Alexis Nicolaïevitch’s ill-health had been aggravated by the fatigue of the journey; he spent the greater part of the day lying down, and when they went out to take the air it was the Czar who carried him as far as the garden. The family and servants took their meals with the commissaries, who occupied the same floor as themselves, and so lived in constant proximity with these coarse men, who more often than not were drunk. The house had been surrounded by a second fence of boards; it had been turned into a veritable prison fortress. There were sentries stationed outside and within, machineguns in the building and garden. The room of the Commissary Commandant--the first on entering the house--was occupied by Commissary Avdief, his adjutant Mochkine, and some workmen. The rest of the guard lived in the basement, but the men often came upstairs and strolled into the rooms of the Imperial family as they liked. The courage of the prisoners was, however, sustained in a remarkable way by religion. They had kept that wonderful faith which at Tobolsk had been the admiration of their _entourage_ and which had given them such strength, such serenity in suffering. They were already almost entirely detached from this world. The Czarina and Grand-Duchesses could often be heard singing religious airs, which affected their guards in spite of themselves. Gradually these guards were humanised by contact with their prisoners. They were astonished at their simplicity, attracted by their gentleness, subdued by their serene dignity, and soon found themselves dominated by those whom they thought they held in their power. The drunken Avdief found himself disarmed by such greatness of soul; he grew conscious of his own infamy. The early ferocity of these men was succeeded by profound pity. The Soviet authorities in Ekaterinburg comprised: (a) _The Divisional Council of the Urals_, consisting of about thirty members under the presidency of Commissary Bieloborodof. (b) _The Presidium_, a sort of executive committee of several members: Bieloborodof, Golochtchokine, Syromolotof, Safarof, Voïkof, etc. (c) _The Tchrezvytchaïka._ The popular title of the “Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Speculation,” with its centre at Moscow and branches throughout Russia. This is a formidable organisation which is the very foundation of the Soviet régime. Each section receives its orders direct from Moscow and carries them out through its own resources. Every _Tchrezvytchaïka_ of any importance commands the services of a band of nondescript agents, generally Austro-German prisoners of war, Letts, Chinese, etc., who are in reality nothing more than highly-paid executioners. In Ekaterinburg the _Tchrezvytchaïka_ was all-powerful. Its most influential members were Commissaries Yourovsky, Golochtchokine, etc. * * * * *