Petrograd--Tumen--Tobolsk.)

Possibly the Prisoners of Tobolsk may have been willing to suffer what
is termed a "technical death" in diplomatic circles in order to elude
the hungry bloodhounds of the Revolution. They may have welcomed
the many opportunities such an event would furnish to read their own
obituary in the letters and official documents which treated of their
tragic fate. Who knows? They certainly possessed a saving sense of
humor or they would never have left behind them at Ekaterinburg
so many little reminders of the tragic romance to which calm
investigation hereafter will give birth. For instance, there are a
couple of diaries that some men must have kept. Of their existence it
seems certain that some of the prisoners knew. Why and just how the
hitherto profound State secrets narrated in these diaries come now to
light is suggested by a simple little letter that raises the inquiry,
"Did the Imperial Russian family escape?"

The letter that started this investigation is little different from
others one receives from friends traveling in the Orient. By itself it
does not clearly identify the family it describes; but, when the
scene it pictures is coupled with the events narrated in the purloined
diaries which the hands of some invisible diplomats _have_ left
behind, the student of the Russian Revolution will marvel at the skill
with which some other Royal hands untied the knot of Fate.

II

WHAT MAY BE READ BETWEEN THE LINES

There may be those in official circles who will suggest that a case
of mistaken identity is exhibited in the following quotation from
the letter. "It is in a sort of arboreal enclosure, with all sorts of
flowers and vigorous vegetation that characterizes this region," the
letter reads. "Behind the ivy-covered wall that extends around the
gardens and shuts out all intruders, I got a glimpse of that man
through the heavy iron gate. He was smooth-shaven, slightly drooped,
sprinkled with gray and with a scar upon his forehead near the roots
of his hair--a little to one side. He was twirling a pruning knife in
his left hand and speaking in _English_ to a boy who scampered up to
him ahead of four beautiful girls and a very dignified woman moving
leisurely over the lawn in the direction of the gate.

"When the women reached the man's side they paused for a moment and
asked a few questions in _Russian_. He seemed to be listening very
attentively and answering only in monosyll