第2章

Thetwocorrespondentsthereforebeganbycautiouslysoundingeachother。

“Really，mydearsir，thislittlefeteischarming！“

saidAlcideJolivetpleasantly，thinkinghimselfobligedtobegintheconversationwiththiseminentlyFrenchphrase。

“Ihavetelegraphedalready，’splendid！’“repliedHarryBlountcalmly，employingthewordspeciallydevotedtoexpressingadmirationbyallsubjectsoftheUnitedKingdom。

“Nevertheless，“addedAlcideJolivet，“Ifeltcompelledtoremarktomycousin——“

“Yourcousin？“repeatedHarryBlountinatoneofsurprise，interruptinghisbrotherofthepen。

“Yes，“returnedAlcideJolivet，“mycousinMadeleine。ItiswithherthatIcorrespond，andshelikestobequicklyandwellinformed，doesmycousin。Ithereforeremarkedtoherthat，duringthisfete，asortofcloudhadappearedtoovershadowthesovereign’sbrow。“

“Tome，itseemedradiant，“repliedHarryBlount，whoperhaps，wishedtoconcealhisrealopiniononthistopic。

“And，naturally，youmadeit’radiant，’inthecolumnsoftheDailyTelegraph。“

“Exactly。“

“Doyouremember，Mr。Blount，whatoccurredatZakretin1812？“

“IrememberitaswellasifIhadbeenthere，sir，“

repliedtheEnglishcorrespondent。

“Then，“continuedAlcideJolivet，“youknowthat，inthemiddleofafetegiveninhishonor，itwasannouncedtotheEmperorAlexanderthatNapoleonhadjustcrossedtheNiemenwiththevanguardoftheFrencharmy。NeverthelesstheEmperordidnotleavethefete，andnotwithstandingtheextremegravityofintelligencewhichmightcosthimhisempire，hedidnotallowhimselftoshowmoreuneasiness。“

“ThanourhostexhibitedwhenGeneralKissoffinformedhimthatthetelegraphicwireshadjustbeencutbetweenthefrontierandthegovernmentofIrkutsk。“

“Ah！youareawareofthat？“

“Iam！“

“Asregardsmyself，itwouldbedifficulttoavoidknowingit，sincemylasttelegramreachedUdinsk，“observedAlcideJolivet，withsomesatisfaction。

“AndmineonlyasfarasKrasnoiarsk，“answeredHarryBlount，inanolesssatisfiedtone。

“ThenyouknowalsothatordershavebeensenttothetroopsofNikolaevsk？“

“Ido，sir；andatthesametimeatelegramwassenttotheCossacksofthegovernmentofTobolsktoconcentratetheirforces。“

“Nothingcanbemoretrue，Mr。Blount；Iwasequallywellacquaintedwiththesemeasures，andyoumaybesurethatmydearcousinshallknowofthemto-morrow。“

“ExactlyasthereadersoftheDailyTelegraphshallknowitalso，M。Jolivet。“

“Well，whenoneseesallthatisgoingon……“

“Andwhenonehearsallthatissaid……“

“Aninterestingcampaigntofollow，Mr。Blount。“

“Ishallfollowit，M。Jolivet！“

“Thenitispossiblethatweshallfindourselvesongroundlesssafe，perhaps，thanthefloorofthisball-room。“

“Lesssafe，certainly，but——“

“Butmuchlessslippery，“addedAlcideJolivet，holdinguphiscompanion，justasthelatter，drawingback，wasabouttolosehisequilibrium。

Thereuponthetwocorrespondentsseparated，pleasedthattheonehadnotstolenamarchontheother。

Atthatmomentthedoorsoftheroomsadjoiningthegreatreceptionsaloonwerethrownopen，disclosingtoviewseveralimmensetablesbeautifullylaidout，andgroaningunderaprofusionofvaluablechinaandgoldplate。Onthecentraltable，reservedfortheprinces，princesses，andmembersofthecorpsdiplomatique，glitteredanepergneofinestimableprice，broughtfromLondon，andaroundthischef-d’oeuvreofchasedgoldreflectedunderthelightofthelustersathousandpiecesofmostbeautifulservicefromthemanufactoriesofSevres。

TheguestsoftheNewPalaceimmediatelybegantostreamtowardsthesupper-rooms。

Atthatmoment。GeneralKissoff，whohadjustre-entered，quicklyapproachedtheofficerofchasseurs。

