Chapter II: Foreword (2)

"I am certain that the former occupant of this villa was some Russian of taste and means. Today, while leaning against a wall that was paneled after the fashion of the walls in the Hermitage, one of the panels gave way and I found myself toppling backward into a very large room resembling a gallery. There were a number of wall hangings of silk from which the pictures had been removed. The candelabra was of malachite. There were clumps of violet jasper, porphyry, lapis-lazuli, aventurine and syenite scattered around as though the place had been divested of its furnishings in a hurry. I have seen the same things in the HERMITAGE when for architectural elegance, richness of ornamentation and lavishness of decoration it was unequaled by any art museum in the world.... While poking around among the piles of tables and vases that were moved over to one corner I came across a box of paintings that must have been STOLEN from St. Petersburg.[A] ... Here is the _Madonna del Latte_ of Corregio, or a mighty good imitation, that everyone remembers, from the Hermitage. Here is Rembrandt's '_Girl with the Broom_,' the _Portrait of Sobieski_, and the '_Farmyard_' of Paul Potter. Here is the '_Expulsion of Hagar_' by Rubens in which Sarah wears a white handkerchief and yellow veil around her head, with one of her hands resting on her hip and the other encased in a blue sleeve raised in a threatening gesture toward Hagar, and here is '_Celestine and her Daughter_ _in Prison_,' that one NEVER forgets because of the controversy between the partisans of Murillo and Velasquez over which of these two painters did the work. And here is Lossenke's '_Sunrise on the Black Sea_,' Ugrimov's '_Capture of Kazan_' and '_Election of Michael Romanov_,' in which the artist reaches the heights of Oriental splendor in color, composition and design.... There is a FORTUNE going to the devil in this room!... This house is L-shaped. The garden in the rear faces a pretentious two-story dwelling surrounded by a wall, like a Governor General's mansion in its yellow-pinkish coat. Tall poplar trees wave in front and the classic columns running up to the entablature give the place an official sort of front. There is a drug store on the corner across the way doing business under the name of _Torkiani_. To the right, at the end of the street, is a girls' college; to the left, about 800 feet away, in the center of the street, is the _Alexander Nevsky Church_, if I'm not very much mistaken. This city must have been a wonder before the war...." Then this entry: "Something is about to happen!... My sentry seems very excited over the desertion 'on Ekaterine Street' and swears quite often at the failure of some one to appear '_along the Levashov_.'"

16. This entry may explain the difficulty:

"There is an Army Corps approaching from the southwest.... The air is surcharged with electricity and puts one's nerves on edge.... There is an ominous roar overhead that grows more nerve-racking every second.... Zip, zip, zip, bl-r-r-r-r-oo-ow!... A flock of Foelkers heading east like wild ducks toward a few faint specks zigzagging in the firmament away to the northeast.... Now there are a number of specks from the south speedily joining these and ALL seem to be flitting higher and higher out of sight.... Now the Foelkers are circling rapidly upward.... The tramp and rattle of an Army can be heard coming up the road behind my villa.... Ah! here comes a daring plane like a streak of lightning over the Alex Nevsky Church _directly toward this prison_!... I'm between the Devil and the Deep Sea!... Whoever gets me, that flyer or those noisy and unseen dogs of war back yonder, means nothing but plain HELL to ME!..."

17. The next entry is interesting:

"Well, I'm not DEAD yet!... A trip through the clouds is NOT the most delightful of experiences for one in summer togs.... Especially when one is gagged and blindfolded and roped down like a rebellious steer.... So here I am cooped up again in a log cabin in the center of an undulating plain where there might have been unending wheat fields once upon a time.... Not a solitary animal is in sight.... The road out yonder looks much the worse for wear. It seems ground into a pumice stone by the hoofs of horses and the swift movement of heavy wheels. Every gust of wind sends a cloud of fine dust pyramiding its way across the fields and through the crevices of this suffocating den furnished with a few wooden chairs, a hand-carved bedstead, a small picture of the '_Virgin of the Partridges_' and a brass crucifix above the bed.... I greatly SUSPECT my present whereabouts.... I am as much mystified as ever why that veiled Métropole Circe continues to dog my FLIGHTS.... It was she who was the daring flyer and she beat the whole army getting to my retreat in that neglected villa and spiriting me away...."

[Footnote A: Still the German nomenclature.]

VI

THE LADY AND THE FIRING SQUAD

18. This looks exciting:

"I must jot down this experience: When I was taken from the log cabin I was blindfolded and again strapped into a flying machine. There were half a dozen soldiers present; and ONE was certainly an ENGLISHMAN,--I had heard his voice before. I NEVER forget a voice. If his eyes ever meet these lines he will remember me, I know. I can describe him from memory. He was medium height, wore a drooping moustache slightly sprinkled with gray and used two pairs of tortoise-shell glasses. When I met him at The Pines in the Isle of Wight we had both been through the Battle of the Somme and were recuperating from our siege amid the shell holes and the mud. I CLAIMED to be an American, and he, as a _descendant of the victor of Trafalgar_, scolded me roundly and _vicariously_ for not forcing the United States into the war on the side of Britain,--he'll remember _that_.... Perhaps it was because he DID recognize me that he insisted on my being blindfolded and handled roughly when I was led away.... The rest of the squad spoke FRENCH very poorly.... They asked me a number of questions, to which I shook my head; and, candidly, I could do so without doing violence to my knowledge of idiomatic French!... I heard them say to one another, 'When we get him to the stockade we'll see what he is made of.' 'Yes; a firing squad'll be the best thing for ALL of them.' 'Certainly! we'll follow Machiavelli's recommendation in _The Prince_,--EXTERMINATE the whole race!' That's the idea! There should be no Louis XVIII bobbing up a generation from now to overthrow the democracy.'... To be honest with my conscience I felt creepy.... I really wanted to tell them that they had got the WRONG FELLOW, but when I tried to speak my tongue felt so dry and thick that I could not utter an audible word.... so I remained involuntarily silent.... Well, on this flight I was more comfortable than on the last; but I thought it would never end and I felt horribly SEASICK.... Finally I was landed and hustled into a court made from the ends of small logs pegged into the ground like an improvised palisade,--it was in a little village....

