“Hark!—the General has returned. Quick!”
He almost dragged me through a door which led into an adjoining room, whence I passed out upon the staircase.
I hurried downstairs, and a few moments afterwards was walking along the Rue de la Pepinière towards my hotel.
A loud knocking at the door of my bedroom and a voice demanding admittance aroused me.
When I unlocked the door, Paramòn Pouzàtov, a refugee, rushed in.
“They have arrested Lebedeff!” he exclaimed breathlessly. “Last night four sergents de ville went to the house, searched, and discovered some bombs in course of manufacture and some literature from the secret press. He was arrested and taken to the Prefecture.”
“But he was warned in time to escape,” I said.
“Yes, but he is now in their grip.”
“Where is Natalya?”
“She went out yesterday afternoon, and has not yet returned.”