
 friends. He didn't see the depth of her — he is not 
 to be adversely criticized on that score — ^but what 
 he did understand pleased and comforted him. 
 (Sofia saw through him in a quarter of an hour — at 
 least, well enough for her purpose.) 
 
 He was a poor specimen of a man at their first 
 meeting, stammering, purring, glancing, sighing — 
 nothing long and all without a solitary virtue to 
 catch a woman who wants a mate and not something 
 dollish. To Sofia this was important as straws. 
 She weighed her man and knew how to deal with 
 him. The father in a way was easy to handle for a 
 woman of Sofia's figure and will. It was the ladies 
 who knew a thing or two, who pried, put leading 
 questions, doubled back on past admissions, seemed 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE iii 
 
 to have suspicions and something up their sleeves — 
 these Sofia wished would keep away from her. 
 
 Vasili Antonovitch came into the room where 
 Sofia was with the air of Esther going to call on 
 King Ahasuerus. He stood in the outer court, as 
 it were, and waited. 
 
 " Vasili Antonovitch/' she said. 
 
 He came forward like a schoolboy. 
 
 " Melania Nicholovna " Then he stuck. 
 
 " Well/' and she cast a glance round the room by 
 a warning of instinct, " are you glad to come and 
 see me, or do you come because you ought ? " 
 
 "I am glad, Melania Nicholovna." 
 
 " Your father sent you, I am sure." 
 
 " I would not mind who sent me, Melania 
 Nicholovna. I am glad." 
 
 " And only saw me, as it were, yesterday." 
 
 " Yesterday or yesterday years ago, Melania 
 Nicholovna. I am glad." 
 
 Vasili was distinctly sincere. Sofia had captured 
 not only the father, but the son — rather good slaying 
 when one thinks of the difference in their natures. 
 
 She looked now at Vasili, measuring him, of course, 
 for he was the victim of his father's brutality. With* 
 him Sofia anticipated no trouble. 
 
 " Am I like what you expected ? " she asked, 
 ringing on the eternal feminine anvil : but ring- 
 ing on it like a master. She had no care for his 
 answer to flatter her. 
 
 " N-no, and yet I have forgotten now/' he 
 
 said charmingly and simply, " what I expected. I 
 know I was afraid " 
 
 " Afraid ? " 
 
iia THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " That I might not Uke you." 
 
 He stammered it all most beautifully, with no 
 brazen dash, no covering : he showed his soul naked 
 and unashamed. 
 
 He did not stir her pulse an atom. 
 
 " And do you ? " she asked very quietly with 
 simulation sufficient for two. 
 
 He touched her hand and sighed. 
 
 " Yes — yes. I am so glad you came, Melania 
 Nicholovna." 
 
 He noticed that her hands were firmer than his 
 and she saw the way of his observation. 
 
 " I have lived in the country all my life," she said. 
 
 " I like the country," he said. 
 
 " When we are married, we will go there." 
 
 He looked at her worshippingly. He dared not 
 have made such a speech, and yet he loved her for 
 making it. " When we are married." . . . If any- 
 thing she was almost too deadly indifferent to all 
 save the purpose in view. She caught herself up 
 at times and a languorous look escaped her, but 
 not often, for she regarded such tricks as mere 
 " ointments " — that was her own word. 
 
 " I like the country," he said. " Have you been 
 to St. Petersburg often ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 He sat by her side waiting, like a subject upon 
 his sovereign. 
 
 She gently led him on to speak of his daily round, 
 his father's habits, the people who visited there, and 
 gathered neatly and effectively the information 
 which pleased her. 
 
 He, delighted to sit near her and talk to her, 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 113 
 
 spoke freely and without restraint. He confessed 
 at the end, when through the excitement of his joy 
 he gained confidence, that he did not care much for 
 his father, and then looked at her curiously as if 
 afraid of her judgment and even denunciation. 
 
 She looked at him oddly. He was, to her, a 
 curious creature, and she had met many quaint 
 specimens of humanity. 
 
 " He is something of a brute, eh ? " she said almost 
 with luxury, for it was pleasant in St. Petersburg, 
 in that house, to Stolemkin's son, to say something 
 bitter concerning the butcherer of her father. 
 
 Vasili looked round timorously : then nodded. 
 
 " They say it is wicked not to love one's father.'' 
 
 " One's parents, Vasili Antonovitch, are men and 
 women. If they are kind and good, we respect and 
 love them : if they are cruel and bad, we hate them — 
 and God curse them ! . . . Mine " — she paused with 
 a dreary vision before her — " were good." 
 
 " Coimt Puroff was good and kind — yes, I am 
 sure of it." 
 
 She had, for a moment, forgotten herself. Count 
 Puroff was her father, but she had thought of 
 another, one flogged to death by Count Stolemkin's 
 orders. She looked at Vasili q(.uickly with her pene- 
 trating — almost animal penetrating — eyes, and was 
 satisfied. Why should he suspect ? The last per- 
 son contagious to suspicion is a man in love. The 
 interesting thing concerning suspicion is that in 
 some cases it is significant of knowledge and intelli- 
 gence and in others of ignorance and stupidity. 
 Love bowls them all out alike. 
 
 " Yes," she said, and your father is not good, eh ? " 
 
 H 
 
114 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " Sh ! " He put his finger on his lips. 
 
 " Or kind ? " 
 
 " Are you not afraid ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 He stared at her. 
 
 " I used to be," he muttered, almost as if meditat- 
 ing on the fact. 
 
 " And are you not now ? " 
 
 " Not since I have seen you — not so much, Melania 
 Nicholovna." 
 
 She turned away her head. 
 
 " What do they say of me in St. Petersburg ? " 
 she asked abruptly. 
 
 " I fancy they are jealous," he said. 
 
 " Jealous ? " 
 
 " Yes — of me." And he laughed, a little proudly 
 — somewhat cock-sparrowish : he could scarcely 
 manage the sublime peacock. 
 
 " You do not tell me what they say," she con- 
 tinued, her desire for direct information being a 
 keen affair with her and not a matter of rippling 
 rapture. 
 
 " They praise you, Melania Nicholovna, they say 
 you are beautiful. My father admires you — very 
 much." 
 
 " But the others, what do they say ? Tell me 
 everything — what they praise and what they 
 criticize. I would rather know what they 
 criticize." 
 
 They say I am lucky and you are — they do not 
 
 criticize " 
 
 " Yes they do." 
 
 He looked at her timidly. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 115 
 
 " They must," she said a little more softly. " I 
 want to know particularly what they criticize." 
 
 Most of us say that but we don't mean it. People 
 do not relish criticism as a rule, in spite of loud 
 declarations, but they do relish praise. There is no 
 sauce like it, and none are so credulous as the 
 flattered. Sofia wanted to hear criticism because 
 she wished to know if she erred in her strange sur- 
 roundings. 
 
 But Vasili could not remember the criticisms, so 
 she listened to the praises. 
 
 She easily gathered that her marriage with Count 
 Stolemkin's son was apparently a great topic of St. 
 Petersburg society. Everybody seemed to be tak- 
 ing an interest in it, and Count Stolemkinhimself was 
 boasting right and left, in every quarter, of the mar- 
 riage of his son with an heiress who had " estates in 
 Livonia, Revel, Ukraine and Moscow ; jewels to 
 dazzle the Shah of Persia, the King of France, and 
 endow the Great Frederick ; wood enough to put 
 palisading round Europe ; fish to fill up the Caspian, 
 and 30,000 serfs." 
 
 There was no doubt of Stolemkin's humour : he 
 boasted astonishingly. 
 
 " The moment people see me now," said Vasili, 
 " they at once talk of my wedding." 
 
 " Encourage them," she said, " If they talk of 
 the wealth of Countess Puroff " — she permitted her- 
 self a slight gesture — " increase it." 
 
 He, glad to do anything she asked, said he would 
 multiply it as much as she liked. 
 
 " Va^ Antonovitch," she said quietly. 
 
 " Yes, Melania Nicholovna." 
 
ii6 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 Do you really care for me ? " 
 *' I adore you, Melania. I would die for you." 
 She put up a warning finger to stop his repetition. 
 " Will you do anything I ask you ? " 
 " Anything — ask me now." 
 " It is a promise ? " 
 
 " It is an oath, Melania Nicholovna — I swear it." 
 " I will remember," she said. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 " Must helpless man, in ignorance sedate, 
 Roll darkling down the torrent of his fate.'* 
 
 — Samuel Johnson. 
 
 MEN and women go their great and little 
 ways pursuing their varied plans, recking for 
 the most part nothing of their pursuers. We strive 
 and strive and strive and Circumstance (the real name 
 of the Sphinx) arranges things as he cares, and our 
 little (or big) schemes, taking their chance, either 
 come to naught or, in the glorious moment of suc- 
 cess, inspire a prayer to Providence for the little . . . 
 circumstance. 
 
 Circumstance has as many faces as there are 
 figures on the die. He can laugh and cry at the 
 same moment — at two different people, of course. 
 But his greatest delight is to get hold of Surprise 
 and plot with him. They make havoc of mortal 
 plans then, and their laughter is a thing Titanic. 
 Only the discerning can hear them. Both the wise 
 and the foolish talk of Luck, not thinking perhaps 
 they are referring to the offspring of Circumstance 
 and Surprise, a boisterous child of no responsibility, 
 caring for nothing but effect. 
 
 Sofia watched the preparations for her marriage 
 with careful and observant eyes. She heard the 
 
 U7 
 
ii8 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 reverberations of Stolemkin's boasts with pleasure, 
 and always encouraged his cannonading in that 
 direction. She was not nervous. Familiarity was 
 gradually eating up all the timid shoots of anxiety, 
 and Sofia began to feel as safe in St. Petersburg and 
 Stolemkin's house as in the woods south of the 
 Valdai Hills. And she was greatly gratified by 
 the stir she had made in the pool of St. Petersburg 
 society. The bigger the attraction she became, 
 the more satisfaction would be drawn from the plight 
 of Count Stolemkin. And by this time presents 
 were arriving daily in honour of the lucky couple. 
 Count Stolemkin swore at his son and longed to lay 
 hands on his daughter-in-law elect, but she kept him 
 at a safe arm's length. He gambled recklessly at 
 faro and quinze, and promised to pay in good time : 
 he thought of the estates and the jewels and the 
 wood and the fish of Countess Puroff . 
 
 The Court had returned from its short season at 
 Peterof, and began to take an interest in the wed- 
 ding. Biren considered the whole affair one of his 
 scheming and was, therefore, in self-interest bound 
 to take great notice of the function. Ostermann, too, 
 was greatly interested. 
 
 Gordon, watched from afar. He was some- 
 what disquieted at times when he thought of the 
 real Melania Nicholovna in the hands of Glebof ; 
 and he also realized to the full that the consequences 
 would be neither mean nor desirable when Stolemkin 
 was hoist with the imposture and his boasting was 
 swept away in the tempest of ridicule. 
 
 Russia was full of the terrible at that age, even 
 if the savage Ivan was dead. The Secret Court 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 119 
 
 of Police " with the brutal Ushakof at the head was 
 equal to any injustice and neglected no cruelty. 
 
 Glebof sent messengers to St. Petersburg so as 
 to be kept informed of what went on, and Sofia 
 managed to commimicate with him without diflBi- 
 culty. 
 
 The proximity of the wedding made more than 
 two or three persons nervous in St. Petersburg. 
 The fugitive escaping over the frontier and the slave 
 within sight of the boundaries of Freedom had 
 kindred feelings to the conspirators of Stolemkin's 
 humiliation. 
 
 When the day of the ceremony dawned, Gordon 
 felt an intense relief. For him this day ended the 
 purgatory of his stay in St. Petersburg ; for Sofia 
 it was the uprising of the curtain on the side-split- 
 ting farce, The Fooling of Count Stolemkin." 
 
 She did not concern herself with what might 
 follow : whether " The Punishment of Sofia 
 Glebof " or anything else. She was for tragic-farce 
 and wore an air of triumph. 
 
 She was dressed in white satin with silver braid 
 and silver buttons. The Court dressmakers had 
 lent their aid and Count Stolemkin said nothing 
 must be stinted. So far as he was concerned the 
 affair was princely, for he never forgot the estates 
 and the jewels, the timber, the fish, and the thirty 
 thousand serfs. All St. Petersburg of consideration 
 was there. 
 
 Vasili had wondered at his luck and then thanked 
 God for it. The Archimandrite performed the 
 ceremony before crowded aisles, and Sofia was a 
 modest and most attractive bride. Coimt Stolemkin 
 
120 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 made up for his son's humility by an excess of pride, 
 but he was not offensive on this day. He could not 
 help being jovial, hospitable, joyous. 
 
 The reception afterwards was a crowded affair. 
 
 Vasili Antonovitch and his bride were to spend 
 their honeymoon near Peterof, and then, at Sofia's 
 request, were to visit her estate near Moscow. 
 
 But the Unexpected played a card and compli- 
 cated matters. 
 
 Belof, the faithful steward, had somehow been 
 suspicious of Gordon. Probably he was suspicious 
 of everybody who came near his mistress : there are 
 people of that uncomfortable order. The departure 
 of Melania Nicholovna with Gordon had been a dis- 
 turbing matter to him, particularly as Gordon had 
 refused to say why the Countess was suddenly called 
 to St. Petersburg. Mystery is always fascinating, 
 though it has sometimes the fascination of the rattle- 
 snake. 
 
 Belof, in a suspicious, unsatisfied mood, received 
 Bulavin's emissary. " The Countess gone. . . . 
 How long ? . . . Which way ? . . . With whom ?•..'* 
 et cetera. This man was slow but desperate. But, 
 of course, he mystified Belof more and more, deep- 
 ened his suspicion and widened his fears. 
 
 Two people in a great hurry to take his mistress 
 to St. Petersburg, and the second of them so desper- 
 ate that he would chase the first. ... It was an 
 idea calculated to disturb a person less prone to 
 suspicion and more given to rapid conclusions than 
 Paul Belof. 
 
 He was mightily disturbed. What could it mean ? 
 And Melania Nicholovna was now in the care — care, 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 121 
 
 custody rather of that iron-like man with the curly 
 brown hair and curious name. 
 
 Belof wondered what he should do. He was a big, 
 heavy man, as the reader will recall, with red hair, 
 moustache and beard and ponderous men generally 
 are not the quickest in thought and action. When 
 they are, they are men of mark. 
 
 On the top of Belof's perplexity came the third 
 inquirer for the Countess. So behold Belof in the 
 arms of Amazement. He was roused to fear and 
 a grim anxiety. He had the faithfulness of the 
 creature who elevates his master to the rank of god 
 and makes of service a divine function. 
 
 Frolof 's son had come himself, and as he had tra- 
 velled easily with great regard for comfort, he had 
 arrived last. He swore and wondered why Fate 
 should have dealt unkindly with him. The incom- 
 petent always blame Fate or Circumstance or Some 
 body Else. 
 
 But he lit a fire in Belof's soul. 
 
 A third for his mistress ! All from St. Petersburg 
 and all desirous to take her there ! He began to 
 shake ^ith fear. He felt there was something afoot 
 which boded evil to his beloved mistress. He crept 
 to Frolof like a suppliant and begged for news, for 
 reasons. 
 
 Frolof laughed. 
 
 " Your mistress, man, will be married when she 
 reaches St. Petersburg." 
 
 " Married . . " It might have been worse, 
 but did she desire it ? If not then there was trouble 
 in store for her. 
 
 " Did she know ? " 
 
122 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " I know not. The man that got her to St. 
 Petersburg married her. It was either Stolemkin 
 or Bulavin since I was too unlucky to grab the 
 heiress." 
 
 She did not know — She did not know." He 
 moaned it like an incantation. He thought of her 
 on the way to St. Petersburg to be married to some 
 one when she reached there. And she did not 
 know . . . 
 
 So he begged Frolof to take him to St. Petersburg. 
 He would find plenty of provisions and his own 
 carriage. So Frolof, being indolent and very partial 
 to the consideration of outside forces, agreed to 
 take Belof with him, harbouring at the same time 
 the hope that the presence of the Countess Puroff's 
 steward would act as a kind of talisman and bring 
 him luck. He began to say deludingly to himself : 
 " If I win after all. If I should snatch the bounteous 
 prize from Stolemkin ..." 
 
 He dreamed easily and in moments of hope 
 imagined Providence was directing his steps. 
 
 On the way to St. Petersburg he loitered, as a 
 man trusting to Providence and not to himself felt 
 quite entitled to do, and Belof groaned. He took 
 heed of nothing. He desired movement : progress 
 was his sole satisfaction. They had not been gone 
 twelve hours on the journey before Belof began to 
 look for traces of his mistress. He had hopes that 
 they rright overtake her : that she had met with 
 some slight mishap and would be very surprised to 
 see them. 
 
 At the post-houses Belof made inquiries but got 
 no satisfaction. And they moved so slowly, the 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 123 
 
 country seemed so big, the journey so long. They 
 did not travel by the road Gordon had taken, but 
 went circuitously round one forest — fear in their 
 eyeballs — and further to the west. No wonder 
 Frolof was last (and he was always blaming his 
 luck !). He insisted on staying a couple of days at 
 a post-house. He disliked constant travel : it 
 wore him out, gave him megrims. And the post- 
 houses were uninteresting, unentertaining. They 
 were just large square wooden buildings, with a 
 spacious courtyard. Three sides of the square were 
 appropriated for stables and sheds for carriages and 
 large barns for hay and corn. The front of the 
 house was given up to the postmaster and his ser- 
 vants and apartments for travellers. 
 
 But Frolof was glad of the little rest, gladder, 
 perhaps, of the opportunity to flirt with the waiting 
 wench and sorry to go. Belof fumed continually 
 in a despairing way. He prayed constantly and 
 fixed an ikon in his carriage. But nothing would 
 move Frolof till he had had his rest and rioting at 
 almost every post-house. 
 
 Belof sickened at the pace. His mistress, he 
 knew, had been in the capital long, long ago and 
 might be married — for all he knew — before she was 
 warned. 
 
 Taken away like that. ... He recalled how 
 suspicious he had been of the man who took her 
 away, who said nothing clear that a man or woman 
 could understand. Oh ! there would be trouble 
 for Gordon if anything untoward had happened 
 to Melania Nicholovna. 
 
 So the jolting, the singing of the postboys, the 
 
124 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 stoppages and the panorama went on with the 
 progress of the frivolous Frolof and the faithful 
 Belof. 
 
 That Belof was hugely tired in body and mind 
 when he eventually arrived in St. Petersburg the 
 reader will readily understand. He came at a crucial 
 time. Sofia was being married to Count Stolem- 
 kin's son, and from the crowd that gathered to see the 
 great, Belop managed to glean the essential facts. 
 Having picked up stirring information he looked 
 wildly for his mistress. He rushed here and there ; 
 he craned, pushed, was rudely repulsed ; and all the 
 time his heart was beating to a tune wild, boisterous, 
 tempestuous. " Melania Nicholovna ..." He 
 muttered the words as one might repeat a loving 
 saying, the prayer of a saint, the name of a 
 beloved. 
 
 His eyes were red with the weary journey and 
 the anxious watching, and this tremendous moment 
 made them look wilder still. 
 
 His great red hair and beard made him a con- 
 spicuous figure, but he looked in vain for his 
 mistress. He did not care for bride or brides- 
 maid, for ladies-in-waiting, for guests, for those 
 whether of high or low degree who held the attention 
 of the crowd : he looked simply for his young 
 mistress. 
 
 When the procession had returned Belof was 
 amazed. He had not seen his mistress and looked 
 like one cheated. He was standing near a sour 
 man, who never cheered, but grunted and swore. 
 He was one of the Bulavin forces and knew what 
 he had missed. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 125 
 
 Belof, bewildered, turned to him. 
 
 " What is this ? " He asked for the twentieth 
 time, hoping to get a different answer. Your dull 
 man is very hard to convince against his will. 
 
 The other man grunted. 
 
 "A wedding." 
 
 " Whose ? " ' 
 
 " Countess Puroff with Stolemkin's son." 
 
 " Countess Puroff ? Oh ! . . . Has she passed ? " 
 
 " Yes, passed just now. You saw her well 
 enough. In white she was." 
 
 " No, no. That was not she." 
 
 " Then the devil take her — you too," said the 
 man and turned away. 
 
 The Countess Puroff in white . . . That was not 
 Melania Nicholovna. He • had seen the lady in 
 white well enough, but she was not the Countess 
 Puroff. 
 
 Belof was more and more perplexed. He felt 
 like a straw tossed in the way, a ship in the tempest, 
 a cloud swirled in space. 
 
 He was lost in this city and his mistress was lost. 
 What had happened to her ? He dropped on his 
 knees and prayed. The sight was common enough. 
 Primitive people are not afraid of calling on their 
 God either in public or private : it is in semi-intel- 
 lectual circles that Providence is treated as a poor 
 relative. 
 
 Rising, Belof went in the direction the carriages 
 had gone. He reached the house where great gaiety 
 prevailed and his storm-tossed mind was singularly 
 out of place. 
 
 They were drinking wine, they were gossiping. 
 
126 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 they were railling each other, flattering each other, 
 envying each other : indulging gentleness and 
 pleasantness with gall and bitterness, and over and 
 above the medley, and through it, there rang the 
 notes of humanity's comedy, man's tragedy. The 
 cymbals were like it for noise. As to colour, it 
 was superb. The rainbow might have vied in 
 delicacy, but here was movement and life breaking 
 the light and shade of orange and gold, red and pur- 
 ple, emerald and green, white and the dazzle of 
 jewels. 
 
 Sofia had changed her white dress to one of rose, 
 prepared for a journey. Vasili, a being of timorous 
 nerves and vague ecstasies, watched her every move- 
 ment. Count Stolemkin went from guest to guest 
 with the air of a conqueror. 
 
 It was a memorable scene. 
 
 Count Bulavin was there also, smiling to hide his 
 envy, wondering at Stolemkin's luck. 
 
 Princess Nolavof, of great privileges, was talking 
 to Count Bulavin about a couple of yards away from 
 the bride, who was receiving some final injunc- 
 tions and jocularities from her father-in-law. 
 
 " Carries herself well," said the Princess. 
 
 " Not much like her father," said Bulavin. " She 
 has a chin that will scotch Anton Gregorovitch." 
 
 " Poor Vasili Antonovitch ! " (She referred to 
 the bridegroom.) " She will do pretty well what 
 she wants." 
 
 '* As most of you do. Princess." 
 
 " With the permission of our lords and masters." 
 
 " Or without it. Would you call Vasili Antono- 
 vitch a lord and master ? " 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 127 
 
 " The saints forbid. The little Melania Nicholov- 
 na will lock him in whenever she wants to go out." 
 
 " And will that be often, do you think ? " 
 
 " It is difficult to say. The men seem to be decay- 
 ing so." 
 
 Just then Belof pushed his way amongst the 
 Count Stolemkin's guests. The servants had let 
 him in because he said he was the steward of Coun- 
 tess Puroff and they happened to be almost drunk. 
 He was wildly looking about him for his mistress 
 and attracted the attention of one or two in his 
 vicinity. He carried his hat in his hand and desper- 
 ation on his face. His wild red hair hung untidily 
 about his ears. He looked for a lady in white and 
 muttered, " Melania Nicholovna." 
 
 Count Stolemkin saw him and went to him. 
 
 " What is it ? How the devil did you come 
 here ? " 
 
 " My mistress, Excellency — my mistress, Melania 
 Nicholovna." 
 
 Stolemkin grabbed his arm and pointed to Sofia. 
 " There ! She is no longer Countess Puroff 
 
 " Where ? Where ? " asked Belof, looking round. 
 There ! " 
 
 " Where, Excellency, where ? " 
 
 Stolemkin pushed him to Sofia. 
 
 " Now, do you see her ? " he said with a grin. 
 
 One might as well have grinned at Hagar and 
 asked her if she saw water. 
 
 Belof looked vacantly round and then at Stolem- 
 kin, who imagined a fool had crept in his paradise. 
 
 Sofia somehow felt danger. Who was this wild- 
 
128 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 looking man ? What did he want ? Why did 
 Count Stolemkin say, " Now do you see her ? " 
 
 She reaUzed the truth in a flash. Happy they 
 who see things quickly ! They have twice the 
 pleasures of other folks and avoid stumbling- 
 blocks. 
 
 She was silent for a moment, for the great de- 
 fensive instinct is to lie still and say nothing ; but 
 that is the way of the weak and feeble. To pretend 
 that silence was golden here is to salt the mine of 
 wisdom. The dull understand only after much 
 reasoning, the wise with a mere hint of it. 
 
 " What is it ? " she asked of Count Stolemkin, 
 stepping forward. 
 
 " He is a fool," he whispered. " He wants you 
 and doesn't recognize you." And as he said the 
 words a feeling of something suspicious came to 
 him. 
 
 But she dashed at Belof with — 
 
 " Why do you come here now ? " 
 
 He began : " Excellency, I " 
 
 " That will do. I cannot bother with you now. 
 Go ! Go." She clutched his arm. " You know 
 Mr. Gordon." He looked enlightened : this at 
 least was a tangible trace. " Go to him," she con- 
 tinued, " I will send you a message." She nodded 
 to her husband and asked him to write down Gor- 
 don's address on a piece of paper. She whispered 
 ommously to Belof : " If you talk to anybody here, 
 I will have you flogged." 
 
 He trembled and muttered — 
 
 " Melania Nicholovna," and looked like a lamb 
 at a butcher. 
 
✓ 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 129 
 
 " She is well/* whispered Sofia. " But she will 
 suffer if you do not keep quiet/' 
 
 Vasili gave her the paper which she handed to 
 Belof with the words : "Go there at once and say I 
 sent you." 
 
 Still bewildered, Belof turned. The paper was 
 something : it let him feel he was on the track of 
 his mistress and the other lady said she was 
 well. 
 
 Sofia tried to keep cool. She felt spied on from 
 all sides. Her father-in-law liked her spirit and 
 said smilingly — 
 
 " What is it, my daughter ? " 
 
 " A stupid," she said. " He had no right to be 
 here. But he has the devotion of an animal." 
 
 " Didn't recognize you." Stolemkin laughed. 
 
 " That is his way," said Sofia. He is stupid, but 
 — ^well, they are most of them that." 
 
 Bulavin and Princess Nolavof had watched the 
 incident with interest. 
 
 What was that ? " said the Princess, "farce, 
 comedy, or tragedy ? " 
 
 " I wonder," said Bulavin, "if it could possibly 
 contain the seeds of all three." 
 
 The Princess laughed. 
 
 I 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 *' In love, the heavens themselves do guide the state ; 
 Money buys land, and wives are sold by fate." 
 
 — Merry Wives of Windsor. 
 
 AMONGST the fascinating speculations of the 
 human race the emotions of other people 
 occupy a prominent position. Think of it : the 
 man escaping from justice laid by the heels just as 
 liberty was in sight — ^what were his feelings ? The 
 man who won the unexpected prize, the man who 
 aimed at the stars and hit them ! the man who 
 thought he was sinking and found salvation . . . 
 It is a gorgeous amusement, but a little trying. 
 Sofia's sensations were of an interesting nature as 
 she drove away with her husband : his also. 
 
 They were husband and wife. He was more 
 than satisfied. He sat beside her with feelings too 
 sacred and too vague for general expression and a 
 sense of gratitude dominated him. He was glad 
 to the point of awe. It was almost too sweet to be 
 real. 
 
 Vasili Antonovitch, with a hard, brutal father, 
 had missed the delicacies of life and had lived in 
 caves of his own contriving so that he might worship, 
 like the prophets in the time of Elisha, at the altars 
 of his own choosing. It was not so much he lacked 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 131 
 
 manliness as that he was dominated by a bully and 
 held to ridicule for ways that were unpleasing to a 
 man with a huge appetite for the coarse. 
 
 And he had feared marriage, as he had feared most 
 things. Novelty brings calamity was a popular 
 saying in Russia in those days, and Vasili grew to 
 shrink from all the evils he knew not of. A wife 
 too . . . He was timid with women even while he 
 felt they were akin to him. But the Court women 
 of Russia were in a desperate hurry for success and 
 could not dally with a man who stammered over a 
 salutation and could not pay a compliment. So 
 the idea of marriage made him tremble. The timid, 
 shy and nervous will understand him. He longed 
 and dared not. He would give all to do it and for- 
 feit his life to avoid it. He would and would not 
 and endured agonies. 
 
 Yet Sofia (with a mission) made him comfortable. 
 He walked easily with her. She was not as other 
 women. She did not laugh at him or make fun or 
 do the silly monkey and peacocky tricks they in- 
 dulged in. He was at peace by her side and felt 
 all else well lost. But he recognized her force. He 
 did not win her — that he knew. If his father had 
 not sent for her she had not been his, and yet he felt 
 proud. She did not slight him, mark you, and she 
 had paid him the delicate, telling compliments that 
 charm a man and make words all bubble and froth 
 in comparison — the compliments of confidence, 
 trust, aid, refuge. 
 
 To Vasili this was the gift of Heaven. He felt 
 she was a willing wife, and that was enough. 
 
 He sat by her, darting glances of homage inces- 
 
133 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 santly. His hands were restless and he dared not. 
 His mouth longed and he dared not. He knew other 
 men did these things, and that they were not con- 
 sidered the prerogatives but the proper duty and 
 service of men — yet he dared not. He felt he was 
 foolish and yet thanked Providence. He had enough. 
 This was his wife — his wife by his side. 
 
 As husband and wife Vasili and Sofia ought to 
 have had common feelings of ecstasy and joy: they 
 had gone through the ceremony that poets sing and 
 novelists so frequently end with. But nobody is 
 deluded. It is now that the imaginative person 
 gets his chance and does not fear contradiction. 
 When you see the beautiful woman and the hand- 
 some man, or beauty and the beast, or Apollo and the 
 viper, or the two very middling, who can dip in their 
 hearts ? Only Time. He knows, and, like a wise 
 person, does not always tell. 
 
 Sofia was silent and pensive. She was married, 
 and somehow the marriage was not quite the tri- 
 umph she had dreamed of. She was satisfied all 
 the same. Count Stolemkin, the man who had her 
 father flogged to death, was cheated and fooled : 
 but the price seemed now a little high. And yet, 
 do not let us mislead ourselves ; she was satisfied. 
 Her husband was attentive and imobjectionable, 
 which she found comforting. 
 
 But she thought of the man with the red hair. 
 
 In all their calculations they had worked on the 
 assumption that nobody in St. Petersburg at that 
 time knew the Countess Puroff. Who was this man 
 with the dog-like eyes and the flaming hair ? Sofia 
 answered the question by congratulating herself on 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 133 
 
 having disposed of him before Count Stolemkin 
 grew suspicious. But now that the ceremony was 
 over she saw the advisabihty of leaving St. Peters- 
 burg at the earhest possible opportunity. This 
 visit to Peterof was a nuisance, but could not be 
 avoided because Ostermann, the Chancellor, had 
 put the house at their disposal. 
 
 Vasili whispered — 
 
 " Sofia." 
 
 " Yes." She answered coldly but quickly. 
 " Are you glad it is over ? " he asked timidly 
 rather from desire of speech than of information. 
 " Yes." 
 
 He put his hand on hers gently, but she at once 
 put it away with a firm, but not rough, movement. 
 He was disturbed at the action and did not dare to 
 speak for some minutes. She took no notice of 
 him. Her thoughts were with her purpose. 
 
 As they neared the house where they were to stay 
 he grew nervous again, but she seemed so cool that 
 he borrowed virtue from her and gained a little 
 confidence. He helped her down from the carriage, 
 but she neither looked at him nor smiled. 
 
 Marie, her maid, was there to receive her, and came 
 forward curiously, with all the motley ideas of a 
 young woman welcoming a bride tossing themselves 
 in her silly mind like moths in a flame. 
 
 Sofia entered with a face calm and serious, and 
 Marie, impinged on romance, was disconcerted. 
 She was chilled and began to utter some hackneyed 
 felicitations in a forced key. Sofia stopped her with — 
 
 " Thank you. I understand. Is everything 
 ready?" 
 
134 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " Yes, Melania Nicholovna." 
 
 And as soon as she had got rid of her cloak she 
 dismissed the girl, who was amazed, thinking a 
 robber's sister ought to have been far more demon- 
 strative than this — after marrying the son of a noble. 
 
 Vasili hovered about his wife timorously. He put 
 his hand on her shoulder and would have kissed her, 
 but she started at the touch and blazed at the action. 
 
 " Do not do that," she said. 
 
 He found it inexplicable and felt chilled. 
 Sofia," he muttered, grief hovering about his 
 heart, " you are my wife " 
 
 " I know," and she seemed to bethinking of some- 
 thing else. 
 
 Vasili knew husbands had rights; 
 I do not understand," he muttered. 
 
 "It is not necessary," she replied. 
 
 He was bewildered. 
 
 " But we are married, Sofia. Surely now 
 
 " I do not know what you want to do, Vasili, but 
 there is no necessity for you to touch me. I will 
 not allow it." 
 
 He was silent for a moment, the situation in its 
 unexpectedness robbing him of words. Besides, he 
 was a man accustomed to buffets and a stronger soul. 
 I — love you, Sofia," he said gently. 
 
 She looked at him curiously : a tinge of pity in 
 her regard. She might so have looked at a lamb 
 with a broken leg. 
 
 I am worried," she said, and he took it apologetic- 
 ally, which soothed him. 
 
 *' I am sorry. Can I do anything ? " 
 
 " Yes. I would like to see Gordon." 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 135 
 
 When ? " 
 " At once." 
 
 " At once," he repeated, a little astonished, and 
 he was now quite confident that the tale of his 
 marriage would surely be different from the general 
 run. But the odd had been his portion always, 
 and it is the leaping from one groove into another 
 at the proper time that shows our work. 
 
 " Yes," she said. Send for him." 
 
 He was glad even to do something for her, not- 
 withstanding his frozen heart. So he went out and 
 sent a messenger to Gordon. When he returned to 
 the room Sofia was sitting meditating. He said, 
 as if he were at ease — 
 I have sent a man." 
 
 " I hope he won t be long. . . Thank you." 
 
 Then they were silent. 
 
 She was perfectly indifferent. She had the ease 
 and confidence of strength plus its inevitable egotism. 
 And yet not the egotism of the selfish, but the identi- 
 fication of herself with her schemes to the exclusion 
 of other persons and things. There was no neces- 
 sity for her to please others. 
 
 Vasili watched her. 
 I hope you will like it here, Sofia," he said, still 
 feeling somewhat ill at ease. 
 
 " Um — whose house is it ? " 
 
 " Count Ostermann's." 
 
 " Is he not some one important ? " 
 
 " Yes, yes, I believe he is High Admiral. But 
 he is a most powerful man." 
 
 " Where is this ? " 
 
 " Peterof." 
 
136 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " Yes. And that ? '* She pointed to the water 
 in the distance. 
 
 The Neva. It is where the Court comes for 
 part of the summer, and this is Count Ostermann's 
 house." 
 
 " Is he rich ? " 
 
 " Very. But he has had office so long, and people 
 who have offices always become rich." 
 
 " Or die," she said coldly. 
 
 He laughed gladly. He was exceedingly willing 
 to win her to gaiety. 
 
 " Or die," he repeated flatteringly. 
 
 She did not even smile : she had made the remark 
 in grim earnestness with a sense of its perfect truth. 
 
 " Gordon is a long time coming," she said. 
 
 " I told the man to hurry." 
 
 She walked up and down the room, looking occa- 
 sionally through the windows on to the silver river 
 in the distance, with more intimate sensation of the 
 wooden dwelling on the other side of the Valdai 
 Hills than she had had since she had been in St. 
 Petersburg." 
 
 Gordon was announced. 
 
 Sofia turned to Vasili. 
 