"... There were hundreds of tatterdemalians of all nations in various uniforms and smoking vile cigarettes, lounging carelessly around.... In a little while a dozen prisoners issued from a small guardhouse in one corner of the enclosure and were conducted at the point of the bayonet to the spot where I stood.... The officer of this firing squad looked viciously at me and ordered me to '_fall in_.'... We were then marched to the log wall about fifty paces to the left of the guardhouse and commanded to 'about face.'... When we did so we saw a firing squad of eighteen men in command of a Sergeant who gave the order '_Prepare to fire!_'... At this point the officer stepped forward and, addressing me personally, said: 'Do you know of any reason why you should not be shot for participating in the abduction of the Imperial family?'... This was a puzzler.... I was innocent enough of such an accusation, BUT the officer before me looked about as much like a Royalist as I in my present disheveled condition looked like a member of the French Cabinet.... If I denied my guilt I felt certain of a bullet in my heart from such an ugly, unkempt mob.... Glancing at my apparel I looked fit to be one of their number, so I said courageously: 'I am PROUD to say that I am the _ringleader_ who engineered the whole business!..."

If it gives you any satisfaction to see me die, don't waste your breath asking me any further questions,--go ahead and fire!'... 'Very well,' he snapped and made me about-face to the firing squad ... For a few seconds he held a silent conversation with the Sergeant.... That functionary approached with a handkerchief. 'Will you be blindfolded?' he asked. 'Thank you, I prefer to see what's going on,' I answered.... The other prisoners followed my example.... We were ordered to step back against the wall.... The squad raised their rifles at the command of 'aim.'... I _now_ know that I felt positively nauseated at the moment, but I actually SMILED.... 'Fire!'... There was a rattle of musketry and every prisoner beside me fell forward dead.... I STOOD THERE ALONE, uninjured and alive ... coming toward me down the path was the daring female acrobatic aviator with her friend, the performer of the Métropole, robed in a shimmering sport outing costume, and smiling very sweetly to the Officer of the Guard....

"... I am certain now that this veiled lady from Buckingham is in league with this gang of Bolsheviki,--and I am also certain that I owe my life to the boast I made of being a murderer myself!..."

19. The following entry reads:

"A man who has escaped death is not to be trusted on a point of discretion,--he doesn't know how to select his friends. He is like a spirit emerging from nowhere in the eternal void and grabs at the first apparition that promises companionship in his embarrassing and momentary isolation.... Well, I was so glad to see that Buckingham Clorinda that I was willing to take her into my confidence at once.... She _seemed_ so sympathetic!... 'I commend your bravery,' she said prettily, offering me her hand.... It was small and beautifully moulded, yet firm and steady, and sent an electric thrill through me like a flash.... Her eyes would disarm the most suspicious diplomatic free-lance in the world.... Struck with admiration, hypnotized by her voice, I could only blurt, 'I thank you.'

"...'We are looking for a man of approved courage,' she continued earnestly; 'we are more than satisfied that YOU are the man.'... Again I muttered my thanks.... 'How long have you been a member?' she then asked carelessly.... THIS was not so easily answered.... I thought quickly.... 'Long enough to KNOW my lesson!' I answered oracularly.... 'You still remember your instructions?'... 'What instructions?' She answered my question by asking, 'Were they not BURNED?'... 'Who is this encyclopædic lady?' I asked myself. 'What manner of TRAP is she setting for me now?'... 'Why did you SANDBAG me?' was MY answer.... 'You are NOT to ask questions,' she returned. 'Are you not satisfied with results?'...

"... 'I am still alive.'... 'Well,' she smiled, 'a _live_ Bolshevik, of OUR kind, is much better than a dead diplomat!'... I was taken into an improvised kitchen and indulged in a splendid meal.... I took no wine....

"... My meal being finished _she_ offered me an excellent cigarette.... Glancing up through a ring of smoke my eyes fell upon a rough black-and-white sketch of a tall, smooth-faced, keen-eyed man with rather large ears, firm and thin-cut lips, high forehead and steadfast gaze, dressed in the uniform of a General Officer, with a single decoration on his left breast.... _she_ observed me closely as I gazed.... I KNEW this man and was about to exclaim: '_The savior of this country!_'... but something restrained my enthusiasm.... 'You recognize him, I see,' she insinuated.... 'WHO is he?' I dodged.... She merely smiled.... She evidently realizes the wonderful power of that disarming smile and the fascination of good teeth in a shapely head.... 'You'll do!' she said with apparent reservation as she tapped a tiny bell....

