第16章

TheyhadnowonlytodescendtheUralslopes，indoingwhichtherewasnottheslightestdifficulty。

Sixhoursafterwardsthetwovehicles，thetarantassprecedingthetelga，arrivedatEkaterenburg，nothingworthyofnotehavinghappenedinthedescent。

Thefirstpersonthereportersperceivedatthedoorofthepost-housewastheiriemschik，whoappearedtobewaitingforthem。

ThisworthyRussianhadafineopencountenance，andhesmilinglyapproachedthetravelers，and，holdingouthishand，inaquiettonehedemandedtheusual“pour-boire。“

ThisverycoolrequestrousedBlount’siretoitshighestpitch，andhadnottheiemschikprudentlyretreated，astraight-outblowofthefist，intrueBritishboxingstyle，wouldhavepaidhisclaimof“navodkou。“

AlcideJolivet，atthisburstofanger，laughedashehadneverlaughedbefore。

“Butthepoordevilisquiteright！“hecried。

“Heisperfectlyright，mydearfellow。Itisnothisfaultifwedidnotknowhowtofollowhim！“

Thendrawingseveralcopecksfromhispocket，“Heremyfriend，“

saidhe，handingthemtotheiemschik；“takethem。

Ifyouhavenotearnedthem，thatisnotyourfault。“

ThisredoubledMr。Blount’sirritation。Heevenbegantospeakofalawsuitagainsttheownerofthetelga。

“AlawsuitinRussia，mydearfellow！“criedAlcide。“Thingsmustindeedchangeshoulditeverbebroughttoaconclusion！

Didyouneverhearthestoryofthewet-nursewhoclaimedpaymentoftwelvemonths’nursingofsomepoorlittleinfant？“

“Ineverheardit，“repliedHarryBlount。

“Thenyoudonotknowwhatthatsucklinghadbecomebythetimejudgmentwasgiveninfavorofthenurse？“

“Whatwashe，pray？“

“ColoneloftheImperialGuard！“

Atthisreplyallburstintoalaugh。

Alcide，enchantedwithhisownjoke，drewouthisnotebook，andinitwrotethefollowingmemorandum，destinedtofigureinaforthcomingFrenchandRussiandictionary:

“Telga，aRussiancarriagewithfourwheels，thatiswhenitstarts；

withtwowheels，whenitarrivesatitsdestination。“

CHAPTERXIIPROVOCATION

EKATERENBURG，geographically，isanAsiaticcity；foritissituatedbeyondtheUralMountains，onthefarthesteasternslopesofthechain。

Nevertheless，itbelongstothegovernmentofPerm；and，consequently，isincludedinoneofthegreatdivisionsofEuropeanRussia。ItisasthoughamorselofSiberialayinRussianjaws。

NeitherMichaelnorhiscompanionswerelikelytoexperiencetheslightestdifficultyinobtainingmeansofcontinuingtheirjourneyinsolargeatownasEkaterenburg。Itwasfoundedin1723，andhassincebecomeaplaceofconsiderablesize，forinitisthechiefmintoftheempire。Therealsoaretheheadquartersoftheofficialsemployedinthemanagementofthemines。

Thusthetownisthecenterofanimportantdistrict，aboundinginmanufactoriesprincipallyfortheworkingandrefiningofgoldandplatina。

JustnowthepopulationofEkaterenburghadgreatlyincreased；

manyRussiansandSiberians，menacedbytheTartarinvasion，havingcollectedthere。Thus，thoughithadbeensotroublesomeamattertofindhorsesandvehicleswhengoingtoEkaterenburg，therewasnodifficultyinleavingit；forunderpresentcircumstancesfewtravelerscaredtoventureontheSiberianroads。

SoithappenedthatBlountandAlcidehadnottheslightesttroubleinreplacing，byasoundtelga，thefamousdemi-carriagewhichhadmanagedtotakethemtoEkaterenburg。AstoMichael，heretainedhistarantass，whichwasnotmuchtheworseforitsjourneyacrosstheUrals；

andhehadonlytoharnessthreegoodhorsestoittotakehimswiftlyovertheroadtoIrkutsk。

AsfarasTioumen，andevenuptoNovo-Zaimskoe，thisroadhasslightinclines，whichgentleundulationsarethefirstsignsoftheslopesoftheUralMountains。ButafterNovo-Zaimskoebeginstheimmensesteppe。

AtIchim，aswehavesaid，thereportersintendedtostop，thatisataboutfourhundredandtwentymilesfromEkaterenburg。Theretheyintendedtobeguidedbycircumstancesastotheirrouteacrosstheinvadedcountry，eithertogetherorseparately，accordingastheirnews-huntinginstinctsetthemononetrackoranother。

ThisroadfromEkaterenburgtoIchim——whichpassesthroughIrkutsk——

wastheonlyonewhichMichaelcouldtake。But，ashedidnotrunafternews，andwished，onthecontrary，toavoidthecountrydevastatedbytheinvaders，hedeterminedtostopnowhere。

“Iamveryhappytomakepartofmyjourneyinyourcompany，“

saidhetohisnewcompanions，“butImusttellyouthatIammostanxioustoreachOmsk；formysisterandIaregoingtorejoinourmother。

WhocansaywhetherweshallarrivebeforetheTartarsreachthetown！

Imustthereforestopatthepost-housesonlylongenoughtochangehorses，andmusttraveldayandnight。“