 " Will you leave us a few minutes ? " 
 
 He was not even hurt at the suggestion : he did 
 not mind that his wife did not take him into her 
 confidence or tell him of the things that worried her. 
 That was her pleasure : let it be his. He left them 
 willingly. 
 
 I congratulate you — Countess," said Gordon. 
 " It is one thing done, at any rate. But now we 
 must get away. I want to leave this cave without 
 delay." 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 137 
 
 *' I expected the messenger from your brother to- 
 day, but he has not arrived. The moment he 
 does, I will let you know." 
 
 " Be careful. Have you seen a red-haired, red- 
 bearded man who has something to do with the 
 Coimtess Pur off — probably her servant ? " 
 
 Gordon considered, then recalled him. 
 
 " Her steward, major-domo, tame lion, in the 
 Ukraine." 
 
 " But he has called on you ? " 
 
 " Here— in St. Petersburg ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Then the tame lion is loose and we must be 
 prudent." 
 
 She gave him an account of Belof's visit to Count 
 Stolemkin's. 
 
 " It may be serious," said Gordon. " These dog- 
 like fools are always barking at the wrong time. 
 You seem to have got out of the corner well — ^Excel- 
 lency." 
 
 " I don't worry about corners I have got out of, 
 but of those I am in. I want to get out of this place 
 now. I have given the serpent a good long crawl, 
 and it is time now he began to feel the lash." 
 
 " I will make preparations to go as soon as you 
 wish." 
 
 " I wanted the villain to have his fill, but now this 
 red-haired creature is in St. Petersburg it would be 
 better to go away at once." 
 
 " You say you sent him to me ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Then I will shut his mouth/' 
 
138 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 She looked at him curiously. 
 
 " For ever ? " she asked quietly, as if she under- 
 stood that method. 
 
 No. I did not think of that. It is not neces- 
 sary." 
 
 " I did not wish it," she said. " I expect he is a 
 faithful steward who has had the good fortune not 
 to be under the heel of a Stolemkin. I merely hope 
 he will not lead us into danger." 
 
 " I will go back at once and wait for the wanderer. 
 Once I have him, I will calm him. He can do what 
 he likes once we are clear of the capital." 
 
 Sofia was silent. She only spoke when she felt 
 inclined. Gordon looked at her. 
 
 Don't you feel afraid ? " he asked. 
 
 " Do you ? " she retorted. 
 
 " I don't run the same risk." 
 
 " They will break us both on the wheel if they 
 catch us when they know." 
 
 It is a pleasant outlook," he said. 
 
 " Yes," she said with fervour. " It is a pleasant 
 outlook, Louis Gordon. It is pleasant for me because 
 I have played a trick on that murderous villain 
 Stolemkin that will make him the laughing-stock of * 
 St. Petersburg. He will suffer from this more than 
 he has suffered from anything in his whole life." 
 
 " There is nothing like ridicule. By the saints ! 
 He will be as furious as a burnt bear." 
 
 " And after " she nodded her head. 
 
 " More ? " 
 
 " He flogged my father to death," she said. 
 " I don't think," said Gordon, "that your father 
 was his only victim." 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 139 
 
 After a pause she said — 
 
 "It is for that I would Hke to stay. I want to 
 jeer at the man, laugh at him. I understand those 
 people of old who shouted at — who was it — Sam- 
 son ? " 
 
 " Yes. But there is danger in delay, and it is better 
 to live and laugh at a distance — than jeer too near 
 and die. Bears hug." 
 
 Sometimes, not always." she said. "He is 
 worse than a bear." 
 
 " You risk too much. I will arrange for your 
 journey," said Gordon, seeing her mood. " I have 
 no desire to be broken on the wheel for the sake of 
 hearing even your jeer, Sofia Petrovna." 
 
 " You can prepare," she said. " I am always 
 ready. Keep the poor steward quiet. We will 
 laugh in the woods, Louis Gordon, and you will not 
 be broken on the wheel." 
 
 As Gordon was about to go he said, somewhat 
 tentatively : " Your husband ? " 
 
 " Well ? " 
 
 " Well, wiU he come too ? " 
 " I think so," she said. 
 
 He looked at her as if he would read more, but 
 she was not one who let herself be too easily 
 read. 
 
 " I will prepare for him also," he said, and took 
 his leave. 
 
 Vasili saw Gordon go and then came back to his 
 wife. 
 
 " An important interview," he said, with a note 
 of gaiety as if he would show that he had perfect 
 confidence in her and could be jovial. He was, it 
 
140 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 must be remembered, in an exalted humour and 
 attempted the genial with a timid and heavy 
 hand. 
 
 " Yes," she said. 
 
 " That Gordon — he is a brave man, I believe. 
 My father thinks highly of him." 
 Sofia did not answer. 
 
 " When he came for you, Sofia — did you — ^how 
 did you feel ? " 
 
 " I do not remember." 
 
 " Not remember ? I was anxious from the 
 moment I saw Gordon depart till the day he 
 returned." 
 
 " For him ? " 
 
 He moved a hand gently towards her, but she 
 saw the manoeuvre and neatly made it of none 
 effect. 
 
 " No. Why should I be anxious for him ? No, 
 
 Sofia " He stopped, hoping she would help 
 
 him with more questions, but she was silent. 
 
 " Yes, I was anxious," he continued. 
 So you said." 
 
 " But not about him," he added markedly, playing 
 for her assistance. 
 
 " So you said," she repeated. 
 
 " About you, Sofia " 
 
 " Hey. . . And now ? " 
 
 "I am satisfied. I am more than satisfied, 
 
 Sofia " 
 
 She stood up. A little colour had come into her 
 face. 
 
 " For God's sake be quiet," she said, and she 
 walked away. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 He looked at her in amazement and wondered 
 why he was so dull with women. 
 
 " Forgive me," he said in a penitent tone a 
 moment or two later. " I am not clever with 
 women. I did not mean to offend you, Sofia/' 
 
 " You did not offend me," she said, " but I do 
 
 not want you to talk like that. I — I " She 
 
 nodded as if she had no more to say. 
 
 He was glad she was not hurt but found her 
 mystifying. He was nervous and scarcely knew 
 whether to remain silent or to make attempts at 
 conversation : but his vocabulary was now a frozen 
 affair. 
 
 After a while she said : "I will go to bed." 
 He looked at her strangely. 
 " Good night," she said ; and when she had shut 
 her door he heard the key turn in the lock. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 " There is a lust in man no charm can tame 
 Of loudly publishing his neighbour's shame." 
 
 — Eleanora Hervey. 
 
 HE wise man, while appreciating big things 
 
 X at their proper worth, does not ignore the 
 small. Where is the poet who gloried in the sun 
 and despised the dawn ? The child is father of the 
 man and springs are the source of mighty rivers. 
 
 Count Bulavin was a keen man. It was a remark 
 made by Princess Nolavof that stirred his curiosity. 
 With feminine instinct she pierced Sofia's ignorance 
 of Belof when that desperate man pushed his way 
 into Stolemkin's reception. She heard his moan for 
 Melania Nicholovna," and expected to see the 
 bride turn and recognize the man at once. She 
 saw, on the contrary, that neither recognized the 
 other. Sofia's ignorance of Belof was patent. In 
 his case, though he cried aloud for his mistress, he 
 did not notice her when she stood near him. 
 
 " Odd," thought the Princess, and watched closely. 
 She considered the meeting odder still. Bulavin 
 was by her side and watching the little drama, but, 
 either because he had not caught the man's moan or 
 lacked the penetrating insight, merely considered 
 the affair curious. 
 
 142 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 143 
 
 The Princess, having watched the whole business, 
 turned to Bulavin. 
 
 " What do you think of that ? " she said. 
 
 " I always look for the unexpected in this place." 
 
 " Who is the man ? " she asked. 
 
 " St. Peter take him ! He has the air of a lost 
 soul." 
 
 " Seemingly he is lost. He searches for his 
 mistress — Melania Nicholovna." 
 " And found her in rose." 
 " No. He did not seem to find her at all." 
 " He looked as if he had been drinking." 
 " And she ? " 
 
 " Well, what of her ? Do you wish to suggest that 
 the bride had been drinking too ? " 
 
 " She may do that later, Nicholas Dimitrivitch, 
 but she did not recognize him." 
 
 Bulavin said nothing, for he felt that the Princess, 
 at any rate, was discussing the matter seriously. 
 
 " It is very odd," she continued. 
 
 " What do you think ? " he asked curiously. 
 
 " She was exceedingly anxious to get rid of the 
 man and sent him to Gordon, I think the name was. 
 It seemed as if there were something " 
 
 " WeU ? " 
 
 " Something very unusual happening." 
 
 It was the last phrase that set Bulavin wondering. 
 
 Away from the scene this phrase clung to him as 
 an odd word often will. Princess Nolavof was a 
 shrewd woman of the world, and not easily set now 
 on wild goose chases. Her attitude, as Bulavin 
 recalled it, was serious and impressive. 
 Something very unusual happening." 
 
144 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 Count Bulavin had, of course, precious little idea 
 what the unusual was, but he was sufficiently inter- 
 ested in the marriage of Count Stolemkin's son to 
 the Countess Puroff to feel his curiosity aroused by 
 a hint of the mysterious. 
 
 He sent for Johan Branui who had made the jour- 
 ney for the Countess and come back to receive curses. 
 
 Branui came in with a nod to the ikon and one to 
 his master. 
 
 " When you went to visit the Countess Puroff do 
 you remember seeing a big man with red hair and 
 beard, who seemed attached to her ? " Bulavin 
 asked. 
 
 " Big man — red hair ? Yes, Excellency. And 
 saw him here in St. Petersburg to-day." 
 " Ah ! " 
 
 " Yes, Nicholas Dimitrivitch. He was standing 
 near me — but he did not recognize the Countess." 
 
 " Not recognize — his mistress ? " 
 
 " No, Nicholas D.mitrivitch." 
 
 " Where did you see him ? " 
 
 " At Buof, Excellency. He was the Countess's 
 steward and told us she had gone away." 
 
 " Steward ! Then he ought to know her well." 
 
 " Yes, Excellency, and he was looking for her 
 anxiously to-day." 
 
 " The devil take him ! Why did he not recognize 
 her ? Eh ? " 
 
 And then Count Bulavin began to think. He 
 knew Stolemkin was capable of tricks and dodges 
 that would amaze most, and the Countess Puroff 
 was such a prize that a trick would be worth the 
 playing. But what trick ? 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 And the Princess Nolavof 's words came to Bulavin 
 again : " Something very unusual happening." 
 " Branui," he said. 
 " Yes, Excellency." 
 
 " There is something here I do not understand 
 and I wish to discover it. If we are successful, I 
 will reward you : if you blunder, I will have you 
 flogged." 
 
 " I will do my duty, Nicholas Dimitrivitch." 
 " I want it done well." 
 " Yes, Excellency." 
 
 " Find this man. He was sent to Gordon — you 
 know him ? " 
 
 " Yes, Excellency. He brought the Countess to 
 St. Petersburg." 
 
 " Bring him to me — the red-haired man, I mean." 
 
 " I thought. Excellency, it was curious when the 
 man didn't recognize his own mistress, till I talked 
 to Galopin, and he said it meant that either the man 
 was drunk, or that he was not in the service of the 
 Countess Puroff, or that there were two Countess 
 Puroffs." 
 
 Bulavin said nothing. From the mouth of babes 
 and foohsh people the right word is sometimes 
 uttered. 
 
 Drunk . . . not the Countess's man ... or two 
 Countess Puroffs. This last suggestion hinted at vil- 
 lainy somewhere, and where more likely than in the 
 scheming brain of Count Stolemkin ? Had he lost, 
 and was this some desperate plan of his to win ? 
 
 Bulavin felt fooled. 
 
 ""Branui," he said, " go at once. Find this man 
 or Gordon— but Gordon will not tell. Bring this 
 
 K 
 
146 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 man to me or discover if the person who married 
 Count Vasili Stolemkin was really the Countess 
 Puroff." 
 
 " Yes, Excellency." 
 
 Count Bulavin wondered if he had really alighted 
 on a deep-laid plot of his old friend, enemy and 
 rival. Count Stolemkin. He sincerely hoped he 
 had. What a coup if he had ! 
 
 " Something very unusual happening." He 
 blessed the Princess Nolavof for the phrase. 
 
 Branui was a sober (speaking generally) soldier, 
 who had fought under Keith and been glad of the 
 service of Count Bulavin. He knew Gordon, and 
 St. Petersburg in those days — 1740 — was a city of 
 big planning rather than of busy streets. The pros- 
 pect was there and Peter had looked — as all states- 
 men should — to the future. It is when the heads of 
 a country live too much in the present that the 
 country decays. The present is of great value to 
 men that are cut down like grass ; states do not die, 
 and for them the future must always be foreseen. 
 
 It was not very difficult to find a man in St. 
 Petersburg. Belof had been a marked figure by 
 more than one observer, but Branui, catching fleet- 
 ing news of him, went to search for Gordon. He did 
 not find him easily, for Gordon just now was not 
 desirous of making himself a familiar figure. But 
 Branui kept to the trail and eventually reaped 
 success (which waits at the end of every trail !). 
 
 " Well, and what brings you here ? " asked Gor- 
 don, who had just returned from his interview with 
 Sofia and wished no further meddling in his affairs. 
 Nothing, my friend, of any seriousness." 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 147 
 
 " Thank your skin for that, Johan Branui. I 
 am not in a mood to welcome people who come seri- 
 ously. The world goes upside down at times, 
 bumpety-bump, and you scarcely know whether 
 you are going north, south, east, west, to heaven or 
 hell. There are prizes and scorpions about, only 
 once again, Branui, tell me why you have come to 
 see me, for if it is for anything more than to look 
 at my face and ask after my pulse I shall be tempted 
 to drop you in the Nev?* " 
 
 Branui laughed. 
 
 " Just to see and congratulate you, Louis Alexan- 
 drovitch." 
 
 " Congratulations, pourquoi, my friend, warum, 
 why ? " 
 
 " The Countess Puroff." 
 
 " Again, Branui ; don't go skipping round the 
 garden ; why congratulate me concerning the Coun- 
 tess Puroff ? " 
 
 " I was after her too, you know." 
 
 " You are a generous man. Did Count Bulavin 
 pay you well ? " 
 
 " Not so well as if I had got her." 
 
 " Hell of a journey, eh ? " 
 
 '* Pouf ! Do you remember the red-haired 
 steward ? " 
 
 Gordon looked at him for a moment before he 
 spoke. 
 
 " Red-haired steward ? " 
 
 " Yes, big man, hair all over him except on his 
 eyes and lips and nose : had some on his nose too, I 
 fancy." 
 
 " Eh ! And what about him ? " 
 
148 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " He is in St. Petersburg/' 
 " Is he indeed ? " 
 " I saw him." 
 
 " What did you talk about ? Ask him how his 
 hair was ? or if he would sell you any ? " 
 
 Branui laughed. He was not quite sure of 
 Gordon's move. 
 
 I just saw him — that was all/' 
 
 " The sight was enough, eh ? " 
 
 " He is a man you can't miss, Louis Alexandro- 
 vitch." 
 
 But you can miss him. I have missed him. I 
 should like to shake old carrots by the hand again 
 with pleasure, but I have missed him, Johan Branui/' 
 
 " Ah ! He has not been here, then ? " 
 
 " Are you anxious to know ? " 
 
 " Not now. I know. . 
 
 There was a pause in the conversation, for Gordon 
 was wondering why this man had called on him at 
 this particular time and talked about Belof. And 
 Branui, finding the man he sought was not there, 
 was eager to go away. 
 
 " Johan Branui," said Gordon, " you came here 
 for a purpose." 
 
 " To see you." 
 
 " Why ? Not for my beauty, nor my wealth, nor 
 my health, nor my prosperity, for save that my arm 
 is still good and lusty, I have precious little else to 
 boast of." 
 
 " For friendship." 
 
 " That be damned, Branui. You have had to 
 ask every three copeks' worth of humanity you met 
 where the devil that Gordon lived, and you want to 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 149 
 
 tell me you did it for friendship to a man who has 
 just robbed you of a prize. Fie ! pish ! likewise 
 tush ! Johan Branui. I will give you till you have 
 had time to mention your father and mother and 
 a short-named saint or two, and then, if you are still 
 of opinion that you came to see how my boots went 
 on my feet or my shirt clung to my back and my 
 health and welfare were generally, I will try the 
 effect of a blow direct from the shoulder on your 
 Pharisaic face. I'll count five, so that will give you 
 a chance to decide whether you came here as a spy 
 
 or a friend. One — two " 
 
 Branui withdrew. He gave a gesture of hope- 
 lessness. 
 
 " It is not worth while," he said, and was gone 
 before Gordon could reach him. 
 
 But the interview stirred both of them. The 
 fact was, Belof's arrival in St. Petersburg had seem- 
 ingly stirred a great many people and set things 
 unusual happening. 
 
 Branui did his best to hunt down Belof. He 
 followed up clues wherever he found them, but did 
 not manage to lay hands on his man. 
 
 Belof was wandering about like a man bereft. He 
 was by this time convinced that something dreadful 
 had happened to his mistress, and he found his way 
 about St. Petersburg only with difficulty. Gordon 
 was with Sofia when Belof called, and the worried 
 man wandered afterwards like a person who is lost 
 and knows no harbour. 
 
 Branui, wishing to let his master know how he 
 had fared, returned to Count Bulavin and told him 
 of the interview with Gordon. 
 
150 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 The Count was not surprised at Gordon's atti- 
 tude, for he had begun to suppose that if Stolemkin 
 had been indulging in a trick, Gordon was a party 
 to it. 
 
 " Who else ? " he said to Branui, could know 
 anything about the Countess Puroff ? " 
 
 Stolemkin's men were ruled out : they would 
 either know nothing or be forced to keep silence. 
 
 Branui was not a thinker. 
 
 Bulavin himself hit on the maid. 
 
 " She must know," he said. " If we can get hold 
 of her she will know the trick, Branui." 
 
 " Yes, Excellency." 
 
 " Get hold of the maid. Tempt her. Some 
 maids are tempted with one thing, some with an- 
 other — you can tempt the maid of the Countess 
 Puroff, now the wife of Count Stolemkin's son, with 
 whatever you like, so long as you bring her to me." 
 
 " Do you know where she is, Excellency ? " 
 
 " I imagine she is in Count Ostermann's house at 
 Peterof." 
 
 " If temptation will lure a maid, Nicholas Dimitri- 
 vitch, I will lure this one." 
 
 "If ... " repeated Bulavin with a grin. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 Fooled !— What a word ! " 
 
 BELOF wandered disconsolately. He was like 
 a howling dog that must be silenced with 
 satisfaction. He was convinced that calamity was 
 the portion of his mistress, and he sought to relieve 
 her. The possession of social virtues, one sees, is 
 good for the community but sometimes troublesome 
 for the possessor. Belof's faithfulness was worry- 
 ing him uncommonly. Had he been a careless 
 servant he had feasted and drunk at Buof to the 
 satisfying of his body and the content of his mind. 
 Instead he ran St. Petersburg like one knowing 
 no rest. He accomplished more than he imagined, 
 as most of us do, whether for good or ill — that is 
 the question. Zeal may be the secret of success ; 
 it is also the parent of indiscretion. Belof talked, 
 asking too many for the Countess Puroff. 
 
 He returned to Stolemkin's house, for every finger 
 pointed there. When he tried a second time to enter, 
 the lackeys laughed at him and pitched him out. 
 This opposition seemed to him ample confirmation 
 of the idea either that his mistress was held a 
 prisoner in this house, or it was here he must find 
 news of her, and he grew wilder with the idea and 
 
 151 
 
132 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 opposition at the gate. The lackeys laughed at 
 his vehemence as well as at his hair, which was an 
 uncomely sight, especially as savage eyes glared from 
 underneath the bushy red eyebrows. Laughter only 
 kills the sensitive. Belof demanded muscle and 
 cudgels. The men at the gate in a moment of laxity 
 allowed him to secure a stout stick and have an 
 opportunity to use it. One of the lackeys was 
 knocked senseless and the ricochet made the other 
 respectful. 
 
 Belof darted inside 
 
 Count Stolemkin was drinking, and not in a bad 
 1 UTiour. The world had seemingly dealt very well 
 with him. He had had his triumph in St. Petersburg 
 society and established the wealth of his family 
 successfully. He knew he was regarded with envy 
 by his equals and with respect by his superiors. 
 He drank to himself. But this he did constantly, for 
 it was the custom of the age. 
 
 Belof peeping in at the door, saw the great man 
 seated in comfort. 
 
 " Gospodi Promilui/' he muttered — Lord have 
 mercy upon me. 
 
 Stolemkin's pale, cold, staring blue eyes were not 
 exactly welcoming. 
 
 Belof crossed himself and dropped on his knees. 
 
 " Excellency, I seek my mistress, Melania Nicho- 
 lovna. Countess Piuroff." 
 
 Stolemkin looked superlatively disdainful. 
 
 " You ungodly weed ! " he said. Are you the 
 kind of thing that grows on a muck heap or in the 
 desert ? What do you want now ? Begone before 
 I have you thrashed. Do you hear ? " 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 153 
 
 " Excellency, my mistress " 
 
 " Why the devil do you come here ? You have 
 seen your mistress once and she sent you away. If 
 you bring any of your dirt and madness here Til 
 make you remember it as long as you have a skin to 
 feel." 
 
 " Forgive me, Excellency." Belof almost crawled. 
 
 '*But I have not seen my mistress since she went 
 away with Mr. Gordon " 
 
 " You liar ! You pock-faced beast of the earth ! 
 I pushed you on your mistress's feet not twenty-four 
 hours ago." Stolemkin got up and seized Belof by 
 the throat. Now lie to me, will you ? " and he 
 smote him on the ear. 
 
 " Excellency, Excellency ! I will crawl for you, 
 labour night and day for you if you will help me to 
 find my mistress " 
 
 " Well ! " 
 
 Stolemkin hardly knew whether to be furious or 
 amused. Was the man drunk, mad, or what ? 
 He let him go and asked quietly — 
 " Countess Puroff ? " 
 " Yes, Excellency, Melania Nicholovna." 
 " Are you mad ? " 
 
 " No ! no ! Excellency. Try me. Ask me any- 
 thing. I have come from Buof to tell my mistress 
 that " 
 
 " What ? " 
 
 " She went away with Mr. Gordon, and after she 
 went others came for her, and now I fear and I can- 
 not find her. Oh ! The saints in heaven preserve 
 her ! Oh, God ! protect her " 
 
 " You are mad ! " 
 
154 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " No, no. Ex " 
 
 " Be quiet ! " thundered Stolemkin. " Stop your 
 praying and your snivelling and your antics. Come 
 here." 
 
 Belof obeyed. 
 
 Stolemkin looked at him critically. He could not 
 imderstand the man. 
 
 " You look sober." 
 
 " Yes, yes. Excellency " 
 
 " Be quiet. And you really come from Buof after 
 your mistress." Then a light seemed to dawn on him. 
 " My God ! " he said with a shiver and a terrible 
 emotion of wrath. " I showed you somebody 
 yesterday who spoke to you and told you to go 
 somewhere ; who was that lady ? " 
 
 " I don't know. Excellency." 
 
 " Don't know, by God ! But it was the Countess 
 Puroff, your mistress, was it not ? " Stolemkin 
 was feeling very cold and very hot now. 
 
 " No, Excellency. I had never seen that lady 
 before. She is not my mistress." 
 
 The scales were off Stolemkin's eyes now. He 
 did not jump to conclusions : he was too heavy 
 a man to dart at the heart of anything; but he 
 realized that something was wrong ; either this 
 man was mad, or a most diabolical trick had been 
 played on him. He looked at Belof again. 
 
 " If you are lying " he said, catching the poor 
 
 man by the throat and shaking him in his wrath, 
 while his eyes blazed savagely and threatened a 
 punishment too terrible for coherence. 
 
 But Belof had the air of simplicity. There was 
 faithfulness in all his ways and devotion in his method. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 155 
 
 " I do not lie. Before God and the saints I do 
 not lie, Excellency." He dropped on his knees and 
 crossed himself. 
 
 I do not understand," said Stolemkin quietly, 
 
 feeling hard hit. " But when I do You say the 
 
 lady you saw here yesterday was not your mistress ; 
 then what did she tell you ? Be careful now. I 
 heard her speak to you." 
 
 " She told me to go to Mr. Gordon, Excellency." 
 
 *' Gordon, eh. He has sold me. Gordon, eh ? 
 and perhaps Bulavin has the real Countess " 
 
 Count Stolemkin felt at discord with the world. In- 
 stead of being a fine man of big proportions grasping 
 prosperity and the blessed things of life with both 
 hands, he stood a limp, hollow creature, the sport of 
 others, empty-handed, ridiculous. 
 
 Rage came to the rescue. It is better to feel 
 angry than insignificant. 
 
 Yet he could scarcely assimilate all he imagined. 
 He looked at Belof as if he would test him, and the 
 red-headed man seemed like a faithful animal 
 waiting for a sign. 
 
 " What does it mean ? " said Stolemkin to 
 himself, afraid of the calamity. " She sent you to 
 Gordon, eh. The devil Gordon. . . . Have you 
 been ? " 
 
 " I could not find him, Excellency." 
 
 " Could not find him. But I will find him. I 
 will pull his eyes from their sockets ; I will reduce 
 
 the villain to pulp " He stopped and wondered if 
 
 Bulavin or Frolof knew. He felt as if he had fallen 
 into Purgatory. 
 
 He examined and cross-examined Belof, shook him, 
 
156 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 kicked him, and was ultimately convinced there was 
 something so wrong that it might make him the 
 laughing-stock of the Court. 
 
 " We will find this Gordon," he said. 
 
 He went out armed, with three of his men and 
 Belof . He was in a mood to strike down anybody 
 who had contributed to his discomfiture. Able as 
 Gordon was, it is likely he would have fared badly 
 at the hands of Stolemkin and his bullies if they had 
 met at that moment. But chance can't afford to 
 let things happen with the precision of the tides. 
 Gordon, disturbed by Sofia and Branui, was trying to 
 find Glebof's men to arrange for the speedy with- 
 drawal from St. Petersburg. (Chance was having 
 a finger in that pie too !) 
 
 Stolemkin waited a little while and then decided 
 to visit Sofia. It would be relishable to have the 
 truth from the woman's lips, and he began to 
 speculate on his price. 
 
 The woman. . . And he had paid her such atten- 
 tion ! Flattered her so ! How he cursed her ! The 
 Countess Puroff . . . Who the devil was she ? And 
 what was she ? . . . But she would pay. Yes, he 
 would get satisfaction from her. She would pay. 
 She would repent trying to fool Count Stolemkin. 
 But what a daring fiend. ... It was so daring 
 that he began to doubt Belof. Not Countess 
 Puroff ... Ah ! well, Belof and the woman would 
 be confronted and then the truth would soon come 
 out. 
 
 It was a swampy journey and one not likely to 
 charm the senses of any man. Peterof , with its out- 
 look on the Neva, was pleasanter than the capital. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 157 
 
 but the roads were bad, and to a man in Stolemkin's 
 mood few things have the gift of pleasing. 
 
 He felt as he entered the gate of Ostermann's 
 house that he was breaking in on a honeymoon in 
 a singular mood. Honeymoon — the very idea was 
 food for his rage. He still doubted Belof and trusted 
 him by turns. The tale was so preposterous. . . . 
 
 Sofia gazing through the window saw him first and 
 wondered. 
 
 " Your father/' she said to Vasili, who was 
 looking a dejected figure at the other end of the room. 
 
 Vasili did not know whether the visitor was 
 welcome or not. It certainly broke the strained life 
 he felt he was living with his wife. She did not 
 seem to worry much. He looked at his wife and 
 imagined he caught a look of anxiety on her face. 
 My father/' he said, and ran to the window. 
 
 Sofia thought the visit ill-timed and quickly her 
 mind ran to suppositions. Vasili turned now, 
 noticed clearly her preoccupation, and imagined 
 it was on account of the action she had taken with 
 respect to himself and feared 'the anger of his father. 
 Our egotism will not be stifled. 
 
 So Vasili, caring for his wife, did not wish she should 
 be treated with contumely and abuse such as his 
 father was capable of bestowing, and yet for his 
 own sake felt a slight admonition might be service- 
 able and desirable. 
 
 Count Stolemkin came in alone and saw the couple 
 cold and anxious. He gave no greeting — at least, 
 not one of courtesy and gladness. He stood like 
 a man surveying a prize, contemplating booty, one 
 in a moment of shrieking triumph. 
 
158 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " MelaniaNicholovna." He said the words with 
 an unction so unusual that Vasili was surprised 
 exceedingly. His father in this mood ! It suggested 
 presents and the giving of things. 
 
 Sofia looked and bowed quietly. She said nothing. 
 There are women who can incase themselves in 
 silence as the earth is protected by its atmosphere ; 
 and they are very difficult women to handle. 
 
 You answer to the name," said Stolemkin with 
 a leer that was easily seen through. 
 
 Vasili looked at his father and wife. Sofia 
 assumed a smile of ease which contained a sneer. 
 
 " Well ? " he said annoyingly. 
 
 Sofia did not reply. 
 Melania Nicholovna — a pretty name, eh ? " 
 
 Still no answer. 
 
 " Well, can you say nothing ? " he shouted. 
 
 " To those who speak with courtesy. You are 
 drunk," she said quietly. 
 
 " Drunk, am I ? You dare tell me that — you. . . 
 Say I am drunk, do you ? You will wish you had 
 caught me drunk and kept me drunk before we have 
 finished with one another, my beauty." 
 
 Sofia turned her back on him, shrugging her 
 shoulders. 
 
 Vasili, amazed, looked at father and wife and 
 could scarcely credit the scene. His father was — 
 yes, he believed he must be drunk. 
 
 " Melania Nicholovna." It seemed as if he had 
 great pleasure in repeating the words, as doubtless 
 he had, since he imagined he brought his charge 
 to Sofia by the mention of them. " Since when have 
 you been Melania ? " Stolemkin asked. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 159 
 
 " My father " began Vasili, but the big Count 
 
 whirled his arm round furiously and bawled, " Be 
 quiet, fool ! I am here for your sake as well as 
 my own." 
 
 Vasili looked at his wife as if the next move lay 
 with her. 
 
 She was not afraid. She was moreover wondering 
 whether the opportunity was not a good one to 
 carry the war into the enemy's camp and hurl her 
 weapons. 
 
 " This is a pleasant visit," she said. 
 
 " Pleasant, is it ? I am glad you like it, because 
 there will be a few more pleasanter things yet for you 
 to go through — Melania Nicholovna." 
 
 Sofia made no reply. 
 
 " The Countess Puroff, daughter of Count Puroff — 
 you are Count Puroff 's daughter ? " 
 
 " Since you have insisted on marrying me to your 
 son, the world, I fancy, will think you should know 
 that." 
 
 He glared at her. 
 
 " You will look pretty with your tongue cut out/' 
 he said. 
 
 It would be a pity to cut out yours," she 
 retorted. " You can put it to such noble use." 
 
 " Liar ! " he said. You har ! " 
 
 " Father." It was Vasili who interrupted. 
 
 Count Stolemkin turned to him quickly. 
 
 " A low, common liar — ask her who she is." 
 
 " My wife," said VasiU quickly and with spirit. 
 
 " Bah ! She will be no wife of yours long, my 
 son." 
 
 " No wife of mine ? " 
 
i6o THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 No. Ask her who she is. She says she is the 
 daughter of Count Puroff " 
 
 " You said that," she interjected quickly. " It 
 was you who told everybody of my estates, and my 
 timber and my fish and my serfs. You will remem- 
 ber your boasts, Anton Gregorovitch." She was 
 warming to the theme and the moment. 
 
 Vasili was perplexed, uncomprehending. 
 
 *' You admit quickly, you baggage." 
 
 " I admit you are offensive : but I presume it 
 is your nature, and I overlook the offence of swine." 
 Do you admit you are a liar ? " 
 
 " I say you are a rogue and bully and fiend all 
 in one." 
 
 " By God ! Belof ! Hi. . . Come here ! " 
 
 Belof entered. Sofia recognized him and knew 
 the fight had commenced in earnest. 
 
 " Is that your mistress ? " said Stolemkin, pointing 
 to Sofia. 
 
 Belof crept a step nearer — then looked round. 
 He wanted another woman : his mistress. 
 " That lady, Excellency." 
 " Lady ^yes, that." 
 
 *' No, Excellency. Not that lady. That is not 
 my mistress." 
 
 " And your mistress is Countess Puroff ? " 
 " Yes, Excellency." 
 
 Have you ever seen this — ^woman at Buof ? " 
 
 No, Excellency." 
 " Did Gordon take her from there ? " 
 
 No, Excellency." 
 " That will do. Wait outside." 
 When Belof had retired Stolemkin assumed the 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE i6i 
 
 attitude of a man who had removed preliminaries 
 from his path and is now ready for desperate 
 work. 
 
 "What a piece of damned fraud you are ! You 
 heard the man Belof, Vasili ? He is Countess 
 Piuroff's steward and has come to find his mistress 
 This baggage has palmed herself off on you as 
 Countess Puroff ; do you understand ? " 
 
 Vasili was certainly beginning to understand. 
 
 'Ts this true? " he asked his wife quietly. 
 
 She did not answer. 
 
 "Sofia ..." 
 
 Still she was silent. 
 
 "Will you not tell me ? " he asked. 
 
 "She will not, because she dare not," shouted 
 Stolemkin. "She is some rag-tag from the byways 
 that has';]thrust herself on us for a purpose. But 
 she shall be flogged and you must divorce her at 
 once. 
 
 "Divorce, " murmured Vasili, looking at his wife 
 "Yes, divorce. What creature is it you have 
 
 married ? Some slut " 
 
 " Father ! " 
 
 " By Heaven ! I'll floor you if you dare to say a 
 word to defend a shameless liar like that ? " 
 
 "I wonder, "said Sofia, speaking quietly, as if 
 she had made up her mind to go through with a 
 desperate venture, " what the Court will say. . . . 
 What will Princess Nolavof and Count Bulavin and 
 all the other people say, eh. Count Stolemkin ? " 
 
 He looked at her in amazement. 
 
 "She is a great prize — Countess Puroff," con- 
 tinued Sofia. 
 
 L 
 
i62 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 It was Stolemkin*s turn for amazement now. 
 No one can foretell his next emotion. 
 
 Vasili was dulled to some extent by the inextricable 
 tangle of his sensations. He loved Sofia, and she 
 was a fraud. And now she showed a courage that he 
 had rarely if ever dared to display before his father. 
 And courage in the vilest will rouse almost universal 
 admiration : courage in a loved one bids ecstasy 
 arise. 
 
 " What the devil do you mean ? " said Stolemkin. 
 
 I wonder you dare hold your head up." 
 
 '* Estates in Livonia, Revel, Ukraine and Moscow. 
 Jewels to surprise a Court ; wood " 
 
 " By God ! woman, do you know you will be 
 flogged for this ? " 
 
 " But I shall hear you laughed at first." 
 
 " You viper ! you scum " 
 
 " You almost made love to me yourself, Anton 
 Gregorovitch. You remember you said it was 
 almost a pity to waste my figure on Vasili — " 
 
 " There is one consolation : you will lose your 
 tongue. They cut them out of the mouths of liars." 
 
 And let them grow in boaster's, to have a 
 double dose of fun, eh ? " 
 
 " I'll flog you myself, you gipsy baggage. Who 
 are you and what are you ? " 
 
 He was amazed at her defiance. 
 
 She hesitated a moment as if she considered her 
 action. But she was warmed to the business. She 
 was encouraged by the excitement of the moment and 
 nerved by a reckless disregard of consequences, 
 engendered probably by her life in the woods. 
 
