thing, for Petrovna is of course a very
common family name in Russia. 'The daughter of Peter' it really means,
and it is often used as a familiar form of address, just as in Scotland
a married woman is often spoken of by her friends by her maiden name. My
wife was called Anna Petrovna. But you say this unhappy woman's name was
given as 'Vassilitzi Pendennis'? That I cannot understand! It is
impossible that she could be my daughter; that the mad lady from Siberia
could have been my wife,--and yet--my God--if that should be true, after
all!

"They did send me word, and I believed it at the moment, though later I
thought it was a trick to get me--and Anne--into their power,--part of a
long-delayed scheme of revenge."

His face was white as death, with little beads of sweat on the forehead,
and his hands shook slightly; though he showed no other signs of
emotion.

"Treherne told you the truth about my marriage, Mr. Wynn," he continued,
raising his voice a little, and looking at me with stern, troubled eyes.
"Until you spoke of him I had almost forgotten his existence! But he
did not know quite everything. The one point on which I and my dear wife
were at variance was her connection with this fatal League. Yes, it was
in existence then; and I was--I suppose I still am, in a way--a member
of it; though I only became one in order that I might protect my wife as
far as possible. After she died and I was banished from Russia, I
severed myself from it for many years, until a few months ago, when I
received a communication to the effect that my wife was still alive;
that she had been released and restored to her relatives,--to her
brother Stepan, I supposed. He had always hated me, but he loved her
well, though he managed to make his escape at the time she was taken."

"But Stepan Vassilitzi is a young man,--younger than I am," I
interrupted.

"He is the son; the father died some years back, though I only learned
that after I returned to Russia. I started at once; that was how you
missed me when you came to Berlin. I sent first to the old chateau near
Warsaw, which had been the principal residence of the Vassilitzis. But I
found it in possession of strangers; it had been confiscated in '81, and
nothing was known of the old family beyond the name. I wasted several
days in futile inquiries and then went on to Petersburg, where I got in
communication with some of the League. I had to execute the utmost
caution, as you will unde