2 1 o THR UGH R US SI A ON A MUST A NG. 



to our arrival, and that all the time the Governor was 

 interviewing us that genial gentleman's official ste- 

 nographer had been ensconced therein, kindly noting 

 down all that was said. Sascha wouldn't believe, how- 

 ever, that such a paragon of affability and tenderness 

 as His Excellency could be guilty of so ungenerous a 

 proceeding, and so the slight noise that I fancied I 

 had heard in the pretty little balcony behind us was 

 probably the Gubernatorial cat in quest of mice. 



Had not His Excellency, forsooth, during the inter- 

 view intimated that ''everything would be all right?' 

 And from this had not our sanguine souls drawn the 

 inference that our passports were to be returned to us 

 immediately and that the Governor would, as Sascha 

 had requested, give us additional documents, stating 

 that he had seen us and believed us to be good men ? 



So, returning to the hotel to make preparations for 

 our departure, I left Sascha at the Gubernatorial 

 mansion to bring on the papers. 



One, two, three hours I waited, and then, wonder- 

 ing what could be detaining him, returned and sought 

 him out. Sascha was discovered seated in an office 

 deep in despair. The reason being that", although he 

 gathered from the Governor's intimations that we were 

 to receive our papers and be permitted to go on our 

 way, none of the Governor's secretaries and subor- 

 dinates would assume the responsibility of taking any 

 chance in the matter of securing them for him. 



After appealing in vain to the secretaries, he had 

 even permitted himself to become indignant, that these 

 underlings should callously ignore the wishes of so 

 gracious a gentleman as their master, and had rushed 