 Count Stolemkin moved restlessly as he spoke. He 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 163 
 
 came near to her, walked away, advanced towards 
 her savagely, turned his back on her, while his 
 hands and arms moved restlessly. 
 
 Sofia, on the contrary, was very composed in her 
 attitude. She rarely stirred and never once looked 
 at her husband. 
 
 Vasili had looked from father to wife, but now 
 fixed his gaze on Sofia. She fascinated him. He 
 could not understand. He really did not mind that 
 she was not Countess Puroff with the estates, and 
 jewels and wood and fish and serfs, of which he had 
 heard so much. She was what she was and he 
 loved her. 
 
 " The son of Count Stolemkin," she said, " was to 
 make a brilliant match. . . . I will tell you who I am/' 
 She paused. 
 
 '* Get on, you miserable creature ! " 
 
 " I shall go fast enough, Anton Gregorovitch, I 
 feel sure. Baggage you call me." She shrugged 
 her shoulders. " Slut, eh ? " She flushed a little. 
 " You are used to hogwash, you swine ! 
 
 He looked as if he would strike her, and Vasili 
 trembled like a leaf in the breeze. But he checked 
 himself. 
 
 " You will rue, madam. By God ! you will rue." 
 
 But not half so much as you. Count Butcher. 
 You shall know who I am and why I came to 
 St. Petersburg and entered your foul slaughter house. 
 " Do you remember your steward — Glebof ? " He 
 did not answer. " One victim more or less is. 
 nothing to you, eh ? But he was an honest man, 
 and kind and good, that I know." 
 
 A fool and a rogue," he muttered. 
 
i64 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " Neither — you lie." It was the first time she 
 had raised her voice. 
 
 " Let him rest and get on with your tale/' he said. 
 
 " Let him rest/' she repeated. You sent him to 
 his rest ; do you remember ? He was flogged to 
 death while you stood by ; do you remember ? 
 Well, I mean to repay some of those stripes. You 
 shall feel what it is to suffer. Now you may know 
 who I am. I know you w^ill wTithe and squirm and 
 curse and rage when all your friends know what has 
 happened. It is my turn now, you butcher. 
 I hid, but you will never hide the sight from my eyes, 
 while you cruelly killed my father " 
 
 " Your father, Glebof." 
 
 " Yes, I am the daughter of Peter Glebof." 
 
 " A clod. The daughter of a clod. Earth, 
 dung — do you learn what you have married, my 
 son ? This is the offal you have got for a wife ? " 
 
 " Father, do not call her that." Vasili was 
 learning courage from his wife. 
 
 " I determined to level you, Butcher," said Sofia. 
 " I came to St. Petersburg to marry your son to 
 spite you." 
 
 " Sofia ! " said Vasili with a groan. 
 
 " Be damned to you for a fool ! " said Stolemkin 
 in a rage and knocked his son down with a blow. 
 
 Sofia's eyes blazed. She turned and picked up 
 a heavy brazen candlestick and with all her force 
 struck Stolemkin on the head. 
 
 He fell like a log. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 ** When Truth comes home, he always returns with booty." 
 
 COUNT STOLEMKIN had never been treated so 
 in all his life. Knocked down by a woman ! . . . 
 Abimelech all over again. 
 
 His men took him home, having been called in 
 by Sofia, who did not seem to mind whether it were 
 a corpse or a live man taken out. The big man 
 revived quickly and swore abundantly. He had 
 thoughts of returning to Ostermann's house but 
 desisted. He had seen strong women, but one who 
 could hit like that was a wonder. Phew ! 
 
 But she would pay. He would — yes, he would 
 and would and would. It was something excru- 
 ciatingly painful that he sought, the agony abiding 
 long, but it was indefinite. Flogging was good, 
 even excellent ; then the cutting of the tongue, and 
 then Siberia. She was a vixen. . . . 
 
 And what a devil to do as she had done ! The 
 daughter of Glebof ! A peasant's child married 
 to his son, to a Stolemkin ! 
 
 More curses ! This was indeed most galling. 
 In itself such a mesalliance was bad enough, but after 
 the boasting, it was worse than falling from a cupola 
 of Saint Sofia's. 
 
 166 
 
i66 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 His rage was Titanic. 
 
 He felt in a sense helpless. Marriage is such a 
 fast business. Of course the road was open by 
 divorce, but that meant publicity, and publicity 
 was just the thing Stolemkin desired to avoid. 
 
 The cursing went on intermittently. 
 
 Married to the daughter of a peasant. He 
 strode about furiously. . . . Estates in Livonia — • 
 peuh ! More striding. 
 
 But Stolemkin had no wish to shirk the business. 
 He was a full-blooded man, hot and strong. He 
 ate well, drank well, hated well, grabbed well, and 
 cherished his desires immoderately. 
 
 When he was a little calmer he envisaged the 
 situation better. He sent his men to watch Oster- 
 mann's house at Peterof so that Sofia should not 
 escape, and Belof to find Gordon and keep an eye on 
 him, while he sat at home to prepare a plan of 
 campaign. 
 
 He was very mixed in his thoughts, for Sofia had 
 surprised him by her daring, the confession of the 
 plot, and above all, by the blow on the head. But 
 vaguely at first and then definitely the essential came 
 to him. There was hope if he played his cards well. 
 His object was to marry his son to the wealth of the 
 Puroffs, so now two things were necessary instead of 
 one — the divorcing of Sofia and the finding of 
 the real Countess Puroff. 
 
 The definiteness of the plan sobered him : it 
 gave him something tangible to think of, something 
 clearer than vague curses and unaccountable wonder 
 at a woman's wiles. Phew ! But he could not forget 
 her. Hitting him like that. . . . Glebof 's daughter. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 167 
 
 too. . . . She was — she was — no, she was inex- 
 plicable — damn her ! 
 
 He looked at his head in the glass. . . . And to 
 think she could hit like that ! . . . 
 
 He reverted to the plan. He was much better 
 when he ceased thinking of Sofia, for she raised a 
 tempest in his emotions, whilst the contemplation 
 of a plan of action made his thoughts run evenly and 
 his blood calmly. 
 
 Gordon, he saw, became of prime importance. 
 He was a rogue, a villain, and a hundred other 
 names not all of them mentionable, and Stolemkin 
 wondered why he had done it. Why had Gordon 
 lent himself to this vile imposture ? He had seem- 
 ingly left with the real Countess and then changed her 
 en route. So he knew where she was to be found. 
 This was a fact to be cherished. 
 
 Stolemkin began to grow calmer still as he thought 
 over things, for he realized that rushing wildly 
 on Gordon might defeat his ends. Gordon had, of 
 course, run grave danger and incurred severe 
 penalties for being a party to this imposture, and in 
 St. Petersburg they knew how to deal with criminals. 
 No damned nonsense. Cut their backs in ribbons 
 
 or break them on the wheel Gordon would not 
 
 be gay when he realized what would happen to him, 
 if he did not at once bring from her hiding-place the 
 real Countess Puroff. 
 
 Stolemkin drank to himself and his scheme. He 
 imagined he had won and that all would yet be well 
 with him and purgatorially ill with Glebof 's daughter. 
 A man with a plan of his own conceiving is prouder 
 than a woman with a child. 
 
i68 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 Stolemkin decided to call on Gordon at once. 
 There was no time to be lost if Countess Puroff were 
 to be discovered and brought to St. Petersburg. 
 
 He ordered his carriage. 
 
 His friend Count Bulavin called. 
 
 " Mier efdom Zjeiewoesonon." Peace be in this 
 house and among the living who dwell in it. 
 
 Stolemkin considered the visit untimely and did 
 not want Bulavin's peace. He invited him, however, 
 to drink strong English beer and gave him a chance 
 to see the Wedgwood ware. 
 
 " Well, Anton Gregorovitch/' said Bulavin, " do 
 you not feel lonely ? " 
 
 " Why ? 
 
 " Through losing your son." 
 " You did your best to get rid of yours, eh, 
 Nicholas Dimitrivitch ? " 
 " Not to get rid of hun." 
 " Too precious ? " 
 
 " He has at any rate the makings of a man." 
 " A chip of the old block ! " He forced a laugh. 
 " Besides, an advantageous marriage covers a 
 multitude of shortcomings." 
 " A multitude, eh ? " 
 
 " An advantageous marriage,friend. The Countess 
 Puroff — ^you look gay," Bulavin said untruthfully. 
 
 " I feel it," retorted Stolemkin with equal un- 
 truthfulness. 
 
 " You do well. Your daughter-in-law is a fine 
 woman." 
 
 Stolemkin grunted. 
 
 " Remarkably fine woman." 
 
 " Um-m." 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 169 
 
 " Country air, eh ? " 
 " Possibly." 
 
 " Are you not proud of her, Anton Gregorovitch ?" 
 Devilish proud," said Stolemkin almost savagely. 
 " You would have been, eh ? " 
 
 " But I lost, old friend. Lost the jewel — so 
 fresh looking, too. What a prize even for the son of 
 Count Stolemkin ! " 
 
 " As you say, what a prize ! " 
 
 " And all due to foresight, energy I take my 
 
 beating in good part, eh ? " 
 
 " Excellent. I wish you were not quite so good. 
 It is no pleasure beating a man like you." 
 
 " I am lost in admiration. I no longer think what 
 I missed or what you gained, but what a prize ! 
 It was whispered you would have liked to marry the 
 maid yourself." 
 
 " Eh — to the devil with their whispers." 
 
 " Vasili might have looked elsewhere, only there 
 is such a danger of odd coupling nowadays, eh ? 
 And Countess Puroff , with estates in Livonia, Revel — 
 what is the catalogue ? " 
 
 " I expect you learned it off by heart and said it 
 oftener than your prayers, till some one else grabbed 
 it, Nicholas Dimitrivitch." 
 
 Stolemkin was not enjoying this conversation one 
 whit, but Bulavin was a curious man and dangerous 
 opponent, and somehow Stolemkin felt uneasy and 
 was in the mood to watch for straws — even if the 
 dust blew in his eyes. 
 
 " And what a grab ! Estates in Livonia, Moscow, 
 Revel ; jewels to dazzle the courts of Europe ; fish to 
 feed an army — a big catch, eh ? And all with a 
 
170 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 girl — Countess Puroff . Suppose Gordon brought you 
 the wrong girl I . . . Phew." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " Stolemkin glared but 
 feared to be too angry. 
 
 " I said suppose, my friend, suppose He 
 
 shook his head. " Too awful." 
 
 " Too ridiculous," snapped Stolemkin. 
 
 " Yes — for you, eh." 
 
 " No, for you, Nicholas Dimitrivitch. The sup- 
 position is ridiculous. Upon my oath, but you 
 almost make me rejoice openly to you that your 
 man did not bring back Countess Puroff." 
 
 " While yours did, eh ? . . . Rejoice ! It is a 
 smaU thing. Still, those estates, those jewels, 
 those fish, those serfs — and still let us suppose, just 
 for the zest of the thing, for the jest even, that 
 Gordon brought back the wrong woman . . . 
 Phew." 
 
 Stolemkin did not like this. He began to wonder 
 if Bulavin had heard rumours. But he was a stout 
 man before his enemies. 
 
 " I can imagine," he said, " the envious and the 
 mean and those who would gamer where they did 
 not sow saying all manner of stupid things. I can 
 even imagine them saying my son has not married 
 Puroff's daughter." 
 
 " Would they go so far as that ? " 
 Envy makes men go very far, Nicholas Dimitri- 
 vitch." 
 
 " It does. It would send them to — well, to 
 Buof, eh, for a slip of a girl. ..." 
 
 " It would also send them to the devil." 
 
 " By the saints ! it would. And yet, you 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 171 
 
 almost fill a man with envy when you talk of your 
 daughter-in-law's possessions." 
 
 " Don't go to the devil, Nicholas Dimitrivitch." 
 
 " It is a task to escape him these days, eh ? 
 I suppose you know that wherever one goes now in 
 St. Petersburg the talk is all of your daughter-in-law 
 and your — luck ! " 
 
 Stolemkin grunted. 
 
 " Countess Puroff owns this and that. Stolemkin 
 has won again — et cetera, et cetera." 
 
 Stolemkin grunted uncompromisingly. 
 
 " By the by, you remember the red-headed man 
 who appeared at your feast like an untimely 
 visitor ? " 
 
 " Well ? " 
 
 " Odd, wasn't he ? " 
 " Very." 
 
 " Such a curious case. A man from the country 
 pushing his way into your house at such a time." 
 
 " He happened to be one of Countess Puroff' s men," 
 said Stolemkin, his throat getting drier ; and he had 
 no desire to stop Bulavin now as he itched to hear all 
 suspicions that might have been roused by Belof's 
 appearance. 
 
 One of the Countess's men. . . . Been a good 
 deal with her, perhaps." 
 " Perhaps." 
 " Ah ! . . . " 
 
 " The Countess has a good many men ?" 
 
 " So I have heard : thirty thousand serfs scattered, 
 I suppose, amongst her estates in Livonia, Ukraine, 
 Moscow, Revel. But this man was at Buof, was he 
 not ? " 
 
172 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " Perhaps." 
 
 " Only perhaps ? I heard he saw his mistress 
 depart with Mr. Gordon." 
 
 " And who told you that ? " 
 I heard it." 
 
 " Do you believe all you hear ? " 
 
 " No. Not all. In fact, I disbelieve a good deal 
 of what I see, for it is not difficult to be taken in, and 
 then one looks such a fool." 
 
 Bulavin went away with some glee. He had 
 satisfied the natural spirit within him to dig Sto- 
 lemkin in the ribs, and he had found ample con- 
 firmation of his supposition that Stolemkin knew 
 all was not well with the marriage. But he had 
 not succeeded in settling for himself the further 
 question : was Stolemkin a party to the imposture 
 or merely a victim ? He left that for another 
 day. 
 
 Stolemkin hardly knew what to make of the visit. 
 He cursed wildly, not only Sofia and Gordon now, 
 but Belof and Bulavin. He flung his wrath on 
 Belof for the moment, and yet he recalled Bulavin's 
 words, "It is not difficult to be taken in," and 
 remembered also the concluding sentence, and 
 then one looks such a fool." 
 
 No man looks a fool gladly. It is easier to suffer 
 pain than ridicule. Stolemkin felt no time was to 
 be wasted if he were to get vengeance on those who 
 had tricked him, and stop the floodgates of laughter 
 opening in St. Petersburg. 
 
 He \. ould see Gordon at once and wring the truth 
 from him. His carriage was at the gate and he 
 drove away immediately. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 173 
 
 When Sofia knocked Stolemkin down and saw 
 he would give no further trouble for some little 
 time, she turned to look at Vasili. He, dazed a 
 little by the blow, was getting up, so she stayed where 
 she was, holding the candlestick, her breast heaving 
 with the excitement, a flush on her cheek. 
 
 Vasili was pale, with a red blotch on one side of his 
 face. He too was breathing heavily. He turned 
 his attention to his father and when Count Stolem- 
 kin had been taken away, Vasili came to his wife. 
 
 " Sofia," he said, and he spoke with a ring in 
 his voice that she had not heard before : like some 
 chord rarely played, for it needs great inspiration. 
 
 " Yes," she said. Her voice occasionally wavered, 
 but never her eyes. 
 
 He looked her bravely in the face, not timorously, 
 nor as one who pleaded and sought favours. 
 
 " Is this all true ? " he asked. 
 
 " What ? That I am not or was not Countess 
 Puroff ? Yes." 
 
 He looked at her as if to read her soul, not for 
 reproach or anything selfish. 
 
 " And my father had your father flogged to death." 
 
 " Yes." 
 I am sorry for that." 
 
 " Thank you," she said quietly. 
 
 " But did you marry me just to spite my father ? " 
 
 She hesitated. He spoke with feeling and she 
 knew that fact had hurt him. But she was not used 
 to diplomatic answers and tactful turns of speech. 
 She looked at him unfalteringly. 
 
 " Yes," she said. 
 
 He showed his blow clear enough : but he also 
 
174 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 manifested a look that was rarely seen in his face. 
 It spoke of hidden deeps, of things covered over 
 that a crisis might bring to light. 
 
 He slowly turned his back on her, and as he entered 
 his room she had an impulse to call to him, but did 
 not. 
 
 The next moment she heard the key turn in the 
 lock. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 "There is a fatal Fury in your visage 
 It blazes fierce, and menaces Destruction." 
 
 — RowE. 
 
 GORDON came full tilt on Belof, as the latter, 
 weary, with wide searching eyes, crossed the 
 road opposite Gordon's lodging. 
 
 The Russian was exuberant to success. His 
 emotions stirred him to feats acrobatic and wild. 
 He shouted, wept, clasped Gordon closer than a 
 brother, and muttered incoherencies. 
 Gordon was glad to see him. 
 After a series of hectic exclamations Belof man- 
 aged to speak intelligently. 
 
 " My mistress. Countess Puroff — where is she ? 
 Melania Nicholovna ? " 
 
 " Be quiet, you town-crying oriflammus son 
 of Hercules ! You don't want to tell all St. Peters- 
 burg and those that dwell in ships on the Neva what 
 
 your business is " 
 
 " But my mistress." 
 
 " Oh ! Come inside and bottle your shrieks with- 
 in the four walls of my room if it's possible." 
 
 Belof 's cries — little ejaculatory barks — accom- 
 panied them to Gordon's room. The appeals were 
 renewed here, and Gordon put his fingers to his 
 
 175 
 
176 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 ears, and then waved the tempestuous Belof to 
 silence. 
 
 " You are worse than the importunate widow. 
 I'don't wonder at the poor old judge now. Can't you 
 keep your mouth still while I ask you the time o' day 
 and crack a word in your ears ? Man ! but you 
 are big — and red ! And you have made a sensation in 
 the capital that you did not anticipate, I warrant. 
 That's the man from the country all over." 
 
 " My mistress, Mr. Gordon, Melania Nichol- 
 ovna ? " 
 
 " She is " Gordon paused and steadied his 
 
 tongue. This was not quite the theme on which 
 to trip with gaiety. " I hope she is well," he said 
 fervently. 
 
 Belof looked startled. 
 
 " Hope," he said, and would have added more but 
 that Gordon put his hand on the steward's shoulder 
 and said- — 
 
 " Yes. I also believe it. She is being saved from 
 disaster." 
 
 Belof was inclined to the incredulous, for he had 
 gone through so much he was now afraid of being 
 cheated. 
 
 " I do not understand. Where is she ? " 
 There are a good many things we don't under- 
 stand in this world, my bully boy, and women, God 
 bless 'em ! are amongst the number : and things may 
 be all right and sailing straight for Paradise Gates in 
 spite of our non-understanding, while we are whirling 
 about in Hell's rapids. Don't worry, my Knight of 
 the Golden Fleece ! Countess Puroff is well — 
 or by God ! " He shuddered. " Paff ! We won't 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 177 
 
 worry. She is well, and it is for her peace of mind 
 I am here." 
 
 Thank God ! Thank the saints ! " Belof first 
 embraced Gordon and then fell on his knees and 
 thanked as many saints as he could remember. 
 When he got up he asked quickly — 
 
 " But where is she ? Take me to her." 
 
 " In good time. I will race you when the time 
 comes, my friend. But my ruddy man with the 
 gorgeous torch, I have a fear you have disturbed the 
 peace of this mushroom capital. Heaven keep a 
 weight on the soul of blessed Peter ! What have you 
 been doing ? I hear you have been going to and fro 
 in the earth doing all manner of foolish things — 
 did you not go to the wedding ? " 
 
 Wedding — yes. But that was not Melania 
 Nicholovna." 
 
 " No. And do you think she would have been 
 enjoying herself there ? As the bride-man, do you 
 understand ? Do you think she would have been 
 happy as the bride of Stolemkin's son ? " 
 
 He did not understand. He stared as if bewildered. 
 
 " I must tell you," said Gordon, " for you have 
 come at a curious time. You are a kind of Guy 
 Fawkes without knowing it. You might have had us 
 blown to pieces if I had not caught hold of you 
 now. But tell me : what made you come to St. 
 Petersburg at all ? " 
 
 Belof told of the arrival of the other two emissaries 
 and of his journey to the capital to warn his mistress. 
 
 Gordon took him by the hand. 
 
 " I can trust you," he said. "A man who will do 
 that for his mistress is on her side ; but don't spoil 
 
 M 
 
178 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 the cake by putting in too much sugar. A word of 
 warning or the ghost of Banquo with about a 
 thousand others will disturb your rest and mine till 
 the worms get our body ! Keep your mouth shut. 
 The flies can't get in then. You know nothing. 
 There isn't a more ignorant person from the Caspian 
 to the Baltic than yourself concerning Melania 
 Nicholovna if anybody asks you impertinent ques- 
 tions. Understand ? Put bolts and bars on your 
 mouth. Keep it shut. Wax it. . . . Um ! " Gordon 
 shut his own. 
 
 Belof looked more dazed than understanding. 
 
 " You don't grasp it all ? " 
 
 Belof shook his head. 
 
 " Then I will tell you." 
 
 " Please," said Belof pathetically. 
 
 " Well, that boisterous ruffian Count Stolemkin, 
 whose house you invaded as easily as a flea creeps 
 in your sheepskin or Charles the Twelfth entered 
 a foreign country. — Heaven blessed the earth when 
 a man like that was born — and yet he was an 
 uncanny fool ! . . . Well, Count Stolemkin wanted 
 to marry his son to Countess Puroff for the sake of 
 everything but herself. You understand that ? 
 For her estates, her wealth — ^you see that ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Good ! One stone at the time — that's how St. 
 Petersburg was made, eh ? Well, Countess Puroff did 
 not like the idea. Neither, to tell you the honest 
 truth, good Belof of the heavenly hair, did I. But 
 I could not say so. Only by the kind intervention 
 of Providence a pack of — peuh ! um. I think if I 
 gloss a little here I shall do better. The prophet 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 179 
 
 Nathan didn't tell everything at once. It was 
 decided to marry some one else to Stolemkin's son. 
 Now does the sunlight penetrate your faithful if 
 tough head ? " 
 Belof waited. 
 
 " Very well, I will be clear. Some one else 
 pretended to be Countess Puroff so that the real one, 
 Melania Nicholovna — your Melania Nicholovna — 
 should escape the Stolemkin grip. Now do you 
 understand ? " 
 
 " Yes, yes. Wonderful ! " 
 
 " It is. Most wonderful ! But it will be more 
 wonderful still if we get out of this town with whole 
 skins, now that you have come." 
 
 - I—I 
 
 " Yes, you. It is always you good folk that 
 kick up the rumpus. It was the good brother who 
 didn't go eating things with the swine, and doing 
 other jovial tricks of that kind, that started upsetting 
 the feast when the fatted calf was killed. And 
 you may have done us all an infernally bad 
 turn." 
 
 " I. But I would not." 
 
 " Would not ! All the way through life we do 
 the things we would not and open wide our eyes 
 when we see the idiotic things we have done. When 
 you invaded Stolemkin's bridal party like a Tartar 
 chief did you not ask for Countess Puroff ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " And when you saw the lady who was saving your 
 mistress's happiness you said^ ' That is not my 
 mistress,' or some such swallow-your-luck phrase, 
 did you not ? " 
 
i8o THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " I did. Oh ! I am very sorry. I did not think. 
 I did not know " 
 
 " Of course not. I am not going through the Ash 
 Wednesday services for your disturbance. I merely 
 want you to understand. Luckily, the lady got 
 you to depart like Jehu in the chariot ; but now you 
 see, we want to get out of St. Petersburg as quickly 
 as possible, because we go from here to Melania 
 Nicholovna." 
 
 Ah ! I may come too. I will not speak another 
 word. My mistress, Melania Nicholovna. ... I was 
 so afraid. . 
 
 He babbled more and tears ran down his honest 
 cheeks. 
 
 " With men like you," said Gordon, " Pultowa 
 was as certain to come as the sun was to rise after 
 Narva. But now we want no more bungling, or 
 we shall be lucky to end as Saul and Jonathan 
 did — and there are lots of kings and kings' sons 
 whose exits fire me with no ambition of emulation. 
 So, Paul of the Evening Sun, silence. A discreet 
 silence. You must say nothing. We don't want 
 St. Petersburg to know yet what has happened. We 
 want to be in the company of bears and fir trees, and 
 the gorgeous steppes and a free and easy wind, before 
 these civilized folk in the capital learn of the trick 
 that has been played on them. Understand ? 
 The silence of the dead." Gordon put his finger on 
 his mouth. 
 
 Belof nodded. Holding the truth in short fashion, 
 he did not mind embroideries of speech. 
 Gordon smiled. 
 
 " I may sound gay," he said. " I fancy it is 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE i8i 
 
 because I feel I am somewhere near the edge of the 
 Tarpeian Rock : and it is in situations like that I 
 am always gayer than usual, damme ! " 
 
 " When shall we go ? " asked Belof quietly. 
 
 " As soon as we can. No gum arable nor spices nor 
 myrrh nor gold will keep me in this city longer than 
 is necessary, now that you have sounded the tocsin. 
 We have to get the lady who pretended to be 
 Countess Puroff out of the place, do you see ? " 
 
 " Ah ! Yes, yes." 
 
 " And when we can do that we will go at once." 
 " Why not go now ? " 
 
 " I am waiting for the message from the escort. 
 Things don't go in Russia with the ease that this old 
 earth turns on its axis. There is always somebody 
 or other dropping in the ditch at the critical moment, 
 and as I was not to make the arrangements for 
 the escort, but merely to take Sofia, Countess Puroff 
 by adoption, and wife of Vasili Count Stolemkin 
 by marriage, to a spot to be told me, I wait. Yes, 
 I wait with your message doing its glorious work. . . . 
 But we will be all right shortly, good warm Belof. 
 We will soon be shaking our livers to good use on 
 the roads outside St. Petersburg — on the roads that 
 lead to Melania Nicholovna. . . . God preserve 
 her! . . /' 
 
 And then Count Stolemkin marched in. 
 
 He looked eminently business-like, as if he were 
 full to the brim of his subject and determined to 
 play his part to the best of his ability. His thick 
 neck seemed a little redder than usual, and his blue 
 staring eyes stared their widest. He was just 
 about to say something of a preliminary nature to 
 
i82 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 Gordon, when he caught sight of Belof, and his 
 eyes seemed to go bluer and his neck redder. He 
 advanced a step towards Belof and said — 
 " You, eh ! " 
 
 Belof was about to say, " Yes, Excellency," 
 when Gordon's warning to silence came to him. 
 He shut his lips tightly. 
 
 They were three fine men physically. Belof was 
 biggest, but Gordon was the lithest, most muscular, 
 most forbidding. He had the stance of the man 
 who knew his strength and was confident. Stolemkin 
 was a big man in a fury, tempered by discretion. 
 Gordon had clearly the gift of tempering. 
 
 The room was plain, and without much ornament. 
 Two cheap tapestries covered one wall : a few 
 trinkets gathered by Gordon in his travels were 
 on the top shelf of a book case, the other two shelves 
 containing books. There was an ikon in the corner — 
 the property of the landlord — and an oak table and 
 rush seated chairs were the rest of the furniture. 
 These were merely Gordon's quiet lodgings. It 
 was certain that Stolemkin had come in anger and 
 yet, now that he was in the presence of Gordon, 
 he felt the need for coolness. So he spoke with much 
 less fury than he had contemplated. In fact he 
 was surprised at his own calm. 
 
 " Birds of a feather or the duper and the dupe or 
 what, Louis Gordon ? " 
 
 " Or what, Anton Gregorovitch ? " replied Gor- 
 don, with the air of a man unawed. 
 
 " It is a virtue." 
 
 " That can be overworked." 
 
 " And then becomes of most use." 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 183 
 
 " Well, you will probably need it." 
 It is for that I rejoice in its possession." 
 
 " Um. You know this man ? " He nodded his 
 head towards Belof. 
 
 " Appearances certainly point in that direction." 
 
 " A steward of Countess Puroff, eh ? " 
 
 " He has the appearance of a good one." 
 
 " And he seeks his mistress, Louis Alexan- 
 drovitch ? " 
 
 " Many have done the same thing." 
 
 " But some with more success than he has got." 
 
 " It is an uneven world : one eats caviare, another 
 starves. That is life." 
 
 One gets broken on the wheel, another is be- 
 headed — that is death," said Stolemkin, with a 
 grim nod. 
 
 We must all die," retorted Gordon pleasantly. 
 " Not all eat caviare or get broken on the wheel." 
 " I may congratulate myself. I have had caviare." 
 " And now await the wheel, eh ? " 
 " Fortune's wheel is ever turning." 
 
 Exactly. One is free to-day, but in prison 
 to-morrow." 
 
 " And out the day after. It is a merry world, 
 Anton Gregorovitch." 
 For those who live." 
 
 " Of whom I am one." 
 
 " There are dangers in life." 
 
 " They are for the weak and craven." 
 
 " Also for impostors, aiders and abettors of 
 impostors." 
 
 " The audacious have no fears." 
 
 " Not till it is too late." 
 
i84 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 And then it doesn't matter/' 
 "You are as able with your tongue as I imagined. 
 You reply as well as you invent." 
 
 You would probably be glad to discover half as 
 well." 
 
 " I fancy I have made the discovery." 
 " I congratulate you." 
 
 " I have already seen this man." He pointed to 
 Belof, " and, if you would know more, the lady you 
 pretended was Countess Puroff. Do you wish me to 
 tell you more of what I know ? " 
 
 " It would doubtless be interesting." 
 Then I will. I know your trick, and now per- 
 haps you will see the dangers that await you." 
 
 I have encouraged a habit of circumventing 
 dangers." 
 
 " And yet most habits have their weak moments." 
 
 " Not tiU they have occurred." 
 
 " Well, I have come, Louis Alexandrovitch, to 
 tell you plainly that your villainous plot is known 
 to me, and you shall suffer all the pains and penalties 
 I can secure for you — unless " 
 
 " Unless ? " 
 
 " You do your utmost to right yourself and me." 
 
 " Unless, a blessed word, Anton Gregorovitch. 
 And I am not in a humour for a bargain ? " 
 
 " Then you will put me in a humour for getting 
 you clapped in prison." 
 
 " To think and do are not quite the same thing." 
 
 " You doubt me. Don't be a fool. You know what 
 you have done, and that Count Ostermann will 
 see you are broken on the wheel for it. If you refuse 
 the terms I offer you, I will show you no mercy." 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 185 
 
 " I do not ask for it." 
 
 " Don't you value your life ? " 
 
 " Only under decent conditions." 
 Well — I make no hard conditions. Tell me 
 what has happened to Countess Puroff. Tell 
 me where she is. If I get her and she marries my 
 son I will not pursue you — you will have time, so far 
 as I am concerned, to get out of Russia." 
 
 Gordon shook his head. 
 I fancy you do not realize your conduct or 
 your position," said Stolemkin. 
 
 " That is possible." 
 
 " You will be flogged — that is certain, if I de- 
 nounce you." 
 
 " But will you denounce me — that is the question." 
 There is no question. Either I get my desire or 
 my revenge. You are not so stupid as not to see 
 that." 
 
 " But if you denounce me you hold yourself up 
 to the ridicule of the whole country. Denounce 
 me and every lackey will have sore sides at the 
 thought of you. You will be the most successful 
 topic at dinners and feasts that has been invented 
 for a generation. People will cease praying : 
 they will just say Count Stolemkin and Countess 
 Puroff and then laugh till the next morning. De- 
 nounce me . . . put yourself on a ship's mast for gulls 
 to screech at. . . Denounce me. . . every tame 
 bear in Russia would hug you for it, for everybody 
 would give them delicacies through sheer joy." 
 
 " By God ! " said Stolemkin, losing his calm. 
 " You talk like that, do you ? That's how the vixen 
 talked. But I'll have your tongues split. You 
 
i86 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 think I am afraid to tell because people will say I 
 have been taken in by a rogue. That may happen 
 to anybody, particularly when you were considered 
 a man fit to meet with men of honour." 
 
 " And still fit," said Gordon with a steel ring in 
 his voice. All the Saints in Heaven would be 
 taxed to number the cruelties you have practised. 
 To flog a man to death is honourable,''eh ? To trick 
 him, a shameful thing. To Hell with your honour 
 and your sense of it. You would filch the last 
 herb from the widow and orphan and call that 
 honourable, yea clever ; but to be tricked yourself 
 you look upon as next to blasphemy, as dangerous 
 regicide." 
 
 " Paid, Mr. Gordon — paid to do work and " 
 
 " No, Damn your money," said Gordon, There 
 it is, packed counted and ready. I wash my hands 
 of so honourable a man as yourself. Take your 
 money," and Gordon flung a bag of gold, that lay on 
 one of the book shelves, on the table. 
 
 You think to get out of it that way," said 
 Stolemkin, but you won't. If you tricked me, you 
 also tricked the Count. Do you think Count 
 Ostermann will be your butt ? Can't you see your- 
 self tortured before you go to the wheel or to the 
 block or to Siberia. You talk like a maid in a fury : 
 have you no sense ? " 
 
 " Enough to enjoy a joke." 
 
 Stolemkin paused a moment. He was beginning 
 to realize that Gordon was not to be so easily won 
 to his assistance as he had imagined. He thought 
 him a fool of course. He couldn't understand 
 such madness, for torture and death were certain. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 187 
 
 if Ostermann handed the prisoners over to the 
 Secret Court of PoHce — Preobrazhenskaia Kant- 
 seliaria. 
 
 Yet Stolemkin knew to what Gordon trusted : 
 that he (Stolemkin) would not face the unhappy 
 position of dupe. But the desire for revenge will 
 make a man do odd things ; and hate can be as 
 reckless as love. 
 
 Bargaining was essential if Stolemkin would 
 emerge from the business with credit. If he could 
 secure the real Countess Puroff , and Vasili divorced 
 his present wife, Stolemkin could tell the story with 
 content, for his emerging from a trying situation 
 with such glory would approach the heroic. Yet 
 Gordon's help was almost a necessity. Where was 
 Countess Puroff ? 
 
 Stolemkin felt thwarted, and yet knew that 
 threats had not availed. So while neither shrieking 
 or hiding penalties he tried other methods. 
 
 *' Tell me,'' he said to Gordon, where Countess 
 Puroff is. Tell me that. I think I deserve so much." 
 
 " It is not your merits I think of but hers." 
 What have merits got to do with it ? " And 
 then he looked at Gordon with added emotions. 
 Amazement knocked out curiosity and anger 
 quashed tact. You devil ! You " 
 
 Gordon moved towards his sword and drew it. 
 
 " A little moderation Excellency." 
 
 " Moderation for you ? Now I see your 
 villainy. You have the audacity of a brigand 
 you " 
 
 And then he realized the use of Belof and turned to 
 him. " You know this man ? " he shouted. 
 
i88 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 Belof, bewildered by the two men's talk, said 
 nothing but looked as if " Yes, Excellency," were 
 on the tip of his tongue. 
 
 Stolemkin did not heed the silence. 
 
 " This man," he waved a chubby hand towards 
 Gordon — " took your mistress, didn't he ? Do 
 you know where she is ? Eh ? " 
 
 " No, Excellency." 
 No, who does ? He has her hidden somewhere, 
 and do you know why ? He wants to marry her 
 himself. That's his little game. He has your 
 mistress hidden somewhere and instead of seeing 
 her married honourably according to Her Majesty's 
 wishes to my son, he hides her and would marry her 
 himself." 
 
 Belof looked alarmed. It sounded dreadfully 
 like trouble for his mistress. He looked at Gordon 
 enquiringly. 
 
 He raves. Don't pay any attention to him," said 
 Gordon. The words are coming out like the 
 water at Horeb with no sense of proportion. He 
 has been struck." 
 
