yi^frNRLF 
 
 ^B ESS Otb 
 
 ^ 
 
 \\ 1 
 
GIFT OF 
 JEROME B. LANI 
 
x^ 
 
 0. 
 
 •yo 
 
 /r> 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 
 Microsoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/escapedfromsiberOOtissrich 
 
ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
THE ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY PRESS. 
 
'*HERE IS YEGOR, S^MI^NOFF," SAID NAD^GE. 
 
ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA 
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF THREE 
 DISTRESSED FUGITIVES 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY FRITH. ( J/^u.^oI<ry-) 
 
 AUTHOR OF "on THE WINGS OF THE WIND." ETC 
 
 LON DON 
 GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, LIMITED 
 
 BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL 
 MANCHESTER AND NEW YORK 
 
 1894 
 
(21^//; ^4a^-7c^/5 oG-vc^^^ot^ 
 
 U ^ 
 
 Uniform with this Volume 
 
 IN THE BRAVE DAYS OF OLD 
 
 T/ie Story of the Crusades 
 By henry frith 
 
 tX ^ 1\ 
 

 DEDICATION. 
 
 TO 
 
 MY MOTHER, 
 
 TO WHOSE LOVING INSTRUCTION I OWE MY ACQUAINTANCE 
 WITH ANY LANGUAGE, I DEDICATE 
 
 CJjia 5rtan0lation, 
 
 IN AFFECTIONATE RECOGNITION OP THE TROUBLE 
 SHE SO UNSELFISHLY BESTOWED 
 
 ON 
 
 TilE TEANSLATOK. 
 
 August, 1885. 
 
 SiJ^;51^0 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 This narrative of tlie adventures of three fugitives from Siberia 
 will appeal to all readers. The cruelties which probably still 
 exist in the mines where so many wretched Russian convicts 
 eke out their miserable existences, incite many of the toilers to 
 attempt escape ; but few succeed. This tale doubtless rests upon 
 a substratum of fact, but we are pleased to find the hero is not 
 ill-treated in his captivity for an alleged political offence. He 
 seems to have enjoyed considerable liberty; and, in his capacity 
 of secretary, to have had opportunities to arrange and carry out 
 his project of evasion in company with the daughter of another 
 exile. The resources of M. Lafleur, the devs ex macMnd of the 
 tale — of course, a Frenchman — will surprise most people. The 
 character of the Police Inspector is well drawn and consistently 
 retained even unto death. The boldness of Yegor, the endurance 
 of the lad Ladislas, the patience of Kadege, and the exciting 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 adventures through which they all pass, keep the reader's attention 
 alive throughout. 
 
 It only remains to be said that the Translator has in no way 
 interfered with the Authors' work. His share in the transaction 
 has only been to put into as fluent and familiar English as 
 possible to him, the Trench original. To do this words have 
 necessarily been added, and sentences adapted to the mother- 
 tongue and the ears of Britons ; but the adventures, the 
 characters, the general treatment and the geography of the tale, 
 are all the results of the literary partnership of MM. TissoT 
 and Amero. 
 
 H. F. 
 
ILLUSTRATION'S. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 THE ARRIVAL . , 1 
 
 THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN TAKEN FOR SKELETONS . • • 9 
 
 HE HAD A RIGHT TO SELL SPIRITS . , < .13 
 
 HE MADE HIS WAY ALONG THE FLOOR . . . .21 
 
 THE JOURNEY .25 
 
 "here is YEGOR SEMENOFF," SAID NADEGE .... 35 
 THEY BEGAN TO STUDY THE CHANCES OF ESCAPE . . .40 
 M. LAFLEUR, HIMSELF AS FRESH AS HIS NAME WOULD INDI- 
 CATE . . .45 
 
 M. LAFLEUR AIDS LADISLAS . 54 
 
 THE MID-DAY MEAL 60 
 
 A WELCOME .70 
 
 CROSSING THE ALDAN .75 
 
 UNDER A SKY STUDDED WITH COUNTLESS STARS . ,. r 85 
 
 IN THE FOREST , ... 89 
 
 THE BEAR TRAP 94 
 
 HE TOOK THE YOUNG GIRL IN HIS ARMS AND PROCEEDED 
 
 RAPIDLY 105 
 
 HERE THEY ARE AT LAST Ill 
 
 "adieu, father, I DIE REPENTANT," MURMURED DIMITRI . 120 
 M. LAFLEUR AWAKENED BY THE INSPECTOR OF POLICE . .133 
 
 AT A SIGNAL GIVEN BY YEGOR, A VOLLEY WAS DISCHARGED 
 
 BY THE ASSAILANTS 146 
 
 THE NARTAS WERE DRAWN WITH VERY CONSIDERABLE SWIFT- 
 NESS OVER THE SNOW 153 
 
 "feel THE WEIGHT OF IT; TWENTY-ONE OUNCES!" . .169 
 
 A NUMBER OF DOGS WERE LYING BY THE NARTAS . . 173 
 
 M. LAFLEUR UNCORKED, WITHOUT REGRET, A THIRD BOTTLE 
 
 OF BRANDY . 174 
 
 THE SETTLEMENT OF ZALAVINA . . . . . .184 
 
xii ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 IN A KIND OF ECSTACT SHE ADVANCED, CHARMED, RADIANT, 
 
 AND STEPPING LIGHTLY 190 
 
 THE LAST EXPLOIT OF THE BAND HAD BEEN THE ROBBING OF 
 
 THE MAIL 199 
 
 ONE EVENING, THE BANDITS ENCAMPED IN THE OPEN AIR . 202 
 
 AFTER A FEW HOURS' RIDING, LADISLAS CAME IN SIGHT OF A 
 
 YAKOUT VILLAGE 209 
 
 "those are elands!" said tekel, in a low voice . .219 
 
 an embankment of snow was erected as a shelter . 230 
 
 his father came running out to meet the party . 239 
 
 HIS DIFFICULTY NOW LAY IN BRINGING BACK THE ANIMAL 
 
 TO CAMP 246 
 
 THE INSPECTOR SUPPORTED HIMSELF BY HIS ELBOWS ON 
 
 THE ICE 253 
 
 YilGOR AND HIS FRIEND WITH THE TWO SIBERIAN DOGS . 261 
 
 YERMAC DEVISED A PROMPT METHOD OF SUCCOUR. . . 269 
 
 M. LAFLEUR WAITED WHOLE DAYS AND NIGHTS TO CATCH A SEAL . 274 
 
 THE NATIVE CAUSED HIS WIFE TO STUFF HIM WITH SEAL FAT 278 
 UTTERING AN EXCLAMATION OF JOY, HE POINTED OUT THE 
 
 VESSEL TO M. LAFLEUR 282 
 
 YilGOR CRASHED HIS AXE DOWN ON THE SKULL OF THE 
 
 TERRIBLE BEAST 287 
 
 WAB HAS BROUGHT BACK THE BAG THEY TOOK AWAY . .297 
 
 Y:fcGOR AND LAFLEUR, GUIDED BY WAB, FOLLOWING THE 
 
 TRACES OF THE SLEDGE 303 
 
 A LARGE TEAM DREW THE NARTA, WHICH WAS DRIVEN BY A 
 
 SLAVE 313 
 
 POOR NADEGE DID UNDERSTAND ONLY TOO WELL . . .318 
 
 IMAGINE YERMAC'S SURPRISE; HE FOUND LADISLAS AT THE 
 
 HUT 321 
 
 NADEGE SEIZED THE WEAPON, WHILE YEGOR AIMED STEADILY 
 
 AT HIS ADVERSARY 328 
 
 THE ABASHED NATIVE BEFORE M. LAFLEUR . . .334 
 
 SAID NADEGE, SUDDENLY, " LOOK YONDER — THAT IS NO MIRAGE" 349 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEK I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE CONVICTS THE DANCING MASTER THE MINE AND THE 
 
 GALLEY-SLAVES— A CURIOUS GUARDIAN .... 1 
 
 CHAPTEK 11. 
 
 THE MINES THE EXILE DEMIDOFF YijGOR CONTEMPLATES 
 
 SUICIDE A PROVIDENTIAL ESCAPE 13 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 A RETROSPECT — DAVIDOFF, THE POET ARRIVAL AT IRKOUTSK 
 
 THE EXILE IS SUMMONED HOME 25 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 PROJECTS OP ESCAPE ^A NEW APPOINTMENT AND AN OLD 
 
 ACQUAINTANCE— A MEETING 40 
 
 CHAPTEE Y. 
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR ESCAPE — THE FIRST EFFORT AWAY ! 
 
 PURSUED BY YERMAC A DESPERATE DEED . .54 
 
xiv CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE YI. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 THE FLIGHT CONTINUED — M. LAFLEUR — A TERRIBLE JOURNEY 
 
 IN PROSPECT "HE IS DEAD ! " 70 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 THE CAMP — M. LAFLEUR MEETS WITH AN ADVENTURE . . 85 
 
 CHAPTEE YIII. 
 
 IN THE FOREST — APPROACH OF WINTER — THE CONFLAGRA- 
 TION , . . 94 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 TERM AC REAPPEARS — THE GOLD ROBBERS — ^A SKIRMISH, A 
 
 TRAGEDY, AND A DISCOVERY . . '. . . .111 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 ATTACKED BY WOLVES THE BEAR DANCE — ARRIVAL OF THE 
 
 SLEIGHS 139 
 
 CHAPTEE XL 
 
 ARRESTED — THE " OSTROG " — A HEAVY BRIBE . , ,153 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 IN THE HUT M. LAFLEUR's STRATAGEM — THE COSSACKS 
 
 ELUDED . . 173 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 THE chief's CABIN — A " SORCERER's " CURE — THE STORM — 
 
 LADISLAS LOST . 184 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE GOLD ROBBERS AGAIN SOME PARTICULARS CONCERNING 
 
 THEM A HUNTED DEER AND A RESCUE . • . .199 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 LADISLAS AND THE ROBBERS — THE FUGITIVES CONTINUE THEIR 
 
 FLIGHT THE DOG TEAM — A DIIEARY PROSPECT . , . 209 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 IN CAMP WINTER — ARRIVAL OF DIMITRI— A FUNERAIi . . 230 
 
 CHAPTER XYII. 
 
 FAMINE —TERM Ac's ACCIDENT A WINTER IN THE ICB . . 246 
 
 CHAPTER XYIII. 
 
 AN EXPEDITION ON THE ICE — THE BEAR HUNT A PERILOUS 
 
 POSITION — RESCUED . .261 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE NATIVES — A SEAL HUNT AN UNPALATABLE SUPPER M. 
 
 LAPLEUR AND THE BEAR 274 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE DUTCH WHALER A TERRIBLE ENCOUNTER DESPAIR . 282 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE EMPTY HUT YERMAC PROPOSES TO ESCAPE DEPARTURE 
 
 OF YEGOR AND M. LAFLEUU 297 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 IN THE THINT OF THE " KAJVIAKAY " ..... 313 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 PAOE, 
 
 DELIVERANCE THE GUIDES ARRIVE THE KAMAKAT IS 
 
 CHECKMATED 321 
 
 CHAPTEE XXIV 
 
 THE KAMAKAY DEFEATED —DIPLOMACY — THE AUSTRIAN SHIP 
 
 F.*TE OF YERMAO — CONCLUSION. • . , , . 334 
 
The Arrival. 
 
 ESCAPED EROM SIBERIA. 
 
 CHAPTEK I. 
 
 THE CONVICTS THE DANCING MASTER — THE MINE AND THE 
 
 GALLEY-SLAVES A CURIOUS GUARDIAN. 
 
 MANY years ago, upon a cold October morning, a carriage 
 containing two persons drove up to the wooden house occu- 
 pied by the Government Inspector of the Oukboul Mines in Siberia. 
 One of the occupants was a policeman : the other, a young 
 man of about five-and-twenty, was his prisoner. The latter, who 
 had been sent to Siberia as a convict, apj^eared quite exhausted 
 
2 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 by his long journey, which had been accomphshed, without 
 change of conveyance, in a Jdbitka from Kieff to Nertchinsk. 
 For at least two months he had never been freed from his fetters, 
 which he wore over his boots and rivetted round his ankles. 
 
 The gendarme who had accompanied him was dressed in a 
 blue tunic and wore a helmet. As soon as the carriage pulled 
 up, he entered the house of the Inspector to hand him the 
 papers concerning the deportation, and the particulars of the 
 sentence of the convict. 
 
 On fhe very threshold of the door he was encouiileiiid and 
 almost knocked down by a man who was coming out, ainl with 
 difficulty restrained by a gendarme. The man's face was terribly 
 swollen and hideous to behold. His hands were tightly bound 
 behind his back. He was a convict condemned to hard labour. 
 
 This man had attempted to make his escape from the dockyard 
 of Okhotsk, and his captors were now conducting him to the 
 mysterious and dreaded fortress of Akatonia situated in the 
 vicinity of Nertchinsk — a place which was never mentioned with- 
 out a shudder, and which possessed a reputation for cruelty 
 terrible even in Siberia. 
 
 The unfortunate fugitive had disfigured himself fearfully with 
 sulphuric acid in the attempt to obliterate the letters upon his 
 cheeks and forehead, which stood for the word " Vor " or thief. 
 His condition was pitiable in the extreme. 
 
 " I thirst ! " he cried, in a choking voice. " I thirst ! Give me 
 something to drink, you ! I am devoured by fever." 
 
THE CONVICT. 
 
 But for all answer he was securely tied up to the wheel of a 
 carriage which happened to be waiting under a shed close by. 
 
 From the interior of the house issued the notes of a violin. 
 Someone was playing the Belle Hel^ne Quadrilles with considerable 
 spirit. At the same time a voice might be heard speal^ing through 
 the music, and indicating the figures of the dance to some invisible 
 people, whose steps echoed upon the sonorous pine flooring, and 
 mingled with fresh and childlike laughter. 
 
 " Only a drop of water — only a drop ! " cried the suffering con- 
 vict, who was kneeling in the mire and rolling his sinister-looking 
 eyes in agony, while he foamed at the mouth as much from rage as 
 from thirst and pain. 
 
 The new arrival looked at him, and then withdrew his gaze from 
 such a disgusting object, to take in the surroundings in which he 
 would have to work out his own sentence. 
 
 Before him were scattered about a hundred small cabins and 
 yourtes, the refuge for the workers in the mines, overlooked by some 
 wooden houses which were apportioned to the employes of the 
 Government, such as the captain of the mine, the "pope" or priest, 
 and the doctor. The barracks of the convict guard, the chapel, and 
 the hospital were also to be seen close by ; but the whole of the 
 surroundings were of the most miserable and depressing character. 
 
 Beyond these buildings rose the mountain chain of Yablonoi, 
 
 whose snow-laden summits stretched away into the dim distance, and 
 
 beyond the range of vision to the eastward. In a ravine 3,000 feet 
 
 in depth — the perpendicular sides of which rose to an elevation of 
 
 B — 2 
 
ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 quite 2,000 feet — was the mine. Beneath the blood-red rocks the 
 cold had already covered with a film of ice the water which flowed 
 down from the snow, and the hydraulic wheel, active enough in 
 summer, now motionless, standing up erect and terrible like some 
 gigantic instrument of torture. 
 
 The cold wind which came through the ravine, carried with it 
 tiny needles of ice, which pricked the skins and faces of the 
 transported prisoners. 
 
 The new comer raised his eyes to Heaven in sad and mute 
 resignation, as if he renounced life then and there, and was passing 
 out of the world a martyr. But in another moment the hopes of 
 youth were rekindled in his bosom. The consciousness of having 
 done no wrong buoyed him up. His dark eyes flashed fiercely, he 
 drew himself up with a proud and haughty movement which almost 
 destroyed the hideous effect produced by the grey cape of "convict" 
 cloth, and the little black ugly cap which covered the close-cropped 
 head whereon the prison barber had worked his wicked will. 
 
 As ho drew himself up so proudly his gaze swept the horizon, as 
 if to measure his chances and the way of escape. 
 
 At this juncture the re-captured man began to groan and howl 
 lustily, and two little girls, whose curiosity was excited by the noise, 
 put their fair and curly heads out from the half-open door, as their 
 dancing-master, violin in hand, came out in a rather hesitating 
 manner, as if uncertain what was outside. 
 
 The dancing-master was a good, worthy fellow, past forty years 
 of age ; he walked with a firm step and wore a jovial — not to say 
 
A TRUE KINDNESS. 
 
 a grotesque air. There was something comical in his physiognomy. 
 His appearance was certainly neither that of a Kussian nor a slave 
 — he was evidently neither in authority nor under it. 
 
 He first advanced to the convict, and enquired in bad Kussian, 
 what he was complaining about so loudly. His question was 
 couched in the accents of a man who was really interested in the 
 answer. 
 
 "These dogs are killing me with thirst," exclaimed the unhappy 
 man. " I am all on fire here,^^ he added, opening his mouth as 
 widely as his lips, so terribly corroded by the acid, would permit. 
 
 The man with the violin was seized with an idea. Drawing a 
 small empty bottle from his breast-pocket, he made signs to his 
 little pupils to fill it with water. Then, when his request had been 
 complied with, he let the liquid filter drop by drop into the parched 
 and swollen mouth of the recaptured convict. 
 
 The man gazed at him as a grateful beast might have done. 
 
 " Thank you," was all he said ; but he was already revived. 
 
 •*So you have got yourself re-captured," said the dancing-nj-istor 
 * Do you know what is in store for you 1 " 
 
 "Well, what?" said the convict. 
 
 " Fifty lashes of the knout and more." 
 
 "Well, I daresay I shall live through it. When it is all over I 
 will drink a good cup to the health of the Czar — the father of us 
 all." 
 
 The dancing-master then approached the carriage in which the 
 latest arrival was still seated, and said to him in a low tone 
 
ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 " He speaks lightly enough now ! but by the time they have 
 inflicted twenty lashes he will be a corpse ! " 
 
 The young man shuddered as he thought, "That i;? what is 
 waiting for me if I attempt to escape and am re-captured. There 
 is no diff"erence in the eyes of the Czar's officers between yonder 
 fellow and me." Then extending his hand to the dancing-master 
 he said 
 
 "For your generous and humane conduct towards that un- 
 fortunate man, let me say in my turn, * Thank you ! ' " 
 
 " It gives me much pleasure to shake hands with you," said the 
 musician, who had, however, remarked the clothing worn by the 
 new-comer, and which indicated the political prisoner. "No thanks 
 for me, if you please, though. Thank God ! I need not be on my 
 guard continually. I am quite independent of prison, police, or 
 mine. I am a Parisian and a dancing-master. You are perhaps 
 acquainted with Paris, sir 1 Yes 1 Well, there I was born, in the 
 Place de la Bastile, right in front of the Column. And, Vive la 
 liberie, I am not ashamed of it." 
 
 The gendarme who had escorted the new arrival, now came out 
 to put a stop to this conversation. The inspector was waiting. 
 
 " One more shake of the hand," said the dancing-master. " Yes, 
 I off'er it this time. Come, courage!" he added, in a lower tone, as 
 he warmly grasped the young man's hand. 
 
 The latter drew back, murmuring, "If he were but d friend, 
 now." 
 
 The inspector, a little man, cleanly shaven, with angular features 
 
THE CORPORAL YERMAG. 
 
 and inscrutable eyes, commanded tlie prisoner to strip himself to 
 the waist, and then proceeded to identify him with the official 
 description. 
 
 A locket depended from the young man's neck. The prisoner 
 blushed and quickly placed his hand upon his chest, as if to defend 
 the trinket from any outward violence, or from any attempt to take 
 it from him. 
 
 This movement was misunderstood by the inspector. 
 
 "Allow me," he said quietly. 
 
 "Oh," said the prisoner, "I do not suppose the portrait of a 
 young lady is fraught with any great danger to the state — even 
 though she be a martyr — the daughter of Davidoff, the poet, a 
 convict like myself. She followed him into exile." 
 
 " I kno,w Davidoff and his daughter," said the inspector simply. 
 " He has been working in the mines." 
 
 " Yes, and after that ^ " enquired the prisoner eagerly. 
 
 "They remitted a portion of his labour-sentence, and interned 
 him at Irkoutsk." 
 
 Having given this information the inspector wrote the entry of 
 the prisoner in his convict-register, adding the number 1367, which 
 was next in order. Then he gave directions for the young man to 
 be taken to the mine. 
 
 Accordingly, a few minutes afterwards the prisoner was handed 
 over to the Corporal of the Convict Guard. 
 
 "Yermac," said the guardian, "here is another to fill up a gap 
 in your ranks." 
 
8 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 "Three of them have died only this week," observed the 
 corporal, as he drew a tablet from his pocket and prepared to write. 
 Then he took a good look at the prisoner. 
 
 "Yegor Semenoff ;" said the latter, thinking he wished to have 
 his name. ** Shall I write it down for you ? " he added. 
 
 " Oh, I know how to write," replied the corporal, with an 
 almost imperceptible smile. " Besides, I only want a few figures. 
 What number is it?" 
 
 "Number 1367;" replied the inspector, "lie will be lodged 
 in the fifteenth yourte, where there are two others already." 
 
 While the overseer was speaking, Y^gor S^m^nofF was studying 
 the features of the man armed with the wire whip, in whose charge 
 he had been placed. He perceived that he was a grave-looking 
 man, with bronzed but regular features which told of straight- 
 forwardness. There was nothing of the galleys-officer about him — 
 rather the contrary : he had more of the air of a magistrate, though 
 it was scarcely in keeping with his business. 
 
 " To work " exclaimed the corporal Yermac. Then he flourished 
 his wire whip. "That is the way," he added, indicating a spot 
 where several miners were at work, digging laboriously. " And, 
 remember, I am close behind you." 
 
 The miners, in tattered sheepskin garments, steeped in dirt, and 
 with naked feet, regarded the new arrival sourly. He was waruily 
 cladj had good tliick boots of dogskin, and, with the money he liad, 
 was able to purchase many little tritles for his comfort. This made 
 a great contrast. 
 
^^^?. 
 
 ^.. ' 
 
10 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 One of the men going before him indicated the way he had to 
 take. The road was simply a ladder about four hundred yards 
 long, apparently interminable. Y^gor commenced the descent 
 followed by the workman and the corporal. The dim lamps placed 
 in the cavaties of the wall only served to make the darkness more 
 apparent, without in any way dispersing the gloom. Occasionally 
 a resting-place was reached, but the " landings " were of very rare 
 occurrence, and far apart. 
 
 Y6gor could hear the noise of hammering at the bottom of the 
 pit as he descended. This strident noise, the thick darkness, the 
 mournful groups of workers across whose emaciated forms a bright 
 gleam of light was occasionally cast, the air laden with dust and 
 unpleasant vapour, strangely impressed and oppressed the young 
 man, who was, however, only at the commencement of his ap[)ien 
 ticeship to prison and exile. 
 
 Farther on the surroundings were even more terrible, if that 
 were possible. The greater number of the convicts, bearded, long- 
 haired, unkempt, and unshorn, grimed with dirt and perspiration, 
 were branded upon the face with the infamous v. o. R. These men 
 were assassins, thieves, forgers. They were also recognisable by 
 the square piece of cloth let in at the backs of their capotes. This 
 piece of cloth was red for the murderers, black for the robbers, 
 yellow for the incendiaries. 
 
 The remainder belonged to the class of political prisoners, and 
 were pitiable objects : their pallid faces, their wasted bodies 
 undermined by fever and excoriated by the handling of the 
 
A EASH .DEFIANCE. 11 
 
 ore, which disengaged arsenic from tin ore and verdigris from 
 copper. 
 
 They might have been taken for living skeletons. Some were 
 actually green, with bald heads as white as chalk. Their eyes 
 were half shut and seemed ready to close for ever in the sleep of 
 death. They rose and disappeared suddenly behind rocks, passing 
 away like phantoms in the dark galleries. Every now and then 
 the swishing sound of the corporal's cruel whip beating upon their 
 ribs was audible ; loud groans and cries of agony succeeded. 
 
 Yegor had been pushed forward to the end of a newly dug 
 gallery. Here, alone, in a narrow hole like a cave, he seemed to 
 be buried alive. He felt suffocating — an indefinable sensation of 
 nervous terror shook his body convulsively. 
 
 He endeavoured to use his hammer or pick, but his arms fell 
 helpless by his side — he seemed paralysed. 
 
 The guard to whom he had been consigned and whom he must 
 obey advanced towards him. 
 
 "Do you wish me to set you going?" asked this fellow, raisinj^ 
 his scourge. 
 
 "Don't touch me!" screamed Yegor. "Don't touch me, c-i 1 
 will kill you, wretch that you are." 
 
 Then, as if seized with a sudden madness, he rushed upon him 
 and inflicted a sounding buffet upon the face of the corporal. 
 " You may kill me if you like," he screamed. 
 
 The young man certainly expected to be thrown to the ground 
 and almost cut in pieces. But the galley guard only rolled his 
 
12 ESOAPJW FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 eyes savagely and then, strange to relate, looked fixedly at the 
 young man without speaking a word. After a pause, he cast his 
 whip from him, for fear he should be tempted to use it, and 
 merely answered the insult of the convict in the following remark- 
 able words spoken without the least irritation ; — 
 
 " I could flay you alive," he said, "if I chose. This time I for- 
 give you. I accept the punishment in expiation of my son's 
 crimes." 
 
 Then, as if fearing to say more, this singular guard hurried away 
 and disappeared at the end of the gallery, leaving Y<^gor Semenoff 
 in profound astonishment, to his reflections. 
 
' lie had a right to sell spirits. 
 
 CHAPTER TT. 
 
 THE M1NE3 THE EXILE DAVIDOFF YEGOR CONTEMl'LATES SUICIDE 
 
 A PROVIDENTIAL ESCAPE. 
 
 THE little town of Nertchinsk, a short time before the opening 
 of our story, had been greatly disturbed by the murder of an 
 engineer who was known as Major Dobson. He was a con- 
 cessionaire of a district in which gold was found at some ten or 
 twelve miles from the town. 
 
 This Englishman lived upon the ground he was exploring. 
 Thanks to the mechanism applied to modem mining, he had been 
 able to extract considerable quantities of gold in a place disdained 
 and abandoned by his predecessors in the district. 
 
14 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 The major perhaps laid himself open to attack by the reputation 
 for originality — which he sustained for thirty miles round — as 
 much as by his wealth, which was immense. We may form an 
 opinion of this eccentric individual from the following incident. 
 He came every morning to the huts in which the machinery was 
 placed, elad in enormous boots put on over three pairs of stockings. 
 He then examined the machines most attentively. If the least 
 speck of rust were visible he would pull off one of his stockings 
 and rub the machine till it was bright again. When he had used 
 his stockings he threw them at the heads of his men, who were 
 obliged to bring them back under pain of instant dismissal. 
 
 Contrary to the habits of the generality of gold-diggers, who 
 spend all they make, the major lived economically with a single 
 domestic, an old woman. People said that, far from sending all 
 he got to Barnaoul — for the mines belong to the government, and 
 all the ore is sent to Barnaoul on the Obi to be smelted — the 
 major appropriated large quantities which he carefully concealed. 
 
 One morning he and his servant were found murdered; the 
 crime had evidently been committed with an axe or hatchet. In 
 any case the assassins had not been able to discover the hidden 
 treasure. They only succeeded in carrying away some paltry sum 
 in silver. The major had no doubt transmitted his possessions to 
 England. 
 
 Three weeks later another murder and a great robbery of money 
 by the assassins stirred the district. A Kussian named Khabaroff, 
 from the Crimea, was concessionaire of a district out of which 
 
THE ISPEAVNIK. 15 
 
 no one had ever succeeded in extracting a nugget. Surveys of the 
 neighbourhood had however given excellent results. So this man 
 conceived tlic idea of making gold and money which the govern- 
 ment could not interfere with, without depriving his fortunate 
 rivals of the rebate of 15 per cent, which they received from the 
 government for the results of the surveys. 
 
 As proprietor he had a right to set up a store in which he could 
 sell spirits for the workmen, but as he employed none, he sold the 
 drink to his neighbours' men, at the " reasonable " price of about 
 ten shillings a bottle. Thus, two casks of brandy, which cost him 
 little more than ten pounds a-piece, realized at a profit of more 
 than three hundred per cent., brought him in a handsome sum. 
 It need scarcely be said that the gold seekers paid with the ore 
 and dust for the brandy they consumed, magnificently. 
 
 Khabaroff, however, was robbed of much of his unworthy gains 
 and left for dead. But while he was carefully attended to, the 
 authorities managed to ascertain how he had at the expense of the 
 state enriched himself. 
 
 In consequence of these reports the authorities opened an 
 investigation with much zeal, and while thus laudably engaged 
 they found out that a band of gold-robbers — already notorious — 
 had committed both outrages ; and more than that the son of the 
 "Ispravnik" of Xertchinsk had for some time been connected 
 with the band of assassins and thieves. 
 
 Everybody respected the Ispravnik. He was a Eussian of good 
 family named Yermac, a descendant perhaps of the Cossack who 
 
16 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 had conquered Siberia, leading the chivahous band so well de- 
 picted by Gogol in Tarass Boulha. Yermac had been for some 
 time in Nertchinsk in disgrace — exiled in fact. It was said that 
 he had occupied a responsible post in Moscow, and being incor- 
 ruptible himseK had denounced the peculations of his colleagues. 
 They had accordingly leagued themselves against him, and had 
 succeded in ruining their associate. 
 
 Such a man could not remain indifferent to the suspicions only 
 too justly harboured against his son. He resigned his position, 
 and as he could not very well return to Eussia, he sought and 
 obtained an independent position as superintendent of the working 
 gang in the mines of Oukboul. Yermac was thus the guardian 
 whom Yegor Sem^noff had struck in the face. 
 
 No doubt, had Yegor known the circumstances and position ol 
 the man with the whip, he would not have behaved as he did, or 
 would have repented of his violence ; for he was quite capable of 
 appreciating in others the qualities which he himself possessed. 
 
 Yegor Semenoft', we must inform the reader had been trans- 
 ported for a political offence. Arrested at Kieff, where he was 
 studying at the university, he did not even know what crime he 
 had committed. One evening, the police made a swoop upon 
 his house, seized his papers and money, and conducted him 
 to prison. 
 
 Fifteen days after, he was bumping over the roads which led him 
 eventually to Siberia, and had left Kussia for the bourne whence 
 no convicted traveller returns. As he was of noble blood, the 
 
DAVIDOFF AND NADME, 17 
 
 government kindly accorded him a conveyance, the only concession 
 maele after an arbitrary and unjust condemnation. 
 
 When he came to consider the circumstances of his arrest, and 
 examined his thoughts by the few gleams of information he picked 
 up on the Avay to his prison, he came to the conclusion that the 
 severities of the police were owing to his friendship for the old 
 Poet Davidoff, who had been exiled to Siberia three years pre- 
 viously. 
 
 DavidofF had been voluntarily accompanied into exile by his 
 only daughter — this was Nad^ge, whose portrait the young man 
 v>^ore in the locket round his neclc. 
 
 For him in this world she was no more. The little romance 
 which had opened between the student of twenty-one and the girl 
 of sixteen had had a very sad epilogue. They had their destiny in 
 common at any rate. Fate had condemned them to pass the 
 remainder of their lives far from Kieff, where they had first met. 
 
 Yegor, who on his first arrival in the country had been studying 
 its features with a view to escape, suddenly relinquished the idea 
 when he learnt that Davidoff" and his daughter was interned as 
 
 Irkoutsk. 
 
 He then endeavoured to accustom himself to the terrible exist- 
 ence of a miner hoping to be deported to the prison in consequence 
 of his exertions. *' Who knows," he would say, "but they make 
 up their minds to remit my labour- sentence ?" He was quite 
 innocent of the crime imputed to him, only guilty of cherishing 
 sympathy for some victims of the inexorable "justice "of tlie Czar. 
 
18 ESCAPED FROM STBERIA. 
 
 At Omsk, olfended by the rude tone of the functionary who 
 communicated to him the fact of his sojourn in Siberia, the young 
 man had answered angrily and with insolence. This man had, 
 after consultation with his colleagues, found a cruel enjoyment in 
 communicating to " Monsieur " Yegor, that he was condemned to 
 the copper mhics of Nertchinsk. Was it not possible that this 
 severe sentence might be reconsidered ? He would take courage 
 at any rate and cherish hope. 
 
 His gang worked in one of the passages already dug out in the 
 vein. Two miners beat turn about, until they were exhausted, upon 
 the iron bar which a thiid held in his trembling hands. The con- 
 tinued strokes of the hammers gave out sparks which scintillated 
 in the gloom of the mine; the air was foul, and contained 
 poisonous vapour as well as impalpable and deleterious dust. When 
 the rock had been disentegrated the pick-axes came into play, and 
 so the passage was dug out — the sides or roof often falling upon 
 the miners, and burying them at times under the mass of rubbish. 
 This work was continued for ten hours a day. 
 
 The unfortunate Yegor fell down exhausted when he reached 
 the opening of the mine-shaft that evening, after an ascent of nearly 
 two hours, which had given him violent palpitation of the heart. 
 He struggled bravely against this weakness, but in vain. After a 
 time fever ensued, bringing with it all the terrors of delirium and 
 weakness. He was unable to take food, his throat was dry and 
 painful, his ears were incessantly filled with a buzzing noise from 
 which he could not obtain any relief. 
 
YjSGOR is desperate. 19 
 
 Under these circumstances the poor young man was at first 
 haunted by ideas of suicide. He endeavoured to repress these 
 temptations as he would have resisted an approach to any other 
 great crime. But the dark thoughts kept returning to his mind 
 persistently. It seemed to him that, as he must die before long, 
 a few hours more or less would make little difference ; and so he 
 made up his mind to end the slow torture and suffering to which he 
 had been condemned. 
 
 The means were at hand. There was no difficulty in the execu- 
 tion of his plan. He had heard of miners who, desperate, had 
 been crushed by the blocks of stone which they had permitted to 
 fyll upon them. He would do the same. 
 
 For three days he had worked hard to loosen a rock, and he set 
 himself with redoubled ardour to accomplish his perilous task, 
 having made up his mind to place himself underneath it when it 
 fell. 
 
 He would require three days and all his unflinching determina- 
 tion to succeed. A year of his life seemed to be cut off each time 
 he used his pick-axe, but without weakening his ardour 
 
 So he continued, but such work undertaken with such an object 
 quite exhausted him, and one morning he told his two companions 
 that he was quite unable to get up. 
 
 One of these two men was a condemned political prisoner, a 
 Russian, who had been transferred from Minousink to Oukboul for 
 more severe punishment. The other was a Tongoose, an assassin 
 and a thief. Both these men, like Yegor himself, were late arrivals, 
 
20 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 and the government had placed them in one of the yourtes while a 
 hut for them was being erected. They had only a few IcopecJxs 
 between them on which to subsist, as salary from the'* conces- 
 sionaire" of the mine; receiving besides from the government thirty 
 kilogrammes of rye flour, and five francs a month. Like their 
 companions in misfortune they had at their disposal one week out 
 of four. 
 
 Seeing Y^gor was so ill, the other two convicts conveyed him to 
 the hospital, a regular charnel-house. When the sick man 
 recovered his senses after eight-and-forty hours, he found himself 
 in a kind of wooden berth like those on board ship. Each berth 
 contained an invalid, and in the cabins the least sick attended to 
 those who were worse than themselves. Nothing but bare planks 
 were supplied for beds. The air was stifling, and laden with 
 horrible stenches. The cries of the dying mingled with the com- 
 plaints of the suffering. It was too horrible ! too like the pit of 
 torture ! 
 
 When Yegor had grown accustomed to the obscurity, he per- 
 ceived close by him two naked bodies in an advanced stage of 
 decomposition. He was seized with a fearful paroxysm of terror 
 and loathing ; he managed to crawl from his " bunk," and make his 
 way on hands and knees along the floor, with a view to seek the 
 mine-shaft, and put an end to his existence the following day. 
 
 The next clay, he had determined, should be his last on earth. He 
 rose from his pallet and went forth trembling with weakness to his 
 work in the mine. But ere he reached his destination, M. Kadcief 
 
4 TJ^ ■^r.A^ V.;, 
 
 ol^r^n, fV,^ flo 
 
22 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 tlie proprietor (or concosi^ionaire) of the mine, ^vho had only 
 arrived at Oukboul the previous evening, sent for him. 
 
 The concessionaire had, as it were, come up to Omsk and had 
 remarked the young convi(;t on his passage through the town, and 
 kiiew where his residence had been assigned. He was also an-are 
 ihs^i Y^or was acquainted with several languages ; that he o )uld 
 could speak and write English, German, and French ; that he had 
 considerable acquaintance with science and mathematics — all this 
 he learned from the passport. It therefore appeared to M. Nadeief, 
 who was a selfish and cold-blooded personage, that he would gain 
 more by employing Yegor in the post of secretary, than in 
 sending him to work with the other offenders in the mines. 
 
 This M. Nadeief was a short, thick-set man, possessing the large 
 Kalmuk face, black piercing eyes, a flat nose, thick lips, the strong 
 white teeth displayed between them. He wore a black beard, as 
 woolly and curly as his sheep-skin cap. 
 
 " My principle," he said to Yegor, " is to get the greatest possible 
 profit from my people. A man like you is only a bad workman 
 with crow-bar and pick-axe. You can use a pen better, I 
 daresay 1 " 
 
 "I have graduated in the University of Kietf," said Ydgor, 
 modestly. 
 
 " Yes ! yes ! I know all about that. I know besides that you 
 might have become a distinguished engineer had you not mixed 
 yourself up with other things — which did not concern you." 
 
 " But I assure you " 
 
A HAY OF LIGHT, 20 
 
 " Enough, I am not a judge. I can only clo this much for you : 
 I can employ you on work which will be less laborious and more 
 adapted to your tastes and strength than mining, and at the same 
 time more beneficial to myself. I have to write a Memorial to the 
 Czar, in which I wish to point out that Siberia, notwithstanding 
 the richness of its soil and the productiveness of its mines, is 
 simply an abode of misery and desolation ; that the system pursued 
 is radically vicious. 
 
 " Now, I want a secretary who is skilful and clever enough to 
 embody my ideas. You are such a person. The captain of the 
 mine has already been informed of your departure from his galig. 
 To-morrow one of my coachmen shall bring you to Irkoutsk, where 
 you will be accommodated in one of my houses." 
 
 Irkoutsk ! Oh, how delightful was the sound of that name in 
 Yegor's ears ! Was it not at Irkoutsk that the inspector had told 
 him that Davidoff and his daughter were interned ! Suppose he 
 were to meet his old friends again ! This would be indeed happi- 
 ness almost too great. He did not dare to dwell upon the idea. 
 This was really an intervention of Providence on his behalf. 
 
 At Irkoutsk ! far from the mines, from the terrible lash, from 
 the rock already undermined and tottering in its place, far from 
 thoughts of suicide. At Irkoutsk ! in a civilized world again: in 
 the very same place with Davidoff and his daughter, the adorable 
 Nadege ! 
 
 How Y^gor now blessed his sentence of exile which had brought 
 him once more near his adopted sister whom he loved so devotedly, 
 
24 
 
 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 His heart beat with rapture, but he did not dare to display liis 
 feelings of dehght. M. Nadeief might misconstrue them and 
 change his mind. 
 
 So the young man rephed quietly, " 1 am quite at your disposal, 
 sir. I will do all in my power to satisfy you and to carry out your 
 wishes." 
 
 " That is well ; I like to be spoken to so. To-morrow at eight 
 o'clock my coachman shall fetch you in a trmJca, I shall not reach 
 Trkoutsk for four or five days yet. You will therefore have time 
 and opportunity to rest yourself and look about you before I 
 arrive." 
 
The Journey. 
 
 CTIAPTEE TIL 
 
 A RETROSPECT — DaVIDOFF, THE POET ARRIVAL AT TRKOUTSK- 
 
 THE EXILE IS SUMMONED HOME. 
 
 THE morning was fine, but cold. Autumn was advancing, but 
 nevertheless the few trees which rose here and there still 
 retained all their sombre foliage, unrelieved by any red or golden 
 fruit. In Siberia the trees produce no fruit, not because there 
 is any want of heat, but because the extreme cold of winter 
 damages the roots and destroys the acti-on of the sap. The 
 cloudless sky that morning was clear as a bhie lake across whicli 
 flocks of Avild geese seemed to be SAviiiiiuing. 
 
 In the midst of the monotonous i)]ain, the road, scarcely marked 
 
 25 
 
ESCAPED FROM SIBERfA, 
 
 by the few vehicles which ever traversed it, extended until it 
 was quite lost to view in the dim distance. The long line was 
 01 dy broken by the rapid troika drawn by three horses of the 
 small bony Siberian breed. 
 
 The carriage was proceeding all the more quickly as it carried 
 only a solitary traveller whose light baggage consisted of a 
 leather bag. 
 
 This traveller, as the reader has already anticipated was Yegor 
 S^menoff. 
 
 He appeared altogether a different being since he had again 
 been able to breathe freely the pure air and enjoy the sunlight 
 and his Hberty. He was perfectly transformed. He held himself 
 more upright, his eyes had regained their former lustre. At that 
 particular moment he was gazing into the dim grey mists which 
 hung over the horizon. He was thinking of the past without 
 much bitterness, and had no fears concerning the future. 
 
 The memories of his youth came crowding upon him in a 
 merry company, and he smiled in the midst of the mournful and 
 depressing scenes through which his road lay. 
 
 No longer an exile in Siberia, he was in spirit now back again 
 in the old manor-house in which he had been born, and which 
 he ought never to have quitted. He was again running with his 
 sister under the beautiful trees in the park, or cantering with her 
 on horsback through the open country. Oh, those happy, haj^py 
 years ! How tenderly he recalled them, and the balls and fetes. 
 
 Once again his mind turned back to the illuminated saloons. 
 
THE POET AND HIS DAUGHTER, 27 
 
 the well lighted staircases, the imnierous attendants, the terra(ie>^ 
 crowded with beautiful and fashionable women from a., me 
 neighbouring country-houses. 
 
 One day the festivities were prolonged later than usual. It 
 was the occasion of the marriage of Yegor's sister to a captain in 
 the merchant marine, and the wedding had been celebrated at the 
 S^m^noffs' country seat. Six months later Yegor himself, who 
 had deeply lamented the departure of his sister, in his turn 
 quitted the the paternal mansion to pursue his studies at the 
 University of Keiff. 
 
 There he found a second home in the family of the poet 
 Davidoff, the professor of Slav Literature in the University. 
 Y^gor discovered a new sister in the poet's daughter the beautiful 
 Nadege — an only child. 
 
 Thus the young man's memories and thoughts, soothed as ho 
 was by the gentle swaying of the carriage and the measured sound 
 of the horses' feet, carried him once again to the interior of the 
 well-remembered house — the hQSj[>itabie mansion in which so much 
 of his youthful time had been passed at the University, where 
 he was always warmly welcomed. Every evening there was some 
 meeting at which those present discussed literary topics, read 
 poetry, or played some music from operas not yet published. 
 Nadege on these occasions presided over the tea equipage, or toolv 
 her place at the piano to sing one of the popular Russian songs, 
 whose words and melody are so soothing, so melancholy, and 
 so sweet. 
 
23 KSCAPED FROM SIUEUJA. 
 
 One Sunday this house, lately so full of life and innocent 
 enjoyment, was found silent and deserted. To those who came 
 according to custom the answer was given that ]\[. Davidoff and 
 his daughter had gone upon a long journey. The truth was that 
 the police had become uneasy concerning those meetings, and had 
 taken umbrage at them. The old poet, suspected of belonging to 
 the advanced liberal party, had been arrested early that morning 
 and conveyed away to Siberia by the simplest administrative 
 process. In consideration of his great age his daughter, whom 
 he adored and from whom separation would have been death, was 
 permitted to accompany him into exile. This unhappy event 
 made Yegor very angry and very wretched. But the meetings 
 were not interrupted by it. The student invited the poet's guests 
 to his house, and the consequence was that three years afterwards 
 Yegor was arrested in his turn, without any legal formalities 
 whatever, and, uncondemned, transported, like Davidolf, to Siberia. 
 
 These latter reminiscences recalled to him the horrors of the 
 night when he was roughly taken out of bed, thrown into a 
 dungeon, and quickly carried away thence, driving for three long 
 months in a kibitka, manacled, on the dreary road to exile. 
 
 At length his lot had become in a measure ameliorated in a 
 sudden and unexpected manner. He had almost regained his 
 liberty now in the employment of M. ^^adeief the concessionaire 
 of the mines. 
 
 "If I go I shall only find Davidoff and his daughter, even if 
 alive — really interned at Irkoutsk ! " 
 
IRKOUTSK. 2» 
 
 He could not divest himself of the idea that they might have 
 died in consequence of ill-treatment and numerous privations. He 
 had a great wish to see his old friends again, and had made up 
 his mind to devote himself to them, to alleviate the hardships of 
 their lot, and to carry them words of consolation and hope . . . 
 But if they were no more ? 
 
 He adroitly questioned the driver of the carriage. " Have you 
 ever heard people at Irkoutsk speak of a man named DavidoffT' 
 he asked. 
 
 "I know none of your convicts either there or anywhere else," 
 replied the yemschik surlily. He had no doubt been forbidden 
 to give any information to his passenger. 
 
 So Yegor's attempt failed at once. 
 
 On the third day — after two nights had been passed in the 
 troika in which he had been compelled to remain — Yegor perceived 
 the towers and cupolas of Irkoutsk, its white minarets and the 
 green domes illuminated by the rays of the setting sun. He 
 could not repress an exclamation of joy at the sight. 
 
 Situated upon the high bank of the Angara, whose waters 
 sparkled in a thousand ripples, and gilded with a Byzantine gold- 
 colour in the dying light of the sun, the capital of Eastern Siberia 
 appeared to the fascinated eyes of the exile, the baseless effect 
 of a splendid mirage. His ravished gaze dwelt upon the long line 
 of crenelated walls and defences of the town, and rested upon the 
 iron crosses which surmount the cupolas of the Greek churches, 
 descending again upon the groups of white and black roofs, 
 
30 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 while he wondered beneath which of them Davidoff had found a 
 shelter. 
 
 The troika crossed the Angara upon a wooden bridge, entered 
 the town by a gate guarded by Cossacks, and then traversed a 
 large open space surrounded by monuments, and in no way 
 differing from the spaces in the other large towns in Kussia. 
 
 Irkoutsk, which at present contains about 35,000 inhabitants, 
 is the residence of a Governor-General, who exercises his authority 
 over i country ten times more extensive than France. The 
 importance of this town has lately been increased, in consequence 
 of the acquisitions made by Russia upon the Amoor. Some of 
 the merchants are enormously rich, and can compare witli our 
 Western millionaries. Their luxurious dwellings are furnished 
 with every comfort and refinement of Parisian taste, inckiding 
 conservatories, to stock which tropical plants have been exported 
 with great care and cost across Europe and the Siberian steppes. 
 Nothing appears too dear to these extravagant people, who only 
 appreciate the value of things by what they cost. More pates de 
 foie gras and champagne are consumed at Irkoutsk, on the borders 
 of civilization and savagedom, than are used in all the towns of 
 France put together. "France produces wines, Siberia drinks 
 them " is a local proverb. 
 
 Yegor Semenoff was perfectly astounded when he passed the 
 bazaars in which Europe and Asia appeared to have poured all 
 their most valuable products: — Silks from Lyons, cashmeres from 
 Thibet, French china and Chinese porcelain, Parisian dolls and 
 
THE BAZAAR. 31 
 
 Japanese games, English cutlery and Swiss musical-boxes, Russian 
 balalaikas and Chinese gongs. 
 
 Mantchoo merchants in sky-blue robes, and wad led casaquins; 
 Iheir heads adorned with the little cap to which are attached the 
 false plaits of hair which fall nearly to their feet, with enormous 
 spectacles on their noses, were squaring behind chests of tea, 
 their pointed fingers touching each other as they hung over the 
 perfumed chafing-dishes. There were also Jews in greasy caftans 
 and fur collars, their Astrakan head-dress pulled down upon their 
 foreheads, their motionless faces adorned with pointed beards, but 
 their quick eyes taking in everything. Nomad chiefs from Lake 
 Daikal, and the steppes thereby, remained seated cross-legged 
 before enormous bales of wool which had been exported on rafts 
 doAvn the Angara. 
 
 Around the bazaar were erected the stalls or booths of comedians, 
 rope-dancers, and jugglers. While crossing the vast open space, 
 which is 1,500 feet long, the troika of the traveller passed many 
 French vehicles and English " drags," drawn by four horses, w4th 
 grooms behind in livery ; Drochkis^ tarentasses, teleguas, and 
 kibitkas. 
 
 Quitting the " Place du Bazar," the traveller soon left the fashion- 
 able quarter, with its footpaths and macadamized roads, to plunge 
 into narrow streets winding amid squalid houses, and intersected 
 by open drains and deep ruts. In Russian towns, generally, all 
 that borders upon civilization is of modern institution, and there 
 is only a step between the palace and the wooden hut. 
 
32 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 It was in the semi darkness of the unwholesome and wretched 
 alleys of the town that the unfortunate victims of Muscovite 
 " clemency '' existed, after they had been unearthed from the 
 mines, where they had been dying by inches. 
 
 Now permitted to work for themselves, and thrown upon their 
 own resources, the exiles had instituted certain petty industries to 
 gain a precarious livelihood. Old general-officers had become 
 cobblers and shoemakes ; journalists had turned barbers ; doctors 
 of law were now small merchants, and dealers in sables and furs. 
 
 Y(^gor, while passing through this district of misery and 
 misfortune, gazed eagerly into every open door and window, in the 
 hope of seeing the graceful head and charming features of Nadege, 
 crowned with her golden hair. But in vain At length the trdilm 
 stopped in front of one of the last houses in the faubourg. 
 
 "Here we are," said the coachman. "This is the place my 
 master told me to bring you to." 
 
 The man then assisted Yegor to alight, and to carry his valise 
 into the little house. After this attention, the yemscliik mounted 
 into his perch again, and drove away. 
 
 Yegor had by this time recovered all his former energy, with the 
 impressionability and sensitiveness common to all Slavs, he quickly 
 passed from one extreme to another. Thus, a few days previously 
 he had been quite overwhelmed and discouraged, — "dead-beat." 
 Now he was himself again, endowed with new vigour, and ready 
 to fight to the death against destiny, if need were. 
 
 Without pausing even to glance at the domicile in Avhicli he had 
 
ARRIVAL AT IRKOUTSK, S3 
 
 been so unceremoniously deposited, Yegor went out into the street 
 apjain immediately, and stopping the first person he met, en(|uired 
 of him concerning Davidoff, and whether he was acquainted with 
 any convict of that name. 
 
 "DavidofF? Let me see," replied the person addressed, 
 " Davidofi" ! The name seems familiar to me. Just enquire at the 
 end of the street at the cabaret-keeper's house. Issakoff has good 
 reason for knowing everybody, for he is obliged to give credit to 
 them all." 
 
 "Thank you," replied Yegor, as he parted from his informant. 
 Davidoif was alive then ! 
 
 The Jew Issakoff, when appealed to, gave the grateful information 
 that Davidoff, the poet, and his daughter, lived in a small hamlet 
 just outside the town. 
 
 " How long would it take a good walker to reach the place ? " 
 enquired Yegor. 
 
 "Twenty minutes," replied the Jew. 
 
 But as night was coming on, Yegor begged the cabaret-keeper to 
 find him a guide, for he was determined to see Davidoff and ISTadege 
 that evening. 
 
 " Ah ! if you are carrying a pardon to the old man, you will be 
 performing a good action. He has not long to live, poor fellow, and 
 the news will do him good," said Issakoff. 
 
 Yegor made several eager enquiries concerning the old poet's 
 condition, and the state of his health ; but the inn-keeper only 
 gave him monosyllabic replies which were exasperating. 
 
34 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 One of the Jew's sons, who was a waiter at the inn, accompanied 
 y^gor. At the gate of the city they were challenged by the 
 sentries, and had to declare whither they were going. 
 
 The sky was brilliant with stars. Every one in the country 
 thereabouts was already in bed. Behind the pedestrians the river 
 meande"cd, winding along like a great silver snake on a line of 
 molten metal. They reached the little hamlet, which consisted of 
 but one street of small dilapidated wooden houses, some roofless, and 
 presenting a very fantastic appearance in the semi-darkness. Here 
 and there a light was visible through the sheets of oiled paper, 
 which did duty for windows. Not a sound was audible, the whole 
 hamlet seemed dead. One might have fancied oneself in the midst 
 of a graveyard at the time the corpse candles were dancing on the 
 tombstones. 
 
 The innkeeper's son at length pointed out to the Yegor an isha 
 of more than ordinarily dilapidated appearance. At the same time 
 he extended his hand to receive the gratuity, and having pocketed 
 it, he returned to the town. 
 
 Y^gor, with a fast-beating heart, and almost breathless with 
 agitation, remained standing motionless before the door, afraid to 
 announce his arrival. 
 
 At last he plucked up courage, and knocked gently with his 
 stick. 
 
 The door was opened almost immediately. 
 
 Upon the threshold stood a young girl, clothed like a Siberian 
 peasant; a small corsage supported by a pair of braces, crossed ovei 
 
ARRIVAL AT IRKOUTSK. 35 
 
 a white chemise with puffed sleeves; a gown of red serge completed 
 her costume. 
 
 Y^gor advanced and said 
 
 " Nadege, do you not remember me ? " 
 
 She recoiled in alarm, but the tones of the voice awakened an 
 echo in her heart ; she came forward again, and having examined 
 the young man's features for an instant, uttered a cry of joy. 
 
 " Yegor," she exclaimed ; and fell into his amis. 
 
 Taking her up gently, Yegor supported her into the inner apart- 
 ment of the isba^ wherein was seated, upon a heavy chair, a 
 pale, elderly man, with long white hair and beard, which he wore 
 after the fashion of the country; a long caftan, trimmed and 
 slashed with red, and yellow boots were all his outward cloth- 
 ing. 
 
 "Here is Yegor; Y^gor S^menoff!" exclaimed Nadege, joyfully, 
 as she led the young man into the room. 
 
 ** Yes, father, 1 am here," added Y6gor, as he embraced the old 
 man. 
 
 " You ! " exclaimed Davidoff : " what has brought you here ? " 
 
 Yegor hesitated a moment before he replied 
 
 "1 am an exile." 
 
 " An exile, you too ! " muttered the old poet, as if to himself. 
 " Ah, poor lad ! " 
 
 Then Yegor told them how he had been arrested, and all tlie 
 circumstances concerning his transportation to the mines of 
 Nertchinsk, and how he had fortunately encountered M. Nadeief, 
 
36 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 the contractor for the mines, who was in want of a secretary, and 
 with whom he had taken service. 
 
 "Father, why do you not look at me," said Yegor at last; for ho 
 perceived that the old man kept his eyes shut all his time. 
 
 " Look at you ! " returned the old man ; " I am blind, my son. 
 But I v.an see you nevertheless," he added, as he put his hand upon 
 his heart. 
 
 Yegor made a gesture of compassion, but said nothing. 
 
 Then, after awhile, the conversntion became more general, and 
 they talked long about their far-distant country, and the sufferings 
 they had passed through. Davidoff gave Yegor a description of 
 the journey with Nadege in the sleigh, through the snow, without 
 any repose for days and nights, in consequence of which and the 
 privations he had undergone, the old man lost Ms sight. 
 
 Yegor remained with his old friends until the following day, and 
 every day after he came to see them. 
 
 He found Nadege seated constantly at her spinning-wheel, just 
 like a true Russian peasant, or occupied in preparations for their 
 meal. A boy of thirteen, named Ladislas, son of a Polish exile, 
 assisted Nadege in her domestic duties. Thanks to his sweetness 
 of disposition and pleasant manners, this child was a great source 
 of comfort to the exiles, and helped to soften the trials they 
 endured. 
 
 M. Nadeief soon returned to Irkoutsk, and Yegor worked for 
 several weeks under his orders. The great contractor appeared well 
 pleased with his secretary. He granted Yegor as much liberty as 
 
THE EXILE IS SUMMONED HOME. 37 
 
 possible, and not a day passed without the young man visiting his 
 old friend. Unfortunately, Davidoff's strength was rapidly waning, 
 and they could perceive his life daily flickering more and more 
 towards the inevitable end, like a lamp without oil. 
 
 One evening Yegor found Nadege and Ladislas weeping bitterly; 
 the old man lay extended upon his pallet almost breathless. A few 
 drops of brandy were administered, and these had some little 
 effect ; but the relief was only momentary. The pulse ceased to 
 beat, the eyes closed, the lips became livid. 
 
 " Father ! " cried Y^gor, bending down towards him. 
 
 Davidotf turned his pallid face towards the speaker. He en- 
 deavoured to open his eyes, as if he could still see, and he murmured 
 a few inarticulate words. 
 
 With Nadege's assistance, Y^gor attempted to raise the old man, 
 whose frame was already stiffening. His lips moved again : he had 
 recognised the voice of Yegor speaking to Nadege, and telling 
 Ladislas to go for a doctor. 
 
 " That will do, thank you," he murmured. " We have reached 
 Kieff, have we not ? Oh what a long journey it has been ! " 
 
 He was delirious, and was soon addressing his old pupils, 
 speaking of the future of Russia, and of the triumph of 
 Liberty. 
 
 Yegor and Nadege stood hand in hand, weeping. 
 
 At length the doctor arrived. He was also an exile, like the 
 others. 
 
 The dying man had again lost consciousness. It was a bad sign. 
 
38 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 The doctor felt the patient's pulse, and listened for the beating 
 of his heart. Then he whispered to Yegor — 
 
 " He will not survive the night." 
 
 Tow^ards eleven o'clock Davidoff regained consciousness again, 
 and emerged from the stupor into which he had fallen. Yegor 
 assisted him to rise, and gave him some cordial. 
 