"... A short, thickset man appeared--he is not positively _ugly_, but he has a way of staring at one that is rather ill-bred.... There is a gold band around his left wrist and a scar upon his right cheek.... I am sure he is the SAME man I met at one of Sadakichi-Hartmann's readings from Ibsen's _Ghosts_.... He may recall the time.... It was in an abandoned palace on Russian Hill, somewhere in America; the lady at his left was discussing the difficulties of getting her motor car into Ragiz; the younger one on his right was known as Alma and gave her address as East 61st Street, New York.... and ALL THREE were quite convinced that the Central Powers will defeat the Allies.... He is an international character and will remember this incident as well as the following: '... This gentleman will join your party for Ekaterinburg tonight, YOU understand. If there are any mistakes I shall not answer for results!' There were NO introductions.... The man bowed and began to back away.... 'YOU may accompany him,' she said, rising and flitting from the room.... I believe I understand what this _party_ means!... There is to be a SHOOTING party at Ekaterinburg under the auspices of the Bolshevists in a day or two and I may be ONE of the '_mistakes_' for which that mystifying lady disclaims responsibility.... My companion certainly looks like a bandit, and manifests the strength of a wild bull.... He seems much interested in that _patch_ on my shirt sleeve...."

VII

THE ROYAL BOLSHEVIK AND THE NURSE

20. "My Charybdis conducted me to the barracks where a lot of undisciplined philosophers were discussing the parceling out of land.... The ringleader was a round-headed, long-nosed and bulky individual with a shaggy beard and dirty uniform.... I knew him in an instant, but he did not recognize me ... he was one of Von der Goltz' men who aided in the defense at Gallipoli.... The night before the Allied fleet withdrew he was lying beside a short, thickset and dark-haired Associated Press reporter with a German name and tortoise-shell eyeglass and was telling that same reporter that unless REINFORCEMENTS arrived AT ONCE the defenses would collapse!... The next day he was at Headquarters informing the General in command that BUT FOR HIM the Turkish forces would have surrendered!... He is NOW wearing a number of decorations for his military skill and bravery.... Such are the fortunes of war!... This is the man who one minute preaches communism and another minute gravely asserts that it will be a good thing for the Kaiser to get killed in the war so as to guarantee the SUCCESSION of the Empire.... Perhaps he is doing this for my benefit.... Anyway he occupies the center of the stage at present and GOVERNS this greedy and unruly mob by kicking discipline into a cocked hat and allowing every unshaved Bolshevik his own unrestricted way!... Under other circumstances I should dearly like to meet this boasting _Furioso_ in a ten-foot ring when a little exercise is needed to keep myself in trim.... But NOW I am accepted as a BOLSHEVIK,--one of the elect, privileged to select my lady and rob and pillage when I please!... _This suits me very well_ ... but on mature _reflection_ it seems to me that a FEW in this literally UNGODLY gang are playing a very cunning part.... If that BE so I am _not_ so sure how far my own assumed conversion to the doctrine of rapine will protect my skin.... So far, however, I have adopted the policy of vindictiveness, and, when asked a question, I merely growl and swear like a trooper.... _I am making an impression_...."

21. "On the way here the HERO of Gallipoli took quite a fancy to me, because I could beat him swearing perhaps.... Growing confidential over his liquor and Turkish cigarettes he asked point-blank: 'Didn't I see you at the TWELFTH DAY CEREMONY at the Winter Palace the time the Archbishop lost the golden cross in the river, a few years ago?'... I thought it better to deny the acquaintance and the incident.... I could have easily recalled the ceremony on the Neva, the decorated pavilion on the ice in front of the palace, the procession of church dignitaries in their stiff Byzantine robes and scintillating mitres moving slowly across the road followed by the Grand Dukes and the Emperor, the clear voices of the choir cutting through the frosty air, the ladies of the Court standing near the window and crossing themselves as the Czar stood motionless beneath the gilded and fretted canopy,--_I could have recalled it all_ ... but I swore profanely and declared emphatically that ALL RELIGION WAS A COBWEB AND A SNARE to emancipated minds.... I pretended to get violently MAD about it and told him I would strangle any man who insulted me by accusing me of the most distant relationship with any religion excepting the religion of FREE LOVE.... He laughed like a lion with a sliver in its paw. 'You are _absolutely_ the best COUNTERFEIT in circulation that I know of!' he guffawed. 'Well, I'm going to fire Syvorotka and put you in charge of a little FIRING SQUAD when we get to our camping ground at Ekaterinburg!' were his exact words, half whispered, half insinuated and wholly growled across the table in the diner.... With assumed hostility I actually barked: 'The dirtier the deviltry the more diverting!'... He opened his eyes widely like one emerging from a solemn drunk and WINKED knowingly as he shook my hand.... 'You know where Kerensky got his orders to release our fellows, of course,' he whispered. 'I guess you KNOW why he sent _some people_ to Ekaterinburg a couple of days before the Czecho-Slovaks are scheduled to _take_ it, and I guess you know too how it happened that so many MOTOR TRUCKS came all the way from Archangel to Ekaterinburg so as to be on hand when a certain Indian officer shows up, the ridiculous ranter raved.... But...."

"... If these lines should ever come to light I want to record right now, in justice to that apparently besotted creature, that I am under unutterable obligations to him for assigning to me the most diabolical piece of brutality that has been conceived during this period of moral leprosy and unrepenting malevolence.... _I shall do my work well_."