 " Yes, and by Heaven ! you shall be struck. 
 You wretched mercenary ! " He turned to Belof 
 again as if instinct warned him that he might attract 
 this man to his side. " A pretty thing for your mis- 
 tress to be held in bondage by a man who was paid 
 by me to do my work. He holds her a prisoner 
 somewhere, so that he can marry her by force." 
 
 " You lie." 
 
 Gordon spoke so quietly it seemed quite a strange 
 tone to interrupt Stolemkin's furious flow. But it 
 was as if the speaker spoke his minimum and 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 189 
 
 maximum in one. Action was clearly to follow. 
 Gordon's sword was shaking in his hand. 
 
 Stolemkin looked at him hatingly, but respect- 
 fully. He did not wish to begin a fight from which 
 he had nothing to gain : not that he was afraid, for 
 Stolemkin did not lack courage. 
 
 Belof crept into the pause. 
 
 " My mistress — is it true ? " he asked almost 
 tenderly of Gordon. 
 
 " You heard me say he lied ? " 
 
 - Yes— but— but " 
 
 " Don't worry, Count Stolemkin talks like a 
 man on burning logs. Your mistress will never 
 marry, if I can do anything in the matter, except 
 where she desires. I am for her welfare. Count 
 Stolemkin is for his own." 
 
 Belof gave a cry of thankfulness. 
 Thank God ! Thank God ! " Belof was like 
 a child in the simplicity of his affection. 
 
 And now," said Gordon to Stolemkin, " I think 
 we can bring this interview to an end." 
 
 " You refuse your chance ? " asked Stolemkin, 
 feeling no gainer by the meeting. 
 What chance ? " 
 
 " Bring Countess Puroff to me and you shall have 
 opportunity to get out of the country." 
 
 " And if I refuse the advantageous and generous 
 offer ? " 
 
 " Then you will wish you had taken it : you will 
 wish you were dead, for you will die in torment." 
 
 Gordon laughed. 
 And you only wish I would come to terms with 
 you, Anton Gregorovitch. But I won't. I did 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 once, but I refuse a second time. Take your money, 
 take your offer, your chance, your help and every 
 cursed thing that belongs to you elsewhere. Out 
 of your clutches, Countess Puroff may have a chance 
 of happiness, but in them, I would as soon trust a 
 hungry wolf to give joy to a lamb. Torture for me 
 eh ? Catch me, Anton Gregorovitch. Catch me. 
 Tell your tale in St. Petersburg and there isn't a man 
 who wouldn't hinder you and help me. Wish I 
 were dead, shall I ? You will wish you were on the 
 side of those that laugh. Good-day, your Excellency, 
 good-day.'' 
 
 Stolemkin withdrew in as fine as fury as when 
 he entered. There was wild business afoot. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 " Look down, you gods 
 And on this couple drop a blessed crown.'* 
 
 — The Tempest. 
 
 COUNT STOLEMKIN'S position had features 
 in common with that of many men restrained 
 by the imponderable manacles of expediency. 
 Desirous of wounding and yet hesitating to strike. 
 It robs desire of its life : joy is knocked out of 
 opportunity. To smile while we hate may be excel- 
 lent discipline : it is execrable feeling. 
 
 Laughed at, derided, braved first by the daughter 
 of a peasant and then by — by an adventurer ! 
 (He did not forget that he had also been knocked 
 down by the woman !) 
 
 To a man in such a situation sympathy is super- 
 fluous aggravation. He wants deeds — deeds des- 
 perate, gory, cruel, but at least to gratify his desire 
 upon his enemies. 
 
 And in the meanwhile he hesitates to mention to 
 others that these people are his enemies or that he 
 has any at all, or even that he rages. A very galling 
 situation ! 
 
 Stolemkin in his room continued his raging. 
 Cursing cheered him a little but accomplished noth- 
 ing. He wanted schemes now, and he had a grave 
 
 191 
 
192 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 dislike to inviting official Russia to a knowledge of 
 his plight. He did fear that howl of laughter. 
 Boasting has its inconveniences. Nature has a 
 wonderful way of balancing things. 
 
 A Scheme ! A Scheme ! A Fortune for a 
 Scheme ! 
 
 Stolemkin tried to look the affair not only full in 
 the face, but round it and at every angle. His great 
 object was to secure the person of Countess Puroff 
 before she fell in the hands of Bulavin or Froloff, or 
 anything equally disastrous (from his point of view) 
 happened to her. 
 
 He grew irritable, for no reasonable scheme entered 
 his head. His brain was boggling at the whole 
 business. In the ordinary way he would have 
 ordered Gordon to be flogged till he confessed. Or 
 Sofia — Stolemkin was not particular. But they 
 were neither his serfs nor chattels, and that way was 
 barred unless — he managed it very discreetly, or he 
 could get an order, say, from Count Ostermann. 
 
 It was an idea. There was no time to be lost. 
 Bulavin had the appearance of one who prepares to 
 crow. Now suppose Count Ostermann were deli- 
 cately approached and made to see that the trick 
 was contempt of him, contempt of the whole Court, 
 and his anger were roused 
 
 This seemed a promising channel. The sails of 
 Stolemkin's thoughts filled with wind and his ideas 
 scudded with the breeze. Yes, Ostermann dragged 
 in would give power, if only he would not rob 
 Stolemkin of the prize. Ostermann was powerful 
 and recognized the Russian maxim : " See that your 
 office keeps you." But could he trust Ostermann ? 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 193 
 
 A shaky trust ! Stolemkin had grave doubts. No 
 wonder he was worried. He was half inchned to 
 try torture — a Kttle persuasiveness that was all — 
 on his own account on Sofia, say. Why should she 
 not confess ? Or he might try bribery ? But he 
 recalled her attitude and motive. He cursed old 
 Glebof for dying, taking no blame to himself in the 
 matter. 
 
 He grew more irritable still, for he was clearly of 
 opinion that either Gordon or Sofia must help him, 
 and he could find no way to make either of them his 
 aid 
 
 It was trying ! 
 
 Then he thought of his son. His despised, beaten 
 son appeared to him as the one person who could aid 
 him. The brutal father rubbed his fat hands with 
 unctuous satisfaction, for a son owed his father 
 obedience, devotion, etcetera, etcetera. Particu- 
 larly a son like Vasili 1 He wondered why he had 
 not thought of him before. Vasili could worm the 
 secret from his wife and then pass it on. 
 
 Stolemkin ceased to feel irritated. He drank 
 more beer, and ordered some men to keep a strict 
 watch over Gordon and not to let him go out of St. 
 Petersburg under any circumstances. 
 
 Now Gordon and the woman would see whether 
 their bravado would help them 
 
 Vasili — the woman's husband too ! Really, it 
 seemed as if the laugh was to be on the other side 
 after all. 
 
 Stolemkin patted his chest (metaphorically). 
 These plotters would find they had played a trick 
 on the wrong man ! 
 
194 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 Neither did Gordon feel comfortable. 
 
 When Stolemkin had gone he turned to Belof. 
 
 " He is a brute, Belof/' he said, " a callous brute. 
 I would never had done his business had I known 
 what it all meant, and I am glad to have had it out 
 with him. There are plenty like him. If you don't 
 hit when you have the chance somebody will hit 
 you — that's life, Belof. Caviare and diamonds or 
 stinking fish and mill-stones round your neck. But 
 now we want the open country and Countess Puroff." 
 
 " Yes, yes, Melania Nicholovna, let us go to her 
 at once," said Belof, to whom all else were dead sea 
 fruit or the eating of ashes. 
 
 " I wish we could. But it is no use our going 
 unless we take the other little lady with us, and she 
 has the nerve of a lioness and won't be frightened 
 out of the place. That is the worst of women, Belof : 
 there is no middle way with them. Heaven or Hell 
 and no rest for your back anywhere else. No second 
 best — not when they are worth anything — for them. 
 All or nothing. The middle folk lot are only jelly 
 fish — Heaven or Hell. It's a good motto. It 
 happens to be mine, Belof, and Sofia, daughter of 
 poor old Glebof, is as fine a woman as ever was the 
 Empress Catherine, and the Tsarina couldn't hold a 
 candle to Sofia for virtue." 
 
 " And Melania Nicholovna — ^you will not forget 
 her ? " 
 
 " Forget her ? . . . I will go and see if I can 
 meet our messenger from Glebof. Stay here till I 
 return. Forget her " muttered Gordon to him- 
 self with memories unforgettable in his heart. 
 
 Sofia was not desperate, but the non-arrival of 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 195 
 
 Gordon with news that all was ready for the depar- 
 ture disturbed her. 
 
 She and Vasih had their meals together, but he 
 had spoken little since he had learnt who she was, 
 and that she had married him merely to trick his 
 father. 
 
 She endured the silence without reproach, feehng 
 that Vasili had a grievance. He, however, could 
 not resist her presence altogether, and attempted 
 casual bits of conversation that were wholly without 
 reference to themselves or their feelings. He did 
 not even ask her plans, and was himself beginning to 
 be very curious concerning them. She caught him 
 in silent moments looking at her fixedly and began 
 to ask herself unexpected questions. Somehow she 
 did not get the buoyant and full-blooded joy out of 
 the business that she had anticipated. The trick 
 on the father was exquisite : the trick on the son 
 was a different affair, and grew more different with 
 the passing of the hours. 
 
 The reader will not forget that Vasili and Sofia 
 are man and wife on their honeymoon ! Sofia 
 thought little of this aspect of her case as she had 
 much else to think of. But Vasili considered his 
 position ruefully. Yet somehow he regretted noth- 
 ing that he had done : he did not regret the marriage, 
 and looked at Sofia every now and then, even while 
 he tried to maintain an attitude of manly dignity, 
 with the eyes of a lover. 
 
 He asked her wishes and studied her comfort 
 in a restrained, respectful way — as if he would fain 
 be more enthusiastic, more joyous and warm, but 
 must be as he was for his manhood's sake. 
 
196 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " Do you require anything ? " he would ask. 
 " No— thank you." 
 
 He felt the situation was tending to lead them 
 towards the impossible : a crisis of some kind must 
 be reached soon. 
 
 The day Stolemkin conceived his idea of persuad- 
 ing his son to interrogate Sofia, she was growing 
 restless. She waited now with eagerness for the 
 message to come from Gordon that all was ready for 
 the journey. She had agreed to wait for the signal 
 since the preparations were being made by others, 
 otherwise she would have got her husband to engage 
 horses and a carriage. The non-arrival of the mes- 
 sage and the attitude of Stolemkin were disturbing 
 factors of no negligible kind. 
 
 As Vasili was about to leave her she said : 
 
 " I am waiting for a message from Gordon/' 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " If he does not come or send soon, I should like 
 to know what is happening." 
 
 " Do you wish me to try to communicate with 
 him ? " 
 
 " Can you ? " 
 
 " I think so." 
 
 " I shall be glad." 
 
 " At once ? " he asked. 
 
 *' I will wait till the afternoon," she said. 
 
 He bowed slightly and remained, as if he would 
 prolong the conversation or the contact somehow in 
 the hope it might lead to something better. 
 You are anxious ? " he asked. 
 
 " It is time I heard." 
 There is danger, of course," he said, realizing 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 197 
 
 from her attitude that actual danger was there, rather 
 than some vague threat of his father's. 
 There was always that." 
 
 Vasili began to upbraid himself for his dullness. 
 He had been so disturbed by the slight to himself 
 that he had not really grasped the extent of the 
 danger she ran. He forgot himself almost at once : 
 he was the perfect lover. 
 
 " Sofia." 
 
 She almost trembled. She was wearing a dark 
 green velvet robe with a belt of gold. She put her 
 left hand to her breast at the music of Vasili's 
 tenderness. 
 
 Yes," she said in a guarded voice, emotions of 
 various kinds toppling over each other in their 
 haste for expression. 
 
 " What will happen ? " 
 
 " I do not know." 
 
 " But it may be serious — very serious." 
 " It may be," she said calmly now. 
 " Prison— oh ! " 
 
 " We — I shall escape," she said. 
 
 He looked at her strangely again : as if he would 
 fathom her heart and know his own strength at the 
 same time. The " we — I " touched him. It was 
 the kind of thing to stir a man in love. " We — I," 
 it was more than he could grapple with. What 
 did she mean ? Would she go without him ? 
 Married him for a trick and would now leave him. 
 . . . This was contempt ! And yet, Vasili had 
 seen a look that told him to hope, and Hope is the 
 most faithful of a good man's friends. 
 
 Vasili ventured : " We, Sofia." 
 
198 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 It was her turn for the look of wonder. She 
 looked back at him with wonderful directness : 
 she seemed in a mood for giving or asking. 
 
 " Do you wish ? " she asked. 
 
 He came closer to her. 
 
 " Yes," and then he stood still with deference and 
 waiting and a great patience. 
 
 She had both hands on her bosom now. 
 Now that you know all," she said, " are you 
 angry ? " 
 
 Angry." He almost shouted the word in deri- 
 sion and her heart went beating to the accents. He 
 laughed oddly, so oddly that she went paler and 
 longed to be extravagant. 
 
 " Sofia," he said, " I love you." 
 
 " Even now ? " There was a quaver in her voice 
 she had not dreamed possible with her. Love can 
 search at the depths of us and all our secret places. 
 It makes no difference," he said. 
 
 " Had I known she began. 
 
 " Well ? " 
 
 " I would not have done it. But he — my father." 
 
 " Sofia, I love you." He was still gentle and not 
 daring, assuming an attitude of deference. 
 
 She sat down and looked at him in wonder. This 
 was so different from the blood-spilling life she had 
 seen for so long. Vasili was no cut-throat such as 
 the men she had herded with. War and brigandage 
 were businesses of the day and, if one lives with 
 butchers it is ridiculous to be surprised at the 
 sight of blood. Besides, rough language, rough 
 ways, contempt of life, no shirking of cruelty, the 
 absence of courtesy and all things gentle were the 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 199 
 
 setting of her life in the woods. She had not minded : 
 she did not mind those things now. They had a 
 tone and savour when Count Stolemkin came to 
 bluster and boast. But with Vasili and the ways of 
 love they had nothing in common. It was a change 
 gigantic, striking awe. 
 
 A peasant's daughter and a brigand's sister, loved 
 by this tender Vasili. 
 
 " Let us forget," he murmured, as he came to her, 
 putting one knee on the ground. 
 
 She put one hand on his shoulder : he seized on 
 the other and kissed it. Her bosom heaved and she 
 felt like a penitent with almost mad resolves. 
 
 She was not weak, and had suffered too much and 
 seen too much to behave like an ordinary woman. 
 But she was tingling. The hand on Vasili's shoulder 
 gripped him like the claws of an eagle. He stared at 
 her caressing her hand. She was too moved to speak, 
 and tears were not her outlet. 
 
 " Sofia " He was not over eloquent himself. 
 
 She looked at him with eyes magnificently bright 
 — stars in the blue were like flakes of snow, lifeless 
 and feeble beside Sofia's eyes, said Vasili afterwards. 
 
 She did not speak and he did not mind, for he felt 
 equal with the angels. He got up and put a hand 
 on her head and stroked her hair, while she breathed 
 like a race-horse. 
 
 He wanted to kiss her, but his spirit was weak and 
 his frame a-dancing. 
 
 She suddenly gripped him tight with both hands. 
 
 " By God ! you are my husband, Vasili. You are 
 mine, Vasili. I will have you. I will be your wife." 
 
 " Sofia, Sofia," he cried, his voice beside the high 
 
200 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 resolving note in her sounding feeble, but as true as 
 the tender rapier. 
 Then she kissed him. 
 
 It was he who wept for joy and looked wildly to 
 Heaven as if he had been told the tales of mysteries. 
 
 And when they were in this humour — ^with fairies 
 dancing round him, at any rate — Stolemkin burst 
 upon them in his wrath. 
 
 They were together, Vasili beside her, his face 
 like the Saint on a Rafael picture, just the kind of 
 thing that the big Stolemkin, with his eyes on 
 things that served the stomach, could not appreciate. 
 
 " Get up, you fool/' he began, the very attitude 
 lashing his fury. 
 
 Vasili got up, not because his father bade him, 
 but because the attitude of a lover is not for show. 
 When it is, it would be a tough job to find the love. 
 
 " I want to speak to you alone," the big Count 
 thundered. 
 
 Vasili hesitated. Thunder had less effect on him 
 than had been its wont. He gazed at his father with 
 more confidence (an enraging attitude to a man like 
 Stolemkin) and then turned to Sofia. 
 
 " Do you mind ? " he asked. Not if you do, 
 Sofia ? " 
 
 For an moment she was tempted. She felt she 
 could have scored off this bully if she had set his 
 son against him ; and to do that were an easy thing 
 now ; but she was subdued a little — not in courage 
 but in temper. Love is the great alchemy. 
 
 " You would like to talk to your father ? " 
 
 " Y-yes." 
 
 " I will leave you." 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 20I 
 
 She walked slowly towards the door, ignoring 
 the Count as if he had been a serf, while Vasili accom- 
 panied her, opened the door and looked, when he 
 returned to his father, as if his treasure were outside 
 the room. 
 
 Stolemkin was astonished. After knowing that 
 the woman was the daughter of a peasant and had 
 only married for spite, Vasili treated her like that. 
 
 Stolemkin's face got redder. 
 
 Vasili faced him with unprecedented courage. 
 
 More alchemy. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 The best may err and the most cautious fall." 
 
 STOLEMKIN was clothed in blue to-day, dark 
 blue with enamel buttons. His linen was 
 choice and he looked a sturdy man in his ample 
 calves and big shoulders. 
 
 He approached Vasili almost menacingly, as he 
 had ever done. 
 
 That baggage," he said, " that pest of a noi- 
 
 " Father ! " said VasiH, white but still. 
 Stolemkin looked amazed. It was clear expostu- 
 lation. 
 
 " Name of a Saint ! what are you fathering about ? 
 What do you mean by cuddling close to that scum 
 of a woman as if she were a fit mate for you ? " 
 
 " She is my wife." 
 
 " Your wife — that besom ! Yes, but by all the 
 names of the stars she will soon cease to be your 
 
 wife " 
 
 I hope not, sir." 
 
 Stolemkin stamped on the floor like a giant. He 
 looked at his son and then strode nearer grabbing 
 him by the arm fiercely when he was within reach. 
 His son Vasili the sheep-like creature, talking to 
 him like this ! 
 
 901 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 203 
 
 " She will soon cease to be your wife," he repeated 
 slowly. " Cease to be your wife, do you hear ? You 
 dare to hope not. By Heaven ! do you want to be 
 glued to a cat from Hell ? What ! " He shook his 
 son, as he might have shaken a young sapling ; but 
 somehow he did not shake the look from Vasili's 
 eyes and his son was not the son he had been. 
 
 Stolemkin did not notice all these things at once. 
 Tyranny generally makes the tyrant blind until it 
 is too late for him to have his eyes opened for any 
 use. 
 
 " Glebof's daughter — the spawn of a peasant ! 
 You know who and what she is ? " 
 " Yes." 
 
 *' You look strange, my son," said Stolemkin with 
 a little discernment. What the — phew ! Has 
 she been trying her witch tricks on you ? A woman, 
 eh ? Because she has a fine breast you are like a 
 babe at the milk. Bah ! There are hundreds of 
 fine women in St. Petersburg, you booby. Leave 
 the spawn alone. I'll crush her to a jelly. Has 
 she told you where Countess Puroff is ? " 
 
 Vasili did not answer speedily. 
 
 " Did you hear ? " shouted Stolemkin. 
 
 " Yes. No, she has not told me." 
 
 " Then I want you to get the tale from her. That 
 is what I have come for. Do you want to be the 
 sport of St. Petersburg ? Married to a child of one 
 of my own men. By Heaven ! but she shall pay." 
 
 Stolemkin strode angrily, as if roused to fresh 
 fury by his proximity to the author of his worry. 
 
 " What has she told you ? " he suddenly asked. 
 
 " What about ? " 
 
204 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " About herself — about her damned trick ? " 
 Nothing." 
 
 " Nothing, eh ? Keeps it to herself, I suppose. 
 But what in the devil's name were you sitting beside 
 her for ? What are you ? A Stolemkin ? She's 
 spawn, she's scum — a baggage, worse even." 
 
 " Whatever she is, she is my wife." 
 
 " Your wife. ... Be quiet, you fool ! Do you 
 think she is always going to be your wife ? Am I 
 to be tricked by a besom like that ? I'll see her 
 flogged to ribbons first. And what do you mean by 
 saying she is your wife ? " His aspect was fierce. 
 
 " I — I don't like to hear you call her names." 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! " It was a tempestuous outburst ; 
 but there was no jollity in it. It was scorn gigantic 
 and piercing. Stolemkin was not genial even in his 
 irony and he dropped from the grinning note to one 
 of fury. " You don't like to hear her called names. 
 Who cares for what you like ? You will hear what I 
 like and when I like, and I will give you twice as 
 much as you don't like if you defend that rotten 
 
 egg. You splinter shanks ! You ach ! " He 
 
 pushed his son violently, and Vasili tottered half a 
 dozen yards. 
 
 Stolemkin was in one of his choicest moods, no 
 doubt stirred by the affectionate attitude in which 
 he had discovered Vasili and Sofia. He went on 
 
 muttering : Baggage — fool — his wife " and 
 
 his snorts and notes of contempt were both varied 
 and plentiful. He sobered at last as even the hottest 
 must. 
 
 " So she has told you nothing, eh ? Well, you 
 understand the position, don't you ? " 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 205 
 
 Vasili did not answer. 
 
 " Do you hear ? bawled Stolemkin. 
 
 " I understand that I am married/' said Vasih 
 quietly, and the very calmness of the answer seemed 
 to stir the father's wrath to fresh boiling. He gazed 
 at his son in wonder. 
 
 " She's witched you/' he said. " You lamb ! you 
 mere child of a man ! All women are the same the 
 first time you — pah ! What a son ! You haven't 
 got the strength of a basin of soup. Letting a 
 woman like that get hold of you. By Heaven ! sir, 
 have a care. Leave that woman alone — except as 
 I bid you. I want to know where Countess Puroff 
 is, and that you must get from her ? " 
 
 " She may not wish to tell." 
 
 " You must make her." 
 
 " If I cannot ? " 
 
 " Cannot ! You are all cannot. If you must 
 cross a town you are afraid. You fear to meet a 
 woman, but having met her you fear to leave her. 
 Be a man ! you heart of a fish. Be a man ! My 
 stars ! That I bred such a creature ! " He looked 
 contemptuous. Vasili was silent, feeling that per- 
 haps he was a poor thing of a man but conscious of 
 something he held beautiful. 
 
 Stolemkin turned to his son again. 
 
 " Perhaps, after all, your ditch-crouching style 
 will serve as well as another. But you must get 
 the information from her. It is vital, you under- 
 stand ? " 
 
 " Tell me the information you want." 
 Stolemkin detected in Vasili's voice and bearing 
 a difference and it annoyed him. He was about to 
 
2o6 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 burst forth in anger once more, but a remembrance 
 of the futihty of that method in this house checked 
 him. Besides his son had said nothing disre- 
 spectful. 
 
 " We know now who the baggage is," he said. 
 " You are not a fool over that. She is a common 
 lump'of mud, and you married her because she passed 
 herself off as Countess Puroff. If you don't want 
 every postboy in St. Petersburg to whistle at you 
 as you pass, we must find the real Countess and get 
 her to St. Petersburg before anybody else gets hold 
 of her, you understand that ? " 
 
 " I understand what you desire." 
 
 " You are really bright at last," sneered Stolem- 
 kin. " Now this vixen knows where Countess 
 Puroff is, but she may not wish to tell. She will 
 have to tell eventually if she has to be flogged to 
 tell, so you can think of your heifer's back look- 
 ing like a piece of meat in a butcher's shop if you 
 don't get this information from her peacefully and 
 speedily." 
 
 You will not hurt her, sir ? " 
 
 " Not hurt her ! . . . You white-feathered soul ! I 
 would tear her limb from limb for trying to make 
 me the laughing-stock of the Court. I may spare 
 her a little — she may be spared torture altogether 
 if she will give the information we want. But, 
 by Heaven ! if she refuses, she shall pay. Phew ! 
 How she shall pay ! " 
 
 " If she tells, what will you do ? " Vasili asked 
 eagerly. 
 
 " That is my business." 
 
 *' And not mine, sir ? " 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 207 
 
 " No, not yours, sir. You will do as you are bid. 
 When we have got the real Countess then we will 
 divorce this baggage, see her whipped, and marry 
 you to your proper wife." 
 
 Vasili was white. He hesitated. 
 
 " I do not want her to be hurt," he muttered, 
 feeling the strokes already. 
 
 " Do not want her to be hurt," repeated Stolem- 
 kin with boisterous mockery. " Get the information 
 from her and change the colour of your yolk, you 
 skin of an egg." 
 
 Vasili was not a courageous man : so much is 
 admitted. But bulHes are not courageous. It is 
 easy for the big to threaten the small ; but the 
 feeble who fears and yet dares has the spirit of the 
 God of Courage. 
 
 " I would save her," said Vasili. " I will ask 
 her — ^but I cannot divorce her." 
 
 Stolemkin was inclined to be contemptuous. He 
 felt in the humour to disregard all his son said so 
 long as the object he came for was attained. And 
 all his life he had made Vasili do as he wished, so he 
 did not easily contemplate opposition. 
 
 " Cannot." He sneered openly. " But you will," 
 he said, scarcely looking at his son as if tiie decree 
 settled the matter. 
 
 " I cannot," repeated Vasili, urged by some 
 brave little fairy within him to take a stand for 
 courage and love. 
 
 You will do as I want," said Stolemkin. " You 
 will get what I ask for out of this woman, or I will 
 have her flogged so that you shall not know her, and 
 you shall divorce her if I have to marry you after- 
 
2o8 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 wards to one of the army hags that is up to her eyes 
 in sores." 
 
 VasiU was breathing fast and his face was drawn. 
 
 " As long as I hve/' he said, " and as long as Sofia 
 wills, I shall be her husband." 
 
 He said it with a burst. He had screwed himself 
 up and his head was in the clouds. White as a 
 corpse, trembling with emotion, he had at last the 
 courage, not of despair, but of resolution and duty. 
 It is a fine attribute. Stolemkin came towards him 
 like a buU. His great fat neck was swollen and red 
 and his big hands closed on Vasili's throat. He 
 shook his son : shook him again and again. Vasili 
 was pale and listless, for he had no idea of attempt- 
 ing physical opposition — the other had been enough. 
 
 " You dare ? You miserable wench of a man ! 
 You dare tell me you will not do as I want ? I will 
 shake the life out of you." 
 
 " Father," Vasili gasped, and for the first time in 
 his life attempted to prevent his father doing him 
 violence. He tried to pull the hands from his 
 throat. 
 
 " Father ! " shouted Stolemkin. " You infernal 
 fish ! " and then he threw him on the floor with a 
 heavy thud. 
 
 He looked as if he would like to continue violently 
 now he had begun, for his hands moved restlessly 
 and he looked at Vasili not as a parent, but as a task- 
 master with a recalcitrant slave. 
 
 Then Sofia came in, and her eyes sought Vasili 
 at once. She turned to the father with a courage 
 vastly different from Vasili's. Here was no defer- 
 ence, no apology for the attitude, no regret for the 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 209 
 
 opposition, no submission, but a look of fight, of 
 invitation, equality. It was surprising perhaps in 
 one of her birth, but some stiff-necked nomad, who 
 looked to the sun and a stout horse and kissed no 
 other man's foot, probably ran in her. 
 
 Stolemkin took stock of her speedily and noticed a 
 fine long dagger in her hand. 
 
 " So, baggage ! that is your game," he said. 
 
 " What is yours ? she replied. 
 
 " My God ! you " 
 
 " Mine was you." 
 
 " You match yourself against me ? Pouf ! You 
 will find yourself with a raw back one day, my 
 viper, and that day will come sooner than you think." 
 
 She shrugged her shoulders. 
 
 " Have they begun to jeer yet at Court ? " she 
 asked calmly. 
 
 Vasili wondered at such braving : but the spirit 
 had been knocked out of him early and it takes time 
 and much encouragement to tempt courage back 
 to the feeble. 
 
 Stolemkin looked as if he would rush on the girl. 
 
 " You have not felt the knout, eh ? It tickles, 
 girl. The mud will come from your blood then." 
 
 " Did you come to tell us this, or to try and 
 frighten your son ? " 
 
 " I came to give you a chance." 
 
 She pointed to Vasili. 
 
 " Is that what you call giving me a chance ? " 
 " I came," he said, " to save you torture. Tell 
 
 me where Countess Puroff is and " 
 
 " Well ? " 
 You will probably avoid the knout." 
 
 o 
 
210 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " Do you take me for a fool ? " 
 " Most rogues are fools." 
 
 " Then you are a wretched mixture," she retorted 
 quickly. 
 
 " Don't try those tricks of words on me. I will 
 tell you, woman, what I mean to do. You are a 
 prisoner here and will remain one till I find Countess 
 Puroff. If I get that lady in my hands, you may 
 get off lightly : if you help me, I will do my best to 
 get your punishment light. If you refuse, I shall 
 lay before Count Ostermann the details of your 
 imposture. He will be furious at you, for he has 
 put his house at your disposal, and a flogging, the 
 loss of your tongue and banishment to Siberia will 
 then be the least punishment you can hope for." 
 
 Vasili groaned. 
 
 " Hear the maid ! He doesn't like the prospect. 
 Now you know what I mean to do you will, perhaps, 
 tell me what you know." 
 
 Sofia paused a moment. Vasili looked at her 
 pleadingly, as if he would persuade her to do all she 
 could to escape the awful doom that threatened her. 
 
 " Suppose I tell you," she asked, " shall I — we — 
 be free to go at once ? " 
 
 " I — we," he repeated as Vasili had done ; but he 
 did not notice his son's radiant look at Sofia's cor- 
 rection, nor did he reproduce it. He jerked his 
 head up with a snter and then checked himself. 
 After all, he wanted the information. 
 
 " You may lie to me." 
 
 " If I tell you then, you do not mean to let me 
 go?" 
 
 " I must be sure I have Countess Puroff first." 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 211 
 
 She paused. 
 
 " Suppose the Countess were brought to you — 
 but I could not trust you," she suddenly said. 
 
 " Yes, yes," said Vasili eagerly. 
 
 " Be silent ! " shouted Stolemkin. " If you will 
 arrange for Countess Puroff to be brought to me, I 
 will give you my word that you shall go out of this 
 house where you will." 
 
 " I do not trust you," muttered Sofia, as if conning 
 the thing in her mind. 
 
 " There is the alternative," he said. 
 
 " I do not happen to be afraid," she retorted a 
 little proudly. * 
 
 ''It is unpleasant, the knout. It cuts — it can 
 kill." 
 
 " Sofia ! " said Vasih. 
 " Well ? " 
 
 " Save yourself, if you can.'* 
 " I do not trust him," she said, pointing to Count 
 Stolemkin. 
 
 " She shall go free," said Vasili, if she tells ? " 
 
 " If she brings Countess Puroff to me," he said. 
 " Telling — that is not enough. In that case she 
 waits till the Countess comes." 
 
 " I will think it over," she said. 
 
 " I cannot give you long : there are others on 
 the scent of this business." 
 
 " How long ? " she asked. 
 Twenty-four hours." 
 
 " It is short— but I will see." 
 
 Stolemkin turned to his son. 
 
 " Think of her back if she keeps stubborn and 
 remind her of the feeling when the salt goes in." 
 
212 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 Then he went. 
 
 When VasiU and Sofia were alone he turned to 
 her, asking — 
 
 " What will you do ? " 
 
 " She put her hand on his neck. 
 
 " He struck you," she said. 
 
 He felt imparadised by her tenderness. 
 
 " It was nothing," he said. 
 
 She looked at him with softened eyes that told a 
 tale of other things than flogging and imposture. 
 He did not remember to have seen expressions like it 
 before — his mother had died when he was a child — 
 but he understood it well enough. Only those on 
 whom affection is wasted miss the love look in the eye. 
 
 He put his hands very gently on her shoulders ; 
 the air of a man tender and delicately constituted. 
 
 To her he was something so out of the common, 
 so unexpected, that the realism of what he was 
 disturbed her immoderately. 
 
 She flung her arms round his neck. 
 
 " Kiss me," she said. 
 
 He kissed her, not wildly, delicately and as one 
 granted a heavenly favour. But she kissed him 
 passionately. ^ . 
 
 My husband ! my husband ! " It was she 
 who was in love now. You are sure you are happy, 
 Vasili ? " 
 
 " I have never been so happy." 
 
 " And you forgive me ? " 
 
 " There is nothing to forgive. I count myself 
 lucky." 
 
 She pressed him passionately to her and held him 
 for some moments before she spoke. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 213 
 
 " I do not deserve it," she said. It was his 
 fault, VasiH, my husband, my love/' 
 
 " I will be whatever you want me to be," he said, 
 scarcely master of himself, so whirHng were his 
 joyous feelings. 
 
 " Yes — yes. You are a saint — a gentleman. But 
 we must get away, dear." She looked in poise for 
 action now. " Your father will act." 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " We must act first." 
 " What shall we do ? " 
 
 " My brother was to arrange for my departure, 
 and I await his messenger. But we cannot afford 
 to wait now. We must arrange ourselves. Gordon 
 will do it." 
 
 " I will tell him." 
 Yes. But at once. I suppose there are men 
 here to keep me a prisoner ? " 
 
 " We will fight them, if need be." 
 
 *' We can trick them. But we must leave this 
 place, leave St. Petersburg, get to the woods." She 
 paused. But you, Vasili," she said tenderly, 
 '* how win you like the woods ? " 
 
 " If you are there I shall be happy ; and where you 
 are not, there I shall not wish to be." 
 
 She came very near to tears. To be loved as 
 Vasili loved her was more touching than anything 
 she had ever experienced. But she mastered herself. 
 
 " We shall be safe there, at any rate," she said. 
 
 " Then we will go : they must not take you, 
 Sofia." 
 
 " Will you go to Gordon ? They will let you 
 pass perhaps." 
 
214 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " Yes. If not, we can send Marie." 
 
 " Yes. She went out this morning to call on 
 an uncle, she said. Marie is a fool, still she will 
 serve if she has returned." 
 
 " But I will go, Sofia : they will not stop me." 
 
 " Tell him to prepare at once to go. We want 
 a carriage, and in some fashion I must leave here 
 either by ruse or force. Only it is expedient we 
 leave at once." 
 
 Vasili went : it was the woman the men had been 
 told to keep a prisoner. But when Sofia went to 
 look for Marie she did not find her. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 Through perils both of wind and limb, 
 Through thick and thin she followed him." 
 
 — Hudibras. 
 
 'ASILI went out as he had rarely marched into 
 
 V the streets. You would scarcely have recog- 
 nized him again. There was vitality in his walk and 
 purpose in his eye. He was not of the swaggering 
 order, but there was about him an air of I am 
 Somebody " (somebody loved and loving perhaps — 
 a wonderful thing, this love . . .). 
 
 He had a job to find Gordon's rooms and was 
 lucky to catch him crossing the threshold. 
 
 They got to business at once, for Gordon was 
 quite alive to the seriousness of his position and 
 Sofia's. He had been out seeking Glebof 's messenger 
 and failed to find him. (That poor creature was 
 lying in a ditch twenty versts outside the confines 
 of St. Petersburg with a cracked skull. Life became 
 a risky thing if a man moved from town to town in 
 the brave days of old — and not so very old either.) 
 Gordon shut the door of his room. 
 " Vasili Antonovitch, what does this mean ? " 
 he asked. Gordon was struck, not only with the 
 presence of Vasili, which suggested things out of the 
 common, but with his demeanour. That was dis- 
 
 215 
 
2i6 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 tinctly out of the common. Love had put its seal 
 on him in other ways than uxoriously, as was to be 
 expected with one of Vasih's sensitiveness. He 
 dared where before he feared ; he entered where 
 he used to stand and wonder. That was the love 
 beaming in his eye. Vasili was approaching man- 
 hood at a gallop. 
 