 "Drink this, father," he said : "it will do you good." 
 
 The old man did as he was bidden, like a child. Then, after 
 awhile, his hands were spread out over the coverlet, as if searching 
 for something. His fingers encountered those of Yegor, which he 
 seized quickly and retained in his feeble grasp. Then he said 
 faintly — 
 
 " Nad^ge, your hand.*' Then, having taken it, he put hers into 
 Yegor's and said — 
 
 " Y^gor, to you I confide Nadege. You will be as her father, her 
 protector. Swear to me that you will never abandon her." 
 
 "I swear," replied Yegor, in a voice almost sufibcated with 
 tears. 
 
 " Will you marry her 1 " demanded the dying man. 
 
 "I will," replied Y^gor. 
 
 " Ah, my darling, your father can now die in peace." He fell 
 upon the pillow as he spoke, as if the last efibrt had been too 
 much. It had snapped the cords of life. 
 
 Nad^ge uttered a piercing cry and threw herself upon the almost 
 lifeless form of her father, to receive his last sigh, and liis last kiss. 
 She embraced him, calling upon him by every endearing epithet, 
 
THE EXILE IS SUMMONED HOME. 
 
 39 
 
 smiling through her tears, as if he could see her. But he passed 
 away the next moment, though the expression of his features was 
 as peaceful as if in sleep — only a tired sleep. 
 
 It was the repose of Death- and the exile had "gone Home" 
 at last I 
 
They begau to study the chances of escape. 
 
 CHxiPTEE IV. 
 
 PROJECTS OF ESCAPE A NEW APPOINTMENT AND AN OLD 
 
 ACQUAINTANCE A MEETING. 
 
 IT was only in lier deep despair — in the void in which the death 
 of her father had plunged her — that Nadege realized the value 
 of the little Ladislas. The lad endeavoured to snatch her from 
 her deep melancholy, and did all in his power to assist her in the 
 thousand and one things which she found it necessary to do. The 
 care which he in his turn required at her hands also, in a great 
 measure, diverted her thoughts from her troubles. 
 
 Yegor Semenoff, thanks to the influence of M. Nadeief, was 
 
 soon provided with a house in the little hamlet where i^adege and 
 
 40 
 
PROJECTS OF ESCAPE. 41 
 
 Ladislas still lived; and he occupied a hut opposite to that in 
 which Davidoff had passed the last years of his life. 
 
 Every hour which was not demanded by his business or duty to 
 his employer Yegor spent with his fiancee^ who was assisted in 
 many ways by the wives and daughters of other exiles in the 
 vicinity. But he often thought with some anxiety concerning the 
 promises he had made to the poet concerning his daughter, and for 
 the following reasons : — 
 
 It is ordained no exiles in Siberia may marry without the per- 
 mission of the Czar. Besides, if any children are born of these 
 permitted marriages, they become serfs of the crown. If the con- 
 demned exiles even subsequently are pardoned by the state, and 
 ammestied, the pardon is not extended to the children of such 
 parents : they remain serfs still. The ukase of 1861 relative to 
 the abolition of serfdom has in some degree modified this deplor- 
 able state of things. Nevertheless, Yegor thought that he could 
 and ought to delay to carry out the promise made to Davidoff. 
 
 The prospect of the future alarmed him : not without reason. 
 
 "If you would prefer it," he said, at last to Nadege, "we Avill 
 postpone our marriage until we can be united upon a free soil." 
 
 •* I am quite willing," she answered, blushing. "You speak as 
 if you counted upon recovering your liberty." 
 
 "Yes; by flight. My liberty and yours." 
 
 "You have only to command, I will obey," replied the brave 
 daughter of Davidoff, simply. 
 
 Then Yegor felt himself stronger. He confessed to luis, fiancee 
 
42 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 that as soon as ever he had put his foot in Siberia, he had occupied 
 himself with projects for escape. If he had thus, as a prisoner — 
 and when death was hanging over him — rushed to free himself 
 from the hateful toil, would he not be now much more anxious for 
 her sake to escape and be worthy of her 1 lie did not wish her to 
 become the wife of a ** convict." 
 
 From that time Y^gor began seriously to study the chances of 
 escape which might present themselves to him. He skilfully 
 questioned hunters and merchants whom he encountered in the 
 tea-shops at the bazaar, selecting those men who came from the 
 frontiers of China or Kamchatka, or from the Tchouktchs 
 districts; for he had no idea of escaping towards the west or 
 north-west. 
 
 The frontier, so to speak, touched the gates of the capital of the 
 province. The town of Kiakhta was three or four days' journey 
 by sledge in the winter; and there China was entered. But 
 Yegor could not expose the delicate Nadege and the little Ladislcis 
 to all the perils included in the crossing of the desert of Gobi. To 
 put himself into the hands of the Chinese would entail cruel per- 
 secution and final extradition. He made up his mind finally that 
 it would be easier to endeavour to reach the Sea of Okhotsk — thai 
 is the Pacific Ocean — by following the shores of the Lake Baikal, 
 cutting across the slopes of the Yablonoi and descending the river 
 Lena as far as the embouchure of the Aldan ; then to ascend this 
 river to its source, and finally to cross the Stanovoi mountains. 
 Once at Ouclskoi on the border of the Sea of Okliotsk they could 
 
PROJECTS OF ESCAPE. 43 
 
 wait for some friendly vessel to carry them away, under the pro- 
 tection of the French, English, or American flag. 
 
 He got no farther than this plan of action ; but he would not 
 retreat, either on his own account or on theirs, before the terrible 
 difficulties which he had to encounter in crossing the immense 
 plains, in avoiding habitable places, and in traversing routes where 
 there were no marked roads. 
 
 In the evening when Ladislas was asleep, the young couple spoke 
 in whispers concerning their projects ; and, passing them, of the 
 future still more distant. Yegor pointed out to Nadege upon a 
 small map which he had designed the proposed route, and explained 
 to her what obstacles they most probably would have to overcome. 
 Far from making any objection, she at once said, 
 
 " I am quite ready to follow you. ' 
 
 But an unexpected incident occurred which threatened to upset 
 all their arrangements. 
 
 One evening K^adege perceived hei fiance approaching with a very 
 troubled expression on his face. "All is lost !" Yegor exclaimed 
 as he entered the house. 
 
 " Have they discovered anything 1 have they divined our plans ? " 
 exclaimed Nadege. 
 
 "No; but a most unfortunate event will nullify them all," said 
 Yegor as he threw himself upon the bench by the wall. 
 
 "Perhaps you exaggerate its importance," ventured J^adege, 
 
 "You shall judge for yourself," replied the young man. "The 
 governor of Yakoutsk came here this morning on a visit to his col- 
 
44 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 league of Eastern Siberia. He had occasion to speak to me in 
 Nadeief s office, — what have I done to give him such an exalted 
 idea of my capacity ! " exclaimed Yegor bitterly. "After his de- 
 parture M. Nadeief told me that the governor, struck by my intel- 
 ligence and talents, had begged my employer to give me to him." 
 
 "What did M. Nadeief do ?" 
 
 " He did not dare to refuse such a powerful personage, though ho 
 was very sorry, I can assure you, to lose the services of his secretary ; 
 but it is the memorial to the Czar that will suffer. They would not 
 dream of asking my consent, as you may well imagine. So I am 
 appointed to do a little work in the chancellor's office, pending my 
 removal with my new proprietor." 
 
 "We must endeavour to gain time," said Nadege, "and speak to 
 the authorities concerning our marriage, for which we are waiting." 
 
 " I have already done so in vain ; and I was obliged to confine 
 myself to beg the favour of their permitting you and Ladislas to 
 accompany me." 
 
 " But what will the governor say ? Could he not interfere in 
 our behalf, and retain you near him since he has such a liking for 
 you?" 
 
 " General K at once gave his assent for our departure ! " 
 
 replied Yegor. 
 
 This was a crushing blow which could not be avoided. The 
 young people were obliged to request some friends to sell the 
 house for them, as well as the furniture which crald not be 
 carried with them. 
 
M. LAFLEUR HIMSELF, AS FRESH AS HIS NAME WOULD INDICATE. 
 
AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 45 
 
 A few days afterwards they began their journey in the suite of 
 the governor of Yakoutsk. They took with them Wat, a splendid 
 brown dog of Himalayan breed, which had been given to Yegor 
 soon after his arrival in Irkoutsk. The party had to travel six 
 hundred leagues in a rigorous season, partly in light carriages, 
 partly in flat-bottom boats upon the Lena, which was already 
 thinly coated with ice. Night set in at that time of year about 
 three o'clock in the afternoon, and the journey was estimated to 
 last a month. 
 
 At length, after many days, the governor and those whom he 
 called his p'oteges reached Yakoutsk. 
 
 In this town in the extreme east, where Yegor never expected to 
 recognize a face, the very first person he met was M. Lafleur — M. 
 Lafleur, the dancing master, whose chest was always pufied out by 
 the violin he had buttoned beneath his coat in his breast-pocket — 
 M. Lafleur himself, as fresh as his name would indicate, ever smiling, 
 always polite, and continually as lively as a dancing-master ought 
 to be. 
 
 To see him there in his swallow-tailed coat — now out of fashion 
 — with its yellow buttons, his white cravat, his thin legs in very 
 tight pantaloons of a washed-out grey tint, his shining pumps, and 
 his violin, one would have said that he was equal to giving lessons 
 all over Siberia, and that is really very much what he did do. 
 
 In Yakoutsk he was quite at home. Some years previously he 
 had brought his wife, a Parisian ]ike himself, who was a milliner, 
 to make hats for the ladies of Yakoutsk until consumption carried 
 
46 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 her off. Since that time the worki^oms had been under the inter- 
 mittent care of the dancing-master. 
 
 M. Lafleur was a kind of imiversid genius as well as a oosmo- 
 pohiaiu He united the talent of a dancing^master to the taste of a 
 milfiner and wodisie. He was capable of mauufactoiing cham- 
 pagne^ wl4ch was sparkling and ^'beadj* from the firesh sap of the 
 buch tree ; and added to these aooomplishments a little business in 
 furs, ^ass-ware, and tea. But his tine Tocatkn was to ^boam* 
 upon the natives, and to civilize them by the sound of his fiddK 
 
 Kow let us not rob M. Lafleur of his due. We must in fairness 
 add that he was a herbalist and well acquainted with natural science. 
 He had a good collection of pknts;, minerals^ and fossils, which he 
 pK^posed to offer to the town of Chatean-Thierty — ^*the ciadle of 
 his race,* as he called it — where he had formerlj passed his hoB- 
 days, where he still hoped to fini^ his days in independenoe^ 
 the result of an accumulation of roubles amassed in fcneign lands^ 
 and in the renown brou^t upon him by his oolketion, which he 
 deen«d unique of its kind. 
 
 *'£h!* he exdaimed, when he pero^Ted Yigoet^ **so the pan- 
 demonium of the mine has not swallowed you up ! It was only a 
 pnigatoiy ton you, I see ; and now you aie entenng paradise in the 
 company of angels,* he added, bowiQg poKtety to Nad^ and tap- 
 ping Ladislas playfully upon the cheek. 
 
 **How well you put thii^^ M. Lafleur,* said T^gor as he shook 
 hands heartily with the volatile Frenchman. 
 
 The latter, wiUi a warmth thoroughly French and with all the 
 
AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 47 
 
 old courtesy of the nation, immediately put himself at the disposal 
 of tlie iravcillers. The clieerful Parisian appeared to bo very happy 
 in being able to render the young man's lot less irksome, for Y6gor*s 
 open and honest face had entirely won his sympathy at their very 
 first meeting. The daughter of the unhappy Davidoff also inter- 
 ested him greatly when he learned the circumstances- which had 
 led to her exile, and he took a groat fancy to the little Polish lad 
 on the spot. 
 
 ** T am attached to the governor's official department," said 
 Yegor, as he thanked him for his kindness. "I accept all your 
 offers in the hope and expectation of being, in my turn, of some 
 use to you." 
 
 " All right," quoth M. Lafleur, "so much the better. You have 
 done well in coming here ; I may flatter myself that I am already 
 in the good graces of the general's wife, a tall thin woman, and we 
 are very good friends, very good friends indeed. I make the most 
 charming bonnets of the Parisian style ; and I furnish champagne 
 — of my own manufacture — for the parties to which the natives 
 are invited. The only indispensable quality is it must be sparkling, 
 and *fizzM" 
 
 "There are two young ladies here," he continued, "whose 
 presence lends a charm to this inhosi)itable country : you shall see 
 them. The elder Agraf6na is a lieadstrong girl, of a hardy, healthy 
 complexion, and somewhat masculine beauty ; but the younger — 
 I call her *Miss' Elena — pleases me more. She is a thorough 
 little English girl of about eighteen ; somewhat languid, and with 
 
48 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 such an appetite ! But very pretty too. Both of them rule the 
 governor absolutely — despotically ! But apropos — or ratlier sans 
 apropos, since I am passing from a very pleasant to a very un- 
 pleasant subject — you remember the escaped thief who ^vas re-cap- 
 tured at Oukboul ? " 
 
 « Ye^/' replied Yegor, " through him I first became acquainted 
 with your goodness of heart. Well, what of him 1 " 
 
 " He managed to escape from the gendarmes who were conduct- 
 ing him to the fortress of Akatonia, and this time they did not 
 succeed in catching him." 
 
 "Poor devil," exclaimed Yegor. 
 
 " Anything would be better than the fortress," said M. Lafleur ; 
 "anything!" 
 
 Under the guidance of M. Lafleur, Yegor hired a small wooden 
 house, the very last one in the town, on the bank of the Lena. It 
 was the only one not surrounded by those lofty defensive palisades 
 which rob the houses in that district of all appearance of socia- 
 bility. The new secretary to the governor hastened to have some 
 partitions put up, so as to make a kind of boudoir for JN'adege and 
 a smaller room for the Polish lad. The occupation of the house 
 was quickly arranged. In Siberia beds are unknown quantities ; 
 people sleep upon rugs or skins, and cover themselves with other 
 skins or rugs. The young housekeeper, bearing in mind the pro- 
 bability of his escape, dispensed with all furniture not absolutely 
 necessary. 
 
 It was now the middle of November, and there were but three 
 
AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE, 49 
 
 hours of daylight and two of twilight in all the twenty-four. The 
 certain prospect of total darkness during the months of December 
 and January had also to be faced ; giving one an anticipation of 
 eternal night. The earth can then no longer be seen under its 
 deep mantle of snow which overlies it for many months. So it 
 proved. 
 
 Sometimes the storms would beat in upon the houses with great 
 severity, and the snow would be driven underneath the, roofs, or 
 completely bury the wooden structures. On these occasions the 
 wind would rise to a terrible violence and the thermometer fall as 
 far as 40^ (Cent.) Such were the wintry conditions of Yakoutsk. 
 
 One day M. Lafleur came to pay a visit to his new friends. 
 
 "Brou!"he exclaimed as he took off his fur pelisse; ** fortu- 
 nately there is no scarcity of wood in this dreadful country. Fancy 
 the natives who are living under this snow as under so much 
 wadding. How do you think they manage to exist? In this dark 
 night which envelopes us, they hunt the sable, the reindeer, the 
 foxes of all kinds, and bears to pay tribute to the Czar. In the 
 summer they fish, in the winter they liunt ! " 
 
 '* Ah ! " murmured Nadege, " when shall we see spring, I 
 wonder V^ ^ 
 
 "Spring, mademoiselle," said the dancing-master one day, "is 
 more unpleasant and harder to endure than the winter. One can 
 sink up to the chest in the soft ground then, and plough through 
 the soil, which is like so much marmalade." 
 
 The existence of Yegor in the society of the governor, not with- 
 
50 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 standing all draAvbacks, would have been very supportable had the 
 young man had no anxieties concerning the future, and liad not 
 all his plans of escape been frustrated and so much time wasted 
 — ^precious moments never to return. He did his work, made 
 sketches, and painted water-colour drawings in the general's 
 album . 4)layed quadrilles for the young ladies, and backgammon 
 or draughts with the general himself ; got up charades, and 
 organised dances to which the few available ladies were invited. 
 All this for one hundred roubles a month. 
 
 M. Lafleur was, of course, included in all these little arrange- 
 ments at the governor's house, w^here the dancing-master came out 
 very strong indeed. He was quite in his element. Nothing could 
 be more comical than to see him marking the time of the "Si- 
 berienne " by gentle manipulation of his violin, interrupted by the 
 capers he cut and supplementing his instrument by his voice. 
 Then he would adopt the attitudes of the old French school, which 
 had descended to him somehow, and then as suddenly breaking off 
 he would throw himself about and flng his thin shanks high as his 
 head, like the extraordinary dancers at the Barrier Balls in Paris ; 
 and mingle these antics with the classic grace of the diveriissements 
 of the old regime. 
 
 At length Yegor, to his great joy, obtained permission to go out 
 hunting or shooting with the general's guns. He had already 
 purchased a double barrelled fowling-piece and a brace of revolvers, 
 but these arms he kept carefully out of sight. 
 
 This hunting served him as an opportunity to study the neigh 
 
A MEETING. 51 
 
 bouring country. During the winter he made many excursions, 
 accompanied on one or two occasions by Mademoiselle Agrafena, 
 with an escort of Cossacks. At times he quitted the town in a 
 sleigh, and remained away two or three days so as to accustom the 
 governor to his prolonged absences. 
 
 Yegor was treated with much kindness by the governor and all 
 his family. Nevertheless he never brought Nadege to the palace. 
 Ho excused her on the plea of indisposition from any visiting. 
 
 Spring came, and early one morning Yegor had his sleigh 
 brought out upon the melting snow. He drove with all the speed 
 of his fine horses along the main western road, and in his course 
 he passed another sleigh, in which sat a traveller enveloped in 
 furs; but as he passed, Yegor fancied he recognized in him the 
 man who wielded the whip in the mines of Oukboul, the corporal 
 whom he had struck, and with whom he had exchanged defiant 
 words. 
 
 Such a meeting was unaccountably strange and very startling. 
 Yegor was, however, confirmed in his supposition by the start 
 which the traveller experienced when they met. There was no 
 room for doubt. This new comer was the Kussian — Yermac. 
 
 That he had arrived Y^gor was made aware that very day. 
 
 Yermac had been released from his vow of humility and 
 expiation. 
 
 The Governor of Eastern Siberia, when he understood the 
 reasons for the dismissal of the Ispravink from Kertchinsk, and 
 liis engagement in the mines, made up his mind to endeavour to 
 
 E — 2 
 
52 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 persuade the honest official to change his determinat'on. He made 
 it his business to induce Yermac to reconsider his decision, and 
 succeeded in overcoming his Quixotic scruples. Yermac at length 
 yielded, but only on the condition of banishment. So General 
 
 K gave him a letter of recommendation to the Governor of 
 
 YakouGsk, and facilitated his departure thither. 
 
 The day after meeting him upon the main road, Yegor saw the 
 ex-convict guard enter the private apartment of the governor. In 
 a few moments the secretary was summoned to his patron's 
 presence also. 
 
 " Monsieur SemenofF," said the governor, " this is our new 
 superintendent of police, M. Yermac. You will place yourself at 
 his disposal, so that he may make himself acquainted with his 
 duties, &c. M. Yermac has served the state for many years, and 
 indeed, needs little if any assistance in his employment." 
 
 The general remarked the constrained air with which the two 
 men regarded each other, their ironical smiles and strange glances. 
 
 ** Perhaps you have met each other before ? " said the governor. 
 
 "Your Excellency is not mistaken," replied the new Chief of 
 Police. " Monsieur appears very much surprised to see me here." 
 
 " Yes, I confess I am ; after meeting you in the convict guard 
 at Oukboul," said Yegor. 
 
 " Ah, I understand," said the governor. "I see hoAV it is." 
 
 **But," continued Yermac, "I beg 'monsieur' to believe that 
 the Chief of the Police of Yakoutsk has loft at the bottom of the 
 mine the remembrance of the sometimes rigorous discipline which 
 
A MEETING 53 
 
 he had to enforce upon the convicts under his care. And," he added, 
 " I remember only one thing — the strict accomplishment of my duty." 
 
 " I congratulate you, monsieur," replied Yegor, "and I regret 
 that the somewhat supercilious manner in which you announce it, 
 prevents me from thanking you personally." 
 
 "Very well, gentlemen, that will do for the present," said the 
 governor, who was afraid lest these speeches would end in ill-feel- 
 ing ; " you will have plenty of opportunity to renew your acquain- 
 tance under different and pleasanter conditions." 
 
 These words cut short an interview which had been devoid of 
 all cordiality. 
 
 Yegor divined in the advent of the new chief of police an 
 obstacle to his most cherished projects. "This Yermac," he 
 thought, " cannot have forgotten the blow I gave him, and if he 
 finds an opportunity he will surely revenge himself, and will do so 
 under the cloak of * duty.' He is an attentive observer, and will 
 make an excellent police-officer. He will watch me closely. . . . ! " 
 
 Some secret presentiment warned him to be on his guard with 
 this man. 
 
 a 
 
 -•A*ii^*/^*if'|j,. 
 
M. Lafleur aids Ladislas. 
 
 CHAPTEK V. 
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR ESCAPE THE FIRST EFFORT — AWAY ! — PURSUED 
 
 BY YERMAC — A DESPERATE DEED. 
 
 r^ UMMER came round again : the Fair-season commenced, and 
 
 i5 
 
 the merchants of Irkoutsk brought in their commodities, 
 while from the regions of the icy seas, from the shores of the sea 
 of Okhotsk, and even from Kamchatka the fur-hunters came laden 
 with the spoils of the chase, and the ivory-seekers brought to 
 market the teeth and tusks of moose and mammoth. 
 
 Y^gor Sem^noff took advantage of the occasion to make certain 
 purchases of provisions and clothing, which he deemed indis- 
 pensable to the execution of his project. 
 
 54 
 
PBEPAEATIONS FOR ESCAPE. 55 
 
 l3ut secretly as he made his preparations — for there was no open 
 fair-field, but the merchants waited at the doors of their wooden 
 houses and bargained with those who came to purchase — the 
 inspector of police, who spied out every action of Yegor's with the 
 evident intention of taking him at disadvantage, knew that the 
 young secretary of the governor had secretly laid in considerable 
 stores. 
 
 On the other hand the permission requested for the marriage 
 had arrived from St. Petersburg and had passed through the police- 
 bureau. The inspector could not understand why the young 
 people did not immediately take advantage of the permission. 
 What could be their reasons for delaying their union ? Perhaps 
 because they hoped to gain freedom by flight. The former 
 Ispravnik of Nertchinsk knew quite well what repugnance the 
 banished had to enter into matrimonial bonds, as the taint of 
 banishment would always cling to their children. So his atten- 
 tions to the secretary redoubled, and assumed the character of very 
 close observation indeed. 
 
 Y^gor did not hesitate to provide himself with every informa- 
 tion that he thought might be useful to him in his first attempt at 
 escape. He studied minutely all the maps he could procure : he 
 questioned merchants and hunters : he even learnt some phrases 
 and idioms of the natives in order to pass the more easily. 
 Finally he arranged a plan to the following effect. 
 
 Furnished with a passport from the governor for himself and 
 his fiancee, he would at the outset of his journey benefit by the 
 
5« ESCAPED FROM STBERTA. 
 
 relays of horses established upon the right bank of the Lena'as 
 far as the place where the Aldan flows into the great Siberian 
 River. 
 
 At Aldanska — the town situated at this meeting of the water — he 
 would find the horses purchased by M. Lafleur and a Yakout guide 
 posted there by the same gentleman, whose kindness was in- 
 exhaustible. 
 
 The Parisian, in his hatred of all tyranny, had placed himself 
 entirely at Yegor's disposal. He had provided and sent forward 
 one of the little country carts, which served to transport the 
 purchases. Besides the tent, the provisions, and the winter 
 clothing, he had brought away the young Polish lad, so that one 
 or the other might again at any time leave the city for an 
 indefinite period without exciting any observation or remark, at 
 least they believed so ! 
 
 M. Lafleur would accompany the fugitives as far as the Verk- 
 hoyansk hills. This mountain-chain traversed, the runaways 
 would be able to conceal themselves in one of the dense forests 
 which cover the region lying beyond the hills, and there they 
 would await the first snows of the season. They depended upon 
 the winter to aid them in their flight, for the cold would harden 
 the roads, freeze the rivers, and so make them passable, and would 
 conceal them by its long hours of darkness. Only by means of a 
 sleigh could they hope to make their way northwards towards Nijni 
 Kolimsk, the last Russian town, situated at the spot where the 
 Kolima pours its waters into the Polar Sea, not far from the place 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR ESCAPE. 57 
 
 where Nordenskiold has reached and confirmed the existence of 
 the North East passage. 
 
 According to Yegor S^menoff's calculations, he and his com- 
 panions would be able to penetrate into the country of the 
 Tchouktchas during the long wintry season and favoured by its 
 gloom. Even if the various tribes of that inhospitable region did 
 not prove as hospitable as he anticipated, Yegor was not going to 
 flinch from the difficulties and trials of the situation. Nothing 
 could be more terrible to him than the existence he was at present 
 leading — the life of a convict: that he would escape at any 
 hazard. 
 
 Once arrived in the country of the Tchouktchas he would be 
 free. He would then have to find means to reach Behring's Sea 
 by the return of summer and the season of open water, which 
 would bring up the English and American whalers into those 
 seas. 
 
 The daugliter of DavidofF the poet looked upon Yegor as some- 
 one almost supcrnaturally endowed, and she ardently lavished upon 
 him all the affection he merited, and encouraged him in every way 
 calculated to stimulate the ardour which prompted him to risk his 
 life for her sake, in order to release her from the stigma of the 
 convict's daughter. 
 
 Nadege could never forget that Y^gor, thanks to the favour, with 
 which he was regarded by the governor, had considerably amelio- 
 rated and rendered supportable the conditions under which she 
 lived; and that he had done all this in fulfilment of the sacred 
 
58 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 promise made to her father — that it was chiefly for her sake he 
 desired liberty. 
 
 This freedom Y^gor had already caught sight of. But, loolving 
 at this enthralling prospect, what a terrible expiation would be 
 theirs if he failed ! What would not they suffer for non -success ! 
 Y^gor, in his moments of doubt and weakness, recalled the image 
 of the unhappy convict, so cruelly disfigured by sulphuric acid, 
 whom he had seen when he reached the mines of Oukboul, the 
 object of every sort of indignity. What a future might he himself 
 be preparing for his poor Nadege and the young Pole, Ladislas. 
 For himself, an ignominious death — for them, the prison ; that is 
 to say death, only a slower one, but not less sure ! 
 
 But at length he made up his mind to hesitate no longer. 
 
 One evening in the beginning of September, when the season 
 was pleasant and mild, Yegor and Nadege quitted Yakoutsk. Yegor 
 had for some time previously spoken in the governor's family of a 
 trip he wished to make along the right bank of the Lena — a journey 
 which he said would occupy him two or three days in that unknoAvn 
 region. It was fortunate that the society of the elder daughter of 
 the governor was not forced upon him on this occasion, for she 
 had more than once been directed to accompany him in his 
 expeditions. 
 
 The fugitives, as we may now designate them, liad provided a 
 boat wherewith to cross the Lena, which is studded with islands, and 
 thus separated into many channels. One of the arms of the river 
 is not less than a lea^ijue in width. 
 
THE FIRST EFFORT. 59 
 
 Grave and serious at the commencement of their most perilous 
 enterprise, they looked their last, as they hoped, upon the mourn- 
 ful capital, with its great deserted streets, its sad-looking houses, 
 hidden behind the jealous palisades; the towers of the churches, 
 and the convent and the bazaar dominating the miserable huts. 
 
 The night was clear and starlit. Not a sound came from the 
 country in front of them. No shadow was cast behind them. After 
 a while a light in the east came to them as significant of a future 
 happier and brighter than the past — the dawn of an existence happy 
 and free. 
 
 " Courage, Y6gor," whispered Nad^ge, pressing the young man's 
 hand. 
 
 "Ah, my dearest girl," replied Yegor, smiling fondly upon her, 
 "I am carrying you away, and you permit me to do so. Born far 
 distant from each other, it seems that I have been fated to seek you 
 amid the snows of Siberia, to carry you back again to the warmth 
 of friendship, devotion, and love. Have you any regret in thus 
 leaving the country 1 " 
 
 " Yes — but only one ! " 
 
 *' What is that ? " exclaimed Yegor. 
 
 " Yonder tomb, scarcely closed. I am leaving that behind me." 
 
 The girl's eyes filled with tears at this reference to the resting- 
 place of her beloved father. Yegor turned his head aside to conceal 
 his own emotion. 
 
 A moment afterwards Nadege again spoke 
 
 " You do really love me, Yegor 1 " she said. " It is not only a 
 
60 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 generous obedience to the last wislies of my father that prompts 
 you to this?" 
 
 " Oh," exclaimed Yegor, reproachfully. " Do I really love you ? 
 ask my life — myall: you shall then prove my sincerity and love!" 
 
 " Your life, Yegor ! what would become of me in this land of 
 exiles without you 1 No, live for me, if you love me. Be as free 
 as you are good and true, and free me with yourself. I will then 
 be doubly yours ! " 
 
 Y^gor folded her fondly in his arms 
 
 Half an hour later they disembarked up the right bank of the 
 river. Thanks to his " pass " Y^gor managed to obtain two horses 
 (relays) held by the Yakouts. 
 
 The journey had now commenced in earnest. 
 
 Nad^ge was seated on horseback in a most bewitching costume. 
 Modest as all well-bred girls are, she possessed all the vivacity and 
 freedom of one who has travelled and observed. 
 
 Guided by a Yakout running before them, the young couple 
 pursued the narrow path which turned in and out amongst the 
 woods, or cut across plains studded with small lakes. The middle 
 of the day found them close by one of these pools or tarns ; and 
 Yegor, who was armed with a fowling-piece, one " borrowed " from 
 the governor, fired at some wild ducks which had risen, and killed 
 three of the birds. 
 
 Upon this the cavalcade dismounted : the guide soon lighted a 
 fire, trussed the wild ducks, and prepared the mid-day meal as well 
 as circumstances would permit. 
 

 
 ."^^ 
 
 
 THE MID-DAY MEAL. 
 
AWAY! 61 
 
 The day was chilly, and the travellers gladly clustered round the 
 fire. The wild ducks, served up on some of the bread which 
 Yegor had carried in his provision-sack, and sprinkled with 
 koumis ojffered by the Yakout in exchange for a little brandy, 
 were found excellent by all. The kettle was filled with water from 
 the neighbouring tarn, and some tea was quickly prepared as an 
 accompaniment. 
 
 " Ah, if we only had our dear Ladislas with us ! " said Nadege. 
 " Who knows that he is not suffering from cold or hunger 1 " 
 
 "Do not worry yourself about him, dearest," replied Y^gor. 
 " ]\I. Lafleur is a man of much resource, and, you may depend 
 upon it, Ladislas will want for nothing. They have already passed 
 by here," added Yegor, indicating the recent tracks of wheels and 
 tlie impression of hoofs on the damp ground, which proved that 
 tlie brave Parisian and his young charge had preceded the fugi- 
 tives. 
 
 Yegor had scarcely ceased to speak when his attention was 
 caught by the appearance of a horseman riding along the winding 
 path they had lately traversed. 
 
 Nad^ge shivered with apprehension. 
 
 ** Yegor," she whispered, "do you think we are pursued?" 
 
 Yegor, who had become very serious, continued to gaze in the 
 direction of the cavalier's approach. 
 
 " He may be a traveller, but certainly not a native : I can see 
 that by the manner in which he rides. He is a European, probably 
 a Kussian." 
 
C2 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 The Yakouts have keen eyes. The guide set himself carefully 
 to examine the man who had attracted their attention, and he 
 described minutely his dress and general appearance. 
 
 "If it is the inspector of police," muttered Yegor sternly, 
 grasping the barrels of his gun, ** I will " 
 
 "Is tLere any danger, Yegor?" cried Nad^ge, who was now 
 alarmed. " Do you think there is any danger ? " 
 
 "What danger could there be" replied the yonng man, bestow- 
 ing a warning glance upon the girl while he turned his face away 
 from the guide, so that the latter should not perceive his anxiety. 
 " We are only going to Aldanska, are we not ? Well then, we 
 shall have only one additional traveller. The new comer has no 
 guide : we can act as liis conductors." 
 
 " I know well, my friend, that it is incumbent on us to do so 
 much; without us he might wander aimlessly; you know what 
 frightful roads these are " 
 
 " At intervals I fancied I heard the sound of horses' feet behind 
 us : now all is explained. In any event, Nadege, be assured who 
 ever dares to do us an injury will pay dearly for the attempt." 
 
 Nadege approached Yegor and whispered — 
 
 " Yegor, if we were to mount at once we could escape, could not 
 we?" 
 
 " Impossible," he replied in the same tone. " We must not 
 make our guide an accomplice : we should compromise everything." 
 
 " But at least you will not expose yourself to danger ? " 
 
 "What do you mean, Xadege? Do you imagine that after I 
 
PURSUED BY YERMAG. 63 
 
 have waited all these months, that on the very first day of our 
 liberation I am going to submit to a summons to surrender ? Do 
 you know what awaits me — what await you — and your adopted 
 brother, if we are convicted ? It is question of life or death to 
 resist or yield." 
 
 "To defend yourself; but by what means, Yegor?" 
 
 "By any means — by all means," he answered. Then, looking at 
 the new-comer, he continued : — " Tis Yermac. Yes, it is indeed 
 the police inspector : he is following us. I fancied he had for- 
 gotten. For a man of this stamp, death alone will bring forget- 
 fulness." 
 
 "Yegor, you frighten me," murmured the girl. "I do not 
 understand you ; you are unlike yourself." 
 
 "Ah, 'tis because I love you, and yonder man would try to 
 separate us." 
 
 " Yegor, my dearest, I beg of you " 
 
 "I will do all in my power to be friendly, and do all T owe to 
 honour and the feelings of humanity. Were I a vulgar criminal, 
 I would submit to the police ; but as I am perfectly innocent of 
 any crime, and the victim of an odious persecution, I will resist. 
 I have the right, and perhaps the strength to do so." 
 
 The Yakout all this time was enjoying the wild ducks alone. 
 He was consuming with good appetite the fragments that the 
 travellers had left, and was taking them with copious libations of 
 koumis and tea. 
 
 Yegor was right. The new-comer was the chief of the police. 
 
64 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 and he had not struck the trail of the travellers by mere chance. 
 For some time previously, on every occasion when the secretary of 
 the governor left Yakoutsk for any journey, Yermac had caused 
 him to be followed. This time the policeman's suspicions had 
 taken a solid form, and he determined to follow the track in per- 
 son. 
 
 When he had satisfied himself that the exile had quitted the 
 town with his fiancee, preceded by the adopted child of Davidoff, 
 and M. Lafleur — the incorrigible Lafleur, — Yermac arrived at the 
 conclusion that the party did not intend to return any more. So 
 he determined to give himself the satisfaction of arresting Yegor 
 with his own hands as he was endeavouring to make his escape. 
 He did not do this in revenge, he was not instigated by the recol- 
 lection of the blow he had received. Ko, he was influenced by a 
 higher feeling — a more noble motive : he considered himself as the 
 instrument of the law ; that he was only obeying his orders, and 
 doing his duty. 
 
 When he had come within about twenty paces of the place 
 where Yegor had dismounted, the chief of police also got off his 
 horse and tied the animal to a tree. He then advanced towards 
 Yegor, who rose as he approached. 
 
 " So you are out for a ride, M. SemenofF," said Yermac with a 
 smile : not the smile of affection nor hypocrisy, but the smile of 
 pride and satisfaction — of triumph. 
 
 "Yes, we are making a little 'promenade,' as you see," answered 
 Y^gor. 
 
PURSUED BY YERMAG. fi5 
 
 '* tViid here is a young and charming lady," continued Yermac, 
 turning to Nadege, "who fears neither bad roads nor unpleasant 
 encounters on the way." 
 
 Nad^ge bowed, and turned white and red alternately. 
 
 **We are proceeding to Aldanska," said Y^gor with affected 
 nonchalence, ^^M.j fiancee and I are very glad to get some notion 
 of this part of the country, which we have hitherto had only very 
 vague ideas of by hearsay '* 
 
 " From merchants who came up to the fair at Yakoutsk," re- 
 torted Yermac with a subtle meaning which did not escape Yegor. 
 "I am also going to Aldanska," he added. 
 
 "Keally," said Y6gor, with ironical emphasis. 
 
 " My only trouble is that I have no other guide to the way but 
 by following the right bank of the river," said Yermac. 
 
 The chief of police was not escorted by the guide who had fur- 
 nished him with his horse. 
 
 Y^gor was determined that the man should not pass before him 
 He saw in him an irreconcileable enemy, and if he permitted him 
 to get ahead, his own escape would be cut off. So he invited 
 Yermac to make use of the guide, and remain in their company as 
 far as Aldanska. 
 
 Yermac was somewhat surprised at this proposal, but he accepted 
 it with every outward appearance of pleasure. He thanked the 
 exile and said — 
 
 " Who would have fancied, when you and I were face to face in 
 the bottom of the mine-shaft at Oukboul, that we should meet thus 
 
66 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 one fine September morning by the marshes in the Yakout 
 territory 1 " 
 
 " Do not mention the mine,'*' said Yegor. " You recall to my 
 mind — and greatly to my confusion I say it — some facts which 1 
 greatly regret, I honestly assure you, monsieur." 
 
 "Lf^t us say no more about it," replied Yermac, drily. 
 
 He flushed as he spoke, and Y6gor noticed that he had 
 indicated no means whereby a reconciliation could be effected, nor 
 had he said anything to lead up to such a hope. 
 
 "I thought that this road was not practicable for carriages,'' 
 remarked Yermac, as he indicated the wheel-marks left by the 
 little cart which M. Lafleur had provided. Yermac looked steadily 
 at the exiles as he said thi& 
 
 "Yes, I thought so too," replied Y^gor, simply. "So they 
 told me, at least, but now I see to the contrary. We are about 
 to breakfast," he continued, " on the produce of our hunting, you 
 see. We shot some ducks in yonder pond, and I am going to try 
 for a few more, so that we may have something better than dry 
 biscuit to depend upon." 
 
 "I will wait here for you," said Yermac. 
 
 "Do you not shoot 1 What kind of gun do you carrry, thenf' 
 
 The police-inspector fancied he perceived dimly some after- 
 thought underlying Yegor's question and his invitation. But he 
 disdained to feel afraid and replied boldly — 
 
 "Well, after all, why should I not take part in your sport? 
 I'm your man ! " 
 
A DESPERATE DEED, 67 
 
 Yegor then gave the guide orders to proceed, and requested 
 Nadege to mount her horse. With a gesture he sent his dog Wab 
 after the latter, while the guide, singing to himself some impro- 
 vised song, walked on, holding the bridle of Yegor's steed as well 
 as that of Yermac's horse. 
 
 Nadege, ere she turned away, threw Yegor a glance suppliant 
 and persuasive. Yegor understood all its generous signification. 
 
 The sportsmen, with mutual distrust — a distrust lately con- 
 ceived in the heart of the exile — began their shooting along the 
 margin of the lake, the banks of which were thickly clothed 
 with a number of dwarf cedars. Nadege heard several shots, and 
 she perceived some large birds fall to the earth. But this only 
 partly reassured her, and if she could only have seen the 
 haggard eyes, dry lips and clenched hands of her fiance she 
 would scarcely have doubted his violent intentions. Yegor, 
 quite upset and desperate, did not hesitate in his criminal intent 
 and action. He loaded his fowling-piece with ball, and at the 
 moment that Yermac was taking aim at a waterfowl which had 
 risen from the sedges, Yegor presented his piece and fired. 
 
 The chief of the police heard the leaden messenger whistle 
 past his ear. Not the little pellets of shot, but a bullet, which 
 broke the peak of his cap. He had no longer any doubt of the 
 intentions of the convict, and he himself was tempted to reply in 
 kind ; but that would be to engage in a duel. The scrupulous and 
 rigid functionary put aside this idea as a weakness and the result 
 of fear. He had no desire to kill his adversary, no matter how 
 
68 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 criminal he might be: his duty forbade that except in the last 
 extremity. It was living, with his hands tied behind his back, 
 that Yermac intended to carry back his prisoner to the seat of 
 government. 
 
 Nevertheless, he was not hero enongh to await a second shot 
 which Y^gor intended for him : he fell prone amid the brushwood 
 just as the discharge of Yegor's second barrel came down to him. 
 As soon as he had dropped out of sight, Yermac slung his gun 
 over his shoulder and crept away on hands and knees, gliding 
 silently amid the cedar-trunks. So he put himself entirely out of range. 
 
 Y^gor meantime, having reloaded his gun, advanced very 
 cautiously, his finger on the trigger, towards the spot at which the 
 chief of the police had disappeared. Y^gor feared a trap, a sur- 
 prise, a sudden attack ; but he found nothing at the place he had 
 expected to find Yermac. He beat about the spot, proceeding 
 always with the greatest caution, and ended by losing his bearings, 
 and the exact places which he and his enemy had respectively 
 occupied when he had assailed the too zealous agent of the police. 
 
 At length Yegor found himseK upon the track which led him 
 across country. His face was livid, his eyes were staring, and 
 his limbs shook under him. 
 
 "Perhaps I have killed him," he mrttered ; "or wounded him, 
 which in this place would be much the same thing without any 
 help at hand. It is his own fault !" 
 
 He then hurried on to rejoin Nadege, and soon recognised the 
 sound made by the horse's feet over a stony piece of ground. Ten 
 
A DESPERATE DEED, C9 
 
 minutes later Nadege saw him approaching alone and looking 
 greatly discomposed. She experienced a sudden faintness, and 
 glided from her saddle into Yegor's aiTns. 
 
 " Ah, what have you done ?" she murmured, when she again 
 opened her eyes. She then gently pushed Yegor from her. 
 
 "It was for your sake,'' he answered. *'For you and your 
 adopted brother. Two lives ! If it had been only for my own 
 life, I might have hesitated. Yes, I swear it !" 
 
 "What must we do now?" asked Nadege, after a [lause equally 
 irksome to both parties. 
 
 "We must first mount our horses," said Yegor. 
 
 So saying he assisted his companion into the saddle ; and then, 
 detaching a brace of partridges and a water-hen from hi? girdle, he 
 called to the guide, who was already in advance. 
 
 "Here is something to eat. Now, en route /^^ 
 
 " But what about this horse 1 " inquired the Yakout, indicating 
 the animal lately ridden by the chief of the police. 
 
 ^* That horse — let him go ; he will not stray far, and hi? master 
 will soon rejoin us. Now, march." 
 
 The party then proceeded. The guide resumed his singing, 
 which had been interrupted by Yegor's summons ; and Yermac's 
 horse, left behind, after having sniffed the air two or three times, 
 began to neigh loudly. 
 
 " Poor beast ! " Yegor could not help ejaculating, when he ht^ard 
 tlie sound. 
 
 "Poor man— and unhappy Yegor ! " murmured his companion. 
 
A Welcome } 
 
 CHAPTER YL 
 
 THE FLIGHT CONTINUED — M. LAFLEUR — A TERTllBI.E JOUUx\BY LN 
 PROSPECT "he is dead!" 
 
 "W™ 
 
 ^HERE is the next relay 1 " asked Yegor of the guide. 
 
 *At Mioure," replied the man. "But we find shelter 
 for the night before ^ve get so far." 
 
 " Good ! " was Yegor's answer : and the party proceeded. 
 The path became less and less distinct. The travellers were 
 obliged to skirt numerous little lakes whose rocky sides were 
 bristling with larch trees. Erom time to time Yegor held his ear 
 to the ground, to assure himself that they were not being pursued 
 by the chief of tlie police. Nadege feared Yermac no longer, 
 
THE FLIGHT CONTINUED. 71 
 
 believing he was dead ; but that sad incident of their flight made 
 her fear a thousand dangers in anticipation. 
 
 " Are we far from Aldanska ? " she inquired hour after hour, 
 and generally received the same reply — 
 
 "Courage, dearest, courage; we are progressing. The guide 
 assures me that we shall see the Aldan to-morrow." 
 
 The fugitives passed the night in a hut pointed out by the 
 guide ; and while Yegor and N adege slept soundly, enveloped in 
 their travelling rugs, the Yakout lighted a fire in the midst of this 
 curious abode of the nomad tribes — called a yourte. 
 
 A yourte is a hut, something like a truncated pyramid in shape, 
 and consists of a light framework covered with dried rushes and 
 grass. In that particular specimen occupied by our travellers, two 
 small openings which served as windows were " glazed " by a trans- 
 parent material made from the swimming bladders of fishes. The 
 floor of the hut was three feet below the outside level of the 
 ground. Some large seats were erected in the interior, and these 
 served as sleeping places. The proprietors of the yourte had no 
 doubt abandoned it temporarily for their tent, or ourouse, which 
 they inhabited during the summer months. 
 
 At daylight our travellers proceeded for Mioure, which is a 
 " basin '' some square leagues in extent, the bed of an old dried- 
 up lake, with fine pastures, in which, however, are numerous 
 poisonous tarns or ponds. Here there is a large village of yourtea 
 dominated by two church-towers. In this place there was con- 
 siderable animation, and a movement which contrasted vividly 
 
72 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 with the silence of the solitudes hitherto pursued by the fufri- 
 tives. 
 
 Large troops of horses trotted about the village streets, for the in- 
 habitants employed themselves in rearing cattle and in trafficking 
 for hides. It is at Mioure that relays are kept. 
 
 Here the fugitives found fresh horses and a new guide. Then 
 they had prepared a soup composed of fish, milk, grease, some flour, 
 and a considerable amount of the rasped birch-bark ; and having 
 done much hoy. our to this purely local form of sustenance, the 
 travellers continued their journey. Yegor was in a great hurry to 
 reach Aldanska, for there he would not only find M. Lafleur and 
 the Polish lad, but he would be able to regain some of the confi- 
 dence so necessary for his expedition, and which had already become 
 shaken. 
 
 The roads continued bad, and they were often obliged to make 
 detours to avoid dangerous marshes. At length they arrived at 
 Aldanska, and perceived, at the very confines of the town, the 
 little cart of M. Lafleur. The young Ladislas was guarding it, 
 and ran towards them joyfully as soon as he perceived them. 
 
 And M. Lafleur 1 " enquired Nad^ge, anxiously, when she had 
 embraced Ladislas aff'ectionately. ** A\'Tiere is he 1 " 
 
 "Don't you hear himT 'said the lad. 
 
 From a neighbouring yourte the notes of a violin were heard in 
 joyous strains, accompanying the movements of some half-dozen 
 young people of the district, girls and boy& M. Lafleur was not 
 long before he appeared upon the door- step, continuing to piay 
 
M. LAFLEUK 73 
 
 his violin. Between two movements he managed to clasp Yegor 
 warmly by the hand, and to kiss the lingers of Nadege with all the 
 courtesy of the Eegency, ere he resumed his occupation. 
 
 But the party whose happiness he had secured, did not intend to 
 let him escape so easily. 
 
 " We are pursued," whispered Y^gor to the Frenchman. '* We 
 have not an instant to lose." 
 
 The young people had come out from the yourte, attracted by the 
 new arrivals. Nad^ge, in her riding habit, excited considerable 
 curiosity and attention ; and Yegor took this opportunity to tell M. 
 Lafleur how he had been compelled to act so cruelly towards the 
 chief of the police, in order to get rid of him. 
 
 "But," he added, " Yermac may be followed by some Cossacks ] 
 and the moment our flight is suspected, we shall be in the greatest 
 danger." 
 
 "You are right," replied M. Lafleur, "We must proceed with 
 all haste." 
 
 " Monsieur Lafleur," said Y^gor, " your devotion to us has indeed 
 been put to the test sufficiently. Leave us here. Let us rather 
 proceed alone ; and, whatever may happen, believe that I will never 
 forget your kindness while I live." 
 
 "No, no," replied the Frenchman. "I do not intend to relin- 
 quish your society until we have crossed the mountains of Yerkho- 
 Yansk. Besides, I intend to utilize my opportunities, to enrich my 
 herb collection ; the collection which I design to off'er to my native 
 place — Chateau-Thierry. So I tell you that."' 
 
74 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 Nadege here joined Yc^gor, but they could not by any means 
 persuade the dancing-master to alter his determination. 
 
 Almost immediately after this the Yakout whom M. Lafleur had 
 agreed to meet at Aldanska was presented by him to Yegor. This 
 inan's name was Teivcl, and he was prepared to accompany the 
 fugitive.:^ as long as they had need for his services. He was a man 
 of about thirty years of age, small, but strongly made, and his 
 features indicated " sharpness " and good nature. 
 
 It was he who, when the fugitives were concealed in the great 
 Bouroukan forest which is entered after the mountains of Verkho- 
 Yansk have been crossed, went on foot as far as Zacliiversk, a 
 small town situated upon the right bank of the Indiguirka, four 
 hundred kilem^tres from the forest, and, as soon as the frost set 
 in, brought back a sleigh (or narta) with a strong team of rein- 
 deer attached. 
 
 M. Lafleur had taken the precaution, as soon as he arrived in 
 Aldanska, to purchase a horse for Yegor, and another of smaller size 
 for Nad6ge, as well as a horse to draw the carriole which Tekel 
 would have to drive and in which Ladislas would have to be con- 
 veyed. This animal, at present employed as a draught-horse, would 
 eventually become the property of the Yakout. The horses of the 
 relay were then sent back with the guide, who was liberally re- 
 warded. 
 
 After an hour's rest, the little cavalcade again set forth. Tn his 
 minute calculations concerning the journey, Yegor had co'inted upon 
 the hard frosts of September, which J one wouW harden the 
 
76 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 saturated ground. Fifteen days sooner some almost impassable 
 obstacles would have presented themselves to the travellers. 
 
 The country was decidedly undulating for a very considerable 
 distance. Large trees, amongst which the larch was prominent, 
 covered the hills. The valleys were full of rank vegetation in con- 
 sequence of the flood- water. Towards the north the fugitives caught 
 sight of a chain of peaked summits covered with snow. 
 
 In order to cross the Aldan it was necessary to procure a flat- 
 bottomed boat and to have recourse to the assistance of the natives, 
 for the river was at least fifteen hundred metres in breadth just 
 there. Once across the water the travellers arranged their tent for 
 the first time. It was square-shaped, and made of reindeer skin, 
 and of the kind called in the country a j)ologne, M. Lafleur had 
 purchased it in Aldanska. It could be easily carried rolled up, in 
 the carriole at first, or subsequently on a sleigh. 
 
 Provisions were carried in sacks, a repast was quickly improvised ; 
 but, though everything was pleasant, there was very little gaiety in- 
 dulged in, notwithstanding all the efforts of M. Lafleur to amuse 
 his associates. The horses were at first fastened to some trees by 
 their halters, with their heads tightly tied up to prevent them 
 cropping the frozen herbage. Subsequently they were set at 
 hberty, and wandered into the neighbouring prairie. 
 
 Yegor and Nadege had good reason to be thoughtful. 
 
 The chief of the police, as we have already seen, had managed 
 to obtain from Yegor the information that Aldanska was the first 
 halting-place which the fugitives aimed at in their flight from 
 
A TERIUBLE JOURNEY IN PROSPECT. 77 
 
 Siberia. On tlie other hand, the broken peak of the cap, furnished 
 sufficient evidence of criminal intent. Now why had the secretar;y 
 of the governor sought the life of the police official if the presence 
 of the latter had not been a bar to the projects of the former? Tlie 
 discharge of the gun by the convict was sufficient to lead up to his 
 arrest. 
 
 As soon as Yermac was able to leave the place where he had con- 
 cealed himself, he set about to find his horse, which he had heard 
 whinnying frequently, and judged that the animal had been aban- 
 doned. At length he perceived the steed wandering aimlessly 
 about, sometimes approaching, sometimes cantering away again 
 under the influence of terror. 
 
 Yermac attempted to reclaim his horse, but his strength failed 
 him. When he had quitted Yakoutsk he had carried with him 
 only such light provisions as could be found in the saddle-pockets. 
 So he Avas hungry, and it was absolutely necessary to recapture the 
 horse. 
 
 Fortunately the animal recognized his master after a while, and 
 trotted towards him. But more than three hours had elapsed, and 
 the fugitives had gained a long start of him. Nevertheless, the 
 chief of police determined to pursue them still. Once arrived at 
 Aldanska he could, he thought, procure a messenger to acquaint 
 the governor of the escape of the transported ones, and to demand 
 an escort of Cossacks. 
 
 Let us now return to the fugitives themselves, and to the brave 
 man who was assisting them in their flight. 
 
78 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 After some hours' rest, the travellers again proceeded. There 
 were only swamps in front of them ; grass became rarer, and the 
 hillocks got fewer and fewer. Clouds came up over the sky, and 
 some snow began to fall — the first snow of the autumn — while 
 the thermometer fell below freezing point. Next time the tent 
 was pitched they found a fire necessary. They passed many water- 
 courses, of which the most rapid was the Toukoulane. From the 
 distant gullies of the Verklio-Yansk hills, the roar of a torrent 
 was plainly audible. 
 
 Next day they crossed the river by fording — an operation whiclt 
 caused them considerable fatigue : the banks of the torrent were 
 encumbered with trunks of trees and enormous blocks of stone, 
 which had been carried down from the neighbouring hills. At 
 length, when they had traversed the marshes, they approached the 
 Verkho-Yansk — and safety ! 
 
 As they continued to advance, the woods which had been scat- 
 tered here and there upon the face of the country became closer 
 and thicker; enormous trees interlaced overhead; the dry earth 
 nourished dwarf cedars, which mingled with the brushwood and 
 the pines. In these thickets grouse abounded, so M. Lafleur and 
 Ladislas — who was an excellent shot — bagged many a brace. 
 
 At length the passage of the formidable mountain-chain had to 
 be looked boldly in the face. The wind blew strongly and whistled 
 dismally that day, greatly increasing the difficulties of the 
 situation. 
 
 The camole continued its course with difficulty amid the many 
 
A TERRIBLE JOURNEY IN PROSPECT. 79 
 
 obstacles of the route, embarrassed by the fallen rocks and other 
 interferences in the narrow path. The ascents upon these rough 
 slopes presented real peril. The fugitives had to work round 
 enormous masses of rock of black schist, which overhung for many 
 feet, and to cling tightly on precipitous paths, over deep abysses. 
 Sometimes they struggled up a slippery couloir beaten and buifeted 
 by the angry wind. 
 
 When they had emerged from this corridor of stone, M. Lafleur 
 advised Yegor to put up the carriole in a small cleft in the rocks, 
 and gave Nadege and Ladislas an opportunity to repose for a time, 
 so as to continue the journey with unimpaired strength. This 
 .suggestion was adopted, and the party halted. The horses were 
 tied to the trees. 
 
 While the young lady and her adopted brother were taking out 
 some provisions from the sacks, Y^gor, M. Lafleur and T^kel the 
 Yakout, ascended the mountain to obtain a better view ; and as 
 they proceeded the loose stones came rolling down behind them. 
 They at length reached a narrow rocky platform, over which the 
 wind swept in hissing gusts. Behind them the mountains rose 
 menacingly; heavy clouds raced over-head; and the roar of a 
 mountain torrent was at intervals borne towards them by the wind. 
 
 From this commanding position they perceived, as if a curtain 
 had been raised, the imposing chain of mountains in all its 
 grandeur. Far as the eye could reach, the hills trended away to 
 the polar sea, into the midst of vast solitudes. They appeared 
 like the enormous waves of a stormy ocean suddenly congealed — 
 
40 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 a mer de glace — to which the quivering eye imparted move- 
 ment. 
 
 The appearance of these masses of snow and ice, and the dark 
 trees, made a sublime picture. The jagged peaks powdered with 
 snow, the crystal glaciers embedded in the slopes, the sombre 
 defiles, srarped by lightning, the scene of many a fierce thunder- 
 storm ; the precipitous rocks of inaccessible height — all these 
 made the heart quiver, and froze the senses while troubling the soul. 
 
 Under the black sky could be perceived an infinity of parallel 
 and cross chains of mountains, with rare plateaux and long rami- 
 fications of desolate valleys cutting narrow gorges, deep unfathom- 
 able ravines whence issued bluish vapour — the foam of cascades, 
 amid towering peaks, immense " bosses " and piled up rocks. 
 
 The place was lugubrious, desolate, mournful — more than 
 mournful — sinister; and appeared suited for the accomplishment 
 of a crime. 
 
 Suddenly from his post of observation the Yakout perceived, 
 upon the southern slope which the travellers had ascended, a man 
 on horseback, who was advancing with difficulty, and doggedly 
 struggling against the wind which came rushing furiously from 
 the ravine. The native signed to the two Europeans. 
 
 " Eh ! my goodness ! " exclaimed M. Lafleur. " It is the chief 
 of police!" 
 
 " So much the better," murmured Yegor, from whose heart au 
 immense load seemed to have been suddenly lifted. 
 
 "You say. *So much the better.' That is very cliaritable of 
 
A TERRIBLE JOURNEY IN PROSPECT. Bl 
 
 you. But he is advancing straight towards Mademoiselle Davidoff," 
 said M. Lafleur. " Perhaps he has already perceived her. Now, 
 what can the man want 1 " 
 
 "Alas!" murmured Yegor, "the unhappy man is not touched 
 by our misfortunes. He has no pity for our misery. He demands 
 my life and the lives of those poor young creatures whom I have 
 rescued from infamy and oppression." 
 
 As they thus observed him, the chief of the police found it 
 necessary to dismount and lead his horse, the wind being so strong 
 against him. 
 
 "What do you think of doing, my poor friend T' said 
 M. Lafleur to Yegor. 
 