22. Then the following odds and ends appear:

"... The Métropole performer is a Baroness sure enough.... She knows a Syvorotka but declines to give his rank or whereabouts.... She tells me that this place was founded by Count Tatischshev in 1721 ... when Catherine was a baby.... The Monastery of 'Our Lady of Tikhvin' looming up before me is a very graceful compliment to the Mosque of St. Sophia it resembles in so many ways.... fine place to radio from to friends at Odessa ... especially if the NUN has been obeying orders.... Lvov is out of the way, over in the city prison, _cooking_, where he can't betray the prisoners at Ipatiev's.... When I was alone with my Imperial prisoner I tore the patch off from my shirt sleeve and handed it to him.... '_Sa lettre!_' he exclaimed in an undertone.... His manner was exceedingly polite.... '_Ouvrez, lisez_,' I advised.... '_Oui, oui, je sais! je sais!_' he said softly, '_mais malheureusement cela est impossible!_'... 'Soak it in water', I replied.... '_Et vous, monsieur_, _êtes-vous américain ou français_?' he came back.... '_Je suis né a Paris, mais je suis américain_, and if the prisoner has no objection I'd rather speak in English.'... 'That will be delightful,' he said; 'I shall do as you say.'... He ran back to the bathroom. In a moment he returned holding the patch up before him.... 'Ah!' he continued aloud, 'this merely says that the Heir Apparent will make a cruise of the world in a man-of-war; what does that signify?'... 'If you recognize the writing,' I replied, 'you will, doubtless, remember the methods of its author when extending an invitation.'... 'Yes, yes, I see; how clever of you! Had you been a subject of mine I should have made you an ambassador!'... 'That would imply infinite wisdom on my part, _Sire!_ I bowed very humbly.... It made a hit with my prisoner."

This entry follows:

"Alice will give up her wheel chair when the NUN gives the word ... she is worrying about my prisoner's sister, Olga, and her two companions, who insist on offering their services to the poor in the Crimea ... and well she may!... '_Facing the East,'_ they are likely to travel _south_!... I must get rid of this old valet, _Parafine Domino_, who makes a nuisance of himself hovering around my prisoner like a hawk.... Gallipoli says he'll get rid of Alice's physician before the TENTS arrive,--substituting a fake doctor from the Red Guard, who'll tell me when the prisoners are fit to travel.... As 'Captain' of this Soviet Guard I am as cold-blooded as Gallipoli before the spies and hangers-on.... '_Captain?'_... that title seems to stump the old Russian soldiers,--they claim that there is no such animal.... The Sergeant has suggested that I put the prisoners under a SMALL GUARD when we take them to the Ural District Soviet Court of Workmen.... Nice trap to catch me.... If I agreed to this I'd be in the same category as Denikin or Dutov or Ekhart and be shot by the gang outside by _mistake_, so as to fulfill the prophecy of my lady of Buckingham.... My answer was to order the guard on the balcony to keep their guns pointed at the prisoners whenever they appear in the garden ... this will satisfy the eavesdropper in the red brick across the way and scare the wits out of old Parafine, besides giving him something to talk about when we get away.... To satisfy that suspicious Sergeant that there is no Japanese money secreted by the prisoners I have ordered my men to use their bayonets against the walls and ceilings ... even the frame of the bathroom is not to escape!... Gallipoli is growling around that I'm doing my work too damned well to _seem reasonable_!... The poor boob! His idea of being _reasonable_ seems to consist in spreading rumors that the prisoners have been disposed of in a dozen different ways.... When Maria and Tatiana mounted the truck in the yard this confiding swaggerer started the gossip that they were being loaded up to be taken out of town and shot.... Now I am told by some of the excited guard that that report is TRUE because they heard some one in the attic of the red brick yelling: '_The baggage is at the station_!'...

"When I asked them what we wanted with 'BAGGAGE' they went away growling that I wasn't playing fair!... To my somber-robed lady of Buckingham, who seems to have deserted me, as well as the slender guard at the Huis ten Bosch, as well as those at the Wilhelmstrasse and Odessa, who are part of this 'BAGGAGE,' my guard's agitation will assume the humorous character of unconscious prophecy.... Suspicion is in the air!... This undisciplined gang of cutthroats under that half-baked Sergeant are demanding HOSTAGES from _me_ for _my_ conduct of this business ... they want 'the Grand Dutchess Olga,' her two companions, and FIFTY other women!... AT LAST!... the _planes are buzzing in the sky_.... The Ikon of Holy Nicholas is being wrapped up.... The NUN has copies of the letters to Oldenburg and Gendrikov.... It's time to say to my prisoner: _Come with ME to the U.D.S. of W.A.R.A.D._'.... If he has the code from Odessa he will ask: '_Are you taking me to be shot_?'... '_RUNMOBS_'.... I'll have the guard go through his pockets to find the letters that'll turn him over to my '_vengeance_' ... then for Ekhart's tunnel and OBLIVION!"

23. Then this entry follows. It seems to be sufficiently circumstantial to justify its reproduction here:

"Murder, like jealousy, in this country is a disease," begins the narrative. "My part in this international murder will paralyze the politician and mystify the sober mind of intelligent belief.... History will not be satisfied, however, without a VICTIM, and I must furnish a victim that will satisfy the mob outside!... The Order has been given.... There are celebrations among the banditti.... there are moistened eyes among many peasants; there are strong men and gallant men among the gang out yonder whose very looks betray the HATRED they entertain for the suspected _executioner_ of their former ruler and his excited family.... They fear, they try to avoid me; and I can see in their looks that, given a favorable opportunity, they _will hang me to the highest electric wire pole_ in the city!...

"I am not so certain, though, that EVERYONE outside will accept my theatric 'slaughter' as the Gospel truth.