 " It is Sofia — my wife." He mentioned the last 
 proudly, not explanatorily. A pile of thoughts came 
 crowding over Gordon. Vasili was not such a fool 
 as he had appeared. . . . What has Sofia been 
 doing ? . . . This is no simpering bread and milk 
 child. . . . He will be a husband and a man after 
 all. . . . 
 
 These and kindred other ideas came to Gordon 
 as Vasili looked, stood and talked. 
 " Eh— well ? " 
 
 " We would leave St. Petersburg at once." 
 (Note the we 
 " Trouble, eh ? " 
 
 " Yes. But some one was to come ? " 
 
 " Aye, Vasili Antonovitch, there is always some 
 one to come in this hotch-potch world, and generally 
 somebody who doesn't come ; haven't you noticed 
 it ? " 
 
 " No. But it may be true " 
 
 Phew ! " blurted Gordon, "it is easy to see, 
 some one has come for you." 
 
 " Louis Alexandre vitch, she must be saved. It is 
 my father." 
 
 " The old wolf is on the track, is he ? And does 
 he ignore the cackle ? Or is he just bluffing ? " 
 He knows all. He knows who Sofia Petrovna 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 217 
 
 was, and he swears she shall be punished unless he 
 finds out where Countess Puroff is." 
 
 " Where Countess Puroff is ? What the devil 
 does he want to know that for now ? " Gordon 
 became a little more anxious now. 
 
 Vasili shrugged his shoulders, new man that he 
 was. 
 
 He hopes for a divorce and a remarriage." The 
 tone was exquisite. Old Stolemkin would almost 
 have had a fit in rage and astonishment at it. Vasili 
 was treating the tyrant and bully of a lifetime to 
 sheer pleasant contempt, and thoroughly genuine 
 in the bargain. 
 
 There was no need for Gordon to ask Vasili what 
 he thought of the Count's idea, for it was betrayed 
 so handsomely in the tone. He looked at Vasili in 
 admiration and clapped him on the shoulder. 
 
 Vasili Antonovitch," he said, " the day of 
 miracles is not past. You have been born again. 
 You are a new man. What is in your veins, Vasili ? " 
 
 Fire — but you know." 
 " Aye, by the saints ! I know. Praise be to 
 Heaven and Mistress Sofia. But this is rich. I feel 
 as if I had met a companion who could lead when I 
 was tired." He repeated Vasili's phrase with a 
 little exaggeration in the utterance. " He hopes for 
 a divorce and a remarriage. That is uncommonly 
 good. I never thought to see this day come to you, 
 Vasili, and may I be forgiven for trying a trick on 
 you ? " 
 
 Vasili held out his hand quickly. 
 " It is a trick I shall not forget," he said. " I 
 shall always be grateful." 
 
2i8 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 Gordon was silent for a moment, Vasili's magnani- 
 mity being out of the line of the average fighting 
 man. He gave voice almost involuntarily to another 
 idea. 
 
 " What would have happened if it had not taken 
 you like this ? Gordon said, and jerked his head as 
 if he nodded back to imagination's salutation. 
 
 " But now," said Vasili, "it is the present that 
 counts." 
 
 " It always is, and the past — damn it ! on occasions, 
 and sometimes the future," said Gordon. But 
 for us it is the present, Vasili, my hero. How to 
 get out of St. Petersburg — that is the problem, eh ? " 
 
 " With my wife." 
 
 " Yes, with your wife. Well, as perhaps you 
 
 know, I wait for a messenger from Glebof " 
 
 Sofia's brother ? " 
 " Yes." 
 
 Can we wait longer ? Time presses and I 
 know my father. If he cannot win he will have 
 vengeance." 
 
 We cannot wait," said Gordon. " I almost fear 
 we have waited too long already, and that is one of 
 the common mistakes, my friend, of those who fail. 
 In the camp and the court as well as in dealings with 
 gentlemen — forgive the allusion — of the nature of 
 your esteemed sire, it is always well to choose the 
 proper moment for action. We must cover up our 
 dallying as well as we can. To-night at eight o'clock 
 I will have a carriage outside your villa at Peterof ; 
 can you manage to come outside ? " 
 Vasili hesitated. 
 
 " I am allowed out, but my father has placed a 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 219 
 
 number of men round to prevent Sofia Petrovna 
 from escaping." 
 
 " They must be tricked/' said Gordon. 
 
 " A mistake/' said Vasili, " would be serious/' 
 
 " It often is. But we must risk it. Leave it to 
 me/' said Gordon. '* I will come somehow with a 
 plan and a carriage and you must be prepared to 
 leave the instant I arrive." 
 
 " We shall be ready/' said Vasili, speaking like 
 a man of mind and moment. 
 
 Gordon was refreshed and encouraged by Vasili's 
 demeanour, for he felt he had now a man to stand 
 beside him, one fit for emergencies, a companion in 
 arms. 
 
 But the prospect was none too agreeable, even 
 with a new-found comrade to aid one, for Stolemkin 
 pere was thorough in his methods, a willing striker 
 and hard. Gordon realized it was not a mere affair 
 of driving up and away : but that surprises must be 
 the lot of one or the other. 
 
 So far as his opportunities permitted he was pre- 
 pared for much : that was clear. Stolemkin was 
 anxious to retrieve his position by capturing the real 
 Countess Puroff, and then woe to the farceurs ! He 
 hopes" for a divorce and a remarriage." . .. Well, 
 there was one obstacle to the divorce in Vasili, and 
 there must be more than one to the remarriage. 
 Gordon was stirred. The webs that were being cast 
 to entrap Melania Nicholovna could not leave him 
 unmoved. 
 
 A plan . . . Sometimes easier to suggest than to 
 carry out : sometimes easier to execute than to 
 imagine. It was to take Sofia Petrovna, Vasili her 
 
220 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 husband, Belof as well as Gordon himself, out of St. 
 Petersburg. It was a wild prospect before them, for 
 if Stolemkin moved and the Crown moved there 
 would be little chance of pleasantness in public places 
 for any of the chief aiders and abettors of this plot. 
 
 T't — Gordon's tongue worked. The maid Mar ie. . . 
 She went with her mistress to Peterof . She must be 
 taken away too. The maid — one more or less did not 
 matter . . . But Gordon allowed his thoughts to 
 dwell on Marie, not so much as an extra passenger, 
 but as a decoy, a dodge, a device to delude Stolem- 
 kin's watchers ... It might act ... It was a pity 
 he had not mentioned it to Vasili, for then they 
 could have arranged matters. . . . 
 
 It was perhaps a greater pity that Gordon did 
 not know that Marie was not with her mistress at 
 Peterof, though luckily she had little part to play 
 in his plot. 
 
 Gordon got his idea at last and he nodded his 
 head and um-umed. He sought out Belof and made 
 sundry other preparations. 
 
 The evening arrived. 
 
 Vasili and Sofia were ready. He was alert with 
 his eyes to the windows, his ears sensitive to every 
 sound. She was calm, unworried, and looking very 
 capable. 
 
 Your maid — it is strange," Vasili said. 
 " Yes. Probably your father's doing." 
 " Probably. And she knew all ? " 
 " Yes, all." 
 
 " Even where Countess Puroff is ? " 
 " Yes. Yet your father did not speak as if he 
 had got any information from her." 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " Perhaps she had not told." 
 
 Sofia shrugged her shoulders. 
 
 " She was no good — a squealing thing. It would 
 have been better to leave her behind, only I had to 
 have somebody, and she knew all. Yet, for her 
 mistress's sake she will be silent if she can." 
 
 She spoke the last three words ominously. 
 
 Vasili repeated them : If she can . . . poor girl ! " 
 She blubbered in the forest," said Sofia. If 
 they take her by the arm she will tell." 
 
 The sooner we are out of here the better," said 
 Vasili. 
 
 Sofia did not speak : she did not find it necessary 
 to repeat the obvious. Certain economies made her 
 strong, as they do with most people. It is always 
 distressing to see people pass over from frugality 
 to meanness in any direction. Inane gabblers like 
 prodigal spendthrifts have their counterparts in 
 taciturn curmudgeons and the loathsome miser. 
 
 As the minutes passed and eight o'clock drew near, 
 Vasili and Sofia, while maintaining an air of serenity 
 to reassure possible spies in the house, betrayed an 
 anxiety to each other. Vasili was at times almost 
 uncontrollable. At the sound of anything unusual 
 he showed an eagerness latently violent. To pass 
 it off the next moment he became altogether too 
 boisterously jolly. He could not keep up this role 
 for long and broke off suddenly to listen and peep 
 in undignified angles and at unexpected corners. 
 
 Sofia beckoned him with a little toss of her 
 head. 
 
 " Your pistols ? " 
 
 " I have them," he said. 
 
222 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 Merely in case they are wanted/' she said. 
 " Be careful. Give me one." 
 
 He let her choose. 
 And your sword/' she said. That might be 
 more convenient." 
 
 He drew it with an eye of joy. At last, he con- 
 sidered he had something in the world he could 
 jfight for. A glorious day, if the fight is for nothing 
 mean or sordid. 
 
 They waited together, not speaking. 
 
 A woman came in to ask what time they would 
 take supper. Sofia said at nine, and asked to have 
 a salad of mushrooms and onions, a dish she was 
 fond of. This sent Vasili in great joy, which he was 
 perforce bound to control. Sofia's supper dish of 
 mushrooms and onions tickled him immoderately : 
 he thought the jest excellent. 
 
 Sh ! " It was Vasili who spoke, and he leapt to 
 his feet and ran to the window. 
 
 Sofia beckoned him back. 
 
 " Wait," she said. " Get out the cards." He 
 obeyed her without question. 
 
 When the man came to announce visitors, Vasili 
 and Sofia were apparently much interested in a game 
 of cards. 
 
 A tall cavalier with a moustache and beard and a 
 rather short priest, also bearded, were shown in. 
 The bigger man spoke and said that he and Father 
 Nusoff had been emboldened to call on their illustrious 
 hosts, because having heard the son of Count 
 Stolemkin and his beautiful bride were in the neigh- 
 bourhood, and knowing how sympathetic to good 
 works they would naturally be and well disposed to- 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 223 
 
 wards the labours of those who " Do you think 
 
 you could quietly go to that door and see if nobody is 
 behind it ? the big man asked of Vasili in a whis- 
 per too low for human ears outside the room to catch. 
 
 Vasili, stirred to expectation's height, turned with 
 a beaming face on Sofia, who pressed his hand to 
 stay his exuberance. 
 
 " Go quickly," she said. 
 
 " We have formed a home for the lost,'' continued 
 the big man in a big voice again, " that is. Father 
 Nusoff and I, and we sincerely trust that we may be 
 able " 
 
 As Gordon's voice rolled out its periods, Vasili 
 opened the door and saw they were unwatched, at 
 least, from that quarter. 
 
 " All right," he said, as he closed the door. 
 
 " Then there is no time to be lost," said Gordon, 
 and after showing the priest into an anteroom he 
 took a false beard and moustache from his pocket 
 and tried them on Sofia. Vasili smiled, Sofia merely 
 said : " Will they do ? " 
 
 " Excellently," said Gordon. " I have an extra 
 cloak with me and you will disguise yourself as a 
 priest and go out with me. If we get away then 
 Father Nusoff will go out by another door, and he 
 has agreed on the price for his chance. Your hus- 
 band may follow after we have been gone five 
 minutes." 
 
 There was a slight pause. 
 
 " It will do," said Sofia. 
 
 " It is the best I could do in the time and under 
 the circumstances, and there is every chance of suc- 
 1 cess," said Gordon. 
 
224 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 They will never suspect," said Vasili. " And 
 I will follow in five minutes ? " 
 
 Yes. Let us get safe through and then come 
 after us. We will wait for you at the quay. But 
 
 don't delay, Sofia Petrovna " 
 
 " I will be ready in a moment," said Sofia quietly, 
 and she went in an adjoining room to change. 
 
 Vasili, now the desperate moment had come, 
 looked elated and anxious. 
 
 " You think we shall escape ? " 
 
 It was easy enough to get in." 
 " Yet my father is strong." 
 " Men are only strong till a stronger comes." 
 " If we can escape. It is she I am thinking of, 
 Louis Alexandrovitch." 
 
 I know it. I know what it is to think of — 
 somebody." 
 
 " Ah ! You too " 
 
 Sofia returned at that moment, and Vasili, taken 
 unawares, did not know her. She was a priest to 
 *beard and boots. 
 
 " Capital," said Gordon, and then Vasili threw up 
 his arms. 
 
 She caught his hand. 
 
 " In five minutes," she said, and Gordon was 
 amazed at the ring in her voice. A lioness fearing 
 to be robbed of a cub could not have put more passion 
 in the tone. 
 
 " In five minutes, my Sofia," said Vasili. 
 
 She was still holding his hand fiercely. 
 
 " I shall not go without you," she said. 
 
 " I will come," he said with the voice of the happy 
 lover, " though I must jump the Neva." 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 225 
 
 She looked contented and was so sure that she 
 felt no need for demonstration. 
 
 " While we go it would be as well if Marie, the 
 maid, remained in this room," said Gordon, " so 
 that her shadow might be outlined against the 
 window." 
 
 " Marie has gone," said Sofia. 
 
 " Gone ? Where ? " 
 
 " We do not know," said Vasili. " She went 
 away yesterday and has not returned." 
 Gordon whistled. 
 
 " Gone ? . . . " He whistled again and added : 
 " Then the sooner we go the better." 
 
 The big man and the pseudo priest went out to- 
 gether. Sofia had no mincing drawing-room walk, 
 so the role came easy to her. At the gate Stolem- 
 kin's men advanced and peered. They crossed 
 themselves. 
 
 " Peace be to you, my Father," said the leader. 
 
 Sofia nodded and made a sign. It was an anxious 
 moment, and Gordon hung back for an instant in 
 case of a suspicious arrest. But none came. The 
 next minute — it was barely more — a carriage dashed 
 up. 
 
 " Ours ? " whispered Sofia. 
 
 Gordon had not time to speak : he just grabbed 
 Sofia by the arm and with bent head and big increas- 
 ing stride pushed her at a sharp angle across the 
 road, whilst he immediately assumed a walk, odd 
 and unrecognizable. 
 
 Stolemkin," he murmured when they had gone 
 a few yards. 
 
 What an escape ! " 
 
226 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " Yes, make haste. We must run/' 
 The gathering darkness made that possible. The 
 big man, alert as usual, with his abundant energy, 
 had evidently determined to lose no chances, and 
 had either come to secure his guard or attempt once 
 more to break Sofia's silence. 
 What an escape ! 
 
 Sofia did not speak. She had the right instincts 
 in crises of this order. Her life in the woods had 
 begotten in her a spirit of calm in danger and speed 
 of decision. She also had the invaluable quality of 
 obedience when that was better than commanding 
 — most people must either be altogether one or the 
 other and inevitably suffer in consequence. 
 
 Gordon guided her towards the quay. The streets 
 were wretched and respectable folk were careful of 
 travelling abroad when dusk had fallen, for drunken 
 men abounded in these drinking days and killing 
 ceased to be a crime, for it was so often merely an 
 accident or a blunder. 
 
 Fortunately Gordon had tact and a stout arm. 
 The carriage," he said joyfully. 
 
 She seemed unmoved — but that was merely her 
 custom. Belof was there, a mountain of anticipa- 
 tion and delight : the postboys were astride the 
 horses. 
 
 " Tricked him ! " said Gordon, but before he could 
 utter another word Sofia said, " Vasili, my hus- 
 band ? " 
 
 It was a pride as glorious as Vasili's. 
 
 " He will be safe — they will not hurt him. We 
 had better go/' Gordon said. This, of course, had 
 been the original plan and Gordon believed that 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 227 
 
 Vasili, at least, would be immune from Count Sto- 
 lemkin's wrath. 
 
 But Sofia stood like a post. 
 
 " I will not go without him," she said. 
 
 " You must," said Gordon. 
 
 Sofia did not answer — or move. 
 
 Gordon read her then. He knew argument was 
 useless even though he tried it. Hope can overcome 
 experience and knowledge as a sunbeam crosses a 
 mountain. Then he marvelled. It was the oddest 
 and most unexpected of climaxes — Vasili, Count 
 Stolemkin's son, and Sofia, daughter of Peter Glebof, 
 Stolemkin's murdered steward, were in love with one 
 another and prepared even to do what lovers often 
 assert (and don t mean) — to die for each other. 
 
 " Then we must save him," said Gordon. 
 
 Sofia drew her pistol. 
 
 " Be careful," said Gordon. " We don't want 
 Stolemkin's pack in this direction." 
 
 Sofia simply looked the way she had ccwne and 
 listened. 
 
 They are coming," she said, her quick ears 
 catching the sound. 
 
 Go," said Gordon. " In any case, hide. I will 
 find your husband." 
 
 She did not move. Maybe her life had trained 
 her to keep to the trail, and now that passion 
 possessed her she recked of nothing but her desire. 
 
 Gordon pleaded and became almost angry : it 
 seemed to him a wanton flinging away erf oppor- 
 tunity fraught with disaster to them all. 
 
 " They are coming," he said. 
 
 That was evident. Voices and the sound of 
 
228 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 running feet heralded the approach of Stolemkin's 
 men. 
 
 Gordon bade the postboys be ready and he per- 
 suaded Sofia to enter the carriage for convenience' 
 sake, and that was her only concession. Belof was 
 behind. 
 
 The dusty grey of the evening mingled with the 
 mist of the Neva blurred all outlines that n ght, but 
 a figure shouting Sofia — fly/' came well into view. 
 It was Vasili, and he had caught sight of the waiting 
 carriage and guessed it was Sofia. 
 
 He shouted again, " Fly — fly — don't wait for me." 
 
 A thunderous voice behind bellowed and a great 
 whip cracked. 
 
 Gordon said : " Go — Vasili will be safe." 
 
 Sofia's eyes were staring wildly towards Vasili 
 and her arms were open to catch him. 
 
 A shot rang out. Sofia shuddered. 
 
 " By God ! they are here. We shall be taken," 
 said Gordon. " Drive on," he shouted to the post- 
 boys, hoping to decide for Sofia. 
 
 But she leapt from the carriage and called — 
 
 " Vasili." 
 
 " Sofia," came the answer. Fly." 
 
 He had not time for more. There was a curse of 
 thunder behind, a great whip cracked, and Vasili's 
 legs were dragged from beneath him. Sofia gave a 
 cry savage and wild. She fired her pistol and dashed 
 towards her husband. 
 
 " Lost," said Gordon, but he drew his sword and 
 leapt to her side. 
 
 Stolemkin came on like a tornado. His men flung 
 and used cudgels with effect. Gordon even in a 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 229 
 
 moment did wonders, but a blow on the head stopped 
 him. Sofia, after smashing a man's face with the 
 butt of the pistol, was grabbed and held firmly. The 
 sonorous glee of Stolemkin gurgled like the running of 
 beer. 
 
 When Gordon woke in the dawn, Belof was nurs- 
 ing him and Vasili (whose head had been split in the 
 fall), and Sofia Petrovna was nowhere to be seen. 
 
 Louis collected his thoughts, passed his hand over 
 his forehead which was dirty and bloody. 
 
 " Woman," he said and looked as if he would fain 
 be eloquent. 
 
 Belof, with an anxious face, said — 
 
 " What is it, Louis Alexandrovitch ? *' 
 
 Gordon shook his head. 
 
 " I have said,'' he replied, all there is to be 
 said," and he lay down and dreamt. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 Oh ! the tender ties. 
 Close twisted with the fibres of the heart ! " 
 
 ^ — Youngs 
 
 COUNT BULAVIN, having knowledge of some 
 things and being ignorant of others, was 
 wearing a smile of hope and cogitating phrases with 
 barbs. A little knowledge and how happy we are ! 
 a little ignorance and how serene we keep ! Since 
 at any moment our ignorance may become knowledge 
 it behoves us to be calm. 
 
 Count Bulavin, for example, knew much that 
 interested him from the mouth of Marie, Countess 
 Puroff's maid. But he also ignored the fact that 
 Sofia was Count Stolemkin's prisoner. Hence his 
 rejoicings. 
 
 Marie had confessed, as Sofia guessed she 
 would. Lured, she wept. Flattered, she hesitated. 
 Threatened, she told. She was wofuUy afraid of 
 her skin and gabbled freely. When she tried a 
 little hesitation. Count Bulavin replied with sugges- 
 tions of torture, and the implements looked horrible 
 as the threats were ghastly. Besides Marie knew 
 she had been a party to the conspiracy and, that 
 fact elicited, the lever was powerful. She told all 
 
 280 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 231 
 
 she knew with sobs and entreaties of course, and 
 was a mere bag of tears at the end. 
 
 But Bulavin was happy. He held the secret. He 
 rapped the fingers of his right hand on the knuckles 
 of his left and drank brandy. 
 
 Poor Stolemkin ! (Language was free and im- 
 moderate). Vasili's wife the sister of a robber and 
 no Countess at all. Ha ! Ha ! Ha ! And Stolem- 
 kin's boast that rang from Moscow to St. Petersburg. 
 Estates in Livonia, Revel, Ukraine and Moscow. 
 Jewels to dazzle a court, enough wood to build a St. 
 Petersburg and more than enough fish to stink it 
 out. Ha ! Ha ! Ha ! By all the Saints ! but life 
 seemed very pleasant — except for poor Stolemkin ! 
 Did he know ? And he had prized his daughter- 
 in-law so highly ! Such a fine woman ! The figure 
 of a Venus etcetera etcetera. Ha ! Ha ! Ha ! 
 
 More brandy. 
 
 Bulavin was a seasoned drinker as well as an 
 accomplished rogue. He considered the situation. 
 The humiliation of his old friend Stolemkin was 
 not only a matter of delight but of imminence. 
 St. Petersburg had listened to the boasts, it should 
 now get recreation from the ridicule. Boasting is 
 only a firework with the tail of an illuminated 
 
 guy- 
 But all that was merely the joy of life, not its gain. 
 Bulavin kept an ear to the music, and an eye on 
 the pay boy — a remarkable feat you will allow, 
 and worth the noting. He cogitated. 
 
 His real object was to get possession of Countess 
 Puroff and marry her (with her estates, her jewels, 
 her wood, her fish, her serfs) to his son. Since the 
 
232 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 great Stolemkin had missed the prize and the 
 Countess was in hiding in the hands of one Glebof, 
 a brigand, it remained — as a problem — to get the 
 Countess out of the hands of the said brigand and 
 bring her to St. Petersburg. 
 
 There was no time to be lost. When Stolemkin 
 learned the news he would be disinclined to sit still 
 and curse. Even Frolof was not without ideas. 
 
 Time, that respects no man for his principles but 
 serves most eagerly those who use him best, was 
 a necessity. Bulavin realized that a message must 
 go to Glebof at once. Brigands wanted money like 
 Chancellors and took it — ^like Chancellors (old style) 
 wherever and whenever they could. The suggestion 
 was : how much would Glebof take to give up 
 Countess Puroff ? 
 
 A simple proposition. Bulavin thought it over 
 and it appeared to him to be a much better way than 
 to try to shoot Glebof through the head and rescue 
 Countess Puroff by force of arms, because it pro- 
 vided less risk and more hope. So the trusted 
 emissaries of Count Bulavin rode forth, well primed, 
 leaving the Count himself to shoot hints and in- 
 nuendoes at the lady in Peterof who was supposed 
 to own estates in Livonia, Revel, Ukraine. Ha ! 
 Ha ! Ha ! 
 
 So we have now Stolemkin guarding Sofia and 
 Bulavin holding Marie and the secret. 
 
 Stolemkin when he returned to the villa at Peterof 
 with Sofia — ^whom he called a " damnable cat " and 
 sundry other names due to the excitement of the 
 moment — raved without hindrance. He stormed, 
 threatened and ciursed. Sofia was pale and anxious, 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 233 
 
 yet relieved. Vasili was free with Gordon and, 
 somehow, she felt they were not seriously hurt. 
 
 " In the morning, my she-wolf," said Stolemkin. 
 I will see you try no more tricks. You are beginning 
 to fear the wheel and the lash, are you ? You 
 think you will escape me — pouf ! " He snapped 
 his fingers very near to her nose. He walked the 
 room like a giant, and Sofia sat still wondering what 
 was going to be the next event in her life, and feeling 
 very, very thankful that Vasili was out of the house. 
 
 " I will make you pay. What a fool ! What a 
 damned fool, you are ! Do you think you will 
 humiliate me, you mud of the forest ? Your life 
 is your only chance, do you hear ? By Heaven ! 
 But you shall squeal. Vll grind you to powder or you 
 shall speak. Tell or die — din that in your ears, my 
 sprite of the woods ! Tell where the Countess 
 Puroff is or your bones will be ground to powder, 
 you she-thief ! " 
 
 " Oh ! Go home," said Sofia quietly, but very 
 disturbingly. 
 
 " You — ^well, you are the devil's own child ! " 
 
 He was astonished to silence. He had never 
 met a woman like Sofia before, and was amazed at 
 her strength. But a man with a neck like his was 
 bound to try to force the woman if he could. He 
 stayed that night on the premises to make assurance 
 
 certain and took care that his men kept an 
 
 adequate guard. 
 
 In the morning he tackled the situation like a man 
 of blood and no scruples. He would have killed 
 : the daughter as he had had the father killed if his 
 I purpose would have been served by such a course. 
 
 i 
 
234 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 Sofia said nothing. She could suffer to annihila- 
 tion, and threats and torture would not prevail 
 against her to the extent of making her speak if she 
 would not. It was a nasty business to begin with, 
 for she was sturdy and desperate, and fought like a 
 tigress — but what was she amongst a pack of 
 men ? 
 
 When she had fainted once and was on the point 
 of doing it again Stolemkin saw the hopelessness 
 of his method. For revenge this might serve, but 
 not for use, and it was not Stolemkin's province 
 to slack his desire upon his enemies in the capital, 
 exactly as he would. Higher people than he would 
 have a word to say to that. Had Sofia spoken, 
 Stolemkin would have soothed the suffering. 
 
 She was white, but her lips uttered no word. 
 
 Stolemkin was hardly in a mood to be generous 
 or he must have been v/on to admiration of her 
 fortitude. As it was he cursed her, but refused to 
 attempt any more torture for the moment. At 
 least that was at an end. 
 
 But Stolemkin was wild. He saw no outlook 
 save by telling Count Ostermann and hoping to get 
 the power of the Court on his side. But that hated 
 publicity seemed inevitable, and yet — well, Stolem- 
 kin felt he could not arrange as he would, and so 
 must manage as he could. It is the lot of most of 
 mankind. 
 
 If only he could have managed without inter- 
 ference he would have won praise for his ability in 
 retrieving a desperate situation. If Ostermann 
 refused to move — phew ! Stolemkin was then 
 hoist with his own publicity and made a fool by 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 235 
 
 his own boasts. Most boasters are. No wonder he 
 raged at Sofia and hesitated. 
 
 So Bulavin acts and waits : Stolemkin acts and 
 hesitates and Glebof waits and acts. 
 
 Glebof began to get anxious as he waited in vain 
 for the arrival of his sister. He was a man of action : 
 his hfe on more than one occasion had depended 
 on instant decisions being instantly put into practice. 
 That would mean the impossible to the slow of 
 decision, slow of movement folk who still serve a 
 useful purpose on the earth, and incidentally annoy 
 the mercurial. 
 
 Glebof decided to go to St. Petersburg himself. 
 It was a dangerous errand for him. It is audacious 
 to try to make corpses of people one day and friends 
 the next. There is certainly charity in the second 
 endeavour, but people as a rule won't look at it in 
 that light. And Glebof had lightened the journey 
 to many a dweller in St. Petersburg, who could not 
 sufficiently approach the ideal to forgive the bandit. 
 Forgiveness, one frequently observes, we call weak- 
 ness in ourselves and a virtue in others. 
 
 But Glebof, making careful arrangements for the 
 safe custody of Countess Puroff, was not afraid of 
 dangers. 
 
 When he told her he was going to leave her for a 
 few days, she begged to be taken with him, saying 
 she did not know those who were left and was 
 afraid. Glebof, seemingly, could inspire trust. 
 
 " You need have no fear," he said. The man 
 I shall leave in charge is to be trusted, and I shall 
 soon return." 
 
 He had no sooner spoken the word than there 
 
236 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 came to him the idea : suppose I do not return ? 
 Yet he scarcely gave a second thought to Melania 
 Nicholovna. She apparently was not his dearest 
 thought, for her lot, imder Glebof's successor, ran 
 risks of vicissitudes. 
 
 She, however, did not doubt Glebof and faith, 
 as it must do, brought its own comfort. 
 
 " Why do you go ? " she asked. 
 
 " Because it is necessary." 
 
 " Your sister is well ? " 
 
 " I hope so. I go to see." 
 
 " Oh ! I thought all was going well. Suppose 
 they find out ? " 
 
 They were meant to find out." 
 
 " But not till your sister had got away." 
 
 " No. I think it is time Sofia came back — that 
 is why I go." 
 
 " There is danger, I see. I hope all will be well. 
 I will pray for you. And Louis Alexandrovitch." 
 she spoke tenderly, " have you no news of him ? " 
 
 " He should have come with my sister." 
 
 She looked afraid. 
 
 *' There has been no accident ? " 
 
 " Accidents are always happening, otherwise 
 we should starve. I anticipate nothing serious, 
 but as the business is delicate I prefer now to go 
 myself rather than send another. So be at rest : 
 nobody will disturb or molest you and I shall soon 
 be back with my sister, and Gordon." 
 
 He said the last two words somewhat grimly, 
 but with a sense of their appreciation. Melania 
 Nicholovna looked grateful, and then as the name 
 Gordon sank gently into her consciousness and 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 237 
 
 she realized why Glebof had mention^ d it she went 
 a radiant red and turned on her heel hugging a joy. 
 Blessed name ! Words have their sweetnesses. 
 
 After Glebof's departure she became more and 
 more expectant. Nothing crossed the horizon now, 
 but she watched it with hope : the lark heading for 
 the empyrean told her there were good things in the 
 world and bade her be of good cheer. She was very 
 happy when she was allowed to wander to the edge 
 of the wood and look towards the capital, for where 
 our heart is, to there will our eyes be turned. 
 
 Glebof, in the guise of a prosperous trader of 
 Nijni Novgorod, went with circumspection but 
 speed. Moscow was announced to them six miles 
 away by some tall spires that crowned an eminence 
 which could be seen from the forest road. The great 
 crescent-shaped city soon appeared before the 
 bandit and Lis companions in all its splendour 
 (very tempting !) Churches, towers, gilded spires 
 and domes, buildings in white, red and green all 
 glittered richly in the sun. The forest reached 
 to within a mile of the ramparts of the town and 
 Glebof and his party crossed the " living-bridge " 
 over the Moscowa and entered the great city. 
 Glebof was handsomely supplied with passports as 
 with other articles, and the entrance was effected 
 without difficulty. 
 
 They went to an inn, kept by a Swede, and noticed 
 there were many travellers about. Some, a party 
 of six, were journeying in the opposite direction. 
 They seemed anxious not to waste too much time 
 but were not afraid of talking, 
 
 " Going to St. Petersburg ? said one, after he had 
 
238 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 hoped that peace would be with the stalwart bandit 
 whom he addressed. 
 Yes." 
 
 " I come from there to go — well we have heard 
 there are plenty of robbers on the road, so our 
 destination may change. 
 
 Robbers ? " As if he was surprised. 
 Have you not met any ? " 
 Glebof 's follower shook his head. 
 " We have not met one — to our knowledge." 
 " That is hopeful : but we are going in the opposite 
 direction." 
 
 " Then you have a chance." 
 " You reaUy think so ? " 
 
 I said a chance." 
 " We have heard of one Glebof. I think his name 
 is." 
 
 " Good or ill ? " 
 
 " He is a formidable man and pretends to hold 
 his own against an army — you do not know where 
 his headquarters are ? " 
 
 " You would beard the lion in his lair ? " 
 
 " If we know where it is we may avoid it. Have 
 you not heard of him ? " 
 
 Glebof — the name is familiar — but we are 
 peaceable people and our affair is merchandise." 
 
 " His too at times, I fancy." 
 
 The bandit laughed good-humouredly. 
 
 " Yes. I believe I have heard of him. Do they 
 speak of him, then, in St. Petersburg ? " 
 
 " Those who suffer must tell their tales." 
 
 " They are probably the lucky ones." 
 
 " Phew ! Is he so bad as that ? " 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 239 
 
 "He is very expeditious they say. I am told 
 nobody lingers." 
 
 " Phew. Is he approachable ? " 
 
 " I understand it is his object in hfe." 
 
 " But I suppose he spares if he gets money ? " 
 
 " He has never been known to destroy needlessly." 
 
 " Ah ! So you know him ? " 
 
 " I have heard, now you remind me, many 
 stories of him." 
 
 " And his haunt — can you not tell me that ? " 
 
 " Through the forest and then — who can speak ? 
 He may be here to-day and there to-morrow." 
 
 " True. I suppose you have never heard of his 
 lair ? " 
 
 " He attacks on the hills, in the forests, by the 
 river, who can say where he abides ? " " Um ! " 
 
 And then Bulavin's man ceased his pursuit of 
 knowledge. It happens so often : we are on the 
 point of making the discovery we want, and never 
 know that just when we gave up the search a film 
 of the thinnest gossamer separated us from the 
 secret. A little more and these two men might 
 have understood one another : a little more and it is 
 just possible — though not altogether probable — 
 that the events of this story might have run a little 
 differently. 
 
 Glebof's man had been a captain who gambled 
 away his patrimony and was forced to leave the 
 army because he could not pay his debts of honour 
 — and dishonour. He preferred enrolment under 
 Glebof to decay in Siberia. He was of good bearing 
 and education but that won't confer perception. 
 He took his interlocutor's questions for what they 
 
240 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 were and did not delve for the motive. Another man 
 would have wondered what the questions meant — 
 but the world rolls on by the aid of the dull and the 
 bright, the blind and the farseeing, and chances 
 are seized and chances missed such as would cause 
 an excitement to onlookers far excelling all that man 
 can invent. 
 
 It happened that Bulavin's men went on towards 
 the Valdai Hills to meet Glebof, and Glebof went on 
 to St. Petersburg to discover the whereabouts of 
 Sofia. 
 
 Bulavin's men went fast, and we may as well tell 
 now what happened to them. They met one of 
 Glebof's band, who was disguised as a peasant, 
 on the outskirts of the forest, and boldly asked for 
 Glebof. Suspicious at first, the man ultimately took 
 the leader to his chief, and then it was agreed to 
 dispatch a messenger at once to Glebof with the 
 question : " What was his price to give up Countess 
 Puroff to Count Bulavin ? " 
 
 Bulavin's man asked if they should stay till 
 the answer came, and as the bandit had no intention 
 of betraying the whereabouts of his master he said 
 " they might stay, or go to St. Petersburg or, if 
 they preferred, go to the devil." 
 
 Bulavin's man bowed and disclaimed any pre- 
 ference. But he showed one by refusing to remain 
 where he was. 
 
 Glebof went warily, but without loss of time, to 
 St. Petersburg. He had passed his men on the 
 road and soon discovered the place where the chain 
 had snapped. Not only had one man been killed 
 but another had disappeared with money to pay 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 241 
 
 for things and vital instructions. If you must 
 trust to robbers you can safely reckon on being 
 robbed. 
 
