st in his hand. He held it before
his eyes while speaking.

"It was--you see--judged necessary. In a case of that gravity no means
of action upon the culprit should be neglected. You understand that
yourself, I am certain.

"Razumov stared with enormous wide eyes at the side view of Councillor
Mikulin, who now was not looking at him at all.

"So it was decided (I was consulted by General T---) that a certain
question should be put to the accused. But in deference to the earnest
wishes of Prince K--- your name has been kept out of the documents
and even from the very knowledge of the judges themselves. Prince K---
recognized the propriety, the necessity of what we proposed to do, but
he was concerned for your safety. Things do leak out--that we can't
deny. One cannot always answer for the discretion of inferior officials.
There was, of course, the secretary of the special tribunal--one or two
gendarmes in the room. Moreover, as I have said, in deference to Prince
K--- even the judges themselves were to be left in ignorance. The
question ready framed was sent to them by General T--- (I wrote it out
with my own hand) with instructions to put it to the prisoner the very
last of all. Here it is.

"Councillor Mikulin threw back his head into proper focus and went on
reading monotonously: 'Question--Has the man well known to you, in whose
rooms you remained for several hours on Monday and on whose information
you have been arrested--has he had any previous knowledge of your
intention to commit a political murder?...' Prisoner refuses to reply.

"Question repeated. Prisoner preserves the same stubborn silence.

"The venerable Chaplain of the Fortress being then admitted and
exhorting the prisoner to repentance, entreating him also to atone for
his crime by an unreserved and full confession which should help to
liberate from the sin of rebellion against the Divine laws and the
sacred Majesty of the Ruler, our Christ-loving land--the prisoner opens
his lips for the first time during this morning's audience and in a
loud, clear voice rejects the venerable Chaplain's ministrations.

"At eleven o'clock the Court pronounces in summary form the death
sentence.

"The execution is fixed for four o'clock in the afternoon, subject to
further instructions from superior authorities."

Councillor Mikulin dropped the page of foolscap, glanced down his beard,
and turning to Razumov, added in an easy, explanatory tone--

"We saw no