“And I was the cause of that,” wailed Katherine.
“No, no, my dear girl. No one is to blame but the tyrant of Russia. Now the Nihilists insist that neither of these men has been sent to Siberia. They think they are in the prison of ‘St. Peter and St. Paul.’ That information came to me to-day in the letter I was just now answering. So, Katherine, I think you have been unjust to the Englishman. If he had been arrested first, there might be some grounds for what you charge, but they evidently gave him a chance to escape. He had his warning in the disappearance of his friend, and he had several days in which to get out of St. Petersburg, but he stood his ground.”
“I’m sorry, Dorothy. I’m a silly fool, and to-day, when I saw the snow--well, I got all wrought up.”
“I think neither of the men are in the snow, and now I am going to say something else, and then never speak of the subject again. You say I didn’t care, and of course you are quite right, for I confessed to you that I didn’t. But just imagine--imagine--that I cared. The Russian Government can let the Prince go at any moment, and there’s nothing more to be said. He has no redress, and must take the consequences of his nationality. But if the Russian Government have arrested the Englishman; if they have put him in the prison of ‘St. Peter and St. Paul,’ they dare not release him, unless they are willing to face war. The Russian Government can do nothing in his case but deny, demand proof, and obliterate all chance of the truth ever being known. Alan Drummond is doomed: they dare not release him. Now think for a moment how much worse my case would be than yours, if--if--” her voice quivered and broke for the moment, then with tightly clenched fists she recovered control of herself, and finished: “if I cared.”
“Oh, Dorothy, Dorothy, Dorothy!” gasped Katherine, springing to her feet.
“No, no, don’t jump at any false conclusion. We are both nervous wrecks this afternoon. Don’t misunderstand me. I don’t care--I don’t care, except that I hate tyranny, and am sorry for the victims of it.”
“We need a sane man in the house, Kate. Telegraph for your father to come down and talk to us both. I must finish my letter to the Nihilist.”