“Well？“askedthelatterabruptly，ashehaddonetheformertime。

“TelegramspassTomsknolonger，sire。“

“Acourierthismoment！“

Theofficerleftthehallandenteredalargeantechamberadjoining。

Itwasacabinetwithplainoakfurniture，situatedinanangleoftheNewPalace。Severalpictures，amongstotherssomebyHoraceVernet，hungonthewall。

Theofficerhastilyopenedawindow，asifhefeltthewantofair，andsteppedoutonabalconytobreathethepureatmosphereofalovelyJulynight。Beneathhiseyes，bathedinmoonlight，layafortifiedinclosure，fromwhichrosetwocathedrals，threepalaces，andanarsenal。

Aroundthisinclosurecouldbeseenthreedistincttowns:

Kitai-Gorod，Beloi-Gorod，Zemlianai-Gorod——European，Tartar，andChinesequartersofgreatextent，commandedbytowers，belfries，minarets，andthecupolasofthreehundredchurches，withgreendomes，surmountedbythesilvercross。

Alittlewindingriver，hereandtherereflectedtheraysofthemoon。

ThisriverwastheMoskowa；thetownMoscow；thefortifiedinclosuretheKremlin；andtheofficerofchasseursoftheguard，who，withfoldedarmsandthoughtfulbrow，waslisteningdreamilytothesoundsfloatingfromtheNewPalaceovertheoldMuscovitecity，wastheCzar。

THECzarhadnotsosuddenlylefttheball-roomoftheNewPalace，whenthefetehewasgivingtothecivilandmilitaryauthoritiesandprincipalpeopleofMoscowwasattheheightofitsbrilliancy，withoutamplecause；forhehadjustreceivedinformationthatseriouseventsweretakingplacebeyondthefrontiersoftheUral。IthadbecomeevidentthataformidablerebellionthreatenedtowresttheSiberianprovincesfromtheRussiancrown。

AsiaticRussia，orSiberia，coversasuperficialareaof1，790，208

squaremiles，andcontainsnearlytwomillionsofinhabitants。

ExtendingfromtheUralMountains，whichseparateitfromRussiainEurope，totheshoresofthePacificOcean，itisboundedonthesouthbyTurkestanandtheChineseEmpire；

onthenorthbytheArcticOcean，fromtheSeaofKaratoBehring’sStraits。Itisdividedintoseveralgovernmentsorprovinces，thoseofTobolsk，Yeniseisk，Irkutsk，Omsk，andYakutsk；containstwodistricts，OkhotskandKamtschatka；

andpossessestwocountries，nowundertheMuscovitedominion——

thatoftheKirghizandthatoftheTshouktshes。Thisimmenseextentofsteppes，whichincludesmorethanonehundredandtendegreesfromwesttoeast，isalandtowhichcriminalsandpoliticaloffendersarebanished。

Twogovernor-generalsrepresentthesupremeauthorityoftheCzaroverthisvastcountry。ThehigheroneresidesatIrkutsk，thefarcapitalofEasternSiberia。TheRiverTchounaseparatesthetwoSiberias。

Norailyetfurrowsthesewideplains，someofwhichareinrealityextremelyfertile。NoironwaysleadfromthosepreciousmineswhichmaketheSiberiansoilfarricherbelowthanaboveitssurface。

Thetravelerjourneysinsummerinakibickortelga；inwinter，inasledge。

Anelectrictelegraph，withasinglewiremorethaneightthousandverstsinlength，aloneaffordscommunicationbetweenthewesternandeasternfrontiersofSiberia。OnissuingfromtheUral，itpassesthroughEkaterenburg，Kasirnov，Tioumen，Ishim，Omsk，Elamsk，Kolyvan，Tomsk，Krasnoiarsk，Nijni-Udinsk，Irkutsk，Verkne-Nertschink，Strelink，Albazine，Blagowstenks，Radde，Orlomskaya，Alexandrowskoe，andNikolaevsk；

andsixroublesandnineteencopecksarepaidforeverywordsentfromoneendtotheother。FromIrkutskthereisabranchtoKiatka，ontheMongolianfrontier；andfromthence，forthirtycopecksaword，thepostconveysthedispatchestoPekininafortnight。

Itwasthiswire，extendingfromEkaterenburgtoNikolaevsk，whichhadbeencut，firstbeyondTomsk，andthenbetweenTomskandKolyvan。

ThiswaswhytheCzar，tothecommunicationmadetohimforthesecondtimebyGeneralKissoff，hadansweredbythewords，“Acourierthismoment！“

TheCzarremainedmotionlessatthewindowforafewmoments，whenthedoorwasagainopened。Thechiefofpoliceappearedonthethreshold。

