Although the story does not appear to have made much impression upon the Polish prince at the time, he afterwards, either through conviction or selfish motives, espoused the cause of the impostor. The story runs that the young monk learned many secrets and particulars of the life of the murdered czarowitch from old servants and that he ascertained the names and titles of the officers who had been attached to the boy's person and became possessed, probably through the same sources, of a seal bearing Dimitri's initials and a cross set with diamonds, said to have been his baptismal gifts.
Having prepared his part, he begged to be allowed to retire from the court. When asked why he should seek to leave the capital where, with his talent and learning he might have a brilliant future, he replied, "By remaining here I should become a Bishop at most, but I mean to be Czar of Russia."
This declaration having finally reached the ears of Boris himself, he gave orders to have the crazy monk sent to a remote cloister and thought no more about him. Otrepief set out, but instead of retiring to the seclusion intended for him, he ran away and escaped into Lithuania, always hostile to the czar. At every monastery he passed he would write on the wall, "I am Dimitri, son of Ivan IV; Although believed to be dead, I escaped from my assassins. When I am upon my father's throne, I will recompense the generous men who now show me hospitality."
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From General Nelson A. Miles
Thrilling Stories of The Russian-Japanese War, 1904