 "What would you do in my place?" replied the latter, who was 
 a prey to the keenest anxiety. 
 
 M. Lafleur wore the air of a man who was making up his mind 
 to some great event. 
 
 "il/a /o*," said he, in an easy way, "I would not make two 
 bites at a cherry. I would say, since this man is so blindly 
 obstinate, and desires my death — since one or the other of us micst 
 perish — well, then, let him be the one ! " 
 
 "But think what I suffered when I thought I had killed him," 
 murmured Yegor. 
 
 "All the more reason ; he owes you something ! " 
 
 While he was speaking, the dancing-master made a sign to 
 
 Tekel, and indicated an immense block of rock almost suspended 
 
 upon the edge of the platform. A strong push would suffice to 
 
 G 
 
ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 detach it and send it plunging into the ravine below. The Yakout 
 understood immediately that he was to get rid of an enemy. The 
 man and the horse were just passing underneath the place 
 threatened by the fall of the rock. 
 
 * Oh, you will never do such a thing ! " cried Y^or, who at 
 once divined the Frenchman's intention. 
 
 " I certainly will not do it — if I am not strong enough. But 
 I will do it, if you and Tekel will join forces with me," said 
 M. Lafleur, calmly. " You will not fail me, Y^gor 1 " 
 
 **Ah! to what extremity would you reduce me?" exclaimed 
 the young man. 
 
 " Do you prefer the knout ? " suggested M. Lafleur. 
 
 Already he had begun to use the long stick he carried, as a lever 
 to loosen the rock. 
 
 The Yakout, on his part, was all the while extended over the 
 pxecipice, endeavouring to remove the smaller pieces which sus- 
 tained the great block in its position. 
 
 " Come along, Yegor : try a coup de main^^ said the Parisian. 
 "I will take all the blame on myself. It is absolutely necessary 
 for you and for Nad^ge : for Nadege, my friend." 
 
 " It is he who wishes it," muttered Yegor, as he seized the baton 
 to displace the rock. 
 
 Between them, the three men managed to loosen the stone, and 
 get it into such a position that a slight push would launch it 
 over the precipice. 
 
 Yermac had been advancing without seeing his enemies, who 
 
''HE IS DEAD,"" 83 
 
 were right above him and hidden by the great rock and the brush- 
 wood which clothed the edge of the platform. 
 
 The dancing-master kept attentively observing the advance of 
 the man underneath, whom he had devoted to death. He 
 pointed the rock as an artilleryman might lay a gun. The Yakout 
 guide merely awaited the word of command. 
 " One, two ; let it go ! " cried the Frenchman. 
 " Oh, Heaven forgive me ! " muttered Yegor. 
 " Vive la liberie I " exclaimed M. Lafleur, loudly. 
 The immense mass tottered and fell ; accelerating its pace as it 
 descended, tearing the almost perpendicular sides of the ravine, 
 and detaching two great pines which it encountered in its headlong 
 course. From rock to rock the mass rebounded, scattering the 
 fragments in all directions, until it struck the ground with a 
 " thud " which resounded amid the rocks like the discharge of a 
 cannon. 
 
 The three men, giddy for a moment in front of the opening 
 which they had made, recoiled terrified; and covered their faces 
 with their hands. 
 
 Already the echoes had leaped from side to side of the cliffs 
 like the rolling of thunder, till they died away in the distant 
 recesses of the hills. 
 
 The Yakout was the first to regain his presence of mind, and 
 to advance to gaze down into the defile. Debris covered the earth 
 in all directions, and lay upon the snow which had fallen the 
 previous day. The grey horse was dead — stretched upon the 
 
 G 2 
 
84 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 ground — crushed to death. The ridei — what had become of him 1 
 Had he hidden amid the pines, or had he been crushed beneath 
 the mass of rock ? . , . He had disappeared ! 
 
 As they gazed Nad^ge was heard calling for assistance. 
 
 "Mademoiselle Davidoff !" exclaimed Yegor, pale and trembling. 
 
 " The T)oor girl is alarmed," said M. Lafleur. " She thinks we 
 have met with some accident. Go and reassure her. Now the 
 success of your enterprise is certain, I must leave you as soon as 
 you have passed these defiles, unless this affair — this murder — ! 
 Eh bien — yet here I am at present in my dress as an honest 
 merchant and dancing-master. But my Yakout dressmakers, my 
 champagne ! my glass-ware ! and my collections for the museum 
 of Chateau-Thierry ! — what will become of them ? " 
 
 "I will make it all good, my dear M. Lafleur," said Y^gor, 
 rousing himself from his despondency. 
 
 "Don't you worry yourself about such trifles," replied the 
 Frenchman. " What does it all matter as long as you are saved ! 
 Look here : I will follow you everywhere. I would rather ; indeed 
 it would be much more pleasant to return to the Faubourg Saint- 
 Antoine by Kamtschatka on the North Pole. Ah, it is man who 
 plays the violin, but Providence arranges the dance 1 " 
 
 " You really overwhelm me " began Y^gor. 
 
 " Vive la liherte I " exclaimed M. Lafleur. Then he added more 
 soberly, "Let us go at once, and calm the fears of your charming 
 fiancee. We shall have less trouble in descending hither. Come 
 along!" 
 
"Under a sky studded with countless stars." 
 
 CHAPTER YII. 
 
 THE CAMP M. LAFLEUR MEETS WITH AN ADVENTURE. 
 
 NIGHT came upon the travellers, and with it profound silence- 
 Not a sound broke the stillness ; not even the creaking of 
 the trees nor the cracking of a branch. The mysterious whispers 
 of the leaves — the confidences of the trees to the night-wind — 
 were unheard. Y^gor frequently lay flat upon the ground and 
 applied his ear to the earth, but no vibration conveyed notice to 
 his listening mind that any living creature was approaching. 
 
 In the rough, winding, and rocky gorge, overhung by trees of 
 
 8s 
 
86 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 great size and thickness, tlie darkness was profound. Yegor lighted 
 the dull little lantern he had, and attached it to the collar of his 
 dog. It appeared as if the animal was quite aware of the trust 
 reposed in him, for he proceeded with great caution, and with ears 
 erect turned every now and then to assure himself that his master 
 was follo^Wnsj him. 
 
 Ladislas was asleep in the cart. Nad^ge walked beside it, and 
 M. Lafleur, plunged in a sea of melancholy thoughts, brought up 
 the rear holdmg his violin affectionately to his side as if to keep it 
 warm. Ah ! poor M. Lafleur ! No more dancing for him. He 
 who preferred a quiet peaceful life undisturbed by strong emotions, 
 he who had saved up some thousands of roubles wherevfith to 
 retire as soon as possible to the cultivation of his cabbages at 
 ChUteau-Theirry, was compelled to fly like a criminal or an assassin, 
 tracing out the roads, if roads they could be called, in the middle 
 of the night, and pursued by the gendarmefi^e. 
 
 Assassin ! He was asking himself if he were not one ! 
 Had he not been Yegor's accomplice'? In his impulsive gene- 
 rosity had he not espoused the cause of the fugitives ? Had he not 
 suggested to Y6gor the advisability of throwing the rock down 
 upon Yermac ? M. Lafleur said to himself that he had not been 
 quite conscious of the act. The strangeness of the situation, the 
 necessity for action caused by his interest in the fugitives — for he 
 would rather have died than by a passive attitude have endangered 
 the safety of his friends, — all carried him away. These had been 
 the motives which prompted him to act, as it were, unconsciously, 
 
THE CAMP. 87 
 
 and to cause him to become the champion and defender of a 
 criminal act. 
 
 All kinds of incoherent thoughts were rushing through M. 
 Lafleur's mind. Sometimes he would stop with the idea of returning 
 and assisting Yermac. Perhaps the police-officer was still breathing. 
 But the Frenchman would put himself within the grasp of the 
 law, were he to accept the responsibility of the crime. No, such a 
 course was out of the question. So, doubling his pace, he overtook 
 his companions again, panting, and they would inquire where he 
 had been, or at last, "Have you heard any noise?" 
 
 " No, nothing," he answered. " I fancied I heard a voice ! " 
 
 The voice was Conscience reproaching him for his conduct. 
 
 After a long and fatiguing march, the fugitives, to their intense 
 satisfaction, emerged from the defile. The moon's rays filtered 
 through the thickly interlaced branches of the trees, changing 
 the dark trunks into silver stems, and ' transforming into velvet 
 piles the thick mosses which grew upon the pines and larch 
 trees. 
 
 Leaving the sleeping valley behind them, they crossed the 
 col under a sky studded with countless stars, a sky which 
 somewhat justifies the Muscovite boast that Siberia is the Italy 
 of Eussia. 
 
 The massive peaks of the Yerkhoyanian chain lifted their stone 
 pinnacles right and left; the newly fallen snow covering the ground 
 like an ermine cloak. 
 
 At daylight the fugitives reached a plateau, beautifully wooded^ 
 
88 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 which offered every advantage for a prolonged stay. This was the 
 forest of Boronkan. 
 
 Dominating a ravine, at the bottom of which runs a torrent, the 
 plateau is protected north and south by the mountain chains ; the 
 thick forest which covers the plain extends some six kilometres, and 
 thus forii^ the centre of an impregnable fortress. 
 
 Y^gor, who had taken advantage of a short halt to explore the 
 place, and to study the position from the double points of view of 
 flight and defence, called a council, and gave it as his own opinion 
 thaji the place was well adapted for wintering in. 
 
 That the winter was approaching was evident from signs all about 
 them; and, while they camped in the forest, Tekel, the Yakout, 
 would proceed to Zachiversk to procure two reindeer sleighs, for 
 two were required now M. Lafleur was of the party. These sleighs 
 were indispensable for the continuation of the journey during the 
 winter, when the marshes and streams would be frozen over and 
 covered with snow. 
 
 T^kel was to bring with him a second conductor for the sleighs, 
 and they would at once proceed by the Tchouktchas' country — a 
 territory nominally subject to Russia — whence, in the spring, the 
 Gulf of Anadyr might be reached. 
 
 M. Lafleur made no objections. He did not altogether abandon 
 the hope that he might some day return to Yakoutsk. For, if 
 Yermac were dead, no disagreeable consequences would arise. 
 There was no witness of the drama that had been acted in the defile 
 
THE CAMP. 89 
 
 of Yerkho-Yansk, except T^kel; and the Yakout guide was devoted 
 to the Frenchman. 
 
 The trees of the forest were found to grow so closely that the 
 liftle cart could not pass through, so they could not but abandon 
 the vehicle. Yegor therefore dismounted, unharnessed the horse, 
 and the provisions and baggage were transported to the chosen 
 spot for the encampment. The animals were laden with the rugs 
 and the tents, and then led with much difficulty into the forest, 
 where, round a small clear space, the larches and pines formed a 
 formidable barrier. 
 
 When the fugitives believed themselves in safety, the conviction 
 was forced upon them that they had not eaten anything since the 
 day before, for they had marched all the night. They all felt very 
 exhausted, but the Yakout cut down some branches and lighted a 
 fire, whereupon a solid meal was prepared from the provisions which 
 M. Lafleur had brought with him in the cart. After the meal was 
 finished, no time was lost by Yegor in commencing to build a hut 
 for ISTad^ge; little Ladislas helped, and soon a dwelling, consolidated 
 with turf and mud, was erected after the fashion of the Yakout 
 yourtes. M. Lafleur, always polite, spread a number of wild-beast 
 skins upon the ground to serve as beds for Nad^ge and Ladislas. 
 Then Yegor and M. Lafleur built a hut for common use under a 
 colossal larch- tree which spread its protecting arms over the house. 
 
 Next morning at daybreak Yegor gave the Yakout his instruc- 
 tions and a small roll of paper roubles which he bad held jealously 
 in reserve. 
 
90 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 T^kel set out for Zacliiversk, carrying with him all the hopes 
 of the fugitives. On his retui'n depended the success of the expe- 
 dition and escape which had presented so many difficulties. 
 
 Yegor himself accompanied the native to the banks of tiie 
 torrent which flowed at the bottom of the valley. He cut a place 
 in the brushwood with his hatchet, which he always carried as 
 well as his gun and revolvers. 
 
 " By this sign," he said to the Yakout, " we shall be able to find 
 the place again. In a fortnight the torrent will be frozen. If 
 you call we will answer you." 
 
 "In fifteen days I will be here," replied T^kel, simply. Then, 
 crossing the torrent by leaping from stone to stone, he waved an 
 adieu to Yegor and disappeared in the woods beyond. 
 
 The exile returned to the encampment, preceded by his dog, 
 which gambolled joyfully about, barking and wagging his tail. 
 
 Suddenly the animal stopped as if he had seen or heard some- 
 thing unusual. Yegor halted too, and, taking his hatchet in both 
 hands, stood motionless. But around him all was silent; not a 
 movement could be perceived. 
 
 The dog had disappeared in a thicket, and soon came back, 
 looking appealingly, evincing by his agitation that something was 
 the matter, and that he wished his master to follow him. Yegor 
 therefore penetrated the brushwood which flourished in places, and 
 more than once he had to crawl almost upon his face to pass under 
 the thickly interlaced shrubs and bushes. After a time he reached 
 a place where the flexible reeds denoted the presence of water, 
 
M. LAFLEUR MEETS WITH AN ADVENTURE. 91 
 
 which proved to be a swamp fed by a spring in which grew a 
 profusion of aquatic plants and herbs. 
 
 The dog immediately bounded forward, . and, clearing the wild- 
 briar and gooseberry bushes which intercepted his view, began to 
 bark loudly, and a human voice replied. 
 
 Yegor shuddered. Then, with as much caution as a red Indian 
 on the war-path, he made a detour and, still in hiding, reached the 
 edge of the marsh. 
 
 " M. Lafleur ! " he exclaimed, " how came you here 1 " 
 
 The dancing-master wriggled about, embedded as he was in the 
 ooze up to the waist, and, clinging sturdily to the stem of a tree 
 which extended above him. 
 
 " Yegor ! Yes : I have been waiting for you — with patience and 
 philosophy, truly ; for in this country of Cossacks and wolves one 
 learns both philosophy and patience without books." 
 
 '' But how came you here ? " asked Yegor. 
 
 " I was seeking plants. From flower to flower I passed like the 
 butterfly, until I reached the brink of this treacherous swamp. I 
 wanted to pick a piece of the morochka (Ruhus chamoemorus, as we 
 call it scientifically,) when I slipped and became in my turn an 
 object of curiosity in the marsh." 
 
 Yegor, having clasped M. Lafleur in his arms, managed to extricate 
 him from the oozy bed of the quagmire, and place him on firm 
 ground. 
 
 *'But — my shoes — my pumps," exclaimed the dancing master, 
 who was seated shoeless upon the grass ; for by v/ay of diverting 
 
92 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 suspicion, M. Lafleur had quitted Yakoutsk wearing only his light 
 shoes, as if he were on one of his usual teaching tours, or in search 
 of curiosities and business. 
 
 " Ah, my dear M. Lafleur," said Y^gor, "it is only right that you 
 should make a little offering to the marsh. It might have engulfed 
 you ent^'^ely, and it has restored you almost complete." 
 
 "Pumps which I had made in Paris," continued the dancing- 
 master. " They came from the Kue Kichelieu, opposite the Theatre 
 Pran9ais." 
 
 ** And probably the only pair you have with you ?" said Y^gor. 
 
 " Quite right: they are the only ones — a unique pair of shoes. I 
 shall now be reduced to the necessity of walking in my socks amid 
 all these bristles and brambles," said M. Lafleur, with the most 
 moving and pitiful voice. 
 
 " No, no, my friend," replied Y^gor. " We will see whether 
 the industry of man cannot make shoes even in the wilds of the 
 Verkhoyanain solitudes." 
 
 So saying, he approached a birch-tree, and cut long strips from 
 its bark. With these strips he managed to make the foot- 
 coverings known as " laptis " worn by the Eussian peasants ex- 
 clusively. 
 
 "They are not elegant, I must confess," continued Y6gor as he 
 put them on M. Lafleur, "and you would probably be somewhat 
 embarrassed in them if you attempted to dancd a * Sib^riene ' just 
 now. But we are not going to a ball ! " 
 
M. LAFLEUR MEETS WITH AN ADVENTURE. 93 
 
 "Ah, no; we are not going to a ball," replied M. Laflenr, as he 
 gazed comically at his new " shoes." 
 
 Then he and Yegor set out together to regain the camp, wheie 
 Nadepje and Ladislas were awaitino: them. 
 

 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 IN THE FOREST APPROAOH OP WINTER — THE CONFLAGRATION. 
 
 THE " Esaoule " * of Nijni Kolimsk (a town situated upon the 
 embroucJiure of the Kolima in the Polar Sea, on the frontier 
 of the Tchouktcha country), was a Kussian officer named Tou- 
 manoff, who having one daughter and a son about the ages of 
 Nad^ge and Ladislas respectively, had sent them to the house of 
 a relation at Yakoutsk to be educated. 
 
 The boy and the young lady were also pupils of M. Lafleur, who 
 
 * This title is given to the functionaries placed to watch over the relays — aa 
 official appointment 
 
 94 
 
IN THE FOREST. 95 
 
 at distant dates gave lessons in dancing to the girl, and taught 
 the boy to play the violin. 
 
 Yegor perceiving that he would have to pass near Nijni Kolimsk, 
 the last and most northern of the Kussian towns, and that he 
 would have to exhibit — perhaps more than once — the false passport 
 which he had issued to himself upon the official paper, and had 
 made it out in the name of the children of the " Esaoule," accom- 
 panied by their cousin of the same name. There was now a pressing 
 necessity to find some plausible reason for such a hurried journey 
 in the depth of winter. So Yegor endeavoured to find a pretext; 
 but even in consultation with Nad^ge and M. Lafleur he could 
 not arrive at any conclusion. 
 
 The profound solitude which reigned in the midst of the forest, 
 and the obligation to remain concealed, so as not to betray their 
 presence, rather exercised their minds as well as their bodies in 
 seeking to supplement their provisions with certain things they 
 lacked. They had to devise means of capturing game without 
 shooting it, and to catch fish without showing themselves upon 
 the banks of the river, where they might encounter an enemy. 
 
 Yegor had remarked traces of wild goats near the marsh in 
 which M. Lafleur had left his shoes, and the idea occurred to the 
 exile that these animals might be taken in snares. A cord with 
 a running noose provided the desired trap, so he was enabled to 
 give Nadege and Ladislas goat's milk, while the kids which fol- 
 lowed their mother into captivity remained with her, and amused 
 the younger fugitives by their games and antics. 
 
96 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 In another part of the forest, Y^gor fashioned a more formidable, 
 trap with which to capture a bear, after the plan employed by the 
 Kamtschadalians, who suspend the trap in the air, and bait it 
 with the flesh of some animal. The bear is attracted, and so soon 
 as he lurches heavily in his ungainly manner against the suspended 
 pole, it falls and crushes his skull. On the second day after he had 
 set the trap Y^gor found a bear — one of the brown species, and 
 of a respectable size — caught in it. The skin of the animal made 
 a welcome addition to their stock of furs; and from the flesh 
 M. Lafleur prepared many savoury dishes, maintaining that there 
 was nothing to equal bear-steaks, underdone. 
 
 Next day Y^gor shot a wild ram which had come to make a 
 raid upon the larder. Ladislas was charged with the duty of 
 catching birds and fish. The lad pulled some hairs from the tails 
 of the horses with which to form his snares, which he set in every 
 way he could think of; and M. Lafleur had to exercise all his 
 ingenuity to prepare the various birds for the table ; for partridges, 
 turkeys, geese, and many other fowls were frequiintly taken. 
 Nad^ge, on her part, busied herself in making pasties of the 
 partridges, the crust of which had been kneaded with a flour made 
 from Hried fish, and reduced to powder mixed with wheat-flour. 
 
 The little Pole had also constructed a kind of hoop nets with 
 osiers w^hich he fixed under water in the ravine. Into these snares 
 the fish could enter but could not escape from. The fish which 
 came to hand were mostly small, but once a magnificent specimen 
 of the **Kariousse ' (Salmo thymallus) came to the net. 
 
IN THE FOREST. 97 
 
 While Nadege thus occupied herself in confectionery, and in 
 the manufacture of winter garments, in doubling or preparing skins 
 of the rodents, while Yegor erected his traps to beguile the animals, 
 M. Lafleur was by no means at the end of his resources. Per- 
 ceiving that the birds were becoming daily more wary of the 
 snares of Ladislas, the Frenchman devised another plan. 
 
 "I have lost my shoes," said he, "so I have no need of my 
 over-shoes of india-rubber." So he melted them down with some 
 resin, and thus obtained an excellent birdlime. This he placed 
 upon the bushes and briars, so that when the innocent song-birds 
 and others perched upon the twigs they could not escape. Then 
 M. Lafleur would run up and put them in his immense pockets 
 though Ladislas had first been entrusted with this duty. But it 
 was found that the little birds found tavour in the boy's eyes, and 
 he let more escape than he brought home. 
 
 One day the excellent M. Lafleur came in with a radiant face ; 
 so they thought he had a greater "take" than usual. He smiled 
 knowingly and winked as he held one hand behind his back. 
 
 " Ladislas, my lad, come here," said he. 
 
 When the boy approached, the Frenchman gave him a beautiful 
 flute made out of a reed. 
 
 " Now," said he, " blow into it." 
 
 M. Lafleur covered the holes with his fingers, and the lad blew 
 strongly, when the most charming sounds issued from the reed — 
 like those from a magic flute. 
 
 Ladislas spent many hours in practising on his new instrument, 
 
 it 
 
98 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 and in the evenings M. Lafleur would bring out his violin and 
 accompany his pupil in his improvised airs. 
 
 Is there not a fairy in every young girl? It seemed so in 
 Nad^ge's case, for her hut became more and more charmingly 
 embellished every day, thanks to her care and taste and her love 
 for propriety and order. She had made of the humble leafy 
 shelter, a thing of beauty, a downy nest lined with moss and 
 scented with flowers. At the entrance was suspended a large 
 curtain of bark which had been detached by Ladislas from some 
 tree ; the thick furs were rolled up on the beds of leaves which 
 served as resting places. Y^gor had made a table and chair for his 
 fiancee out of the branches of a tree which had been blown down. 
 
 Upon this table, between two small boards, were placed the most 
 prized of the young girl's possessions. The last poems of her 
 father, written in those days of trial and sorrow, which she intended 
 to publish as soon as she reached some free country. Above the 
 poem was suspended a crucifix (which Nad^ge had always clung to 
 in her exile) surrounded with a garland of moss. 
 
 Meanwhile the good M. Lafleur suffered less from the loss of 
 his shoes than from the want of tobacco. Believing he should 
 return to Yakoutsk in a few days, he had laid in no supply. His 
 prominent nose, planted in the midst of his somewhat wrinkled 
 face, had become melancholy, and appeared to be dwindling away. 
 Tobacco was evidently as necessary, in the form of snuff, to those 
 extended nostrils, as the watering-pot is to the plant. M. Lafleur 
 was continually taking his snufi'-box from his waistcoat pocket, 
 
APPROACH OF WINTER 
 
 and opening it with a sad expression of countenance. He would 
 then shake his head, rub his nose, and finally put the snuff-box 
 back again in his pocket with a deep sigh. 
 
 M. Lafleur, who pretended that his ideas were quite gone now 
 his tobacco supply had failed, nevertheless managed to find one. 
 "Tobacco," he said to himself, "was imported from America 
 into Europe. Suppose I seek an analogous plant ! Bread in some 
 countries is replaced by potatoes, and even by the bark of the 
 trees." So he set about his search, and, as all who seek find, he 
 succeeded in discovering the leaves of a plant, the timyan, which 
 the natives use as a substitute for tobacco. This plant he found 
 in abundance in his various expeditions. He then dried the 
 leaves upon an iron plate, and succeeded in producing a passable 
 snuff. 
 
 The first enjoyments of this new-fangled tobacco made M. Lafleur 
 sneeze for half-an-hour. One might have fancied his nose had 
 been turned into a mitrailleuse, so frequent were the reports and 
 thunderings of that mighty organ. He laughed at himself, while 
 tears stood in his eyes. " Ah," he exclaimed, " I believe my nose 
 will break itself with joy." 
 
 Thus the fugitives, occupied in their varied avocations, managed 
 to get through the first week in their encampment. There were 
 still eight days more to elapse before the Yakout was expected 
 with the sleighs and reindeer. It was liberty, almost freedom ! 
 Yegor, without permitting his anxiety to be noticed, counted the 
 hours and miimtes till Tekel would arrive ; and M. Lafleur flat- 
 
 H — 2 
 
100 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 tered himself more and more with the hope that he would be able 
 to return to Yakoutsk. 
 
 So far nothing had occurred to alarm the fugitives in their 
 retreat. They nevertheless did not relax their vigilance. There 
 was all round the encampment an elevated ridge or circle, clothed 
 with enormous pines, which overlooked the rest of the forest. 
 Every morning and evening Ladislas scaled one of these big trees 
 and took a general survey round from his *' watch-tower," as he 
 called it. From this post of observation, his gaze commanded the 
 whole of the immense forest, which extended like a sea of leaves, 
 of which the conical points of the pine-trees might be supposed to 
 represent the wavea Far beyond it again lay, at the end of a 
 verdant perspective, a chain of bare mountains like the clifiV 
 bounding the sea of green. High in the air, great birds wheeled 
 and floated like rags, carried about at the will of the wind in a 
 stormy sky. 
 
 One morning the fugitives found the ground and trees sprinkled 
 with snow. The flakes continued to fall one by one, slowly, 
 silently, wrapping the earth in a winding-sheet and putting a 
 girdle as of swansdown upon the old pine trunks, the branches of 
 the larches, and forming little waxen stalactites on the twigs and 
 sprays. The bushes, powdered with the snow, had a very pic- 
 turesque effect, and the air was quite still, not a breath of wind 
 disturbing the leaves and spines. No song of bird, no sound of 
 insect broke the depressing and mournful silence of the place. 
 One might have supposed that this sudden irruption of winter in 
 
APPROAGB OF WINTEU, 101 
 
 a verdant forest had frozen the inhabitants with terror. But foi 
 the fugitives, winter cold and snow hardening and covering 
 marshes, rivers, and sloughs, were instruments for their deliverance. 
 
 M. Lafleur grumbled and appeared vexed, but towards the 
 middle of the day the snow ceased to fall, and the Frenchman 
 was enabled to get a view over the country, which looked like an 
 immense glacier. 
 
 That same day, after the few hours of daylight, which now only 
 composed it had waned, the great copper lamp which was destined 
 to provide both warmth and light in Kadege's hut was lighted, 
 and tea was served by Nadege to her companions. While thus 
 occupied she related to M. Lafleur all the sufferings which she 
 and her father had endured during their journey into exile in the 
 rigorous winter season, and while the terrible hurricane so frequent 
 in the Ural was raging. They had had wolves running alongside 
 their sleigh, ready to pounce upon the horses if they fell or slack- 
 ened speed. These were no light trials for an aged man and a 
 young girl, and they did not arrive at Nertchinsk till they were 
 nearly exhausted by the journey of seven thousand versts ; accom- 
 plished under the most terrible conditions. 
 
 " My poor father," murmured Nad^ge, as she finished her nar- 
 rative. 
 
 "Poor Nadege," said Yegor, extending his hands to his 
 fiancee, 
 
 " You well deserve a better lot, my friends," said M. Lafleur. 
 " Have patience, it will come. Your filial devotion, mademoiselle, 
 
lite ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 will be recompensed ; and the energy and courage of him who is 
 your companion will also meet with its reward." 
 
 Night came on as they talked, M. Lafleur smoked a last pipe, 
 discreetly puffing the smoke outside so as not to annoy Nadege. 
 When she began to make preparations for arranging the beds, 
 Y^gor and the Parisian bade her and Ladislas good night, and 
 retired to their own hut. 
 
 The men made no elaborate preparations for sleeping. They 
 each put on a furry garment or "kuchdanka," which was worn 
 instead of the usual night-dress ; then they dived, feet foremost, 
 into a sack made of reindeer skin, which they pulled up under 
 their chins and were soon fast asleep. Wab, the dog, watched for 
 all the party, 
 
 A little before midnight, the inhabitants of the forest were sud- 
 denly awakened by a mysterious sound of cracking and creaking, 
 which mingled with the noise of falling trees and rustling of the 
 branches. The cries and bellowing of animals resounded, and 
 Wab barked furiously. 
 
 When Y^gor and his companion opened their eyes they saw, as 
 it seemed to them, the heavens on fire ! Masses of lurid smoke 
 rolled past in volumes, and a strong smell of burning wood extended 
 in every direction. 
 
 At this terrible spectacle they were utterly paralysed and speech- 
 less, for a time. 
 
 " The forest is on fire ! " exclaimed M. Lafleur, after a pause. 
 
 Y^gor was already on his way to Nad^ge's hut. He found hei 
 
APPROACH OF WINTER. 103 
 
 up and dressed. She had perceived the first indications of the fire 
 reflected Jn the sky, but for a few moments fancied it was only an 
 aurora. Ladislas now awoke and sat up rubbing his eyes, thinking 
 it was all a dream. 
 
 " The forest is on fire ! " cried Yegor. 
 
 " Then we are lost ! " exclaimed Nadege, with a gesture of des- 
 pair. "Oh, my Yegor, to have gone through so much sufi'ering and 
 reached the confines of hope — only to die here is dreadful. If I 
 had only known, then I could have died with my father." 
 
 So saying, and weeping loudly, she threw herself into his 
 arms. 
 
 "You alarm yourself unnecessarily, dearest," said Y^gor, as he 
 caressed her: "you despair too soon. Am not I with you? We are 
 all resolved to perish if necessary in our endeavours to save your 
 life, are we not ? " 
 
 " Oh, look at the flames, they are advancing rapidly ! " she cried. 
 
 "Fear nothing, my Nad^ge, I will save you," said Yegor. "We 
 shall all escape. But do not give way and hinder our efforts." 
 
 "Be calm, be calm, my children," said M. Lafleur. "Let us 
 make our retreat together in good order — we must not separate. I 
 will be your guide." 
 
 "But we cannot abandon our provisions and clothes," cried 
 Yegor : " what will become of us ? " 
 
 "And the horses," said Ladislas, who had noticed the poor animals 
 straining at their halters in terror. 
 
 " The horses ! " replied M. Lafleur. " We need only loose them. 
 
104 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 Their instinct will guide them : they will manage very well without 
 our assistance." 
 
 Y^gor at once went and set the animals at liberty. ^N'ad^ge 
 meantime collected hastily all her little treasures and manuscripts, 
 her father's poems. Ladislas tied them up in bundles, while Yegor 
 and M. Lafleur collected some provisions and clothing. 
 
 "Let us take care to put the gunpowder out of reach of the 
 fire," said Yegor, as he continued working with ardour. 
 
 At length the party was ready to start, and they hurried away, 
 sometimes followed, sometimes preceded, by Wab. 
 
 The fire spread with alarming rapidity. The larches and pines, 
 and all the resinous trees flamed like immense torches, the highest 
 of these trees which were burning had the appearance of enormous 
 pillars of fire. The flames, carried onward by the wind, seized upon 
 other trees, even at a distance, and extended their ravages. Great 
 branches, detached from the trunks, fell crashing to the ground; and 
 immediately after, some monster of the forest, burned to death, 
 would fall with a thundering sound, which echoed heavily through 
 the air. 
 
 Burning embers and falling brands came in all directions around, 
 and created new conflagrations where they fell. A shower of sparks 
 accompanied every such fall, and in some places the grand burning 
 trees resembled the flaring lights of a lighthouse dominating a 
 burning sea. 
 
 The heat radiated from this burning fiery furnace was tremendous, 
 and changed a polar to a torrid zone. Occasionally some unfortunate 
 
.r. 
 
THE CONFLAGRATION. 105 
 
 bird would be caught in the whirlwind of smoke and flame, and 
 fall helpless, or perhaps struggle forth again like the fabled 
 phoenix. 
 
 Wolves, foxes, argalis, hares and brown bears came hurrying on 
 to escape the destructive flames which pursued them, and the grouse 
 scratched the ground, uttering all the while piteous cries. 
 
 The fugitives, borne down by the weight of their burdens, though 
 they had to leave a quantity of their belongings behind them, 
 marched straight on without looking back, possessed by one thought 
 only — one idea — escape from the fire. The flames almost surrounded 
 the travellers, and gained upon them, threatening to close in upon 
 them in front, and arrest all further progress. Y^gor noticed with 
 haggard eyes the advances of the fire, but he took care not to 
 give vent to his dire apprehensions for fear of alarming his com- 
 panions. 
 
 At length Nadege stopped him by saying mournfully, "I can go 
 no farther, Yegor." 
 
 " What is the matter, dearest ? " he asked anxiously. 
 
 " I do not know — f aintness : fear perhaps : my limbs seem unable 
 to support me — I can go no farther." 
 
 " Well then, I must carry you," he said resolutely. 
 
 Then, dropping from his shoulders the load he carried, he took 
 the young girl in his arms and proceeded rapidly. 
 
 Nadege noticed the advances made by the fire, and saw, as 
 Yegor had already perceived, that it would soon cut off their 
 retreat. 
 
106 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 "Ah ! " she cried, " I am hindering your progress ; I see it all ; 
 I am exposing you to peril. " 
 
 "No, no," replied Yegor; "we are making good progress, and 
 you are not at all heavy to carry." 
 
 " So you say ! But, Yegor, look at the flames yonder, they are 
 gathering underneath the trees and will cut off our retreat. They 
 are very near, the smoke is already almost suffocating. Save 
 yourself, save Ladislas ; go faster ; let me remain, if necessary for 
 your safety." 
 
 "Sacrifice you, Nad^ge? How can you speak like that? If 
 death do overtake you, I shall have died first." 
 
 " Oh ! I am terribly frightened. I can bear it no longer. I am 
 dying, I think," murmured Nad^ge. "Yegor, adieu, but do not 
 forget me ever." 
 
 These words were pronounced by Nad^ge in such a faint voice 
 that, had not Y^gor put his ear close to her mouth, he would not 
 have distinguished them amid the roaring of the flames and the 
 crashing of the trees. He at once perceived that the poor girl had 
 fainted. 
 
 Y^gor did not see how pale she was, but by the lurid gleam of 
 the conflagration he could perceive that her eyes were closed, and 
 he thought he too must have given way. 
 
 " Well ! " cried M. Lafleur, who with Ladislas had gone on a 
 few paces, " is all well 1 " 
 
 " Look, look ! " exclaimed Yegor ; " she is dying !" 
 
 "No, no," replied the Parisian, quickly, "there is nothing 
 
th:e: conflagration. io7 
 
 serious. But the accident is regretable. Wliat has become of the 
 bundle you were carrying ? " 
 
 " I left it at the foot of a tree. It contained all the effects of 
 this poor child. The torrent is not far off, is it ? " 
 
 " No, I can hear it," said M. Lafleur. " A little cold water will 
 revive her." 
 
 " Let us hurry on," said Y6gor. 
 
 But it was not so easy. Blazing logs and branches fell near 
 them, and encumbered the path. Nadege's dress was very near 
 catching fire more than once. The smoke drove very quickly 
 across, and made their progress uncertain. Fortunately they were 
 already within hearing of the torrent, which now made itself 
 audible above the roaring of the flames. 
 
 M. Lafleur soon perceived the watercourse. " We are saved ! " 
 he cried. 
 
 The ravine in which the water ran was sufficiently wide to stop 
 the course of the fire, and oppose to it an impassable barrier. 
 Y^gor sought a ford, and by the light of the blazing forest he tried 
 the passage. While the boy and M. Lafleur let their burdens fall 
 upon the ground, Y^or crossed the torrent, clasping JN'adege con- 
 vulsively in his arms, and quickly deposited her safe and sound 
 upon the opposite bank. 
 
 M. Lafleur assisted Ladislas to pass from stone to stone. At 
 the place where Yegor had laid Nadege upon a mossy bank a rock 
 gave them some shelter from the heat. 
 
 "I confide her to you, M. Lafleur," said Yegor. "I 
 
108 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 will now endeavour to return and find the bundle I had to 
 abandon." 
 
 " How, Y^gor ! would you retrace your steps ? " said IM. 
 Lafleur. 
 
 " Do not let him go, M. Lafleur ! " cried Ladislas, who, kneeling 
 beside Nad^ge, was bathing her temples with water. 
 
 But Y6goT had already departed. 
 
 ** Go 1 " whispered Nad^ge, anxiously, " who is going 9 " 
 
 " Y^gor," replied the lad, sorrowfully. 
 
 " Where is he ? " asked Nad^ge, raising herself and opening her 
 eyes widely. " Oh, I remember : he carried me, he saved my life. 
 Ah ! where is he ? " 
 
 "He will soon return," said M. Lafleur, affecting an assurance 
 he was far from feeling. 
 
 Nad^ge clasped her hands and gazed in anguish upon the blazing 
 forest. The rapid pulsation of her heart told of the suffering she 
 was enduring. 
 
 "Oh, why, why did he rush back into yonder furnace 1" she 
 murmured. " Was it not enough to escape from it ? You ought 
 to have prevented him, M. Lafleur." 
 
 " It is for your sake he went back," replied the Frenchman in 
 an attempt to justify himself. " He went to bring your effects, 
 mademoiselle, if not too late." 
 
 Meantime Ladislas had crossed the ford again, and had pene- 
 trated a little distance through the underwood in search of Yegor. 
 
 " Here he is ! " exclaimed the boy at last. 
 
THE CONFLAGRATION. 109 
 
 " Ah ! " cried I^adege ; and the joyous convulsion she so sud- 
 denly experienced nearly caused her to faint a second time. 
 
 Y^gor appeared upon the scene, carrying the bundle. His 
 faithful dog, which had remained watching over the abandoned 
 parcel, now ran before him. 
 
 " So you are here. You have come, have you ? " said M. Lafleur. 
 " What do you mean by giving us all such a fright ? " he added, 
 half-angrily. 
 
 The young man made no answer, but merely placed the bundle 
 containing all Nad^.ge's treasures at the girl's feet. He had regained 
 his cheerfulness, and beheld his fiancee radiant with joy and hap- 
 piness at his return. 
 
 " Oh ! " she exclaimed, reproachfully, " why did you thus expose 
 yourself to danger ? " 
 
 "Do you think I could have permitted your treasures — your 
 only relics — to be destroyed — could have let such sacred legacies 
 perish?" 
 
 " Thank you, my Yegor," said Nad^ge, simply ; and, seizing his 
 hand, she kissed it, and he felt a tear of gratitude fall upon it as 
 she did so. 
 
 "What do you think of this for a fire?" said M. Lafleur, who, 
 standing with his hands in his trousers pockets, was watching the 
 conflagration as he might have contemplated a display of fireworks 
 at the Barri^re du Trone. " It certainly is a splendid sight. See, 
 the sky is almost as red as the burning mass which marks the 
 limit of the forest. Poor forest ! Nothing will be left of it but 
 
110 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 cinders very shortly. How pleasant it would have been to have 
 watched the fire from these * upper boxes/ if we had not had to 
 pay so dearly for the amusement 1 " 
 
 Indeed, the fugitives had lost a great deal in their precipitate 
 flight, and had been obliged to abandon a great quantity of the 
 stores so Laboriously collected, and carried away with such trouble 
 to ensure the success of their perilous enterprise. 
 
 "Yes," said Nad^ge, following M. Lafleur's thoughts, "and our 
 poor goat, too ! " 
 
 "And the little kids," added Ladislag. 
 
 M. Lafleur replied with an affectation of indifference which he 
 was far from feeling. 
 
 "Bah," said he, "who would trouble about a goat, unless one 
 wanted its milk 1 " 
 
 Llni 
 

 .jfe-^^5^SS« 
 
 * Here they are at last 1 ' 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 YERMAC RE-APPEARS THE GOLD ROBBERS — A SKIRMISH, A TRAGEDY, 
 
 AND A DISCOVERY. 
 
 WHAT could have caused such a terrihle conflagration 1 Who 
 were the authors of it? Ought it to be regarded as simply 
 an accident — the consequence of a hunter's imprudence, as Yegor 
 had first supposed — or as an act of aggression 1 
 
 To explain the incident, we must take up the thread of our 
 narrative where it connects itself with Yermac. 
 
 Y6gor Semenoff and M. Lafleur, having launched the rock down 
 upon the police inspector, thought they had crushed him to death, 
 
 III 
 
112 ESGAPEI) FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 or that he had been overwhelmed by tlie debris of the falling 
 stones. But they were mistaken : Yermac was still living. 
 
 He had perceived the rock oscillating above him, and had at once 
 let go the bridle of his horse and thrown himself against the vertical 
 wall, which at some distance above his head protruded a little. This 
 projectirn saved him, but he received some severe bruises upon his 
 right leg. He had thus only to lament the loss of his steed. 
 Yermac — covered by the pine trees, which had been torn from their 
 roots by the fall of the rock, and blocked in, in front, by the mass 
 itself which had fallen in the road — remained hidden completely, 
 and prudence warned him to stay in his concealment all night. 
 
 JSText day, thanks to the compresses of cold water which he had 
 applied, the inflammation of his leg subsided. So, having cut for 
 himself a staff, he managed to reach a Yakout hut which had been 
 erected on the slope of the mountains of Yerkho-Yansk. He remained 
 there only long enough to take some refreshment, and to obtain the 
 loan of a horse — then, notwithstanding his hurts, he immediately 
 continued his pursuit of Yegor and his companions. 
 
 Almost immediately after his departure he encountered a patrol 
 of Cossacks on horseback. These men, when questioned by Yermac 
 respecting the fugitives, whom he thought they must have 
 encountered, declared that they had met no one. 
 
 Yermac then informed them that he was the police inspector of 
 Yakoutsk, and established his identity to their satisfaction. He 
 then instructed the Cossacks to give information to the superin- 
 tendents of the posts, or ostrogs^ that certain convicts were 
 
YERMAC nE-APPEABf^. 113 
 
 endeavouring to escape from Siboria, accompanied by a foreigner — 
 a Frenchman ; and Yermac also supplied descriptions of the 
 runaways and of those with them. 
 
 Some hours later Yermac readied and skirted the great forest in 
 the depths of which Yegor and his companions were concealed. He 
 passed on without discovering any footsteps or other indication of 
 tlieir passage. But, feeling sure that they must have taken refuge 
 in the wood and had not yet quitted it, he retraced his steps. 
 
 Why were they waiting there ? No doubt to put off the scent 
 anyone who might be following them, with a view to their arrest. 
 But how could he discover or dislodge them 1 He was alone and 
 even wounded, they were numerous and well armed ! He was one 
 individual, and the forest extended for miles. The conquest was 
 too unequal. 
 
 For a long time he reflected upon what he would do. Then he 
 fancied he had found an auxiliary. Why should he not employ 
 the same means as people did to destroy wild beasts — viz., fire the 
 forest 1 In his eyes the fugitives were criminals. Yegor, Nad^ge, 
 and the lad had been condemned as convicts, or transported — 
 M. Lafleur was simply an assassin. 
 
 He resisted the idea at first, but it returned to him persistently 
 day after day; and he ended by accepting it, and regarding it even 
 as reasonable. Did not trappers set fire to woods merely to destroy 
 the swarms of mosquito which annoyed them ? Besides, the small 
 supply of food which he had obtained was already giving out, and 
 the horse lent by the owner of the hut, becoming disgusted at 
 
114 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 the daily inactivity, returned home one morning of his own 
 accord. 
 
 While endeavouring to decide upon his future course, Yormac 
 ascended a low eminence which overlooked the entire plateau. The 
 pines and firs, all pressed down closely together, favoured the idea 
 of a conflagration ; and he considered in what place he should set 
 the forest on fire. Should he start it from the east or the west ] 
 Two parallel ridges, like Avails, enclosed the vast forest. If he fired 
 one end, the fugitives must escape in the opposite direction. From 
 the eastern side they could not escape without crossing a steep defile 
 with bare, treeless sides. So Yermac decided that lu would take 
 up his position there and hide behind a rock. 
 
 When he had thus made up his mind and arranged the manner 
 of his action, he decided to give the whole forest to the flames. He 
 cut down some dry branches and brushwood, and piled the mass 
 under the resinous trees : when night fell he set this heap on fire. 
 
 Yermac then skirted the forest and posted himself upon the side 
 opposite to the fire, at the entrance of the defile, which was the 
 only means of exit. There, concealed behind the rocks which were 
 studded with a few dwarf cedars, he looked anxiously for the out- 
 break of the conflagration. 
 
 He had not long to wait. The plateau soon bore the appearance 
 of a sheet of flame, and the heavens to the horizon were as red as 
 blood with the reflected blaze. Yermac crouched down involuntarily 
 when he beheld the result of his work of extermination. Anxiously 
 he passed the hours, and kept asking himself whether he had not 
 
YERMAG RE-APPEARS. 115 
 
 gone too far — if he had not devoted to a sure and cruel death the 
 unfortunate people who had taken refuge within the forest. At 
 length the tardy streaks of dawn mingled with the glare of the fire. 
 
 Shortly after dayhreak, the inspector of police saw coming towards 
 him two Siberian horses. They were rushing hither and thither, 
 and he recognized two of the steeds which Y^gor had had with 
 him — the third, no doubt, had perished in the flames. 
 
 The correctness of his surmise was quickly verified. He had no 
 doubt whatever" that these horses belonged to the fugitives. But 
 why did they themselves tarry so long ? 
 
 Yermac kept putting this perplexing question to himself, and 
 had propounded it for the twentieth time, when he noticed, 
 debouching from the defile, a group of fugitives whose shadows 
 were thrown in fantastic shapes far in front of them by the fierce 
 blaze at their backs. 
 
 *' Here they are at last ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 He examined his weapons — his rifle and his pistols — and found 
 them in good order. But how great was his astonishment when, 
 raising his head again, he perceived seven men, accoutred like true 
 robbers of the steppes, and armed to the teeth. They had also 
 perceived him, and were advancing in ambush through the bushes. 
 They imagined they were being tracked by a party of Cossacks, 
 who had tried to smoke them out, so they prepared to sell their 
 lives dearly. 
 
 When they came within range, two of the men knelt down, and, 
 taking steady aim, fired. 
 
116 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 " Declaration of war, " muttered Yermac, as the bullets hummed 
 past his ears like angry bees. " I have to do Avith a formidable 
 band. They are robbers, whom I certainly did not expect to meet, 
 and, though my authority does not extend so far as this district, I 
 must not fail in the new duty these brigands have imposed upon 
 me. ITow for my answer ! " 
 
 With that he withdrew into a thicket which completely shielded 
 him, and discharged both barrels of his ritio at the party advanc- 
 ing. 
 
 Then the men opened out in skirmishing order, and while con- 
 tinually advancing took care not to expose themselves more than 
 necessary. From time to time, as they closed in, they fired at the 
 man who had the hardihood to withstand them. 
 
 Yermac soon found that his adversaries were closing round him, 
 and that he was entirely at the mercy of his assailants. They 
 took up their positions behind rocks, trees, or any inequality of 
 the ground, and deliberately made Yermac a target ; aiming as 
 surely by the light of the fire as in daylight. 
 
 The police inspector, however, did not lose his presence of mind, 
 and bravely sustained this unfair attack. Three times he loaded 
 his rifle, and discharged ^ve shots at one individual who was 
 nearest of all on his left. Then, suddenly wheeling round, he fired 
 at an assailant on the right, who was just then passing from one 
 tree to another, a few paces in advance. The shot took effect, and 
 struck him full in the breast. 
 
 A yell from the dying man was echoed by the cries of his com- 
 
THE GOLD-ROBBERS. 117 
 
 panions, who perceived the fatal shot. The band of gold-robbers, 
 the terror of the country, had lost their chief. 
 
 In an instant Yermac was the centre of a storm of bullets. 
 
 He would have infallibly to surrender ; for, putting aside the 
 idea of flight, which he despised, he knew that, if he turned his 
 back upon his adversaries, the danger would be much increased. 
 Suddenly a cry was uttered by one of his assailants ; it was a 
 signal to his companions to desist : and Yermac was surprised to 
 perceive the man on the left — his most dangerous assailant — 
 advance towards him, unarmed. This young man had no beard 
 or whisker. He had dark eyes, and the complexion of a slave. 
 He was clothed in the skin-dress of the Yakouts. 
 
 The stupefaction of Yermac may be imagined, when, in the 
 Brigand of the Steppes, he recognized his son Dimitri. 
 
 " Father," said the latter ; " it is I ! " 
 
 " Unhappy boy ! " exclaimed Yermac. " It is indeed my son 
 with these gold-robbers ! " 
 
 " Fear nothing," continued Dimitri, as he made a sign to his 
 companions to withdraw. 
 
 "So, robber and assassin, you would become a parricide ! " said 
 tlie unhappy Yermac, who was a prey to despair. 
 
 " Father," cried Dimitri, " I have never taken human life. 
 Never ; I swear it ! " 
 
 "A parricide you are already," continued Yermac, without 
 listening to him; "you became so when, in depriving me of 
 honour, you robbed me of more than life. Are you aware of what 
 
118 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 I have been obliged to submit to in order to expiate your crimes 1 
 Can you doubt my humiliation when you learn tliat I voluntarily 
 resigned my position as 'Ispravnik'1 Have you thought of the 
 degradation, of the insults which I have had to endure as a convict- 
 guard?" 
 
 "Father, it is this undeserved misfortune, this odious degrada- 
 tion, of which you have been the victim, that troubles me. I 
 have indeed suffered greatly in seeing you suffer. I am up in 
 arms against the blind and criminal society of which you have so 
 much cause to complain. I will avenge you ! " 
 
 " One may be revenged by clearing oneself in the eyes of those 
 who believed one guilty, or pretended to believe so, and affirmed 
 it," replied Yermac violently. "It is necessary to make them 
 feel their injustice. But now " 
 
 "Yes; now what do you wish me to do?" interrupted Dimitri 
 " I cannot associate with honest men ; that is certain. Leave me 
 to my fate. I will live despised by all, even by myself " 
 
 " No," said Yermac. * ' You shaU die 1 " 
 
 **Whatdoyou say?" 
 
 " I say that you shall expiate your crimes, redeem your shame, 
 and give me back my honourable name." 
 
 " How ? " asked Dimitri, anxiously. 
 
 " By death ! " said Yermac, firmly. 
 
 " You wish me to die ? " said Dimitri, with a faint smile. " I 
 have often thought of it, for my life is heavy, and I will welcome 
 
THE GOLD-ROBBEES. 119 
 
 the last hours of it as a deliverance. Patience, father ; before long 
 you will no doubt hear of the death of your son ! " 
 
 " That is not what I mean. It is necessary, in cases of public 
 prosecution, that atonement less voluntary and more swift should 
 be made, bearing the brand of punishment. An infamous death 
 is the penalty demanded ; and that you are about to receive at my 
 hands ! " 
 
 " A father kill his son ! " exclaimed the young man. 
 
 " There is no question here of father and son. Here, far from 
 any tribunal, is a man whom the law has appointed a judge, 
 who has done nothing to forfeit his position notwithstanding his 
 unmerited degradation. He has pronounced your sentence — 
 death ! This sentence I am about to execute. Follow me ! " 
 
 So saying, Yermac dragged his son behind the rocks, out of 
 sight of Dimitri's companions ; who, perceiving that a stormy dis- 
 cussion was taking place between father and son, were holding 
 themselves ready to rush to the assistance of the latter. 
 
 Dimitri, perfectly livid, regarded his father in the manner a 
 martyr tied to the stake would regard his executioner. And then 
 the young man understood that his death was resolved upon, and 
 that it would come by the hands of his father. 
 
 " Father, thy will be done," he said. 
 
 "Do not profane those words by repeating them," said Yermac, 
 severely. " Give me your girdle." 
 
 "What for r' 
 
 " To tie you to a tree," 
 
120 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 ** That will be no use. You will see that I know how to die ; 
 and as I must be killed, I may as well fall dead. Will it be 
 necessary to push me down ? " 
 
 " Obey me ! The * pinioning ' is a humiliation to which yoit 
 must submit." 
 
 ** If it inust be, I consent. There it is ! " 
 
 Dimitri then unrolled the long scarf, and gave it to his father. 
 Yermac then pushed the young man against a tree, and passed the 
 bandage round his son's body and the tree. Then he resumed his 
 place before his son, and drawing from his belt the revolvers, he 
 said with deep emotion, which he did not attempt to hide 
 
 " You are about to die, Dimitri. Alas, in such a place ! If 
 anyone had told me this when you came into the world ! Ah, 
 
 if your mother Dimitri, commit your soul to God. Pray, my 
 
 son, pray ! " 
 
 " Father, let me first ask, shall I have your forgiveness when I 
 am dead ? " 
 
 " Yes, when you have atoned for your crimes ! " 
 
 A cold perspiration broke forth upon the face of the inspector 
 of police. The judge was growing weaker under the influence of 
 the father's feelings. 
 
 " Adieu, father, I die repentant," murmured Dimitri. 
 
 He closed his eyes as he spoke and waited. 
 
 Yermac retired three paces ; he held a pistol in each hand ; he 
 aimed at his son's heart. This terrible drama was illuminated by 
 the blood-red pjlow of the burnino^ forest. 
 
THE GOLD-ROBBERS. 121 
 
 Suddenly Yermac shuddered and fell faintin^r upon the ground ; 
 he seemed to have been struck down by the hand of death which 
 he had raised against his son. 
 
 " Father ! " cried Dimitri, Avith an agonizing sob. But Yermac 
 could not hear him; he lay, motionless, with distorted features 
 and upturned eyes, upon the ground. 
 
 ** Father," again cried Dimitri, "I ought to die, not you. 
 Father, come back to life. Listen to me ! " 
 
 Just then the companions of Dimitri, uneasy at his long absence, 
 came up ; and while some released him the others bent over the 
 stiffened form of his father. 
 
 " Does he still live ? " inquired Dimitri, as he came up anxiously. 
 
 "No, he is dead. He is quite cold." 
 
 " Oh, my father, my father, forgive me ! " the young man cried, 
 quite beside himself with remorse. " I have killed you. Yes, he 
 said truly, I am a parricide." 
 
 And as if he feared that the arms of the dead man would only 
 rise to smite him, he did not dare to embrace his father's corpse. 
 
 Then one of the band of robbers, imposing silence, and so 
 directing attention to himself, spoke. He was a fine, well-built 
 fellow, and was blessed with an intelligent countenance. 
 
 "Dimitri," he said, taking the young man by the arm, "you 
 must be our chief. Your father has slain Koskintine." 
 
 " Why should Dimitri be our chief ? " said another of the men, 
 a violent and ill-favoured ruffian. " We shall see about that," he 
 added, without waiting for an answer to his question. 
 
122 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 "Because such is our law, Ivan. The oldest was chief : now he 
 is wiped out, the youngest steps in, and so on. Dimitri is 
 the youngest of all of us." 
 
 " I will settle this matter," said Dimitri. " My friends, I am 
 going to leave you. Let me go. If my father should revive " 
 
 "If he do, he will kill you," said Ivan, " He is not the kind 
 of man to give quarter. But you may make your mind easy ; he 
 is quite dead. Come with us." 
 
 " No, go your way without me. Leave me here," said Dimitri ; 
 " and try to do better in the future ! " 
 
 " Who are you, to preach to us ? " exclaimed Ivan. " You are 
 our chief, come Avith us. You can make moral reflections after." 
 
 " Ivan is right ! " exclaimed the band. 
 
 Dimitri would have resisted, but the men drew him away in 
 ppite of his remonstrances. 
 
 A moment afterwards nothing remained to testify to the drama 
 which had been played upon the spot but the inspector of police, 
 whose body had been hurriedly covered with branches. At some 
 distance lay the body of the late chief, Koskintine, haK naked ; 
 for he had been stripped of all his warm clothing. 
 
 In the distance the forest continued to burn. Here and there 
 great heaps continued to smoulder, sending forth heavy columns 
 of smoke like great ribbons. The day, slow to appear and hasty 
 to decline, had at length come, paling what still remained of the 
 great forest-fire. 
 
 At that moment, behind an undulation of the ground, an 
 
A SKIRMISH, A TRAGEDY, AND -A DISCOVERY, 123 
 
 enormous bro^vn bear was prowling. His great limbs were black, 
 and he had a band of white across his shoulders, like a collar. 
 
 The animal stopped, and then, excited by hunger, made a point 
 for the dead body of the robber which was lying upon the snow, 
 still rose-coloured by the reflection of the flames. The bear walked 
 round the body, and, having smelt at it, took up a convenient 
 position, and began to devour it — calmly and quietly, as a repast 
 sent by nature for its special behoof, which necessitated neither 
 hunting nor fishing ; for your Siberian bear is a very skilful fisher- 
 man on occasions. 
 
 When the bear had finished his horrible repast, he turned his 
 attention to the inspector of police, and smelt around the body. 
 Would lie devour it also 1 The bear turned the body over — the 
 man remained motionless — and then seated himself on the ground 
 to consider what he should do. It would not be good economy to 
 devour another meal so soon. He had liad enough, and here was 
 provision sufficient to last him for many days, in case of accident. 
 
 In pursuance of this reflection, the bear seized Yermac by the 
 arm, and without hurting his prey, without any intention of hurting 
 the intended feast — and warm flesh too — he dragged the body in 
 the direction of a little thicket. 
 
 There he dug a hole in the ground — a cache as the hunters would 
 call it — and when he had satisfied himself that the hiding-place was 
 sufficient, he dragged the body of the inspector gently and even 
 delicately to the hole. 
 
 Here he deposited the booty, and proceeded to fill up the hole ; 
 
124 
 
 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 then, breaking oiF some branches, he deposited them upon his 
 "larder," and covered them with snow, which he scraped up with 
 his paws until he made a little mound, 
 like a grave, patting it all down nicely 
 with his paws. 
 
