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"Fortyeight hours, for we shall travel day and night. I say day and night,
Nadia," added he, "for I cannot stop even for a moment; I go on without rest
to Irkutsk."
"I shall not delay you, brother; no, not even for an hour, and we will travel
day and night."
"Well then, Nadia, if the Tartar invasion has only left the road open, we
shall arrive in twenty days."
"You have made this journey before?" asked Nadia.
"Many times."
"During winter we should have gone more rapidly and surely, should we not?"
"Yes, especially with more rapidity, but you would have suffered much from the
frost and snow."
"What matter! Winter is the friend of Russia."
"Yes, Nadia, but what a constitution anyone must have to endure such
friendship! I have often seen the temperature in the Siberian steppes fall to
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more than forty degrees below freezing point! I have felt, notwithstanding my
reindeer coat, my heart growing chill, my limbs stiffening, my feet freezing
in triple woolen socks; I have seen my sleigh horses covered with a coating of
ice, their breath congealed at their nostrils. I have seen the brandy in my
flask change into hard stone, on which not even my knife could make an
impression. But my sleigh flew like the wind. Not an obstacle on the plain,
white and level farther than the eye could reach! No rivers to stop one! Hard
ice everywhere, the route open, the road sure! But at the price of what
suffering, Nadia, those alone could say, who have never returned, but whose
bodies have been covered up by the snow storm."
"However, you have returned, brother," said Nadia.
"Yes, but I am a Siberian, and, when quite a child, I used to follow my father
to the chase, and so became inured to these hardships. But when you said to
me, Nadia, that winter would not have stopped you, that you would have gone
alone, ready to struggle against the frightful Siberian climate, I seemed to
see you lost in the
Michael Strogoff
CHAPTER IX DAY AND NIGHT IN A TARANTASS
44
snow and falling, never to rise again."
"How many times have you crossed the steppe in winter?" asked the young
Livonian.
"Three times, Nadia, when I was going to Omsk."
"And what were you going to do at Omsk?"
"See my mother, who was expecting me."
"And I am going to Irkutsk, where my father expects me. I am taking him my
mother's last words. That is as much as to tell you, brother, that nothing
would have prevented me from setting out."
"You are a brave girl, Nadia," replied Michael. "God Himself would have led
you."
All day the tarantass was driven rapidly by the iemschiks, who succeeded each
other at every stage. The eagles of the mountain would not have found their
name dishonored by these "eagles" of the highway. The high price paid for each
horse, and the tips dealt out so freely, recommended the travelers in a
special way.
Perhaps the postmasters thought it singular that, after the publication of the
order, a young man and his sister, evidently both Russians, could travel
freely across Siberia, which was closed to everyone else, but their papers
were all en regle and they had the right to pass.
However, Michael Strogoff and Nadia were not the only travelers on their way
from Perm to Ekaterenburg.
At the first stages, the courier of the Czar had learnt that a carriage
preceded them, but, as there was no want of horses, he did not trouble himself
about that.
During the day, halts were made for food alone. At the posthouses could be
found lodging and provision.
Besides, if there was not an inn, the house of the Russian peasant would have
been no less hospitable. In the villages, which are almost all alike, with
their whitewalled, greenroofed chapels, the traveler might knock at any door,
and it would be opened to him. The moujik would come out, smiling and
extending his hand to his guest. He would offer him bread and salt, the
burning charcoal would be put into the "samovar," and he would be made quite
at home. The family would turn out themselves rather than that he should not
have room. The stranger is the relation of all. He is "one sent by God."
On arriving that evening Michael instinctively asked the postmaster how many
hours ago the carriage which preceded them had passed that stage.
"Two hours ago, little father," replied the postmaster.
"Is it a berlin?"
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"No, a telga."
"How many travelers?"
"Two."
"And they are going fast?"
"Eagles!"
Michael Strogoff
CHAPTER IX DAY AND NIGHT IN A TARANTASS
45
"Let them put the horses to as soon as possible."
Michael and Nadia, resolved not to stop even for an hour, traveled all night.
The weather continued fine, though the atmosphere was heavy and becoming
charged with electricity. It was to be hoped that a storm would not burst
whilst they were among the mountains, for there it would be terrible. Being
accustomed to read atmospheric signs, Michael Strogoff knew that a struggle of
the elements was approaching.
The night passed without incident. Notwithstanding the jolting of the
tarantass, Nadia was able to sleep for some hours. The hood was partly raised
so as to give as much air as there was in the stifling atmosphere.
Michael kept awake all night, mistrusting the iemschiks, who are apt to sleep
at their posts. Not an hour was lost at the relays, not an hour on the road.
The next day, the 20th of July, at about eight o'clock in the morning, they
caught the first glimpse of the Ural
Mountains in the east. This important chain which separates Russia from
Siberia was still at a great distance, and they could not hope to reach it
until the end of the day. The passage of the mountains must necessarily be
performed during the next night. The sky was cloudy all day, and the
temperature was therefore more bearable, but the weather was very threatening.
It would perhaps have been more prudent not to have ascended the mountains
during the night, and Michael would not have done so, had he been permitted to
wait; but when, at the last stage, the iemschik drew his attention to a peal
of thunder reverberating among the rocks, he merely said:
"Is a telga still before us?"
"Yes."
"How long is it in advance?"
"Nearly an hour."
"Forward, and a triple tip if we are at Ekaterenburg tomorrow morning."
CHAPTER X A STORM IN THE URAL MOUNTAINS
THE Ural Mountains extend in a length of over two thousand miles between
Europe and Asia. Whether they are called the Urals, which is the Tartar, or
the Poyas, which is the Russian name, they are correctly so termed; for these
names signify "belt" in both languages. Rising on the shores of the Arctic
Sea, they reach the borders of the Caspian. This was the barrier to be crossed
by Michael Strogoff before he could enter
Siberian Russia. The mountains could be crossed in one night, if no accident
happened. Unfortunately, thunder muttering in the distance announced that a
storm was at hand. The electric tension was such that it could not be
dispersed without a tremendous explosion, which in the peculiar state of the
atmosphere would be very terrible.
Michael took care that his young companion should be as well protected as
possible. The hood, which might have been easily blown away, was fastened more
securely with ropes, crossed above and at the back. The traces were doubled,
and, as an additional precaution, the naveboxes were stuffed with straw, as
much to increase the strength of the wheels as to lessen the jolting,
unavoidable on a dark night. Lastly, the fore and hinder parts, connected
simply by the axles to the body of the tarantass, were joined one to the other
by a crossbar, fixed by means of pins and screws.
Michael Strogoff
CHAPTER X A STORM IN THE URAL MOUNTAINS
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Nadia resumed her place in the cart, and Michael took his seat beside her. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]