ir boy and
the Governor's son.

Their fears were not unfounded. At eight o'clock that evening there was
a rap at the door of old Kierson's dwelling, and two uniformed officers
confronted the terror-stricken family.

"We seek Joseph Kierson," said one of the soldiers.

"I am he," answered the young man, with as much firmness as he could
command.

"I arrest you in the name of his majesty the Czar," continued the
officer, placing a heavy hand upon the poor lad's shoulder.

"Of what am I accused?" asked Joseph.

"I do not know. Perhaps the warden of the prison can tell you."

Joseph was well aware that resistance would make the matter worse.
Kissing his weeping parents and offering them all the consolation in his
power, he accompanied the officers to the prison, there to await the
action of the Governor.

Within an hour, the whole Jewish community knew the events of the day,
and there were lamentations throughout the quarter, for the blow that
had fallen upon the young man portended disaster to them all.

CHAPTER XXXI.

KIERSON'S ESCAPE.

For weeks Joseph languished in prison, in total ignorance of the fate
that awaited him. At first the Governor was too busy to attend to the
case and it afterward slipped his memory entirely. For reasons of his
own, Loris did not interfere. Although he had instigated the arrest of
the Jew, he was careful not to inform his father of the true cause of
the trouble. His injured eye and general appearance required some
explanation and a drinking bout with some of the University students was
given as the cause. For the preservation of order, however, he advocated
the arrest of the offender and Kierson was taken into custody. Loris'
course was not dictated by caprice. If his august father knew that he
had sought an alliance with a daughter of the despised Hebrew race, he
would vent his wrath upon Loris' head for compromising the honor of the
noble family of Drentell.

The punishment usually inflicted upon students for quarrelling among
themselves was light and limited to a small fine. Kierson's was an
aggravated offence, however. The dignity of the Governor's son had
suffered, and as there was no precedent the case was allowed to drag on
indefinitely. Loris used his influence with the authorities to keep
Joseph in durance.

Meanwhile, the Israelites were not idle. Convinced that Kierson had done
nothing but his duty, they drew up a petition to the Governor, pleading
for m