 This done, he Avent away to get an 
 appetite, or perhaps to pick a quarrel 
 with, and feast upon, some less sub- 
 stantial brother, and one less active 
 than himself. 
 
 * '«• 0!r «. 
 
 Meanwhile the fugitives — Yegor, Lafleur, Nadege, and the young 
 Pole — after having escaped the fire, which spread from west to east, 
 returned upon the track they had traversed some days before, and 
 on which they anticipated T^kel, with his sleighs and horses, would 
 approach. 
 
 They had succeeded in recovering two of their horses, and had 
 loaded them with the furs, arms, clothing, and such supplies of 
 provisions as they had succeeded in saving from the fire. Yegor 
 and Lafleur each led a horse by the bridle, and the party advanced 
 slowly amid the charred portions of the forest. 
 
 An hour after the entombment of the inspector of the police, 
 Y^gor and his party arrived at the place where the engagement had 
 been fought between the gold-robbers and Yermac. The travellers 
 noticed the indications of a struggle, and the remains of the dead 
 robber. The fugitives stood speechless at this revelation, and, while 
 
A SKIRMISH, A TRAGEDY, AND A DISCOVERY. 125 
 
 examining the ground, Laclislas perceived a trace of blood upon 
 the snow, as if a wounded man had been dragged for some dis- 
 tance. 
 
 He told Nadege of this discovery at once. 
 
 "There is a wounded man not far from here " cried the girl. 
 "Look at these blood-traces and the snow pitted with the drops. 
 Oh, if we have arrived in time to save one of the poor creatures!" 
 
 "Let us see what this means," said Yegor. 
 
 So they fastened the horses to the trees. In the valley hard by 
 they heard a grunting, a token of satisfaction, it seemed. The bear 
 was saying his grace after dinner. 
 
 "We must not go too far," remarked M. Lafleur, holding his gun 
 prudently in readiness, and ready for any emergency. 
 
 All four fugitives then proceeded cautiously to the mound under 
 which Yermac was buried, waiting — no doubt passing from life to 
 death — until the bear would devour him in his turn. This hiding- 
 place appeared very mysterious to the party. 
 
 Yegor and the Polish lad knelt down and began to sweep away 
 the snow with their hands, while M. Lafleur, his rifle ready, watched 
 over them at their work. 
 
 The snow removed, and the branches thrown aside, in the dim 
 light which the cloud of smoke permitted to appear, Yegor and his 
 companions all perceived the face of a man — a buried body. 
 
 "A dead man!" they exclaimed simultaneously, with some 
 emotion. 
 
 A sigh was the response from the ground. 
 
126 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 " But he is not dead," said Yegor, as he placed his hand npon 
 the man's heart. "It beats strongly," he cried hopefully. 
 
 **0h, how glad we ought to be!" exclaimed Xadege. "My 
 friends, we have been enabled to perform a noble action .... 
 This will console us a little for the cruelties you have been obliged 
 to commit-. This is a life you can save in exchange for the one 
 you destroyed in the defile yonder. Proceed, Yegor. Have con- 
 fidence. That which is now in store for us is a good augury for 
 the success of your enterprise." 
 
 The quasi inspector of police was extricated and laid on his 
 back by Yegor and M. Lafleur, in utter forgetfulness of the bear 
 and his growlings. 
 
 Yegor was greatly alarmed when he recognised the disfigured 
 features of the inspector, and believed he was under some hallucina- 
 tion. 
 
 " Ah, Xadege," he said, " do not refer to the man in the defile. 
 You trouble me." 
 
 M. Lafleur looked round him with an alarmed expression, and 
 his mouth wide open with astonishment. 
 
 At length Yermac opened his eyes. 
 
 " Thank you, " he said. 
 
 " Why, it is the inspector of police, after all," stammered Yegor, 
 in an access of emotion. 
 
 "I thank you, whoever you are," pursued the exhumed man. 
 ** You have taken a great weight from my mind — and body." 
 
 The daylight was struggling with the flames, which had again 
 
A SKIRMISH, A TRAGEDY, AND A DISCOVERY. 127 
 
 broken out as if some new food for it had been found, and the 
 light increased. 
 
 "Eh, what?" exclaimed Yermac. " So it is you, M. Sem^nofiF; 
 you too, M. Lafleur. To you I ow^e my life. To you ! Where is 
 my son 1 AVhat have you done with Dimitri 1 Where are the 
 gold-robbers ? Night came upon me suddenly. But I am wounded 
 in the right arm ; I am bleeding. Semenoff, and you, M. Lafleur 
 — is it possible that you wished to bury me alive ? Did you bury 
 me living under the snow, as you endeavoured to do under the 
 rocks 1 That is cowardly. But explain yourselves — and speak ! ' " 
 
 Both Yegor and M. Lafleur were for the moment speechless; 
 Nadege was near fainting : Ladislas, after stepping back several 
 paces, remained gazing helplessly from one to the other, crossing 
 himself devoutly and rapidly. 
 
 " Monsieur Yermac," said Yegor at length. " This is indeed an 
 intervention of Providence. We came here to your assistance. Fear 
 nothing. If I have evinced animosity towards you, I am ready to 
 repair the wrongs I have done. But you must not attribute this 
 strange meeting to * chance' after we left you for dead in the moun- 
 tain defile. We will release you from this strait; you are wounded, 
 we will take care of you." 
 
 M. Lafleur added a few suitable words which informed Yermac 
 how they came to find him in the ditch ; and, by way of commentary 
 and confirmation, the bear kept growling not far off. As additional 
 evidence, M. Lafleur indicated the remains of the unfortunate 
 robber-chief, and then all was explained. 
 
128 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 "I thank you, messieurs," said Yermac, standing upright. "I 
 can get on better than I imagined. Now we are quits, INI. SemenofF. 
 Now you can no longer deny that you are in full flight, as well as 
 the lady you call your fiancee and her 'brother.' I arrest you 
 three ! " 
 
 Yego^ made an impatient movement. Nad^ge grew pale. Little 
 Ladislas began to cry. But M. Lafleur said with a sneer — 
 
 "You are pleased to joke, my poor Yermac. How can you talk 
 like that when you can scarcely stand up? You are alone, wounded, 
 far from any assistance ; and yet you speak as if you had an escort 
 of Cossacks beliind you ! Do not put yourself out about us. We 
 shall continue our journey quietly, and if you are not content, we 
 will leave the Siberian bears to devour the agent of government 
 next time ! " 
 
 " Gentlemen," replied the inspector of police, "I represent the 
 law ; " and he made a gesture full of dignity. 
 
 " On the faith of a Frenchman, that is a singular assumption/' 
 remarked M. Lafleur. 
 
 " Force remains with the law," said Yermac, simply. 
 
 "Well, then, if you have the force, produce it," said M. Lafleur. 
 
 Yegor then intervened, and said — 
 
 " Don't you know quite well that your force will fail, Yermac 1 
 And your demand is not made on any principle of justice. You 
 see before you innocent victims. I pass over the incidents of your 
 pursuit of us. We are martyrs of tyranny and oppression. You 
 could make no impression upon us by any appeal to our con- 
 
A SKIRMISH, A TRAGEDY, AND A DISCOVERY. 129 
 
 sciences. That is why you are weak ; without prestige, and really 
 disarmed." 
 
 " We shall soon see, gentlemen. You are proceeding eastward, 
 but I shall return westward. Let each keep his own counsel." 
 
 M. Lafleur made a sign to Yegor, and the friends held a rapid 
 consultation, while Yermac was already studying the various paths, 
 uncertain which he would take for his return. 
 
 " You are in our power," said Yegor to him. 
 
 Yermac made a movement, but his face betrayed no emo- 
 tion. 
 
 "You are many, I am alone," he said. "The parties are not 
 equal. I must yield," he added, simply. 
 
 "Your submission is not sufficient," contijiued Yegor. "We 
 may encounter patrols. We may fall in with some Cossack post. 
 What would you do in such a case 1 " 
 
 " My duty." 
 
 " You would denounce us ! " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Yegor remained silent for a moment in admiration of the firm- 
 ness and courage of Yermac, and seeking some means to secure 
 the silence of the inspector without committing a crime. 
 
 "We could kill you," he continued at length, in a stern tone. 
 " We could tie you up to a tree and leave you here. You would 
 then be devoured by the bears. But we do not wish to do that. 
 You have only done your duty. Free, you are a hindrance to us : 
 that is why we have decided to keep you in custody. Now that 
 
130 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 fate has yielded you into our hands, will you give us your word of 
 honour not to attempt to escape ! " • 
 
 " No," replied Yermac firmly. 
 
 What a singular nature was his ! This man was carrying out the 
 duties assigned to him without any temper or ill-feeling, with an 
 utter absence of self interest. "Duty," "the Law," these words 
 were his epitome of life — the world, society, sentiment, and 
 obligations. His conscience — clear, upright, sincere, with no idea 
 of double-dealing — had made him a stern, austere, impassible, and 
 impenetrable man, as we have seen. He looked his adversaries 
 boldly in the face like a lion at bay, without being in the least 
 intimidated by their superior force. Incapable of hiding himself, 
 and of crouching in a comer to spring upon his prey unawares, he 
 acted openly, boldly, loyally, even with adversaries in league against 
 him. 
 
 " Sir Inspector of Police of Yakoutsk," said M. Lafleur at last : 
 "we do not look upon things in the same light as you do. 
 You will remain with us, if you please, until such time as we deem 
 your desertion wiU not imperil our safety. You are our 
 prisoner." 
 
 " But I am wounded ? 
 
 " All the greater reason why you should remain. We will cure 
 you. I have some acquaintance with leechcraft." 
 
 "You ! A dancing -master — a bonnet-maker — a manufacturer of 
 * champagne ! ' " 
 
 " I began life as a herbalist, monsieur. But do you not under- 
 
A SKIRMISH, A TRAGEDY, AND A DISCOVERY. 131 
 
 stand how one must practise different avocations to gain a livelihood? 
 You have no weapons, have you 1 " 
 
 "I have a rifle and pistols," replied the inspector, glancing at the 
 place where he had sustained the late attack. 
 
 As he finished speaking, Ladislas returned, carrying the weapons: 
 the rifle slung over his shoulder, and the pistols in his belt. 
 
 ** Take care of those arms, my boy," said M. Lafleur. 
 
 "So you will disarm me," Yermac said. "Nevertheless my 
 safety is assured " 
 
 ""We will protect you, monsieur," replied the dancing-master. 
 
 " The time will come, M. Yermac," said Y^gor, "when I will 
 hand you the governor's rifle and beg you to return it to him for 
 me with my acknowledgments. Well, gentlemen," he continued, 
 looking round, " shall we set up our tent and prepare our camp for 
 the night?" 
 
 While they were thus engaged, the last hours of the short day 
 passed away ; and the forest at length ceased to burn. 
 
 "You are our prisoner, on parole," said M. Lafleur once more to 
 the inspector of police ; for the Frenchman wished to put things 
 upon a clear basis. 
 
 "I am your prisoner — be it so," replied Yermac, resignedly; 
 " but you are no less the prisoners of the Czar, arrested in the very 
 act of flight by me, Yermac, inspector of Police at Yakoutsk. 
 Your friends still remain under the accusation of attempting to 
 escape with arms in their hands ; and you have aided and abetted 
 them I " 
 
 K — 2 
 
132 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 " I will not dispute with you on that point," replied M. Lafleur. 
 
 It was not an easy matter to arrange a resting-place for the 
 night. Snow began to fall heavily. Y^'gor and M. Lafleur 
 arranged a bed for Nadi^ge and her adopted l)rother, under a high 
 rock, and utilized all the rugs in order to keep the girl and her 
 brother warm. Some young trees, bent together, formed a kind of 
 frame-work for a low roof, which was then covered with a thick 
 cloth. 
 
 While these preparations were being made, Nad^ge took from 
 her little bag, which had fortunately been rescued from destruction, 
 a quantity of meal, with which she half filled a large wooden 
 porringer. To this she added some cold water, brought by Ladislas 
 from the stream, and stirred the mixture well with a spoon. This 
 oatmeal, warmed and carefully strained, was distributed by Nadege 
 to her companions; and, all things considered, it was very 
 agreeable. Y^gor, the Parisian and Yermac were at length able to 
 wrap themselves up in the remaining furs. The dog, Wab, kept 
 walking about the tent and the men's bodies, which were already 
 being heavily sprinkled with snow. Under his guardianship they 
 could all sleep undisturbed after the varied troubles of the day. 
 
 The first to awake was the inspector of police, who perceived 
 that his companions sleeping in the open air were now only little 
 mounds beneath the snow, which had covered them, and which 
 kept them as warm as in a bed of down. 
 
 Yermac, getting anxious at their immobility, shook them one 
 after the other. 
 
A SKIRMISH, A TRAGEDY, AND A DISCOVERY. 133 
 
 M. Lafleur had some difficulty in disengaging his head from the 
 snow-wreath, and appeared something like old Father Christmas, as 
 represented upon cards and cakes in December, with his hat over 
 his eyes, and his white beard and hair, a red nose, and his clothes 
 whitened like a miller's. 
 
 " Yerily," he said, " it is a good thing that there is no * police 
 
 
 M. Lafleur awakened by the Inspector of Police. 
 
 station ' near at hand ; as, in my capacity of vagabond, I have 
 been sleeping in the open air, and find myself awakened by an in- 
 spector of police, without any danger of being sheltered for a few 
 nights in prison ! " 
 
 Yermac remained impassible. Since he had been wounded by 
 the bear, his arm had been exquisitely painful, but he permitted no 
 one to perceive his agony. M. Lafleur then remembered the 
 
134 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 wound, and wished to dress it. The inspector made no resistance, 
 but on the other hand, he evinced no gratitude, and when the 
 Frenchman had finished, Yermac said — 
 
 * * I presume it is not your intention to remain in such a place as 
 this, exposed to every wind of hea^■en and every change of 
 weather ? '' 
 
 "No," replied Y^gor, who here interposed. "We are only 
 waiting for a native guide, who has been sent to Zachiversk, to 
 fetch us two narfas,* and reindeer to draw them." 
 
 "But," remarked Yermac, "it seems to me that you are taking 
 me into your confidence about " 
 
 " About our intended movements ? What matter ? Your loyalty 
 — notwithstanding the language you used towards me yesterday — 
 is a guarantee to us that I can speak freely to you." 
 
 " You may be over-confident ! " said Yermac. 
 
 " Well, we have a right to your good offices," remarked M. La- 
 fleur. " But for us, the bear with the white collar would be break- 
 fasting off yoTi at this moment." 
 
 " Yes, yes ; I see : you wish to attach me to you by the bonds of 
 gratitude." 
 
 " We must, for the reason I have given you," continued Y6gor, 
 " remain as long as possible in this forest, or rather, I should say, 
 in the place the forest was. Can you explain the cause of this 
 terrible fire, M. Yermac 1 " 
 
 * Tlie "narta" is the Siberian sleigh. — Trans. 
 
A SKIRMISH, A TRAGEDY, AND A DISCOVERY. 135 
 
 " Yes," replied the inspector. Then in his usual tone he added, 
 " I set the forest on fire ! " 
 
 "You ! " exclaimed all the fugitives with one voice. 
 
 " Yes, to dislodge you. I could not afford to wait your pleasure 
 for an indefinite period ! " 
 
 " But, you wretched man," said Yegor, " you nearly roasted us 
 alive." 
 
 ** Well, I knew there was a chance of that," replied Yermac. 
 
 "And you did not hesitate at the thought of such a horrible 
 crime ? " enquired Nadege. 
 
 "Well, M. Yermac," said the Frenchman, "I do think we are 
 quite * quits ' with you now — and more. We were equal, 1 think, 
 before the episode of the bear. Between you and me, that little 
 rock in the defile was as nothing — a mere feather — when weighed 
 against the means you employed to destroy us ! " 
 
 "And what of the attack by the lake?" said Yermac, looking at 
 Y^gor. 
 
 "We are quits, I repeat," said the Frenchman. "Twice, it is 
 true, you have been in danger of losing your life — but you are only 
 one ! We are four and were all in danger of our lives. You can 
 reckon up the difference. You have drawn on us largely in that 
 little draft on the Bear's Bank yonder ! " 
 
 " You calculate very closely for a savant, M. Lafleur ! " 
 
 "You perceive I am something of a business man," replied the 
 Parisian, ^^ and I can keep books. Your account is now balanced ; 
 and I debit you with a miraculous resurrection." 
 
136 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 " But how will you arrange concerning your service as doctor 1 " 
 
 " I will write that off to Profit and Loss," he replied. 
 
 All this while M. Lafleur had been thumping himself after the 
 manner of coachmen, but this exercise did not prevent him from 
 retorting promptly to Yermac's badinage. 
 
 That day was marked by a discovery made by Ladislas after 
 dejeuner — a meal which rivalled in frugality the supper of the 
 evening before. 
 
 The lad had been busily engaged in sweeping away with branches 
 the snow which had accumulated around Nad^ge's resting place ; 
 and when he had finished he seated himself upon the ground and 
 began examining the pebbles, &c., as he had seen M. Lafleur do, 
 so that he might add to the little collection he had already com- 
 menced — imitating in this also the dancing-master's tastes. 
 
 The lad's eyes were particularly attracted to a number of small 
 stones of a yellowish-green which sparkled upon the rocky soil. 
 He snatched them up, and after showing them to JS'ad^ge, he 
 began tossing them up and catching them again in his hand 
 cleverly. 
 
 M. Lafleur, who watched him for a moment, was at once struck 
 with the form and colour of the stones, and murmured something 
 expressive of the result of his observations : — 
 
 "Prisms — cylindrical; — strise — longitudinal. — Yes, this is a 
 * find ' indeed ! " he exclaimed joyously. " These are emeralds of 
 a rare size and of immense value." 
 
 "Are you quite certain, M. Lafleur?" asked ISTadege, who already 
 
A SKIRMISH, A TRAGEDY , AND A DISCOVERY. 137 
 
 — and a woman will never lose her rights — perceived, in perspec- 
 tive, some brilliant ornaments io^fete days in the future. 
 
 "I assure you, mademoiselle, that these are magnificent 
 emeralds : there are none like them in any Court in Europe." 
 
 The inspector of police overheard these words. He approached 
 M. Lafleur, followed by Yegor. 
 
 " Look here, M. Yermac," said Ladislas. " M. Lafleur pretends 
 these are emeralds." 
 
 "I can scarcely believe him," replied Yermac, after a short 
 examination of the stones. 
 
 "Your doubt quite upsets me," replied M. Lafleur, laughing. 
 " Look here, see how this stone is broken : the cleavage shows a 
 vitreous and polished surface as emeralds should do." 
 
 "Then I have done a good day's work," exclaimed Ladislas. 
 
 "My young friend," said the inspector of police, "perhaps you 
 are not aware that all precious stones discovered in Siberia are the 
 property of the Czar. These emeralds must, therefore, be forwarded 
 to him without any reservation, 
 
 "You are joking, M. Yermac," said Yegor. "It is always Uhe 
 Czar ' with you ! " 
 
 " But what I say is law " ! retorted Yermac. 
 
 " Must we then retrace our steps to lay these playthings at the 
 feet of the emperor, who has treasure enough and to spare ? " 
 
 " You may laugh, if you please. I will take upon myself to 
 restore them without troubling you in the matter at all." 
 
 " You are laughing now — and at our expense," said Yegor." 
 
138 
 
 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 " Well, you see that, though I must leave here in your company, 
 I shall make a point of drawing up an official report of the 
 discovery, the first opportunity," said Yermac. 
 
 " Report as much as you like, Yermac," said M. Lafleur. " By 
 all means report at your leisure. But as for us, we are going to 
 retain these pretty little stones : they will serve as a souvenir ut 
 our experiences — and of the time we passed in your society." 
 
 The incident had no other consequences for our travellers. 
 
CIIAPTEE X. 
 
 ATTACKED BY WOLVES. — THE BEAR DANCE. ARRIVAL OF THE 
 
 SLEIGHS. 
 
 ONE day passed; then another; and there was so much less 
 time to elapse before the expected appearance of the 
 sleighs. The snow fell occasionally at more frequently recurring 
 intervals, and began to harden upon the ground. The way for 
 escape was being prepared ; was growing firmer, more consolidated, 
 vaster ; too vast indeed I 
 
 The inspector of police, his arm in a sling, assisted Nad^ge in 
 the preparation of the meals. Dried fish, smoked salmon, which 
 the Eussians call oulmle, with some grouse and hare that Yegor 
 had succeeded in bagging, made the staple of their food during this 
 period. Subsequently M. Lafleur shot a wild sheep, which supplied 
 the travellers with cutlets and legs of mutton for a time. 
 
 On the third day, just as they were about to prepare for their 
 evening meal, a native woman, attracted by the bivouac fire, came 
 into the encampment on her way to her yourte. 
 
 When her footsteps were heard crunching the frozen snow, the 
 travellers looked up, and were surprised at the miserable and ragged 
 appearance she presented The poor nomad was bronzed by 
 
 139 
 
140 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 exposure, her little eyes were scarcely visible, but she appeared to 
 be nursing something very carefully under her cloak. 
 
 Nad^ge welcomed her and bade her seat herself by the fire. 
 She offered the woman some portion of the bird they had cooked, 
 which the Yakout devoured greedily, glancing quickly and cau- 
 tiously aiQund her all the time. She still carried some living thing, 
 wrapped in her bosom.. 
 
 "Well, nurse, what is your baby like?" enquired M. Lafleur 
 playfully. 
 
 The Yakout understood the question more from the actions by 
 which he accompanied his speech than from the words themselves, 
 spoken as they were in a peculiar and novel dialect in which the 
 Russian and French languages were mingled. 
 
 The woman, however, complied with the request, and very care- 
 fully removed the reindeer-skin covering from her shoulders, 
 and exhibited three little blue foxes which she was keeping 
 warm. 
 
 The travellers were greatly surprised at this revelation. M. 
 Lafleur, however, explained to his companions that it is a well- 
 known habit amongst hunters to bring up little foxes with the 
 object of selling them for their furs when the animals attain a 
 proper age ; and, speaking of this, the Frenchman made his hearers 
 open their eyes when he told them the enormous sums which 
 Western ladies — particularly the English — will pay for blue-fox 
 fur. He told Nadege that the four paws only of the animal are 
 considered valuable, and that a cloak of this kind is worth in Eussia 
 
^ ATTACKED BY WOLVES. 141 
 
 thirty or forty thousand francs. No part of the animal, besides the 
 paws, is considered of any value. 
 
 Ladislas continued to question M. Lafleur on this subject ; and 
 while the Yakout woman — having finished her repast — was 
 smoking her pipe or ganzi fuH of strong Tcherkask tobacco, the 
 Frenchman gave the lad some curious and interesting details con- 
 cerning the manners and customs of blue foxes. He told his young 
 hearer that these animals are very brave and full of cunning when 
 hunted, and only leave their lairs at night. It seems, however, 
 that Behring's companions found them in great numbers by the 
 Strait, and they were so tame and incautious that they permitted 
 themselves to be killed with sticks. These foxes are great thieves 
 and very voracious : they will steal anything, even the boots and 
 clothes of sleeping men ; they devour dead bodies, and even attack 
 the sick. At times when explorers have buried provisions and 
 placed great stones over the supplies, the blue foxes will find means 
 to pillage the depot by insinuating themselves beneath the stones, 
 assisting each other with rare intelligence. If provisions are hung 
 up in the open air the animals will dig around the poles which 
 support the food until they fall ; or even, with incredible address, 
 make a kind of ladder of their bodies to enable the rest to pull 
 down the meat. 
 
 M. Lafleur, who had evidently picked up a good deal of informa- 
 tion in his travels, then explained that the isatis is found upon the 
 shores of the polar sea and of the rivers which flow into it. The 
 blue fox is smaller than the ordinary fox, which, however, it greatly 
 
149' ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 resembles, though the head is more like the dog's. The hair is very 
 long, soft and thick, an ashen blue, or white. The tip of the 
 muzzle is black, and the ears almost round ; and it makes a sound 
 resembling at once the bark of the dog and the yelping of the fox. 
 These animals are gregarious and are met with in large packs, pre- 
 ferring places which are open and cold. 
 
 "One distinctive peculiarity," continued M. Lafleur, "is that the 
 blue fox, unlike other foxes, will cross the water with facility, and 
 is accustomed to swim across inlets and arms of the sea to ravage 
 the nests of wild-fowL When game becomes scarce in any district 
 these foxes migrate, which is an unusual characteristic amongst 
 flesh-eating animals." 
 
 " I have," pursued M. Lafleur, " for the collection which I hoped 
 would gratify Chateau-Thierry, some splendid specimens of skins 
 of aU the Siberian foxes at various ages. Some at six months old 
 are a pure white, except, perhaps, a dash on the back and a bar 
 upon the shoulders. They are called krestowiki, or * crossed.' The 
 grey species take their colour more quickly, particularly when the 
 tint is a slaty one. There is also the silver fox and the black fox 
 — but alas, I shall have to form my collection all over again, for I 
 never shall be able to return to Yakoutsk," he added sadly. 
 
 After supper the Yakout woman requested permission to sleep 
 near the camp fire, and Nad^ge made no objection. The woman 
 then lay down upon the snow, her feet towards the fire, without 
 troubling herself to ascertain whether it would be kept up or not. 
 Then, wrapping her head and shoulders in her sanayak of rein- 
 
ATTACKED BY WOLVES. 143 
 
 deer's skin, she was soon snoring. The three little blue foxes still 
 reposed beneath her mantle. 
 
 The night was far from being a quiet one. Three quarters of the 
 sheep shot by M. Lafleur remained, and the smell of the flesh 
 attracted the wolves. They came prowling round the camp, not- 
 withstanding the growling and baying, and sometimes the furious 
 barking, of Wab. M. Lafleur — always useful — found it at last 
 absolutely necessary to take the dog with him to the nearest 
 thicket, where he went to bring some branches to build up the 
 fire. 
 
 The renewed blaze seemed to intimidate the wolves whose eyes 
 could be perceived glittering in the darkness beyond. While Wab 
 held some of them in check, others boldly attacked the remains of 
 the mutton and disposed of it in a twinkling. 
 
 But the number of the animals soon increased to an alarming 
 extent, and at a signal given by Yegor a volley was discharged at 
 the assailants. Y^gor and M. Lafleur fired several times, and 
 Ladislas emptied Yermac's revolvers. The inspector of police — 
 unarmed, and prevented by his wound from any active part in the 
 defence — remained quiet. 
 
 The wounded wolves uttered dismal howls, and the travellers 
 fancied them writhing upon the ground in agony. The others drew 
 off a little, but returned to the charge, until it was again necessary 
 to fire another volley. 
 
 After a while the travellers succeeded in repelling the wolves 
 but at daybreak — which at that season is very late as we know — 
 
144 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 they came again to the attack in greater force than ever. They 
 fought over the dead bodies of their companions, and greedily 
 devoured them; but that was but a poor repast foi so many 
 famished animals 
 
 Y^gor and his companions loaded their guns, thinking that the 
 wolves, having only whetted their appetites, would make a des- 
 perate attack upon them. Ladislas handed the revolvers to Nadege 
 and kept for himself Yermac's gun. Yermac himself wielded a 
 good-sized club in his unwounded hand, ready with the rest for 
 any emergency. 
 
 At this juncture an enormous grey bear appeared above the rock 
 on which Nad^ge's tent had been pitched. The animal descended 
 very leisurely and made his way towards the wolves. The latter, 
 disturbed in their contemplation of the banquet they had counted 
 upon, turned boldly upon the intruder. Then the bear, retreating 
 a few paces, placed his back against the rock and raised himself 
 upon his haunches. Then, advancing with widely extended jaws 
 and fore-paws crossed upon his chest, he awaited the attack. 
 Seeing him assume this defiant attitude, the wolves extended 
 themselves in a semicircle in front of him, keeping at a safe 
 distance, however. 
 
 Y^gor and his companions stood amazed. After a rapid con- 
 sultation they determined to leave the wolves to the tender mercies 
 of the bear before they interfered, as it was necessary to husband 
 their powder. 
 
 The grey bear and the wolves continued to gaze upon each other; 
 
THE BEAR DANCE. 145 
 
 but as this grev/ monotonous, the wolves thought it time to open 
 the attack, which they did by annoying and aggravating the bear 
 by snarlings, as if to reproach him with cowardice. The bear, 
 however, took no notice, and permitted the sneers of his enemies to 
 pass unheeded. 
 
 At length some of the braver members of the pack, or the most 
 indignant, rushed upon the hairy monster, who remained as firm as 
 the rock against which he supported himself. Those venturesome 
 animals attacked him on all sides at once. 
 
 The enormous beast then raised his paws, and, striking right and 
 left as if he were wielding a club, he struck down an assailant at 
 each blow. Every time his terrible paw descended, a wolf fell with 
 a fractured skull. 
 
 " Shall we assist this new ally of ours ? " said Yegor to M. 
 Lafleur. The Parisian nodded affirmatively. 
 
 Then the two friends, with considerable courage, ranged them- 
 selves alongside the bear, and made a very effective diversion in 
 his favour by firing at the nearest wolves. For a moment the bear 
 seemed alarmed by the detonations, lait he quickly recovered him- 
 self and appeared to understand that the men were giving him 
 material assistance. 
 
 The enraged wolves, far from retreating as one might have 
 expected they would, rushed in a body upon the bear. Those Avho 
 boldly advanced with heads erect were put liors de comhat by the 
 teeth or claws of the formidable beast. Yegor and his companion 
 waged war with the wolves who came insidiously an treacherously 
 
146 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 to the attack, those who crawled in under the animal's belly to 
 pounce upon him unawares. Thus the melee soon became really 
 terrible. 
 
 The bear dashed his enemies howling to a distance as soon as 
 ever they came within reach of his formidable paws. The wolves, 
 thus mortally wounded, rolled upon the ground in agony, snarling 
 and gnashing their teeth. The remainder soon discontinued the 
 encounter and drew off. A few discharges from the rifles accom- 
 panied their retreat. But many assaults of this kind were made, 
 and intrepidly sustained by the bear and his ollies. At length the 
 wolves, seeing so many of their number slain or wounded, lost 
 heart, and definitely abandoned the encounter. 
 
 The gi'ey bear remained impassible as ever, perfectly astonished 
 at, but in no way proud of, his victory. 
 
 * Shall we attack him nowl" asked Yegor of M. Lafleur. 
 
 "Wait a while," said M. Lafleur. *'He has been of great 
 assistance to us. These bears are not ferocious. I will repay him 
 for his alliance by a dancing lesson, a course which in my country 
 they call payment in monnaie de singe, that is by laughter instead 
 of coin; always provided that he does not anticipate my intention 
 by devouring me, and so settling me and the bill at once ! ** 
 
 While he was speaking M. Lafleur had taken his violin from his 
 pocket, and the bear watched him closely, not losing a gesture. 
 Without waiting to indicate the time, the dancing-master stepped 
 gravely forth at a measured pace and proceeded to execute the 
 solemn steps of the old and graceful minuet of a bygone age. 
 
%^'^&"?''^^ 
 M: 
 
 AT A SIGNAL GIVEN BY YEGOR. A VOLLEY WAS DISCHARGED AT 
 
THE BEAR DANCE. 147 
 
 The bear at first yawned as if he considered the whole thing a 
 wearisome performance, but the notes of the vioHn astonished and 
 perhaps charmed him. He began to nod his head in approval, for 
 we know that the ears of the bear, which are incapable of hearing 
 thunder or the roar of avalanches, can distinctly receive the most 
 delicate impressicms and the sweetest sounds. The animal in 
 question seemed at length to appreciate the dancer and his music. 
 The bear belonged to a species which is seldom dangerous, as they 
 feed upon roots and fish. At the beginning of every winter the 
 Ostiaks bring troops of these bears to Berezofi", where the flesh of 
 the animals is sold in the butchers' shops. 
 
 Carried away by the music, the bear began to sway about in his 
 heavy fashion, moving his head in time to the air played by M. 
 Lafleur, who all the while managed to draw the animal farther and 
 farther from the encampment, and the bear followed him as if 
 attracted by a magnet. Yegor had much trouble to prevent Wab 
 rushing upon the new guest which had suddenly rendered himself 
 so agreeable to the charms of music. 
 
 At length M. Lafleur, thinking all danger was over and perhaps 
 fearing to lower the great art he professed, suddenly turned round 
 and began to scrape upon the first string in a most inharmonious 
 manner. The bear, evidently annoyed at the sudden cessation of 
 the music, retired to his lair in a very mystified and generally 
 puzzled state of mind. 
 
 Some hours later a troop of carrion crows swooped down upon 
 the bleeding carcasses of the wolves, and obliged the travellers to 
 
148 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 leave their encampment and move to a distance in the direction 
 from which they anticipated the arrival of T(^kel with the sleighs. 
 
 The female Yakout, however, did not accompany them in their 
 advance. She retreated to her own people, carrying the three little 
 blue foxes in her bosom. 
 
 At len^h, on the evening of the next day, just as night fell — 
 though, to be accurate, it was dark nearly all day then — a strident 
 noise and some trampling on the hard snow announced the approach 
 of Tekel and the long-exppcted conveyances. 
 
 Before long they came in sight. The reindeer were proceeding 
 at a rapid pace. Y^gor was delighted beyond measure. Nad^ge's 
 eyes filled with tears, and Ladislas clapped his hands for joy. 
 
 " First-rate sleighs," said M. Lafleur, who knew what they ought 
 to be. 
 
 But the inspector of police looked very glum indeed, he could 
 not conceal his chagrin. 
 
 Yermac's position was certainly a strange one. The old judge 
 was quite incapable of any compromise with conscience ; he always 
 walked upon the strict path of duty : the written law of right was 
 his guide, he never permitted himself any deflection from the path, 
 nor any exam^ination or misinterpretation of the rules of duty. 
 
 Distrustful of his abilities, of his authority, he remained deaf to 
 the inner voice which warns everyone of right and wrong, and he 
 weighed down his intellectual capacity by the addition of the strict 
 application of the law to it. From his point of view men were 
 made to obey the laws ; not that the laws were made in the 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE SLEIGHS, 149 
 
 ■ m 
 
 interests of humanity. He, as we liave already seen, would never 
 hesitate to sacrifice himself to his sense of duty. Yet, here he 
 was, obliged to assist, or at any rate connive at, the escape of 
 people who were braving the law and defying him personally. He 
 was now compelled to follow them. Whither 1 For how long 1 
 The fugitives themselves only could say ! 
 
 Yermac felt quite incapable of submitting to such humiliation. 
 It would have been better for him had he succumbed to their 
 ormer attacks, than to remain now in their hands, an object of 
 pity and derision. 
 
 But supposing they encountered a patrol of Cossacks, what was 
 he to do 1 Should he denounce the fugitives, Yegor and Nadege, 
 as his strict sense of duty dictated ; should he brand M. Lafleur as 
 a criminal acces.'^ory 1 
 
 On the other hand, he owed his life to these people. What a 
 cruel fate was his ; what a perplexing problem he had to solve ; 
 what a terrible conflict was exercising his conscience at that 
 time ! 
 
 Tekel, although he continued to advance, did so with some 
 hesitation. He could not recognize the locality. The remains of 
 the burning forest gave quite a different appearance to the country. 
 The Yak out was very much surprised when he approached the 
 encampment, to find it occupied by Y(^gor and his friends, the 
 employers of his services. 
 
 Tekel leaped lightly from the narta he was driving, and ex- 
 hibited the sleighs, which met with general admiration. His 
 
150 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 Yakout comrade was introduced after the reindeer. This young 
 man was of very pronounced Tartar type, and rejoiced in the name 
 of Chort. 
 
 The costume of the two Yakouts presented a medley of the 
 clothing of the Russian peasant and the aborigines of the Fur 
 Country. They wore long pelisses of grey cloth, like tlie Musco- 
 vite : trousers of tanned reindeer-skin, and torhassas or boots of 
 the same material. These boots are made very easy, and are turned 
 up at the toes like skate-irons. They reach as far as the knees, 
 and are bordered by a band of black cloth. All the seams of the 
 clothing worn by T^kel and Chort were also covered with a band 
 of this cloth. We may add that their boots were confined round 
 the ankles by leather thongs. 
 
 Let us now glance at the sleighs, or nartas. 
 
 The 7iarta is the Siberian sleigh, and is long and narrow. It 
 holds two persons besides the driver, whose position is not very 
 secure, or pleasant ; and he must be prepared to leap off at the 
 slightest appearance of accident. 
 
 In the lockers of every narta are placed provisions for a journey 
 across uninhabited districts, and certain necessary implements and 
 utensils. 
 
 Tekel had had the forethought to furnish the lockers of both sleighs 
 on this occasion with whoat-flour — notwithstanding its cost — and 
 barley meal, dried or smoked fish, &c. ; and an abundant supply of 
 lichens showed that the reindeer had not been forgotten. He had 
 also provided hatchets and knives, implements for hunting, and 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE SLEIGHS, 151 
 
 fishing nets. A covering of felt extended over each sleigh, and 
 could be used as a tent, if necessary. 
 
 Each narta was drawn, as is usual, by three strong reindeer. 
 
 The Eussians generally harness dogs to their vehicles. They are 
 less difficult to feed on a journey, for they eat the flesh of the 
 animals which may be killed en route, and, if necessary, fish ; but 
 the reindeer must be fed with mosses, which have to be sought, 
 and are not always procurable without trouble, and going out of 
 the way. 
 
 As for the reindeer themselves, they were certainly not irre- 
 proachable. Three of the six were white. Two had splendid 
 antlers measuring four or five feet. The rest were minus one horn 
 — the left or right. One animal which had been ridden had his 
 horns sa\vn off within six inches of his head. Besides, it was then 
 the season for the shedding of the cuticle of the horns, and long 
 ragged pieces were hanging to the antlers. 
 
 The head of the reindeer somewhat resembles that of the young 
 cow, but the body is thinner, the limbs finer. The large feet of 
 the animal enable it to pass easily over the snow. Without 
 reindeer the inhabitants of the extreme northern regions could not 
 live. These animals fulfil for them all the uses of the horse and 
 the ox for us, and are as necessary as the goat and the camel to 
 the Arabs. The reindeer serves as a beast of buithen and as a 
 food-producer — it yields milk and clothes to its owners besides. 
 
 Yegor put Tekel in possession of all the circumstances which 
 had occurred sinc^.e his departure, and the fonner was very glad to 
 
152 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 hear that his servant had made such an excellent provicion for the 
 journey. The supplies would replace those lost by the conflagra- 
 tion. 
 
 That evening their meal was almost luxurious, thanks to the 
 provisions brought by the latest arrivals. There was Yakout 
 butter — without salt — hardened by the cold and cut up by the 
 hatchet ; strouganina, or raw dried-fish cut into thin slices ; rein- 
 deer brains, and black bread in nice cakes — all delicious and choice 
 viands. 
 
 The Yakouts also added some wild onions which they had 
 gathered close by. 
 
 After supper the two natives made the 
 arrangements for the night. 
 
 The reindeer were unharnessed and set at 
 liberty. Then JSTad^ge and Ladislas took pos- 
 session of one of the nartas, and were tucked 
 . v.*-"'*"^; well in under the felt covering. The in- 
 
 spector of police was, in consideration of his 
 wound, accommodated with the other sleigh. Yegor and M. 
 Lafleur wrapped themselves up in their furs ; while the Yakouts 
 made the most simple preparations and took so little precaution 
 against the cold that they fully bore out the reputation of the 
 " men of iron," as they are generally called in Siberia. 
 
 At the first gleams of daylight the travellers intended to resume 
 th^ir journey. 
 
"Tlie narlas were drawn with very considerable swiftness over the snow. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 ARRESTED THE " OSTROG." A HEAVY BRIBE. 
 
 T)Y the refracted atmospheric light the travellers made their 
 -■^ way along the Eastern road, guiding themselves with the 
 little compass which Yegor carried amongst other " charms " upon 
 his watch-chain. The larger compass provided by Yegor had been 
 lost in the fire, as well as the map of the almost unknown 
 countries through which the fugitives had to pass. But fortu- 
 nately the map was photographed upon the mind of the " convict " 
 after the long and anxious study which he had bestowed upon it 
 while planning his escape. 
 
 A severe frost — 20 degrees — made all the resources for keeping 
 
 153 
 
154 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 warm very acceptable to the travellers even upon the very first 
 stages of their journey. 
 
 The naHas were draAvn with very considerable swiftness over 
 the snow, the pace of the reindeer averaging nearly nine miles an 
 hour. In the first sleigh, driven by Tekel, were Y^gor, Nadege, 
 and Ladisifts. Yermac and M. Lafleur took their places in the 
 second. 
 
 An apparently interminable plain presented itself to the gaze of 
 the fugitives, not with distant perspectives — there was not 
 sufficient light for that — but with a dreadful uniformity of white 
 surface of which the nartas always occupied the centre ; and had 
 not the trampling of the reindeer upon the snow, and the grinding 
 of the sleigh-runners been audible, the travellers might have 
 fancied they were standing still. 
 
 They traversed many frozen lakes, notably the great lake of 
 Orinkine. The camp, on the first evening of the transit upon 
 sleighs, was actually formed upon the surface of one of those 
 marshes which remain always frozen underneath, and are called 
 toundras. Here and there were a few stunted trees whose roots, 
 unable to penetrate the frozen ground, twisted and coiled above it. 
 
 The second day's journey was ushered in by a black frost, which 
 promised some good stages to the fugitives, who directed their 
 course so as to avoid all inhabited places, and particularly the 
 Cossack posts where it would be difficult to furnish satisfactory 
 explanations as to the object of a journey between the Indiguirka 
 and Kolima at such a severe season. 
 
ARRESTED. 155 
 
 Suddenly a Cossack, driving a sleigh drawn by a number of 
 dogs, crossed the track of the nartas. He presented a very odd 
 appearance did this Cossack with his lance slung behind him and 
 his head-covering drawn over his eyes. He looked like a " hobby 
 horse " seated in an iron chair placed on its back, and drawn from 
 a long distance by a pack of dogs. This man was a courier sent by 
 the commandant of the post established to the north of the plain 
 which the fugitives were traversing, parallel to the Stanovoy- 
 Grebote mountains — where the Indiguirka, the Kolima, and the 
 Omolone rivers take their rise. 
 
 The Cossack, having passed the nartas, turned round and showed 
 some intention of overtaking them ; so Yegor and M. Lafleur 
 desired their drivers to go faster and put the reindeer to their 
 utmost speed. 
 
 They had so much the appearance of wishing to escape that the 
 Cossack was piqued. He thought he would like to have a closer 
 examination of these travellers who were so hurried, and who, 
 contrary to the usual habits of travellers in the steppes, seemed 
 unwilling to hold any communication with people they happened 
 to meet. 
 
 In less than five minutes he had overtaken the nartas. So it 
 became a matter of necessity for Yegor and his companions to pull 
 up and enter into conversation with the man. 
 
 "I wish you a pleasant journey, gentlemen," cried the Cossack 
 " I et me give you a piece of advice : bear more to the left if you 
 do not wish to miss the Ostrog of Yerkne-Kolimrfk," 
 
156 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 The ostrog was the post from which the Cossack had been 
 despatched. 
 
 " They do not wish to go to the ostrog" said Yermac. 
 
 " Oh ! then where do they wish to go to ? " asked the Cossack, 
 who was more puzzled than ever, for he could not understand why 
 the men ^should object to halt at one of the posts which are 
 generally looked upon as blessed refuges by those who have to cross 
 the steppes. 
 
 "Have you your passports in order?" he inquired of Yegor; 
 who, having quitted his sleigh, was advancing to speak with him. 
 
 "We have our passports in order," said Y^gor. "If you had 
 any authority to verify them, I would exhibit them with pleasure. 
 But what good would it be? You are quite ignorant of them." 
 
 "Not so ignorant as you suppose," replied the Cossack. *'I am 
 sent as a courier to the neighbouring posts, a bearer of the descrip- 
 tions of the convicts who have escaped from Yakoutsk. There are 
 four of them," continued the soldier, as he counted the party and 
 perceived five persons ; " and you answer very well to the descrip- 
 tions. So I am compelled to beg you to visit our Esaoule." 
 
 The Cossack, perhaps fancied he had made an easy capture, and 
 mthout remorse or false sensibility one may believe so ; for the 
 convicts were held in such contempt by the people of the country 
 that they said — " When you kill a squirrel you get only one skin ; 
 when you kill a varnak you find three — ^his coat, his shirt, and the 
 skin of the man." 
 
 Yermac was going to speak, but the Frenchman anticipated him. 
 
THE '^OSTEOG/' 157 
 
 "We will not refuse," he said to the Cossack, "and if you wish 
 to show us the way we will follow you willingly. I could very well 
 put up with something hot in the way of food. Have they a good 
 kitchen at your ostrog? I believe my companions will not object 
 to some good pemmican soup, or even a venison pasty." 
 
 M. Lafleur said this in an easy and unembarrassed tone, making 
 at the same time a sign of intelligence to Yegor, so as to make 
 him comprehend the impossibility of declining the pressing invi- 
 tation of the Cossack. 
 
 Yegor then resumed his place, after having studied the features 
 of the inspector of police. The latter appeared absorbed in medi- 
 tation, of which Y^gor divined the object. 
 
 Had not the inspector been present Y^gor would certainly have 
 " taken French leave " of the Cossack. But an attempt of this 
 kind, in which Yermac would have opposed him, could not have 
 been made without great risk. 
 
 Nadege appeared greatly alarmed at the presence of the soldier, 
 and Ladislas was on the verge of weeping. Yegor reassured them, 
 and gave Tekel orders to regulate his pace with the sleigh of the 
 interfering Cossack who had crossed their path in such an unwel- 
 come manner. 
 
 The three nartas proceeded. The Cossack soon amused himself 
 by trying the speed of his dogs against the reindeer. Tekel and 
 Chort entered into the spirit of the racing and urged their cattle 
 to their utmost speed, so that in less than a quarter of an hour they 
 all came within sight of the ostrog ; and Yegor had scarcely made 
 
158 ESCAPED FROM SI BERT A, 
 
 up his Tnind what course to adopt in this terrible eventuality. His 
 heart beat violently as they approached. 
 
 The ostrog was a small ruined fort, the walls formed of a rough 
 arrangement of girders or beams. At each corner — nothwithstand 
 ing the primitive construction of the block-house — was a tower, 
 the whdl^ surrounded by a palisade. The fort was the ruined re- 
 mains of one of the old fortifications erected in the seventeenth 
 century to protect the first Eussian pioneers against the attacks of 
 the natives. 
 
 Near the fort was a little village, and the houses which composed 
 it remained empty all the summer. This was one of the most 
 distant of the northern stations. In the fort ten Cossacks com- 
 posed the guard under the orders of the Esaoule. 
 
 By means of this armed force the Czar's officer found it possible 
 to impose a tax upon the furs provided by the nomads of the 
 district. 
 
 Yegor and his companions were carried before the Esaoule, who 
 occupied the largest house in the village. He was an aged Eussian 
 — an old fox grown white in his " earth ; " perhaps, an old non- 
 commissioned officer; perhaps, a functionary detected in some 
 ^ccadillo and punished by this species of banishment. In the 
 presence of such a man firmness was absolutely necessary, and 
 Yegor summoned all his determination to his aid. 
 
 He began by complaining of the treatment he and his friends 
 had received at the hands of the soldier, stating that he (Yegor) 
 was accustomed to be treated with more respect. 
 
THE ''OSTEOG." 159 
 
 ^I. Lafleur thonglit that his friend was carrying matters with 
 rather too high a hand and intervened. 
 
 " Look here," he said, " my friend. My ghittony had quite as 
 much to do with our appearance here as anything that abominable 
 Cossack said or did. I am hungry, I want something warm to 
 drink," he added, turning to the Esaoule. 
 
 "Then you had no intention of stopping here?" said the 
 officer "You did not intend to re- victual your sleighs, nor to 
 change your animals?" (This officer, who was all-powerful in 
 the district, had the exclusive right to supply reindeer and pro- 
 visions.) 
 
 "We come from Yakoutsk," replied Yegor, but our reindeer, 
 which came from Zachiversk, are not fatigued, and we have an 
 abundance of provisions." 
 
 " And whither are you going ? " 
 
 "To Mjni-Kolimsk — this lady and her brother are the children 
 of your colleague, the Esaoule of the town ; their father is ill, and 
 I am bringing them to him." 
 
 " Ah, ToumanofF is ill ; dying, eh 1 I have heard nothing of his 
 illness," said the old officer. " I knew that his son and daughter 
 were being educated at Yakoutsk." 
 
 "You see them before you," said Yegor, blushing at the bare- 
 faced assertion which he felt compelled to make. 
 
 His confusion and his blushes did not escape the notice of the 
 Esaoule. 
 
 " You have your passport, I suppose ? " he asked. 
 
160 ► ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 "Certainly," replied Yegor, drawing from his breast-pocket tlio 
 forged warrant. 
 
 "Let me look at it," said the officer. 
 
 He seized the stamped document as he spoke : read and re-read 
 it, turning it about in his hands, and every now and then staring at 
 the fugitivtk-in a way which embarrassed Yegor very much. 
 
 Yermac smiled : he did not lose a movement of the Esaoule ; and 
 Yegor's embarrassment pleased the inspector mightily, for he sus- 
 pected his own presence tended to increase it. 
 
 "The passport is quite regular," said the officer at length. **Eut 
 it is not a question concerning you and my colleague's children. 
 These two men with you have also permits, I suppose ? " 
 
 " Here," said Yegor whose position incited him to extraordinary 
 flights of imagination, "here is one of them, M. Lafleur," — ho 
 introduced the herbalist to the Esaoule as he spoke — " a Parisian, 
 a most distinguished naturalist ; the author of the * Flora 
 AltaicaM" 
 
 "All this is not a passport," remarked the officer drily. 
 
 " M. Lafleur is in possession of a billet de ciixulation for Aldanska 
 where I met him, and he took the chance of accompanying me 
 simply for love of science and research." 
 
 "Hum !" growled the Esaoule, but half convinced. 
 
 " I have never been asked for my passport," cried M. Lafleur ; 
 "no never. All through the year I travel in Siberia, from the 
 Oural to Kamtchatka, from the Altai mountains to the Polar Sea. 
 The remainder of my time I pass in the family of the Governor of 
 
THE ''OSTROGP 161 
 
 Yakoutsk. I enjoy the intimate acquaintance of the governor, the 
 esteem of his lady wife, and the friendship of Mdlles. Agrafena and 
 Ellena, their daughters. Are you satisfied ? For a master of relays 
 you are absurdly exacting ! Look at me well. I am a Frenchman, 
 born in Paris, in the Place de la Bastille. My spine is straight, 
 and I have not the appearance of having been treated to the knout, 
 as you know very well. Kespect me as the friend of your 
 superior officer, and let me alone without your ridiculous for 
 malities." 
 
 Then M. Lafleur, notwithstanding his protestations, handed his 
 permit to the officer. 
 
 "I beg your pardon, monsieur," said the latter, when he had 
 respectfully perused the document ; " but the inspector of police 
 of Yakoutsk " (here the fugitives could not repress a movement of 
 surprise) "has already warned me by my Cossacks, of an escape 
 attempted by some felons, and advised me of their appearance; of 
 you, mademoiselle, of your brother, and of the young man who 
 accompanies you." 
 
 Yermac drew himself up proudly at having succeeded so well. 
 Yegor believed the man was about to denounce them. He made 
 a desperate attempt to secure his silence. 
 
 " You do not ask who our other companion is," said Y^gor to the 
 Esaoule. " Allow me the honour of presenting to you one of the 
 four or five Polish priests " 
 
 As Yegor proceeded the astonishment of Yermac visibly in- 
 creased. 
 
16i ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 "One of the Polish priests whom the Russian Government 
 permits to travel in Siberia to visit once a year the convict 
 establishments, and to find the political prisoners exiled from their 
 own country. These priests travel boldly through the Siberian 
 snows, from Tobolsk to the colonies of the Amor, and from the 
 mines oi Nertschinsk to the dockyards of Okhotsk." 
 
 "He ought to have a regular passport," said the Esaoule. 
 
 The inspector of police possessed no other papers but those 
 which established his true identity. To exhibit them would be 
 tantamount to denouncing the fugitives. 
 
 " Permit me to finish," continued Yegor, to whom the sense of 
 danger supplied imagination. "The devotion of our new friend 
 does not always secure the reward it deserves. In the mountains 
 yonder we drew him out of the jaws of a bear, so to speak." 
 
 "Which had already cruelly lacerated his arm," added M. 
 Lafleur. 
 
 " But the passport ! " said the officer. 
 
 "That was devoured by the bear," began M. Lafleur. 
 
 " Lost ; lost with a valuable portfolio in the terrible conflict with 
 the animal," said Y^gor drowning the remark of the Frenchman. 
 
 The Esaoule, surprised at the continued silence of the Polish 
 priest, looked at him as if inviting him to confirm or deny the 
 statements made by his companions. 
 
 The inspector of police, thus silently interrogated, replied in a 
 hesitating way — 
 
 "I have nothing to add to what the gentlemen have stated 
 
THE ''OSTROG'* 1G3 
 
 concerning the mountains of Yerko-Yansk, the bear, and my 
 wound. It is all quite correct." 
 
 This statement caused Yegor and Nad^ge immense relief, but 
 the sense of security could not last. 
 
 " All this, you know, is very irregular," said the Esaoule scratch- 
 ing the back of his head. 
 
 " What can I do then ! " said Y^gor. 
 
 " You, nothing. But I must do as my duty dictates under the 
 circumstances. I arrest you : and will seek instructions from the 
 Governor of Yakoutsk, and his inspector of police. Meantime I 
 will send a Cossack to Nijni-Kolimsk to announce to the Esaoule 
 there the pending arrival of his children — if you have told the truth.' 
 
 Y^gor was thunderstruck at this announcement, and itTad^ge 
 grew as pale as death. She appeared ready to faint. 
 
 " As you please," said Y^gor to the Esaoule ; "no matter how 
 odious a proceeding it will appear to detain children from the 
 bedside of a dying parent. But you would do better, monsieur," 
 he added, firmly, " when travellers are forced to present themselves 
 to you, fatigued by a long journey, accomplished under very 
 arduous conditions, to gain a few precious hours — those hours 
 which you so lightly cause us to lose., — you would do better by 
 exercising in their favour a little of the boasted Siberian hospitality, 
 at least; particularly when you have to deal with delicate young 
 people like this lady and her brother." 
 
 The Esaoule, somewhat confused, immediately ofiered Nad^ge 
 
 a chair, and made some friendly overtures to Ladislas. 
 
 M — 2 
 
164 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 "Monsieur," he said to Yegor, "consider my house as your own; 
 all it contains is at your service. You may dispose of yourself as 
 you please until my couriers have returned from the governor, and 
 from Nijni-Kolimsk. In the meantime, I assure you, I will spare 
 no pains to diminish the inconvenience of this forced detention, for 
 you and yt)ur companions." 
 
 " But think of the time lost," said Nad^ge. 
 
 "Mademoiselle, I will undertake to furnish you with the best 
 pack of dogs I possess." 
 
 "For my part," said Yermac, "I can only congratulate you, M. 
 Lavrenti Kantier, upon the manner in which you interpret the 
 duties of an official of the empire." 
 
 "Do you know me then?" exclaimed the Esaoule, who was 
 considerably astonished at hearing himself addressed by name by 
 the supposed Polish priest. 
 
 " Never mind," replied Yermac. " Be assured that my compli- 
 ments are sincere. Let that suffice." 
 
 The Esaoule, perceiving that these words were spoken seriously^ 
 accepted them in good faith. 
 
 " I do all I can," he said, " to perform my functions satisfactorily. 
 My duties are anything but agreeable sometimes." 
 
 Yermac was radiant at the state of aflPairs ; for, without having 
 had to repay his companions with ingratitude, without in any way 
 having broken his implied engagement with them, he was accom- 
 plishing his own ends, thanks to the message he had sent by the 
 Cossacks to the four most important posts, forming a huge quad- 
 
THE " OSTROa:' 165 
 
 rilateral in the solitary district between the Indiguirka and the 
 Kolima. Force still was on the side of the law. He would recover 
 his liberty of action without having in any way failed in his duties 
 as inspector of police. " Sit down, gentlemen, and tell me some- 
 thing of the burning of the forest of Boroukan," said the Esaoule. 
 " You surely must have seen something of it." 
 
 "Ah ! I should think we did," said M. Lafleur, who had in no 
 degree lost confidence. 
 
 Then he entered into a vivid description of the terrible scene, 
 interspersed with numerous Latin quotations culled at hazard from 
 his recollections of rudimentary class-books, by a mode of proceeding 
 borrowed from the Medecin malgre lui, so as to keep up the ap- 
 pearance of being the learned man Y^gor had represented him to 
 be. Every sentence, delivered by him with such coolness, brought 
 equal calm and ease of mind to the fugitives. 
 
 While M. Lafleur was describing the conflagration, a Cossack, by 
 the Esaoule's orders, was laying the table for a meal. The prudent 
 ofiicer wished that his unwilling guests should not have to complain 
 of the circumstances in which they were placed. He had already 
 gained the goodwill of the pretended Polish priest, and he now 
 desired to gain over the friend of the governor ; the talented author 
 of the "Flora Altaica." 
 
 The warmth of the apartment comforted the travellers, and 
 they were glad to take otf their outer clothing Y%or insisted 
 warmly that Nadege should do honour to the viands served by 
 the Esaoule. Her melancholy might be attributed to the sad cir- 
 
166 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 cumstances under which she had undertaken the journey in winter 
 time. 
 
 Yermac ate with an appetite to which he had been long a 
 stranger. 
 
 The guests were served with " tchi " of meats accompanied by- 
 loaves of barley bread, hot from the oven, and sweetmeats made of 
 a kind of gooseberry which had yielded an exceptional crop during 
 the previous summer. 
 
