to her? She shivered a little at the last question.

That they were criminals she had not the least doubt. Only criminals
could do such a thing. But what type of criminal were they? In her
research courses at the University she had visited court rooms, jails
and reformatories. Criminals were not new to her. But these men lacked
utterly the markings of the average city criminal. Their eyes lacked the
keen alertness, their fingers the slim tapering points of the
professional crook. Suddenly, as she pondered, there came to her mind a
paragraph from one of her text-books on crime:

"There are two types of law-breakers. The one believes that the hand of
organized society is lifted against him; the other that he is bound to
lift his hand against organized society. The first class are the common
crooks of the street, and are ofttimes more to be pitied than blamed,
for after all, environment has been a great factor in their undoing. The
second group are those men who are opposed to all forms of organized
society. They are commonly known as Radicals. There is little to be said
in their favor. Reared, more often than not, in the lap of a society
organized for the welfare of all, they turn ungratefully against the
mother who nurtured and protected them."

As she recalled this, Mazie realized that this group must be a band of
Radicals. Radicals? And one of them had promised to take her to her
friend, Johnny Thompson. Could it be that in Russia, that hotbed of
radicalism, Johnny had had his head turned and was at that moment a
member of this band? It did not seem possible. She would not for a
moment believe it.

She was soon to see, for a man of distinctly Russian type, a short man
with broad shoulders, sharp chin and frowning brow, approached her, and
in a suave manner began to speak to her.

"You have nothing to fear from us, Miss," he began. "We are gentlemen of
the finest type. No harm will come to you during your brief stay with
us; and I trust it may be very brief."

Mazie heaved a sigh of relief. Perhaps there was going to be nothing so
very terrible about the affair after all.

"We only ask a little service of you," the Russian continued as he let
down a swinging table from the wall, and drawing a chair to it, motioned
her to be seated. He next placed pen, ink and paper on the table.

"You cannot know," he said with a smile, "that your friend, Johnny
Thompson, has been causing me a very great deal of trouble of late.