"Diagonally across the way there has been a Red Cross nurse eternally peeking through her window in this direction.... If we go out into the courtyard she can see us plainly behind the other buildings, for there is nothing to obstruct her vision.... and she seems mighty anxious to keep tab on all proceedings in the yard.... I have tried to figure out a resemblance between this nurse and the capricious Métropole Baroness, but the nurse _seems_ much older.... Perhaps she is disguised.... If she ever reveals her identity she will remember me as the man who tipped _my_ cap to her after posting the two sentries in front of the palisade between the telephone poles and the British Consulate.... If she remembers me she will also recall the drillings I gave my awkward squad for the few days I kept them parading after my prisoners in the yard.... and if anything happens to me she will KNOW that I did my job well up to the minute I write this.... In a few hours more the future political history of the world may be changed forever.... To blot out _seven_ lives is all.... _Dokónchet the Romanoffs!_"

23. This entry follows:

"To satisfy the mob I had to perform a very unpleasant _duty_.... I use the word duty advisedly, remembering the instructions I committed to memory in the underground office of the Wilhelmstrasse .... Knowing that I am continually WATCHED and spied upon, not only by that nurse in the window over there, but by a number of crazed lunatics in uniform, I was compelled to treat a very pretty Princess _shamefully_.... News was spread yesterday that Japan had loaned Siberia $250,000,000, and the mob was clamoring for the jewels of the prisoners. This unoffending Princess--this girl, hardly more than seventeen--was holding a conversation in French with her brother Alexis, a little lad of fourteen, in the courtyard. The boy was pale and emaciated from abuse, solitude and confinement. The Princess, a radiant beauty under this hot July sun, was trying to cheer Alexis up. Her gown was badly soiled and of a simple soft material that seemed to accentuate her modest resignation and glorify her courageous cheerfulness in gloom. Her three older sisters, in gowns that spoke of yesterdays, were walking moodily down the path, when a crowd of ruffians burst by the sentries, tore through the doors, and dashed into the yard in the direction of the startled girls.... Taking in the situation quickly, I raised my voice and began swearing like a demon, and prancing around like a _skberny_ madman.... Then rushing up to Tatiana I TORE FROM HER EARS the jewels that had descended from her early ancestors and howled: 'Aha! you'll wear those cursed things, will you, when your betters are starving in the gutters! Get back, all of you, into your Ipatiev SEPULCHRE and get me ALL the jewelry in the place or _I'll turn these men loose upon you_ in three quarters of an hour!... Soldiers,--_attention!!'_ ... The mob crawled into line.... 'The next time any of you men come into this yard without any orders,' I said, I'll have you SHOT WITH THESE PEOPLE IN THE MANSION!... Column right!... March!'... I heard them mumbling as they passed the first sentry that the cursed interloping _tovarestch_ intended to _keep all the loot!'_.... Following Alexis and his sisters into the ex-Emperor's study I laid down the earrings upon the flat-topped desk and apologized for my apparent act of cowardice and cruelty....

"There was pathos in that father's soft and courteous voice as he looked at me and said: 'I _understand_,--yes, yes, I know. You are right--quite right. My darlings, you must not blame this man.'"

VIII

WHEN ROYALTY FACES DEATH

24. This entry follows:

"I must jot this down now--who knows what may happen?... Reminding the family that I had promised results in three quarters of an hour, I instructed them in the part each one must take.... Alexis appeared to be listlessly unconcerned and sat upon one corner of the large flat-topped desk, swinging his feet indifferently; but when I started for the door he sprang to attention like a well-trained soldier and awaited the results.... Going to the door fronting in the main street, I called the sentry and ordered him to CALL OUT THE GUARD.... Shortly _my selected_ guard appeared....

"I conducted them through the dining room and told them to help themselves.... Then we roamed through the living rooms, the boudoirs, straight through to the washing room and bath; then back through the oblong archway into the little square room beyond the study, where I halted them and said: 'Men, these women will die before they'll tell us where the treasure is at present. The OLD MAN and WOMAN seem utterly indifferent to their fate; we can get _nothing_ out of them. Now, what do you say to giving them a night to think the matter over before we _line them up_? We may get more by waiting than by closing their mouths FOREVER....'

"'_Not another day_!' said one of the men whom I had all along suspected of being _suspicious_ of MY conduct.... 'What say the rest of you?' I asked.... 'Well,' droned the most courageous of them, with a hangdog expression, 'we might give them until midnight.'... 'Very well,' I snapped viciously, I'LL PUT OFF THE EXECUTION till that hour; then if they don't disgorge I'll kill every one of them _myself_!'... 'Not so fast, comrade!' returned the rebellious one; as a member of the guard I believe _I'll keep you company_.'

"... I knew better than to object.... That man is a cutthroat beyond redemption and will hesitate at nothing to satisfy his lust.... That'll be _fine_,' I rejoined; 'YOU STAY WITH ME; the rest of the men are dismissed!'... when the men disappeared I made a run and jump at my diabolical 'comrade' and struck him squarely on the nose. Then I smashed him on the mouth, and, with a down drive of my left, I bored into the pit of his stomach and sent him sprawling on the carpet, where he BLED as profusely as a corn-fed bull.... This blood was exactly what I wanted, and in my anxiety to make a good job of it I kicked him several times in the face until he lay there, motionless and senseless, bleeding from every gash.... In the joy of giving this remorseless bully what he needed to overcome his pride I OVERLOOKED ENTIRELY THE PROPRIETY OF MAKING HIM BLEED IN ALL THE OTHER ROOMS.... This little oversight may cost me a well-earned reputation for efficient management I have hitherto enjoyed among many great men of our times, if the omission be detected by some enterprising commission, some journalist or SERVICE man who will certainly check up my report if I leave this place alive...."