 *' I will send messengers immediately," scvid the Commandant of 
 the Ostrog. " My courier shall be despatched within an hour." 
 
 "Wait a little," said Yegor boldly. "Your messenger shall 
 carry a communication from me to the father of these young people, 
 your colleague at Nijni-Kolimsk." 
 
 "And a letter from me to the governor's wife," said M. Lafleur, 
 " to inform her of your treatment of us, and to report particularly 
 of the excellence of your sweetmeats, Esaoule." 
 
 The Esaoule seemed somewhat put out of countenance. He 
 was evidently afraid to run counter to such important people as 
 the travellers were. Yermac, who perceived this hesitation, laid 
 down his knife and fork, and frowned gloomily. 
 
 "And while your couriers are absent," continued Yegor, "I 
 would advise you to take measures for the continuation of our 
 journey, and the harnessing of our sleighs. Besides, you must 
 understand I will recompense you fully for your trouble." 
 
 The Esaoule immediately pricked up his ears. At the word 
 recompense, his face beamed. He promised himself a profit out of 
 
A HEAVY BRIBE. 167 
 
 this windfall, though he would neglect no precautions to clear 
 himself officially. 
 
 "Let us see," muttered Yermac (the old judge of the Moscow 
 court), "to what depth the honesty of this Russian official 
 extends." 
 
 The Esaoule then attempted to snuff a candle, and extinguished 
 it! 
 
 "That means an unexpected visit," said M. Lafleur, who knew 
 the popular Russian sayings. 
 
 But he had no idea that his remark was so near the truth. At 
 that instant, the door was opened, and there successively entered 
 the low room, a long nose, a bony head, and an emaciated face, 
 crowned with a skin skull-cap, much the worse for wear. The 
 general appearance was not prepossessing. Yegor recognized the 
 man as a Jew pedlar. 
 
 The intruder, perceiving so many people in the room, drew back 
 his body, his head, and finally his nose, fearing he had been 
 indiscreet. 
 
 Y^gor thought the man was an itinerant merchant — a dealer in 
 little things — some of which he might purchase for his host, in 
 recompense for his hospitality, forced though it was ; for he judged 
 he might produce a better effect by so doing. 
 
 The Jew — for he was a Jew — remained in the ante-room, a small, 
 dark apartment, feebly lighted by means of a sheet of ice, fixed in 
 its place with cold water, as is the custom in these regions where 
 the extremely low temperature would shatter glass. The man 
 
168 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 understood that some one would come to him. He seized the tunic 
 of Yegor in a mysterious way, and said in a low voice — • 
 
 " Esaoule, I have some more of it, purer, and in a larger quantity 
 than before." 
 
 "I am not the Esaoule," said Y^gor. " What do you sell ? " 
 
 "You are not the Esaoule," repeated the other, alarmed and 
 fearing that, in the dark, he had said too much. 
 
 " I will buy willingly anything you offer. I wish to make a 
 present to the kind-hearted Esaoule, to whom I am imder obliga- 
 tions. What have you to sell ? " 
 
 The Jew scratched his forehead with his long nails. 
 
 " Will you speak 1 " cried Y^gor. 
 
 "Well — what I have to sell I would not offer to everyone. 
 Whence come you ? " 
 
 " I — come from Barnaoul." 
 
 " And whither go you 1 " 
 
 Yegor began to think this man a little inquisitive. 
 
 "I am going to Nijni-Kolimsk," he replied. 
 
 "I have just come from there," said the Jew. 
 
 " You have just arrived from Mjni-Kolimsk," exclaimed Y&or 
 alarmed. "Don't tell a soul here, and I will give you twenty 
 roubles for your discretion. Is it a bargain ? " 
 
 While the fugitive drew the paper from his pocket-book, the 
 Jew said as he extended his hand for the money — 
 
 " If you have secrets also 1 " 
 
 c«WeU ?" 
 
"FEEL THE WEIGHT OF IT— TWENTY-ONE OUNCES/ 
 
A HEAVY BRIBE. 169 
 
 " We shall understand one another." 
 
 "Speak out." 
 
 " This is gold-dust that I have to offer, in good condition.'* 
 
 "Stolen gold-dust 1" 
 
 "Hush, not so loud. Gold-dust which came to hand without 
 people having had the trouble to collect it." This, he added, 
 pulling a small bag of squirrel-skin from his breast — "this came 
 from the sands of the Amou-Daria. Feel the weight of it. 
 Twenty-one ounces; and scarcely any silver, much less copper, 
 mixed with it." 
 
 " And you will give me all this gold-dust for a little of my 
 money 1 " 
 
 "Yes — gold money — or even paper!" 
 
 Yegor could not repress a smile at the idea of thus exchanging 
 contraband gold against the state currency. 
 
 "How much do you estimate that gold dust is worth?" he 
 asked. 
 
 "There is quite six hundred roubles'-worth. But I will take 
 one hundred and fifty. Is that too much 1 " 
 
 " !N"o, certainly not too much. But I am not rich. I wish to 
 give the bag as a present to the Esaoule." 
 
 " You must have some very great favour to heg or buy ! " 
 
 "Perhaps — and so I will give you one hundred roubles." 
 
 " No : I would rather try the Esaoule himself ; and besides I 
 have a message for him from the Esaoule of Mjni-Kolimsk." 
 
 "And the note I have just given you — and our agreement?" 
 
170 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 "I had forgotten them," said the Jew. "Yery well, I will not 
 see the Esaoule — but you must give me one hundred and twenty 
 roubles." 
 
 " Agreed, my friend : give me your bag. There are some people 
 within who are anxious for my return." 
 
 The exchange of the gold-dust and paper was made; and 
 curiously enough, both buyer and seller were satisfied with the 
 bargain. 
 
 " This is for you, monsieur," said Y^gor, as he entered the room. 
 "The Jew had business with you. He begged me to hand you 
 this." 
 
 The Esaoule weighed the little bag in his hand. He then 
 opened it and saw the yellow dust glittering within — and of great 
 value. 
 
 He did not hesitate for a second. 
 
 " I know," he said ; " thank you." 
 
 He took the bag and nodded to Y^gor. This signified that he 
 depended upon his discretion. 
 
 "Miserable wretch," muttered Yermac, who had not lost any- 
 thing of this by-play or dialogue. " He has permitted himself to 
 be bought." 
 
 This reflection was too much for the inspector, and he made up 
 his mind to speak out and denounce the fugitives. He would also 
 reproach the Esaoule for his venality and make a scene. He made 
 up his mind that there existed in him tAvo separate individualities, 
 morally independent — the functionary and the man. If the man 
 
A HEAVY BRIBE, 171 
 
 had contracted a debt of gratitude, he was free to pay it when and 
 how he could — as an official, he was obliged to acquit himself of 
 obligations however strict, and however rigorous. 
 
 " Esaoule," he began. 
 
 Yegor and Nadege perceived by the expression of his face that 
 he was about to denounce them. 
 
 But the Esaoule had just conceived an idea — a happy thought — 
 as he fancied. So he quickly cut short the inspector's sentence. 
 
 " Excuse me," he said. " Gentlemen, I think I have found out 
 a way out of this difficulty which will suit all parties." 
 
 " What way is that ? " asked Yermac, the great drops standing on 
 his forehead in his anxiety. 
 
 " This. You may all continue your journey — to-morrow, I mean, 
 after reposing here for one night and getting thorougtily warmed 
 and comfortable. I will send two Cossacks with you to Nijni- 
 Kolimsk who will assure me on their return of the truth — which 
 meantime I do not dispute — of the reasons you have given me for 
 your journey." 
 
 " I accept your offer willingly," said Y^gor quickly.; although he 
 had anticipated with much alarm the offer the Esaoule was about to 
 make, and was not at ease at the prospect it held out. l!^everthe- 
 less, he greatly preferred to be accompanied by two Cossacks on the 
 road than to be handed over by Yermac at once — the danger was 
 less immediate; and there was a chance of esca;pe in the sug- 
 gestion. 
 
 The inspector of police on his part, when he heard the suggestion 
 
172 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 made by the Esaoule, felt less tixed in the determination which he 
 had formerly taken — though it cost him much — when he saw 
 Yegor and his companions escape, thanks to the complicity of the 
 master of relays. He held his tongue, believing he would get the 
 better of his adversaries before long, and do so too without giving 
 them any cause to think he had conspired against them. 
 
 Y6gor who was watching him, understood what was passing in 
 his mind, and said lightly to the Esaoule — 
 
 "Well then, monsieur, all you have to do now is to provide the 
 teams for our sleighs." 
 
 "Make yourself quite easy," replied the official. "You shall 
 have for each of your sleighs fifteen or eighteen of the best dogs 
 the country can furnish." 
 
e ^ 
 
 
 '-^ 
 
 A number of dogs were lying by the narias. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 IN THE HUT. M. LAFtEURS STRATAGEM. THE COSSACKS ELUDED. 
 
 THE day following the incidents just recorded, a merry company 
 might have been perceived seated round a bright fire in one 
 of the yourtes of refuge which are erected at certain distances for 
 travellers upon the Czar's highways of Siberia. The smoke aris- 
 ing from the fire in the yourte passed out through the rounded 
 top. 
 
 Outside the hut a number of dogs were lying by the nartas. 
 The animals had burrowed deeply into the snow to keep themselves 
 warm, and rested with their tails covering their muzzles. The two 
 horses, attached to a post, were supplied with a meagre ration of 
 forage. 
 
 173 
 
174 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 In a saucepan (or cauldron) on the fire inside the hut the dogs' 
 dinner was being cooked. 
 
 The moving spirit of the party was M. Lafleur — the irrepressible 
 Lafleur. He, having dressed the dinner and laid the cloth, so to 
 speak, was now exhorting each member of the party to partake of 
 the excellent repast which was laid upon a flat stone that served for 
 a table, on which the roast quarter of argali was the principal 
 dish. 
 
 The far-seeing Parisian had supplied himself with an abundance 
 of this savoury food when he quitted the ostrog, which had so nearly 
 been the termination of the expedition for all the fugitives. 
 Great slices of salmon, smoked, had already made their appearance 
 with the roast mutton; and this salmon had only one fault — it 
 made those who consumed it very thirsty, and the travellers were 
 now seeking to qualify that defect. 
 
 The convives^ seated cross-legged upon the ground, are well 
 known to us all : Yegor, Nad^ge, Yermac — the last-named in the 
 place of honour; then the two Cossacks, who had magnificent 
 appetites; and finally M. Lafleur, with the faithful Yakouts, 
 Tekel and Chort. 
 
 Nothing appeared likely to be stinted by M. Lafleur that even- 
 ing, for he uncorked without regret a third bottle of brandy — a 
 prodigality of proceeding which had been arranged beforehand with 
 Yegor Semen off. It appeared very advisable to treat the two 
 Cossacks very liberally, and a large breach in the provisions brought 
 by Tekel from Zachiversk must be made. Did M. Lafleur hope to 
 
M. LAFLEUR UNCORKED, WITHOUT REGRET, A THIRD BOTTLE OF BRANDY. 
 
IN THE HUT. 175 
 
 make friends of tlie guards ? to detach tliem from Yermac 1 to treat 
 with them? Such a course would appear very hazardous; ex- 
 tremely difficult and dangerous. But Yegor, assisted by M. Lafleur, 
 was aiming at nothing less than the complete intoxication of the 
 Cossacks, so that the fugitives might leave them and make their 
 escape. 
 
 " Except at the ostrog we have not had a substantial meal for 
 many days," M. Lafleur was saying. "Unfortunately this dried 
 fish is very salt, and has made me thirsty, as well as the rest, I 
 suspect." 
 
 Then he held out another bumper to the two Cossacks, who 
 smiled "all over their faces" and exhibited their teeth fully. 
 They seemed as if they would protest against the restrictions of 
 their generous cupbearer as regarded the " misfortune " of the 
 salted salmon. 
 
 "Come," said M. Lafleur, "I perceive you like the smoked 
 salmon." Then he continued, "How can I address you, com- 
 rade?" 
 
 " Mcolai," replied the Cossack. 
 
 " And you ? " asked M. Lafleur, turning to the other. 
 
 "I? Ardalion." 
 
 "Well, then, Mcolai and Ardalion, an idea has just occurred 
 to me, and it is that vodki would go very well with the 
 salmon." 
 
 The Cossacks thought the very same thing, and began to laugh 
 loudly. When their guttural "hi, hi," had ceased, Yermac, who 
 
176 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 was becoming somewhat anxious, and who had been very abste- 
 mious, remarked — 
 
 " Monsieur Lafleur, you are giving those men too much to 
 drink.'' 
 
 " Ah, I know that," replied the Frenchman, in a cheery manner. 
 " These fellows have already made a fine hole in our provisions." 
 
 " Fortunately we are not very far from our destination," added 
 Y^gor. 
 
 Yermac bestowed a stern glance at Y^gor, with such as he might 
 have regarded a liar. 
 
 Y^gor understood it, and averted his eyes. 
 
 "I tell you, you are giving these men too much to drink," con- 
 tinued Yermac. "Eeally, monsieur — *Toumanoff,'" he added, 
 appealingly : " when one is charged to conduct a well brought-up 
 young lady, like mademoiselle, one ought to be careful to keep 
 her away from any questionable display " 
 
 " Oh," exclaimed Nad^ge, " I have neither the right nor the 
 leisure to think so greatly of the proprieties." 
 
 "He wishes us to knock off drinking," said one of the Cossacks, 
 nudging his companion. 
 
 " Just as we are beginning to enjoy ourselves. Has this Polish 
 priest any sense, think you 1 " 
 
 " He is a Dominican of Samogitia," murmured M. Lafleur in 
 the ear of the last speaker. 
 
 ^^Biacha — hiacha" said Nicolai, passing his hand over the 
 back of the inspector of police, as if he were patting a sheep. 
 
M. LAFLEUR'S STRATAGEM. 177 
 
 ** My friends," said Yermac, " you are making somewhat too free. 
 If you only knew who I am you would regret your familiarity — 
 I could crush you both." 
 
 " Well then, who are you ? " asked the Cossack naoied 
 Ardalion. 
 
 "Who am II" retorted Yermac, who no longer hesitated to 
 recall the Cossacks to their duty at any price. "Who am I? I 
 am the Inspector of Police of Yakoutsk." 
 
 He fancied that these words would fall like a thunderbolt upon 
 the audience. 
 
 But he was greatly mistaken. 
 
 "That's a good notion, I must say," exclaimed Ardalion, slapping 
 Yermac, familiarly upon the shoulders, heavily. 
 
 "He does not want us to drink," said the other Cossack. "But 
 I verily believe the idiot is already the worse for liquor him- 
 self." 
 
 " You will repent your insolence," cried Yermac. 
 
 "This is the worst of vodki^'^ remarked Nicola'i, in an abstracted 
 tone. 
 
 "It gets the better of you, and drives you to the devil," said 
 Ardalion. 
 
 " Let us not speak with him any more, there is no good to be 
 gained by it," said Nicolai. 
 
 "Will you suffer this, M. Semenoff — I mean. Monsieur Tou- 
 manoff'?" cried Yermac. "Am 1 to be thus msulted in your 
 presence % " 
 
1^6 JSSGAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 " What do you wish, monsieur ? 1 have a good deal to put up 
 ^^dth just now, myself," replied Yegor. 
 
 " Come, peace, peace," cried M. Lafleur. " Let us all drink a 
 bumper of reconciliation ! " 
 
 The Cossacks were very much inclined to obey this suggestion, 
 and tendered their wooden goblets to be filled. Mcolai said, 
 " Exactly so, your highness," while Ardalion remarked that " No 
 one had a headache who drank at the expense of another person." 
 
 M. Lafleur immediately filled first the goblet held by the 
 inspector of police. Yermac, furious at the part he had been 
 obliged to play, threw the liquor into the fire, which blazed up and 
 filled the yourte with smoke, the blue flame of the spirit passing 
 through the roof. 
 
 "Don^t you see," he said to the soldiers, " that this man wishes 
 to stupefy you and play you a trick ? " 
 
 The two Cossacks looked, at each other in half-tipsy astonish- 
 ment One scratched his head, and the other his back. 
 
 " Suppose it were true ! " muttered Ardalion. " Why don't they 
 themselves drink ? " he asked of his companion. 
 
 M. Lafleur, who was pouring out some voclld for the two Yakouts, 
 whom he had managed up to that time till the opportunity 
 arrived, put them forward to pledge the Cossacks, who threw off 
 all suspicion and clamoured for more brandy, striking the great flat 
 stone, that served for a table, with their goblets. Nad^ge and 
 Ladislas retreated before all this noise to the farther extremity of 
 the hut. 
 
M. LAFLEUR'S STRATAGEM. 179 
 
 Yermac now determined to make a last effort. 
 
 *'My friends," said he to the Cossacks, "will you endeavour to 
 collect what httle sense remains in your heads, and listen to me if 
 you can T' 
 
 " The friar of Samogitia wants us to say our catechism," remarked 
 Ardalion. 
 
 " He is like our thirst, we cannot get rid of him," replied the 
 other. 
 
 " As sure as I live it is a question of life or death with you," 
 said Yermac. 
 
 His tone was almost supplicating, but the Cossacks were in no 
 condition to understand him. They began to give vent to all 
 kinds of jokes at his expense. At length, completely overcome by 
 laughing and brandy, they lay back and went to sleep on the floor 
 of the yourte. 
 
 "That is what you wished for, I suppose T' exclaimed the 
 inspector of police, addressing Yegor. 
 
 "Perhaps," he replied in an undertone. 
 
 Yegor seemed afraid of waking the Cossacks, and, at a sign to 
 Nadege, Ladislas and M. Lafleur, they noiselessly made what little 
 preparation they could for sleeping. But M. Lafleur and Yegor 
 never closed their eyes. As for Yermac, he continued to walk 
 back and forwards across the floor, a prey to the keenest anxiety. 
 
 At length he could stand it no longer, and he advanced towards 
 the Cossacks to awaken them. Already one of them — Ardalion — ■ 
 who had partially recovered, had roused himself, and was en- 
 
180 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 deavouring to arouse liis companion, to whom he was speaking in a 
 low tone. 
 
 They got up together., and Yermac then thought it possible that 
 they would hear him. 
 
 Nicolai made him a mysterious sign, while he with stealthy step, 
 and followed by his comrade, made his way towards the door of 
 the yourte. The sign was an invitation to them to follow, and 
 Yermac followed the men, notwithstanding the terrible cold which 
 awaited him outside. 
 
 "In which narta shall we find the vodki^^ enquired Nicolai. 
 " We must just have a little drop more while they are asleep. 
 
 "Miserable wretches, have you not already had enough T' 
 exclaimed Yermac. "Mind what you are about: you will be 
 lost ! " 
 
 " What ! are you beginning again % Well, then, we will find the 
 vodM without your assistance!" said Nicolai, shrugging his 
 shoulders. 
 
 Meantime, the other Cossack was searching the nartas. He was a 
 fortunate man, and had a lucky hand, for he almost immediately 
 discovered the spirit he sought — a large bottle of brandy. He 
 seized it, uttering a cry of joy. 
 
 Then the comrades re-entered the yourte together, and Yermac 
 walked sullenly behind them, with little hope that they would 
 attend to him now. Nevertheless, he made one more effort. 
 
 "Lookye," he said, "in the first place you are committing a 
 robbery." 
 
THE COSSACKS ELUDED. 181 
 
 " Not so loud," said Ardalion ; "yon will wake the others." 
 
 "But, passing by the theft," continued Yermac, "if you will 
 take my advice you will drink no more, and will not put your- 
 selves in a condition in which you cannot do your duty — your 
 mission." 
 
 " I believe lie is going to preach to us again," remarked Xicolai 
 to his comrade. 
 
 Then, skilfully uncorking the brandy-bottle, he carried it to 
 his mouth and drank several mouthful s of the spirit. 
 
 " My turn now," said the other Cossack, snatching the bottle 
 unceremoniously from his friend. 
 
 "Don't drink it all," cried Nicolai, as Ardalion contrived to 
 swallow the brandy without taking breath. 
 
 " Here, take it, I'll make you a present of the remainder ! " 
 said the latter, as he heaved a deep sigh. 
 
 Then with tottering steps he made his way to the place on the 
 floor where he had lain previously. 
 
 Yermac made an attempt to take the bottle from the other 
 Cossack, who intended to empty it, do doubt. 
 
 " Would you like a drink ? " said Nicolai, as he held the flask 
 to the inspector of police. 
 
 " No, I do not wish to drink, you wretched animal," exclaimed 
 Yermac, indignantly; "I wish to save you, for all this will fall 
 heavily upon you later." 
 
 *'If you don't want a drink, let me alone;" said Nicola'i. So 
 saying, he seated himself upon the ground, clasped the bottle 
 
182 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 between his knees, and extended his hand to take a goblet from 
 the "table." When he had succeeded in seizing it in his unsteady 
 Land, he filled and emptied it after many attempts, gazing at the 
 time unsteadily, but with an air of tipsy defiance, at Yermac. 
 
 Yegor and M. Lafleur, without saying a word, had watched this 
 scene with the greatest interest. Turning round, Yermac per- 
 ceived them both wide awake. 
 
 "Well," said he to Y^gor, "you have completely succeeded, 
 without a doubt." 
 
 "Not yet," replied Yegor. 
 
 At this moment, the Cossack, letting his head fall on one side, 
 stretched himself upon the floor of the hut. He was quite intoxi 
 cated — like his comrade. 
 
 Then Yegor arose, awakened the two Yakouts, and gave them 
 orders to harness the dogs to the sleighs. 
 
 "Master," replied Tekel, "you shall be obeyed." 
 
 In a moment the baying of the dogs announced that the orders 
 of Y6gor were being carried out. Without any delay, Yegor and 
 M. Lafleur, took counsel in whispers, and the result of their con- 
 ference was that they decided to take the inspector of police with 
 them. To leave him behind would have been a very dangerous 
 experiment. 
 
 Yermac perceived that they were speaking of him, and he said 
 quietly — 
 
 "What do you intend to do with me, M. SemenofF? I can 
 address you now by your real name." 
 
THE COSSACKS ELUDED. 183 
 
 "You are correct in thinking that we will not abandon you 
 here while your wound is scarcely healed," said Yegor. 
 
 " But you are leaving these soldiers here ? " 
 
 " They have horses ; but you, what could you do on foot ? But, 
 to tell you the truth, your society is so very agreeable to us that 
 we should be quite unhappy if you did not go with us." 
 
 " I understand," said Yermac, who was angry with himself for 
 being thus played with. ^'I can only submit; but beware! A 
 time will come when I shall be quits with you ! " 
 
 " Quits ! " exclaimed M. Lafieur. " Have you forgotten the 
 bear? Where would you have been now — I ask you — where 
 would you have been now, but for us 1 You are ours from the 
 tip of your toe to the tip of your nose ; all that the bear would 
 have eaten, in fact, belongs to us. So let yourself be carried 
 away peaceably, my friend, peaceably ! " 
 
The Settlement of Zalivina. 
 
 CHAPTER XITL 
 
 THE CHIEFS CABIN A "SORCERERS CURE — THE STORM — 
 
 LADISLAS LOST. 
 
 THE right bank of the Kolima river rises perpendicularly from, 
 and even in some places overhangs, the current. But at 
 the spot where the Omolone unites with it, the right bank of the 
 Kolima becomes level, and is occupied by the settlement of 
 Zalivina, where all — whether Cossacks or Russians, descendants 
 of convicts or Cossacks from the Ostrog of Anadirsk — live har- 
 moniously with the Yakouts and Youkaguires. 
 
 On the Kolima, stopped at about the twentieth degree, are fogs 
 which descend from the Polar sea, and are then solidified by the 
 
THE CHIEF'S CABIN. 185 
 
 frost. These fogs have already moderated the temperature when 
 the " hot wind " blows bringing with it more than thirty degrees 
 of warmth. 
 
 Let us penetrate into one of the cabins of the settlement. The 
 huts are all built of the wood which is carried down the Kolima 
 and left high and dry on the banks by the subsidence of the spring 
 floods. The walls are simply constructed of beams laid one on top 
 of the other, the interstices being filled in with mosses and wet 
 earth. Each hut is surrounded by a talus of earth to keep the 
 cold out. The roof is covered with earth also. 
 
 The interior of the cabin is divided by low partitions into several 
 smaller rooms. 
 
 In the principal apartment, which is illuminated by a feeble lamp, 
 one corner is occupied by the tchouvale, a kind of (Yakout) fire- 
 place or stove, made of branches coated with clay, a tube leading 
 from it through the roof to permit the escape of the smoke. This 
 room is at once the kitchen and common room of the house. 
 Here all the family work and eat. Two openings of about a foot 
 square are in the summer closed by a transparent curtain, and in 
 winter by a sheet of ice, which respectively admit some struggling 
 rays of daylight into the room. 
 
 In the hut we enter we find two elderly women, and one young 
 one who is ill, and lying upon a large "dresser" or "locker" 
 which serves for a bed. 
 
 The women are Yakouts, with wrinkled cheeks and small eyes ; 
 clothed in reindeer skin (the hair inside), tinted red, and trimmed 
 
186 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 with beaver or otter skin. Pantaloons of deer-skin are also worn, 
 and over all a kind of tunic (kamley) of the untanned material, to 
 which the smoke of the fire has given a yellow tinge. 
 
 On the fire is a saucepan in which some fish for the dogs is being 
 cooked. On the table provisions have been arranged luxuriously as 
 for a fete .'-^-a splendid joint of reindeer, smoked reindeer-tongues, 
 frozen fish, of various kinds, strouganinaj youkoula and tchiVy the 
 latter a much-esteemed delicacy. There is also caviare, small tarts 
 or pates, with a few other comestibles, supplemented by a largo 
 supply of tea. 
 
 We are now in the hut of Metek, one of the most important 
 natives, who had formerly been chosen oulovse or supreme chief of 
 his tribe, but has lately lost a good deal of his authority. 
 
 M^tek has not yet returned with the sleighs laden with the spoils 
 of the chase captured during the long summer in which for fifty-two 
 days (15th May to 6th July) the sun never descends below the 
 horizon, but it is so low that it gives light without much heat, and 
 is so wanting in brightness as to be regarded without injury to the 
 
 No one could compare with the old chief in the pursuit of the 
 reindeer on the great lakes, and in strangling them in the waters 
 whither they had fled for refuge. He had slain one hundred head 
 during the last season, and was now about to return for the herring 
 fishery. Shoals of these fish come up the Kolima, and the squatters 
 on the banks have at times taken as many as a thousand in each 
 cast of the net. However, Metek had not yet returned to his tribe. 
 
A '' SORCERER'S" CURE. 187 
 
 The sick girl in the hut was arrayed, in addition to more 
 simple and warmer clothing, in a loose overdress or mantle of 
 cotton-tissue, woven in curious patterns and ornamented with a 
 collar of martens' tails. Her dark hair was arranged in long 
 tresses and confined on the forehead by a band. 
 
 She was suffering from a curious nervous malady to which all 
 the inhabitants of Northern Siberia are more or less subject. It is 
 called the miryak. Upon this occasion, the girl was a prey to 
 violent convulsions. 
 
 The elder of the two Yakout women, was the mother of the 
 girl ; the other female was a visitor from the tribe. 
 
 At this time, a voice was heard from without saying in a loud 
 tone — 
 
 "Have you a tea-kettle inside there ! " 
 
 "What must we say?" asked the neighbour of her friend. 
 
 " How many are they ? " said the mother of the invalid. 
 
 " How many are you ? " enquired the woman ; but the loud 
 baying of the dogs drowned the answer. 
 
 " How many ? " she called out again. 
 
 "Seven." They heard the answer this time. 
 
 " Open the door," said the elder Yakout to her companion. 
 
 The old woman did so. 
 
 Yegor and Yermac appeared. On their outer garments the 
 hoar-frost lay more than an inch thick. Nadcge followed them 
 into the hut, supported by M. Lafleur. Tekel carried little 
 Ladislas, who was nearly paralysfid with cold. Cliort remained 02\ 
 
188 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 the threshold receiving the outer garments of the travellers as they 
 took them off on entering. 
 
 Y^gor stepped forward; and then, perceiving the sick girl, he 
 called M. Lafleur's attention to her. The Parisian advanced 
 towards the invalid. 
 
 "Do not come near," said she motioning him away : "you come 
 from the cold." 
 
 " What is the matter with her 1 " enquired M. Lafleur of the 
 mother. 
 
 " Ah ! always the same. Ogropono-Djiganskoy," replied the old 
 woman. 
 
 It was not the first time that M. Lafleur had heard of the 
 sorceress Agrippina of Djigansk, who is supposed to be torment- 
 ing and troubling the girl, and all Siberia to this day. The woman 
 lived in the last century. Woe to any one who did not treat her 
 with the consideration she exacted. 
 
 Turning herself into a raven, she would pursue the unhappy 
 offender in his hunting expeditions, in his travels ; raising tempests 
 against him, causing him to lose his baggage in the water and 
 nearly driving him out of his mind. Even after a lapse of eighty 
 years the eyes of the sorceress were as brilliant as the morning 
 star, and her voice had the clear ringing sound of ice when struck 
 sharply. 
 
 A new crisis came upon the young native girl when the name 
 of the dreaded sorceress was mentioned. M. Lafleur had a sudden 
 inspiration. As a commencement to his proceedings he took from 
 
A ''SORGEREES'' CURE. 189 
 
 his pocket his violin and placed it on the table beside the good 
 things laid thereon. 
 
 He then signed to his companions to seat themselves on the 
 benches by the walls. 
 
 **What is the meaning of all these festive preparations?" he 
 asked, indicating the pates, fish, etc. 
 
 " We expect the * father ' to-day," replied the old Yakout women. 
 "He has not yet returned from his summer hunting, and my 
 daughter is under the bad influence. Two such misfortunes are 
 enough at once ! " 
 
 " How old is your daughter 1 " asked M. Lafleur. 
 
 "It has snowed sixteen times since she was born." 
 
 " I intend to cure your daughter." 
 
 " You are a chaman^ then % " 
 
 " Yes, and I come from a far country." 
 
 M. Lafleur perhaps intended to convey to her the idea that a 
 doctor, like a prophet, is not without honour save in his own 
 country. 
 
 Then, speaking with authority, M. Lafleur directed his com- 
 panions to take some of the provisions spread on the table. " We 
 are very hungry," he said, " and we are going to eat all this because 
 your husband will not come to-day nor to-morrow." 
 
 " Will he never return % " asked the old woman anxiously. 
 
 "He will return, my art guarantees that," replied M. Lafleur, 
 
 ♦ A "doctor" and "conjuror." 
 
190 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 decidedly, as he entered upon his new part of sorcerer by telling a 
 falsehood. Then he added, ** You shall judge of my power." 
 
 With that he grasped his violin, and, notwithstanding the 
 numbness of his fingers, he played very well. He executed a 
 pretty air, a '* cradle-song" or prayer. 
 
 The very first notes aroused the attention of the sick girl, who 
 soon changed her attitude and sat up. Then she rose shuddering, 
 and in a kind of ecstacy advanced towards the *' doctor," bowing 
 before him, joining her hands and bending her body when he 
 played low notes ; rising with the higher ones ; charmed, radiant, 
 stepping lightly with outstretched arms and fingers. Her nervous 
 attack had entered upon a new phase. 
 
 As the last note of the music died away she threw herself 
 heavily upon the ground as if she had been actually suspended by 
 the melody. M. Lafleur raised her up and carried her to the bench 
 which she had previously occupied. Then addressing the old 
 Yakout he said — 
 
 " Now, mother ; tea, tea ; plenty of tea, and your daughter will 
 be out of danger, will be cured for a long time, for all her life 
 perhaps ! " 
 
 The poor mother eried for joy. The other Yakout woman, who 
 was unmarried — a hideous brown tattooed creature — came and 
 embraced M. Lafleur warmly, after the fashion of her tribe. She 
 appeared very much astonished at the result of the music. 
 
 Nadege then said to Yegor : ^' How good M. Lafleur is. He has 
 done all this on our account, to assure us a hospitable reception." 
 
THE STORM. 191 
 
 Y6gor, on his own part, could not do less than unite in con 
 gratulating M. Lafleur on his success as a sorcerer. 
 
 As for Yermac his piteous face was a marvel to behold. It 
 only wanted this — to be considered the companion of a quack- 
 doctor ! He was humiliated. 
 
 "You are welcome," said the old Yakout to the travellers. 
 " Now you shall partake of the best we have. You are in the hut 
 of Metek, the chief of the tribe. He was chief before we came 
 to settle on the Kolima." 
 
 Assisted by the elderly spinster who had embraced M. Lafleur, 
 Metek's wife pushed the heavy table into the angle of the room in 
 which the travellers were seated. Placing herself at the board she 
 encouraged them to eat, and set them the example without delay 
 The invalid who had been cured of the "demon" by the "doctor," 
 seated herself by the side of her preserver. 
 
 M. Lafleur did not waste time. He ate ravenously, though there 
 was an utter absence of salt in all the viands. 
 
 "We must not forget the tea by any means," he cried, when he 
 had taken the edge off his appetite. "Tea is necessary for the 
 invalid and ourselves.'' 
 
 Three days had elapsed since the fugitives had given the 
 Cossacks the " slip," and they had had nothing warm since they 
 had quitted the yourte refuge. 
 
 The suggestion of tea was favourably received by the elderly 
 spinster, who assented at once and charged herself with the distri- 
 bution of it. The tea was excellent. 
 
192 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 Just then Chort appeared. " What about the dogs 1 " he asked. 
 
 The animals were howling outside as if they were protesting 
 against being excluded from the feast. 
 
 **We will give them the fish we intended for our own," said 
 M^tek's wife ; "so they will not have to wait." 
 
 Chort then was instructed to carry out the cauldron in which 
 the fish had been cooking on the stove. 
 
 As for Wab he perambulated the table, snatching a morsel 
 here and there as opportunity offered. 
 
 " You will sleep here," said the old woman to her guests after 
 supper. So it was arranged. 
 
 Yermac had hardly eaten anything. Resting his head in his 
 hands and his elbows upon the table, he remained plunged in 
 thought. Surely never had such a curious adventure happened to 
 a representative of law and authority before ! To find himself 
 obliged by circumstances to share the fortunes and privations of a 
 set of rebels, against whom it was his duty to proceed with 
 severity. Was not this the moment to break the compact of com- 
 plicity which had already existed too long ? His promises But 
 
 is a magistrate bound by his promises to a malefactor? If M^tek 
 returned, in his capacity of chief of the tribe could he not be 
 called upon to assist the law and to help its representative to carry 
 the fugitives back to Sredne-Kolimsk — a village avoided by the 
 travellers — where a picket of Cossacks would be found under the 
 orders of the isprau7iik, vvho would be sufficient to assure the 
 triumph of the law 
 
LADISLAS LOST. 193 
 
 However, on the following day, the inspector of police found 
 himself again seated in the sleigh with M. Lafleur as on previous 
 days. The fugitives very quickly left far behind them the hut in 
 which they had received such hospitality. 
 
 Why had Yermac not carried out his resolution of the previous 
 day 1 Simply because Metek, upon whom he had counted, had not 
 returned. So Yermac was obliged to proceed without making any 
 resistance. He was a very docile personage in the hands of the all- 
 powerful '* sorcerer," M. Lafleur. 
 
 The nartas skirted the precipitous bank of the Kolima, and 
 directed their course towards Nijni Kolimsk, with the intention to 
 pass by that Russian station, the last in that region, and make their 
 way to the Polar Sea. 
 
 Yermac thought that perhaps he could recover his liberty when 
 the fugitives had reached the Tchouktcha country. 
 
 In the middle of the day, after they had quitted the hut, the 
 weather suddenly changed. The grey mists rose above the wooded 
 hills which the fugitives left on their right hand. 
 
 There were signs of a storm, di, pourga, the tempest peculiar to 
 Siberian regions, and one of the greatest obstacles to a winter 
 transit across the snow-fields. Like the "norther" of other 
 latitudes, the pourga arises with scarcely any warning, and passes, 
 sometimes for more than a week, through every phase of tempest- 
 uous violence and fury. 
 
 Generally this tempest is not accompanied by any fall of snow, 
 but it is characterized by immense drifts which the wind lifts from 
 
194 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 the plain. The violence of the wind carries these thick suffocating 
 clouds of snow to an immense distance, and in them it is impossible 
 to see in any direction, more than a few paces. The atmosphere 
 is literally crowded with flakes, which in a few seconds fill the eyes 
 and nostrils. The force of the wind renders an upright position 
 impossible. To attempt to advance against such a tempest is out 
 of the question. The unfortunate traveller surprised in one of these 
 storms can only bury himself in his furs, and shelter himself behind 
 his sleigh to wait — half suffocated, and half frozen, perhaps for days 
 and nights — ^until the storm has passed. 
 
 If, before the wind was lulled, the traveller's stock of provisions 
 has waned, death is certain. No cries for help could be heard in 
 the noise of the hurricane. Exhausted by cold, weariness, and 
 himger, the traveller will sink beneath the snow, whose white 
 winding-sheet will soon efface him, and nothing but a mound will 
 remain to mark the place where the dead man sleeps his last, long 
 sleep. 
 
 The black cloud which had remained for an hour resting on the 
 horizon, now extended rapidly towards the west, and enveloped in 
 a sombre veil the declining twilight of the Arctic region. The wind 
 came moaning hoarsely from the Polar Sea, and rushed down upon 
 the plains, raising whirlwinds and clouds of snow, which advanced 
 like gigantic ghosts across the dark body of the cloud which 
 followed after. 
 
 Yegor had scarcely given the order to bring the two sleighs 
 alongside each other, when the storm fell upon the fugitives. 
 
LADISLAS LOST. 195 
 
 Every sound was quickly swallowed up in the roar of the tempest, 
 while snow and icy particles filled the air, and made respiration 
 extremely difficult. 
 
 Y^gor and Nadege could not even see the packs which were 
 harnessed to their sleighs, but in a short lull they did perceive that 
 the other narta, containing M. Lafleur and the inspector of police, 
 was missing. 
 
 Five minutes, ten minutes elapsed, and neither Y^gor nor 
 Nad^ge could distinguish anything. They cried out loudly. 
 Y^gor fired his pistols, and sent Tekel back as far as he dared 
 to seek the sleigh. But the man returned unsuccessful, having 
 seen nothing. The terrible whirlwind had quite obliterated all 
 traces of their companions. 
 
 Y^gor wished to wait in the hope that the other sleigh would 
 join them. He recommended Nadege and Ladislas to get out and 
 shelter themselves in their furs behind the narta which presented 
 but a feeble barrier to the storm. It wa3 as much as the young 
 people could do to breathe as they held their faces close to the 
 earth. 
 
 It was too dark to see the compass, so Y6gor could not tell 
 whereabouts he was. But even had he been able to distinguish 
 the way, he could not have proceeded in the teeth of such a storm, 
 which would have compelled him to go its own way and no other. 
 Thft whixe clouds gathered more thickly, and darkness became 
 more intense. Suddenly through the obscurity ran a despair- 
 ing cry for help, which rose above the din of the tempest. 
 
 — 2 
 
196 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 " Monsieur Lafleiir ! Monsieur Laileur ? " exclaimed Yegor, 
 Nadcge, and Ladislas simultaneously, as the indistinct outline of 
 a sleigh passed them with bewildering speed, carried away appa- 
 rently by the whirlwind. 
 
 " Let us get into the sleigh again," cried Y^gor, " and follow our 
 friend.'" 
 
 The wind was furious, and swept the plain with impetuosity, 
 roaring like a pack of wolves. T^kel had no need to incite his 
 dogs to speed ; they were frightened, and raced along rapidly. 
 
 " Hold me tightly," said Nad^ge to Y^gor, as she came closer to 
 him. " I feel as if the wind would carry me away." 
 
 After an hour of a terribly swift course — an hour which seemed 
 like a century to the fugitives — they perceived that they were 
 entering the confines of a wood which presented some shelter from 
 the ravages of the storm of snow and ice. 
 
 They wondered by what miracle they had been preserved. 
 Before them was the sleigh of M. Lafleur, anchored alongside the 
 trunk of a tree which in the snow looked like a white reef. 
 
 " Monsieur Lafleur ! " cried Y^gor. 
 
 " Here I am," replied the Frenchman. 
 
 " You have escaped in a wonderful manner. Monsieur Lafleur," 
 replied Y^gor ; ** I had begun to think of putting on mourning for 
 
 youl" 
 
 "Ah, mafoi, I thought the end of the world had come. The 
 savants tell us we shall perish from cold. I suppose that such a 
 hurricane as this night will accompany the end of all things," 
 
LAVISLAS LOST, 197 
 
 While this conversation was taking place, Tekel, the Yakout, 
 had been collecting branches, which he now set fire to. 
 
 The branches and twigs threw up sparks merrily, and the 
 fugitives uttered cries of joy when they perceived the fire, to 
 which they hurried and warmed themselves, covered with snow 
 and unrecognisable as they were. Yermac continued to make the 
 most singular grimaces. 
 
 "Ladislas ! oh ! where is Ladislas?" suddenly exclaimed Nad^ge, 
 looking round her in every direction for the little Pole. 
 
 Alas ! he did not answer. He had been turned out of the 
 sleigh by one of the tremendous gusts of wind. 
 
 Y^gor called Wab, and fastening a lanthorn to his collar, he 
 pronounced the name of Ladislas several times. Then he sent the 
 dog into the plain to find the lad. 
 
 In about an hour Wab returned alone. The animal was 
 shivering with cold, and his paws were bleeding, a sign that he 
 had gone some distance in vain. He had returned to the wood, 
 else he would have died from exhaustion. 
 
 Nadege sobbed bitterly, calling upon Ladislas her adopted 
 brother. Yegor and M. Lafleur remained sorrowful and despairing, 
 thinking of the poor child lying out in the deep snow, struggling 
 for life against the furious wind and icy tempest. Yermac even 
 was moved by the grief of the fugitives, and he attempted to 
 comfort them and give them an encouragement he was far from 
 feeling. 
 
 The two Yakouts prepared a bed-place by digging an immense 
 
198 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 hole in the snow. In this the fugitives, well wrapped up, and 
 covered with rugs, took refuge till the storm should abate. 
 
 The dogs having been unharnessed herded together in the snow, 
 in which they burrowed to keep themselves warm. Another fire 
 was lighted at the outskirts of the forest, by Yegor's orders, in the 
 hope tha\ by its light Ladislas might be guided to the place, and 
 rcjoii> his friends. 
 
"The last exploit of the band had been the robbing of the mail" 
 
 CHAPTER Xiy. 
 
 THE GOLD-ROBBERS AGAIN — SOME PARTICULARS CONCERNING THEM 
 
 A HUNTED DEER AND A RESCUE. 
 
 WHEN the band of gold-robbers, of which Yermac's son was 
 a member, had cleared the forest of Boroiikan, leaving 
 the inspector of police for dead, Dimitri had assumed the 
 command. 
 
 The young man had told the truth when he declared to his 
 father that he had had nothing to do with the assassination of 
 Major Dobson and his servant, nor with the murder of the Russian 
 Khabaroff. The band to which Dimitri was affiliated had been 
 
 199 
 
200 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 many times thinned, and when the attack was made upon the 
 inspector of police there only remained of the original number 
 who had committed the crimes named the chief Koskintine, who 
 was subsequently shot by Yermac. 
 
 The others, associated in many deeds, had, nevertheless, nothing 
 more weighty upon their consciences than the very doubtful means 
 they used to procure the gold tliey coveted. This metal they 
 transported into China by the Amour frontier, employing some- 
 times force and sometimes cunning against the Cossacks who 
 were guarding the banks of the river. They frequently hid the 
 gold-dust in loaves ; they introduced it in little ingots into their 
 horses' shoes, or, better still, into the interior of fishes, and thus 
 transformed themselves into merchants or fishermen. 
 
 The alarm spread by Yermac by means of the Cossack posts 
 produced an extra measure of vigilance all along the river ; for 
 when a convict has made his escape no means are left unemployed 
 to secure him. The Russian Government put an army in motion 
 to capture an individual, and so they discourage such attempts at 
 evasion. 
 
 Thus the bandits commanded by Dimitri found themselves 
 under the necessity of changing their route, and to give up the 
 passage of the Amour for the present. So they made for the 
 Gulf of Penjinsk, situated at the most northerly point of the 
 Sea of Okhotsk. They had to cross the Stanovoi mountains in 
 following the Omolone to its source, to gain the desired refuge. 
 
 They managed to procure from the Yakout villages a number 
 
THE GOLD-ROBBERS AGAIN. 201 
 
 of reindeer sufficient to draw their sleighs ; and by forced marches 
 they arrived in good time amongst the rocky spurs of the Stanovoi 
 chain, whose rugged summits were covered with snow. They did 
 not hesitate to penetrate amongst these terrible mountains, whence 
 it is difficult to emerge after the entrance into the dark labyrinth 
 of peaks has once been made. 
 
 Y^gor also had had, at one time, some idea of taking this way. 
 Thanks to his investigations, he was aware that every summer 
 the natives and the half-breeds of the Kussian dwellers on the 
 shores of the Sea of Okhotsk unite at a village called Tchimikan, 
 at the mouth of the Ouda, to exchange furs, fresh meat, fish, 
 with spirits, calico, and tobacco, brought by the American whalers ; 
 but the fear of encountering Eussian ships in that interior and 
 thoroughly Muscovite sea, dissuaded him; so he abandoned his 
 projected route. 
 
 The gold-robbers could find " business " to their mind more 
 easily amongst the trappers at the pi^omichleniks^ and that was 
 in reality their object. 
 
 The last exploit of the band had been the robbing of the mail 
 which passes every month from Ajan — a station established in 
 the Okhotsk district in 1848 by a Kussian- American Fur Company. 
 (We may add, in passing, that the post-road, a single track cut 
 through forests from Ajan to Yakoutsk, was used by the govern- 
 ment at the time of the Crimean War, for the transport of arms 
 and ammunition to the Pacific possessions of the Czar.) Post- 
 stations are found at distances of thirty to forty kilometres, whereat 
 
202 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 reindeer can be procured for the government seivice, and for the 
 use of the few travellers who ever penetrate into these inhospitable 
 regions. 
 
 The mail in question carries monthly about a dozen letters, and 
 the bag is confided to a courier, who takes usually about ten days 
 to reach Yakoutsk, travelling day and night. In winter the 
 journey is made with reindeer, in the summer with horses, a pair 
 of each respectively. This postal route connects Irkoutsk, the 
 capital of Eastern Siberia, with Kamtchatka. The pillage of the 
 mail was an enterprise of no profit to the banditti ; it simply 
 furnished them with an opportunity to affirm their condition of 
 revolt against the usages of civilization, law, and authority. 
 
 One evening the bandits halted in the gorge of a narrow valley, 
 and encamped in the open air. The night was dark, but the sky 
 was clear and the temperature not very low. Besides Dimitri, 
 the party consisted of two Tongouse, a Lamout from the Bay oi 
 Tausk, a Korak, a Ghileak fisherman, a Russian convict who had 
 escaped from Saghalien, the grim Cossack Ivan whom we have 
 already mentioned, and finally the escaped miner whose acquaint- 
 ance we made in the early pages of this history, the convict with 
 the letters Y.O.R., who had been noticed by Y^gor at Nertchinsk 
 when being conducted to the fortress of Akatonia, whence he had 
 again escaped. 
 
 This man had stiU the same repulsive countenance, disfigured 
 as it was by sulphuric acid. He was attired in a garment of skins, 
 a pelisse, and wore enormous boots over socks of deer-skin. An 
 
^^^' 
 
 
 JJM\B/SKr 
 
 ONE EVENING THE BANDITS ENCAMPED IN THE OPEN AIR. 
 
THE GOLD ROBBERS AGAIN. 203 
 
 immense knife depended from his girdle, from which hung also 
 a pipe and bark box of tobacco such as the natives use. The convict, 
 having tramped the country for a long time, had met the band 
 of gold-robbers and united his fortunes with theirs. 
 
 The Lam out had taken from his pocket one of those large agates 
 that are found at the bottom of the rivers of Siberia, and which 
 the natives call fire-stones. With this he began to strike a light, 
 using the dried fungus of the birch-tree as tinder. This tinder, 
 dipped into sulphur which was carried in a little box of bone, 
 produced a flame sujfi&cient to kindle the wood and make a fire. 
 
 While this operation was proceeding, Ivan, axe in hand, was 
 busily engaged in cutting down some pine branches, which the 
 convict Koschevine was carrying to supply the fire. 
 
 The two Tongouse, easily recognizable by their bronzed skin, 
 protruding cheek-bones, and little bright eyes like the Tartars*, 
 had already established themselves in the vicinity of a dead horse, 
 the flesh of which they were devouring with much relish in a 
 nearly raw state, only just warmed at the fire. The animal had 
 belonged to one of them — an old hunter named Ephraim, a great 
 bear- killer of the Okhotsk district, who had the reputation of 
 having fought and captured twenty of these animals every summer. 
 Ephraim, who had been too hardly oppressed by the ispravnik of 
 his village, had one day treated him as the bears had been treated 
 — had slain the young Russian, and taken flight. 
 
 He had not encountered the band of robbers many hours 
 previously, but had at once enrolled himself in their company 
 
204 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 and agreed with tliem. His horse, vying with the reindeer, had 
 broken its leg, and was accordingly killed. The oJd Yakout, who 
 was not much troubled with sensibility, had put the animal out 
 the way after the native method. The Yakouts, although generally 
 kind and merciful, are very cruel when the lower animals are 
 concerned. Thus, it may be stated, their favourite mode of killing 
 a horse is to throw him on the ground and tie his limbs tightly 
 with cords. Then they open the chest, and, plunging in an arm, 
 compress the heart till the animal dies. They pretend that this 
 method of killing makes the flesh taste better. 
 
 Old Ephraim and his friend were just the kind of men to see 
 the last of that horse before they quitted the camp. 
 
 The latter Tongouse was named Avaram, and came of the tribe 
 from the south-east of Siberia. Clothed entirely in reindeer-skin, 
 his chief garment consisted of a species of large overcoat of fur, 
 which was open in front. To his neck was attached a kind of 
 hood, in case of necessity, a malachi, of red, black, and grey fox- 
 skins, alternately arranged, with a border of sea-otter skin ; a kind 
 of drawers also of skin, which reached nearly to the knee. His 
 feet and lower limbs were encased in boots of reindeer-skin, soled 
 with sealskin. 
 
 The Tongouse had joined the robbers in the hope of gaining 
 sufficient to pay the price demanded for his affianced wife, the 
 daughter of one of the golovas or grand chiefs of his tribe, a lady 
 of rare beauty, valued at the price of a hundred reindeer, which 
 represent a veritable fortune. Amongst the Tongouse of the 
 
SOME PARTICULARS CONCERNING THEM. 205 
 
 south-east the price of a wife ranges from one reindeer to a 
 hundred. Some inferior beauties have been quoted at "a pipe 
 of tobacco ;" but this does not prevent them from being married 
 by a Russian priest. 
 
 The other bandits of the toundra, having killed a reindeer 
 which was by no means in its prime, were engaged in roasting 
 the meat cut from the carcase. The Korak and the Lamout were 
 preparing a savoury soup from the green herbs found in the deer's 
 stomach. 
 
 The Korak was a young man, the sole survivor of a family 
 which had been starved to death. He would tell his companions 
 how each year, at the end of the winter-season, famine decimated 
 the inhabitants of Toumane because the stores of fish failed. 
 
 "Why don't you catch some more?" inquired one of the 
 bandits. 
 
 " Ah," he replied, " the Russian Government supplies us with 
 cord to make nets, but we give it to the Lamouts on condition 
 that they will catch our fish for us ; but then, unfortunately, we 
 eat all the supplies during the first months of the winter." 
 
 The Lamout carried suspended from his neck a large sflver 
 medal, a recognition on behalf of the Czar, for services rendered 
 during one of the periodical famines which are the scourges of 
 Siberia. This medal, placed singularly enough on the breast of a 
 bandit, commanded much respect for the band on the part of the 
 natives. 
 
 The Ghiliak fisherman was a native of the lower Amour, 
 
206 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 who liad been forced to fly the country for having killed one of 
 his relations, who had stolen the flint from his gun. He feared, 
 and not without reason, that the friends of the deceased would 
 exercise the doctrine of reprisals after the Ghiliak code, which 
 demands an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. This 
 barbarian, though very superstitious and given to idolatry, had 
 been baptised into the Greek Church, and wore suspended 
 from his neck many little metal crosses. He called himself 
 Michaeloff. 
 
 As for Ivan, he had given up the Cossack regiment, and aban- 
 doned his post on the Amour, when he was at one time serving as 
 a soldier-labourer and as a colonist of Russia.* The Cossacks 
 serve fifteen years, for which duty they receive an annual salary 
 of three roubles (perhaps ten shillings), the government finding 
 them besides in black bread and sometimes tea. Their food 
 consists chiefly of the salmon they catch for themselves, and 
 which, with wild fruits and roots, does not make a greatly varied 
 dish. The troops who are stationed by the Bay of Castries can 
 enjoy oysters in addition to other supplies. 
 
 Ivan, who got tired of the life of a colonist, had deserted. He 
 often told his companions of a curious fact he had noticed : viz., 
 that on the banks of the Asiatic river he had encountered animals 
 
 ♦ The Amour was visited hv the Russians for the first time in 1843. But ten 
 years later they succeeded in wresting from China the portion extending from the 
 left bank of the river to the old border of Siberia, gaining by this rectification of 
 the frontier an immense and fertile country. 
 
A HUNTED DEER AND A RESCUE. 20V 
 
 both belonging to Arctic latitudes and those which inhabit hot 
 climates. The reindeer thus becomes the prey of the Bengal tiger, 
 while the wild boar and the badger live side by side with the Polar 
 bear and the glutton. 
 
 When the bandits had satisfied their hunger, they filled the 
 brazier with wood, and set fire to it. They then wrapped them- 
 selves in their warmest clothes and furs, and made ready to sleep 
 beneath the open canopy of heaven. 
 
 The night was fine, and seemed likely to pass without inter- 
 ruption, when suddenly loud cries were heard in the tones of a 
 child. 
 
 The bandits seized their weapons, and in a moment were afoot. 
 En a short time after they hoard the sound of footsteps crunching 
 the freezing snow, a reindeer appeared, hauUng a sleigh behind 
 liim and pursued by a pack of yelping wolves. 
 
 As the reindeer approached the bivouac, the hungry, howling 
 concourse of wolves fell away, frightened. The child in the sleigh 
 continued to scream loudly in his tenor, and when the reindeer's 
 course was arrested, the lad fell out insensible upon the snow into 
 the arms of Dimitri and Koschevine, which were extended to 
 receive him, while the other banditti sent a few well-directed 
 arrows and bullets amongst the crowd of wolves, and compelled 
 them to retreat. 
 
 The child had fainted — he was already haK dead with fear and 
 cold and hunger. It was Ladislas ! 
 
 The Lamout perceived his condition at a glance; so, taking 
 
ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 from his pouch a piece of frozen milk, he broke off a bit with a 
 hatchet, and put the fragments into a saucepan, which he placed 
 upon the fire. The milk soon boiled, and was then administered 
 to the lad. The first few drops restored him to consciousness. 
 

 
 ** After a few hours' riding, Ladi.slas came within sight of a Yakout viUage." 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 LADISLAS AND THE ROBBERS THE FUGITIVES CONTINUE THEIR 
 
 FLIGHT THE DOG TEAM — A DREARY PROSPECT. 
 
 HOW did it happen that Ladislas had not perished when he 
 was shipwrecked, so to speak, a sole survivor apparently 
 in the ocean of snow % 
 
 When he was thrown from the sleigh in the midst of the 
 whirlwind, he lay beneath some bushes, where he passed a weary 
 night in pain and terror. Next day the lad set himself courage- 
 ously to follow the tracks of the sleighs. He knew that the 
 
 fugitives were proceeding northwards, and he had learned the 
 
 209 p 
 
210 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 manner of reading the points of the compass from the natives, 
 by studying certain undulations formed in the snow by the 
 wind. 
 
 The plain extended on all sides — a terrible solitude, covered 
 with the white mantle of Winter. A few bent and stunted trees 
 here and there, rising from the winding-sheet which Nature had 
 laid, looked like white-cowled monks in prayer over a tomb. The 
 sun disappeared red and fiery below the horizon, and deep crimson 
 rays darted across the snowy waste. Night came, and Ladislas 
 had Jiot perceived a living thing. He sought shelter in a forest ; 
 and having munched a morsel of bread, which he had found 
 in his pocket, hardened by the cold, and swallowed the few drops 
 of brandy that still remained in the little flask suspended round 
 his neck, he lay down to sleep at the foot of a tree around which 
 the snow had formed a kind of rampart. 
 
 Waking very early, he waited for several terrible hours for the 
 tardy dawn. Judge of his surprise when he perceived close by 
 him a reindeer browsing upon the twigs of the trees. 
 
 Ladislas ran towards the animal, which, as he perceived by the 
 saddle and bridle, was one of those intended for riding, and 
 which had strayed from its companions. The animal made no 
 opposition when the lad approached it and seized it by the 
 rein. Then, leaping upon the deer's back, Ladislas believed 
 himself quite safe, as the unerring instinct of the animal would 
 indicate to it the proper direction, and lead it to a place of 
 safety. 
 
LADISLAS AND THE ROBBERS. 211 
 
 In fact, after a few hours' riding, Ladislas came within sight 
 of a Yakout village, half-buried in the snow. He was soon in 
 the midst of the houses, which seemed to have been dropped 
 down without any regularity, though strongly built of the trunks 
 and the branches of trees. 
 
