The fiendish actions of the man who was my guardian frightened
me. And yet I was utterly helpless. What could I do? Who in holy Russia
would hear me? Oberg was a power in the Empire; the Czar himself trusted
him. If I spoke, who would believe me; who would heed the words of a
defenseless girl whom he would at once declare to be hysterical? Thus I
waited alone in the darkness, watching the lights of the port gleaming
across the placid waters until nearly one o'clock, when the gay party
returned, and the Baron greeted them merrily as though nothing had
happened. But my heart was frozen within me by the recollection of the
awful crime that had been committed."
* * * * *
"Why! Now I remember!" cried Muriel, amazed. "I remember that night
quite well, how white you were when you came to my cabin and asked to be
allowed to sleep in my spare berth. You would tell me nothing, and only
said you were ill. None of us had any idea that such a terrible tragedy
had been enacted.
Pages:
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470