25. This entry follows:

"It was a long wait till midnight when the mob outside expected to be invited to a division of the spoils.... but my plans were taking shape gradually as the moments slipped away.... In this isolated, though nicely furnished and elegant two-story dwelling, I got closer to the heart of my celebrated prisoner and his family than any other man alive.... In the few hours left to us before the time set for their 'execution'--in these evening shadows of July, 1918,--we have been discussing the effect of THEIR SACRIFICE upon the history of the world.... I put this down from memory:

"'It is understood already in certain chancellories,' my prisoner significantly replied, 'how my execution will be publicly accounted for.... Each Ministry will appoint a Commission, suggested by the Crown, to investigate and publish its own report.... The report published will be given out under the name of a Naval or Military Commission to impart an official sanction to the supposed inquiry and support the authenticity of the document agreed upon.... Naturally these prearranged reports will vary so as to satisfy the state of mind in each particular country.'... 'If regicides are so easily arranged,' I observed cautiously, 'perhaps the duration of this "Revolution" is also definitely determined?'... There'll be a period of revolution and distress,' my prisoner remarked, 'before our country settles down to industry and contentment. But the desire of "self-determination" will mislead the unfortunate and cause them to embrace a tyranny of the most cruel and selfish type. This will last for a time until gluttony destroys itself, as all excesses do. When the country is dismembered by the activities of rival greeds, my poor and honest peasants will turn upon their masters and restore this nation's power. They need but education to accomplish glorious results. They will obtain this education while they suffer and evolve a science of self-government while learning to govern themselves. It may seem strange to others when I say so; but not one of my whole family is covetous of the Imperial Crown. We prefer peace and liberty to all the pomp and penalties of Royal isolation from the rest of men and women in the world. Royalty means SLAVERY of the most humiliating form. The boy or girl that is doomed to Royal birth steps into a prison with the first breath he breathes.... Take my own case; I longed to get out and play rough-and-tumble with the boys I saw staring at me in the streets. But I was taught by my English tutor, Heath, that it would be lowering my dignity to associate with those fine young boys. My "dignity" was placed in a strait-jacket and, in a namby-pamby way, I was taught to play ALONE. I had cousins scattered over Europe who took their lot more happily than I; but even they regretted the mocking barriers that laid down a barrage between us and the more fortunate chaps outside,--outside, they enjoyed FREEDOM,--within, we were ALL prisoners in our little cells of etiquette and traditionary bondage. At fifteen I was dragged away to the Military Academy at Petrograd[A] and made to listen to old Danilovich until I actually hated the very name of war. I resolved at that time to inaugurate some means to get rid of such senseless waste of life if intrusted with the power. The Hague was my interpretation of what should constitute a proper exercise of international obligation. You realize, of course, the precarious state of Russia in a military sense,--while force was indispensable to hold us all together from within, it always exposed our weakness when directed toward external issues. I could not map out my own general education, even; forced by the traditions of my family I was placed in charge of the Holy Synod and taught by Pobedonostzev to regard myself as the source of SPIRITUAL POWER and instructed to regard an unorthodox opinion as a transportation offense. Now, while I reverence profoundly the sacred tenets of my holy religion, I regard religious freedom as indispensable to the dignity of spiritual belief. For that reason I made that reformation in 1905. As I grew up I rebelled against my intolerable confinement,--I went out among the PEOPLE and TALKED WITH THEM. They were friendly in most instances and gave me very good advice. I did not need a bodyguard to go about. I was as safe among the people as I would be in the Winter Palace. Often have I walked to the hotels alone to call on some particular friend without any thought of fear. Nor was it necessary,--I liked the people as genuinely as I believe they respected me. I learned their hunger for land by going around; and it was on that account that I projected and completed our Siberian Railways so as to give our people the coveted opportunity and an outlet to the markets of the world. Given an opportunity to accumulate and prosper, men will hesitate about going to war unless THEY ARE MISLED. I saw such an opportunity in international trade. I visited the Orient, extensively investigating the commercial field in that direction. It was a mighty task, necessitating a reference to others who should have been as much interested in the accomplishment as I was myself. Their mistakes have made me quite unhappy and there has always been CONTENTION between my Ministers and myself. If Witte had kept his hands off when Count Solsky got after the plotting school teachers and rebellious students, the propaganda against my reign which has honeycombed the Empire with sedition might have been checked in time to prevent this dissolution,--for it is more than a "revolution." It is idealism run amuck. France, England, the people of America, have been duped by the intelligentia--the Kadets--who never seemed to realize that in order to hold this Empire together not only FORCE but SUPERSTITION was required,--'_si mundus vult decipi decipiatur_,' it is the only principle that will hold unorganized ignorance in disciplinary subjection to orderly and regulated progress; and without this discipline the ARMY, or the power that holds this incongruous Nation together, will dissolve, as you may now see, while the whole Empire will fly to pieces. My strong Ministers were too physical and myopic to look beyond their noses. They were afraid to seem afraid of _truth_,--and they even accused me of plotting with Kazantsev and Feodorov against the life of my Minister of Finance,--always excuses for fomenting discontent! They never seemed to realize that the HAPPINESS of the PEOPLE meant the SECURITY of the CROWN. As a matter of fact the only loyal supporters I ever had around me were my wife and family besides a few others in the service of the State. When I announced my war aims on the Pacific for the benefit of my people my leading Minister had the audacity to obtrude upon my privacy at Tsarskoye Selo and demand that I withdraw the manifesto. This piece of impudence cost me the decision in that war. That magniloquent Minister, with his versatile Irish amanuensis, not only turned my mother against me, but he had the temerity to demand that I dismiss my best agent, Azeff, who alone kept me advised of the machinations of the Social Revolutionists, who, in turn, accused me of murdering my uncle Sergius--the greatest theologian of the age. As I recall the time, now, I am, of course, convinced that the only _real friend_ I had among those Social Revolutionists was BURTZEV,--but I understood him too late!'... My prisoner spoke regretfully. His voice was soft and courteous, breaking at times into the altisonance of the tragic muse. He does not think that any act of his can be wrong; the mere fact that HE ran counter to accepted standards divests, in his mind, the act itself of turpitude. That seems to be the way he looked upon his former Eastern encrouchments. That's the way he justified his subterranean deals with the KAISER; and he even goes so far as to assert that '_if the Vyborg-Björkesund treaty had not been denounced the present war would not have happened_.' He speaks of this a little passionately, scorning the very memory of Count Witte for 'questioning the morality of that arrangement.' That great Minister my prisoner refers to as '_an uncouth bully who bellowed like a mad bull_.' In this respect it is my impression that the ex-Empress indorses his state of mind. What he likes she will place in the superlative; what he merely hates, _she_ elevates to positive abhorrence. In this way she seems to flatter his decisions, which makes him smile quite indulgently at her, and hold her ascendency over his apparently veering mind. I can notice this in so many little things: She oozes delicate flattery and he likes it; she plays upon his _prejudices_, and he seems to have a lot of them submerged beneath his inalienable urbanity and instinctive grace of manner that even this misery and abysmal gloom have not relieved of polish. Beneath it all I get the impression that he is very much in love with every member of his family.... that he would like to be _alone_ with 'Alice,' whom he addresses as 'my darling' and experiences a shell-shock if she stubs her toe. His final words are: 'Now it is ALL OVER and I WILL WELCOME THE OBLIVION that will release us all from the memory of our devoted bondage!'... While my prisoner conversed Alexis assisted his stately mother and his four beautiful sisters while putting on their superannuated wraps.... One by one they filed out the door leading into the open yard.... My prisoner stood up and stretched himself.... He was about to resume his seat when the report of a revolver resounded in our ears.... The brute on the floor, wallowing in his blood, was raised upon his elbows and firing recklessly.... After he had fired six rounds without apparent injury I drew my own revolver and fired deliberately INTO THE WALL.... The fellow slunk back to silence.... My prisoner and I followed the ladies out into the night, _forgetting_ a jewel or two in our leisurely departure.... Out in the open WE DESCENDED into the old abandoned tunnel that formerly led from Ipatievs to the medical office of a foreign consulate a thousand feet away...."