 Into the new dread city Glebof came. If he 
 were known to be here he would have a desperate 
 fight for his life. But amid the movement of the 
 capital he was unnoticed. He went to an inn near the 
 " English line," so called because the row of houses 
 was principally occupied by English merchants. 
 It was on the south side of the river and was opposite 
 that part of the quay where he imagined Gordon 
 had his rooms. 
 
 Once installed he moved quickly. He let it be 
 understood that he had come to buy cotton and 
 woollen goods from the English merchants. His men 
 were sent out to discover Stolemkin's house, Gordon's 
 dwelling and all news possible respecting the 
 wedding of Sofia. 
 
 The news was quickly garnered. The wedding 
 was a popular topic and readily discussed. Glebof 
 discovered Ostermann's villa at Peterof and looked 
 for Sofia. But the villa was deserted — there was no 
 sign of Sofia. 
 
 The watch on Stolemkin did not produce fruit 
 worth the chewing. Certainly the Count went to the 
 palace and looked anxious, but Glebof began to cry 
 " Where is Sofia ? " 
 
 The search for Gordon too was barren of result, 
 for Gordon and Vasili were in hiding, plotting to 
 rescue Sofia and failing to find her. 
 
 Everybody seemed to hold what somebody else 
 desired. So much scheming was bound to have a 
 serious outlet. Sides don't ache with smiling. 
 
 Q 
 
242 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 Then Gordon saw Glebof 's man again and learnt of 
 the presence of the bandit in St. Petersburg. 
 
 " Sofia ? " said Glebof as he shook hands and made 
 no other greeting. 
 
 " You here — it is a long story." 
 
 " Is she safe ? " 
 
 They were together in a room occupied by one 
 of the other men. 
 " I— I hope so." 
 
 " Hope so." Glebof repeated the word as if it 
 were the preliminary to a fight. Gordon was a fine 
 opponent. 
 
 " Sit down," he said, " it is a long story. You can't 
 play tricks on people here before the whole court and 
 then expect to walk off like a man who has drunk his 
 fill at a feast." " I don't need moralizings or any- 
 thing of that kind, I want Sofia." 
 
 " So do I, Juri Petrovitch — let me tell you !" 
 
 He told the story of the wedding, the waiting for 
 the messenger, the attempt to escape and the 
 subsequent disappearance of Sofia. 
 
 " So the villain knows," said Glebof at the end. 
 " and what will he do ? " 
 
 " You can't always tell what a villain will do. 
 Vasili says his father wants to find out where 
 Countess Puroff is." 
 
 " Why ? To get hold of her, I suppose." 
 
 " Yes. He would like to make his son divorce 
 Sofia." 
 
 " Well, he has been fooled." 
 
 " But divorce won't suit either Vasili Antonovitch 
 or your sister." 
 
 Glebof could not fail to notice the distinct placing 
 before his observation of the last two words. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " My sister — what do you mean ? " 
 
 " One of the most unexpected things on this earth 
 my friend, one of those things that let you under- 
 stand the saying about the removing of mountains 
 and a man being born again " 
 
 " For Heaven's sake get on." 
 
 "It is a subject that should not be introduced 
 crudely and roughly. You, friend Glebof , will quite 
 appreciate the pleasant grove of entrance. You 
 may jump from a rock into some waters, but you 
 must approach this through pleasant alleys and 
 sweet smelling flowers and birds singing " 
 
 " Eh ! " 
 
 " You guess ? " 
 " Sofia—" 
 
 " Sofia. Your sister Juri Petrovitch, and Stolem- 
 kin's son, have managed so to please each other that 
 they would, I really believe, die for each other. 
 They are married. They are man and wife, and 
 glory in it and thank God for it." 
 
 Glebof could not speak for the moment, his 
 surprise was too great. He looked at Gordon 
 keenly as if he must search the truth, but he was 
 satisfied. 
 
 " Sofia — married and happy — and to Stolemkin's 
 son." 
 
 " Complicated situation ? " said Gordon. 
 
 " What does Sofia want to do ? " Glebof asked in 
 a quiet voice. 
 
 " Nothing better, I fancy, than to escape with her 
 husband to a wooden house in a forest of pines." 
 
 " And— he— the husband ? " 
 
 " Just what she wishes." 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 A pause. Then : " My God ! Stolemkin's son." 
 
 They were interrupted by a messenger who 
 brought a letter from the deputy chief of the robber 
 band. Having read the note Glebof told the 
 messenger to wait downstairs. Then he shut the 
 door. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 ** Even the strong can be forced to bargain." 
 
 WHO is Count Bulavin ? " asked Glebof. 
 Bulavin — a man of the same kidney 
 as Stolemkin with perhaps a little less knout." 
 He wants Countess Puroff." 
 " Does he ? He is not the only one." 
 Glebof handed over the letter. 
 " Bulavin knows something," said Gordon when 
 he had read the note. 
 How much ? " 
 " Two things, at least, of some importance. One 
 is that Stolemkin's son has not married Countess 
 Puroff, and the second that you know where the 
 Countess is. 
 
 "(How did he learn that ? " 
 Gordon shook his head. 
 Not from Sofia or Vasili or me or you or Stolem- 
 kin himself, I fancy." 
 
 "The maid," said Glebof. 
 Gordon nodded. 
 
 *' You've hit it. She was missing." 
 
 " She should have been killed : she was a worthless 
 thing. Does it matter ? " 
 
 " It makes things more interesting. With Stolem- 
 kin only to think of we could bargain. If he would 
 
 246 
 
246 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 let Sofia go we would keep our tongues still about 
 the affair : but Bulavin may gossip. May — I very 
 much fear he will. He will be delighted to spread the 
 news of his friend's — mesalliance — ^Phew ! " 
 
 " Then why doesn't he do it ? " 
 
 Gordon paused and considered the letter. " Clearly 
 he wants the Countess — of course, he wants the 
 Countess. Since Stolemkin has not got her Bulavin 
 
 would hope to win and so he would pay you " 
 
 Gordon stopped and looked keenly at his companion. 
 
 It seems/' said Glebof," that I hold a person of 
 importance in Countess Puroff." 
 
 " Yes," said Gordon. 
 
 " I sell high." 
 
 " But some things you do not sell at all." 
 
 I have yet to learn them." 
 " The hand of Countess Puroff is one," said 
 Gordon with a defiant ring in his voice. Glebof 
 shook his head quietly. 
 It is not one," he said. 
 
 You mean you would hand her over to Count 
 Bulavin ? " 
 
 " If it suited me." 
 
 " But it does not suit me." 
 
 " I do not propose to try and suit you, sir." 
 
 " Yet it might be advisable." 
 
 Glebof paused. 
 
 " You threaten ? " he said. 
 
 " I do more. I fight," said Gordon, " if need be." 
 
 " Thinking yourself better situated in St. Peters- 
 burg than in the forest, eh ? " 
 
 " I'll fight you here, in Moscow, in the forest at 
 the gates of Hell, if need be, for Countess Puroff." 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 247 
 
 " So ? " But Glebof remembered that he was 
 in St. Petersburg and that Gordon's help might 
 be useful. 
 
 " Why should we quarrel ? " he said. " But if 
 Bulavin offers a price you must cover it." 
 " What would you ask ? " 
 Glebof hesitated. 
 
 " Sofia's liberty," he said with a sudden inspira- 
 tion. 
 
 Gordon stretched out his hand, but the next 
 moment withdrew it. 
 
 " But will you offer the same terms to Bulavin ? " 
 " Why not ? " 
 
 " And if he frees your sister ? " 
 " That is aU I ask." 
 " Do I not count ? " 
 
 " It is what you will do that counts. Liberate 
 Sofia, see that she is free from harm and I will do 
 all that you ask and more. But I care neither for 
 you nor Countess Puroff nor for all St. Petersburg 
 so long as Sofia is not free." 
 
 Glebof knew what he wanted, and was not all 
 robber. 
 
 Gordon was struck by the man's affection for his 
 sister and saw the hopelessness of trying to move 
 him, for Countess Puroff was a prisoner with the 
 robbers and would not be freed even by Glebof's 
 death. 
 
 " I will do what I can to free Sofia," he said. 
 Glebof nodded. 
 
 " She must be freed," he said very determinedly. 
 " And Bulavin ? " 
 
 " If he can help, so much the better." 
 
248 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " What shall you answer ? " 
 Glebof replied coldly — 
 
 " I shall let him know that the price for the free- 
 dom of Countess Pur off is the freedom of my sister." 
 
 When will you send the answer ? " asked 
 Gordon. 
 
 " At once." 
 
 " Will you not wait a little ? ' 
 
 " What for ? " 
 
 " To give me a chance." 
 
 " I do not think of you, but of my sister/' said 
 Glebof quickly. 
 
 Send your answer," said Gordon, " and, by 
 God ! if he wins, Bulavin shall fight me." 
 
 So Count Bulavin got the answer to his question, 
 and it made him screw his face. 
 
 The freedom of the robber's sister for Countess 
 Puroff ! No price at all. She might be tricked out 
 of Stolemkin's clutches like an egg from a nest, and 
 there might be a lot of husk-breaking before the 
 kernel was got at. 
 
 Count Bulavin screwed up his face and scratched 
 his head. He felt near enough to rejoicing and had 
 the wisdom not to be premature. 
 
 This wife of Vasili Antonovitch — where was she ? 
 Stolemkin was quiet too, what was his game ? 
 
 Bulavin sent for Johan Branui. 
 
 " You remember the wedding of Count Stolem- 
 kin's son ? " 
 
 Yes, Excellency." 
 
 " I want you to find out where the bride is." 
 
 " She was at Peterof, Nicholas Dimitrivitch." 
 
 " Find out if she is still there and, if not, where 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 249 
 
 she is. I want to get hold of her without exciting 
 suspicion and without losing any time. The mo- 
 ment you have found out any news of importance 
 come and tell me." 
 
 That same day Bulavin met Stolemkin. He 
 made it his business to meet him. 
 
 *' Well, and how is your dear daughter-in-law ? " 
 said Bulavin. 
 
 " The doctor isn't wanted yet." 
 
 " Ah ! She is still a being of joy to her father- 
 in-law's heart ? " 
 
 " She is as precious to me as ever she was." 
 
 " Um ! Estates, wood, fish, jewels, oh ! my 
 friend, but you are lucky ! And where, may I ask, 
 is the lady now ? " 
 
 " In good time, Nicholas Dimitrivitch, but give 
 her a chance for solitude first." 
 
 " Solitude ? " 
 
 " Why not ? " 
 
 " Or why ? It is the same thing. Has she left 
 Peterof ? " 
 
 " You would not have them stay th6re for 
 ever ? " 
 
 Truly, no. So she has returned, eh, and once 
 more you have your dear Melania Nicholovna 
 beside you again." 
 
 " You say it with disappointment." 
 
 " I do not feel it." 
 
 " No ? " 
 
 " No. Have you not heard the gossip ? " 
 " What gossip ? " Stolemkin's small eyes were 
 disturbed to brightness. 
 
 Ah ! ah ! It does not do to repeat everything, 
 
250 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 and people axe so uncharitable, eh, Anton Gregoro- 
 vitch ? " 
 
 " I can believe that." 
 
 " Yet — and yet she was attractive, most attract- 
 ive, almost remarkably so." 
 
 " She seems to have made an impression." 
 Enormous. St. Petersburg, so it is said, will 
 not forget it in our life time." 
 
 " So great as that ? " 
 
 " Think not only of the estates and the timber and 
 the jewels and the fish, but of the lady herself — quite 
 exceptional." 
 
 " Quite." 
 
 " Birth — irreproachable." 
 
 " We are all begotten in the same fashion." 
 
 " Begotten, but blood, my friend, blood. Even 
 fish won't make up for blood. But Melania Nicho- 
 lovna is well bred as well as wealthy, and now she 
 appears splendid to look upon." 
 
 " How you would have gabbled, Nicholas, if you 
 had won her ! " 
 
 " I wonder " 
 
 " Eh ? " 
 
 " If I should have surpassed you ? " 
 
 " What have I said save that all know ? " 
 
 " What could you say that all are ignorant of ? " 
 said Bulavin quietly. 
 
 " I need your imagination." 
 
 " There must be more to tell. Have we heard all ? 
 They say " 
 
 " Well ? " 
 
 " That you are taking great care of her." 
 " Who says it ? " 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 251 
 
 *' Gossip." 
 " Pooh ! " 
 " It is not true ? " 
 
 " It — I — and why not ? But gossip can go to 
 the devil, Nicholas Dimitrivitch." 
 
 " I believe it reaches as far sometimes. But in 
 this case gossip may tell the story over the capital. 
 Count Stolemkin holds his daughter-in-law a prisoner, 
 says gossip. Why ? asks everybody in turn. And 
 the way gossip winks is wicked. Oh ! my friend, 
 my dear friend, you should really see gossip wink. 
 
 A prisoner " Bulavin winked for example's 
 
 sake and Stolemkin looked a mixture of pride and 
 fury. 
 
 Bulavin was fishing adroitly. 
 
 " There is literature in a wink, Anton." 
 
 " And damned folly." 
 
 " FoUy, my friend, is the wisdom of the joyous. 
 And they, you know, give spice to the earth. St. 
 Petersburg is winking to the tune of Melania Nicho- 
 lovna." 
 
 " Who composed the tune ? " 
 
 " That is the secret, but the tune is catching." 
 
 Folly always is." 
 " Yes, it is easier to catch folly than a Countess, 
 eh, Anton ? " 
 " That depends." 
 
 " Um. But having got a lady, make a prisoner 
 of her, eh ? " 
 
 " That also depends." 
 
 " Of course. Some can hardly be worth it. But 
 what do you say to the talkers, my friend ? Where 
 is the lady, to begin with ? " 
 
252 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 I could not betray her." 
 
 " Generous father-in-law ! She has certainly 
 made an impression. I wonder if she would be as 
 particular about betraying her father-in-law ? " 
 
 " Who betrays me will be either very clever or 
 very stupid." 
 
 " That is evident. And yet Melania Nicholovna, 
 Countess Puroff, prisoner because her distinguished 
 father-in-law, Count Stolemkin, er " 
 
 " Well ? " 
 
 " I believe it is here that the prudent wink." 
 
 " Having nothing better to do." 
 
 ** Some of them say more." 
 
 " Oh ! What do they say ? " 
 
 " That Puroff would not have recognized your 
 daughter-in-law. ' ' 
 
 Stolemkin did not like this : it was too direct. 
 He looked warm. 
 
 " She might not have recognized him," he said, as 
 if he would treat the remark lightly. 
 
 " By the Saints ! that's excellent. She might not. 
 That is just what gossip is saying." 
 
 " What in Heaven's name do people want to 
 worry about my affairs for ? " burst out Stolemkin. 
 
 " No, my friend, not in Heaven's name. There 
 is nothing heavenly in what they say. It is a topic 
 for Hell, not for Heaven. They still discuss the 
 estates and the jewels and the timber and the fish 
 and the beauty of your charming daughter-in-law." 
 
 " Then if it's a topic for Hell, let those who discuss 
 it, go there." Stolemkin could fence no more. 
 
 " I wonder if I might see — Melania Nicholovna ? " 
 said Bulavin blandly. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 253 
 
 " No. At least not now — not yet." 
 
 " Ah ! She is surely not a prisoner at Peterof ? " 
 
 " She is not. She is — look here ! Nicholas Dimitri- 
 vitch, we are old friends, but this topic does not 
 please me. Have you heard what happened to 
 Sosonoff yesterday ? " 
 
 Bulavin returned with food for reflection. He 
 had got little out of Stolemkin, but he saw the big 
 Count was unhappy and unsatisfied and, though he 
 would face his railleurs, yet disliked the raillerie. 
 
 It was not very definite : clues were wanting. 
 Yet the girl was not a prisoner at Peterof. Where 
 was she ? 
 
 Johan Branui had not even found out that when 
 he came to tell his master that Sofia was no longer 
 at Peterof. 
 
 Count Stolemkin sat moodily thinking. It was 
 really very difficult for him to decide upon a line of 
 action. He knew he had been fooled, and he would 
 dearly like to cut the eyelids from those winkers 
 who thought to jest at his plight. (In his turn and 
 when occasion presented itself Stolemkin was the 
 loudest jester of them all). What is more galling 
 than impotence ? Stolemkin was beginning to feel 
 that he could do no more. Then must he hear St. 
 Petersburg laugh ? Must his name be a by-word ? 
 
 There was just a chance he might win, still 
 a chance he could manage that nobody might laugh 
 without respect. 
 
 He went to a cellar, dark and drear, in his house, at 
 which the gorgeous ceremony of the wedding had 
 taken place and there saw the bride. 
 
 Escape for her seemed a hopeless thing. She 
 
254 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 was in a cold, dark room about nine feet square with 
 two men outside the door constantly on guard. 
 Some things Stolemkin managed well. Sofia had 
 been just kept alive and no more. Stolemkin did 
 not dare go too far. He was not master of the lives, 
 even of those who tricked him, when he was in the 
 capital and under the eyes of the Court. So bread 
 and water and a dark cellar were his attempts now 
 to break the spirit of Sofia. He dared not repeat 
 the torture of limb lest he was forced at last to tell 
 Ostermann the story, and Sofia mentioned the tortur- 
 ing. 
 
 Was her spirit worn to confessing point ? Could 
 she still hold out ? 
 
 The two men opened the door, and Stolemkin 
 looked in. He had a desire to seize and shake Sofia 
 or flog her till she did what he asked. But that, of 
 course, was the natural spirit of the men of power in 
 those days. It is only by revolutions that man has 
 been made to respect man. 
 
 Sofia was seated on a wooden chair, dressed 
 in a tight-fitting rose-coloured costume, that looked 
 considerably out of harmony with the place. A 
 string of pearls, a fine black one in the middle, 
 was round her neck. Vasili had put it there. 
 
 She looked tired physically and weak. But 
 there was a look in her eyes that would have warned 
 a penetrating man that only a fool would try to 
 break her spirit when she had set her mind on a 
 course. It was possible to catch her in a weak 
 moment physically and wrest some admission from 
 her, but she would not be worn by suffering to 
 change her mind. She looked up with indifference 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 255 
 
 as the door opened, and with contempt when she 
 saw Stolemkin. 
 
 He shut the door behind him. It was afternoon, 
 and the light came from a high window that caught 
 a few straggling beams from the kitchen. Origin- 
 ally, the rooni was a wine cellar. 
 
 For a moment there was silence. Stolemkin in 
 his way thought he was as determined as Sofia, but 
 he loved life too much not to be ready to give in to 
 the inevitable. Sofia, aged twenty, could die. It 
 is a state of mind that can laugh at threats. The 
 young die more easily than the old, remember. It 
 is after forty we become optimists. 
 
 Stolemkin seemed to have some glimpse of her 
 resolution for he saw from her attitude she was weak, 
 and yet the scorn in her face was as fixed as when she 
 was first incarcerated. He was dressed in a dark 
 green suit with silk stockings, and shoes with silver 
 buckles. He stood before her in an attitude of 
 contemplation. She did not look at him after the 
 first glance. He went through various emotions, 
 hope, disappointment, rage, and opened the conver- 
 sation with — 
 
 " Have you had enough ? " spoken with some 
 decency. 
 
 She did not answer. 
 
 '* I can give you more," he said. 
 
 She looked as if all he could do was a matter of 
 supreme indifference to her. The easiest to handle 
 in these great crises are those who cling to life and 
 fear death. A chin like Sofia's and the fear of 
 nothing before her eyes made threatening stale work. 
 
 " Shall I flog you ? " he said. 
 
256 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " Don't talk like a fool/' she said quietly. 
 
 He clenched his fists in his rage. 
 
 " My God ! " Never had he been so treated by 
 a woman. It was unheard of. 
 
 She looked disdainful. 
 You waste your time," she said. " I have told 
 you not to worry me." 
 
 " But I mean to worry you, baggage ! I mean to 
 worry you till I get what I want." He itched to 
 strike her. 
 
 What is that ? " she asked calmly, calming him 
 a little with the tone. 
 " Countess Puroff." 
 " Then get her." 
 " Tell me where she is." 
 *' I am not a fool." 
 
 " But you will tell," he said threateningly. 
 She did not speak. 
 
 " What will persuade you ? " he said, and, as he 
 dropped his menacing tone, he came nearest to 
 success. 
 
 She shook her head. Perhaps she was a little 
 obstinate, driven by Stolemkin and his method. 
 The shaking of the head seemed to suggest " Noth- 
 ing — that I can think of." 
 
 Stolemkin who loved mastery much, loved vic- 
 tory more. He had for an instant a decent instinct 
 towards a conciliatory attitude. 
 
 " Why won't you tell ? " he asked. 
 
 " Why should I ? " 
 
 " To save yourself." 
 
 She looked at him curiously and searchingly. 
 " What for ? I fear nothing." 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 257 
 
 " Oh ! Not torture and death ? Don't be a 
 fool. What will silence serve you then ? Tell me 
 where Countess Puroff is ; help me to get hold of 
 her and I — yes, I will let you go/' 
 
 Sofia felt the bending attitude. After all, what 
 was Countess Puroff to her ? But why did Stolem- 
 kin want her ? For his son, of course. For Vasili. 
 Sofia felt a wave of emotion surge within her. For 
 Vasili — where was he now ? Was he well ? What 
 would happen if Countess Puroff did come and she — 
 Sofia — was liberated ? Vasili was married and 
 would go with her to the Valdai Hills. Count Sto- 
 lemkin clearly thought of something else — divorce. 
 Sofia gave a shrug of contempt. She could laugh at 
 that : she felt Vasili would. 
 
 " I don't know," said Sofia. 
 
 " Don't be foolish. The day I hold Countess 
 Puroff that day shall you go free. It is ten times 
 better than rotting in this hole — much better than 
 the knout and, I fancy, pleasant er than death." 
 
 Sofia was weighing up the circumstances for her- 
 self. If Countess Puroff comes she can't be mar- 
 ried to Vasili, for Vasili is mine. Count Stolemkin 
 is reckoning on divorce. What does that matter ? 
 She had an inspiration. 
 
 " TeU Mr. Gordon," she said, " tell him to tell my 
 brother I am a prisoner in your keeping and that 
 you agree to let me go in return for Countess Puroff." 
 
 She leaned towards him a little in her eagerness. 
 
 Stolemkin hesitated, and then looked pleased. 
 The idea was promising. His big fat face showed 
 content. 
 
 The next moment there was an altercation out- 
 
 R 
 
258 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 side. Sofia made a dash for the door but Stolemkin, 
 quite alert, caught her, pushed her back and then 
 drew his pistol. 
 
 " Be quiet, or I shoot," he said. Then he opened 
 the door. 
 
 Vasili dashed past him like a rabbit. 
 
 " Sofia, Sofia," he cried like one on the verge of 
 hysteria. 
 
 " Vasili," she said as she held him, more like a 
 mother than a mistress. 
 
 " Pooh ! " said Solemkin with magnificent scorn. 
 
 It took four men, nevertheless, to drag Vasili 
 from the cellar, later in the evening. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 "... A tale re-told, a race re-run " 
 
 STOLEMKIN was amazed at his son. For that 
 matter, he wondered at many things ; but 
 the unexpected antics of our own upset us most. 
 We feel we have a kind of vested interest in our 
 expectations. A distant enterprise in which we 
 placed our money (and hope) may give us a shock 
 when the bankruptcy is announced but it is nothing 
 to the shock we get when A, who has behaved exact- 
 ly as we anticipated for twenty years suddenly 
 does the thing we never calculated on. Our pre- 
 science is at fault. If we are not to trust to our judg- 
 ment in relation to our own, when are we to trust 
 to it ? Imagine trying to catch a bear and seeing it 
 fly ? Preposterous. Of course, it is preposterous. 
 Balaam's ass was preposterous. So was Stolemkin's 
 son. To see the brave man turn coward is the most 
 shameful, the most humiliating of sights : to see the 
 coward turn brave is to be given a glimpse of Para- 
 dise. Heaven surely is the home of the beautiful 
 and the brave. Only the brave are altogether lovely. 
 
 But Stolemkin was too much of a bully to think 
 he had seen Paradise because Vasili had shown 
 spirit. Bullies lack the gift of appreciation. Theii 
 values are all askew because their common denom- 
 
 259 
 
26o THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 inator is self. You can't see other people properly 
 when you are always squinting at yourself in the 
 mirror. 
 
 Stolemkin wondered without admiration. He ate, 
 drank and kept saying to himself that he couldn't 
 understand, he couldn't really, it was not really 
 understandable. He never thought a woman could 
 accomplish so much. Vasili was such a sugary 
 creature too — all pap and fears ! Well, well, well ! 
 He went on eating and drinking and considered the 
 other case. 
 
 Sofia. He had got her at last. Tell Gordon to 
 tell the brother — um ! — all that meant that the 
 brother held Countess Puroff prisoner and now this 
 woman (Sofia) was willing to be exchanged for her. 
 
 He would like to flog the brazen hussy that had 
 played the trick on him, but it was better to let the 
 flogging go to escape the awful ridicule of the Court. 
 
 If he got hold of Countess Puroff what would he 
 do ? Marry her himself, if need be. Vasili must 
 divorce this other baggage, but rather than Bulavin 
 should win and jeer, he (Stolemkin) would marry 
 the little Countess himself. 
 
 So he sent for Vasili, for his son knew where 
 Gordon was. Vasili appeared worse for the hand- 
 ling but neither meek nor apologetic. 
 
 Stolemkin wanted to strike him for his attitude 
 alone. It was not humble enough. There was no 
 obsequiousness in it. He had sworn at his son in 
 days past for his lack of spirit, but now he wished 
 to knock him down because he showed some. Pure 
 buUyism. 
 
 Vasili put his coat straight and looked tolerantly 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 261 
 
 at a big man who was trying to stop his nose bleed- 
 ing. 
 
 " What has happened to you ? " asked Stolemkin 
 
 Vasili shrugged his shoulders; 
 
 " So much, sir, that I hardly know myself." 
 
 " You have got contaminated by this peasant 
 wench. Well, make the most of her. She says 
 Countess Puroff is in the charge of her brother. So 
 go to Gordon, who knows where her brother is, and 
 tell him that I am willing to let his sister go free when 
 I have possession of Countess Puroff." 
 
 Vasili looked radiant. 
 You will — oh ! father." Vasili might have 
 thrown himself in his joy at his father's feet, but he 
 was met with — 
 
 You fool ! What ? " 
 
 " To rescue Sofia. I will go to Gordon at once. 
 It is a bargain ? I may tell Gordon he may rely 
 on this ? " 
 
 In the name of all the Saints I what has come 
 over you ? And do you dare to doubt my word ? 
 I have told you what I will do." 
 
 " And Sofia — you will treat her well ? You will, 
 father ? " 
 
 " I will treat you to a flogging, and her too, if you 
 do not go at once, you worm of a jester ! " 
 
 Vasili actually looked indifferent. He paused, as 
 if he must consider everything first, and looked at 
 his father as if to read him. 
 
 I will go," he said quietly. " But if Sofia is 
 injured, Countess Puroff will probably not come." 
 
 Vasili went out like a man who had foimd the 
 lost sheep. 
 
262 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 Gordon and Glebof were getting haggard and 
 impatient. They ran risks, of course, for if Stolem- 
 kin denounced them they might be arrested at any 
 moment, and if they were once taken hfe would 
 quickly lose all zest for them. 
 
 The two were together, alone, when Vasili burst in 
 on them. Glebof looked very ugly, for he was begin- 
 ing to hatch desperate schemes. 
 
 Vasili fastened the door and looked first at one 
 and then at the other gloriously. 
 
 " You've found her ! " said Gordon. " You are 
 an angel ! I guessed you would." 
 
 " Where is she ? " asked Glebof, walking towards 
 Vasili. 
 
 " In my father's house," said Vasili. 
 " Where ? " 
 " Where ! " 
 
 In a cellar — an old wine cellar. A hideous room 
 for her. But I dashed in. Little Gobellski told 
 me where she was, only I must not betray him. So 
 you must never mention that. Poor little Gobellski, 
 I must reward him ! I dashed in and " 
 
 " You left her there ? " asked Glebof. 
 I come with a message" from my father. They 
 dragged me from her. It took four of them too. 
 But my father wanted to send a message to you." 
 
 " To me ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " What is it ? " 
 
 " My poor Sofia ! If they touch her. But I 
 don't think they will. Two of them had to hold her 
 and I nearly broke the head of one " 
 
 " What is the message ? " 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 263 
 
 " Yes. Father says he will give up Sofia if you 
 will give Countess Puroff up to him. You will ? " 
 
 " Your father be damned ! " said Gordon, and 
 then he looked at Glebof. 
 
 I thought he would think it worth while," said 
 Glebof quietly. " You needn't damn the villain, 
 Gordon, for it is the price I offered you or Count 
 Bulavin." 
 
 " But he holds your sister," said Gordon. " The 
 offer is not much good to me now." 
 
 " Then why didn't you get hold of her ? " Gle- 
 bof shook his head. This is a bargain," he said, 
 " I can't afford to wait any longer or risk more." 
 
 Gordon was disturbed. The knowledge that 
 Sofia was in the hands of Stolemkin and he was 
 ready to give her up for Melania Nicholovna brought 
 home to Gordon the proximity of a crisis. So long 
 as Sofia's whereabouts were unknown there seemed 
 always a chance of something happening to set him 
 on the road to his heart's desire. But in Stolem- 
 kin's hands Sofia would be held to due ransom and 
 Countess Puroff in the power of Stolemkin was a 
 thing unthinkable. 
 
 Glebof seemed more contented now he knew where 
 his sister was. 
 
 Gordon caught his eye. Glebof held the cards. 
 
 " It is very hard for Countess Puroff," said Gor- 
 don. 
 
 " Would you have it harder for my sister ? " 
 " You know what it will mean to Countess 
 Puroff ? " 
 Glebof shrugged his shoulders. 
 " What wUl Stolemkin do ? " 
 
264 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 Gordon paused to think. Vasili was married, 
 what could Stolemkin want with Melania Nicho- 
 lovna ? Yet he was not a man to give up vengeance 
 for nothing. 
 
 Vasili interrupted — 
 My father thinks I shall divorce Sofia." 
 
 He said it with an exquisite intonation — when 
 one thinks of what the old Vasili was. He might 
 have been referring to a child or a cripple, or to the 
 pious wish of an incapable, for he spoke as if the 
 thought were equal to a jest — ^no more. 
 
 Gordon, in spite of his perplexity, smiled slightly. 
 
 Glebof was serious, but could not miss the atti- 
 tude. Besides, Vasili had not a commanding air. 
 He was now just a being of respect. His hair hung 
 deep in his neck. His dimpled chin and thin nose 
 looked unharmonious in rough affairs. His brown 
 eyes though, once so timid, now had a fine frank 
 gaze. There was tenderness and depth, and a woman 
 would find pleasure in them, but they did not droop 
 and look timorous. As eyes they had changed 
 wonderfully. Mirrors of the soul — they well de- 
 served the title. Vasili had got a new soul or else 
 made his old one take on a new fire. He sat on the 
 edge of the table, dangling his thin leg, stockinged in 
 pale blue. His coat and breeches were dark blue 
 and his vest was flowered with exotics unearthly. 
 He looked debonnair and almost happy. After all 
 he had found his Sofia ! 
 
 Glebof was interested by the remark. 
 
 " Divorce Sofia " To him the remark was 
 
 not jocular : it was something terribly serious — if 
 there were any seriousness in it at all. At present 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 365 
 
 unfortunately, he had had no word from Sofia her- 
 self. But Vasili seemed honest, and he loved her. 
 That was an odd thing. But not so odd as that Sofia 
 loved him. Gordon said that was true. 
 
 Suppose your father makes you," said Glebof 
 to Vasili, for he too was of the commanding order 
 and knew that the strong compelled the weak. 
 
 " Makes me ? " repeated Vasili, leaning forward. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " He won't." 
 
 " He might." 
 
 " He can t." 
 
 " Can't," said Glebof, while Gordon smiled inter- 
 estedly. The two big men caught each other's eyes 
 again and agreed (without saying anything) that the 
 remark was worthy of notice. 
 
 "No— can't. Nobody can," said VasUi. "Of 
 course I might be punished — I don't know. I might 
 even be tortured, but that wouldn't make me divorce 
 Sofia — unless she wished." 
 
 " Does she wish ? " asked Glebof quietly. 
 
 Vasili looked at him with surprise. 
 
 " Sofia ? No. But you have not seen her. You 
 do not know. She might at first, but not now. 
 Now — I cannot tell you. I would die for her, Juri 
 Petrovitch, and I think she would die for me." 
 
 They were all silent. Glebof and Gordon felt 
 themselves in a somewhat strange atmosphere. 
 Vasili was in love and recked little of the atmosphere. 
 
 " Is it really true ? " Glebof asked Gordon. 
 
 " I think so." 
 
 " True," repeated Vasili, surprised at the ques- 
 tion. " But of course you haven't seen. It is true." 
 
266 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " And what does my sister want ? " asked 
 Glebof. 
 
 " I — I did not ask. But of course she must be 
 set free." 
 " Yes " 
 
 " But/' interrupted Gordon, is there no other 
 way of setting her free than by making Countess 
 Puroff a prisoner in her place ? That is not chival- 
 rous." 
 
 " Do you think I am here for chivalry ? " asked 
 Glebof, in his direct way. 
 
 "Is it fair ? " retorted Gordon. 
 
 " I have nothing to do with that either. My 
 desire is to free my sister. Tell me a better way 
 than exchanging the little Countess for her." 
 
 It is possible to take her by force now we know 
 where she is." 
 
 This is St. Petersburg, not the forest. I know 
 nothing of ways here. But I will run no risks for 
 Sofia, why should I ? " 
 
 " For the sake of another lady ? " 
 
 " For your sake, eh ? " 
 Why not ? " 
 
 Glebof shook his head. He looked a difficult 
 man to move. His was a hard type — his affection 
 for his sister was a wonderful thing. His eyes were 
 black, and bridged with fairly thick but orderly 
 black eyebrows. He had the long commanding 
 nose, a sloping forehead with his perceptives well 
 developed. He cultivated a moustache, but it was 
 small, and did not hide his mouth, which in spite of 
 the moderate thickness of his lips formed a straight 
 line when shut. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 267 
 
 *' There is no why not," he said. " I shall do the 
 best for my sister, not the middling or the moderate, 
 but the best." 
 
 " Regardless of other people ? " 
 
 ** Yes. Regardless of other people. She comes 
 first. Don't try to move me, Gordon. I know what 
 I want and what I mean to do. Suppose you tried 
 to get Sofia out by force from this Stolemkin — and 
 failed, eh, what then ? " 
 Well ? " 
 
 " Is it not likely he would think it was all trickery, 
 this pretence of fetching Countess Puroff and hand 
 Sofia over to the police ? " 
 
 " You easily think of failure." 
 
 " You have not succeeded so well, have you ? 
 You tried to rescue her from Peterof, but you failed." 
 Glebof made a sweeping gesture with his hand. If 
 Sofia were free it would be different," he said. 
 
 Gordon looked dissatisfied. He saw that Glebof 
 was, from his point of view, acting wisely. Yet the 
 outlook was not altogether dark even if there were 
 clouds to be seen. 
 
 Gordon might have risked rescuing Sofia from 
 Stolemkin. In case of success there would be an 
 instant hue and cry, and if Sofia, by any mishap, 
 should be retaken, Glebof would forgive nothing, 
 and what might then happen to Melania Nicholovna 
 was a thing not fit for speculation. 
 
 And Gordon had still a chance. Stolemkin would 
 take care of Sofia. She was his hostage. She was 
 his shield and buckler against the slings and arrows 
 of outrageous laughter : but Melania Nicholovna 
 would not be so guarded. Holding her Stolemkin 
 
268 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 would think all well. The guard would be dropped, 
 
 for nothing would be feared and then It would 
 
 be doing the world a service to rid Stolemkin of 
 Countess Puroff. Still, there is no necessity to drag 
 the world in. 
 
