This was why the Czar, to the communication made to him for the second time by General Kissoff, had answered by the words, “A courier this moment!”
The Czar remained motionless at the window for a few moments, when the door was again opened. The chief of police appeared on the threshold.
“Enter, General,” said the Czar briefly, “and tell me all you know of Ivan Ogareff.”
“He is an extremely dangerous man, sire,” replied the chief of police.
“He ranked as colonel, did he not?”
“Yes, sire.”
“Was he an intelligent officer?”
“Very intelligent, but a man whose spirit it was impossible to subdue; and possessing an ambition which stopped at nothing, he became involved in secret intrigues, and was degraded from his rank by his Highness the Grand Duke, and exiled to Siberia.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Two years since. Pardoned after six months of exile by your majesty’s favor, he returned to Russia.”