CHAPTER VI: - THE NIHILIST SPYThe hackneyed simile of the cat and the mouse seemed to me to be especially applicable in the present instance. In one breath I was told that there would be many interviews of the kind I was then enjoying (?), and in the next that my destination was Siberia. It was certainly paradoxical and somewhat threatening, but I still refrained from asking questions. Presently, as I made no further comment, the emperor resumed the conversation.
"What brought you to Russia?" he demanded, but in a tone that was not unkind.
"The desire to obtain an interview with you," I replied, remembering his caution for me to ignore his rank.
"For what purpose?"
"To enter your service."
"In what capacity?"
"In any capacity for which I seem most fitted."
His majesty smiled broadly
