assumed name, offer his services to the Grand Duke. Then, after gaining
his confidence, when the Tartars have invested Irkutsk, he will
betray the town, and with it my brother, whose life he seeks.
This is what I have learned from my secret intelligence; this is
what the Grand Duke does not know; and this is what he must know!"

"Well, sire, an intelligent, courageous courier . . ."

"I momentarily expect one."

"And it is to be hoped he will be expeditious," added the chief
of police; "for, allow me to add, sire, that Siberia is a favorable
land for rebellions."

"Do you mean to say. General, that the exiles would make common
cause with the rebels?" exclaimed the Czar.

"Excuse me, your majesty," stammered the chief of police,
for that was really the idea suggested to him by his uneasy
and suspicious mind.

"I believe in their patriotism," returned the Czar.

"There are other offenders besides political exiles in Siberia,"
said the chief of police.

"The criminals? Oh, General, I give those up to you!
They are the vilest, I grant, of the human race.
They belong to no country. But the insurrection, or rather,
the rebellion, is not to oppose the emperor; it is raised