 The natives knew a little Russian, and received Ladislas with 
 kindness and hospitality. They warmed his chilled frame, and 
 provided him with an excellent meal, and next day they made 
 him a little sleigh to which he could harness the reindeer. He 
 obtained from them some information concerning the district, and 
 the direction in which he ought to proceed to reach Nijni- 
 Kolimsk, for he knew his only chance of finding Y^gor and 
 Nad^ge lay in his proceeding in that direction, and leaving 
 the town on his left, for they would avoid it going to the 
 east. 
 
 Two hours later the lad started alone, driving a sleigh for the 
 first time in his life. Certainly the vehicle was of the most 
 elementary character ; but the youth, well wrapped in his furs, 
 proceeded steadily, holding in his hand the pole which served to 
 control the carriage and retard its progress when going down hilL 
 In this manner he journeyed with great speed, hoping to overtake 
 the nartas of Yegor next day. He took no rest, and at night- 
 fall, as the sky was clear, he directed his course by the 
 stars. 
 
 Of all this narrative, Ladislas only told the banditti among 
 whom he had fallen such portion as he judged fitting. They 
 
 P 2 
 
212 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 questioned him closely, being much astonished to meet a youth 
 and a stranger in these solitudes. 
 
 "And the wolves?" asked Dimitri. "Were you not afraid of 
 them baying around the sleigh ? " 
 
 " The wolves 1 " replied the lad to the man, who by his dress 
 and tone «.ppeared the chief of the band. "The wolves! Oh, 
 yes, indeed ! They pursued, and kept company with me for many 
 hours!" 
 
 "There must have been a hundred of them at least," said 
 Ivan. 
 
 "When first I turned round I saw only one," continued 
 Ladislas, " which did not frighten mo very much. It ran along, 
 keeping always at the same distance, relaxing or increasing its 
 pace as the sleigh went slower or faster. But another wolf soon 
 joined the first ; and when, some time afterwards, I looked round 
 I counted three of them. Then others came — four, five ; then 
 six, seven, eight, ten, a dozen, twenty ! I did not dare to turn 
 round any more. I could not count them, the number increased 
 rapidly. But I pressed my reindeer, and hurried him on as fast 
 as I could. At last I saw your fire, and I hoped to find in the 
 camp those — but no matter — you have saved my life, my friends, 
 and I am very, very grateful." 
 
 The boy spoke with such assurance and firmness that he quite 
 captivated his audience — rough men, deprived of all family ties. 
 They helped the lad to the choicest morsels in their larder, which 
 under the circumstances were really dainties. 
 
THj: fugitives continue their flight. 213 
 
 " Wliither do you intend to go ? " inquired Dimitri. 
 
 The chief of the robbers had a pleasant face and gentle manner 
 when addressing Ladislas, and the lad was reassured. Never- 
 theless, he hesitated to reply to the question. 
 
 " You may speak," continued the chief, taking the lad a little 
 aside. " You have nothing to fear from me, notwithstanding all 
 this display of knives and pistols. I come of an honest race, and 
 my father — dead for some time — left me a reputation for right- 
 dealing. In Moscow everyone appreciated Yermac." 
 
 The lad was struck by the name. 
 
 " I know," he replied. "I know him — he was the inspector of 
 police at Yakoutsk." 
 
 "The inspector of police. Well, yes, boy; he was my 
 father." 
 
 "He may be dead," said Ladislas, alarmed for the safety of 
 Yegor and Nadege. " But three days ago he was still with 
 us." 
 
 " Ho w ? With you 1 With whom 1 " 
 
 "With my adopted sister and the man who is going to marry 
 her, and with M. Lafleur. Do you not know M. Lafleur, the 
 dancing-master V 
 
 " I left my father, dead as I thought, far from here, near the 
 forest of Boroukan, at the foot of the Verkho-Yansk mountains/' 
 replied the bandit chief. 
 
 " Well, it was just there that we met him, recovered him, dug 
 him up, as I may say." 
 
214 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 "Dug him up, boy?" 
 
 "Yes, it is a curious talel Look, this revolver belongs to 
 him." 
 
 " My father living ! " exclaimed Diniitri in surprise ; and then a 
 great wave of hope surged over his heart, and told him that 
 perhaps hS might yet find his parent and obtain his forgiveness. 
 
 "Do you know," continued Dimitri, "where we could find him 
 and your friends too ? " 
 
 "Yes," replied the boy: "in the neighbourhood of Nijni- 
 Kolimsk, near the frontier of the Tchouktcha country. 
 
 "Not another word," said Dimitri. "When all the rest are 
 asleep I will tell you what we can do to see your friends again 
 — and my father." 
 
 Although this little dialogue had been spoken aside, the robber 
 Koschevine had overheard the name of M, Lafleur mentioned. 
 Now he had caught the name that day when the dancing-master 
 had given him some water to drink and had addressed to him a 
 few kind words. He had then promised himself that he would 
 remember the name and do the bearer a good turn whenever op- 
 portunity offered. So he advanced towards Dimitri, and putting 
 skilfully a few questions to him, satisfied himself that M. Lafleur 
 was the same generous Frenchman, and claimed permission to 
 be associated in any adventure which Yermac's son might under- 
 take in favour of the little Pole and the fugitives. 
 
 • « # # * 
 
 It was not until after every possible attempt had been made to 
 
THE DOG TEAM. 215 
 
 recover the missing Ladislas, that Nad^ge would consent to resume 
 the journey. She was broken-hearted at the loss they had sus 
 tained. 
 
 The days succeeding this new departure were the saddest of all. 
 The fugitives had decided that they would pursue their route along 
 the right bank of the Kolima. Ladislas had been lost not far 
 from that river, and he knew that his friends were proceeding in 
 a northerly direction, with the intention to reach the Polar Sea. 
 If he were still alive he would perhaps perceive the fire which 
 they lighted whenever they encamped, and which they kept up all 
 night upon some elevated spot. 
 
 Besides this, Yegor had other reasons for not leaving the banks 
 of the river. The supply of food had considerably diminished 
 during their traverse of the snow-plain. But along the course of 
 the Kolima between the rivers Bolchoy-Aniouy and Mali-Aniouy 
 which flowed into the larger stream, are plains, quite sheltered 
 from the north, in which vegetation was luxuriant. In these 
 places flourished the poplar, the aspen, the willow, and the cedai' ; 
 after having crossed the icy steppes the plains were veritable oases 
 in the desert. The forests which fringe the hill-sides are inhabited 
 by bears (both black and brown), which are often met with. 
 Y^gor thought it would be an easy matter to kill some of these 
 animals, whose carcasses would furnish food for many days. 
 
 With lightning-like rapidity the two sleighs glided over the 
 frozen waste, without leaving a trace of their passage. Nad^ge, 
 her eyes red with weeping, silent and sad, was ever thinking of 
 
216 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 her missing Ladislas. She could not believe that he was lost 
 beyond hope of recovery. Some secret presentiment bade her 
 hope, and told her she would see him again. M. Lafleur, usually 
 so talkative, sat as silent as she, pkmged in thought, his head 
 hanging down, his lips compressed, endeavouring to console him- 
 self in tl:3 present by thinking of the future. He formed plans 
 and made combinations. His thought, quick as the electric spark, 
 flew from Yakoutsk to the icy regions of the Pole, thence to Paris 
 and the sunny Place de la Bastille. From Paris it travelled to 
 Chateau-Thierry, and to the little house which he had inherited 
 from his uncle. In that house he would establish the collection or 
 museum which would bear his name and attract crowds of visitors 
 to the town which gave birth to the great French fabulist. 
 
 The old dancing-master had definitively renounced his idea of 
 returning on the first convenient opportunity, and resume the 
 teaching of the quadrilles to the youthful daughters of high 
 functionaries in Siberia. He had left behind him, it is true, his 
 milliner's shop, but there was very little in it. He was quite 
 willing to make the sacrifice. M. Lafleur was a prudent and far- 
 sighted individual. He had not hidden his treasure in a napkin, 
 nor his money in a stocking or in a drawer ; nor had he confided 
 his means to the tender mercies of the Jews for usury. Twice a 
 year did the Frenchman remit his money to Paris to the care of 
 a most respectable firm, MM. Yernes & Co. 
 
 Thus M. Lafleur, though tied to the material world, was with- 
 out any engrossing care, and was approaching the age when men 
 
THE DOG TEAM. 217 
 
 wish to repose from their labour and enjoy the fruits thereof. He 
 had certainly a long way to go yet ere he could reacli Paris and 
 Chateau-Thierry, but at the rate he and his companions were 
 travelling the distance was being very rapidly diminished. 
 
 As for Yermac, enveloped in skins and furs, he had very much 
 the attitude and appearance of the animals whose spoils he was 
 wearing. 
 
 Guided by Yegor, who scarcely looked away from the compass, 
 and the small map, which he had copied from a chart hanging 
 upon the wall of the ostrog, Tekel drove the sleigh skilfully, and 
 the fugitives were confident they were travelling the surest and 
 the shortest way. 
 
 The packs of dogs furnished by the Esaoule of Sredn6-Ko- 
 limsk performed wonders under the guidance of Tekel and Chort. 
 The dogs of Northern Siberia bear some resemblance to wolves : 
 their muzzles are long and pointed like the wolfs ; the ears, 
 always erect, are slender ; the tails are bushy ; some have straight 
 hair, others curly and marked in various ways. Their bark 
 resembles the baying of the wolf. 
 
 At the head of each team is found a very intelligent animal, 
 the most clever dog of the pack. He leads his less intelligent 
 companions, and keeps the restive ones in the way they should go, 
 preventing them more particularly from turning out of the line in 
 pursuit of any game. On one occasion, Yegor's team precipitated 
 themselves upon the tracks of a fox which were visible in the 
 snow. The whole pack except the leader were in full cry, and 
 
218 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 nothing appeared likely to stop them; when the leader turned 
 suddenly in the opposite direction, and began to bark as if he had 
 found something more attractive, thus bringing his followers into 
 the proper course again. 
 
 T^kel and Chort encouraged their dogs by whistling, and by 
 peculiar cries to which tke intelligent brutes were well accustomed. 
 The packs were driven after the Siberian method, without a whip, 
 which is replaced by the ostle, a solid pole about four feet in 
 length shod -svith iron. The drivers throw this ostle at any offend- 
 ing dog, and catch it dexterously as the sleigh glides by. In the 
 sleighs of the sedentary tribes of Siberia, every dog is provided 
 with harness complete, which consists of a large girdle worn in 
 front of the chest by means of which the pulling power is 
 utilized. This girdle, or band, is kept in its place by another 
 strap fastened to it, and passed round the body of the dog. The 
 animal is harnessed to the principal strap by a short trace. The 
 dogs, when attached to the sleighs, generally indulge in a prolonged 
 howl before they start on their journey. 
 
 An ample provision of dried fish is made, on which travellers 
 feed their dogs. The fugitives had a supply, and their own food 
 was no better and no more agreeable than the dogs' rations. 
 
 That day when the sleighs halted, Tekel searched for a suitable 
 place for the encampment in which to pass the remainder of the 
 day and all night. He soon returned and made Yegor a sign to 
 accompany him. The place was entirely sheltered, and they 
 cut down branches of trees to form a resting-place. With these 
 
" ' Those are elands,' said Tekei in a low voice." 
 
THE POLAR SEA, 221 
 
 and some reindeer skins, they made a kind of tent for ITad^ge, 
 and hastened to light a lamp within to warm the temporary 
 stiTictiire. The ice brought from the Kolima was broken up and 
 melted to supply the water required. The ice was not then very 
 thick, it only was about two feet in depth. A great fire, furnished 
 and fed by the branches of the surrounding trees, radiated a 
 welcome heat. The important question then arose, what had 
 they got in the way of substantial food to roast upon such a 
 fire*? 
 
 Y^gor and T^kel took each a gun and, preceded by Wab, made 
 their way cautiously amongst the trees and brushwood in search of 
 game, biped or quadruped, furred or feathered. The Yakout, 
 with the instincts of a trapper, examined the twigs of the trees 
 and bushes, in the endeavour to ascertain if they had been 
 nibbled by deer or elands. Occasionally he would halt and 
 listen attentively, signing to Yegor at the same time to remain 
 motionless and silent. 
 
 Wab also on these occasions would remain quiet, with one paw 
 raised as if pointing, interrogating with his eyes the native and his 
 master alternately. * 
 
 Suddenly Tekel dropped and concealed himself behind the trunk 
 of a tree, where he remained perfectly quiet, crouching in the 
 csnow. He had evidently spied some animal. Yegor, his hand on 
 the trigger-guard of his gun, was ready to fire at the first 
 signal. 
 
 In about a minute afterwards the Yakout rose to his feet, and, 
 
222 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 making a sign to his master to follow, descended towards the 
 river. 
 
 "Are these traces of deerT' inquired Y^gor, indicating some 
 marks upon the snow. 
 
 T^kel shook his head. 
 
 "Tho°e are elands' tracks," he said, in a low tone. "The hoofs 
 are thin, straight, well cloven, and united at the top by a 
 membrane, which permits the foot to enlarge itself and to descend 
 upon the soft snow or yielding soil without sinking deeply." 
 
 Y^gor knew that elands, like deer, wander in herds of fifteen 
 to twenty at a time, and was in hopes that he and T^.kel would 
 be able to secure some, or at least one, though the animals are very 
 wary, agile, and courageous. The male eland attains the dimensions 
 of an ox, and weighs nearly as much as the average "beast." 
 The long head is terminated by a thick large muzzle, which gives 
 it somewhat the appearance of an ass, and is surmounted by 
 branching antlers, which extend in triangular points in the form 
 of a shovel. The eland is equally useful as the reindeer to the 
 inhabitants of the northern latitudes. The meat is smoked and 
 preserved ; the skin, being strong and supple, makes excellent 
 clothes, and the hard white bones are formed into divers utensils. 
 
 Y^gor and Tekel had reached a place where the bank fell per- 
 pendicularly towards the frozen stream. A hundred paces further 
 on they perceived through the twigs and branches of the aspens, a 
 small clearing, in which grew thyme, whortle-berries, and the 
 blackberry heath, called chikcha, with some weeping-willows. 
 
A DREARY PROSPECT. 223 
 
 Concealed beliind the bushes, the hunters, who had carefully 
 observed all the imprints converging to that spot, waited 
 patiently. 
 
 Suddenly Wab made a movement as if he were about to spring 
 forward, but Y^gor restrained him in time. Just then an eland of 
 great size came out from under the willows, followed by his family, 
 which consisted of seven individuals : an old female without horns, 
 two adults, two younger ones, and a couple of fawns. 
 
 The cracking of the snow under the hoofs was plainly heard by 
 the hunters. The male eland led the way, pushing his head far in 
 advance of his high shoulders. He halted at the border of the 
 wood, bent down the branch with his head, and then, breaking the 
 stem, began to devour the branches, 
 
 Y^gor and Tekel, who were ready, took advantage of the halt, 
 and fired simultaneously. 
 
 A gleam of light flashed through the dark branches. Wab had 
 dashed out in pursuit. The female eland, which Tekel had 
 sighted, ran away, and then, uttering a growling noise, dropped 
 dead. The elder ones darted off, carrying the young ones with 
 them in their flight. As for the male which Y^gor had wounded, 
 he had run for a moment, but quickly turned to bay. Wab 
 however rushed upon him, and fixed his fangs in the beast's 
 neck. 
 
 The eland, thus seized by the throat, plunged into the thickest 
 part of the wood, in the hope to rid himself of his assailant by 
 crushing him apjainst a tree. 
 
224 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 Wab, brave as he was, would no doubt have been crushed, had 
 not Yegor hurried forward and planted a bullet in the eland's 
 head. The animal fell dead in his tracks. 
 
 " He is ours," exclaimed Tekel, with delight, as ho ran up with 
 his hunting-knife in his hand. 
 
 " A spi«ndid fellow," said Yegor, mentally calculating the size of 
 the animal, which was fully eight feet long. 
 
 "We will only carry away the choicest morsels," said Tekel, 
 as he proceeded to remove the cartilaginous horn of the eland^ 
 which, with the ears and tongue, are considered the prime bits by 
 the northern tribes. 
 
 The operation finished, Tekel skinned the animal, and cut off 
 the haunches. Y^gor did the same with the female eland, and the 
 hunters then returned, very well contented, to the encampment, 
 where the supply of eland flesh was highly appreciated. 
 
 M. Lafleur, who had never before tasted roast eland, assured 
 his companions that it was quite equal to blanc-margo with 
 bechamel sauce. 
 
 Unfortunately Ladislas did not rejoin the party all that day, nor 
 the next, nor the next. 
 
 Yegor and M. Lafleur — even Nad^ge, who had hoped longer 
 than they — had now come to the conclusion that Ladislas, exposed 
 as he had been in the icy solitudes, without any assistance, without 
 food, and exposed to the attacks of wild beasts, must have 
 succumbed and perished. Yegor's heart quivered each time he 
 thought of the pooj little lad. 
 
A DUEAUY PROSPECT. 226 
 
 Nevertheless, Yegor had no reason to reproach himself. 411 
 that conld have been done by man, had been done to recover the 
 boy. It was no use waiting any longer, when delay involved the 
 safety of Nadege, M. Lafieur, and himself ; and for the safety of 
 his friends Yegor held himself responsible. 
 
 The fugitives encamped many times on the banks of the 
 Kolima, which they continued to follow like a clue. 
 
 As they approached the Polar Sea, the high, rugged, and pre- 
 cipitous banks fell away. The country became more open, and 
 soon the eye could perceive nothing but an extensive plain, 
 reaching to the border of the ocean, and through this great plain, 
 a number of rivers flowing to the sea. 
 
 The fugitives skirted a tributary of the Kolima, which does not 
 unite with the main stream until it has formed a low and marshy 
 island, upon the southern shore of which is erected the ostrog of 
 Nijni-Kolimsk. Twenty-five leagues farther on, the Kolima 
 divides anew into two arms. The travellers followed the right 
 branch, which is only a league-and-a-half in width, and is called 
 Kamennaya-Kolima. A little farther on, a third arm is per- 
 ceived, which, with the other two, forms the embouchure of the 
 Kolima. This great mouth of the river is about sixty-five miles 
 wide. 
 
 On the fourth day, Yegor perceived a young deer which had 
 lost itself. This was the time when these animals emigrate in 
 herds, and seek a warmer climate than those extreme northern 
 latitudes. The skin of the animal was of a reddish brown, but it 
 
 Q 
 
226 ESCAPED J^ROM SIBERIA. 
 
 is not by any means unusual to see them quite white all the year. 
 Y^gor, who was holding Wab back, though ready to let him slip^ 
 was admiring the graceful appearance and movements of the young 
 brocket, more elegant than a stag, with its shorter and thinner 
 legs, its less robust frame and slender neck. As it was alone and 
 to windwtird, it was easy for Y^gor to approach, more particularly 
 as the animal was frisky and not at all suspicious 
 
 As they were in want of provisions to continue their journey, 
 Y^gor shot the young brocket, of which he carried away the best 
 portions. 
 
 Some hours later, about mid-day, the fugitives reached the 
 mouth of the Kamennaya-Kolima. The weather was bitterly cold, 
 the thermometer marked twenty-four degrees of frost. 
 
 "The sea, the sea ! " exclaimed the Yakouts, standing on tip-toes 
 and pointing to the frozen expanse of ocean which extended afar, 
 till it was lost in the northern mists. 
 
 " The Arctic Ocean ! " remarked M. Lafleur, shivering in spite of 
 himself, as if he had suddenly beheld something mysterious and 
 terrible. 
 
 " We run no risk of being looked for here," muttered Yegor. 
 
 The Arctic regions have a character peculiar to themselves. In 
 the dim, dull atmosphere, the shadows are scarcely perceptible, tlie 
 line of the horizon is effaced. Height and distance no longer 
 exist : sea and land, under the common covering of snow, cannot 
 be distinguished from each other, while the utter absence of life in 
 these regions prevents the formation of decided contours, the 
 
A DREARY PROSPECT, 227 
 
 sharp outlines of the coast observable in inhabited places, and 
 gives one the idea that a new world is being formed there. The 
 silence and immobility of nature in these latitudes are something 
 very grand, but at the same time rather gruesome. 
 
 Y^gor, Nadege, and M. Lafleur all felt a secret terror, as if they 
 were advancing into a perfectly unknown land. Yermac alone — 
 insensible to all emotion — remained quite impassable. He be- 
 lieved that under the conditions of extreme cold and in the long 
 dark night which was about to commence, he would be almost 
 unobserved, as the supervision of his companions would be 
 lessened. Would he then be able to escape? Should he en- 
 deavour to fly, or wait until some unexpected event changed the 
 aspect of things ? 
 
 All around our travellers, the depressing influences of the Arctic 
 regions were manifest. More than a month before, the sea had 
 been covered with ice. There was not % sound, a cry nor a 
 whisper audible. 
 
 The earth, so far as our travellers were concerned, might have 
 been an empty and depopulated planet, destroyed by some terrible 
 cataclysm. In the distance arose great mountains of ice, and 
 above them wheeled white birds, ghostly and indistinct ; turning 
 slowly and aimlessly, like wandering, disembodied spirits. The 
 day was dying, and so weak that objects had no form nor colour 
 in the fading light. 
 
 At length the fugitives had reached the place in which they 
 would have to pass the winter. They at once proceeded to erect a 
 
 Q— 2 
 
ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 lint, which they took care to fortify against the attacks of the 
 winter storms. They could not dare to make any attempt to reach 
 the Gulf of Anadyr through the Tchouktcha country until the 
 spring had come. 
 
 In their dangerous and eventful journey they had lost all idea 
 of time and dates. 
 
 " I should like to know what year this is, and what time of 
 year," said M. Lafleur. " We have not kept any account of the 
 days." 
 
 "To-day is the 20th of November," replied the inspector of 
 police with decision. 
 
 "Keally!" exclaimed Y6gor. "That accounts for the days 
 being so ephemeral. After to-morrow we shall be in darkness for 
 a space of thirty-eight days." 
 
 " Complete darkness — night ? " inquired Nad^ge, growing pale. 
 "Yes, the sun will not appear again until the 28th December; 
 I have informed myself precisely on all these points." 
 
 "But how shall we manage to live in the dark?" asked 
 Nad^ge. 
 
 "The night will not be so perfectly dark as you imagine, 
 mademoiselle," replied M. Lafleur. "Thanks to the effects of 
 refraction, the whiteness of the snow, and the frequent appearance 
 of the aurora borealis, the darkness will be less than you, perhaps, 
 anticipate, and less irksome. Besides, we shall have the moon 
 with us ten times within the twenty-four hours. What we have 
 most to fear is the extreme cold, and, above all, the scarcity of 
 
A DREARY PROSPECT, 229 
 
 food. We are only six, since we have lost our poor little lad ; 
 but " 
 
 "You needn't count me," interrupted Yerniac. 
 
 "Why not?" asked M. Lafleur. 
 
 *' Because now my arm is well, and I am unwilling to be a 
 burthen upon you one day longer than is absolutely necessary. I 
 know very well how to cater for myself. I do not wish to 
 embarrass you in any way ! " 
 
 "As you please," said Y^gor. "Monsieur Yermac," he con- 
 tinued, "you may have your liberty — when we quit these 
 solitudes — in the early days of spring. That is to say, unless you 
 wish to accompany us as far as Anadyr, and quit Siberia, Kussia, 
 and Asia with one effort." 
 
 "That is a question for consideration," replied Yermac, 
 ironically. 
 
** An embankment of snow was erected as a shelter.'' 
 
 CHAPTER XYI 
 
 I^ CAMP — WINTER — ARRIVAL OF DIMITRT A FUNERAL. 
 
 THE fugitives, and the inspector of police whom they were 
 carrying with them, halted at the brink of a little frozen 
 stream the water of which was known to be good, and on the 
 banks of which they would be able to collect logs which had 
 been carried down by the current, to serve as fuel during the 
 winter. The place the fugitives had chosen was in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Cape Baranoff or Ram's Head, studded with rocks 
 of strange and fantastic forms. In these the imagination would 
 find the semblances of men and animals scattered amongst ruined 
 towers and dismantled walls, like the remains of a strong and 
 
 extensive fortress. The north and north-western faces of the 
 
 230 
 
IN GAMP. 231 
 
 Cape are composed of schist rocks, which fall perpendicularly to 
 the sea and are cut at intervals by lateral ravines. 
 
 To the north, on the horizon, the eye could perceive the indis- 
 tinct outlines of the great icebergs; while in the foreground 
 extended a vast open space in the ice, called polynia. It is 
 somewhat remarkable that on the Siberian shores of the Arctic 
 Ocean we do not encounter the same kind of extensive ice-fields 
 as are found in Greenland. Nevertheless, as the current of the 
 Polar Sea passes from west to east, one can understand how it is 
 that the great masses of ice are carried towards Behring's Strait. 
 For this reason the height of the icebergs increases in accordance 
 with their distance along the coast. 
 
 The locality selected by our travellers was precisely the place 
 whereat the dwellers on the Kolima camp reside when they come 
 to hunt the fur -producing animals. It extends to the border of 
 the district adopted by the Tchouktchas — a neutral and otherwise 
 uninhabited zone, and was a very favourable spot for the fugitives 
 to camp in. 
 
 The sea-coast, like the banks of the river, was covered with 
 drift-wood, a precious supply to be used in the construction of a 
 hut, or for firing during the long and severe winter which was 
 to be expected. 
 
 Without taking a day to recruit themselves, the travellers, 
 including Yermac, set about the construction of a hut. The 
 interior of this cabin was so planned that, in addition to the 
 Qonmion sitting-room, a chamber was allowed to Nadege. The 
 
232 ESCAPED FROM SIBERTA. 
 
 men arranged to sleep all together in another apartment upon 
 a wooden bed. A reindeer skin shielded the door of the hut. 
 Outside, an embankment of snow was erected as a shelter, and 
 a covered way was made by which the cold air was diverted 
 from rushing in at the door when it was opened. The outer defence, 
 of ice-blccks, prevented the hut from being covered with snow, 
 or too severely attacked by the storms which would surely arise. 
 
 Then Yegor made an inventory of his possessions. He found 
 that, besides a number of skins and furs, he had a plate of sheet- 
 iron for the hearth, mounted on four "legs," an iron tripod, a boiler 
 and a cauldron, some spoons, knives and forks, a lanthorn, a saw, 
 two hatchets, two hunting-knives, guns and pistols, with a hundred 
 cartridges for each arm, Yermac's carbine, a thermometer, the little 
 compass which hung on Yegor's watch-chain, and, finally, his 
 watch. 
 
 Unfortunately provisions were scarce. From the first day of 
 the flight the inspector of police had refused, as he had declared, 
 to partake of anything offered by the fugitives. A saucepan was 
 placed on the fire to make soup of reindeer flesh for all, except 
 Yermac, each one then drinking his supply with his own spoon. 
 Yermac made his supper apart from the others, upon biscuit and 
 a kind of dried fish. 
 
 Y6gor and M. Lafleur watched the inspector, and were greatly 
 grieved at his determination to remain apart from them. 
 
 "What will you do when you have eaten all your biscuits?" 
 inquired the Frenchman. 
 
WINTER. 233 
 
 " To-morrow I will go hunting," replied Yermac. 
 
 " In that case you ought to have a gun ," 
 
 " And you have taken possession of mine — ah f No 
 matter, I must set snares. You will let me have a hatchet, I 
 suppose 1 " 
 
 " Certainly," replied Yegor, who admired the determination of 
 the man. 
 
 "You will also require something to bait your traps with," 
 remarked M. Lafleur. 
 
 "True — I had forgotten that," replied Yermac, who at once put 
 aside a portion of the dried fish for the purpose. 
 
 Yermac declined to partake of the tea which had been made, 
 and, after this primitive repast had been consumed, all the party 
 retired, after changing their shoes, a precaution which is very 
 necessary in such a climate to obviate the danger of frostbites. 
 
 Next day a dozen "traps" were set and baited. Twenty-four 
 hours after, the inspector visited his snares and found them all 
 empty. As he returned to the hut he pulled up some roots, 
 and they constituted his breakfast, dinner and supper for that 
 day. 
 
 Y^gor begged Nad^ge not to pay too much attention to Yermac, as 
 that was the only way by which his stoical resolution would be 
 shaken. 
 
 Let us see how they managed to pass the time in the hut. 
 Early in the morning they were all astir. The fire was relighted, 
 and each individual performed his ablutions with melted newly- 
 
234 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 fallen snow, which had not yet frozen very hard. Then the 
 cauldron was placed upon the fire and tea was made. After 
 breakfast the preparation of dinner and supper occupied them, 
 for their limited means of cooking prevented any rapid arrange- 
 ments, while provisions and utensils were equally wanting. 
 Yermac did all his own cooking apart. 
 
 The cold was becoming intense. The thermometer ranged 
 between fifteen and twenty-five degrees of frost, and the hut 
 was still far from comfortable when the wind began to blow 
 from the north-west, and caused the room to be filled with 
 smoke, which was driven back by the gale into the interior of the 
 cabin. 
 
 The pipes of the Yakouts were frozen, iron blistered the 
 hands when it was touched without protecting gloves ; the exces- 
 sive cold, which at first seemed to excite, now threatened to 
 induce atony (helplessness). M. Lafleur was the first to be 
 attacked. A kind of intoxication seemed to possess him; his 
 teeth and jaws chattered and trembled. His movements became 
 uncertain. Sometimes at night he was so affected by the intense 
 cold, notwithstanding the warm coverings and the fire burning 
 in the middle of the room, that after many attempts he would 
 rise from his bed, and run round the hut to restore circulation 
 and suppleness to his limbs. 
 
 The long thirty-eight days' darkness commenced on the 22nd 
 of November. Yermac began seriously to think of making his 
 escape in the darkness, but he could not h ^pe to reach ^^ijni-Kolimsk 
 
WINTER, 235 
 
 without one of the guides. T^kel appeared to him to be too 
 devoted to his employers to fall in with the suggestion. But 
 with Chort the inspector fancied he would succeed better. 
 
 Yermac alarmed Chort first by telling him that he was exposing 
 himself to punishment by aiding and abetting the fugitives in 
 their escape. Finally he begged the guide to fly with him in the 
 narta which Chort was accustomed to drive, for that team would be 
 obedient to him ; the guide was promised a handsome reward as 
 soon as he succeeded in reaching the dwellings by the Kolima. 
 
 The Yakout asked for time to consider the proposition. He 
 would, no doubt, eventually, have yielded to the temptations of 
 the inspector of police, had not Yegor, innocently, upset all their 
 calculations. 
 
 Yegor Sem^noff had come to the conclusion that he could not 
 afford to sleep for sixty days until the end of the winter. Many 
 things more important were wanting for the success of his hardy 
 project. So he consulted with M. Lafleur, and agreed to dispatch 
 the two Yakouts with one of the sleighs to Elope-Balo, where 
 were some villages on the Omolone (to send to Mjni-Kolimsk 
 would have been too dangerous), in which they could purchase 
 a quantity of reindeer skins to make an ourovse or " marquee " 
 in readiness for the time when a resumption of the journey would 
 become necessary ; some timber and planks for the construction 
 of a boat — a flat-bottomed punt — which, though made of skins 
 and wood, would enable the fugitives to cross the water-courses, 
 with other very necessary appliances for passing across the snowy 
 
236 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 waste, including a plentiful supply of dried fish and reindeer flesh 
 •or the dogs and their owners respectively. Yegor then handed 
 to Tekel some gold and paper money which passes current with 
 the natives, although tobacco and spirits are the usual " monetary " 
 units for exchange and barter. 
 
 The Yakouts arranged to leave the camp within forty-eight 
 hours, and Yermac perceived that it was impossible to make Chort 
 come to a decision on the eve of his departure with his comrade 
 T^kel. 
 
 The following night the dogs began to bay most furiously, 
 and the Yakouts were convinced that the Tchouktchas were 
 approaching their neighbourhood. Y^gor and M. Lafleur kept 
 awake, and placed their weapons loaded beside them. At length 
 Yegor became impatient and went out. He heard a strange sound 
 in the distance. What could it signify ? 
 
 Suddenly in the sky there appeared white rays of light which 
 extended in a kind of "milky way" across a portion of the 
 heavens. Objects on the ground became more and more distinct, 
 and at length were quite visible under the light, which was as 
 briUiant as that shed by the full moon. The ice-fields scintillated 
 like molten silver in the distance. 
 
 Soon the flame illuminated the horizon and increased as far as 
 the eye could reach, throwing out tongues of flames and long fiery 
 swords which seemed to pierce and draw blood from the sky. 
 Drops of red light fell like drops of blood; and, as nothing is 
 more changeable in nature than the aurora, green tirts succeeded 
 
ARRIVAL OF DIMITRL 237 
 
 to the ruddy tinge. One would almost have declared that an 
 immense " Bengal " light was illuminating the horizon. Then, aa 
 if a rainbow was forming, an arc resembling a mosaic of precious 
 stones — diamonds, rubies, amethysts, sapphires and garnets — 
 sparkled in the firmament. 
 
 By the leaping and capricious light which filled the air Yegor 
 was enabled to perceive a sledge drawn by several reindeer making 
 its way through the snow and ice by the margin of the sea in the 
 direction of the hut, but holding its course still some hundred 
 metres from the coast. Y^gor at first fancied that some people 
 had come in pursuit of him, and he called the Frenchman, to 
 communicate to him his apprehension. M. Lafleur, having put on 
 all his protectors for ears, nose, and forehead, came out into the air. 
 At first the Parisian believed that his friend had only called 
 him out to look at the beautiful display of the aurora borealis, 
 which was somewhat novel to them ; and M. Lafleur uttered an 
 exclamation of delight at the sight. 
 
 "Silence," whispered Yegor. "Look yonder. What kind of 
 people are those who are approaching us ? " 
 
 The howling of the dogs had prevented M. Lafleur from imme- 
 diately distinguishing the crackling made by the sledge "runners" 
 upon the frozen surface of the snow. He gazed for a moment in 
 the direction indicated by Yegor. 
 
 "In any case," he said, "there are not many of them — two or 
 three at most. If they had any business with us, they would 
 find means to speak. But, listen ! " 
 
238 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 The narta had hy this time come near enough to brincj the 
 travellers within earshot of the camp, and across the snow and 
 ice several sentences were distinctly heard by the fugitives. 
 
 " I know that lad's voice ! " exclaimed M. Lafleur. 
 
 "So do I," said Yegor. 
 
 "May I never see the Place de la Bastille again, if I do not 
 believe it is the voice of Ladislas ! " 
 
 " You are right, Monsieur Lafleur. Wait — the sleigh is pro- 
 ceeding in the direction of the baying of our dogs." 
 
 Two minutes later the little Polish lad was being embraced by 
 Yegor and Lafleur. They all shed tears of joy at the meeting. 
 The narta and its driver remained on the frozen waters of the ocean, 
 
 "Who is with you, my dear lad?" inquired Yegor. 
 
 "The son of the police inspector," replied Ladislas; '*he has 
 brought me back to you ! " 
 
 " The son of Yermac ! " exclaimed M. Lafleur, who anticipated 
 something disagreeable from this meeting. 
 
 " He is very ill — wounded. Thanks to the money he had, he 
 prevailed upon a rich Tongouse, who had some fine reindeer, to 
 lend them to him, and bring us here." 
 
 "I will go to him, Yegor," said M. Lafleur, "while you conduct 
 Ladislas to his sister. But take care — prepare her as weli as 
 you can, for the great surprise." 
 
 So saying, M. Lafleur descended cautiously towards the narta, 
 for meantime the aurora had paled. When the Frenchman had 
 come near the travellers, he said : — 
 
HIS FATHER CAMP: RUNNING OUT TO MEET THE PARTY. 
 
ARRIVAL OF DIMITRl. 239 
 
 " Come : you have friends in ns ; fear not ! " 
 
 " Is my father with you ? " inquired Dimitri, faintly. 
 
 "He is yonder in our camp," replied M. Lafleur. 
 
 "Then I shall see him before I die," murmured the 
 wounded man. 
 
 "Before you die? Well, I see you are wounded, my friend, 
 and very ill, no doubt ; but we will nurse you. Come quickly 
 and warm yourself at our fire — you and your driver." 
 
 The Tongouse thus encouraged, raised up Dimitri, and with 
 the assistance of the Frenchman, the son of Yermac was enabled 
 to traverse the distance between the sleigh and the hut. His 
 father came running out to meet the pa.rty. 
 
 "Father," said the young man, as soon as he perceived hira, 
 "you must give me credit for a good action. I have brought 
 back the lad to you " 
 
 Yermac folded Dimitri to his heart, but he could not avoid 
 saying— 
 
 "Considering this is your first good action, I cannot say you 
 have been very fortunate in your selection." 
 
 "Why not?" asked the wounded man. 
 
 " Because he is a child of banished parents, and he will now be 
 able to accompany the others in their flight." 
 
 " I did not know that," replied Dimitri. 
 
 "There — there — let the merit remain with you," said Yermac. 
 " Kow that you have restored the child, I consider myself quits 
 with these fugitives — and that is certainly a great satisfaction." 
 
240 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 Dimitri could not and did not understand this 
 
 His father then noticed how very weak and ill Dimitri was, 
 and inquired the reason. 
 
 " When I once made up my mind to quit the band," replied 
 Dimitri, "I did so. I was already far from them, with one of 
 my companions, an old * Yor,' and the lad here, when they fired 
 at us for the men rightly judged that we were deserting them. 
 The brigand was mortally wounded, and a bullet hit mo in the 
 left shoulder. I could not stop on the way to take any care of 
 the wound, or to dress it ; and herc^ I am, as you see ! " 
 
 " You unfortunate fellow ! you have exposed yourself to the 
 rigour of the climate, and yet worse ! " exclaimed Yermac. 
 
 "Then, you do not now wish to see me dead, father," said 
 Dimitri, with a sad smile. "But I have at length seen you 
 again, and will yield to you my last sigh. Then, perhaps, you 
 will pardon me all the trouble I have given you, and all 
 the pain." 
 
 "Ah, Dimitri!" cried Yermac, who was deeply moved; "do 
 not speak thus. Everything is now forgotten. But how have 
 you managed to come hither*? and how did you succeed in tracking 
 us so far 1 " 
 
 "The bravery of the young lad has accomplished everything," 
 replied Dimitri. " For my own part, I did not wish to delay an 
 hour. I felt I was dying, and I wanted to see you before my 
 death, and turn your curse from me." 
 
 This affecting and solemn scene — this touching reconciliation 
 
ARRIVAL OF DIMITRL 241 
 
 of father and son — took place in the wild and snowy waste, 
 illumined by the last beams of the aurora, the dying rays of 
 which were mingling with the soft twilight of the wintry sky. 
 
 The night passed quickly in the hut, where Ladislas and 
 Nad^ge chatted happily together, and Dimitri conversed with his 
 father. The young man informed him that he would never have 
 been able to follow the track of the fugitives, but for the fires 
 which they had kindled at their various encampments ; and under 
 other circumstances he and his young charge would never have 
 reached the Polar Sea. (The Yakout guides meanwhile were 
 feasting the Tongnuse driver.) 
 
 Yermac then s^d to Y^gor — 
 
 "Thanks to my son, I am enabled to restore to you this child, 
 whom we all have mourned as lost, and who would certainly have 
 died but for the bravery of Dimitri. Do you not think, Yegor, 
 that this counts for something ? " 
 
 " Yes, we are in your debt, Yermac : you were in ours," replied 
 Y^gor. **But do not all these circumstances induce you to reflect? 
 Will you not now put an end to the adverse attitude you have 
 assumed towards us, and which has made us enemies 1 " 
 
 " No. That is impossible ! " 
 
 " We mutually esteem each other, and yet we cherish hatred ! " 
 
 " I feel no hatred," replied Yermac. 
 
 "But," exclaimed Yegor, "I would rather be the object of 
 your hatred — you, the blind instrument of a barbaric legislature, 
 with an inflexibility of character which nothing can touch, which 
 
242 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 nothing can convince, and nothing enlighten. Your dislike must 
 be extinguished now, at a time when you have put us under so 
 great an obligation. But you can neither hate nor love." 
 
 " I obey the most elevated motives," replied Yermac. 
 
 "Very well — take back your weapons, Yermac. No matter 
 what you* may say henceforth, I fear you not. I intend to return 
 you your gun. I at least owe you so much," he added, as he 
 gazed at the emaciated and apparently dying Dimitri 
 
 From that time M. Lafleur took upon himself the part of 
 hospital nurse ; but it was no easy task to attend Dimitri. The 
 bullet had penetrated a considerable distance, and M. Lafleur was 
 in want of surgical instruments. So the condition of the unfor- 
 tunate young man grew worse. There was no hope for him — he 
 was doomed ! 
 
 A few days later — at about the hour when Dimitri had arrived 
 at the camp — three men — the Yakouts and the Tongouse — might 
 have been perceived lighting a fire by the margin of the ocean 
 and digging a grave by its light. 
 
 By the time the fire had burned down, the men had made a 
 considerable impression on the soil by means of their " picks " 
 of hardened wood. After working for an hour, they had thrown 
 up a mound which received their shadows whenever the fitful 
 moon struggled through the clouds, and the workers soon returned 
 to the hut to announce that the grave was ready. 
 
 Almost immediately they came out again, carrying between them 
 a corpse wrapped in a sheet Ladislas preceded them with a 
 
A FUNERAL. 243 
 
 lanthom, Yermac walked behind him, and Yegor with M. Lafleur 
 brought up the rear of the sad procession. 
 
 All round the hut the dogs kept howling in a most melancholy 
 fashion. It was the only requiem. 
 
 The men advanced slowly over the rugged ground, amid the 
 lugubrious obscurity, and under a sky across which the clouds 
 chased each other rapidly. The temperature indicated more than 
 thirty degrees of frost. 
 
 They reached the grave. Then the frozen body was deposited 
 in the frozen ground with a mound of snow for the dead man's 
 only monument. The bereaved father gazed at all the proceedings 
 with dim eyes. 
 
 The two Yakouts had prepared a cross of wood, which they 
 erected. It stood out black against the white background of 
 snow; and when the spectators raised their eyes to heaven they 
 were surprised to perceive an immense cross, repeated with a 
 sinister effect six times in the mist by the brilliant light of the 
 full moon. 
 
 The polar night had spread its vast veil, through which the 
 stars shone with extraordinary brilliancy. Through the freezing 
 atmosphere a clear light fell upon the icebergs, the snowy peaks, 
 and the glassy sea of ice. The deep silence, only broken by 
 the howling of the dogs, affected the senses in an indefinable 
 manner with a kind of fear and uneasiness, as a nightmare 
 might do. 
 
 One identical thought came into the minds of the three prin- 
 
 B — 2 
 
244 ESCAPHID FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 cipal actors in that scone, so far away from their homes. Y^gor, 
 Yermac, and the good M. Laflour, were all simultaneously trans- 
 ported in imagination to sunny climes. Who could tell whether 
 they would ever see their native places again, or whether they 
 would not equally fill a grave in the polar regions of ice 
 and snow? Yegor and M. Lafleur both shook hands with 
 Yermac in their attempts at consolation and to fortify their own 
 resolutions. 
 
 "Yermac," said Y^gor, "at this tomb — beside this grave — are 
 not you willing to promise us assistance and succour ? " 
 
 "No, Yegor," replied the inspector of police; "you have 
 dragged me hither — indeed, I have followed you without much 
 resistance — and for that reason your courage has greatly impressed 
 me ; but you must ask no favour at my hands." 
 
 The Yakout guides departed next evening on their mission^ 
 followed by the south-west — usually called the "hot" — wind, 
 which had prevailed all the day and caused an elevation of the 
 temperature. The thermometer rose above zero, and the snow 
 became softer, and melted on the hut. The moon gave Uiem 
 plenty of light for their journey, and if the dogs did their duty 
 the guides ought to compass a speed of seven miles an hour. 
 
 Yermac, when he perceived the nartas speed away, felt greatly 
 
 discouraged; and, enervated as he was by the death of his son, 
 
 lost all hope of escape. More taciturn than ever, he repulsed 
 
 all attempts at consolation. Nad^ge endeavoured, but without 
 
 'success, to make him take food, which she sent in by Ladislas, 
 
A i'UlSfEliAL 245 
 
 When the guides had quite disappeared he went and sat down 
 by the grave of Dimitri, when the cross appeared in the moon- 
 light, the centre of a vast cemetery. 
 
 In the distance, over the sea, the hummocks of ice and the 
 smaller bergs were creaking and cracking under the disintegrating 
 influence of the warm wind ; and with these weird sounds was 
 mingled the hoarse roar of the waves which were beating against 
 the promontories. The Pola,r Sea had, for a time at any rate, 
 cast off the yoke of winter. 
 

 
 
 'His difficulty now lay iu bringing back the animal to camp.' 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 FAMINE" — YERMAC'S ACCIDENT — A WINTER IN THE ICE. 
 
 TTERMAC was hungry. 
 
 -*- For many days he had subsisted solely on two lemmings, 
 
 a kind of rat, which he had taken in the snares set in the marshy 
 plain by the margin of the sea. 
 
 The foxes and gluttons, in a most unaccountable manner, de- 
 clined to be captured in the traps so artistically formed for their 
 
 receptioiL 
 
 346 
 
FAMINE. 247 
 
 Yermac discovered many hiding-places wherein the foxes had 
 collected numbers of lemmings which they had killed. The 
 numbers could be easily estimated by the skulls of the little 
 rodents pierced by the sharp canine teeth of their captors. In 
 one of these caches Yermac found half a white hare. But all the 
 flesh he discovered was only fitted to bait his traps. 
 
 So he naturally felt very hungry, and he did not like to accept 
 any food from his companions. He did not regret this, notwith- 
 standing his sufferings, for he put himself voluntarily out of the 
 pale of the society of his late associates. Nevertheless he realized 
 the fact that, unless he soon took some decided step, he would 
 perish of inanition. The low temperature, too, aggravated his 
 sufferings and requirements. His iimbs failed him, his sight grew 
 dim, his skin became dry, parched, and discoloured, it became 
 stretched upon his bones like parchment, so greatly was he 
 emaciated. His pulse grew weak, his body lost all natural 
 warmth, and his very breathing became, as it were, frozen. He 
 dragged himself about like a man who had just recovered from 
 some severe illness. 
 
 He could no longer sleep, and recuperation by this natural 
 means was denied him. At times he fell into a lethargic condition 
 which seemed the precursor of the death-agony. He thus was 
 undergoing the most terrible privation which, even in his life of 
 trial, he had ever experienced. Yet, with all this, he was not 
 
248 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 afraid of giving way and begging favours of his companions, and 
 of putting himself at the mercy of the fugitives. He was only 
 afraid that death would cause him to give up his pursuit of them ; 
 that he would succumb, on one of his nocturnal expeditions in 
 the access of great discouragement and physical failure which so 
 frequently beset him. 
 
 These nocturnal expeditions of the starving man across snow 
 and ice, in intense cold, in the dull moonhght, which gave the 
 huge ice-blocks such fantastic forms, served to weaken him 
 rapidly. Sometimes the moon would be obscured — a thick fog 
 would hide everything, or a terrible snowstorm would set in, and 
 wrap him in its embrace. 
 
 Armed only with a pole, Yermac would under such circum- 
 stances glare around him with eyes rendered wild by hunger and 
 the hallucinations of an impoverished brain. His teeth seemed to 
 grow longer, his tongue worked in his mouth incessantly, and his 
 jaws were continually in motion chewing — nothing. Empty, 
 fasting, seeking food, and forgetful of self, emaciated even though 
 he was, he might become the victim of any polar bear desirous to 
 make a fresh meal. Yermac stumbled blindly on, seeking some 
 sustenance in a kind of blind rage. Had there been grass he 
 would eagerly have devoured it. If only the newly fallen snow 
 had been manna ! But it was only snow, and as such but capable 
 of quenching his burning thirst. 
 
FAMINE. 249 
 
 Though wide awake, he had dreams of eatmg. A temperate 
 man always, he suddenly beheld the ice-blocks covered with white 
 drapery and laden with abundant and varied supplies of food — 
 savoury victuals from all parts of the globe, and thus he 
 endured all the tortures of Tantalus. At other times his 
 disordered imagination pictured to him horrible banquets of human 
 flesh. 
 
 So when, bruised but still unconquered, he looked mourn- 
 fully around him, the phantom form of Hunger appeared to 
 him the only occupant of the vast solitudes he had pene- 
 trated. 
 
 Y^gor had returned Yermac his gun, but he had no idea what 
 had become of his ammunition, and was he to be too proud to beg 
 a supply from his companions 1 No. He determined he would not 
 be ; for without ammunition he knew he could not exist. Never- 
 theless he wished to live independently, and he wanted to win over 
 the driver Chort, when the nartas returned, for he had almost 
 succeeded in gaining him to his side. If he could now escape (he 
 felt quite quits with Y^gor Semenoff and his friends) the party 
 would be equal. 
 
 Winter had as yet scarcely commenced. Nijni-Kolimsk — 
 which represented force of law — was not far off. What did his 
 sufferings matter if he succeeded finally in his attempt, repeUing 
 indeed, even perilous ; but for this very reason worthy to furnish 
 
250 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 encouragement to all who acted in support of the dictates of 
 conscience. 
 
 Next day — it was necessary to make haste, for the moon was 
 waning and the nights were getting as dark as the days — Yegor 
 and M Lafleur perceived the inspector of police depart, dragging 
 himself along with great difficulty, evidently prepared to proceed 
 to a distance. A curious specimen of a hunter was he, staggering 
 along, supporting himself by his gun, and grown so thin that his 
 furs hung about him like the costume of a masker in " the Dance 
 of Death." 
 
 Yermac made his way in an easterly direction towards Cape 
 Chelagsk, across the hummocks of ice, and was so fortunate as to 
 come across some reindeer of the particular species which lives in 
 the vicinity of the Polar Sea, and does not migrate to the woods. 
 Yermac fired at the deer and one fell 
 
 Then all the man's confidence returned. His difficulty now lay 
 in bringing back the animal to camp. Full of ardour and proud of 
 his exploit, he seized the dead animal by the horns and managed 
 to drag it towards the hut. He had now subsistence for many 
 days. 
 
 The inspector visibly improved in appearance thenceforth. He 
 resumed his moral attitude of spy, though living as much as 
 possible apart from his companions. Notwithstanding the cold he 
 remained out of doors, only coming in when the rest were all 
 
YERMACS ACCIDENT. 251 
 
 asleep for necessary repose, and going out again first of all in the 
 morning. 
 
 One evening, however, Yegor was sure Yermac had not returned, 
 and he becamo very uneasy in consequence. He was certain that 
 something had happened to his tormentor, and at an early hour 
 next morning Yegor proceeded in search of the inspector of police, 
 taking the direction towards the sea, while M, Lafleur went to 
 the places where Yermac had established his "traps" and 
 "gins." 
 
 Yegor advanced cautiously in the darkness, which was but littlo 
 relieved by the brilliancy of the stars. He stood still and listened. 
 Not a sound broke the sepulchral silence save the moaning of the 
 wind, which saddened him. 
 
 Suddenly, as he turned round by an enormous block of ice, he 
 found Yermac in a hole up to his middle in the nearly frozen 
 inlet 
 
 The inspector, with extended arms, was supporting himself by 
 his elbows on the ice, quite incapable of getting up unassisted. 
 He was waiting there, calm and resigned. What was he waiting 
 for? 
 
 " What are you doing there ? " cried Y^gor to him. 
 
 " I am waiting to see which will come first, deliverance or 
 death," replied the inspector. " I have fallen into a fissure in the 
 ice " 
 
252 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 "So I perceive. I must pull you out," said Y^gor, and he 
 extended his gun-stock to Yermac as he spoke. 
 
 Y^gor had considerable difficulty in extricating Yermac, who had 
 become partially frozen into the ice. 
 
 ** Once again I owe my life to you," murmured Yermac. 
 "Everything conspires against me. I shall never get out of 
 your debt." 
 
 " Why does this debt cost you so much to contract 1 " asked 
 Y^gor. 
 
 Yermac made no answer ; and the men proceeded together in 
 silence to the hut, where M. Lafleur arrived almost immediately 
 afterwards. 
 
 "This IS a regular day for accidents," exclaimed Y^gor, as he 
 gazed at the Frenchman. "My good M. Lafleur, your nose is 
 frozen ! " 
 
 Ladislas, hearing this, immediately ran out for some snow ; and 
 a moment after M. Lafleur, paler than his nose, was rubbing it 
 vigorously to restore the circulation. At length he succeeded; and 
 then, blowing the offending organ, he exclaimed impatiently, as he 
 threw himself upon a bench, — 
 
 " It seems to me this is a disgustingly long winter ! " 
 
 "My dear friend," replied Y6gor, "the winter has but just 
 commenced. Have patience. On the 28th of December the sun 
 will reappear upon the horizon. But the cold will not diminish. 
 
' The inspector, supporting himself by his elbows on the ice.' 
 
YERMACrS ACCIDENT, 255 
 
 Quite the contrary indeed. For my own part I am content to 
 think that your friendship has not congealed already — like your 
 nose." 
 
 " My friendship ! " replied the Frenchman. " My dear Y^gor, 
 it would not fail you so quickly. Pardon me that momentary 
 impatience. One cannot perceive one's nose freeze without a little 
 natural warmth — or shall I say, emotion ? " 
 
 When Yermac had eaten enough of his reindeer — he had 
 offered Y^gor and his friends some of the choicest portions, but 
 they declined, thus imitating him in his refusals of their hospita- 
 lity — he utilized the remainder for his traps. Thanks to the 
 enticing smell of the flesh, Yermac quickly became possessed of 
 three fine " gluttons," which he found sufficiently palatable. The 
 valuable furs of these animals were put carefully away, for Yermac, 
 in his determination to escape, did not neglect to lay up a store of 
 " circulating media " for the expenses of his journey, and such furs 
 as those he had just obtained fetched a high price amongst the 
 natives of Northern Siberia. 
 
 The Yakouts did not hurry back, and the fugitives began to fall 
 short of provisions. They, in their turn, employed themselves in 
 devising means to subdue the attacks of hunger. At that time 
 one of the touching contests of generous natures began. M. 
 Lafleur pretended that the cold had begun to affect him in a 
 manner quite contrary to previous experience. He had no appetite 
 
2rs ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 —food " went against him," he said ; and he insisted upon ISTad^ge 
 and Ladislas having the best parts. Ladislas, too, pretended to 
 his adopted sister that he had too much to eat, and with consider- 
 able self-denial obliged her to eat what he declared he could not 
 touch. ^ 
 
 Yermac, considerably surprised to perceive the fugitives so soon 
 reduced to these straits, studied the expression of their faces. 
 The more they failed the more he assumed strength and courage, 
 for things would then be equal between them. His satisfaction 
 would have been complete had he not partaken of the fears of 
 the others concerning the absent guides. 
 
 Y^gor and his friends endeavoured to find excuses for the delay 
 in the return of the guides, and they economised the food. Yermac 
 was particularly uneasy concerning Chort. He was afraid he had 
 said too much to Tekel's companion concerning the condition of the 
 people he was engaged by. 
 
 Perhaps, fearing to compromise themselves, the guides would not 
 return at all ! In that case Yermac perceived that his escape would 
 be impossible : but was not the flight of the fugitives equally im- 
 possible ? 
 
 What could they do without their sleighs, their dogs, and 
 supplies, in the deserted regions of the Polar World ? The fugi- 
 tives would be compelled to admit themselves vanquished, incap- 
 able of proceeding to the end of their journey ; and would be 
 
A WINTER IN THE ICE. 257 
 
 compelled to return, under the escort of the inspector of police, to 
 Yakoutsk. 
 
 The fugitives were soon compelled to dispute for their food 
 with Wab and the two Siberian dogs which Y^gor had taken 
 care of. 
 
 These animals, left without food, continually howled in the most 
 lugubrious manner. The Siberian dogs usually howl four times 
 a-day, but these animals cried day and night incessantly. The 
 condition of the fugitives could not be much worse. And with 
 that the bitter frost caused them all kinds of suiFering. One 
 morning Ladislas complained very much of the cold which he felt 
 terribly in his feet. M. Lafleur took off the lad's boots, and 
 uttered a cry when he perceived that the woollen socks had frozen 
 to his feet and were adhering to them. It was necessary to be 
 cautious in removing this icy covering. Fortunately the extremities, 
 although stiffened, were still safe. M. Lafleur succeeded in 
 restoring the circulation of the blood by rubbing them vigorously 
 with brandy. 
 
 The difficulty of existence also increased by reason of the 
 cold. It became necessary to cut the food with a hatchet, 
 and if one touched a piece of iron a blister was formed by 
 the contact with the uncovered hand. If Yegor, when consulting 
 his compass, did not hold his breath, it was at once frozen on 
 the glass. Outside the hut the eyelids became covered with 
 
258 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 an icy crust. Yet^^or's watch no longer went, although he had 
 taken the greatest care of it, and kept it under the bed-coverings 
 at night. 
 
 Although the fugitives were very warmly clad in flannel and 
 furs, and their beds were coveted with skins, the intense cold, 
 added to the pangs of hunger, kept them from sleeping. The 
 poor travellers were worn down by sadness : they had only 
 escaped from the captivity of men to fall under the power of the 
 elements. 
 
 Nevertheless, all these privations, amid the snow and darkness, 
 had consolations when contrasted with what Yegor had suffered in 
 the mines of Nertchinsk, and what Nadege had endured. Here 
 Hope buoyed them up. 
 
 As soon as the sun returned they would be able to continue 
 their journey. They compared themselves to the heroes and 
 heroines of the Fairy Tales who awaited their deliverance in 
 the forest or in the castle where they had been shut up by 
 magic power. The chances of safety would be increased every 
 day. 
 
 Ah ! if Hunger had not claimed his rights so inexorably and 
 made them feel his tyranny ! 
 
