“I promise.  I’ll do it.  I must only write all about this evening.  Every word.  This evening I almost trust you.  It is of historical value therefore.”

She gave her consent.

When the door closed after her, and my lips were still burning, hideous phantoms of doubt poured into the room; they tortured me, and sneered at me, and kept me awake....

And with the pale rose of the first sunrays the phantoms of doubt left me exhausted, miserable and helpless like a wet cat.

* * * * *

Translator’s note.

With paragraph 55 ends the diary of Syvorotka.

Among his documents, however, has been found the following letter, not in his characteristic handwriting, but in that of someone else, bearing directly upon the incidents narrated by the diarist.  Written in ungrammatical Russian, bearing many orthographic mistakes, this document seems to be a fragment of a report, by some unidentified co-operating agent, to his unrevealed superior.

It is deemed necessary, therefore, for purposes of clearness, to append this document, as I find it among the literary remains of Al.  Syvorotka: 

56

... “four or five days after your departure, I gave the story to P.D.; he took it to the E * * * *; the latter made but a few corrections in it, and P.D. copied it,—­as you ordered:  with different ink, and on different paper.  The fourteenth passed quietly.  The new man who took command of the guards and his assistant, assembled the men and organized a meeting; Syvorotka was present.  Some of the people spoke of the “hidden treasury”; some spoke of the People’s Tribunal; some insisted upon a wholesale killing,—­for the loyals and the Czechs are rapidly approaching, and from everywhere come rumors about uprisings.  Finally it was decided to try the Family immediately.

The next day we were busy with the trucks; towards evening all of them were in shape including the Number 74-M in which you ordered the change of magneto, and ready to move.  So you see—­we have done what you ordered, and if all happened so that we could not foresee, it was not my fault, nor Syvorotka’s, nor Phillip’s.

All the day of the 16th the investigation continued, and the Commissaries asked for the E * * * * twice; once four men went to Ipatiev’s; their conduct was outrageous.  At eight in the evening I was on my post in the red house, the wires were working fine and Philip answered.  Nachman’s place answered too.

At nine I signalled to the Ipatiev’s, and Princess waved “all well,” but could not continue for a Red came to the window and shut it with a bayonet.  It had already begun to get very dark, so I phoned again to Philip and Syvorotka and asked them whether they had orders to start.  I was told that they had not heard anything from the house.  I decided to wait a little longer and then to ’phone to Tikhvinsky to inquire whether or not the Nun was on