 So Gordon was silent, and considered and consider- 
 ing acquiesced. 
 
 " What will you do ? " he asked of Glebof. 
 
 " Send for Countess Puroff." 
 
 '* Shall I go back and tell my father ? " asked 
 Vasili excitedly. 
 
 "No," said Gordon. 
 
 They both looked at him wonderingly. 
 Why ? " 
 
 " If Count Stolemkin is set on a divorce it might 
 be as well to keep his son from him — till he has given 
 up your sister." 
 
 Vasili laughed — the laugh of the emancipated. 
 
 " You are afraid for me," he said. 
 I don't want anything to happen to spoil this 
 compact," said Gordon. " Let the exchange be 
 made and then " 
 
 Vasili talked of nothing on earth divorcing him 
 from his beloved Sofia, but Glebof made him promise, 
 nevertheless, that after one visit to his father (which 
 would probably include an interview with Sofia) 
 Vasili would promise to keep away from his paternal 
 home. 
 
 Vasili looked rebellious, but wound up by saying 
 that he would refuse to tell his father what Glebof's 
 reply was unless he was allowed to see Sofia. He was 
 delighted at the idea. 
 
 I will go for Countess Puroff," said Gordon. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 369 
 
 Glebof did not answer at first, and he certainly 
 looked dubious. 
 
 " You may trust me," said Gordon, seeing Glebof s 
 doubtful expression. 
 
 " I find it wise never to be too trustful," said 
 Glebof. 
 
 " Nobody lives without trusting somebody." 
 " And nobody thrives who trusts too much." 
 " I will give you my word." 
 " Pooh ! " 
 
 Clearly Glebof was a tough man to handle. 
 
 " My God ! You are about the only man who 
 dared say that when I offered my word." 
 
 " No offence, Gordon," said Glebof calmly. " I 
 want the actual so far as I can realize it. I live 
 like kings and commanders. I take what I can and 
 trust as little as possible, for all men are moved by 
 their advantage." 
 
 " And other things ? " 
 
 " Their satisfactions — and of course people are 
 fools. Nobody can count on the course of an idiot." 
 He shook his head. 
 
 " I mean," said Gordon, " to fight for Melania 
 Nicholovna." 
 
 " Well ? " 
 
 " I want to let you know — that is all." 
 
 " I know. I always imagined you would. You 
 have some of the instincts of — our friend here." 
 
 Vasili laughed. He appeared to be the most 
 joyous of the three. 
 
 " Whom will you send for Countess Puroff ? " 
 asked Gordon. 
 
 A messenger. But you can go if you will. I 
 
270 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 trust you. I trust very few, but when I do, it is 
 because I cannot help myself." 
 
 "I will take Belof with me," said Gordon, advanc- 
 ing towards Glebof and holding out his hand. 
 
 " Her man ? Very well. There will be others. 
 And you will ride fair ? " 
 
 " I would be beside her, that is all. Since she 
 must come to St. Petersburg, I would come with her. 
 I will be honourable. It will be when Stolemkin has 
 her that I shall get my chance." 
 
 Glebof nodded. 
 
 " Yes, I trust you. Hasten, for I want to see 
 Sofia free, and if I can, I will help you afterwards." 
 
 So Gordon got ready again to journey to Countess 
 Puroff. Belof gave himself up to tears and ejacula- 
 tions and prayers. He was going to greet his mis- 
 tress at last. Gordon felt cold beside him — till they 
 started, and the face of Melania Nicholovna grew 
 more and more distinct. It was to Gordon a cloud 
 by day and a pillar of fire by night. The auburn 
 aureole, the azure lights beneath. . . 
 
 And for a moment Gordon thought of her in the 
 arms of Stolemkin. 
 
 He yelled to the post-boys to go faster. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 ** Let one but bear your love, I'll bear your cares." 
 
 .l\ What had not happened since Gordon went 
 the first time at the request of Count Stolemkin ! 
 The stars had rolled on in their courses, the moon 
 had waxed and waned, the great unfathomable 
 unsoundable things outside the earth had continued 
 their ordered labours, all things else seemed the 
 same and yet with him — Gordon — what a difference ! 
 
 Now as he set out a second time to go on the 
 road towards Buof — ^but not so far — the incidents of 
 the first journey came back to him. Nickoff 
 and Pendeff were with him then. And yet how 
 different in atmosphere, not only in men, it seemed ! 
 There was a colour as of flowers in the first journey. 
 It was pleasant but without great zest : there was 
 motion without excitement, a rosiness without thorns. 
 The landscape came and faded ; there was a dim 
 murmur of oozing time, there were the ordinary 
 joltings and stoppings, all without a blaze till Mel- 
 ania Nicholovna appeared. 
 
 At the thought of her Gordon twisted. He had 
 lived an adventurous life, but this slip of a girl had 
 
 — Henry IV. 
 
 SECOND time to fetch Countess Puroff ! 
 
 271 
 
272 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 put her delicate hands on his heart and he could not 
 chose but love. 
 
 The carriage whirled on, jolted, went smoothly, 
 stopped, went on again. Life's progress. 
 
 Melania Nicholovna. . . . He recalled with vivid- 
 ness his first sight of her, her winsomeness, her 
 naturalness, her trusting look in her sea blue eyes. 
 
 As he sat back in the kibitka he lost all touch 
 with his surroundings, lost all sense of motion. 
 He did not realize it, for he was not usually a self- 
 inquiring man. He was not for ever asking himself 
 why he did this and that and probing into the inner- 
 most cupboards of his motives. He gave himself 
 up at this moment to the luxury of living over 
 again that meeting at Buof. He had recalled it 
 dozens of times and yet frequency could not stale 
 its infinite charm. He was another being, gentle, 
 almost timid, one who waited and looked for a sign 
 of favour. 
 
 Melania's features played all sorts of pranks 
 with him. He found it difficult to recall her more 
 exactly, and the inability almost gave him pain. 
 It was as if he might lose her altogether. If he 
 could not see her exactly as she was then anything 
 might happen. He really felt a vague sense of 
 something untoward, something that might be dis- 
 astrous. Then some little turn of her head came in 
 wonderful vividness. The effect was instantaneous 
 and remarkable, as sudden as a child's turning from 
 sorrow to gladness. Gordon tingled. He could 
 do nothing, of course, but just lie there and enjoy 
 and hope the vision would stay. 
 
 But it went. It was succeeded by others and 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 273 
 
 always the effect was the same : the fighting Gordon 
 became as gentle as a child. He got exquisite 
 happiness from seeing Melania come out of her 
 house, get into the carriage, and recalling the sound of 
 her voice. Her voice and little turns of her head 
 were more persistent impressions than isolated 
 features. ... Louis Alexandrovitch " — to re- 
 catch her manner of saying that was a thing 
 ecstatic. 
 
 On dreaming — dreaming and seeing visions — 
 Gordon went. 
 
 He recalled that hideous capture in the wood ! 
 (He could not do otherwise now than live over the 
 past journey). What awful things might have 
 happened! Bandits — wretched cut- throats ! Phew! 
 A sense of the danger struck him keenly. These 
 robbers were capable of anything, and if he had 
 been killed or the paper lost. . . What a gloomy 
 speculation ! 
 
 And yet as it had turned out, all was perhaps 
 for the best. Perhaps. . . . Had he taken her to 
 Stolemkin Vasili might have married her. That 
 was a torturing thought. Some other man might 
 have married her. She would have been in some one 
 else's arms, those eyes would have looked in an- 
 other's face, that hair been caressed by another's 
 hands. Melania, that dear jewel! 
 
 Gordon sat up. That vision was too unpleasant. 
 He looked round to dissipate it. " On ! On ! " he 
 cried to the postillions. 
 
 By town and village, across river, through valley 
 and forest they went. Gordon, usually observant, 
 saw little of it all. Everything was transfigured. 
 
 s 
 
274 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 The landscape faded, the forests faded, the rivers 
 even melted into a human face. 
 
 It was a dip into present realism when there was 
 a stop at the post houses. Gordon then had to give 
 up his rioting thoughts. 
 
 As they drew near to the home of the robbers near 
 the Valdai Hills, one of Gordon's company rode 
 ahead. He observed and was observed by a wood- 
 chopping peasant and realized that all was well. 
 
 Gordon in this place had again but one thought 
 with a hundred faces. Definitely it was : Here 
 is Melania Nicholovna. Disturbingly it was, every- 
 thing such an idea might transmogrify. 
 
 Gordon peered to right and left. He looked out 
 of the kibitka first to one side and then to the 
 other. He was unstable, astatic. 
 
 He saw men first, but they did not interest him. 
 These men whom he would have observed so 
 critically at other times were mere specks before his 
 eyes. And yet he had to see them properly. 
 
 The leader was a tough man in the prime of life. 
 He had been a big landowner who had gambled 
 away great possessions and joined Glebof for a life 
 of excitement. The life had sobered him and he be- 
 came a businesslike bandit. 
 
 He read Glebof's letter and greeted Gordon 
 courteously. (Gordon was restless as a leopard). 
 
 Brouin — the bandit — said : " You want to see 
 the httle lady ? " 
 
 " I do," said Gordon. Little lady, indeed ! 
 And the bloodless tone of the question ! Gordon 
 was piercing every nook and cranny of the place 
 with his glances. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 275 
 
 Brouin pointed with his hand to a wooden hut 
 among the trees. 
 
 " May I go ? " said Gordon, with not quite such 
 audacity now he actually saw. 
 
 " You will be ready to start soon ? " 
 
 " As soon as you wish." 
 
 "Then don't delay the httle lady. The chief 
 says no time must be lost." 
 
 " I shall lose no time," said Gordon fervently, 
 and he strode towards the abode of the " little 
 lady." 
 
 He caught sight of her, for the noise of the move- 
 ment of horses and carriages and men had dis- 
 turbed her and she came out curiously inclined. 
 
 He wished to run — that is, he had an instinct 
 that way, but checked it, for, after all, he was scarcely 
 entitled to swoop down on her like a hawk on a 
 rabbit. 
 
 She trembled. Doubt, possibility, probability, and 
 then a wild emotion possessed her and she waited 
 with tingling joy. 
 
 His hat swung off and he caught her hand. 
 " Melania Nicholovna." 
 
 And she, with nothing more than : " Louis 
 Alexandrovitch." But her hand trembled and then 
 gripped his as if she would be held longer. She 
 coloured like a garden in the sun and her eyes 
 hinted at a thrilling tale. 
 
 " At last," he said, feeling more than he could 
 say and desiring to say so much. 
 
 " Oh ! at last." She, too, found words not easy. 
 Emotion has tremendous power. It can raise, 
 lower and dominate. Speech is its slave. For the 
 
276 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 moment it held these two bound, and unloosed them 
 slowly. 
 
 She recovered and looked at him as if he were 
 a hero extraordinary. Perhaps it was the long 
 expectation that heightened the attitude. 
 
 " I was so afraid," she murmured, the roses in her 
 cheek. " Is all well ? " They grew calmer with 
 words and more comfortable. 
 
 They strolled towards her hut where rude chairs 
 were outside, and she sat down. He explained the 
 situation, how Sofia had been captured by Stolemkin 
 and what that gentleman's demands were. 
 
 She paled. 
 He wants me ? " 
 
 "It is the condition." 
 
 " I will not go," she said. 
 
 He made no answer. 
 
 " Would you let me ? " she asked. A feminine 
 question. A hallon d'essai from the heart's head- 
 quarters. 
 
 " Dear lady. I would let you do all you wished 
 that was for your good. But I — ^what am I ? " 
 Something of a grappling hook for the balloon, 
 this last. 
 
 " Louis Alexandrovitch," she murmured, as if 
 that were enough. " And you would let me go to 
 Count Stolemkin ? " 
 
 He took her hand boldly. Would you give me 
 the right to try and guard you ? " 
 
 It was not direct enough, and she looked at him so 
 that her glances gripped his soul. He could not 
 wait. He was a man of action, head over ears in 
 love with a girl whose eyes played havoc with him. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 277 
 
 He took her in his strong arms and held her to his 
 breast. 
 
 " Will you give me this right ? he said with 
 accents so true of feeling that she felt as happy as 
 a sailor who crosses the bar. She was in the harbour 
 where she would be, and looked up to him with 
 bewitching roguery : for radiant happiness will 
 insist on an outlet, and we have so few channels for 
 ecstacy no wonder we are occasionally surprised 
 at the antics of the happy. 
 
 " You take it," she said softly, nestling rather 
 than struggling. 
 
 He took her chin in his hand, and her lips were 
 quivering. He slowly bent his head towards hers. 
 " And this ? " he said, staying, not to violate. 
 
 She flung her head back surrenderingly, and he 
 pressed his lips to hers. 
 
 " My God ! Melania ... My God ! . . . You are 
 my angel, my star of morning and noon and even- 
 ing ... I will never let you go . . . And I have no 
 right to hold you like this and kiss your sweet lips." 
 
 " Why ? " 
 
 " Because I am not fit to touch you. It is Beauty 
 and the Beast, the Dragon and the Virgin, Riot and 
 Innocence " 
 
 She put her hand on his mouth. " I am happy," 
 she said. " I could not be happier." 
 
 " Oh ! " He groaned with a curious mixture of 
 accusation and joy. "I feel as if I had no right 
 to be so happy. I would fight for you and die for 
 you, my queen and yet I fear I must not live for 
 
 " Why ? " She trembled and looked anxious. 
 
278 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " I am a mere soldier of fortune " 
 
 " But you would not leave me now ? " 
 " By all the Saints ! I believe you are wooing 
 me ! You darling of my dreams — and yet if a 
 man with a decent hand and of good stock may not 
 marry where he loves, what is the good of war and 
 glory ? " 
 
 " Does that mean you will not leave me ? " 
 Her little hands were stronger than a ship's cable. 
 
 " It does. And it does not. Melania my pure in 
 heart ! my pearl of woman's sea ! Oh ! let me hold 
 you to me again, for I feel like a freed lion, Samson 
 out of prison with my hair grown — love's hair, you 
 know, my beauteous queen." 
 
 She smiled, almost weeping, and felt he was 
 everything a man should be. 
 
 He was clearly in a mood of wild delight, and she 
 was very pleased at it. He had to get over his 
 transports and then (still holding her, for he could 
 not let her go) he faced the situation. 
 
 By this time she knelt beside him and he stroked 
 her hair. 
 
 " What will Count Stolemkin do ? " she asked. 
 Gordon shook his head. 
 
 " What he wants to do is probably something 
 that his black heart could prompt, but his son will 
 trick him, and I. . . ." He took her face in bothhands. 
 
 " WeU ? " 
 
 " I'll grind him to powder before he shall come 
 between us." 
 
 She looked in his eyes before speaking : the atti- 
 tude was too joyous to be disturbed too soon. But 
 suppose " 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 a79 
 
 " What ? " 
 
 " I do not know. I only suppose." She was drain- 
 ing the glass of joy. " I wish I had not to go." 
 
 " It is the only way." He was serious with the 
 future standing gaunt before him. " I wondered 
 how I could take you from here, and it is almost im- 
 possible, for if I attempted that, dear heart, I must 
 succeed. Failure would be too awful. There must 
 be no failure. You could not be retaken by these 
 people. They — ugh ! " 
 
 She shuddered too. 
 
 " Stolemkin," he said, " will never think he 
 must guard you. He guards Sofia because there has 
 been an attempt to set her free, and if she escapes, he 
 loses all. But once he has you he will think he has 
 won all. He will house you well. You will be 
 treated like a grand Duchess : he will boast of his 
 feat all over the capital and — we will quietly leave 
 him to his shouting." 
 
 She put both hands on his. 
 
 " Whatever happens .... I love you Louis." 
 
 He put an arm round her gently. 
 
 " As long as I am alive, Melania, my own, I 
 will deal with you according to the love I bear you. 
 Your enemies shall be mine. Who seeks to make you 
 unhappy shall find in me his bitterest foe, and may 
 I behave to you as a man of honour and feeling 
 and never cause you a single regret." 
 
 Her eyes filled. 
 
 " I know now that what you do is best," she 
 said. 
 
 " The Saints help me ! " he said ; " but there is 
 overmuch to be done if that bully Stolemkin should 
 
28q the stolen bride 
 
 suspect. . . . But this is more than reward. It is 
 
 heavenly measure " 
 
 They kissed each other. 
 
 He 4c ♦ 4k 
 
 The horses were changed and Melania Nicholovna 
 was given an hour to get ready. Most of her ward- 
 robe had gone before in the care of Sofia. So 
 preparation was an easy matter. 
 
 Gordon strolled in the wood and felt a blithe being. 
 
 Melania dashed to the door of her hut at each alter- 
 nate minute to catch a glimpse of him — back or front, 
 it did not matter which. The gathering of garments 
 was a scrambled affair. 
 
 Nickoff and Pendeff were not allowed — ^by Glebof 's 
 express mention — to return with the party. In case 
 all went well they would be freed later. Glebof 
 was a cautious person. 
 
 Again on the road to the capital. 
 
 Melania Nicholovna was considered, for a couple 
 of feather beds had been thrown at the bottom of 
 her kibitka, and Gordon made the journey appear 
 almost like roses all the way. She was interested 
 in everything. The baying of the wolves, the swift 
 shuffle of a bear, even the post houses seemed to her 
 interesting beyond measure. It was because he 
 was by her side : the old, old story. It is not so 
 much what we see in life as how we see it. It is our 
 appreciation of things that lifts them to the rank 
 of the precious. 
 
 When Gordon and his party drew up at Nov- 
 gorod they did not notice the observant atten- 
 tion of a man at the post house. Perhaps they 
 were cumbered about other things, tired and not 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 281 
 
 fearing. They let the man get a good start, and he 
 seemed to know the worth of the information he 
 was riding with. Also just outside St. Petersburg, 
 another man (clearly on the look out) went speedily 
 forward without loss of time and in advance of 
 Gordon's party. 
 
 Melania Nicholovna grew more nervous as the 
 destination grew nearer. She would have continued 
 the journey indefinitely (so many would like to do 
 that with nice journeys !) As long as Gordon was by 
 her side she was happy, but the arrival in St. Peters- 
 burg meant separation and the terrible risk. She 
 grew afraid, and Gordon had to comfort her. 
 
 She travelled as Countess Revel with her atten- 
 dants : Glebof had suggested that. 
 
 One of the party went ahead just before they 
 entered the city to warn Glebof of their approach. 
 
 They came in St. Petersburg with prudence, 
 and the wide thoroughfares and sparsely-built 
 streets took Countess Puroff's attention, for the 
 young will ever be most attracted by the eye. The 
 ear gets its reign later. The beasts, you will notice, 
 get their pleasures neither from eye nor ear. 
 
 Glebof received them warmly, for he had been 
 over anxious, as a man not fitted for perfect trust 
 must be. 
 
 A room was engaged at the inn for Melania 
 Nicholovna and her woman. 
 
 Glebof was much relieved and looked grateful to 
 Gordon. The other men were dismissed to their 
 waiting places to be ready for the journey back to 
 the forest when Sofia should be free. 
 
 Glebof had arranged to meet Stolemkin, or to 
 
282 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 deliver up Countess Puroff to him, in a room at 
 some distance from the inn where he was staying. 
 He considered this merely prudent. 
 
 He was not a very demonstrative man as a rule, 
 but he was clearly a little excited now : perhaps he 
 had begun to distrust Gordon when the latter had 
 been out of his sight for so long. He said two or 
 three times to Gordon as they sat together, I 
 am so glad to see you . . . It was the vain 
 repetition of a man who would express some pleased 
 feeling. He walked the room as he spoke, too, and 
 looked at Gordon at first with gratitude and then 
 almost sympathetically. 
 
 Gordon had separated from Melania Nicholovna 
 with desperation. He would not say good-bye, — 
 the very words racked him — ^but he was on the 
 precipice of anxiety, and his silence was a thing 
 to be remarked. He looked at nothing and was 
 obviously meditating. 
 
 Glebof murmured : " I am glad you came so 
 well. . . . I — I will remember. . . . We will soon 
 free Sofia now. . . 
 
 He touched Gordon. The two men looked at 
 each other. Glebof 's unspoken question was : " You 
 are not grieving, surely ? " Gordon's unspoken 
 answer : " I scheme when I am in trouble." 
 
 The looks were sufficient without speech. Pene- 
 trating people save themselves and other people a 
 weary waste of words and time. 
 
 " Sofia free," said Glebof sympathetically, " I 
 will help you." 
 
 Gordon held out his hand. 
 
 " I will let Stolemkin know/' said Glebof after 
 a little silence. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 283 
 
 Gordon nodded. He could offer no objec- 
 tion. 
 
 So the message went to Stolemkin that Countess 
 Puroff was in St. Petersburg and that the exchange 
 agreed upon was ready to be carried out. The 
 messenger waited to learn Count Stolemkin's 
 suggestion as to place and time. 
 
 Stolemkin had been anxious, and at sundry 
 times had looked at Sofia with bloodshot eyes. He 
 treated her decently but kept a close guard over 
 her. It was the uncertain prospect that made 
 Stolemkin anxious : he could not trust Glebof and did 
 not know what was to be the outcome of the bargain. 
 He hoped (which was healthy), but had his moments 
 of distrust — which were uncomfortable. 
 
 He read the message with gladness. Countess 
 Puroff here — . ... At last ! Now he could afford 
 to talk once more of the estates and the timber — 
 a pest on that ! He was really rather weary of the 
 catalogue, for Bulavin had teased him sore. Bul- 
 avin ? — Ha ! Ha ! He thought of his old friend with 
 delight. Bulavin had certainly hoped to laugh at 
 him — ^he had heard news, had snatched rumours 
 from somewhere, but what a fool he would look 
 now ! . . . 
 
 Stolemkin rejoiced in his position. Countess 
 Puroff in St. Petersburg and ready to be handed 
 over to him. This was capital news : news of the 
 rosiest hue. He stamped the floor in his triumph 
 and then paused to doubt. The canker of happiness 
 — ^peuh ! This was the doubt : Having been de- 
 ceived once, who was to guarantee that he would not 
 be deceived again ? 
 
284 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 It was a reasonable doubt, and a reasonable doubt 
 is as wholesome as the cutting off of a gangrened toe 
 — and as pleasant. Triumph retired to a corner : 
 joy disappeared too. The gay throng of Stolemkin's 
 revellers dispersed at the appearance of this grave 
 and respectable figure of Doubt. 
 
 Stolemkin swore — without improving matters. 
 
 He swore a second time. He then began to ask 
 himself the question : What would satisfy him ? 
 Nobody in St. Petersburg knew Countess Puroff, 
 who therefore could give him assurance respecting 
 her identity ? Then was he to be deluded a second 
 time ? Joy had turned to horror in the twinkling 
 of a thought ! 
 
 He sent back word that he must be convinced 
 the lady delivered up to him was Countess Puroff. 
 
 Glebof looked grave. Gordon smiled : the 
 humour appealed to him. 
 
 " What can we say ? " said Glebof. 
 
 " That we are acting now as honourably as we 
 would be treated : that I give my word the lady 
 to be handed over to him is the one I was bringing 
 to him on the first occasion and that he can see and 
 speak to her if he will swear to come alone." 
 
 Glebof hesitated. He did not care about letting 
 Stolemkin see the Countess, but considered afterwards 
 it would do no harm and might convince Stolemkin, 
 who was quite justified in acting with caution. 
 
 So the messenger returned, and Stolemkin after 
 further consideration sent back word he would 
 accept those assurances and visit Countess Puroff. 
 He dropped a hint that if all did not go well the lady 
 in his custody would not emerge happily. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 285 
 
 The meeting was arranged for that same day 
 at nightfall. 
 
 In the meanwhile Glebof got ready for a journey. 
 Vasili was in a fever of excitement. 
 
 " I will go and see Melania Nicholovna," said 
 Gordon. 
 
 Glebof consented. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 " Do not, for one repulse, forego the purpose 
 That you resolved to effect.'* 
 
 — The Tempest. 
 
 MELANIA NICHOLOVNA was paler now, 
 but showed delight when Gordon went to 
 
 her. 
 
 He told her of Stolemkin's doubts and of the 
 projected visit. 
 
 And when it is over ? " she asked. 
 
 " When he is satisfied, you will go," he rephed. 
 
 She looked at him as if they were to begin the 
 telling of a tale too grave for light introduction. 
 
 " But be ready, dear, for I shall come like a thief 
 in the night. Maybe the very day you go." 
 
 " I will be ready," she said in encouraging tones. 
 
 " If possible, give me a signal from your room — 
 a kerchief at the window — anything remarkable will 
 do. I will invent the rest." 
 
 She was brimming with excitement, and he clasped 
 her to him. 
 
 " I will do anything you wish," she said. 
 
 " I will prepare for our escape two ways — either 
 by an English boat or by carriage. But that is for 
 after." 
 
 After a while she said : " I will pray." 
 
 286 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 287 
 
 Gordon returned to Glebof and then went to 
 make preparations for his own escape with Melania 
 Nicholovna. 
 
 It had been agreed between Stolemkin and Glebof 
 that if the former were satisfied no time should be 
 lost in exchanging Sofia and the Countess. Stolem- 
 kin was to come in a carriage with Sofia and Glebof 
 or his representative in a carriage with the Countess, 
 and the exchange should take place in the open. 
 Both sides swore to deal honourably and straight- 
 forwardly, without cunning or arriere pensee or 
 ulterior design of any kind ; and neither in respect 
 of what had happened should pursue the other. 
 
 The terms were the suggestions of both, and as 
 both were heartily desirous of an arrangement, each 
 seemed willing to agree to the other's demands with 
 little demur. 
 
 Stolemkin was not afraid. He set out well-armed 
 after giving instructions to the guardians of Sofia 
 and taking with him one attendant, who followed 
 discreetly. 
 
 He drove some way in a carriage and then walked 
 to the appointed place. 
 
 The meeting was curious. Glebof and Gordon 
 were together, and Stolemkin came in with 
 one hand on his sword and one on his pistol. The 
 three men bowed. Glebof looked at the man who 
 had ordered his father to be flogged with feehngs of 
 curiosity and hate. The feeling was instinctive and 
 would not be repressed even by the importance of 
 other issues. He betrayed very little, for he was an 
 undemonstrative man. 
 
 Gordon spoke. 
 
288 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 The question is the identity of Countess Puroff." 
 " Yes," said Stolemkin. 
 
 " Well, I give you my word the lady you are about 
 to see is the lady who when I first made her acquaint- 
 ance presented herself to me as Countess Puroff. 
 She it is I was conducting to St. Petersburg when we 
 were captured, and she will tell you herself she is 
 Countess Puroff. I would stake my life on it." 
 
 Stolemkin hesitated. Gordon rang true ; and 
 besides, he was trustworthy in spite of the big trick. 
 
 '* Show me the lady," Stolemkin said. 
 
 " It is agreed," interrupted Glebof," that you are 
 acting straightforwardly." 
 
 Stolemkin scowled. 
 
 " What I say I will do I will do,*' he repUed 
 haughtily. 
 
 Glebof was not disturbed. 
 
 " It is your intention to deliver up my sister for 
 Countess Puroff and not to instigate the police or 
 anybody else to interfere with us leaving St. Peters- 
 burg." 
 
 Stolemkin paused. His pride felt uncomfortable, 
 that was all. 
 
 " It is. And yours ? " he said curtly. 
 
 " I will deal truly with you. I want my sister. 
 I wanted more. I meant more. But now I will 
 be honest and fair with you. Give my sister her 
 freedom without trickery, dodge or subterf uge,and you 
 shall have what you most want — Countess Puroff." 
 
 Stolemkin had enough insight to see the truth in 
 the bandit's words and tone. He felt pleased now 
 he had kept Sofia, for the very sacrifice Glebof seemed 
 willing to make heightened the prize* 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 289 
 
 " Let me see her," he said. 
 And if you are satisfied ? " 
 
 " I will bring your sister in a carriage — or send her 
 — ^to the Admiralty. You will do the same with 
 Countess Purofi. Please arrange that there be no 
 delay in the street. The ladies will change car- 
 riages.'* 
 
 " That will do" ; and Glebof then turned to Gor- 
 don : " Will you lead the way ? " 
 
 Gordon followed by Glebof and Stolemkin — the 
 latter refused to be sandwiched between the two — 
 walked across the yard to a room at the other side 
 where Melania Nicholovna had been waiting, 
 
 " Where is Belof ? " said Glebof. 
 
 Gordon looked : the man was missing. 
 
 " Perhaps inside." He knocked at the door of the 
 Countess's room. 
 
 There was no answer. 
 
 Gordon went in. There was nobody there. 
 
 He spoke in the hoarse accent of passion. 
 
 " She's gone," he said, and he glared at Stolem- 
 kin. 
 
 Glebof dashed in and drew his pistol. He turned 
 on Stolemkin and Gordon like a fury. 
 
 Stolemkin drew sword and pistol, and his face 
 was a blotched thing with his cold staring blue eyes 
 seeming to desire to leap out. 
 
 He snorted and grunted. It was all incoherent 
 at first. 
 
 " A second time, eh," he jerked out at last. 
 " You devil ! " said Glebof, and he looked mur- 
 derous if ever a man did. 
 They were a desperate three. The presence of 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 Countess Puroff meant so much to them all, and 
 none knew how it had happened save that the 
 woman they all set a prize on was gone. 
 
 Gordon, like a knight robbed ruffianly of hope ; 
 Glebof like a prisoner bereft of ransom ; Stolemkin, 
 a robber cheated of booty. 
 
 They were ready to mistrust each other. 
 
 They spoke little save for curses and noises at 
 first. The rage in their faces was hateful. They 
 eyed each other in turn and saw themselves eyed 
 back. The triangular whirl of glance was horrible 
 and yet sobering. If each were so furious, all were 
 cheated. 
 
 Stolemkin in big black boots, purple breeches and 
 a red coat with fine embroidery, his big fur coat 
 unbuttoned, held out pistol and sword, but did 
 not know whom to strike. He plainly considered 
 himself a victim. 
 
 Glebof accustomed to strike on the instant, was 
 stayed by the unusual circumstances ; Gordon, 
 heart-rent (not " pocket " like Stolemkin), felt like 
 shrieking, cursing, striking. But the obvious frank 
 fury on the faces of the other two calmed him and 
 let him see with some clearness. 
 
 Your handiwork ? " he said to Stolemkin. 
 
 "Ah! Ah!" Stolemkin felt deluded. "You 
 rogue ! You thief 
 
 " By God ! Be quiet, or I will kill you where you 
 stand, you fool,*' said Gordon. 
 
 " You kill me " said Stolemkin. 
 
 " Be quiet," said Glebof, and all their pistols were 
 up in the air. " What does it mean ? " 
 
 " I left her here," said Gordon. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " Then who has taken her ? " Glebof looked at 
 Stolemkin, who jeered in his rage. 
 
 " Can't you see, you stupid/' said Gordon, " that 
 we lose perhaps more than you. What do you 
 want to grin like that for ? What object have 
 we in the Countess's disappearance ? Haven't we 
 been at some trouble to get her ? If any of us has 
 an advantage in her secret removal it is you, Anton 
 Gregorovitch — you, do you hear ? And if you have 
 had a hand in this I will slit you into pieces." 
 
 Stolemkin was quietly sobered. He had been too 
 furious to say much, and now he had sufficient 
 coolness to see the dismay in the faces of the other 
 two. 
 
 " Where is she then ? " he said with a snarl. 
 
 Gordon and Glebof looked at one another and 
 at once began to examine the room. They went 
 down the stairs, and in the stables they found Belof , 
 who had been guarding the door. His head was 
 split open, but he was alive. When he came to he 
 told all he knew. He had seen two men approach 
 in friendly fashion. Suddenly he was knocked down 
 and knew no more. He did not recognize his 
 assailants. His grief was heartrending. He blamed 
 himself and seemed almost mad. 
 
 Who had done this thing ? Stolemkin went back 
 to see that Sofia was still safe and gave Glebof 
 twenty-four hours to produce Countess Puroff. 
 At the end of that time . . . the rest was easy con- 
 jecture. 
 
 But it was not easy to trace the Countess. Gordon, 
 Glebof and Belof were as keen in their search as 
 desperate men could be, but clues were not easy. 
 
292 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 Their feelings were like those of storm-tossed 
 mariners who see a sail and buoy themselves with 
 hope only to see the horizon swallow up all chance 
 of help. They were almost ready to call to the moun- 
 tains to fall on them and to the earth to swallow 
 them up. To end hke this ? And where was 
 Melania Nicholovna ? In durance vile ? alive or 
 dead ? The phantoms of fancy came to torture the 
 heart-stricken three — nay, five at least, for Sofia 
 and Vasili felt it too. The men were scouring St. 
 Petersburg, and the twenty-four hours that followed 
 Stolemkin's departure saw the hunters give them- 
 selves no rest. And then the news came. 
 
 Stolemkin got it first. He met his friend Bulavin, 
 and the sight stirred suspicion. 
 
 Bulavin looked in a manner triumphant. They 
 greeted each other with feelers, so to speak. 
 
 " Still happy as ever ? " asked Bulavin. 
 
 " Still and ever,'' replied Stolemkin, longing to 
 swear. 
 
 Bulavin shook his head. 
 
 " And we are all likely to fall into pits, to grasp 
 
 the shadow, to mistake appearances for realities " 
 
 He shook his head again. 
 
 Stolemkin wished he could shake it for him. 
 You sound mournful, my friend." 
 
 " Then I behe myself." 
 
 " Um " 
 
 " Um. There is no man in St. Petersburg has a 
 right to be happier than I at this moment, Anton 
 Gregorovitch." 
 
 Ah ! . . . " Stolemkin was sajring to himself. 
 " And what has made the rogue happy ? " 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE S93 
 
 " Let me see," said Bulavin, what wa^ the 
 enumeration ? " 
 
 Enumeration ? of what ? " 
 
 " Estates in Livonia, Revel, Ukraine and 
 
 Moscow 
 
 Still at that ? " snapped Stolemkin. 
 Still — my friend, I am only just at it. Also 
 jewels to dazzle Europe, wood to build the world's 
 ships, fish to feed " 
 
 Stolemkin waved his hand impatiently. 
 
 " The fish stink. I am tired of the tale. Are you 
 still jealous ? " 
 
 " The fish stink," repeated Bulavin with a smile. 
 
 Not the Countess's ? not those belonging to Melania 
 Nicholovna, Countess Puroff. They are alive and 
 wriggling. There is caviare for all the courts — 
 that is if your estimate is correct. And as for being 
 jealous, now why ? Jealous, when there is offered 
 to you, Frolof and me such a glorious chance. We 
 are the chosen three, Anton Gregorovitch, and the 
 winner — ^peuh ! Estates, fish, wood, jewels, serfs — 
 peuh ! And I jealous of you now ? " 
 
 " You look roguish to-day, Nicholas Dimitrivitch/' 
 said Stolemkin, feeling very much at sea with 
 Bulavin's spray scattering sentences. 
 
 " I feel it. I feel hke Jacob when he got his 
 bride — after seven years, was it ? or fourteen ? I am 
 not good at these things : but to win at last — 
 well, it must be glorious eh, Anton ? " 
 
 Stolemkin thought it must, but he looked as if 
 he were far from thinking of such a pleasant thing 
 at that moment. 
 
 ** And that was a gorgeous wedding of yours. 
 
294 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 Vasili and his bride . . . Where is the lady 
 now ? " 
 
 " What the devil do you mean ? " said Stolemkin 
 with a face with plenty of blood in it. " What is it 
 you are hinting at and smirking about and dancing 
 like a damn cat for ? " 
 
 Bulavin was not disturbed. 
 