 They had passed through the greater part of the long Polar night 
 which, in those latitudes, lasts more than a month. Mid-day was 
 just the same as midnight. In the south a pale and yellowish 
 
A WINTER IN THE IGE. 259 
 
 gleam of light was visible. The sun had descended so many 
 degrees below the horizon, that to perceive it, it would have been 
 necessary to ascend a mountain ten leagues high ! When the moon 
 was not visible, or when the Aurora did not appear, only luminous 
 traces of the ** shooting stars" were occasionally visible : a rapid 
 thread of light in the profound darkness — a star had fallen and 
 been extinguished in space ! 
 
 The only sounds which broke the terrible silence, which was 
 harder to bear even than the want of light, were the noises produced 
 by the cracking of the ice-blocks or the crunching of the masses 
 against each other in those spots which had been incompletely 
 frozen — noises which tended to impress the hearers strangely. 
 Sometimes they were deep and continuous, like the distant booming 
 of the waves ; sometimes sharp and strident, like the squeaking of 
 ungreased wheels ; sometimes loud and sudden, like the detonations 
 of cannon. 
 
 Yegor and M. Lafleur applied themselves to hunting, but with- 
 out success. The shores of the Polar Sea appeared quite barren 
 of game. 
 
 The smell and the howling of the dogs had banished the 
 
 bears. On one occasion they had the chance of killing a pair 
 
 of seals, the fat of which they devoured with some tea. M. 
 
 Lafleur thought seal-fat something like rancid butter, but he got 
 
 accustomed to it 
 
 8 — 2 
 
 ■^M' 
 
260 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 Finally, Yegor and M. Lafleur decided to make an expedition in 
 searcli of 'some white bears npon the frozen ocean. The dayhgtit 
 which had, by this time, been visible for a week, rendered such an 
 ftxcursion pt^ssible. 
 
Yegor and his friend, with tht two Siberian do^'i 
 
 CHAPTEK XYIII. 
 
 AN EXPEDITION ON THE ICE THE BEAR HUNT — A PERILOUS 
 
 POSITION RESCUED. 
 
 IVrEXT day, when the pale yellow tint in the south heralded the 
 ^ ^ rising of the sun, Yegor and his friend descended, well 
 armed, upon the ice, taking with them the two Siberian dogs. 
 Soon afterwards the sun itself appeared with its ruddy disc cir- 
 cumscribed by the mist. The snowy lines of the coast and the 
 great ice-blocks assumed a softer hue ot rose colour, and the blue 
 
 tints passed into violet. 
 
 261 
 
ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 After an hour's inarch amongst accumulated blocks — broken, 
 pointed and crushed into shapeless masses which are called 
 "hummocks " by English explorers, and which have the appearance 
 of an immense field turned up by a gigantic plough — the hunters 
 reached a perfect labyrinth of ice-blocks in which they recognized 
 in the snow traces of white bears, of foxes which are the " para- 
 sites " of the bears, and which are enabled by their superior agility 
 to snatch a portion of the prey of their formidable adversaries. 
 Soon afterwards the men discovered a lair from which the game 
 was absent. These caverns, which are about five feet deep, have 
 two exits ; and a couple of bears scarcely find space in it to lie 
 down together. 
 
 A little farther away our hunters perceived two bears in hiding. 
 Near one of the round crevasses in the ice at which the old wal- 
 ruses come up to breathe the air — to enjoy the light, and the sun 
 when it is visible — the bears had built up a snow mound behind 
 which they were crouching. At the base of the little mound they 
 had pierced a hole through which a paw could be passed. They 
 were watching their prey with so much attention, that they did 
 not hear the approach of the two hunters. 
 
 After waiting a few minutes, Yegor and M. Lafleur perceived an 
 old walrus emerge very cautiously from the water. The quicker 
 of the bears at once gave him a blow with his paw, which stretched 
 him half dead upon the ice. Then both bears threw themselves 
 
AN EXPEDITION ON THE ICE. 263 
 
 upon the walrus, despatched him, and commenced to make a meal 
 of him. 
 
 This was a favourable moment for the hunters to attack. Yegor, 
 who hitherto had had very great difficulty in restraining the 
 Siberian dogs, let them slip. When their barking was heard by 
 the bears they seemed undecided whether to fight or beat a 
 retreat. But while they hesitat€r? ^f. Lafleur fired at each ii? 
 turn. The animals hesitated no longer; smd, perceiving that they 
 had to do with determined hunters, made olf behind the ice- 
 blocks. 
 
 Then the chase commenced in earnest. Yegor and M. Lafleur 
 advanced, guided by the furious barking of the dogs. But the 
 bears gained on them : from time to time the hunters caught sight 
 of them clinging to the hummocks as white as themselves, and 
 quite out of range. 
 
 As Yegor and M. Lafleur proceeded, the latter entertained his 
 companion — who, however, did not give the narrative implicit 
 credence — with some account of the manners and customs of the 
 Polar bears. He said that when the ice is beginning to form, in 
 September, the female *' Bruin" captures and kills a number of 
 seals, which she hides in the openings of a rock. After that, she 
 proceeds inland and gorges herself with lichens so as to make a 
 kind of stop-gap. When this little arrangement is satisfactorily 
 concluded, she returns to her stock of seal-meat and stuffs herself 
 
264 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 with the fat until she can hold no more. When this meal is 
 finally concluded, she spends three-quarters of the winter in the 
 hole she has excavated for herself in the ice. 
 
 After a certain period of seclusion it frequently happens that 
 ahe gives birth to two and sometimes three cubs. In this crystal- 
 lino creeJie she moves about and teaches her children to walk 
 until April sets in, when the seals begin to bring up their little 
 families. Then the bears quit their icy lair, their mother leading 
 them and sniffing the air. She seeks and follows by scent the 
 invisible trail of the seal to the place where she has built her 
 "home/* which is as easy to recognize as the iglow of the 
 Esquimaux. Then Madame Bruin makes a spring, crushes down 
 upon the frail habitation of the seal, and very quickly seizes the 
 young seals to feed her cubs withal. 
 
 Y^gor, on this, remarked to M. Lafleur, that there were so many 
 fables circulated concerning the Polar bear that he did not feel 
 disposed to credit all that was said about the animal, particularly 
 his voluntary interment during the winter. 
 
 Suddenly, while the hunters were proceeding, a third bear, 
 putting the dogs at fault, rose from behind a block of ice and 
 advanced towards the invaders with full confidence in his 
 strength, or the contempt of danger which characterizes the Polar 
 bear. 
 
 Yegor perceived the animal as he was sloAvly advancin^j, and 
 
THE BEAR HUNT 265 
 
 presented his gun. M. Lafleur, suddenly turning, fired but 
 missed. Yegor waited until the animal had come nearer, and 
 then fired twice at ten paces. The bear, feeling wounded, 
 turned round and fled away, leaving tracks of blood upon the 
 snow. 
 
 It was in vain that M. Lafleur fired again. The bear ran away, 
 and finally disappeared behind the blocks of ice, whither it was 
 impossible to follow him. 
 
 The dogs, badly trained, persisted in following the first trail for 
 an immense distance, and the hunters ran a great risk of being left 
 in the lurch — a prospect far from agreeable when the empty con- 
 dition of the larder was taken into consideration. 
 
 Nadege and Ladislas, who remained in the hut by the fire, were 
 much alarmed at the long absence of Yegor and M. Lafleur. 
 Yermac, seated opposite, said nothing, looking at Nadege without 
 speaking, and only replying, even when addressed directly, by a 
 movement of the head or a shrug of the shoulders. 
 
 The looks of this taciturn person weighed upon Nadego's spirits. 
 Wab also, who had no doubt heard the barking of the Siberian 
 dogs, began to howl in a manner scarcely calculated to make the 
 girl cheerful. 
 
 She dressed herself as warmly as possible, and, accompanied by 
 Ladislas, ventured out. The twilight had begun early, and the 
 sea appeared disturbed. Heavy clouds, the harbingers of the 
 
266 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 storm, were packed in the east. The fog began to rise, and soon 
 she was enabled to perceive the ocean, agitated by a fierce wind, 
 cast up in great waves which fell upon the white cliifs with a 
 Plundering sound. 
 
 Under the influence of a strong north-easter, the water, now 
 free from ice for some distance, threw enormous blocks of ice upon 
 the frozen fields which they broke through. Masses of ice were 
 tossed upon the summits of the waves; and, broken up with 
 great noise, disappeared in the spray. The waves engulfed 
 these blocks, but an instant afterwards they reappeared, and, 
 hissing in the foam, were precipitated against other blocks and 
 mounted upon them. A continued cracking was audible as 
 the broken ice mingled with the waves, tossed into foam by 
 the wind. 
 
 Arctic explorers tell us that no language can render justice to 
 this sound. There is at first, under the convulsed ice, which 
 trembles like the whistling of a thousand arrows, a most horrible 
 uproar, in which strident tones mingle with deep noises and 
 groanings becoming more and more savage. The ice breaks up 
 into concentric fissures, the fragments rolling one on the other. 
 Then commences a wild Titanic contest which recalls the battle 
 of the elements in the first ages of the world. These masses 
 advance and meet each other; and fighting, struggling, dashing 
 against each other impelled by a hidden force, appear to be 
 
BESGUED. 267 
 
 obeying their own blind passions. Above all, the sombre and 
 supernatural light caused by the reflection of the ice, gives the 
 sky a strange appearance. 
 
 Wab, who had not quitted his mistress's side, began to b{V*-i. ^nd 
 continued to do so. 
 
 Then Ladislas endeavoured to calm the anxieties of his sister. 
 He repeated, what was true enough, that Yegor and M. Lafleur 
 were hunting amongst the hummocks towards the west, and that 
 the open water could not reach them there. 
 
 But Nadege, who was much distressed, would not listen. She 
 proceeded bravely over the sea in the direction she trusted to 
 meet her beloved Yegor, whom she regretted having permitted to 
 go so far away from her. The girl hoped that in the semi- 
 obscurity that prevailed, the hunters would be able to guide 
 themselves by the barking of Wab. She also counted upon the 
 intelligence of Yegor's dog, and she followed the faithful animal, 
 which to all appearance had chosen the direction in which the 
 travellers would be found. 
 
 Suddenly it seemed to her, and to Ladislas also, that the ice 
 upon which they were walking began to tremble. They were not 
 mistaken. The oscillations became more marked. The ice cracked 
 under their feet. Some dark rays extended, and showed them- 
 selves through the snow ; crevasses were being formed. Nadege 
 wished to retrace her steps, but behind her a passage opened 
 
ESGA FED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 studded with ice-blocks. At this sight the young lady uttered 
 despairing cries, while Ladislas in vain endeavoured to calm her. 
 Wab began to bark louder than ever. The immense mass of ice 
 on which they were standing began to float away, and then a wave 
 broke over it and hurried it along. 
 
 The shock was fearful. A terrible cracking resounded under 
 their feet, and they felt convinced that the receding water would 
 carry away a large portion of the ice. However, they could still 
 stand without danger. Guided by Wab, they moved away to the 
 leeward side and took refuge upon a mound of ice many feet thick, 
 which appeared to be motionless, and which resisted all the 
 efiforts of the waves to disintegrate it. But the bristling ice 
 presented a thousand obstacles to the retreat of the unfortunate 
 fugitives. 
 
 Ladislas was quickly exhausted, and declared he could proceed 
 no farther. Nad^ge then took him in her arms, and she who a 
 few moments before had nearly given way, now found strength to 
 proceed and carry him to a place of safety. 
 
 As she was searching for some place, and wondering from which 
 side assistance would arrive, she perceived Yerniac, who had been 
 called from the hut by the roar of the tempest and the loud 
 barking of Wab. 
 
 The inspector of police came towards the lady and her com- 
 panion, but found his progress barred by a crevasse wliich Nad^ge 
 
' Yermac devised a method of Prompt succour." 
 
RESCUED. 271 
 
 had not perceived, but which she reached almost simultaneously 
 with the inspector. The girl uttered a cry of despair when she 
 perceived the impassable obstacle which separated her from 
 Yermac. The fissure was long and deep, and the waves washed 
 to and fro. It was bounded only on the right by precipitous peak- 
 shaped hummock ice, and the gap was about seven or eight feet 
 wide. Nadege and Ladislas had no alternative but to wait where 
 they were until the wind abated and new ice formed upon the sur- 
 face of lini water, strong enough to bear them. This could not 
 occur for several hours. But their clothing, drenched with spray, 
 would quickly freeze upon them, and, in the absolute impossi- 
 bility of moving about, death was almost certain to overtake 
 them. 
 
 Yermac, however, devised a method of prompt succour. Masses 
 of ice of varying size lay strewn about, and he fancied he could 
 construct a kind of " pontoon " across the fissure. This idea he 
 immediately put in practice. Nadege at once perceived his inten- 
 tion, and felt hope revive within her. 
 
 Some blocks of ice were drifting in the channel ; others consoli- 
 dated at the sides of crevasses, and soon all these being united, 
 Ladislas first and Nad^ge afterwards were enabled to cross. The 
 boy had scarcely let go his sister's hand when Yermac came and 
 caught him by the other. After this test Kadege crossed the 
 " pontoon " of ice without assistance. Wab followed Ladislas 
 
272 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 and then returned to Nad^ge as if to beg of her to have no 
 fear. 
 
 Ladislas embraced the inspector of police. Nad^ge did not know 
 how to thank him for his quick appreciation of, and for releasing 
 them from, the grave danger they had been in. 
 
 At that moment Y^gor and IVL Lafleur returned, preceded by 
 the dogs from the westward. 
 
 They had also had a rough time of it. The wind had rendered 
 their progress very difficult, as it raised the snow in little storms 
 right in their faces. This dry snow, like sand in the desert, de- 
 stroyed all traces of the route, raising little hills and forming 
 valleys and mounds which they were obliged to avoid if they 
 did not wish to sink leg-deep in the snowy dust. 
 
 The surprise of the hunters was extreme when they perceived 
 Nad^ge and Ladislas on the ice — their clothing bristling with 
 icicles, and Yermac beside them also, glistening with hoar- 
 frost, for he had not been careful of himself when working. 
 Ladislas at once ran to his friends and told them all that had 
 happened since their departure. 
 
 "Ah, Monsieur Yermac," said Y^gor, "you are better than 
 your word. To-day you have saved all our lives ! " 
 
 But after all the joy of returning safe and sound to the hut, 
 there was a disappointment. The hunters had brought back 
 nothing ! 
 
RESCUED. 
 
 273 
 
 The inspector of police regarded the day as a lucky one for 
 him. 
 
 Once again he had cried "quits" with Yegor. That was to 
 Yormac a good omen. 
 
.o^. 
 
 " M. Lafleur waited whole days and nights to catch a seaL** 
 
 CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 THE NATIVES — A SEAL-HUNT — ^,VN UNPALATABLE SUPPER — M. LAFLEUR 
 AND THE BEAR. 
 
 ]\TOTHING appeared changed in the condition of the travellers, 
 
 -^ ' except the manner of the inspector of the police. Yermac 
 
 appeared less reserved. He permitted himself a degree of amity 
 
 with the young lady and the lad whom he had rescued from 
 
 almost certain death ; but they felt nevertheless that there was a 
 
 barrier between them and him. Yermac's cold politeness was 
 
 rather that of a gaoler — his looks, his attentions never passed a 
 
 274 
 
A SEAL-HUNT. 275 
 
 certain fixed limit. He still continued to decline any share of the 
 meat which so seldom appeared upon the common table. 
 
 In the midst of this misery, with famine certain if the Yakouts 
 did not soon make their appearance — the fugitives had a stroke of 
 luck. 
 
 Wab set off on his own account after a reindeer of the same 
 species as that recently killed by Yermac, and brought it down. 
 This exploit was accomplished at a distance of nearly three-quarters- 
 of-a-mile from the hut, and the brave dog came back there : he 
 managed to attract Yegor's attention by his movements, and his 
 master followed him. The other dogs were keeping guard. The 
 reindeer was carried in triumph to the hut, and the dogs, especially 
 Wab, were not forgotten in the feasting. 
 
 Yermac, still inflexible, maintained that his reindeer was larger 
 than Wab's quarry. 
 
 M. Lafleur, recognizing the difficulty of catching a bear, thought 
 he would try his hand at " sealing." He fashioned a harpoon, and 
 fancied he might make use of the Siberian dogs to discover the 
 retreat of the amphibious ones. The dogs found many of the narrow 
 apertures which the seal makes in the ice, through which he breathes 
 fresh air, and through which he is harpooned. M. Lafleur, notwith- 
 standing the cold and hunger, waited whole days and nights to 
 catch a seal which defied his inexperience as a fisherman, as the 
 bear had evaded him when hunting so unskilfully. 
 
 T — 2 
 
276 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 At length real assistance arrived in the persons of two old 
 Tchouktchas — a man and a woman. Dying of hunger, they came 
 from the Bay of Tchaounsk, and were proceeding along the coast in 
 search of some native settlement in which to find victuals. They 
 had perceived the smoke from the hut, and came to request hospi- 
 tality 
 
 " Toroma,'* said they when they entered. This is equivalent 
 to "Good evening." 
 
 Y^gor regretted the absence of his faithful T(5kel, who knew 
 something of the language of the Tchouktchas, and replied at a 
 venture, " Toroma," 
 
 By the appearance of the new arrivals and by signs, the fugitjves 
 managed to understand what was required, and although provi- 
 sions were extremely scarce the new-comers devoured all that had 
 been intended for the meals of the next and the following days. 
 They were extremely hungry, and their appetites were not easy 
 to satisfy. ' 
 
 The appearance of these people recalled the type of the Mongol 
 of the old world, combined with that of the North American 
 Indian ; Behring's Strait, wJiich was frozen solid the greater part 
 of the year, serving as the connecting link bet^^ een the races, as 
 between the two continents. 
 
 Tlie man was thickly enwrapped in reindeer skins ; he wore 
 upon his head a cowl which fell down and covered his shoulders 
 
AN UNPALATABLE SUPPLU. 277 
 
 over his exterior body-garment. His wife, clothed in many tunics, 
 fastened them like trousers at the feet and legs ; the sleeves had 
 likewise openings for the hands. Her face was tattooed with 
 some blue markings. 
 
 Notwithstanding his hunger, the man could not take his eyes 
 off Nadege, so impressed was he by her beauty. He proceeded to 
 explain this to his wife, and used the word ^^ kamakay" frequently. 
 " Kamakay " means the chief of a tribe. 
 
 Perceiving in a corner the harpoon which M. Lafleur had manu- 
 factured, the Tchouktchas appeared astonished that they had not 
 been treated to seal-meat. M. Lafleur, by his gestures, gave them 
 to understand that he had tried but failed in his fishing. Then 
 the native smote his chest, and, pointing to the harpoon and dogs, 
 promised to give M. Lafleur, whom he took for a Russian, a lesson 
 in seal-catching. 
 
 Next day accordingly the native was not long in harpooning a 
 seal Guided by the dogs, he soon arrived at a breathing-hole. 
 Then he sounded the snow with his harpoon to a depth of two 
 or three feet ; for the seal makes the hole across the ice, but often 
 stops at a mound of snow. The small aperture discovered, the 
 fisherman waited silently until a seal came up to breathe the air. 
 At the second or third respiration the harpoon, projected strongly 
 through the snow, pierced the animal's head. 
 
 The seal plunged and ran out all the rope which had been 
 
278 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 fastened to the harpoon in view of this contingency — about fifty 
 yards. The other end was in the hand of the harpooner. The 
 breathing-hole, afterwards cleared of the snow which concealed it, 
 was enlarged to permit the body of the animal to pass through it, 
 which feat was accomplished when the seal ceased to struggle. The 
 native quickly drew him out, and carried the carcass to the hut. 
 
 Then, after a lesson in fishing, came a lesson in cookery. Wliile 
 ihe native man decapitated the seal, his wife, to make herself 
 useful, procured some oil for the lamp from some morsels of fat 
 of the animal. She was so skilful in her manipulation that in a 
 very short time she had filled a large wooden vase with lamp-oil. 
 
 When the seal was cut up, the native man, to set the example, 
 lay down upon his back and caused his wife to stuff him with 
 seal-fat as one would cram a fowl. 
 
 Perceiving, after this relish, that his companions were not very 
 anxious to eat the uncooked flesh, the Tchouktchas prepared 
 enormous slices, which they boiled with water and the blood of 
 the seal in the cauldron suspended over the fire. After about 
 three hoursV cooking, the woman distributed the pieces, taking 
 care to' suck them one after the other for fear any of the gravy 
 should drop on her hosts' clothing. Any small piece of skin or 
 hair, or the like, which still clung to the slices, she licked off with 
 her ready tongue. 
 
 The fugitives remained still only spectators of these nice atton- 
 
THE NATIVE CAUSED HIS WJFE TO STUFF HIM WITH SEAL-FAT. 
 
M. LAFLEUR AND THE BEAR, 279 
 
 tions, and declined to partake of the food. At the risk of offending 
 the lady they searched for their own bits in the cauldron ; and 
 with their forks found some remains, although they passed for 
 ill-mannered folk in her eyes. 
 
 The Tchouktchas then offered the Europeans — but without 
 meeting with many acknowledgments — pieces of raw flesh with 
 raw lard ; and showed how much they themselves enjoyed these 
 delicious portions of the animal. The female then proceeded to 
 further cookery of the seal's interior, and served it round to all 
 the guests. 
 
 M. Lafleur at length succeeded in devouring this, and even in 
 eating the lard, and swallowing the "gravy." 
 
 "There — that is done?" he cried, after this exploit. "You 
 need never have any fear of me, my friends, so long as the inside 
 of a seal — Phoca hisjpida — is to hand with ice ; and I will let you 
 have all the remainder." 
 
 Yermac had permitted the natives to pile up before him seal- 
 broth, raw flesh, slices of fat, " interior," and hesitated what to do. 
 He had not tasted the reindeer which Wab had run down, and for 
 many days his food had been very limited and inferior in quality. 
 The seal-flesh was offered to him by the native ; he decided to 
 taste it, and he followed the Parisian's example. 
 
 The Tchouktchas, seeing that success had attended their efforts, 
 made no longer any scruple of eating all the morsels they could 
 
280 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 reach. They ate pounds and pounds of the flesh, and when they 
 could hold no more they lay down to digest their dinner. 
 
 Next day the natives, thus refreshed, departed without any 
 ceremony, carrying with them the remains of the seal, and appro- 
 priating besides a small skin-bag in which the matches were kept. 
 The travellers were very sorry indeed that they had received the 
 natives so hospitably. 
 
 However, M. Lafleur profited by his lesson. One day, after 
 having harpooned a seal, he was drawing it out of the water, and 
 while he was kneeling upon the ice he felt a familiar tap on the 
 shoulder, but thought that Ladislas was behind him. He was 
 about to withdraw the harpoon from the seal, when the pressure 
 upon his back compelled him to turn round ; and he nearly 
 fainted at perceiving an enormous white bear, which had noticed 
 the fishing, and claimed the prey. The bear, taking advantage of 
 the deference paid him by M. Lafleur — who at once made way for 
 him, as you may imagine— took up the seal and departed to his 
 den. After this incident M. Lafleur never went sealing without 
 his gun. 
 
 The inspector of police, as it seemed, began to like seal-flesh. 
 After having followed M. Lafleur's example once or twice, he 
 borrowed the harpoon and succeeded in killing a large seal, which 
 he cut up and laid aside. 
 
 This conduct surprised Y^gor. 
 
M. LAFLEUR AND THE BEAR. 
 
 281 
 
 " What is he about to do with all that supply of fat ? " he asked 
 of M. Lafleur. 
 
 What but laying in a stock of provision for his journey ; for, 
 seeing the Yakouts did not return, he was thinking seriously of 
 running away I 
 
 <ry 
 
"Utteriug an exclamation of joy, he pointed out the vessel to M. Latlear.*' 
 
 CHAPTEK XX. 
 
 THE DUTCH WHALER —A TERRIBLE ENCOUNTER DESPAIR I 
 
 "\TADEGE and Ladislas disliked the flesh of the seal so much 
 
 -*- ^ — perhaps having tasted the curious culinary preparations 
 
 of the natives — that M. Lafleur persuaded Yegor to go once 
 
 again in search of the white bears. 
 
 Famine had made itself felt in the fugitive's hut, when one 
 
 uiorning Yegor and his friend started courageously upon the 
 
 frozen surface of the sea. The cold, which had been very severe 
 
 282 
 
THE DUTCH WHALER, 283 
 
 for some days, had quite solidified the ice, and it was perfectly 
 safe. 
 
 The hunters proceeded more than a league amongst the hum- 
 mocks ? the dogs accompanied them as before. Wab had been 
 left in the hut to protect Nadege and Ladislas. 
 
 They reached the immense masses of ice, which had come from 
 some long distance westward no doubt, or probably from Green- 
 land, whence icebergs break aAvay continually, with a noise like 
 thunder; leaving the numerous glaciers from which they have 
 detached themselves still many miles in extent. 
 
 As Yegor gained the summit of one of these icebergs, he 
 suddenly perceived a ship embedded in the ice. Uttering an 
 exclamation of joy, he pointed out the vessel to M. Lafleur, who 
 just then rejoined him. 
 
 Upon the frozen surface of the sea, on which the white patches 
 of snow suggested the crests of the waves, the black hull of the 
 vessel stood out in relief against the white. But the deck, the 
 masts, the yards and rigging were all incrusted with snow crystals, 
 .which glittered brightly in the sun, like stars. 
 
 The first idea of both Y^or and M. Lafleur was to hide them- 
 selves as soon as possible behind one of the slopes of the ice-hills, 
 so as to observe whether they had to do with friends or enemies. 
 The vessel had no sails hoisted, and no bunting was displayed. 
 Her strong build and broad beam suggested that she was one of 
 
284 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 the fishing fleet that annually braves the perils of the polar seas. 
 The dogs began to bark just then, and the observers silenced them. 
 
 After about half a minute, during which M. Lafleur had been 
 attentively watching the ship, he observed on board some creature 
 enveloped in a fur costume. Perhaps the look-out man had 
 noticed them. The fugitives continued to observe him. 
 
 " They have perceived us," said M. Lafleur. 
 
 " Wait a little, my friend," said Y^gor, who was watching the 
 dogs ; which, with bristling backs, were intent upon the ship. 
 Then, without waiting for a reply, Yegor levelled his gun and 
 took aim at the supposed ** look-out " man. 
 
 " What are you about 1 " exclaimed M. Lafleur. 
 
 "I was quite sure that was not a man," replied Y^gor. "Let 
 us loose the dogs." 
 
 Just then an immense white bear appeared jumping about the 
 deck, as Yegor's bullet whistled past his ears. 
 
 " It is an enormous bear ! " exclaimed M. Lafleur, " the first we 
 have seen to-day." 
 
 The dogs had already hurried in the direction of the vessel, 
 barking loudly, but keeping, nevertheless, at a respectful distance 
 from their adversary. 
 
 " But what do you think of the vessel ? " said Yegor, cautiously. 
 "It is the * phantom ship ' of the legend perhaps ! " 
 
 " These legends have no currency on the banks of the Seine," 
 
THE DUTCH WHALER 285 
 
 replied the Parisian. " So far as we are concerned, the hull of 
 yonder ship is only the lair of an enormous bear — it is some vessel 
 abandoned by the crew." 
 
 "That may well be," replied Yegor; "and, in that case, we 
 may perhaps find something which will compensate us for our 
 unlucky hunting." 
 
 " The bear certainly is upon ground which belongs to us more 
 than to him," said M. Lafleur. 
 
 "Tlie best we can do is to turn him out," replied Yegor. 
 
 Meanwhile the bear had disappeared : he had taken refuge in 
 the companion hatch. 
 
 The two hunters quickly glided down the sloping mass of ice 
 and hastened towards the vessel. Yegor quickly recognised it as a 
 Dutch whaler, and they were soon alongside. They hailed loudly, 
 but no one answered them. 
 
 "Evidently there is not a living soul on board," said 
 Yegor. 
 
 " Under other circumstances we should have to believe the bear 
 was a tame animal," said M. Lafleur. 
 
 The two hunters climbed on deck, leaving the dogs on the ice ; 
 and when they had gained the vessel, a terrible sight met their 
 gaze. Five men — five skeletons dressed in sailors' clothes — were 
 lying on deck in the midst of all kinds of objects, which were 
 strewn about. 
 
ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA . 
 
 " Poor fellows ! " said Yegor, compassionately. 
 
 The two men remained in sad contemplation, forgetting all 
 about the bear. However, a movement below was audible, and 
 M. Lafleur said :— * 
 
 " Look out, our bear is coming ! " 
 
 The dogs then began to bark loudly, as if to give the alarm, and 
 to put their owners on their guard. 
 
 Just then the white head of the bear appeared at one of the 
 hatchways, his mouth open threateningly, red eyes, and generally 
 ferocious aspect. 
 
 Yegor, without pausing an instant, lodged a ball in the animal's 
 neck. Mortally wounded, the bear sprang angrily towards its 
 assailant. M. Lafleur then fired, but the ball only touched the 
 bear on the ear and had no effect upon him. 
 
 Yegor, perceiving that the infuriated animal was still advancing 
 upon him, had no resource but to use his axe, which he carried in 
 his belt He seized it, but it had become fixed in consequence of 
 the frost, and resisted all his attempts to withdraw it. It would 
 have been a very unfortunate moment for Yegor had not the 
 Parisian rushed forward, and dealt the bear a terrible blow with 
 the stock of his gun, which broke the musket, but discomposed the 
 white bear very little. The animal paused for a second or two, 
 evidently divided in his mind as to whether he should attack 
 Yegor or M. Lafleur. The former just then managed to release 
 
' Yegor crashed his axe down on the skull of the terrible beast.' 
 
A TERRIBLE ENCOUNTER. 289 
 
 his axe, and lifting it high with both hands, crashed it down 
 upon the skull of the terrible beast. The bear fell, and while it 
 lay on the deck, Yegor finished it with a few more blows delivered 
 with all his might. lie did not mind cutting the fur on that 
 occasion. 
 
 " Well done ! " exclaimed M. Lafleur. " Now we shall have 
 meat enough." 
 
 " Oh, never — not for our table,''* cried Yegor, with a movement 
 of disgust. Then he reminded his companion that the bear had 
 been feeding upon the dead bodies of the sailors. 
 
 '*The bear we have killed is evidently that which we saw 
 keeping watch," said M. Lafleur. "Take care, though, for the 
 dogs are still barking." 
 
 The Parisian was right, for scarcely had he spoken than another 
 enormous bear — a female — came on threateningly from behind a 
 heap of wooden cases covered with snow. 
 
 "Attention," cried Y^gor. 
 
 He raised his hatchet. M. Lafleur, retreating a few paces, drew 
 his great hunting-knife. The bear, astonished at the warlike 
 reception, made a half turn, and retired growling, turning now and 
 then to assure herself that she was not followed. The hunters let 
 her go without attempting to prevent her : slie made her way 
 along by the side of the vessel, pursued by the loud barking of 
 the dogs ; and when they perceived her disappear behind the hum- 
 
290 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 mocks by the icy hills, the animals felt much easier in their minds. 
 
 " Decidedly, this kind of hunting is a little too exciting for my 
 temperament," remarked M. Lafleur. "If we could only find 
 some boxes of biscuit, we might take some for our winter 
 quarters." 
 
 "But if the bear has eaten it alH" suggested Y^gor. 
 
 M. Lafleur made a grimace. 
 
 " We had better go and see," he remarked. 
 
 They descended accordingly into the cabin, where a more 
 horrible sight than any they had seen met their gaze. The bones 
 and skulls of at least a dozen men had transformed the cabin 
 into a charnel house. 
 
 " How has it happened that those who died first were not buried 
 by their companions 1 " said Y^gor to his friend. 
 
 "The fact is," replied M. Lafleur, "that — as I suspect — the 
 whole crew were sufiering from scurvy. People afflicted with this 
 terrible disease get very stiff in the limbs ; they are lame, and can 
 neither sleep nor rest themselves; they lose all appetite; their 
 gums become inflamed and are extremely painful ; a great lassitude 
 pervades their limbs, and this is the beginning of the end. These 
 brave fellows must have died last winter. But in this close 
 cabin — in which the air has not been renewed — do we not run 
 Bome risk of catching the disease?" 
 
 "Is it so easily contracted I " 
 
A TERRIBLE' ENCOUNTER. 291 
 
 " Yes, indeed, under sucli conditions as these ! " 
 
 "Well ! Ave will not be in such a case. Let us have fresh air, 
 and then go in search of provisions." 
 
 Y^gor with his hatchet, which he still grasped, knocked 
 away the lashings which secured the "dead-lights," and threw 
 open the ports, thus admitting both light and air into the 
 cabin. "We inherit everything," said M. Lafleur. "All will be 
 ours." 
 
 "Yes, on one condition," said Yegor. 
 
 **Whatisthat]" 
 
 " That we bury the remains of the unfortunate sailors." 
 
 " That will be done. But see — there is an organ ! " 
 
 " They had it, no doubt, to enliven the dreary monotony of the 
 long winter's night." 
 
 Beside the stove opposite the box of charcoal, they found on a 
 low table a barrel-organ. M. Lafleur turned the handle, and with 
 a grim touch of irony there came forth a cheerful lilting dance- 
 tune in mockery of the scene. Then, much moved by the con- 
 trast of this lively music with the horrible sight presented to their 
 eyes, M. Lafleur and Yegor felt their eyes fill with tears. 
 
 Upon the barrel-organ lay a large volume. Yegor glanced at it. 
 It was a Dutch Bible. In the fly-leaf could be read the names of 
 the sailors who had died first, and appended to them some sad 
 reflections, traced by the failing hand of the captain. Yegor, who 
 
 U — 2 
 
292 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 was acquainted with the English and German languages, under- 
 stood sufficient Dutch to make out the explanation of the sad 
 scenes of this drama of the polar seas. The whaler had been 
 caught in the ice near Barentz Island, one of the Spitzbergen 
 group ; ard M. Lafleur had not been wrong in his suggestion that 
 scurvy had been the cause of the mortality amongst the crew. 
 
 The captain's name figured upon these lugubrious pages a little 
 farther on. The mate had then taken the pen, and he had in his 
 turn passed it on to a survivor. The last marginal note was 
 couched in these terms : — 
 
 "There are only four of us left now. Molis Stoke, of Haarlem, 
 sailor; Dijrk Hooft, surnamed the Spreker, of Medenblik, sailor; 
 Haymann Jaarsveldt, of Elburg, our cabin-boy; and myself, 
 Alberdingk Huijdecoper, of Rotterdam, sliip's cook. We have no 
 longer the strength to assist each other. A horrible fate is in store 
 for us if the white bears which prowl around the vessel should 
 come upon us and devour us — alive ! " 
 
 '*Poor creatures!" exclaimed Yegor, "that, probably, was their 
 fate!" 
 
 Meanwhile, M. Lafleur was hunting around in the lockers, and 
 when Y^gor was deciphering the gruesome notes in the Bible, the 
 Parisian cried out — 
 
 " Here is lard, biscuit, rum, condensed milk — fifty tins I The 
 preserved meat has been devoured by the bears. Twenty pots of 
 
DESPAIR. 293 
 
 pemmican. Sugar — oh, and flour ! Some bottles of red wine ; a 
 box of candles, intact. More biscuit — a full barrel ! Yermicelli, 
 chocolate ! But, oh ! what damage and waste ! The foxes have 
 helped the bears. Beans in bottles. Sardines ! " 
 
 "Well, my dear friend," said Yegor, "let us make a parcel of 
 some of these things, and carry them away with us. We can close 
 the hatchways carefully after us." 
 
 " Suppose we do not find the ship again ? " 
 
 " Oh ; the sea is quiet enough, and the ice firm. But we will 
 take as much as we can conveniently carry." 
 
 "I see some matches." 
 
 "Take them. They will replace those the Tchouktchas stole 
 the other day." 
 
 " Here is some charcoal too ! " 
 
 " We need not trouble about that. Let us rather select the supplies 
 which will serve to restore Nad^ge's strength, and ' set up ' Ladislas." 
 
 Two hours later, Y^gor and the Parisian, bending under their 
 burthen, carried away to the hut the first instalment of the stores 
 which they had found. M. Lafleur had at first an idea of bringing 
 away the organ, pretending that a little music would benefit the 
 moral tone of the company. Ladislas could turn the handle, and 
 M. Lafleur would accompany him upon his pocket violin. Yegor 
 had some trouble to dissuade the Frenchman from carrying out this 
 idea ; but he himself took the Bible. 
 
294 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 They approached the hut, joyously anticipating the warm wel- 
 come they would receive. 
 
 "We shall soon see," said M. Lafleur, "whether Yermac will 
 turn up his nose at the milk and sugar, the sardines and the 
 lard!" 
 
 The Siberian dogs hurried on in advance. 
 
 Y^gor was surprised that Wab did not come out to meet them. 
 He had a terrible presentiment ; and, putting down his load upon 
 the ice, he hurried forward to the hut, callmg upon Nadego and 
 Ladislas. 
 
 He gained the hut. It was empty. Neither Nad^ge, Ladislas, 
 Yermac, nor the dog was there. The fire had gone out some time, 
 evidently ; and there were indications that a struggle had taken 
 place. 
 
 When M. Lafleur joined Y^gor he found him prostrate on the 
 ground. 
 
 " What is the matter ? " he enquired. 
 
 " I do not know — I do not understand — I am losing my reason 
 —I shaU die ! " 
 
 " Where have they gone ? " 
 
 " I cannot understand — but I am sure they have met with some 
 terrible misfortune. The furs are all tumbled about; the embers 
 of the fire have been scattered even to the door. Tliey have taken 
 our gun ! " 
 
DESPAIR. 295 
 
 " And my harpoon ! " added M. Lafleur. " Would Yermac have 
 dealt us a blow in this fashion ? " 
 
 " What could he have done ? " enquired Yegor, who awaited the 
 answer to his question with fear and trembling. 
 
 " He may have carried off Nadege and the lad," replied M. Lafleur, 
 " in order to oblige us to follow him, and to yield to him when he 
 met with assistance from any force." 
 
 " Oh, that is horrible ! " exclaimed Yegor. ** What are we to 
 do ? Let us lose no time. We should pursue them at once. But 
 I am faint and cannot move a step. Look at the traces on the 
 snow." 
 
 They lighted the lanthorn, for the day had already declined, and 
 went out. The snow was trodden all around the hut. The foot- 
 steps led to a dip in the ground, behind which the two men at once 
 perceived that a reindeer sleigh had been hidden. Thence they 
 could follow the track of the sleigh. 
 
 ** A wa?'^a.''" exclaimed Y^gor; "and we can only follow it on 
 foot. We shall never be able to overtake it. Oh, what a terrible 
 day this has been ! And as for Yermac " 
 
 "I am beginning to think that he is in no way concerned in this 
 affair," said M. Lafleur. 
 
 " If he were not the author of it all, he would be here. J le 
 would have defended Nadege and the boy. In his place I would 
 have let myself be killed before any harm came to them. No ; he 
 
296 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 has certainly done this. He has taken advantage of some circum- 
 stance or other, some chance, and ** 
 
 "But," interrupted M. Lafleur, *'the narta has not gone towards 
 Eussian territory." 
 
 " That is true," replied Yegor, very much astonished that he had 
 not observed this before. 
 
 "At this late hour, and fatigued as we are, it would be very 
 difficult to follow them," said M. Lafleur. " Believe me, Yegor, it 
 will be best to wait till to-morrow. Perhaps by that time we shall 
 have had some indication of the truth. Come, my friend, after all 
 our exertions and our fatigue, the cold may affect us ; come." 
 
 Y^gor then suffered himself to be led into the hut without 
 making any resistance. 
 
" Wab lias brought back the bag they took away.' 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE EMPTY HUT YERMAC PROPOSES TO ESCAPE — DEPARTURE OF 
 
 Y^GOR AND M. LAPLEUR« 
 
 rpHE evening passed very miserably in the empty hut while the 
 
 -*- wintry storm howled outside furiously. 
 
 Yegor and M. Lafleur sat looking at each other, without daring 
 
 to exchange their sad reflections and thoughts. They had brought 
 
 back quite a festive supply of provisions, but neither of the men 
 
 could eat a morsel. 
 
 s 297 
 
298 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 "Even the dog!" murmured Yegor. "Even the dog. All 
 gone ! It is unaccountable ? Wab would never have followed 
 Yermac voluntarily. What is one to believe 1 Which way is one 
 to turn?" 
 
 Just then a loud barking was heard outside, 
 
 "Those are the Siberian dogs," said M. Lafleur. 
 
 Y^gor listened intently, and then said, as he rose, " No, it is 
 AVab ; but he is hurt, wounded perhaps." 
 
 Then Y^gor went and opened the door for the animaL 
 
 It was really Wab : the dog bounded in, and laid at his master's 
 feet a small bag of reindeer skin embroidered with silk, the same 
 which the Tchouktchas had stolen a few days previously. 
 
 "Look at this," said Y^gor. "Those mendicants who came here 
 the other day have had something to do with our misfortune. Wab 
 has brought back the bag they took away. The animal must have 
 followed Nad^ge to their hut." 
 
 Wab rushed at his master and licked his hands, whining and 
 tittering little joyous whimperings. Y^gor caressed him with a 
 tenderness fully deserved by the animal for his intelligence and 
 fidelity. 
 
 "We might have noticed,'' sali M. Lafleur, "that the Tchoukt" 
 chas, who came from the east, had retraced their steps, instead of 
 going westward as was probably their original intention. The 
 sleigh-track led towards the east. Evidently Wab went back to 
 
TEE EMPTY HUT. 299 
 
 their hut — a fact which tells us that their village is not fai' off. 
 But what part in this are we to attribute to the inspector of 
 police?" 
 
 "That is very difficult to determine," said Y^gor. 
 
 "At length we have some indications to go upon," said the 
 Parisian. "Now I remember the strange manner in which the 
 native regarded Nad^ge when speaking to his wife of the 
 kamakayJ^ 
 
 "You have hit it, my friend," exclaimed Y^gor. "The chief of 
 the tribe has come here on the report from the two natives. Oh, 
 my poor Nadege ! What a terrible trial for her. But the inspector 
 of police " 
 
 "That is the puzzle," said M. Lafleur. " W"e are always coming 
 back to that ! " 
 
 The Parisian had hardly finished speaking, when he heard his 
 name pronounced in a stifled voice. 
 
 " Who calls me 1 " said he. 
 
 "Monsieur Lafleur," continued the voice. 
 
 The two watchers looked up. The voice came through the hole 
 in the roof of the hut which served as chimney. 
 
 "Hallo, that is the inspector up there," said Y^gor. 
 
 " Open tlie door," continued the voice. 
 
 " Do you think it is he ? " asked M. Lafleur, somewhat reassured. 
 " I will open it, then. The fact is, those skeletons and the horrors 
 
300 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 we have seen to-day, with the strange surprise which met us here, 
 have rather unmanned me." 
 
 In a moment afterwards, Yermac entered the hut behind M. 
 I^fleur. 
 
 " May I ask whence you come 1 " said the latter to the inspector, 
 brusquely. " It is true we do not often trouble ourselves concern- 
 ing your movements ; but such things have happened here, that it 
 is almost necessary to be told why you have returned at this hour 
 of the night." 
 
 " Eh, what things ? " asked the inspector, who was gazing round 
 at the disordered appearance of the hut, and then ascertained the 
 absence of Nad^ge and her brother, with the consequent dejection 
 of Y^gor. " Has anything happened, then ? " he asked, instead of 
 replying to M. Lafleur. "Where are Nad^geand Ladislas ?" 
 
 " Gone ! " replied Yegor. 
 
 " Out to sea, perhaps, as they did the other day ! Or have they 
 wandered along the coast ? " • 
 
 "Carried off," said M. Lafleur. "When we returned, we found 
 everything in the greatest confusion." 
 
 "Carried off — violently," muttered Yermac, suddenly dropping 
 into his role of police inspector. " But," he continued aloud, and 
 jilmost in a triumpliant tone, "what possessed you to expose a 
 young girl and a child to such an adventure as you have under- 
 taken? It would have been a hundred times better if you had 
 
THE EMPTY HUT SOI 
 
 yielded to my first summons to return. I would have interceded 
 with the Governor of Yakoutsk on your behalf. While now,'' 
 added he, changing his tone, *' this young lady and her brother, the 
 little Polish lad, are in the power of a bloodthirsty tribe, rebels 
 against the authority of the Czar, who are practically lawless, and 
 notwithstanding that a number of them are baptised, the natives 
 still perform human sacrifices. That is what you have brought 
 about with your ingenious combinations, M. Semenoff." 
 
 "We shall all die, perhaps," replied Yegor, with a deep sigh. 
 "But we shall at least die free." 
 
 "Free ! That is only an expression," said Yermac. 
 "An expression, Mr. Inspector!" exclaimed the Parisian. **WitL 
 that word one can do many things. I can talk to you seriously, for 
 I was born in the Place de la Bastille. Vive la LiherU ! But," 
 added M. Lafleur, checking himself, "you have not told us whence 
 you have just arrived." 
 
 "Whence I came! Ah, don't ask me that," replied Yermac. 
 So saying, he went and seated himself by the fire, leaning his 
 elbows on his knees, and resting his head in his hands. Yegor 
 and the Parisian exchanged nods, as if to say, "Leave him 
 alone." 
 
 As the inspector turned half round, he noticed the table spread 
 with the provisions, which M. Lafleur and Yegor had brought irom 
 the whaler, all nicely -irvanged. 
 
302 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA 
 
 "The nartas have returned, then," said Yermac, with sudden 
 vivacity. 
 
 " No," replied M. Lafleur. " We have obtained all these pro- 
 visions somewhere else." 
 
 " From whence ? " asked Yermac, in astonishment. 
 
 " Ah ! don't ask me that," retorted the Parisian, mimicking the 
 inspector's tone and answer made a few minutes previously. 
 
 Yermac understood the allusion, and turned again to his corner 
 as silent as before. 
 
 We must now relate the mysterious cause of the long absence of 
 Yermac, which had extended for a whole day and part of the 
 night. 
 
 The inspector of police, despairing of the return of Chort and 
 T6kel, had made up his mind to endeavour to effect his escape 
 on foot ; and as he started immediately after the departure of 
 Y^gor and M. Lafleur on their hunting expedition, he only 
 carried with him the provision of seal-la,rd, which he had saved. 
 When he had walked five or six hours, heavily clad, in the 
 intense cold, he stopped, undecided whether he should continue 
 his route. 
 
 Some foxes, attracted by the smell of the seal-flesh, began to 
 hover around him. He threatened them with his staff ; but they 
 did not run away very far. This was rather a bad beginning. 
 Then the wind began to blow violently — not a nice prospect for 
 
" Yegor and Lafleur, guided by Wab, following the traces of the sledge. 
 
YERMAG proposes to mo ape. 305 
 
 the night. Where should he sleep? If he established himself 
 in the middle of the toundra (" snow field,") the foxes would 
 carry off his provisions, and perhaps attack him. Without his 
 supplies, no journey, no escape was possible. Was he even sure 
 of the route which he was pursuing? The sky was clouded — 
 there were no stars to direct him. There were no trees, w^hich, 
 by the lichens on the bark, would tell him the cardinal points 
 of the compass. His attempt at escape appeared to be simple 
 madness : under such conditions he could never arrive at Mjni- 
 Kolimsk. 
 
 It would be far better, he concluded, to retrace his steps and 
 endeavour to find the track homewards. That is what he did. 
 He threw away the greater part of the provisions he had carried ; 
 and, thus relieved, he found his way to the coast, but still at a 
 great distance from the hut. Once there, however, he recollected 
 the configuration of the headlands and bays. Some hours after- 
 wards he reached the cross which marked the resting-place of his 
 son. He kneeled down by the grave. When he continued his 
 way, he had great difficulty in reaching the hut, against which the 
 snow had drifted high; but he recognised the thin column of 
 smoke from the chimney. 
 
 Y^gor and M. Lafleur, when they missed, next day, the portions 
 of the seal which Yermac had set aside — believing his surprise 
 truthful, and his sorrow s.ncere, when he had been informed con- 
 
306 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 cerning the disappearance of Nadege and Ladislas — suspected the 
 truth. 
 
 But now what a hazardous task was imposed upon them ! To 
 find Nad^ge and Ladislas : to snatch them from the hands of their 
 ravishers. Y^gor could not continue his journey, so courageously 
 undertaken hitherto, until he had succeeded in this attempt. 
 
 After a sleepless night — during which the three men remained 
 seated round the fire without speaking — Y^gor and M. Lafleur 
 . again sought the tracks of the nartas. They were still visible. 
 Yegor's dog barked along the way the sledge had taken, so that 
 they might follow it ; he then returned and went through the same 
 performance. 
 
 " Thanks to Wab, we shall find them," said M. Lafleur. 
 " I hope 80," said Yegor. " But ought we to abandon the hut ? 
 Shall we go on and take Yermac on to the Gulf of Anadyr when 
 we have found Nadege and Ladislas? " 
 
 ** And the nartas which we expect ? " said M Lafleur. " What 
 will become of our guides 1 How can we hope to accomplish such 
 a journey on foot ? No, take my advice ; let us leave the hut in 
 charge of the inspector of police, and let us go on with as little 
 baggage as possible. We will all return here." 
 
 They then came back to the hut, and made some hurried prepa- 
 rations — taking only a little provision with them. But they did 
 not forget their arms. Yegor carried his gun and pistols; the 
 
YERMAG PROPOSES TO ESCAPE. 307 
 
 Parisian a hatchet which he had found on board the whaler, and 
 which he had taken to replace the gun, that had been broken in 
 the attack on the bear. 
 
 As they were about to leave, Y^gor said to Yermac that the pro 
 visions in the hut were quite at his service. 
 
 " It is useless to press that matter, M. Sem^noff," replied the 
 inspector of police. " I would rather die of hunger than touch 
 them. But you may satisfy my curiosity by telling me where you 
 found these supplies." 
 
 "I will tell you," replied Y^gor, "and then your repugnance to 
 them may be removed." 
 
 So he told Yermac of the discovery of the Dutch whaler. 
 
 " But," said the inspector, " it is necessary to save the wreckage 
 of this ship ; what is its name ? " 
 
 " I do not know," replied Y^gor. 
 
 " We must, nevertheless, find out at once. I will ascertain. I 
 will take note of the port from which she sailed ; the freighters 
 will be indemnified to a certain extent by our government. If one 
 could only sell the cargo, the cordage, masts, sails, at Nijni-Ko- 
 limsk, or at the fair of Ostrovnoy^ ! But that is impossible. We 
 can only get at the provisions ; and those in a limited quantity, 
 suited to our wants." 
 
 "Then you will consent to use the resources which you obtain 
 from the whaler?" said Yegor. 
 
 X 2 
 
308 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 '* Certainly," replied Yermac. "This time it is on account of 
 the Government of the Czar, which will pay " 
 
 " You may arrange matters as you please, Monsieur Yermac," 
 replied Y^gor. " The chief point is, we cannot see you suffer and 
 perish with hunger ; now we can leave you provisions with the 
 certainty of finding you alive when we return." 
 
 Yermac, being a man of few words, did not reply, though 
 he was sensible of the solicitude expressed on his behalf. So 
 he felt embarrassed, but only turned his back to Yegor in 
 silence. 
 
 The latter, now satisfied concerning Yermac's fate, set off, ac- 
 companied by M. Lafleur, and led by Wab, who hurried along in 
 advance. 
 
 Soon in the east they perceived, at a distance of a hundred 
 versts, the mounts Vay vanine, Geyla, and Eaoutanc, as well as the 
 sharp rocks of Cape Chelagsk.* The dog led the travellers in a 
 south-westerly direction, across the steep and icy hills. When 
 night came on a halt was called in the snow for some hours, 
 though the men had nothing with them to mitigate the rigour of 
 such an encampment. 
 
 Next day, they found themselves in a country dotted with a 
 number of deep lakes of various sizes, separated from each other 
 
 * The " Cape of Schelagskoj " of Nordeiiskiold. 
 
DEPAR2UEE OF YERMAG AND M. LAFLEUR. 309 
 
 by a series of natural banks, about a foot thick, and formed, like 
 the mainland, of eternal ice, covered by a little mould or earth. 
 After a difficult walk, the travellers at length reached the western 
 side of the Bay of Tchaounsk. 
 
 Still guided by Wab, and following the traces of the sledge in 
 the snow, they skirted the slopes of the hills parallel to the coast ; 
 upon a stretch of sand whereon they noticed remains of sea- 
 cabbage leaves, and some other marine plants. 
 
 The wind blew strongly. The sky was clear. At mid-day a most 
 beautiful celestial phenomenon absorbed their attention, and even 
 caused them to pause in the middle of their arduous way. Around 
 the sun appeared four other suns, united by rainbows of most 
 brilliant hues. The whole formed a circle forty degrees in 
 diameter. There was, besides, another horizontal rainbow, which 
 must have been eighty degrees in length, passing across the true 
 sun and the mock suns which surrounded it. At the extremities 
 arose two small fog-bows, the pale tints of which were opposed to 
 the larger bows. 
 
 This phenomenon lasted two hours. The \Wnd dispersed it by 
 degrees ; then snow fell, which was drifted up considerably by the 
 wind. 
 
 Yegor and M. Lafleur sheltered themselves as well as they 
 could; but were much depressed at the sight of the snow, 
 which would obliterate the tracks of the sleigh. 
 
310 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 Would the dog be able to find the trail? That was the 
 question. 
 
 When the storm had passed away, Wab was encouraged to 
 continue the route which the sleigh had taken. 
 
 The df^ at first appeared, somewhat at fault : he followed and 
 abandoned many trails; at length, he seemed to make up his 
 mind; and Y^gor, who had begun to despair and gave way to 
 his disappointment, took courage. He and his companion decided 
 to trust to the animal, and they continued their advance. 
 
 Meanwhile the inspector of police had gone in search of the 
 whaler ; and, by following Yegor's directions, he had no difficulty 
 in finding it. 
 
 His first care was, as he had declared it would be, to find out 
 the name of the ship — Htcgo and Maria, 
 
 He had already ascertained the names of the captain, the mate, 
 and those of the sailors, from the Bil^le which Yegor had brought 
 to the hut. He then made an inventory of all the ship contained, 
 in tackle and stores and furniture. 
 
 When he had done this he began to transport to the hut such 
 things as were not too heavy to be carried nor likely to be em- 
 barrassing : going to and fro to the ship, as indefatigable in this 
 work of salvage as he had been in his endeavour to prevent the 
 escape of the fugitives from Yakoutsk. 
 
 If anyone had seen him — muffled up in his dress of skins, 
 
DEPARTURE OF YERMAC AND M. LAFLEUR. 311 
 
 crowned with a fur cap, which came low down on his head ; a 
 hatchet and an augur thrust into his girdle of leather; a small 
 barrel under his arm, a gun upon his shoulder, and also managing 
 to trail behind him a saw, a bag of biscuits, and some boxes 
 of cartridges — one would have taken him for a Crusoe on 
 the ice. 
 
 One evening the Yakout guides returned, making a great noise 
 with their thirty-two dogs, and awakening the echoes of the 
 Arctic regions. 
 
 Yermac was delighted; he could now carry out his project of 
 «3scape, and this time under the best possible conditions, thanks 
 Uj the absence of Y^gor. 
 
 He was much distressed that he could not carry the fugitives 
 mth. him ; but he knew whither they had gone. From Yakoutsk 
 jt would be possible, by employing couriers, to put all the inhabi- 
 tants of the coast on their guard, all along the littoral of the 
 Pacific which bordered on the Gulf of Anadyr. In the spring 
 Yegor and his companions would only reach the gulf to be 
 captured. 
 
 The guides — to whom Yermac related the fact of the capture 
 of Nad^ge and Ladislas and the departure of Yegor and M. Lafleur 
 in search of them — thought that their masters would never find 
 their way to the hut, and even if they pursued their way to 
 a distance nearer the I^acific than to the Arctic Ocean, they would 
 
312 
 
 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 never retrace their steps. They appeared to give a ready consent 
 to the suggestion of the inspector of police, but requested three 
 or four days to decide : this time was also necessary for the repose 
 of the teams of dogs. 
 
 Y^rmac, believing he was near the realisation of his hopes, 
 thought of utilising these remaining days. 
 
 He caused all that was of any commercial value to be raised 
 from the wreck, and, by means of a narta and a pack of dogs, 
 proposed to carry the booty to Nijni-Kolimsk, particularly the 
 powder, the harpoons, and the firearms. 
 
 Afterwards he caused the bones and skeletons found on deck 
 and in the cabin of the vessel to be interred near the remains 
 of his son ; in this particular carrying out the pious intentions 
 of Y^gor, 
 

 
 
 ■^, 
 
 " A large team drew the rtarto, whicli was driven by a slave.* 
 
 CHAPTEK XXII. 
 
 IN THE TENT OF THE " KAMAKAY. 
 
 /^NE hundred leagues to the east of the Bay of Tchaounsk is 
 ^^ the Bay of Kolioutchine, where the Vega wintered from 
 the 27th of September, 1878, to the 18th of July of the fol- 
 lowing year. 
 
 Everyone now is aware of the surprising expedition directed hy 
 Nordenskiold, which resulted in the discovery of the North East 
 Passage. This, assuredly, was the grandest geographical feat accom- 
 plished since the discovery of America. 
 
 313 
 
314 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 We are aware how the Swedish savant^ after many voyages foi 
 exploring purposes undertaken to the north of Russia and Siberia, 
 succeeded in reaching Behring's Strait and the great ocean ; 
 realising by this means a very ingenious hypothesis, to wit — that 
 along th*^ coast of Siberia there ought to be a navigable channel 
 in consequence of the waim water, which, in summer, debouches 
 from the Asiatic rivers. 
 