“Thatisexactlywhatweintenddoing，“repliedBlount。

“Good，“repliedMichael；“butdonotloseaninstant。

Buyorhireacarriagewhose——“

“Whosehindwheels，“addedAlcide，“arewarrantedtoarriveatthesametimeasitsfrontwheels。“

HalfanhourafterwardstheenergeticFrenchmanhadfoundatarantassinwhichheandhiscompanionatonceseatedthemselves。

MichaelandNadiaoncemoreenteredtheirowncarriage，andattwelveo’clockthetwovehiclesleftthetownofEkaterenburgtogether。

NadiawasatlastinSiberia，onthatlongroadwhichledtoIrkutsk。Whatmustthenhavebeenthethoughtsoftheyounggirl？

Threestrongswifthorsesweretakingheracrossthatlandofexilewhereherparentwascondemnedtolive，forhowlongsheknewnot，andsofarfromhisnativeland。Butshescarcelynoticedthoselongsteppesoverwhichthetarantasswasrolling，andwhichatonetimeshehaddespairedofeverseeing，forhereyesweregazingatthehorizon，beyondwhichsheknewherbanishedfatherwas。Shesawnothingofthecountryacrosswhichshewastravelingattherateoffifteenverstsanhour；

nothingoftheseregionsofWesternSiberia，sodifferentfromthoseoftheeast。Here，indeed，werefewcultivatedfields；

thesoilwaspoor，atleastatthesurface，butinitsbowelslayhidquantitiesofiron，copper，platina，andgold。

Howcanhandsbefoundtocultivatetheland，whenitpaysbettertoburrowbeneaththeearth？Thepickaxeiseverywhereatwork；

thespadenowhere。

However，Nadia’sthoughtssometimeslefttheprovincesofLakeBaikal，andreturnedtoherpresentsituation。

Herfather’simagefadedaway，andwasreplacedbythatofhergenerouscompanionashefirstappearedontheVladimirrailroad。

Sherecalledhisattentionsduringthatjourney，hisarrivalatthepolice-station，theheartysimplicitywithwhichhehadcalledhersister，hiskindnesstoherinthedescentoftheVolga，andthenallthathedidforheronthatterriblenightofthestormintheUrals，whenhesavedherlifeattheperilofhisown。

ThusNadiathoughtofMichael。ShethankedGodforhavinggivenhersuchagallantprotector，afriendsogenerousandwise。

Sheknewthatshewassafewithhim，underhisprotection。

Nobrothercouldhavedonemorethanhe。Allobstaclesseemedclearedaway；theperformanceofherjourneywasbutamatteroftime。

Michaelremainedburiedinthought。HealsothankedGodforhavingbroughtaboutthismeetingwithNadia，whichatthesametimeenabledhimtodoagoodaction，andaffordedhimadditionalmeansforconcealinghistruecharacter。

Hedelightedintheyounggirl’scalmintrepidity。

Wasshenotindeedhissister？Hisfeelingtowardshisbeautifulandbravecompanionwasratherrespectthanaffection。

Hefeltthatherswasoneofthosepureandrareheartswhichareheldbyallinhighesteem。

However，Michael’sdangerswerenowbeginning，sincehehadreachedSiberianground。Ifthereporterswerenotmistaken，ifIvanOgareffhadreallypassedthefrontier，allhisactionsmustbemadewithextremecaution。Thingswerenowaltered；

TartarspiesswarmedintheSiberianprovinces。Hisincognitooncediscovered，hischaracterascourieroftheCzarknown，therewasanendofhisjourney，andprobablyofhislife。

Michaelfeltnowmorethanevertheweightofhisresponsibility。

Whilesuchwerethethoughtsofthoseoccupyingthefirstcarriage，whatwashappeninginthesecond？Nothingoutoftheway。

Alcidespokeinsentences；Blountrepliedbymonosyllables。

Eachlookedateverythinginhisownlight，andmadenotesofsuchincidentsasoccurredonthejourney——fewandbutslightlyvaried——

whiletheycrossedtheprovincesofWesternSiberia。

AteachrelaythereportersdescendedfromtheircarriageandfoundthemselveswithMichael。Exceptwhenmealsweretobetakenatthepost-houses，Nadiadidnotleavethetarantass。

Whenobligedtobreakfastordine，shesatattable，butwasalwaysveryreserved，andseldomjoinedinconversation。

Alcide，withoutgoingbeyondthelimitsofstrictpropriety，showedthathewasgreatlystruckbytheyounggirl。

Headmiredthesilentenergywhichsheshowedinbearingallthefatiguesofsodifficultajourney。

TheforcedstoppageswereanythingbutagreeabletoMichael；

sohehastenedthedepartureateachrelay，rousedtheinnkeepers，urgedontheiemschiks，andexpeditedtheharnessingofthetarantass。

Thenthehurriedmealover——alwaysmuchtoohurriedtoagreewithBlount，whowasamethodicaleater——theystarted，andweredrivenaseagles，fortheypaidlikeprinces。

ItneedscarcelybesaidthatBlountdidnottroublehimselfaboutthegirlattable。Thatgentlemanwasnotinthehabitofdoingtwothingsatonce。Shewasalsooneofthefewsubjectsofconversationwhichhedidnotcaretodiscusswithhiscompanion。

Alcidehavingaskedhim，ononeoccasion，howoldhethoughtthegirl，“Whatgirl？“hereplied，quiteseriously。