Beadle's Pocket Library No. 432

The Young Nihilist This serialized novel by Charles Morris opens on the frozen Neva River at St. Petersburg during winter. A young American skater performs a daring descent down an artificial ice slope but falls, nearly crushed by incoming sleds before a Russian stranger rescues him. The Russian reveals himself as a wanted fugitive, pursued by secret police agents, and requests the American's skates to escape. The American agrees, surrendering his skates. The Russian flees across the ice, successfully breaking through a closing ring of uniformed agents, though the American is arrested as an accomplice. The fugitive, named Ivan Stretzitz, escapes across the frozen river while police pursue, firing ineffective shots. The narrative establishes the tension between the daring American protagonist and Russian state authority, with the Russian setting providing an exotic backdrop for this adventure tale of political persecution and escape.