 Nordenskiold, during his ten months' winter in the Bay of Koli- 
 outchine, lived amongst the Tchouktchas, then but little known 
 people ; but long feared by the other tribes of Siberia with whom 
 they came in contact, and whose ferocity had been much 
 exaggerated. 
 
 The celebrated Swedish navigator was not the first who had 
 penetrated to the Tchouktchan peninsula. So far back as 1823, 
 Lieutenant, now Admiral Wrangel of the Russian navy, had reached 
 the peninsula of Kolioutchine, and even before him the illustrious 
 Cook had (in 1778) discovered the North Cape (the Cape Irkaipi 
 of Nordenskiold) and the island of Kolioutchine, which he called 
 Bumey's Island. In 1791, Captain Billings, after having disem- 
 barked at the Bay of St. Laurent in the Sea of Okhotsk, had 
 returned by land to the Bay of Kolioutchine, and thence to Cape 
 Chelagsk. 
 
 It was upon the narratives of Wrangel, and his lieutenants 
 Matiouchkine and Kozmine, and also upon what he knew concern- 
 
IN THE TEN7^ OF THE ''KAMAKAY:' 315 
 
 ing Billings's expeditions, and others of lesser note, such as the 
 merchant Chalaouroff of Yakoutsk and Captain Saritcheff, that 
 Yegor had founded his itinerary. He was not ignorant that the 
 Tchouktchas were people to be feared, and to be appeased ; but he 
 never thought that they would be so hardy as to carry off a girl like 
 Nad^ge by main force. 
 
 The unhappy girl, imprisoned in the double tent of the chief of 
 the tribe, established to the southward of the Bay of Kolioutchine, 
 no longer expected to be released, unless by the intelligence and 
 courage of her adopted brother. 
 
 Ladislas, without being made prisoner, had followed her, hoping 
 to be able to protect her, and be useful to her. The men who had 
 carried Nadege away were seven in number. Accompanying them 
 were the old Tchouktchas, who had come to claim hospitality of 
 the travellers a few days before. 
 
 The commander of the band was a young chief, who had, for a 
 time, taken up his quarters in the Bay of Tchaounsk, but whose 
 usual fishing-grounds were in the Bay of Kolioutchine. This 
 kamakay, or chief, of the Tchouktchas, finding himself in too close 
 proximity to the white men who came from the west, gave the 
 signal for departure, and all the tribe followed him ; the richest 
 bringing with them their slaves, no doubt the descendants of former 
 prisoners of war. 
 
 Kad^ge, who was at first treated with some consideration, made 
 
316 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 this new journey in a well-protected nartay having her dear 
 Ladislas with her, whom she embraced closely, as if she feared he 
 would be torn from her arms. A large team drew the narta, which 
 was driven by a slavn running on foot beside the vehicle. As the 
 tribe continued their course towards the east, Ladislas, who had 
 from the very first been planning his escape, and who intended to 
 return and inform Y6gor of the route taken by the ravishers of 
 Nad^.ge, perceived with terror the lengthening way he would have 
 to traverse to reach the hut again. 
 
 He would have quitted Nad^ge, but she prevented him. She 
 made him understand he must not abandon her while he was still 
 uncertain of her ultimate destination. How otherwise could Yegor 
 recover her, or gain any information concerning her ? It would be 
 better for him to remain with her altogether, and trust to the devo- 
 tion of Yegor to discover them botk 
 
 After quitting Cape Chelagsk, the coast appeared covered with 
 villages of a dozen houses or so each — sometimes fewer. These 
 were the dwellings of the Tchouktchas, a sedentary race who inhabit 
 the sea-coast, and who are thus distinguished from the nomads, or 
 Tchouktchas with reindeer. Their huts are made of poles or whale- 
 ribs, covered with reindeer skins. Nadege remarked that the houses 
 were built in the form of cones, and were much rounded towards 
 the north, in contrast to the opposite sides which were flat. On 
 this side was an opening, concealed by a curtain of reindeer skin, 
 
IN THE TENT OF THE '' KAMAKAY." 317 
 
 which served as a door. A second opening in the roof of the hut 
 gave passage to the smoke of the fire within it. 
 
 At length the na7^ta reached the Bay of Kolioutchine, where 
 already a portion of the tribe had arrived. There Nadege and 
 Ladislas were installed in the tent of the Jcamakay, which was much 
 more comfortable and much more commodious than the others. 
 
 She found tvv^o other women there. These shrews were small of 
 stature, with black eyes, long hair, and yellow-faced, very like the 
 Esquimaux of Greenland. Divining in Nad^ge a rival, they set 
 about to torment her, to put her to heavy work — to maltreat and 
 disgust her in every way in their power. 
 
 There was underneath the front or large tent a smaller one raised 
 on a wooden platform, about a foot above the ground — a kind of 
 alcove kept at an elevated temperature by means of an oil-lamp. 
 In this inner tent lived the two wives of the chief. 
 
 These two women forced Nadege to remain in the outer tent, 
 which was always very cold, notwithstanding the fire for domestic 
 purposes ; but, at any rate, the unfortunate young girl there breathed 
 a less vitiated atmosphere than she would have breathed in the 
 inner chamber, where the Tchouktcha ladies were a trifle " too much 
 at home." 
 
 Nad^ge had thrust upon her the hardest and most menial occupa- 
 tions — she had to melt the snow for the household requirements, to 
 collect floating wood from the coast, and, in default of mosses, 
 
318 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 bones, or whale-ribs, to keep up the fire. The wives of the chief 
 were continually occupied in making a species of net in which the 
 seals were captured, or in the preparation of wolf-traps. The latter 
 were made of pieces of whale-fin, cut in two after the extremities 
 had been sharpened. The fin thus prepared is sprinkled with water, 
 which promptly is turned to ice. Thus, in default of binding, the 
 ice is sufiiciently strong to keep the two ends of the rib together, 
 and they are baited with fat. The wolf then rushes at and swallows 
 the bait. When he has eaten it, the warmth of his stomach melts 
 the ice which unites the pointed ribs, and they divide — the ends 
 enter his sides, and the wolf dies. 
 
 The kamakay was forced to maintain order in his household by 
 administering a few beatings to his wives. Not knowing any 
 language but his own, he had not yet succeeded in putting Nad^ge 
 in possession of his sentiments, other than coimting, in English, up 
 to three, and pointing to his two wives successively. He gave her 
 thus clearly to understand that he destined for her the high 
 honour of being "Number 3." 
 
 "One, two, three,"' he would repeat continually, holding up the 
 fingers of his left hand as he spoke. 
 
 Poor Nadege pretended not to undersiand him, but she did 
 understand only too well. 
 
 "One,, two, three," repeated the kamdkmj, with the usnal 
 gestures. Then, impatient at the slow progress of his matrimonial 
 
m THE TENT OF THE '' KAMAKAY," 319 
 
 affairs, he would drink several mouthfuls of eau-de-vie of American 
 production, and roll upon the floor of the inner chamber quite 
 overcome. 
 
 The kamakay had provided a white reindeer to be offered as a 
 sacrifice by the tribe. The first day of the new moon was the 
 period fixed upon for that ceremony. Ladislas had occasionally 
 ridden on the animal, for he had some idea that it might ultimately 
 prove useful, and serve him as a steed. 
 
 One evening the barking of a dog was heard close to the chief p 
 tent. Nad^ge and Ladislas recognised Wab's voice at once, for 
 Wab did not bark like the Siberian dogs. Davidoff's daughter, 
 filled with hope and joy, believed that Yegor had arrived to her 
 rescue. But no one appeared. The dog continued to bark 
 throughout the night. 
 
 Then Ladislas persuaded ^adege that the time for his departure 
 had arrived. Mounted upon the white reindeer, he felt assured 
 that, by following the coast-line as closely as possible, he would 
 reach Cape Baranoff and the hut. Wab would guide him. 
 Perhaps, also, he would not go far before meeting Yegor ; for how 
 could he believe the dog would come alone for such an immense 
 distance and across such wastes. 
 
 Nad^ge, disappointed in her anticipation, agreed to all the young 
 lad desired; and the same night, after laying by a stock of 
 reindeer-meat, cooked in seal-fat, Ladislas ran after the white deer, 
 
320 
 
 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 which roamed at liberty amongst the tents. He made ready, 
 mounted, and started off towards the west, preceded by Wab. 
 
 The young Sarmatian — gifted with uncommon force of character, 
 and rejoicing, besides, in a robust constitution, which permitted 
 him to brave the rigours of the climate and its privations — was 
 capable of carrying this somewhat foolhardy proof of his devotion 
 to a satisfactory teniiiuutiou. 
 
''Imagine Yermac's surprise — he found Ladislas at the hut." 
 
 CHAPTEE XXIIL 
 
 DBLIVERANCB THE GUIDES ARRIVE — THE KAMAKAY IS CHECKMATED. 
 
 THE inspector of police had agreed with the two guides to 
 abandon the hut, and to leave it for Nijni-Kolimsk. Yermac 
 gave up a portion of the provision he had brought — especially the 
 fish, which would serve as food for the dogs — and loaded the 
 nartas with great quantities of tobacco, sugar, powder, and some 
 pieces of sail-cloth which he had taken from the whaler, Hugo and 
 Maria. The guides, having already stipulated for a certain delay, 
 had no valid reason to urge for a longer rest. T6kel and Chort 
 
 321 T 
 
322 ESCAPED FROM STBERTA. 
 
 were moreover convinced that their masters would never return to 
 the hut, and they made no further objection. 
 
 The day fixed for their departure at length arrived. It was a 
 lovely winter day : clear, not too cold — all that travellers in such 
 inhospitable regions could fairly have expected. 
 
 Yermad glowed with satisfaction. He was at length "quits" 
 with the fugitives. 
 
 He had given his final orders, and went for the last time to 
 visit the gmve of his son. 
 
 But when he returned, imagine his surprise. He found Ladislas 
 at the hut. The lad, already informed by the guides of the pro- 
 posed abandonment of the hut, had immediately forbidden them in 
 the name of Y^gor SemenofF to obey Yermac's orders. He pre- 
 tended that Y^gor had sent him to order them to go and meet him 
 with the nartas at the Bay of Kolioutchine, bringing with them 
 the inspector of police — by force if necessary. 
 
 It was in vain that Yermac — who beheld the edifice he had so 
 laboriously raised tumbling to the ground — endeavoured to oppose 
 this proceeding. He was obliged to yield. The teams which had 
 been dra^vn up facing the west were turned in an opposite 
 direction. The loading was not interfered with, for the little Pole 
 was well aware that the tobacco and the powder were valuable 
 articles of barter. He only added to the cargo some light wearing 
 apparel belonging to Nad^ge, and several objects which she 
 
DELIVERANCE. 323 
 
 particularly valued — not forgetting the manuscript poems of 
 Davidoff. 
 
 The white reindeer was set at liberty, somewhat lame, it is 
 true, but having escaped the death that had threatened it. 
 
 The nartas started, Wab once again acting as guide. It was 
 necessary first to reach the Bay of Tchaounsk, without keeping far 
 away from the coast. With the dog's assistance they would then 
 perhaps find the trail of Yegor and M. Lafleur. 
 
 Nadege, more unliappy than ever after the departure of Ladislas 
 and the white reindeer, was made the object of much ill-treatment. 
 She was condemned to pass whole days in the most repulsive 
 occupations, and her nights in tears. She sufi'ered from cold and 
 hunger — refused a place in the warmer inner alcove, and disgusted 
 by the unpleasant morsels which were given her to eat. Day and 
 night she was obliged to remain in the exterior tent, where the 
 cold was intense. The poor girl made up her mind to die, for she 
 thought nothing but death could deliver her from her sufferings. 
 
 One morning she^ — the daughter of the poet Davidoff, now the 
 servant of a savage with the prospect of becoming his wife — was 
 cooking some reindeer flesh in a saucepan placed in the centre of 
 the small circle of stones which served as a fire-place in the middle 
 of the hut. While she was watching the boiling of the water, 
 her delicate hands were drawing the intestines of the animal to 
 make a savoury dish for the chief. 
 
324 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 She was assisted by an old domestic, greasy and evil-smelling, 
 who was suffering from rheumatism in her back and left side. 
 The old woman finished by putting over her head her long jacket 
 and extending herself upon the floor, and requesting by signs the 
 young lady to rub the afflicted parts with her hands. The swarthy 
 skin of the woman was hidden under a thick layer of dirt. 
 Nad^ge endeavoured to do as the woman wished, Avhile at the 
 same time she served the meal to the three principal guests in the 
 tent, the kainakay and his two wives, who lay with their heads 
 and shoulders only protruding from under the alcove, the re- 
 mainder of their bodies not so warmly clothed remaining inside it. 
 
 The meal consisted of raw sea-calf accompanied by draughts of 
 warm blood of the same animal, and a dish of a kind of saurkrout, 
 made of fermented willow-leaves. 
 
 One of the women, who was less tattooed than the other, 
 Madame Nuketou — the other was called Kokerjabin — was forcibly 
 stifling the cries of a little brat which she was nursing. Between 
 the mouthfuls of the polar saurkrout she would employ herself in 
 washing the creature's face by licking it, just as one of the lower 
 animals would have done. 
 
 Three warriors, armed with pikes pointed with sharp morse 
 teeth, were loquacious visitors. Seated on the ground they 
 exchanged opinions with the occupants of the alcove upon the 
 'w hite stranger with fair hair and such a commanding figure. 
 
DELTVERANGE. ,32ft 
 
 In the corner was another servant — a slave — who, with naked 
 arms steeped in blood to the shoulders, was occupied in cutting 
 up seal-flesh. 
 
 Near her another, perhaps a neighbour, was munching a piece 
 of reindeer skin in order to soften it and render it fitting for the 
 fabrication of boots and gloves. 
 
 Beside the platform was a female dog surrounded by her litter 
 of puppies, whose plaintive whinings mingled harmoniously with 
 the wailings of the wretched infant who was engaging the atten- 
 tions of the principal wife of the chief. 
 
 The snow was falling thickly, stifling all noises outside, and 
 flakes continually fell upon the hearth through the opening in the 
 roof. The snow-storm made the day more gloomy, and the fire 
 lit up the interior of the tent with a ruddy glow. 
 
 There was a great number of articles, utensils and vessels and 
 vestments, which encumbered rather than furnished or ornamented 
 the tent. These consisted — taking them as they come before the 
 eye — of a great leathern net, various fishing utensils, the inevitable 
 drum of the chaman, wooden plates scattered about, a saw and 
 augers also of wood, some stone tools recalling the primitive ages 
 of mankind, two or three copper coffee-pots of American importa- 
 tion, a wolf's skull suspended as a charm, two skin sacks of the 
 sea-calf, regular bottles which contained a quantity of seal-oil : on 
 cords were hanging some light and impermeable clothes for 
 
ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 summer wear, fashioned from the intestines of the morse. Sus- 
 pended from the blackened framework of the tent and bestowed 
 around the apartment were garlands of dried fish, hunches of 
 seal fat, and, farther on, the skins of the beavers which had 
 come from America, with the furs of white and red foxes destined 
 for the fairs of Irbit or of Ostrovnoy^. In one corner was a skin- 
 boat resembling the kayak of the Esquimaux, in another corner 
 were horns of reindeer fixed in the frontal bone, and here and 
 there rough pieces of timber which served for seats. 
 
 After dinner the kamakay, Tchikine, whistled to him the dog, 
 and passed around its neck a circlet of dried moss, as a sacrifice to 
 the spirit of evil. 
 
 At the same moment, from the round hole in the roof which 
 served as a chimney, somebody — a visitor — spat into the fire. 
 Everyone looked up, even Nad^ge, who was beginning to accustom 
 herself to the habits of the locality. 
 
 The kamakay called out for the visitor to enter, and the new- 
 comer — who had not perceived the low door, which was concealed 
 by the snow — descended imceremoniously by the chimney by 
 means of the wooden supports. 
 
 He dropped down at the feet of Nad^ge, who at once recognised 
 the intruder as Tekel ! 
 
 The young lady uttered a cry of surprise and joy 
 
 " Yegor r' she asked, hurriedly. 
 
THE GUIDES ARRIVE. 327 
 
 " He is yonder," replied the guide, " with M. Lafleur and the lad, 
 with the inspector of police." 
 
 ** Is it possible ! " cried Nad^ge. 
 
 " What do you want here ? " said the Ttamakay to T6kel at this 
 juncture; for the chief had been astoni£.hed at the conversation 
 that had just taken place in a language he could not understand, 
 between the "stranger lady " and the new-comer, T^kel. 
 
 " You will very soon understand what I want," replied T^kel in 
 the Tchouktcha tongue. " Where is the door ? " 
 
 While he was speaking Kad^ge had already removed the curtain 
 of reindeer skin which concealed the entrance to the hut. From 
 outside, assistance was immediately forthcoming to clear away 
 the snow which obstructed the aperture. The young Polish 
 lad passed through first, and rushed forward to embrace 
 !Nadege. 
 
 Then it dawned upon the kamakay that this unlooked-for inva 
 sion of his hut had some sinister meaning for him. So he armed 
 himself with his hatase — a long spear-like weapon — and advanced 
 against his importunate visitors. The three warriors also, seeing 
 him thus on the defensive, quitted their places and ranged them- 
 selves behind him as a support. 
 
 Yegor, M. Lafleur, and Yermac successively entered the tent. 
 Yegor had eyes for no one but poor Nad^ge, who was weeping for 
 joy. He embraced her warmly. M. Lafleur at once advanced to 
 
328 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 the Tcamdkay, and kept him at bay by his determined attitude. 
 The Parisian, drawing one of his pistols from his girdle, prepared 
 for a sudden attack, while he bade the guide explain to the kamalcay 
 the reason of their appearance. 
 
 While Wab was being held off from the other dog to prevent 
 canine hostilities, T^kel began to explain to the chief that before 
 him were the relatives and friends of the young Russian lady, who 
 had been carried off from Cape Baranoff, and that the kamdkay 
 would do well to make no resistance, but to surrender her quietly. 
 
 ** But I want her for my third wife," exclaimed the kamaJcay, 
 
 "There is the husband of her choice," replied the Yakout, indi- 
 cating Y^gor. 
 
 The kamakay launched at Y^gor a glance of defiance, and he 
 posed himself like a warrior who was determined to retain his 
 captive vi et armis, 
 
 "I could shoot him like a dog," said Yegor drawing a pistol 
 " but I wish to do him the honour to Hake up the gauntlet.' Tell 
 him to stand forward," he added, addressing the guide. 
 
 "Advance, if you have the courage to do so," said Tekel to the 
 chief of the Tchouktchas. 
 
 The kamakay made two steps backward, so as to obtain space for 
 his charge, holding hi& spear at the charge as he rushed upon Yegor, 
 and tried to run him through with it. 
 
 Nadege, as quick as lightiiiiig, seized the wooden portion of the 
 
^^^I^p^ 
 
 J 
 
THE GUIDES ARRIVE. 
 
 weapon, while Yegor aimed steadily at his adversary. But Yennac 
 intervened, and put Yegor's revolver aside, while he placed himself 
 between the combatants. 
 
 Since the time when the inspector of police had been compelled 
 to accompany Ladislas and the two Yakout guides across the 
 Tchouktcha territory, he had this thought continually present in 
 his mind : Would it not be possible to utilize the relations which 
 existed between the native tribes of the peninsula and the Russian 
 government to obtain the arrest of the fugitives, and to imprison 
 them until such time as measures could be concerted for their 
 removal to Yakoutsk? Yermac had persuaded himself that this 
 could be accomplished. So he was about to make use of the 
 authority of the Czar, which was more nominal than effective, 
 first to the advantage of Yegor and his people. If he succeeded, 
 the fugitives would be afterwards in his power. It was with this 
 intention and with these views that he interfered. 
 
 When the combatants had calmed down a little, Yermac, with 
 the assistance of the interpreter, announced to the kamakay that 
 the Russian law forbade subjects of the Czar to have more than 
 one wife ; and, besides, that the act of violence of which he had 
 been guilty in carrying off the young lady to his tent would fall 
 on him in a tenfold punishment. 
 
 The kamakay only shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 Yermac then spoke with the authority of the "White Czar," 
 
330 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 " the son of the sun," without making any deeper impression upon 
 the impervious kamakay. He knew that there existed, somewhere 
 near the confines of the earth, by the setting sun, a great village 
 called Yakoutsk, in which a powerful chief resided. His political 
 knowledge was bounded by this idea, willi this vague notion. He 
 was also aware that beyond the sea, to the eastward, were mer- 
 chants who traded in brandy ; trappers and whale-fishers, Ameri- 
 cans, who possessed wealthy establishments. So far as the laws 
 were concerned, he only knew that they emanated from his 
 predecessors and himself, and were exercised for the well-being of 
 the tribe over which he reigned so despotically. 
 
 Yermac, at the very first attempt, perceived that he could not 
 hope to obtain any assistance from the kamakay. Nevertheless, as 
 it was important to him — the future might bring him some more 
 favourable chance — ^he insisted that Nadege should not remain in 
 the hands of the savage chief, and he determined that she should 
 be restored to her affianced. 
 
 This appeal was made in vain. Then the inspector of police, 
 through the interpreter, of course, endeavoured to obtain the young 
 lady in exchange for certain objects which would excite the 
 curiosity, the vanity, or the cupidity of the native chief. 
 
 Y^gor immediately concurred; and a gun, a brace of pistols, 
 with ammunition, a considerable sum in rouble paper, the charms 
 from Yegor's watch-chain, were successively ofi'ered, and refused. 
 
THE KAMAKAY IS CHECKMATED. 331 
 
 The chief, Tchikine, obstinately determined to retain the young 
 white girl, whom he desired to make the greatest ornament of his 
 throne. 
 
 The situation was becoming embarrassing. Nadege was shed- 
 ding tears, which were not now tears of joy. From tears her grief 
 increased, until she uttered piercing screams. Her desolation and 
 sorrow were harrowing to behold, threatened as she was with an 
 existence in the hut of this horrible kamakay, with his flattened 
 nose, his bronzed skin, and pervading seal-oil perfume. 
 
 "Take me away," she cried to Yegor and M. Lafleur, "or kill 
 me. Do anything rather than abandon me." 
 
 Yegor was turning over very extreme measures in his mind. 
 His eyes were extended and menacing. He was ready to dare 
 anything to deliver his fiancee from the hands of the savage 
 kamakay. 
 
 All of a sudden M. Lafleur, who feared some sanguinary 
 encounter, conceived an inspiration. He took down the sorcerer's 
 drum, and, assuming the inspired air of a chaman — he had already 
 had some success in the part — began to beat the drum vigorously. 
 
 "A chaman ! " said the two wives of the kamakay, 
 
 "A cliamanV^ whispered the three warriors of the tribe, who 
 had hitherto remained silent spectators of the scene. 
 
 "Yes, a chaman,'^ replied the Yakout, who at once understood 
 the intention of M. Lafleur. 
 
ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 The kamakay paled a little under his bistre tint when he first 
 heard the magic drum struck with no common dexterity hy the 
 stranger. This interference in his business by a person gifted with 
 supernatural powers rather troubled him. 
 
 When he had beaten the drum, which he treated tambourine 
 fashion, tapping it, and striking it with fingers, elbows, knees, and 
 upon his forehead, to the great alarm of the audience, M. Lafleur 
 drew from beneath his fur garments his beloved pocket violin, 
 which, in all his extremity, he had never abandoned. Taking ad- 
 vantage of the astonishment of the assembly at the mere aj^pearance 
 of the instrument, which he seemed to extract from his own chest 
 as if from a violin case, the Parisian executed a series of trefniolos 
 of his own composition — ^hurried, fantastic, irresistible music. 
 
 The dog in the corner began to howl, and was sustained in her 
 protest by the yapping of the puppies. Nuketou, still seated and 
 nursing her child, seemed to be imploring pardon for herself and 
 her infant. The other wife of the kamakay imitated her in her 
 supplicating gestures. These two low-type creatures perceived 
 already in this music the wrath of some great spirit — Tornasul, or 
 another Superior Intelligence — pointed against them through this 
 stranger whom their husband had wished to give them as a 
 companion and rival. 
 
 "What do they want?" said the Parisian to Tekel, without 
 ceasing to play. 
 
THE KAMAKAY IS GHEGKMATEB. 333 
 
 "They are asking pardon," replied the guide. 
 
 " Let them appeal to the hamaJmy,^^ replied M. Lafleur. 
 
 Tekel interpreted these words by an expressive sign. Then the 
 women crouched before the Tchikine, fully determined, as it seemed 
 to him, not to arise until they had obtained their petition, and bis 
 consent to what the white man demanded, the restitution of the 
 girl to her fair-haired friends. 
 
 But the hamakay was obstinate. For fear of yielding he left 
 the hut, taking with him the three warriors, and uttering some 
 words of threatening import. 
 

 The abashed native before M. Lafleiir. 
 
 CHAPTEK XXIY. 
 
 THE KAMAKAT DEFEATED — DIPLOMACY — THE AUSTBIAN SHIP — FATE 
 OF YERMAC — CONCLUSION. 
 
 rilHIS was the begiiming of success for M. Lafleur. He took 
 -■- breath. 
 
 Then the fugitives looked around the hut and examined with 
 curiosity the horrible place, reeking with filth, in which Nad^ge 
 had been compelled to live for so many weeks. Of the usual occu- 
 pants there only remained the two wives of the chief and the two 
 slaves, all completely subjugated by the strange sorcerer wlio 
 
 yielded m no way to any other chaman. 
 
 334 
 
THE KAMAKAY DEFEATED. 335 
 
 These cJiamans or sorcerers, feared and respected by the 
 Tchouktchas, are recruited amongst the young people of weak 
 intellect, to whom the elders have recounted so many mysterious 
 and terrible things which form the basis of popular superstitions, 
 that one day their reason gives way. The long hours of solitude, 
 the extreme cold, the frequent hunger, have also, it is believed, a 
 real influence upon certain nervous constitutions, so that the indivi- 
 duals become crazy; and it is in all good faith, and without any 
 arriere pensee of deceit that the new chamans, without any other con- 
 secration than their half-witted condition declares, assume a 
 ghostly — almost priestly — influence in a country given over to 
 idolatry, although traces of Christianity are met with, but almost 
 entirely on the surface only. 
 
 As to the latter fact the fugitives had an immediate proof. 
 Scarcely had the Tcamdkay disappeared than a native entered the 
 tent, he having been informed that a chaman was present. 
 
 The new-comer was an elderly man, but distinguished from the 
 other inhabitants by a kind of elegance in his dress. He wore, 
 suspended from his neck above his kuchlarika, two images and 
 four crosses ; upon his chest were two certificates framed between 
 two small boards, and people were made aware by his verbose 
 declarations that one of the certificates attested that he and his 
 three sons had been baptised ; the other that he had received from 
 a powerful chief — he did not know whether from the Czar — a 
 
336 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 kamley of red cloth, in return for having sent him a skin of the 
 black fox. 
 
 In order to establish his orthodoxy he made many times the 
 sign of the cross. The Parisian promised himself that he would 
 make Annawa — for so the native was named — a useful auxiliary 
 for the deliverance of Nad^ge. 
 
 He began by informing him through T^kel that the party 
 intended to remain in the hut of the chief so long as they were 
 obliged to stop in the country. It was now March, and the 
 fugitives could not think of returning to take possession of their 
 hut again at Cape Baranoff, having no other plan but to gain time. 
 So soon as the days got longer and less cold, they intended to 
 plunge into the interior from the Tchouktchian peninsula. It 
 would be necessary for them to reach the banks of the Aniouy, 
 then, ascending towards the source of the river, to cross a hilly 
 country, to " strike " the Anadyr, and to descend alongside it to 
 Behring's Strait. 
 
 The tent of the hamakay, notwithstanding the unpleasant odour 
 which emanated from the " alcove," was unquestionably the most 
 comfortable habitation in the whole region. To have thus taken 
 possession of it by means of " occult science" was indeed a master- 
 stroke. The Parisian, compelling the elder of the tribe (who 
 never ceased to make the sign of the cross) to follow him, made 
 three circuits of the tent, striking the magic drum. After that he 
 
DIPLOMACY. 337 
 
 declared to the abashed native, that, if anyone should attempt to 
 enter the hut without his (M. Lafleur's) permission, he would be 
 struck dead at the time of the new moon. 
 
 During this singular ceremony, Nuketou and Kokerjabin (the 
 wives), assisted by the two slaves, caught hold of all they could 
 carry away ; and E'ad^ge saw the cruel women who had caused her 
 so much suffering fly away in haste to avoid the maledictions 
 which seemed likely to rain upon them under the conjurations of 
 the chaman. 
 
 After "tidying" up the tent — an operation in which all assisted 
 — the fugitives established themselves as well as they could in the 
 tent of the kamdkay. They kept their arms all ready in case of 
 emergency. Tekel and Chort stood sentry and relieved each other, 
 turn about, day and night. Wab also kept guard. When Y^gor 
 and M. Lafleur did venture out, they were both armed to the teeth* 
 
 But the fugitives perceived that they were seriously menaced by 
 the hostile disposition of the whole tribe. They perceived dark 
 and threatening faces ; the few natives addressed by Tekel by way 
 of politeness gave him no answer. They all remained persistently 
 silent, and silence is amongst that race the sign of anger, just as a 
 torrent of words is a sign of irritation with us. 
 
 The Parisian at length learned through Annawa, who was some- 
 thing of a "babbler," that the natives wished to reduce the 
 fugitives by famine. 
 
338 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 This was a terrible blow, which the pretended chaman resolved 
 to parry. Assisted by Annawa, he fomented an insurrection 
 agamst the JcamaJcay, and he succeeded in gathering half the 
 warriors to the side of the mysterious spirit, whose manifestations 
 he enunciated. 
 
 Thi^ bold attempt had cruel consequences for the kamaJcay, 
 The terrible chaman commanded the sacrifice of three white rein- 
 deer, and at the moment when the butcher was killing his victims 
 he pronounced the deposition of the chief and his exile. The 
 choice which M. Lafleur made of Annawa to succeed the kamakay 
 — the spoiler of young ladies — was of a too politic nature not to 
 ensure success. The day after this solemn sacrifice no one heard 
 anything of Tchikine. He had resigned his position, and fled from 
 his tribe, without even inducing his wives and slaves to follow 
 him. 
 
 "It is simj)le justice," muttered Yermac. "'V\niat was the use 
 of giving this fellow a hint ? He did not even know he was the 
 subject of the Czar, and as such amenable to the laws of the empire." 
 
 The inspector of police was very anxious to impart his ideas, 
 and to win over to his views the new kamakay, who was a Chris- 
 tian, and certificated by imperial decree ; but M. Lafleur took care 
 that things should keep well, and as Tekel was the only means of 
 interpreting, Yermac again saw himself deprived of the new 
 resource which had presented itself to his fruitful mind. 
 
 J 
 
niPLOMAGY, 339 
 
 At length the time arrived when it was possible for the fugitives 
 to start. It was with great joy that Yegor, having Davidoff's 
 daughter by his side in one of the sleighs, quitted the dwelling 
 which he had sought with such a sinking heart; where rejoined 
 by Ladislas, the guides, and Yermac, he had found his innocent 
 fiancee calling upon him for assistance. 
 
 Y^gor busied himself in endeavouring to ascertain the course of 
 the Aniouy, which was no easy task, seeing how little the guides 
 knew of the country. They first traversed the stunted forests. 
 The new mosses began to appear, and troops of birds already arose 
 from the marshes. They arrived at length at the deserted encamp- 
 ments of the wandering Tchouktchas, which were recognizable 
 principally by the black traces of the dimokours, disinfectants 
 formed of herbs and moss which are burned in the summer to 
 keep off, by the smoke which spreads in all directions, the myriads 
 of mosquitoes, which are a terrible torment to men and animals 
 during the warm season. 
 
 In the larch woods the fugitives always chose in preference the 
 places which were most exposed, where still there were traces of 
 reindeer, for they had now reached the region of the deer-keeping 
 Tchouktchas. By the bank of a stream they found several traps 
 set for sables and foxes — snares which seemed to have been aban- 
 doned. A little farther on they found by the bank of the torrent 
 an enormous tusk of a mammoth elephant, which must have 
 
 Z 2 
 
340 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 weighed at least fifty kilogrammes. It was so solidly embedded in 
 the ice that they could not move it. Beyond the fore^^t a vast 
 marshy plain extended, which had been at one time wooded 
 apparently. 
 
 The dogs advanced painfully amidst the snow, newly fallen, 
 still soft or half melted by the sun, and the eternal icy crust of 
 which the ground was composed. 
 
 In the evening the travellers camped wherever they happened to 
 be. Nad^ge and Ladislas always had their tent put up for them. 
 The men slept in the nartas or embedded in the snow. 
 
 In fact, during this latter portion of their journey, the same 
 features presented themselves to Yegor and his companions as at 
 first — with less intensity, it is true, but amid all the dangers, 
 sufferings, and fatigue which had already marked their course, 
 wild warring of the elements, privations, and the attacks of 
 hungry wild beasts. 
 
 But the days had lengthened out. With the spring the birds 
 had reappeared; the reindeer, quitting the forest, had come up 
 towards the margin of the sea to avoid the mosquitoes ; the young 
 plants also offered some nourishment. The androsaces, saxifrages, 
 gentians began to sprout up, with other charming plants from the 
 green moss. 
 
 The snow appeared here and there to be veined with blood, 
 rusted by the li aliens, or shaded with green or yellow by the 
 
DIPLOMACY. 341 
 
 cryptogamous flora. The various roots served for relishes with the 
 reindeer flesh, and the almost exhausted supply of tea was replen- 
 ished by a certain moss which the travellers mixed with a kind of 
 aromatic fern. 
 
 Hunting was now much less diflicult, particularly the chase of 
 the avfjali and the reindeer ; and when the fugitives broke the icy 
 crust of the rivers, and used their nets, they pulled out a rich 
 supply of fish of the trout and salmon species, the sterlet^ the 
 mouksoune, and the tchi7\ 
 
 One morning about daybreak the sleepers in the open air were 
 awakened by loud cries. These were uttered by an immense flock 
 of geese, which were flapping about in a semi-thawed pond near at 
 hand. Y^gor, M. Lafleur, and the two Yakouts, armed themselves 
 with poles, and hurried down to the tarn. Wab rushed through 
 the half-frozen lake, through ice and water, and spread panic 
 among the geese, which flapped ashore in numbers, when they 
 were warmly received by the travellers, who killed about thirty 
 of the birds in a moment. The Yakouts particularly distinguished 
 themselves in the use of the baton. 
 
 Yermac looked on and smiled. So long as the nartas, laden 
 with the provisions brought from the whaler Hugo and Maria, had 
 furnished the daily supply of food, the inspector of police, who 
 determined that the shippers should be indemnified, had had no 
 scruples in taking his share. Besides, he had displayed con- 
 
342 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 siderable skill in fishing, and to him Avas relegated the preparation 
 of the soup au poissoji ; this oukha was very nourishing. 
 
 Some days later they killed a number of swans with the batons. 
 These birds moult later than the geese. The travellers also en- 
 countered a herd of reindeer, which permitted them to approach 
 closely ; and this circumstance caused the fugitives to believe that 
 the deer were private property. They were not mistaken in this 
 supposition ; but the Tchouktclias, to whom the animals belonged, 
 had hidden themselves at the approach of a band of white men. 
 
 The party continued, with infinite trouble and very great danger, 
 to pass the mountainous region, beyond which they hoped to reach 
 the sources of the Anadyr. The country had the most wild and 
 desolate appearance. Threatening peaks rose high beside the long 
 valleys ; tempestuous winds came rushing through the defiles and 
 couloirs, bringing down great masses of rock, and rendering the pas- 
 sage of the defiles both difficult and dangerous. It was frequently 
 necessary for the travellers to get out of the sleighs and walk 
 beside them along the precipitous paths, where the least false step 
 would have been fatal in its results. The dogs had the greatest 
 difficulty in making their way along. 
 
 Fortunately for the travellers, in some of the most dangerous 
 places the snow liad frozen round the blocks of stone, and pre- 
 vented them from slipping down. 
 
 On other occasions, however, thick fogs would suddenly descend 
 
THE AUSTRIAN SHIP. 343 
 
 and envelope the travellers, blotting out the view of their route, 
 and causing the peak upon which they happened to be to appear 
 like an island tossing in the midst of a tempestuous sea. 
 
 At length they reached the Anadyr, the course of which runs 
 north and south parallel to the mountain chain that intersects the 
 Tchouktchan peninsula, and reascends to the north-east. They 
 followed the banks of the stream, and many times had to 
 make use of the light skin-boat, which they carried with them, 
 the materials for which had been brought from the hut at Cape 
 Baranoff by the Yakouts, to cross the tributaries of the Anadyr, 
 which are of considerable size. 
 
 They halted for eight days at the mouth of the Krasnaia, one of 
 the affluents of the Anadyr — three hundred versts from the sea- 
 coast. This was a favourable place for hunting. Besides, the 
 paws of the dogs were much injured and bleeding ; so repose was 
 absolutely necessary for the packs. 
 
 When the fugitives recommenced their journey, they made up 
 their minds to reach in less than ten days the place where the 
 Anadyr ceases to be a river, and becomes the Bay of Onemene. 
 Arrived there, it became necessary for the travellers to avoid the 
 Ostrog of Anadyr. They accordingly skirted the coast in a 
 southerly direction, advancing with great caution, keeping near 
 enough to the ocean to be able to see it, yet far enough away from 
 the coast to be unperceived from the sea. 
 
344 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 The ocean was then still encumbered with masses of ice. It 
 would be necessary to wait until all these began to move, and until 
 great spaces of water could be perceived. Till then no hope of a 
 sail could be entertained. 
 
 One day from an elevated promontory the fugitives witnessed 
 an immense debacle, a breaking up of the ice, which is one 
 of the grandest, yet one of the most alarming spectacles that 
 can be imagined or witnessed. The icebergs first displaced 
 themselves slowly and as with effort. Crevasses, caused by 
 the thaw, and widened by the influence of the waves, fell 
 asunder with an appalling noise. Other icebergs advanced, 
 floating in the more open water already agitated by a high 
 wind. These were very threatening masses, with their knife- 
 like aretes and their tottering pointed peaks. The newly fallen 
 snow, swept away by the wind, rose in white dusty clouds to the 
 sky which they concealed. From time to time enormous masses 
 of ice would detach themselves from the bergs with detonations 
 like the discharge of artillery ! 
 
 The foaming waves then advanced to hurry on the process of 
 disintegration. The collisions of the floating masses of ice became 
 incessant. They rushed one upon the other with a repeated series 
 of shocks which tended to reduce them to mere fragments. All 
 nature seemed rending itself, and swirling down in the terrible 
 disruption of the icebergs. 
 
THE AUSTRIAN SHIP. 345 
 
 On this occasion tlie sun launched his rays upon the scene, and 
 cast rosy gleams upon the snowy layers and the blue surface of the 
 ice. The sea-green water, stimulated by its long rest, invaded the 
 ice-fields, overturned, battered, plunged remorselessly over the 
 blocks and covered them with foam. The old ice remained at- 
 tached to the margin all along the Bay of Onem^ne, and the 
 hummocks advanced, powerfully borne upon the seething waters 
 of the ocean. 
 
 But out at sea the blue of the waters rivalled the colour of the 
 sky. The waves rolled their grand forms from the Asiatic to the 
 American side of the strait — the Sea of Behring was at last 
 open. 
 
 In proportion as the sea and sky cleared, Yermac's brow became 
 more clouded. He was conscious that the time had now arrived, 
 the decisive hour had struck, when he would be obliged to permit 
 his prey to escape ; for there were actually moments when he 
 believed that he was following the fugitives. He understood that 
 however pitiless he might seem to be, he would have to give a 
 proof of his audacity and courage, and it would cost him dear; 
 for, notwithstanding all that had passed, after suiFering so much in 
 common with the fugitives, he had ended by becoming attached to 
 them, who, strong in their innocence, were seeking to escape 
 infamy and degradation. 
 
 The fugitives were awaiting a vessel which would take them 
 
346 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA, 
 
 away : Yermac was also waiting for this sliip — but only that he 
 might arrest them in their flight. Inexorable justice, whi^h ne 
 personified so entirely, dictated to him this course ; and he did not 
 quail from the task which he had set himself, cruel thoui^h it 
 would be. 
 
 The party had established themselves at the bottom of a ravine, 
 where, under the shelter of a rock of red granite many hundred 
 feet in height, they had set up a hut as a means of concealment a-s 
 well as a habitation. All the time which was not occupied in 
 hunting in the birch-woods or fishing in the stream which ran 
 through the defile, was occupied in watching the sea. Yermac did 
 not sweep the horizon with his gaze with any less interest than 
 liis companions. 
 
 But the month of June came and went : no whalers appeared. 
 July came, and still no whalers ! 
 
 Yegor, almost despairing, began to form projects for escape, each 
 one more wild and impracticable than its predecessor. He would 
 reascend the Anadyr, cross the mountainous region again, and 
 descend to the Sea of Okhotsk to the Gulf of Penjinsk ; he would 
 go to the Aleutian Islands, or better still to Kamtchatka; and 
 thence, following the example of the convict Beniowski, bear away 
 for Canton : he would go in a canoe — in the skin-boat — to the 
 Spice Islands, and so to the American Islands as the intrepid 
 Tchouktchas did : or even await the return of the cold season and 
 
FATE OF YERMAG, 347 
 
 traverse in a sleigh — still following the example of the hravQ 
 Tchouktchas who go trafficking for furs — the eighty- eight kilo- 
 metres which separate Asia from America, the East Cape from 
 Prince of Wales's Cape. With I^ad^ge, with Ladislas, all these 
 means of safety, born of a troubled spirit, had but a very little 
 influence : the difficulties would only be met with under different 
 circumstances, and in difTerent localities — that was all ! 
 
 Thus commenced the long and painful hours of a discouraging 
 sojourn : waiting for hope. 
 
 Although the mornings were still cold on the sea coast, Yegor 
 would leave the hut before daybreak to take up his position upon 
 a high rock. The sun had not yet risen, but a single white star 
 scintillated in the east with diminishing lustre as the orange tint 
 of dawn appeared, and the profiles of the snow-clad mountains 
 became more and more sharply defined. When the sun showed 
 between the distant peaks a little segment of his golden disc, he 
 lit a hundred scintillating fires in the hoar-frost and ice crystals 
 which hung upon the shrubs after the night fogs. But these were 
 beauties of Nature to which Yegor had become quite insensible. 
 
 One morning he had brought his fiancee with him. They 
 remained seated side by side, sadly meditating. Suddenly Nadege, 
 looking from the south side where the plain stretched away to the 
 distant mountains, exclaimed — 
 
 "A mirasfe !" 
 
348 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 Yegor, looking in the same direction, was then enabled to 
 realize all the fantastic illusions of the opium smoker. The old 
 chaman at the Pole had touched with his magic wand the distant 
 mountains, and from a blue lake lost in the horizon rose the wails 
 and domes of a marvellous city, an immense town in the country 
 of the Sun. On the borders of the lake were masses of foliage of 
 dark green tint, bathed in the waters and reflected in its surface as 
 in a mirror ; while, a little behind, the white cupolas glittered in 
 the rays of the rising sun. Never amid those winter snows had 
 there ever been a more complete illusion of summer than this; 
 life in death. 
 
 Instinctively Y^gor turned round to assure himself that he was 
 not dreaming. The astonishment of both spectators was extreme. 
 But as soon as they turned their eyes again to the east the 
 splendid blue lake and the grand lines of the mirage once more 
 confounded their reason by their supernatural beauty; and the 
 grand minarets of the mosques, the high towers of the palace 
 appeared, as they asserted themselves more strongly, to protest 
 against any supposition of illusion. 
 
 However, little by little, the magical appearance weakened its 
 tones, then burst forth anew, and finally disappeared in a confused 
 mass, while from its ruins immense columns of rosy marble were 
 elevated. These gradually inclined their capitals to each other, 
 forming a gigantic portico — a vast cate of Heaven — under which 
 
SAID NADEGE. SUDDENLY. ''LOOK YONDER— THAT TS NO MIRAGE I " 
 
FATE OF YFRMAG. 349 
 
 the spectators almost expected to see defile a brilliant procession of 
 the glorious inhabitants of the marvellous world of Mirage. This 
 portico, in its turn folding upon itself, became a castle with massive 
 bastions and numerous embrasures, high crenelated towers, an im- 
 pregnable refuge, the lines and shadows of which were as natural as 
 the reality itself could have been. Then, at last, all became con- 
 fused — the mirage faded away. 
 
 The fiances then looked towards the sea and the coa«t-line. 
 There nothing had changed, the mirage had found its limit. 
 
 "But," said Nadcge, suddenly, and breathing quickly; "look 
 yonder — that is no mirage — yonder. See ! " 
 
 "Yes, I see," stammered Y^gor, turning pale with emotion. "It 
 is the ship ! " 
 
 Nadege threw herself into Yegor's arms. 
 
 "Are we saved, Yegor 1 Are we saved*?" she cried in her 
 anxiety. 
 
 " Yes ; that means safety," he replied. 
 
 " But suppose the ship should sail away 1 " 
 
 She kept regarding the vessel with burning eyes. After a pause 
 of some minutes — it seemed a long time — Yegor said, 
 
 " I do not think I am mistaken. That ship is approaching. It 
 is endeavouring to avoid the icebergs which block the entrance to 
 the Bay of Onem^ne, and it would not continue a useless and 
 dangerous struggle if it were bound for the Strait." 
 
350 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 " Ah ! this is, perhaps, the last day we shall pass on this coast, 
 Yegor. But what if it be an enemy — a Kussian vessel ? " 
 
 " Let us hope for the best," replied Yegor, in a shaking voice, 
 
 for the same idea had occurred to him also. 
 
 "When shall we know what fate is in store for us?" asked • 
 ■* 
 Nad^ge, clinging to him. 
 
 "This evening — to-night — to-morrow morning at the latest, 
 according as the ice renders the navigation more or less easy. I 
 will go on board in the canoe," replied Y^gor. 
 
 " But suppose they take you prisoner ; you will be lost to mo — 
 tousaU!" 
 
 " Rest assured, Nad^ge. You look upon the dark side of thino^s 
 too much." 
 
 " No, I do not wish you to leave me ; I will go with you. We 
 will take the emeralds with us, and offer them for our ransom." 
 
 "Go with me?" exclaimed Y^gor. "In the canoe— in that 
 cockle-shell which would upset on the slightest provocation?" 
 
 "I have been courageous enough mitil now, so you need not 
 doubt me at the last moment. If they see us together, perhaps 
 they will be touched by our misery ; so undeserved as it is " 
 
 "I will go alone, Nad^ge. On that I am determined," said 
 Yegor, firmly. 
 
 "You will expose yourself to needless danger, Yegor," said 
 M. Lafieur, who had come up unperceived, and heard the latter 
 
FATE OF YERMAG. 35] 
 
 part of the dispute between the young people. "1 will go on 
 board this ship." 
 
 " You ? " exclaimed Yegor and Nad^ge, simultaneously. 
 
 " Yes, I. I have nothing to fear, being a Frenchman. I will 
 clear the ground for you " 
 
 "Ah, this will, I hope, be the last service you will have to 
 perform for us, dear M. Lafleur," said Yegor, pressing the hand of 
 the Parisian. 
 
 "The last service?" replied M. Lafleur in a protesting way. 
 " Indeed, I hope it will not be." 
 
 Yegor wished M. Lafleur to escort !N"ad^ge back to the hut, 
 where she might repose after the excitement of the morning, and 
 also prepare for eventualities. As for Y6gor himself, he remained 
 at his post of observation. In the evening M. Lafleur and N'ad^ge 
 found it necessary to come and tear him away from it. The vessel 
 had anchored to an ice-fleld, as closely as possible to the margin of 
 the bay. 
 
 Next morning, at daybreak, M. Lafleur and T6kel, dragging the 
 skin canoe across the ice towards the water, advanced in the direction 
 of the three-masted vessel. When the opening in the ice was reached, 
 the canoe was launched, and sustained its reputation. M. Lafleur, 
 in quitting the hut, was surprised not to see Yermac, upon whom 
 he wished to make a last attempt, with a view to dissuade him from 
 his ideas, and at the same time to persuade him to abandon Eussia. 
 
352 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 Although he Avas little versed in maritime matters, M. Lafleut 
 had not gone very far out in his canoe when he discovered that 
 the ship sailed under the Austrian flag. 
 
 He proceeded on the deck, the canoe heing wonderfully man- 
 oeuvred by T^kel. The first face he saw on the deck was that of 
 the injector of police. 
 
 Yermac had, indeed, made up his mind that the fugitives would 
 seek to go on board in harbour, and so he came out to tell the 
 captain of the strange ship the circumstances, and how he and the 
 proscribed ones w^ere situated. He had finis] icd by demanding the 
 captain's assistance. In order to go on board the ship, the 
 inspector of police had been obliged to make a long detour over 
 the loose and disconnected ice-blocks. In the morning he was 
 within hail of the ship, and they sent a boat to his rescue ; but 
 twenty times he had very nearly disappeared amid the hummocks. 
 
 So M. Lafleur found the captain in possession of aU the par- 
 ticulars. 
 
 There was nothing very terrible about this captain, who was a 
 young man full of energy ; a Eussian by birth, but then in com- 
 mand of an Austrian ship, hailing from Trieste. He had been 
 despatched to Behring's Straits — on some mission connected with 
 Nordenskibld, and to meet him, if possible — by the shipowners of 
 that port. The latter — being aware from letters from the Swedish 
 voyager, which had been carried to Europe by the enterprise oi 
 
FATE OF YERMAG. 353 
 
 some TchoTiktchas, and by the Siberian posts, of the fortunate 
 results of the expedition, which opened up all the Siberian rivers 
 to commercial enterprise, and to immense supplies of ivory in the 
 archipelago of Lyakoff — had decided to choose, without loss of time, 
 some point upon the shore of Behring's Sea where a commercial 
 centre might be established, and where whale-oil might be prepared. 
 
 The first instructions were for the captain to put himself in com- 
 munication with the illustrious navigator, and then to get clear of 
 the strait where he had been wintering since the end of September 
 in the preceding year^ blocked by ice, only a few hours being now 
 required to set him free. 
 
 Meanwhile, Nad^ge and Y^gor, who had also noticed the absence 
 of Yermac, began to feel really anxious. Seated together on the 
 shore they awaited, in terrible suspense, the return of M. Lafleur. 
 Ladislas was near them. 
 
 When they perceived M. Lafleur returning to land in one of the 
 ship's boats, pulled by many sailors, who made a detour to 
 follow a narrow channel opened in the ice, they did not know 
 whether they were lost from that moment or saved. 
 
 M. Lafleur leaped on shore, or rather on the ice, and ran towards 
 them. 
 
 " Well," cried Nad^ge, her eyes brimming with tears. 
 
 "Saved 1" exclaimed M. Lafleur. '^But no thanks to Yermac." 
 
 "We might have guessed as much," muttered Y^gO'. 
 
354 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 "The traitor went away in the night to denounce us." 
 
 " Ah ! " cried Nad^ge. " Then you think we have nothing to 
 fear." 
 
 "The captain of the Francis Joseph awaits you, awaits us all," 
 said M. Lafleur. 
 
 " Suppose it is all a snare ! " said Nadfege. " Why does Yermac 
 remain on board ? " 
 
 "There is no snare to fear at all," replied the Parisian. "The 
 captain of the Austrian ship is Boris Andreyeff, the husband of 
 your sister, Y^gor." 
 
 " My brother-in-law ! " exclaimed Y^gor. 
 
 "Yes, your brother-in-law — who, after your banishment, dis- 
 gusted with the arbitrary proceedings of the Russian government, 
 quitted Riga, and took service in the Austrian merchant marine. 
 Your brother-in-law is yonder, and is burning to welcome you and 
 the amiable companion whom you have snatched from so much 
 misery and such indignity. He has the unspeakable happiness to 
 deliver you from your captivity. You may well understand how 
 he has received the denunciations of Yermac. Captain Andreyeff 
 will carry you wherever you please — to King George's Archipelago 
 — to IN'ew Norfolk — to !N'ew Hanover or California, if you please. 
 'WTiere would you like to go 1 " 
 
 "Where would I like to go ? " replied Yegor. " Well, after oui 
 marriage I wish to go to France ! " 
 
FATE OF YERMAG. 355 
 
 "That is to Chateau Thierry," said M. Lafleur, smiling. "We 
 will all go together, if Madame Semenoff will permit 1 " 
 
 Nad^ge blushed as red as a cherry at this. 
 
 " Vive la liherte 1 " exclaimed the Parisian. " l!^ow," he added, 
 " embrace me, my friends." 
 
 Y^gor, Nad^ge, and Ladislas threw themselves into his arms. 
 
 " Take care, take care," he cried, as he furtively wiped away a 
 tear with the back of his hand; "you will crush the pocket 
 violin!" 
 
 One hour later the fugitives were all comfortably installed on 
 board the Austrian vessel, and feeling quite at home. T^kel and 
 Chort had been dismissed and remunerated. Y^gor abandoned to 
 them the nartas and all they contained, including the firearms, all 
 except the gun which he had borrowed from the Governor of 
 Yakoutsk, and the curiosities which belonged to M. Lafleur. Y^gor 
 also gave the Yakouts nearly all the roubles he possessed in money 
 and paper — no inconsiderable sum. 
 
 The two Yakout guides took leave of the travellers with tender- 
 ness. They proposed to await the return to land of the in- 
 spector of police, and then they would at once start upon their 
 journey. 
 
 Captain Andr^yeff" had been very cheerful, and had made no 
 secret of his delight. His happiness would have been complete 
 could he have persuaded Yermac to break with his past, to for- 
 
356 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 get all that had occurred, and to recommence his life anew. But 
 he spoke to deaf ears. Yermac was obstinate. 
 
 M. Lafleur wanted to speak to the inspector about his behaviour, 
 but Yegor's brother-in-law interfered, and, taking Yermac's part, 
 said firmly : — 
 
 " H« is an honest man ! " 
 
 The dinner table was laid on board the vessel. Captain Boris 
 Andr^yeff was anxious that Yermac should take his place beside 
 him. But in the midst of the general conversation the inspector 
 of police remained reserved and taciturn. He felt he had been 
 conquered. 
 
 "Will you not remain with us?" said Captain Andr^yeff to 
 Yermac, for the tenth time. 
 
 Yermac made a sign in the negative. 
 
 " I am sorry for it," said the captain. " At any rate, I will put 
 my boats at your disposal to go ashore." 
 
 " Thank you very much for your insistance," replied Yermac, 
 "and for your kind offer ; but I will return as I came — on foot." 
 
 "The sea is very stormy," replied the captain. 
 
 Then he turned aside to where the others were making plans for 
 living together in Austria, in a villa on the Adriatic. 
 
 " I have my emeralds still," said Nad^ge, looking fixedly at the 
 inspector of police. 
 
 He smiled very kindly at her. 
 
CONCLUSION. 357 
 
 The moment of separation had now arrived. 
 
 Yermac> after shaking hands with all quietly and coldly, and 
 having embraced Ladislas effusively, handed to Yegor a paper on 
 which were some pencilled memoranda. 
 
 " What is this ? " enquired Y^gor. 
 
 " The inventory of the utensils and stores which were found on 
 board the whaler. You will perhaps be the fii-st person who will 
 be able to turn it to the profit of the owners " 
 
 As he spoke Yermac let himself down upon the ice to which the 
 vessel was moored. Captain Andreyeff was right — the sea had 
 become more boisterous. Yermac seemed to pay no attention to it. 
 
 " Will you not at least take the canoe ? " said M. Lafleur. His 
 only answer was a gesture of farewell. 
 
 All on board watched him. Several times Yermac disappeared 
 for a minute or two between the ice-blocks, whence they saw him 
 again emerge. Suddenly, when he had reached an elevated place, 
 his foot seemed to slip. Nad^^e and Ladislas cried out. Yermac 
 did not reappear. 
 
 " Oh ! captain, I beseech you ; send some of your men to help 
 him," cried Nad^ge. "Perhaps an accident has happened." 
 
 The captain yielded to the girl's importunity, and was about to 
 give orders accordingly, when he perceived the two Yakouts cross- 
 ing the ice-field to the assistance of Yermac — ^in search of him, in 
 fact, for he had quite disappeared. 
 
358 ESCAPED FROM SIBERIA. 
 
 When they arrived at the spot where he had missed his footing, 
 the Yakonts searched in every direction, but without succeeding in 
 discovering the inspector of police. The masses of ice between 
 which he had fallen had come together again, and had buried him 
 beneath them. 
 
 T^kel and Chort came to this conclusion at once. 
 
 Then T^kel mounted upon a block of ice, on which he had some 
 difficulty to maintain his equilibrium. Putting his hands to his 
 mouth to serve as a speaking-trumpet, he shouted to the ship^ 
 
 " Disappeared ! Dead ! " 
 
 The voice of the Yakout came over the ice with a very lament- 
 able intonation. 
 
 " He is dead," said Captain Andr^yeff to those around him. 
 
 "The death of the inspector of police," said Y^gor, "has 
 occurred under such circumstances as to give rise to a suspicion of 
 suicide." 
 
 "I feared as much," said the captain. "Wliy was he so 
 obstinate ? " 
 
 "It is his own fault, his own fault," murmured the Parisian 
 '* But what a headstrong fellow he was." 
 
 " Unhappy man ! " said ISTad^ge. " We may lament him when 
 we remember the assistance he rendered us at the peril of his 
 life." 
 
 " The assistance ? " exclaimed the astonished captain. 
 
VONGLUSION. 
 
 359 
 
 "Yes, my dear Boris," said Y^gor. "In the midst of the 
 Polar night, on the ice, amid a fearful tempest. Without his 
 assistance, neither Nadege, nor Ladislas, nor I myself would be 
 here now." 
 
 THE END. 
 
 I 
 
YB 18985 
 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY