Late one night Rasputin was carousing at his house with the Prime Minister Sturmer and two "sister-disciples," young married women whose names were Baroness Gliuski and Madame Pantuhine, well-known in Petrograd society for their loose living, and who were helping the plotters and receiving large sums from German sources for their assistance. The "Father" had only an hour before returned from Tsarskoe-Selo, where he had knelt at the bedside of the poor little Tsarevitch and then performed a pretended miracle. The truth was that Madame Vyrubova had administered to the boy in secret several doses of that secret drug with which the mock-monk had provided her. In consequence, he had become ill and his Imperial mother had once again called Rasputin to "heal" him. This the fellow did, for Madame Vyrubova withheld the dose, and within four hours of Rasputin placing his dirty hands upon the poor boy's brow and uttering those cabalistic nine words of jargon from one of the blasphemous prayers which the scoundrel had written for use by the "sister-disciples," the heir had recovered. And in that way, with his degenerate confederate, the rascal worked his "miracles." The four were seated around the monk's dining-table, smoking and drinking, the two women ever and anon devotedly kissing the "saint's" dirty hands, when his body-servant entered with a note for his master. As Rasputin read it his face fell. "Danger!" he gasped. "What is it?" inquired the bearded Prime Minister eagerly, putting down his glass of champagne untouched. "Letchitzki! He is arrested!" "Letchitzki!" echoed Boris Sturmer, who was in uniform, as he had been to a diplomatic function at the United States Embassy that night. "This is indeed serious for us! Why is he arrested? Who has dared to do that?" "Goutchkoff, Minister of Munitions, has ordered his arrest for embezzlement--ninety thousand roubles!" "Curse Goutchkoff!" cried Sturmer, starting up. "In that case, our friend Protopopoff, as Minister of the Interior, is powerless to act in his interest!" "Is it really very serious?" asked the fair-haired young Baroness, who was at that moment holding the "saint's" hand. "Serious!" cried the uncouth Siberian peasant, who had so completely hypnotised both the women. "Very. If his trial took place he would certainly expose us! We cannot afford that. He has sent me this secret message placing the onus of his release upon me, and I must secure it at once. He has documents, letters I have written him. If they were found, then the whole affair must become public property!" "That must not be!" declared Sturmer. "At any moment Miliukoff, or that young lawyer Kerensky, may get to know." "Kerensky was again arrested yesterday at my orders for his speech in the Duma," said Rasputin. "I agree. The prosecution of Letchitzki must not proceed. It is far too dangerous." "Is there anything I can do?" asked the pretty Baroness, one of the most unscrupulous women in Russia.