, and do my
best--and some day you think I shall be a singer? Oh, tell me truly!
That is just what Helmanoff said, but when I asked them to hear me--I
went to so many, so many!--they were always engaged, or--" She caught
her breath a little, stumbling over the words: "You think so--truly?"

"I think so truly," said the Kapellmeister, "You must come to see me at
the Opera-House to-morrow and rehearse your part, and I will teach you.
You shall have your honorarium to-night in advance; and you must eat
and grow strong."

"I will," said Kaya.

There was a new resolve in her tone, fresh hope, and she put her hand
to her throat instinctively, as if to imprison the voice inside and
keep it from escaping.

"Has the miller gone?" she asked.

"Yes," said Ritter, "He is gone and the door is closed; we are alone."

"Then put your head lower," whispered the girl, "and I will tell you.
Perhaps, when you--know!"

"Go on," said the Kapellmeister, "I am here, child, close to you, and
no one shall hurt you. Don't tremble."

"Do you see my hands?" said the girl, "Look at them. They are stained
with blood--stained with-- Ah, you draw away!"

"Go on," said Ritter, "You drew away yourself, child. What do you
mean? What could you do with a hand like that, a rose leaf? Ha!" He
laughed and clasped it with his own to give her courage: "Go on."

"You are not Russian," said the girl, "so you can't understand. When
one is not Russian--to be an anarchist, to kill--that is terrible,
unpardonable! But with us--My father is Mezkarpin," she whispered,
"You have heard of him--yes? The great General, the friend of the
Tsar! And I am the Countess Kaya, his--his daughter!"

Her voice broke, and she was silent for a moment, leaning against the
pillow. Then she went on:

"There is a society," she whispered, "in St. Petersburg. It is called
'The Black Cross'; and whosoever is a member of that order must obey
the will of the order; and when they pass judgment, the sentence must
be fulfilled. They are just and fair. When a man, an official, has
sinned only once, they pass him by; but when he has committed crime
after crime, they take up his case and deliberate together, and he is
judged and condemned. Sometimes it is the sentence of death, and
then--" she hesitated, "and then we draw lots. The lot fell to--me."

She shut her eyes, and as the Kapellmeister watched her face, he saw
that it was convulsed in agony, and the boyish l