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Book: The Infernal Device & Others: A Professor Moriarty Omnibus by Michael Kurland
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Authors: Michael Kurland
Tags: Fiction, Historical fiction, General, Historical, Mystery & Detective, Mystery Fiction, England, Holmes; Sherlock (Fictitious Character), Traditional British, Detective and Mystery Stories; American, Scientists, Moriarty; Professor (Fictitious Character)
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transitory art form."
Zyverbine sighed. "Transitory," he said. "Impermanent. The epitaph of a spy."
"Tell me about this Trepoff," Moriarty said. "The man has evidently already tried to kill me once, and was undoubtedly responsible for Bunting's death as well. I'd better at least know what he looks like."
"I wish I could help you," Zyverbine said. "There is no man who knows what Trepoff looks like. He has at times disguised himself as an old man, a youth, and even a woman, and gone undetected each time."
"I see," Moriarty said. "Can you tell me anything about him? How is he going to bring about a war between Russia and Great Britain?"
"I don't know," Zyverbine said.
"I somehow suspected that you were going to say that," Moriarty said.
"It is, perhaps, not as stupid as it sounds," Zyverbine said. "Permit me to explain."
"I encourage you to explain," Moriarty told him.
"Yes," Zyverbine said. "Tell me, Professor, how much do you know of Russian history?"
"What any educated Englishman would be expected to know," Moriarty said, "which is to say, practically nothing."
"The history of my country over the past thirty years," Zyverbine said soberly, "has been written in blood. When Tsar Alexander II ascended the throne in 1855 and liberalized the policies of his father, Nicholas, he was rewarded by increasingly frequent assassination attempts. He dissolved the hated Special Corps of Gendarmerie, and in 1866 the nihilist Karakozoff shot at him in St. Petersburg. He reduced the power of the Secret Third Section, and in 1867 the Polish anarchist Berezowski attempted to assassinate him in Paris. He later abolished the Third Section, and the nihilist Solovioff attempted to murder him on April 14, 1879.
"The Okhrana attempted to infiltrate these nihilist groups and to protect the life of the Tsar, but although we had fair success, it was too late. On March 13, 1881, as he was passing a cheese factory on Malaya Sadova Street, on the way to visit his former mistress, the Princess Catherine, a white handkerchief was waved by the nihilist Sophya Perovskaya and two bombs went off by his sledge."
"I remember reading of the assassination," Moriarty said, "although not in such detail. The bombs did the job, then?"
"The first bomb killed two of the Tsar's Cossack guards. Alexander dismounted to go to their aid, and the second bomb killed him."
"That was four years ago," Moriarty said.
Zyverbine stood up. "Four years ago, Alexander III became Tsar of all Russians," he said, crossing himself, "and we of the Okhrana took a blood vow to protect him and his family against anarchists, nihilists, and revolutionaries. We intend to keep that vow."
"Very commendable, I'm sure," Moriarty said. "Trepoff is, then, a nihilist?"
"On the contrary, Professor Moriarty," Zyverbine said. "Trepoff is the leader of the Belye Krystall —the White Crystal, a group of right-wing fanatics within the External Agency of the Okhrana."
"You mean that this Trepoff, who murdered your best agent in England—and who, incidentally, tried to kill me—is himself an agent of the Okhrana?"
"Unfortunately," Zyverbine said, sitting back down and staring across the great desk, "that is exactly what I mean." He held his hands out, palms up. "You must understand, the Okhrana is unlike any organization you are familiar with. For one thing, the Okhrana consists of
Zyverbine sighed. "Transitory," he said. "Impermanent. The epitaph of a spy."
"Tell me about this Trepoff," Moriarty said. "The man has evidently already tried to kill me once, and was undoubtedly responsible for Bunting's death as well. I'd better at least know what he looks like."
"I wish I could help you," Zyverbine said. "There is no man who knows what Trepoff looks like. He has at times disguised himself as an old man, a youth, and even a woman, and gone undetected each time."
"I see," Moriarty said. "Can you tell me anything about him? How is he going to bring about a war between Russia and Great Britain?"
"I don't know," Zyverbine said.
"I somehow suspected that you were going to say that," Moriarty said.
"It is, perhaps, not as stupid as it sounds," Zyverbine said. "Permit me to explain."
"I encourage you to explain," Moriarty told him.
"Yes," Zyverbine said. "Tell me, Professor, how much do you know of Russian history?"
"What any educated Englishman would be expected to know," Moriarty said, "which is to say, practically nothing."
"The history of my country over the past thirty years," Zyverbine said soberly, "has been written in blood. When Tsar Alexander II ascended the throne in 1855 and liberalized the policies of his father, Nicholas, he was rewarded by increasingly frequent assassination attempts. He dissolved the hated Special Corps of Gendarmerie, and in 1866 the nihilist Karakozoff shot at him in St. Petersburg. He reduced the power of the Secret Third Section, and in 1867 the Polish anarchist Berezowski attempted to assassinate him in Paris. He later abolished the Third Section, and the nihilist Solovioff attempted to murder him on April 14, 1879.
"The Okhrana attempted to infiltrate these nihilist groups and to protect the life of the Tsar, but although we had fair success, it was too late. On March 13, 1881, as he was passing a cheese factory on Malaya Sadova Street, on the way to visit his former mistress, the Princess Catherine, a white handkerchief was waved by the nihilist Sophya Perovskaya and two bombs went off by his sledge."
"I remember reading of the assassination," Moriarty said, "although not in such detail. The bombs did the job, then?"
"The first bomb killed two of the Tsar's Cossack guards. Alexander dismounted to go to their aid, and the second bomb killed him."
"That was four years ago," Moriarty said.
Zyverbine stood up. "Four years ago, Alexander III became Tsar of all Russians," he said, crossing himself, "and we of the Okhrana took a blood vow to protect him and his family against anarchists, nihilists, and revolutionaries. We intend to keep that vow."
"Very commendable, I'm sure," Moriarty said. "Trepoff is, then, a nihilist?"
"On the contrary, Professor Moriarty," Zyverbine said. "Trepoff is the leader of the Belye Krystall —the White Crystal, a group of right-wing fanatics within the External Agency of the Okhrana."
"You mean that this Trepoff, who murdered your best agent in England—and who, incidentally, tried to kill me—is himself an agent of the Okhrana?"
"Unfortunately," Zyverbine said, sitting back down and staring across the great desk, "that is exactly what I mean." He held his hands out, palms up. "You must understand, the Okhrana is unlike any organization you are familiar with. For one thing, the Okhrana consists of
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