"Not in the least--at least, not arrest by you. You may be the representative of the Emperor in Finland, but even here there is justice for the innocent." A sinister smile played around the thin, gray lips of the man whose very name was hated through the great empire of the Czar, and was synonymous of oppression, injustice, and heartless tyranny. "All I can repeat," he said, "is that if you bring the young Englishwoman here I shall be quite prepared to hear her appeal." And he laughed harshly. "You ask that because you know it is impossible," I said, whereat he again laughed in my face--a laugh which made me wonder whether Elma had not already fallen into his hands. The uncertainty of her fate held me in terrible suspense. "I merely wish to impress upon you the fact that I have not the slightest interest whatsoever in the person in question," he said coldly. "You seem to have formed some romantic attachment towards this young woman who attempted to poison Madame Vakuroff, and to have succeeded in rescuing her from Kajana. You afterwards disregard the fact that you are liable to a long term of imprisonment yourself, and actually have the audacity to seek audience of me and make all sorts of hints and suggestions that I have held the woman a prisoner for my own ends!" "Not only do I repeat that, Baron Oberg," I said quickly. "But I also allege that it was at your instigation that in Siena an operation was performed upon the unfortunate girl which deprived her of speech and hearing." "At my instigation?" "Yes, at yours!" He laughed again, but uneasily, a forced laugh, and leaned against the edge of the big writing-table near the window. "Well, what next?" he inquired, pretending to be interested in my allegations. "What do you want of me?" "I desire you to give the Mademoiselle Heath her complete freedom," I said. "Is that all?" "All--for the present." "But her future is not in my hands. The Minister in Petersburg has decreed her removal to Saghalien as a person dangerous to the State." "Which means that she will be ill-treated--knouted to death, perhaps." "We do not use the knout in the Russian prisons nowadays," he said briefly. "His Majesty has decreed its abolition." "But you adopt torture in Kajana and Schusselburg instead." "My time is too limited to discuss our penal system, m'sieur," he exclaimed impatiently, while I could well see that he was anxious to escape before I made any further charges against him. I had already shown him that Elma had spoken, and he feared that she had told the truth. While this would embitter him against her and cause him to seek to silence her at all hazards, it was of course in my own interests that he should fear any revelations that I might make. "You have posed in England as the uncle of Elma Heath, and yet you here hold her prisoner. For what reason?" I demanded. "She is held prisoner by the State--for conspiracy against Russian rule--not by herself personally."