anity as in Petersburg or
Warsaw. The Governor-General consigned me to Kajana as a "political,"
which was synonymous with a sentence of death in those damp, dark
_oubliettes_ beneath the water-dungeons every whit as awful as those of
the Paris Bastile.

We faced each other, and I looked straight into his gray, bony face, and
answered in a tone of defiance:

"You are Governor-General, it is true, but you will, I think, reflect
before you consign me, an Englishman, to prison without trial. I know
full well that the English are hated by Russia, yet I assure you that in
London we entertain no love for your nation or its methods."

"Yes," he laughed, "you are quite right. Russia has no use for an effete
ally such as England is."

"Effete or powerful, my country is still able to present an ultimatum
when diplomacy requires it," I said. "Therefore I have no fear. Send me
to prison, and I tell you that the responsibility rests upon yourself."
And folding my arms I kept my eyes intently upon his, so that he should
not see that I wavered.

"As for the responsibility, I certainly do not fear that, m'sieur," he
said.

"But the exposure that will result--are you prepared to face that?" I
asked. "Perhaps you are not aware that others beside myself--one other,
indeed, who is a diplomatist--is aware of my journey here? If I do not
return, your Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Petersburg will be pressed
for a reason."

"Which they will not give."

"Then if they do not, the truth will be out," I said laughing harshly,
for I saw how determined he had become to hold me prisoner. "Come, call
up your myrmidon and send me to Kajana. It will be the first step
towards your own downfall."

"We shall see," he growled.

"Ah! you surely do not think that I, after ten years' service in the
British diplomatic service, would dare to come to Finland upon this
quest--would dare to face the rotten and corrupt officialdom which
Russia has placed within this country--without first taking some
adequate precaution? No, Baron. Therefore I defy you, and I leave
Helsingfors to-night."

"You will not. You are under arrest."

I laughed heartily and snapped my fingers, saying:

"Before you give me over to your police, first telegraph to your
Minister of Finance, Monsieur de Witte, and inquire of him who and what
I am."

"I don't understand you."

"You have merely to send my name and description to the Minister and ask
for a reply," I said. "He