[Footnote A: Nicholas used "Petrograd," not the German nomenclature.]

IX

WHAT IS LEARNED IN A SECRET TUNNEL

26. The next entry is mystifying:

"We are between the devil and the deep sea!... which gives me time to write.... The beastly tunnel has caved in midway in our passage.... It seems, from the roar overhead, that we are somewhere beneath the railroad tracks. Yet there must be a vent somewhere, as there seems to be a draft of air through this passage.... The family are congregated off to the right, in a kind of stoping where the dirt has been removed, leaving a small room like one meets with in the Gogebic iron mines in Wisconsin and Michigan, back in the United States.... Our little electric bull's-eyes come in handy just now.... With my bull's-eye propped up on a sand-encrusted box I am noting down some things that must not be forgotten.... While trying to find a passageway out of this hole in the ground we gyrated back and forth for the last two or three hours until the women became exhausted.... Then my 'prisoner' and I returned to the mouth of the entrance. There we heard a horrible row between the unruly brute we left on the floor and his wild-eyed fellow conspirators.... They accused him of DOUBLE-CROSSING THEM and making away with the treasure that they insisted should be _theirs_!

"... He insisted that there was NO treasure EXCEPT the JEWEL he apparently was exhibiting.... We could hear, quite distinctly, a sullen voice saying: 'I do not believe you; you are trying to steal the whole of it!... We'll give you ten minutes to produce ALL you have hid away, and if you don't do it, we'll fill your body so full of lead that your rotten carcass won't float in the Kolunda.'... The culprit replied: 'Let me explain. You remember that I was suspecting that _interloper_ when I insisted on watching him; well, my suspicions were correct,--he was a TRAITOR to our cause. He was planning to steal away with his precious gang when I covered them with my pistol. Then when I had the drop on them I made them open all of their trunks and boxes. Nothing was found. I felt sure they were holding out on me, so I took a shot at the kid. The interloper made a dive at me. I knocked him down with that chair there.... then in my rage I emptied my pistol into the hearts of the whole gang.... that's all there's to it.'... 'He's lying!' 'Traitor!' 'Betrayer!' 'Down with the thief!' flew back and forth from one to another above our heads.... Then in a more subdued voice we heard 'Hist! _Silence_! Some one is coming!' A moment later I heard distinctly the unmistakable growl of my hero of Gallipoli overhead demanding, 'WHAT HAVE YOU CUTTHROATS DONE WITH OUR PRISONERS?' ... There was a _silence_ that could be felt.... None offered an explanation that I could hear.... 'Why don't you answer?' thundered Gallipoli.... There was an unmistakable murmur.... 'Don't YOU try to slide out of this, you COWARD! I'll hold _every one_ of you responsible for this! _Where's my lieutenant_?'... He _means_ ME....