 " Hinting at/' he said. Haven't you found 
 out your mistake, Anton Gregorovitch ? " 
 " What mistake ? " 
 
 " The mistaken bride ; or, Good Lord ! what is the 
 matter with my daughter-in-law ! The deluded 
 parent ; or, By Heaven ! I will make somebody 
 smart for this. Stinking fish ; or Who the devil 
 landed the wrong pike ! Mistake . . . You ask me 
 what mistake ? " 
 
 Stolemkin looked as if he would like to handle 
 Bulavin roughly. He came a step nearer and glared 
 furiously. Bulavin, conscious of victory, would 
 not haul down the flag. 
 
 " A plague on your jesting tongue ! In the name 
 of the saints ! what do you want to say ? " Stolemkin 
 said. 
 
 " The fact is," replied Bulavin, " that what I have 
 to say won't be said at once. It takes time. You 
 could not tell the virtues of your daughter-in-law 
 nor the list of her possessions in a word. It isn't 
 possible. But now that St. Petersburg is likely to 
 know, eh. Now that you have discovered that the 
 fish stink " 
 
 " To Hell with them." 
 
 " A very good place too for rotten fish — they 
 go well with sour grapes, eh ? But what will St. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 295 
 
 Petersburg say ? Some of them may say they do 
 not hke to be invited to the wedding of a peasant's 
 
 daughter " 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " The wife of your son VasiH ... It was clever, 
 Anton Gregorovitch, but not clever enough. Passing 
 her off as Countess Puroff before the Court " 
 
 " Be silent ! Do you think I knew ? Do you 
 think I did it knowingly ? " 
 
 " The Court may say so, my friend. You will 
 have to prove that you did not know the peasant 
 girl was Countess Puroff." 
 
 " You have had your finger in the pie, haven't 
 you ? Well, I knew nothing. You would have been 
 taken in as I was." 
 
 " But I was not taken in, and I did not take in my 
 friends. Nobody likes being fooled, Anton Gregoro- 
 vitch — the daughter of a peasant passed off as 
 Countess Puroff " 
 
 " The tale is not all told yet." 
 
 " But it only wants the teUing." 
 
 " You don't know all. There are things to 
 happen yet." 
 
 " Yes. I can tell you one." 
 
 " What is it ? " 
 
 " The marriage of Countess Puroff — the real 
 Countess Puroff, not a sham." 
 " Yes, yes, but to whom ? " 
 Bulavin paused. 
 
 " There is no reason," he said, " why you should 
 not know. Melania Nicholovna is going to marry 
 my son." 
 
 " A Ue ! 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " Sir ! " 
 
 They faced each other glaringly. A pair of dogs 
 straining at the leash of decency. Bnlavin was the 
 cooler. He looked like a man who saw his foe 
 beaten : his head was high. 
 
 " Melania Nicholovna, Countess Puroff, will marry 
 my son," he said quietly, with annoying precision. 
 
 Stolemkin grasped the truth. 
 
 " You have her ? " 
 
 A pause. Bulavin was making the most of his 
 victory. 
 " I have." 
 
 " Then you robbed. You stole her like a bandit. 
 My God ! " 
 
 " Tut ! tut ! And you would buy her from a 
 bandit. You would let the child of a peasant be 
 taken for a Countess by all the Court. You would 
 truck and bargain and keep your son's wife a prisoner 
 so that you might get hold of the Countess, and 
 because I beat you " 
 
 " Beat me ? " Stolemkin was white with rage. 
 
 " Yes, beat you, Anton Gregorovitch." 
 
 " Be damned to your beating. Be " and then 
 
 he stopped. He felt somehow a beaten man. But 
 he was too heavy and thick to collapse utterly. He 
 heard the jibes and jeers, the wit and sneers and the 
 lampoons that would soon be thick as the mud in the 
 streets. He wondered for a moment if he could 
 snatch Melania Nicholovna from the keeping of 
 Bulavin and turn the laugh. But quickly came the 
 flash of memory : He has got her first and therefore 
 has won." \ 
 
 Stolemkin was beaten. But he was not a man 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 297 
 
 to turn round and congratulate a successful rival at 
 any time : and at this time he felt more Hke rending 
 him. 
 
 Bulavin did not make the situation easier. While 
 Stolemkin scowled and looked possessed of ten devils, 
 he smiled as if on nodding terms with the 
 god of victory. The laurel was in his hand and he 
 held it out ostentatiously. He muttered — 
 
 " You must come to the wedding. We " 
 
 Stolemkin turned on his heel. 
 
 " There is no wedding yet," he said. 
 
 Bulavin watched him go and smiled. 
 
 " He takes his beating badly," he said comfortingly 
 to himself. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 "... Weep I cannot : 
 But my heart bleeds." 
 
 — Winter^ s Tale. 
 
 GLEBOF, Gordon, Belof and Vasili had visages 
 that could not be called beautiful. Rage and 
 unrest were there and despair was getting the upper 
 hand of hope : and that takes the light from a 
 man's face. 
 
 Gordon had suggested Bulavin as a likely abductor 
 and had done his best to spy out the land in that 
 direction. It was when the four had met again 
 after a fruitless search that Vasili was persuaded 
 by Gordon (to speak truly he needed very little 
 persuasion) to call on Bulavin. 
 
 Bulavin's reception of Vasili can be imagined. 
 It was the overflowing hospitality of the spider that 
 has gorged. Bulavin's talk was not direct : he flipped 
 at subjects and made suggestions. His questions 
 were irony indelicate. He thought at first that 
 Stolemkin had sent his son, but soon found out his 
 mistake. At last he told him the truth. Vasili 
 asked to see the Countess. 
 
 Bulavin thought the meeting would be ironic 
 and a little triumphant, somewhat Roman. He 
 led Vasih to the Countess and introduced them. 
 
 298 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 299 
 
 Vasili said : " It has been a very exciting time." 
 " Yes," she said, " and tell Louis Alexandrovitch 
 that I was taken by force, will you ? " 
 Bulavin smiled. 
 
 " Yes, you can tell him," he said. " Men, dear 
 lady," he added, turning to the Countess, " are 
 flying at each other's throats on your account. 
 You are another Helen. But Troy is upset. And 
 Vasili Antonovitch is married — you know that ?" 
 
 " I do." 
 
 " And the lady ? " 
 
 " Yes, I know her too." 
 
 " It is better so. Count Stolemkin does not feel 
 
 like an archangel : but it is better so." 
 Melania Nicholovna went to Vasili — 
 " Tell Louis Alexandrovitch where I am and 
 
 what has happened. This man says I must marry 
 
 his son : but I won't " 
 
 Chut ! " said Bulavin. " It is the order of the 
 
 Regent. You must be careful. Your head is too 
 
 pretty to fall off yet. And Louis Alexandrovitch 
 
 can find a wife elsewhere — perhaps amongst the 
 
 bandits." 
 
 Then he showed Vasili out and locked Melania up. 
 
 Vasili went out with despair chastened a little 
 and hope returning. He was not altogether happy, 
 for his lot was most unpromising : but hope smiles 
 at every beam of good fortune. 
 
 At least, they knew where Melania Nicholovna was. 
 Gordon, Glebof and Vasili were together discussing 
 the situation and the gloom grew blacker and 
 blacker. 
 
 In anybody else's hands a ransom could have 
 
300 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 been paid ; but Bulavin wanted no ransom. Gordon 
 was most satisfied, for, in his eyes, all places for her 
 were ill unless she were by his side. She must be 
 snatched from Bulavin as she was to be taken from 
 Stolemkin. Knowing where she was, Gordon began 
 to dream of schemes. Hope was burning within 
 him. 
 
 But Vasili and Glebof were almost lampless. 
 They saw the way very dark in front. What would 
 Stolemkin do ? He was to give up Sofia when he 
 got Melania, and now that he had not got Melania 
 he would certainly refuse to give up Sofia. 
 
 Gordon suggested they should attempt to rescue 
 the Countess and Sofia — Melania first. Glebof said 
 curtly, " Sofia first." 
 
 Rescue was their one hope and they dwelt long 
 over the details. They were fearless and desperate 
 and their suggestions were not lacking in daring. 
 But as failure would probably be fatal they pre- 
 ferred to be slow and sure rather than risk all on a 
 dash, which might succeed in getting Sofia and 
 Melania out of the respective prisons but might fail 
 to carry them safely out of the capital. 
 
 Bulavin might be taken by surprise, they argued, 
 but Stolemkin would not. 
 
 Money was fortunately of little concern with 
 Glebof, who had so many purses of other people to dip 
 into, and heavy bribery of the servants of both 
 establishments were agreed upon. 
 
 Vasili's knowledge of his father's staff was reckoned 
 useful. The details of the plan were arranged with 
 scrupulous care : escape was to be swift and seemed 
 easy. Hope again came into the faces of Glebof 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 301 
 
 and Vasili as well as in Gordon's. They ate once 
 more and drank and then dispersed on their several 
 errands. But Stolemkin upset them all. 
 
 He went from Bulavin a beaten man. His pride 
 was a thing to be cherished, and he had boasted as 
 well as any man in liquor could do. What a 
 mouthful he had made of the " Estates in Livonia, 
 Revel/' et cetera. He cursed himself and squirmed 
 now. 
 
 And the Court would jeer ! They would never 
 let him forget he had been duped by a peasant's 
 daughter. Bulavin would spread the tale all over 
 St. Petersburg. Bulavin would now see in the pos- 
 session of his family those estates in — ach ! 
 
 How he cursed Bulavin ! Bulavin, who had been 
 beaten ; Bulavin who would have had to eat the dust 
 
 of defeat if only those villains had not interfered 
 
 That put his thoughts on Sofia. He would make 
 her pay. She would expiate. She should suffer. 
 No more would she hold her head high and take 
 a pride in her devilry. Yes, she should suffer. 
 There was some satisfaction in the fact that he held 
 her prisoner. Well, he would hand her over to the 
 police. They would flog her and cut out her tongue 
 and send her to Siberia. Serve her right too, 
 he gloated. She deserves it. He wished he could 
 give the whole brood of them into the hands of 
 the executioner. He felt like blood : he was think- 
 ing in hecatombs almost. 
 
 Ideas breed ideas almost as prolifically as the 
 urstdiest rodent begets its young. Hand the whole 
 brood over. . . . Why not ? He began to chuckle 
 over the idea and gloat over the prisoners before 
 
302 
 
 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 they were taken. Glebof the brother and Gordon 
 — why not ? They should squirm too. They 
 should be flogged and sent Siberiawards so that 
 they should trouble honest men no longer. Yes, 
 'the woman, Gordon, and Glebof. They were all 
 there waiting for the police. After all, one got some 
 satisfaction from the flaying of one's enemies. 
 
 If only Bulavin could be included in the batch. He 
 had got the Countess. 
 
 Stolemkin was striding the floor like a being tre- 
 mendous and fearful. He stopped. Rage was 
 not in his face. He was vindictive now with 
 a grin. He looked like a biter rather than one to 
 give blows. He had another idea — conceived in 
 rage and begotten in spite. 
 
 Yes — yes — yes. He was clearly rejoicing over 
 this idea. It was something good beyond the 
 usual : it was seemingly better than having Gordon 
 and Glebof and Sofia whipped in St. Petersburg 
 and banished to Siberia. 
 
 It was to include Melania Nicholovna ! 
 
 " Why not ? " he was saying to himself. " She was 
 one of the plotters. She is as thick in the business 
 as any of the others. She told all, lent her clothes 
 and her maid — the vixen ! the little rogue ! the 
 —the " 
 
 His lips were dry with excitement and he licked 
 them with relish. He sat down for a moment and 
 murmured " Bulavin/' He considered his ideas 
 so full of richness that he could scarce enjoy them 
 at once. They dazzled him. " Bulavin,'' he 
 whispered again, and then he actually chuckled. 
 
 " Got him. Got the sly devil ! Oh ! He shall 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 303 
 
 rage too ! He would laugh at me. . . . He would 
 
 cackle of her estates eh, and jewels (He boggled 
 
 at the word "fish" somehow). 
 
 He called for his carriage. He was in a wild rag- 
 ing delight and a wild dehghtful rage. He could 
 knock you down and yet laugh with you. 
 
 He really considered he was very very clever. 
 
 And certainly he was preparing a very pretty 
 pit for a few people against whom he felt he had a 
 grudge. 
 
 He went direct to Ostermann who was now High 
 Admiral and had placed the villa at Peterof at the 
 disposal of Vasili and his bride. Stolemkin was 
 one of Ostermann's close followers and had been 
 rewarded in consequence, for Ostermann had 
 thriven. 
 
 Since the day when Gordon had been asked by 
 Stolemkin to bring Countess Puroff to St. Petersburg 
 there had been great changes in the government. 
 
 The Empress — ^Anna Ivanovna — died in 1749, 
 and Biren, her lover, was named Regent. But his 
 rule was unpopular and short. He was surprised 
 in his bed, taken prisoner, and then packed off to 
 Siberia, and Anna Leopoldovna became Regent in his 
 place. She was a foolish woman, and being too idle 
 to dress herself would lie for days on a couch. 
 
 When rulers forget their duties the people re- 
 member their rights. 
 
 Miinnich, who had arrested Biren, was nov/ made 
 Prime Minister, and Ostermann, who had been Vice- 
 Chancellor, became High Admiral. 
 
 It was to the latter, a scheming man of talent, 
 that Stolemkin now went. He had not to wait long 
 
304 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 to be received, and then he told his story. He told 
 it with art. His object was to tell it in such a way 
 that Count Ostermann would feel that not only had 
 Stolemkin been cruelly deluded, but that the Court 
 had — the Empress, he, Ostermann, and all those 
 who had been present at the wedding. 
 He succeeded. 
 
 " They have tried to make fools of us all — and 
 did not care who we were," Stolemkin ended with. 
 Ostermann was annoyed. 
 " And they are in St. Petersburg ? " 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Where is Countess Puroff ? " 
 
 '* Bulavin took her. What is the trick she played 
 on the Court to the advantage he hopes to 
 get?" 
 
 But will not get," said Ostermann curtly. 
 
 Stolemkin was beginning to rejoice. He told 
 where Gordon and Glebof and Sofia and the Countess 
 might be found and Ostermann took notes. 
 
 " They may try to bolt now they see their plot 
 has not altogether succeeded. But I have the 
 woman," said Stolemkin. 
 
 " I shall soon have them all," repHed Ostermann, 
 and then he spoke of other matters — of the Princess 
 Elizabeth and his suspicions concerning her. He 
 asked Stolemkin to find out all he could about her — 
 if she were ambitious and seemed desirous of aiming 
 at the throne. 
 
 Stolemkin returned with feelings of joy animating 
 his big bosom and his fat face. His principal satis- 
 faction was his fancy concerning Bulavin. He had a 
 desire to call on his old and trusty friend so that he 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 305 
 
 might be there when the pohce came and took away 
 — the estates in Livonia, Revel and Moscow, the 
 
 jewels and the wood, the — er serfs 
 
 He saw that Sofia was safe and could not resist 
 going in. 
 
 " Have you all that you desire ? " he asked. 
 
 " Save liberty." 
 
 " I shall soon let you go." 
 
 Her eyes brightened. 
 
 " Has she been found ? " She had been told of 
 the Countess's disappearance. 
 - Y— yes." 
 
 She looked very glad without being at all demon- 
 strative. 
 " When ? " she asked. 
 " When what ? " 
 
 " When will they come for me ? " 
 
 " Soon — very soon I think — and hope." 
 
 She looked at him keenly, for she did not like the 
 tone. It was not genial and there was gall in it, 
 and she detected the sourness at once. 
 
 " You look like the devil," she said quietly. 
 And you will soon feel Hke it. You she cat," 
 he retorted losing his temper. " You will soon go 
 from here. They are coming for you — ^but do you 
 know who they are ? The police, my vixen. You 
 sorry wench, you will soon have time to think over 
 your villainy. And your brother too. The police 
 will soon have him ; and then it will be whack * 
 
 whack ! 00 My God ! Your backs will be it 
 
 ribbons, do you hear ? You " 
 
 " Go out," she said very quietly, for she was white 
 
 I wouldn't talk to a bear like that." She spat on 
 
 u 
 
3o6 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 the floor expressively and then waved her hand 
 with the contempt of one who can face death. 
 
 He went out with a laugh, forced for the occasion. 
 Then he thought of the Princess Elizabeth. 
 
 When the police came Sofia saw struggling was 
 helpless and went easily. 
 
 Bulavin shrieked like a wounded wolf when the 
 police called on him. He refused at first to let the 
 Countess go, but the order was imperative. Oster- 
 mann had power. So he swore all would be well and 
 patted Melania Nicholovna on the back as she went 
 out weeping. He imagined that an interview with 
 Miinnich or Ostermann would set all right. The 
 arrest of Glebof was a different matter. He fought 
 like a lion. To him, of course, liberty was life. 
 His agility and strength were amazing. Poor 
 Belof with him was knocked down in the struggle 
 and badly wounded. Glebof managed to get at the 
 head of the stairs, and there he played his sword hke 
 a hero. But the police were not heroes and would 
 not go to him. Two of their number were lying 
 on the ground and the others produced muskets. 
 Glebof, with pistol and sword, held the stairs, but 
 his object was escape, and that was certainly more 
 difiicult than remaining where he was. 
 
 The police saw it and invited him to surrender. 
 He glared at them and schemed to flee. But a 
 man on the roof opened a trapdoor and hit him on 
 the head with a stone. One of his men was taken 
 with him, but Vasili, hearing of the arrest, warned 
 Gordon, who kept in hiding and was not found. 
 
 These two sat together at night with their heads 
 unequal to the task their hearts demanded. 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 307 
 
 Sofia was calling to Vasili. (He had been to his 
 father's house and with taunts and curses had learnt 
 the truth.) 
 
 Melania Nicholovna was calling to Gordon, and 
 he sat by the Neva and hid. 
 
 They were both still, tired, and their hearts at 
 sunset. The frost outside froze their souls. The 
 world was very hard. 
 
 Melania and Sofia taken prisoners. . . . This 
 was not light nor negligible. It was one thing to 
 snatch a prisoner from a private house : it was 
 another to effect an escape from the fortress of 
 St. Peter and St. Paul. And very few got off lightly 
 even . . . 
 
 Yet Gordon was only hard hit (very hard, all the 
 same) : he was not hopeless. All the time he won- 
 dered what to do. It is the salvation of the soul, 
 this gazing into activity. What to do . . . other- 
 wise he was a mere copy of dejection. 
 
 Vasili was limp. He had wept and raved at first, 
 for his father had spared him no details. The 
 elder Stolemkin gave other people credit for the pos- 
 session of feelings when he wanted to wound them. 
 He really hoped then that their feelings were deep. 
 So he pictured Sofia's fate to Vasili with reahstic 
 brutality. No wonder Vasili howled, and one for- 
 gives him struggling with his parent. He was 
 thrown out with curses. Now he was weary. He 
 saw misery and darkness in front of him. 
 
 " What wiU happen ? " he said plaintively, feeling 
 only too well that no sun could shine into his dark 
 cave. 
 
 Gordon was staring through the wall, across the 
 
308 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 river, through prison walls, to Melania Nicholovna, 
 a frail slip of a girl who needed a man. He had 
 a heart of steel. 
 
 " What is not prevented," he said* 
 
 Vasili looked a little surprised. 
 
 " What — have you any hope ? " 
 
 " I always hope — ^but I don't bother about that,'* 
 
 " But what can we do ? I can think of nothing. 
 
 And Sofia " He caught the wrench at his 
 
 throat. Poor Vasili ! 
 
 Gordon looked up. 
 
 " Be a man, Vasili,'' he said, taking him by the arm. 
 You have surprised me before ; don't disappoint 
 me now." 
 
 Vasili's timid, affectionate brown eyes looked 
 appealingly at Gordon. To him the dawn prom- 
 ised no reward : he had merely the hope of youth — 
 that the worst would be averted somehow. 
 
 Gordon, six feet two of him, bent forward to 
 resolution and saw super-Herculean tasks for one 
 who, after all, was not even Hercules. 
 
 A man can't charge a prison. What is the good of 
 rushing singly at a regiment ? Sense must be served. 
 
 Thinking of ways and means kept his spirit alive, 
 his lamp burning. But when he saw himself in- 
 variably in a cul-de-sac with grinning Stolemkins 
 and a horde of police, he began to think of life as full 
 of trouble and not an over joyous thing. 
 
 He began to think of Melania Nicholovna again 
 and was shaken. Those eyes that came from the 
 sea and told of deep wonders : that sunset-tinted 
 hair that promised such golden dreams and the 
 clinging ways — just suited to a big man like Gordon, 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 who was a born protector — what was to be her fate ? 
 In prison she was hostage to savagery. 
 
 Something would be done surely. It might be 
 futile, but something must happen. . . . Gordon 
 asked himself what would really be done to the 
 two women. . . . Sofia would certainly smart : 
 she could not escape. The rights of peasants in- 
 cluded floggings in those days. It was a thing not to 
 be omitted. But a Countess . . . They had it too, for 
 Peter the Great boxed ears like a virago and did not 
 care whose they were. Besides autocracy is always 
 served by whips : their cracking is the music of the 
 absolute. Yes, Melania Nicholovna would not be 
 spared any more than Sofia. . . . 
 
 Gordon shuddered. 
 
 Yet Gordon hid. While she languished he was 
 forced to hide. Autocracy, tyranny, cruelty flour- 
 ished. Tricks abounded but the strong won. 
 Mercy was the thinnest of shadows and fed on 
 crumbs. The strong deemed it expedient to show 
 their strength : they had not learnt the great 
 lesson that it is just the strong who can afford to be 
 weak. 
 
 The Neva was flowing slowly under a frost-keen 
 air. The streets were almost deserted. Gordon 
 could rest no longer in doors and walked along by 
 the Admiralty buildings, looked up at the sky, 
 where the clouds promised and broke their promises 
 like weak princes and strong women. 
 
 Nothing gave hope : the strong seemed pitiless. 
 It was force that built this great new city : what 
 could one man, hunted and forced to hide, do against 
 all the power of law and government ? And yet 
 
3IO THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 something must be done. But what ? Oh ! for 
 a plan ! 
 
 He sighed for the miraculous and felt it a waste of 
 breath. 
 
 He leaned over the wall and watched the river 
 flowing by, with the ships made in cunning and 
 foolish guise by the genius of Peter. 
 
 On the river rolled, staying neither for sympathy 
 nor comfort, cold and tremendous. It seemed 
 symbolic. 
 
 What was the end to be ? The end . . . the very 
 word seemed pregnant with blight. Hope was 
 dying. 
 
 Gordon turned round and saw a man watching 
 him. He put his hand on his pistol. The man 
 advanced a step. Gordon was ready for a fight, 
 almost eager. 
 
 " Who are you ? What do you want ? " he said. 
 " Speak quickly." 
 
 The other man advanced. 
 
 " Gordon." 
 
 " Lestocq ! " 
 
 " Yes. What do you do here ? 
 " I am cursing fate." 
 
 " Pooh ! " Lestocq took Gordon's arm. " Fate 
 is the prison of the weak and the mortar of the 
 strong. Come with me, old friend. I will give you 
 something to do that will knock Fate off his pedestal 
 — off his throne. I was looking for a man." 
 
 I wonder if you can help me ? " said Gordon, 
 snatching at the man and the tone. I fear not." 
 
 " Help you — I'll give you something to do ; 
 and if you succeed you can ask for what you want 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 311 
 
 and you shall have it. The wish is at your feet. 
 We are going to make history this night. Come 
 
 with me " 
 
 " You are not deluding me ? " said Gordon, 
 surprised at Lestocq's language. " I have things 
 to do " 
 
 *' If I fail I shall die the death," said Lestocq, 
 " but if I succeed, if we succeed — come along, my 
 friend." 
 
 " Some one dear to me is in prison — can I get her 
 out ? " asked Gordon with heart beating fast. 
 " Can I ask that ? Can I secure that." 
 
 " Get her out — marry her, and fling her enemies 
 to the wolves if you want. Yes, all that and more." 
 
 " Don't jest. Don't talk lightly." 
 
 " My friend, I am the most serious man in St. 
 Petersburg to-night. I am playing for the great 
 stakes of the great." 
 
 " I don't understand you." 
 
 " Come with me : you will," said Lestocq. 
 
 Gordon, hope again' in his bosom and fire in his 
 veins, went gladly. 
 
 It was dark and cold, but the darkness must 
 give way to the morning. 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 She was his life. 
 The ocean to the river of his thoughts. 
 Which terminated all." 
 
 — Byron. 
 
 LESTOCQ shut the door. 
 " Now, my friend, who speaks first ? 
 he said. " Only I have httle time to lose." 
 
 " What is your plan ? " replied Gordon. I only 
 want to rescue a lamb from the wolves — my lamb." 
 
 He found he had to tell his tale, so told it suc- 
 cinctly. 
 
 Lestocq hstened without interrupting and, when 
 Gordon had finished, said — 
 
 " You shall be with us. We are to move moun- 
 tains to-night, if we can move Princess Elizabeth." 
 
 Gordon looked astonished. He had met the daugh- 
 ter of Peter the Great before, and sniffed great 
 designs. 
 
 " A revolution ? " he said. 
 
 " A new Empress," said Lestocq. Now do you 
 see your chance ? " 
 
 Gordon did. 
 
 " The stars are shining for me," he said. " I 
 would do Princess Elizabeth a turn at any time and 
 feel the honour of it. But when I know that the 
 
 312 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 313 
 
 other gang would torture Melania Nicholovna and 
 that Princess Ehzabeth would free her — the good 
 God sent you to me this night, Lestocq. Take me : 
 give my sword or pistol a chance. What is it you 
 want ? Lord ! I feel like Hagar in the desert : 
 the water is gushing/' 
 
 Lestocq took him by the hand. 
 
 " You shall drive her carriage," he said. " You 
 shall arrest Ostermann and Miinnich and Golovkin 
 and Mengden — Stolemkin too if you wish." 
 
 " Thou hast escaped arrest thyself, I will make 
 thee arrester of many. Lestocq, old friend, I am 
 mad. I will brave the whole Palace if need be now. 
 Let's pray for the dawn. What a wakening ! " 
 
 " A moment. Don't be impatient. The Princess 
 hesitates, for she likes pleasure : but you and I must 
 persuade her this night. I have the men ready : we 
 want the Princess to move and Russia is at her feet. 
 She knows me ; but a new friend — a big friend like 
 yourself — will just move her. You shall launch her 
 wishes." 
 
 I am thinking of Stolemkin and Ostermann — 
 and Bulavin too, in the name of all that's just and 
 holy. Peuh ! I feel I could remove mountains. 
 As for the Princess, I would serve her in any 
 matter." 
 
 *' Come with me now to see her," said Lestocq. 
 
 Gordon went gladly. He was a different being 
 from the man who watched the Neva less than an 
 hour ago. The miraculous had happened. Nothing 
 short of the colossal could have freed the prisoners 
 Gordon wished to liberate, and here was the colossal. 
 A revolution. ... It was history. It was the 
 
314 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 thing which raised some and laid others in the dust. 
 One was exalted, another abased ; one freed, another 
 imprisoned. It turned people upside down. 
 
 They threaten to put her in a convent/' said 
 Lestocq, referring to the Princess. 
 
 " A prison, eh ? " 
 
 Lestocq laughed. 
 
 " She trembles at the idea. It will move her. 
 They are suspicious but know nothing." 
 
 When the two men reached the palace occupied 
 by the Princess, Lestocq quietly went round first 
 to see if the score of Grenadier Guards whom he 
 had heavily bribed were ready. Then he went, 
 with Gordon, to the Princess Elizabeth. 
 
 She started at first on seeing Gordon, but on 
 recognizing him appeared very pleased. A new 
 ally seemed to give her encouragement. Other 
 plotters were there, and Lestocq at once began to 
 plead with her to strike the blow at once — that 
 night. She seemed afraid. 
 
 If we fail," she murmured. 
 
 " Then we all perish on the wheel," said Lestocq. 
 
 The Princess was a fine woman physically. She 
 had a long nose, full frank eyes, a mouth of feeling 
 and an affectionate chin. Her figure was ample and 
 most attractive. 
 
 She felt the risk for those who would serve 
 her. 
 
 Lestocq — he was her physician, but a born in- 
 triguer — handed her a card on one side of which was 
 a picture of herself wearing the Imperial crown : 
 and on the other she was dressed as a nun and 
 surrounded with racks and gibbets ! 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 315 
 
 She looked nervously at the nun's dress. David 
 would have been as glad a monk. 
 
 It will be so unless we strike at once/' said 
 
 Lestocq. "In a convent " He shook his 
 
 head. She looked hesitatingly round and her eyes 
 caught Gordon, who was watching her anxiously, 
 for on her action depended the happiness of Melania 
 Nicholovna. 
 
 He dropped on his knee — he was a quick reader 
 of faces. 
 
 We are dying to serve Your Majesty," he 
 said. 
 
 The phrase touched her. Your Majesty." . . . 
 She seemed braced by it. She turned to a corner 
 of the room where there was an ikon lit by a golden 
 lamp and she prayed before it. 
 
 When she rose Lestocq kissed her hand and 
 looked radiant. He took her at once into the room 
 where the Guards were. 
 
 She asked if they would be loyal to her. They 
 said they would die for her. 
 
 " I will never forget your devotion," she said. 
 " Go back to the barracks, get your comrades to 
 join you and wait for me." 
 
 She then put on a mail cuirass under her dress. 
 The die was cast. Gordon saw Promise beckoning 
 to him. 
 
 It was one o'clock when, clad from head to foot 
 in furs, the Princess was led out by the radiant 
 Lestocq to the sleigh that was waiting outside. 
 
 Gordon was there ready to drive, and they went 
 to the Preobrazhensky barracks, where the Guards, 
 eager and enthusiastic, welcomed her madly. 
 
3i6 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 She spoke to them and inflamed them with her 
 words and her promises. 
 
 Th's was the bloodless revolution of December 5, 
 1740. In the raw cold morning Princess Elizabeth, 
 flanked by Gordon and Lestocq, led three hundred 
 Guards to the Winter Palace. 
 
 The capital slept. Winter was a great soother. 
 One or two sentinels wondered at the invasion but 
 were disarmed before they could offer resistance 
 or raise the alarm. In the palace Gordon headed 
 the wild harbingers of the new regime, and they at 
 once rushed to and surrounded the Regent, her 
 husband and the infant Tsar, and carried them 
 prisoners to Elizabeth's palace. 
 
 The revolution was over. 
 
 Lestocq kissed his sovereign's hands and so did 
 Gordon. 
 
 I will never forget you,'' she said with tears in her 
 eyes. 
 
 The cannon boomed from the fortress ; the capital 
 awoke to morning and the news ; crowds came hurry- 
 ing to the square in front of the palace in spite of the 
 biting wind, and hearing the news, called for their 
 Little Mother. The imposing Elizabeth stepped on 
 the balcony amid the cheers of. her people and bowed 
 to them as Empress. Russia had a new ruler. 
 
 Lestocq was wild with joy, but an hour later, meet- 
 ing Gordon, he asked — 
 
 ** Well, have you arrested them ? " 
 
 Gordon looked ecstatic. A new world seemed 
 to lie before him. He ticked off his fingers. 
 
 " Ostermann, Miinnich, Mengden, Golovkin, Stol- 
 emkin — peuh ! Stolemkin and Bulavin. Phew ! . . . " 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 317 
 
 Lestocq patted his friend on the back. " She 
 will not forget you/' he said. " Nothing will happen 
 in prison to-day ; your friends can be freed to- 
 morrow." 
 
 God be praised ! I am afraid lest at any moment 
 I wake and find it but a dream ! " 
 Lestocq smiled. 
 
 " What would not the Regent and Ostermann 
 and the others give if only to-night's work were a 
 dream ? " 
 
 " Yes. What would not many of us give if some 
 night's work were but a dream." 
 
 " Go and lie down and rest. You will have plenty 
 of time to rejoice." 
 
 " I must let them know in prison — also poor 
 Vasili." He understood what Vasili suffered. 
 
 Gordon, even after his long vigil and exertion, felt 
 no fatigue — the mind treats the body like a galley 
 slave at times. 
 
 It had all happened so swiftly that neither the 
 great tragedy of the revolution, nor its historic 
 importance, touched him. This great outstanding 
 fact of history was less than his own affair. He was a 
 new man himself with Melancholy and Fear flung 
 far away and Hope and Security very present com- 
 panions. 
 
 He got his authority to visit the prison from the 
 new Empress (who told him that his reward was sure), 
 and he left her with a heart too full for calm review- 
 ing. 
 
 Melania would be free — would be his. (What 
 was the name of a new Empress to that ! . . .) 
 
3i8 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 The curtain of the night had lifted and all things 
 were becoming clear and distinct. What had been 
 dark became light, the vague was clear, the 
 threatening ceased and all the world seemed bright. 
 
 At the prison there was some doubt and in- 
 credulity. News did not travel over the capital 
 with even celerity. But all were soon assured and 
 Gordon was admitted. He found Sofia and Melania 
 together. Sofia stood apart, but Melania, opening 
 wide her eyes, flew to his arms. She was pale and her 
 eyes were red, but hope dashed in her cheeks and 
 more than content at the sight of Gordon. She said 
 nothing but " ah ! " and then " Youy and flung 
 her arms round his neck. The " You was ex- 
 quisite. 
 
 He held her to him. 
 
 Very quietly he spoke, for we often enough behave 
 with calmness under the stress of great emotion. 
 " You are free, dear heart,'' he said. *' Free . . 
 " Free ? " 
 
 " They will do us no harm ? " 
 " No.'' 
 
 She paused : the news was so good. 
 And— Sofia ? " 
 
 " She too. All of us free and — ^in favour. It is 
 too good to be true, and yet not half good enough. 
 Free from all danger. Free for love.' 
 
 Melania cried for joy. And Gordon felt, now 
 that he was in the land of his great desire, as he 
 had never felt before, in a beautiful and peaceful 
 
 joy. 
 
 Sofia said, with anxious accents : " Vasili — and 
 Juri ? " 
 
THE STOLEN BRIDE 319 
 
 " We will find them/' said Gordon with a beauti- 
 ful assurance in his tone. 
 
 Sofia was biting her lip : she was feeling deeply. 
 
 " We are all really safe from trouble ? she asked 
 with a hint of tremulousness in her chin. 
 
 Gordon told the tale of the night's happening. 
 
 Sofia said : " Take me to them." 
 
 The Empress Elizabeth offered Gordon a captaincy 
 in the Guards (which he accepted) and gave him 
 also a present of ten thousand roubles. Stolemkin 
 was banished to one of his estates, while Vasili and 
 his wife, Sofia, occupied the house in St. Petersburg. 
 
 The marriage of Countess Puroff to Louis Alex- 
 ander Gordon was an affair of great brilliancy — 
 quite as brilliant as had been the marriage of 
 Sofia to Vasili. 
 
 Vasili and Sofia were together at a window as 
 Gordon and his wife drove away after the ceremony, 
 and there were tears in Sofia's eyes. 
 
 " They are happy," said Vasili to her, taking her 
 hand. 
 
 She nodded. Then she looked at her husband. 
 " And you ? " she murmured. 
 Vasili gave a little jerk of his head. 
 " I think I am the happiest man in all the World," 
 he said. 
 
 Sofia looked as if she would speak. Her lips 
 trembled and she turned her eyes filling with tears of 
 joy towards Vasili. 
 
 " You too, my Sofia ? " he said, putting an arm 
 round her. 
 
 She nodded her head. 
 
320 THE STOLEN BRIDE 
 
 " It is wonderful," she whispered. 
 
 And Juri, her brother, seeing her with her hus- 
 band, felt that among the unexpected things in life 
 might be some of entrancing beauty. 
 
 The End 
 
 Butler & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome and London 
 
204o