“Enter，General，“saidtheCzarbriefly，“andtellmeallyouknowofIvanOgareff。“

“Heisanextremelydangerousman，sire，“repliedthechiefofpolice。

“Herankedascolonel，didhenot？“

“Yes，sire。“

“Washeanintelligentofficer？“

“Veryintelligent，butamanwhosespirititwasimpossibletosubdue；

andpossessinganambitionwhichstoppedatnothing，hebecameinvolvedinsecretintrigues，andwasdegradedfromhisrankbyhisHighnesstheGrandDuke，andexiledtoSiberia。“

“Howlongagowasthat？“

“Twoyearssince。Pardonedaftersixmonthsofexilebyyourmajesty’sfavor，hereturnedtoRussia。“

“Andsincethattime，hashenotrevisitedSiberia？“

“Yes，sire；buthevoluntarilyreturnedthere，“repliedthechiefofpolice，adding，andslightlyloweringhisvoice，“therewasatime，sire，whenNONEreturnedfromSiberia。“

“Well，whilstIlive，SiberiaisandshallbeacountrywhencemenCANreturn。“

TheCzarhadtherighttoutterthesewordswithsomepride，foroften，byhisclemency，hehadshownthatRussianjusticeknewhowtopardon。

Theheadofthepolicedidnotreplytothisobservation，butitwasevidentthathedidnotapproveofsuchhalf-measures。Accordingtohisidea，amanwhohadoncepassedtheUralMountainsinchargeofpolicemen，oughtneveragaintocrossthem。Now，itwasnotthusunderthenewreign，andthechiefofpolicesincerelydeploredit。

What！nobanishmentforlifeforothercrimesthanthoseagainstsocialorder！What！politicalexilesreturningfromTobolsk，fromYakutsk，fromIrkutsk！Intruth，thechiefofpolice，accustomedtothedespoticsentencesoftheukasewhichformerlyneverpardoned，couldnotunderstandthismodeofgoverning。

Buthewassilent，waitinguntiltheCzarshouldinterrogatehimfurther。

Thequestionswerenotlongincoming。

“DidnotIvanOgareff，“askedtheCzar，“returntoRussiaasecondtime，afterthatjourneythroughtheSiberianprovinces，theobjectofwhichremainsunknown？“

“Hedid。“

“Andhavethepolicelosttraceofhimsince？“

“No，sire；foranoffenderonlybecomesreallydangerousfromthedayhehasreceivedhispardon。“

TheCzarfrowned。Perhapsthechiefofpolicefearedthathehadgonerathertoofar，thoughthestubbornnessofhisideaswasatleastequaltotheboundlessdevotionhefeltforhismaster。

ButtheCzar，disdainingtoreplytotheseindirectreproachescastonhispolicy，continuedhisquestions。

“WherewasOgarefflastheardof？“

“IntheprovinceofPerm。“

“Inwhattown？“

“AtPermitself。“

“Whatwashedoing？“

“Heappearedunoccupied，andtherewasnothingsuspiciousinhisconduct。“

“Thenhewasnotunderthesurveillanceofthesecretpolice？“

“No，sire。“

“WhendidheleavePerm？“

“AboutthemonthofMarch？“

“Togo……？“

“Where，isunknown。“

“Anditisnotknownwhathasbecomeofhim？“

“No，sire；itisnotknown。“

“Well，then，Imyselfknow，“answeredtheCzar。“Ihavereceivedanonymouscommunicationswhichdidnotpassthroughthepolicedepartment；

and，inthefaceofeventsnowtakingplacebeyondthefrontier，Ihaveeveryreasontobelievethattheyarecorrect。“

“Doyoumean，sire，“criedthechiefofpolice，“thatIvanOgareffhasahandinthisTartarrebellion？“

“IndeedIdo；andIwillnowtellyousomethingwhichyouareignorantof。AfterleavingPerm，IvanOgareffcrossedtheUralmountains，enteredSiberia，andpenetratedtheKirghizsteppes，andthereendeavored，notwithoutsuccess，tofomentrebellionamongsttheirnomadicpopulation。

HethenwentsofarsouthasfreeTurkestan；there，intheprovincesofBokhara，Khokhand，andKoondooz，hefoundchiefswillingtopourtheirTartarhordesintoSiberia，andexciteageneralrisinginAsiaticRussia。Thestormhasbeensilentlygathering，butithasatlastburstlikeathunderclap，andnowallmeansofcommunicationbetweenEasternandWesternSiberiahavebeenstopped。Moreover，IvanOgareff，thirstingforvengeance，aimsatthelifeofmybrother！“