"'Out in the yard,' I heard one of them reply.... 'Go and tell him to report here AT ONCE!'... Poor devil! the humor of this whole situation is displayed in the tragic possibilities of criminal greed when crooks fall out!... '_Where are the others_?' my Gallipoli hero demanded.... I heard no answer.... 'DO YOU HEAR ME?'... still no audible answer.... '_Crack!'_.... the report of a revolver, then a scuffling and '_stand back!_ Another move and I'll blow you ALL to HELL,--_line up there!_.... Now I order you to explain the whereabouts of the PRISONERS.'

"... We could hear a voice boasting: 'Did you see that BLOOD in yonder? Well, that is our answer. We were suspicious of that Lieutenant of yours so we took the matter into our own hands.'... 'WHO DID THE KILLING?'... 'The Sergeant.'... 'And what did he DO with the bodies?'... 'Threw them into the well!'... 'The devil! you'll have to fish them out again!'... Then there was a long silence.... Finally we heard: 'Here, Sergeant!' from HE of Gallipoli; 'when will my lieutenant report?'... 'The Captain said to present his compliments and say that he is temporarily detained.'... My 'prisoner' poked me in the ribs impulsively and smiled.... 'Where are the BODIES?'... 'Burned!' said the Sergeant. 'WHAT?'... 'BURNED UP?... 'Who burned them?'... 'I did, Sir.'... 'Didn't throw them in the well?'... 'No, Sir.'... 'Well, I'll be damned!... FALL IN! _Unless those prisoners are produced I'll court-martial every one of you_!'

"... We could hear the measured tread of a squad overhead tramping away until the thump, thump, thumping sank into a faint indistinct vibration which was caught up by the beating of our hearts and the throbbing of our fascinated and incredulous ears.... 'Well!' ejaculated my amused '_prisoner_'; 'It'll be exceedingly interesting to read the future accounts of my double execution. I am sure my family will read it with greater interest than they've ever manifested in any of London's or Gorky's fanciful novels!'... 'I assume that you will not be surprised to learn that you have some mighty good friends in that crowd outside,' I ventured.... 'Oh, not at all,' my prisoner returned, 'and I venture to say that your friend from Gallipoli will find it convenient to contribute to the general misunderstanding and confusion by allowing the suspected executioners to air their conflicting explanations of my disappearance.'

"'_We haven't disappeared yet, my friend!_' I grumbled, as we turned back in the direction of our underground camp.... 'If we had some shovels it would solve the problem; but the way we're fixed it looks like a case of starvation or surrender for the whole of us,--we can't stay down here indefinitely!'... 'Patience, _courage_, my friend,' my 'prisoner' replied whole-heartedly; 'this is the first time in my life I have been absolutely alone, the first moment in our lives we have been positively FREE!'... He took a few swift steps and swung around gracefully, like a figure in a dance.... 'I love the mazurka!' he exclaimed!... 'I'd like to have a real pillow fight again with the children!... We used to have such fun!... It was about the only time my wife would ever smile!... I used to tell her that she reminded me of the sad goddesses that stood on the dull red cornices of my Winter Palace looking coldly into space during any of the Court ceremonies.... Really that was true,--a woman like my wife, in a _manteau de cour,_ a head flaming with the rays of her kokoshnik and supported by that long white veil, DOES resemble an icicle in the Winter Palace!... But when we are _alone_!... the Zaritsa is a motherly MOTHER!... You'll see.... We have always loved simplicity.... This is our chance.... I never did like the late suppers and high life indulged in by some of my relations.... My greatest dissipation was at the Marinsky when we'd sup between acts and go straight home to bed.... Grand Duke Alexis never wanted to go to bed.... After the theatre he was always primed for another party out at the Islands.... Our motto has always been, "Early to bed and early to rise."... Had to.... At work early after breakfast till eleven ... luncheon ... to work again at half past twelve until dinner ... back to work until very late at night.... NOW we are hearing of our misguided _workmen and soldiers_ attempting to run the country on SIX HOURS WORK A DAY!... That would be delightful if they would only devote the remaining hours to recreation and STUDY.'... My 'prisoner' seemed positively _boyish_....

"His voice was in pleasant contrast to the shrill staccato accents I had heard in that gloomy underground room of the Foreign Office at Berlin.... I could see at a glance that his present attitude was not a pose,--his simplicity, like his courage and democracy, was GENUINE.... It explains the reason for his composure at THIS VERY MINUTE when a less courageous man would be excitedly running around in circles and making my life miserable by bemoaning our ill luck.... To show the _morale_ of this family of cave dwellers I'll record this incident: 'Be careful about those electric lamps,' I requested of the ladies. 'If they give out we'll be in darkness.' ... 'Then we'll use our hands and dig ourselves out to daylight!' exclaimed Maria.... 'WHY can't we start doing THAT NOW?' exclaimed Tatiana.... 'Come on!' chorused Alexis and his four sisters as they fell to and are now pawing the dirt away from the embankment that impedes our escape.... I'll have to supervise that work a little, for if these girls continue to pile back the dirt the way they are doing it they may stop up the passage both ways and _bury us all alive_...."

X

ROMANCE IN SIGHT OF DEATH

28. The next page of the diary is badly blurred and torn, but the following can be made out: