Citation
Condemned as a nihilist

Material Information

Title:
Condemned as a nihilist a story of escape from Siberia
Creator:
Henty, G. A ( George Alfred ), 1832-1902
Paget, Walter, 1863-1935 ( Illustrator )
Blackie & Son ( publisher )
Place of Publication:
London ;
Glasgow ;
Edinburgh ;
Publisher:
Blackie & Son
Publication Date:
Language:
English
Physical Description:
352, 32 p., [9] leaves of plates : ill., col. map (folded) ; 19 cm.

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Youth -- Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction ( lcsh )
Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction ( lcsh )
Friendship -- Juvenile fiction ( lcsh )
Revolutionaries -- Juvenile fiction ( lcsh )
Prisoners -- Juvenile fiction ( lcsh )
Escapes -- Juvenile fiction ( lcsh )
Nihilism -- Juvenile fiction ( lcsh )
Outdoor life -- Juvenile fiction ( lcsh )
Juvenile fiction -- Siberia (Russia) ( lcsh )
Publishers' catalogues -- 1893 ( rbgenr )
Bldn -- 1893
Genre:
Publishers' catalogues ( rbgenr )
novel ( marcgt )
Spatial Coverage:
England -- London
Scotland -- Glasgow
Scotland -- Edinburgh
Ireland -- Dublin
Target Audience:
juvenile ( marctarget )

Notes

Citation/Reference:
Newbolt, P. Henty,
General Note:
Actually originally published on 21 June 1892 (with 1893 on t.p.). Cf. Newbolt.
General Note:
Publisher's catalogue follows text.
Statement of Responsibility:
by G.A. Henty ; illustrated by Walter Paget.

Record Information

Source Institution:
University of Florida
Rights Management:
This item is presumed to be in the public domain. The University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries respect the intellectual property rights of others and do not claim any copyright interest in this item. Users of this work have responsibility for determining copyright status prior to reusing, publishing or reproducing this item for purposes other than what is allowed by fair use or other copyright exemptions. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions may require permission of the copyright holder. The Smathers Libraries would like to learn more about this item and invite individuals or organizations to contact The Department of Special and Area Studies Collections (special@uflib.ufl.edu) with any additional information they can provide.
Resource Identifier:
002391630 ( ALEPH )
ALZ6520 ( NOTIS )
06460020 ( OCLC )

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CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

ie





GODFREY IS CAPTURED BY THE RUSSIAN POLICE,



CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST:

A STORY OF
ESCAPE FROM SIBERIA.

BY

G. A. HENTY,

Author of “In Freedom's Cause;” ‘‘ The Lion of the North;”
“The Young Carthaginian;” &c.

ILLUSTRATED BY WALTER PAGET.



LONDON:
BLACKIE & SON, Lintep, 49 OLD BAILEY, E.C.
GLASGOW, EDINBURGH, AND DUBLIN.
1893.











PREFACE

My DEAR Laps,

There are few difficulties that cannot be surmounted by
patience, resolution, and pluck, and great as are the obstacles
that nature and the Russian government oppose to an escape
from the prisons of Siberia, such evasions have occasion-
ally been successfully carried out, and that under far less
advantageous circumstances than. those under which the
hero of this story undertook the venture. For the account
of life in the convict establishments in Siberia I am indebted
to the very valuable books by my friend the Rev. Dr. Lans-
dell, who has made himself thoroughly acquainted with
Siberia, traversing the country from end to end and visiting
all the principal prisons. He conversed not only with
officials, but with many of the prisoners and convicts, and
with Russian and foreign residents in the country, and his
testimony as to the management of the prisons and the
condition of the convicts is confirmed by other independent
writers personally cognizant of the facts, and like him able
to converse fluently in the language, and writing from inti-
mate knowledge of the subject.

Yours sincerely,

G. A. HENTY.







CHAP.

II.

III.

IV.

VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.

XI.
XIl.
XIII.
XIV.
XY.
XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.

CONTENTS.

A Great CHANGE, .
A Cat’s-Paw, .
A Huytine Party,

A PRISONER, .

. AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE,

An Escapes,
Tue Buriat’s CHILD, .
Tue Mines oF Kara, .

Prison Lire, .

. PREPARATIONS FOR FLIGHT, .

SATIQAT Wet -tlnyentin sunt ita ase
WINTER,

Huntine, .

THE BREAK-UP OF WINTER, .
CoASTING, .

A SAMOYEDE ENCAMPMENT,

A Sea Ficut,

Home Again,

Page
11

33
52
67
86

. 104
. 123
. 142
. 163
. 182
. 202
. 222
. 242
. 262
. 282
. 802
. 322

. 339







ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page
Goprrey IS CAPTURED BY THE Russtan Poticn, . Frontis. 70

A Supper or RoasreD SQUIRRELS, . . +. + + + 4s + nee
Goprrey Punisurs KopyLin In tHE Convicr Prison, . . 166
Sprarinc FisH By ToRCH-LIGHT, ee 218
GopFREY BRINGS DOWN AN Enx, . . . . . - es « 245
Tur SLAUGHTERED WOLVES,. . . . - + + + + + + 289
RUKA PAGES THEOBRAR® =) & ee 3. fo ee 20h
Goprrey AND LUKA ESCAPING FROM THE SAMOYEDES, . . 318

Map of Russian Empire, . . . . . . . ws. ~~ 80



ae









CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

CHAPTER I.
A GREAT CHANGE.

ALF a dozen boys were gathered in one of the
studies at Shrewsbury. A packed portmanteau
and the general state of litter on the floor was
sufficient to show that it was the last day of
term.

“‘Well, I am awfully sorry you are going, Bullen; we shall
all miss you. You would certainly have been in the foot-
ball team next term; it is a nuisance altogether.”

“Tt is a nuisance; and I am beastly sorry I am leaving.
Of course I have known for some time that I should be
going out to Russia; but I did not think the governor
would have sent me until after I had gone through the
school. His letter a fortnight ago was a regular stumper.
I thought I should have had another year and a half or two
years, and, of course, that is just the jolliest part of school
life. However, it cannot be helped.”

“You talk the language, don’t you, Bullen?”

“Well, I used to talk it, but I don’t remember much
about it now. You see I have been home six years. I
expect I shall pick it up again fast enough. I should not
mind it so much if the governor were out there still; but
you see he came home for good two years ago. Still it





12 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

won't be like going to a strange place altogether; and as he
has been living there so long, I shall soon get to know lots
of the English there. Still Ido wish I could have had a
couple of years. more at Shrewsbury. I should have been
content to have gone out then.”

“Well, it is time for us to be starting. I can hear the
omnibus.”

In a few minutes the omnibus was filled with luggage in-
side and out; the lads started to walk to the station. As
the train drew up there were hearty good-byes, and then
the train steamed out of the station, the compartment in
which Godfrey Bullen. had taken his seat being filled with
boys going, like himself, straight through to town. All were
in high spirits, and Bullen, who had felt sorry at leaving
school for the last time, was soon as merry as any of them.

“You must mind what you are up to, Bullen,” one of his
companions said. “They are terrible fellows those Nihilists,
they say.”

“They won't hurt Bullen,” another put in, “unless he
goes into the secret police. I should say he would make a
good sort of secret policeman.”

‘No, no; he is more likely to turn a Nihilist.”

“Bosh!” Bullen said, laughing. “I am not likely to turn
a secret policeman; but I am more likely to do that than
to turn Nihilist. I hate revolutionists and assassins, and all
those sort of fellows.”

“Yes, we all know that you are a Tory, Bullen; but people
change, you know. I hope we shall never see among the
lists of Nihilists tried for sedition and conspiracy, and sen-
tenced to execution, the name of one Godfrey Bullen.”

“Oh, they wouldn’t execute Bullen!” another said; “they
would send him to Siberia. Bullen’s always good at fight-
ing an uphill game, and he would show off to great advan-
tage in a chain-gang. Do they crop their hair there, Bullen,
and put on a gray suit, as I saw them at work in Ports-
mouth dockyard last year?”



A GREAT CHANGE, 13

“T am more likely to see you working in a chain-gang at
Portsmouth, Wilkinson, when I come back, than I am to form
part of a convict gang in Siberia—at any rate for being a
Nihilist. I won’t say about other things, for I suppose there
is no saying what a fellow may come to. I don’t suppose any
of the men who get penal servitude for forgery, and swind-
ling, and so on, ever have any idea, when they are sixteen,
that that is what they are coming to. At present I don’t
feel any inclination that way.”

“I should say you were not likely to turn forger anyhow,
Bullen, whatever you take to.”

“Why is that, Parker?”

“Because you write such a thundering bad hand that you
would never be able to imitate anyone else’s signature, un-
less he couldn’t go farther than making a cross for his name,
and the betting is about even that you would blot that.”

There was a roar of laughter, for Bullen’s handwriting
was a perpetual source of trouble to him, and he was con-
tinually losing marks for his exercises in consequence. He
joined heartily in the laugh,

“It is an awful nuisance that handwriting of mine,” he
said, “especially when one is going to be a merchant, you
know. The governor has talked two or three times about
my going to one of those fellows who teach you to write
copperplate in twenty lessons. I shouldn’t be surprised. if
he does, let me have a course these holidays. I should not
mind if he does, for my writing is disgusting.”

“Never mind, Bullen ; bad handwriting is a sign of genius,
you know. You have never shown any particular genius
yet, except for rowing and boxing, and I suppose that is
muscular genius; but you may blossom out in a new line
some day.”

“TI don’t want to disturb the harmony of this last meet-
ing, Parker, or I should bring my muscular genius into play
at your expense,”

“No, no, Bullen,” another boy said, “you keep that for



14 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

Russia. Fancy. Bullen polishing off a gigantic Cossack, or
defending the Czar’s life against half a dozen infuriated
Nihilists. That would be the thing, Bullen. It would be
better than trade any day. Why, you would get an estate
as big as an English county, with ten thousand serfs, and
sacks upon sacks of roubles.”

“ What bosh you fellows talk!” Bullen laughed. “There
is one thing I do expect I shall learn in Russia, and that is
to skate. Fancy six months of regular skating, instead of
a miserable three or four days. I shall meet some of you
fellows some day at the Round Pond, and there you will be
just working away at the outside edge, and I shall be join-
ing in those skating-club figures and flying round and round
like a bird.”

“What birds fly round and round, Bullen?”

“Lots of them do, as you would know, Jordan, if you
kept your eyes open, instead of being always on the edge of
going to sleep. Swallows do, and eagles. Never mind, you
fellows will turn yellow with jealousy when you see me.”

And so they laughed and joked until they reached Lon-
don. Then there was another hearty good-bye all round,
and in a couple of minutes they were speeding in hansoms
to their various destinations. Godfrey Bullen’s was Eccleston
Square. His father was now senior partner in a firm that
carried on a considerable business with the east of Europe.
He had, when junior partner, resided at St. Petersburg, as
the firm had at that time large dealizigs in the Baltic. From
various causes this trade had fallen off a good deal, and the
firm had dealt more largely with Odessa and the southern
ports. Consequently, when at the death of the senior part-
ner Mr. Bullen returned to England to take up the principal
management of the affairs of the firm, it was not deemed:
advisable to continue the branch at St. Petersburg, and Ivan
Petrovytch, a Russian trader of good standing, had been
appointed their agent there.

The arrangement had not worked quite satisfactorily.



A GREAT CHANGE. 15

Petrovytch was an excellent agent as far as he went. The
business he did was sound, and he was careful and conscien-
tious; but he lacked push and energy, had no initiative, and
would do nothing on his own responsibility. Mr. Bullen
had all along intended that Godfrey should, on leaving
school, go for a few years to Russia, and should, in time,
occupy the same position there that he himself had done;
but he had now determined that this should take place
earlier than he had before intended. He thought that God-
frey would now more speedily pick up the language again,
than if he remained another two or three years in England,
and that in five or six years’ time he might be able to repre-
sent the firm there, either in conjunction with Ivan Petro-
vytch or by himself. Therefore, ten:days before the break-
ing-up of the school for the long holidays, he had written to
Godfrey, telling him that he should take him away at the
end of the term, and that in two or three months’ time he
would go out to St. Petersburg.

Mr. Bullen’s family consisted of two girls in addition to
Godfrey. Hilda, the elder, was seventeen, a year older than
the lad, while Ella was two years his junior.

“Well, Godfrey,” his father said, as, after the first greet-
ing, they sat down to dinner, which had been kept back for
half an hour for his arrival, “you did not seem very enthu-
siastic in your reply to my letter.”

“I did not feel very enthusiastic, father,” Godfrey replied.
‘Of course one’s two last years at school are just the jolly
time, and I was really very sorry to leave. Still, of course
you know what is best for me; and I dare say I shall get on
very well at St. Petersburg.”

“T have no doubt of that, Godfrey. I have arranged for

‘you to live with Mr. Petrovytch, as you will regain the lan-
guage much more quickly in a Russian family than you
would in an English one; besides, it will be handy for your
work. In Russia merchants’ offices are generally in their
houses, and it is so with him; but, of course, you will know



“16 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

most of the English families. I shall write to several of my
old friends, and I am sure they will do all they can for you;
but I shall write more to my Russian acquaintances than to
my English. The last are sure to call upon you when they
hear you have come out; but it is not so easy to get a footing
in Russian families, and you might be some time before you
make acquaintances that way. Besides, it is much better for
you to be principally in the Russian set than in the English,
in the first place, because of the language; and in the
second, because you will get a much better acquaintance
with the country in general with them than among the
English.

“There are not many English lads of your own age out .
there—very few indeed; and those nearest your age would
be young clerks. I have nothing whatever to say against
young clerks; but, as a rule, they consort together, spend
their evenings in each others’ rooms or in playing billiards,
or otherwise amuse themselves, and so learn very little of
the language and nothing of the people. It is unfortunate
that it should be so; but they are not altogether to blame,
for, as I have said, the Russians, although friendly enough
with Englishmen in business, in the club, and so on, do not
as a tule invite them to their houses; and therefore the
English, especially the class I am speaking of, are almost
forced to associate entirely with each other and form a sort
of colony quite apart from native society. I was fortunate
enough to make some acquaintances among them soon after
I went out, and your mother and I were much more in Rus-
sian society than is usual with our countrymen there. I
found great advantage from it, and shall be glad for you to
do the same. You will have one very great advantage, that
you will be able to speak Russian fluently in a short time.”

“JT don’t think I remember much about it now, father.”

“T dare say not, Godfrey; that is to say, you know it,
but you have lost a good deal of the facility of speaking it.
You have always got on fairly enough with it when we have

(731)









A GREAT CHANGE. 17

spoken it occasionally during your holidays since we have
been in England, and in a very few weeks you will find that
it has. completely come back to you. You spoke it as you
did English, indeed better, when you came over to school
when you were ten, and in six years one does not forget a
language. If you had been another five or six years older,
no doubt you would have lost it a good deal; but even then
you would have learnt it very much more quickly than you
would have done had you never spoken it. Your mother
and the girls have been grumbling at me a good deal for
sending you away so soon.”

“Tt is horrid, father,” Hilda said. ‘We have always
looked forward so to Godfrey’s coming home; and of course
it would be better still as he got older. We could have gone
about everywhere with him; and we shall miss him espe-
cially when we go away in summer.”

“Well, you must make the most of him this time then,”
her father said.

“Have you settled where we are going?” Godfrey asked.

“No, we would not settle until you came home, Godfrey,”
Mrs. Bullen said. ‘As this was to be your last holiday we
thought we would give you the choice.”

“Then I vote for some quiet sea-side place, mother. We
went to Switzerland last year, and as I am going abroad
for ever so long I would rather stop at home now; and,
besides, I would rather be quiet with you all, instead of
always travelling about and going to places. Only, of course
if the girls would rather go abroad, I don’t mind.”

However, it was settled that. it should be as Godfrey
wished.

“But I do think, father,” Godfrey said, “that it will be
a good thing if I had lessons in writing from one of those
fellows who guarantee to teach you ina few lessons, I sup-
pose that is all bosh; but if I got their system and worked
at it, it might do me good. I really do write badly.”

The girls laughed.

74 (781) B



18 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“JT don’t think that quite describes it, Godfrey,” his
father said. ‘If anyone asked me about your accomplish-
ments I should say that you knew a good deal of Latin and
Greek, that you had a vague idea of English, and that you
could read, but unfortunately you were quite unable to
write. According to my idea it is perfectly scandalous that
at the great schools such an essential as writing is altogether
neglected, while years are spent over Greek, which is of no
earthly use when you have once left school. I suppose the
very worst writers in the world are men who have been
educated in public schools.

“Well, I am glad you have had the good sense to suggest
it, Godfrey. I had thought of it myself, but I was afraid
you would think it was spoiling your last holidays at home.
I will see about it to-morrow. I cannot get away very well
for another fortnight. If you have a dozen lessons before
we go, you can practise while we are away; and mind, from
to-day we will talk nothing but Russian when we are alone.”

This had been indeed a common.habit in the family since
they had come home two years before, as the two girls and
Mr. and Mrs. Bullen spoke Russian as fluently as English,
and Mr. Bullen thought it was just as well that they should
not let it drop altogether. Indeed on their travels in Swit-
zerland they had several times come across Russians, and
had made pleasant acquaintances from their knowledge of
that language.

The holidays passed pleasantly at Weymouth. Godfrey
practised two hours a day steadily at the system of hand-
writing: and although he was, at the end of the holidays,
very far from attaining the perfection shown in the ex-
amples produced by his teachers of the marvels they had
effected in many of their pupils, he did improve vastly, and
wrote a fair current hand instead of the almost undecipher-
able scrawl that had so puzzled and annoyed a succession
of masters at Shrewsbury. After another month spent in
London, getting his clothes and outfit, Godfrey started for











A GREAT CHANGE. 19

St. Petersburg. On his last evening at home his father
had a serious talk with him.

“T have told Petrovytch,” he said, “that you may possibly
some day take up the agency with him, but that nothing is
decided as to that at present, and that it will all depend upon
circumstances. However, in any case, you will learn the
ins and outs of the trade there; and if, at the end of afew
years, you think that you would rather work by yourself than
with him, I can send out a special clerk to work with you.
On the other hand, it is possible that I may require you at
home here. Venables has no family, and is rather inclined
to take it easy. Possibly in a few years he may retire
altogether, and I may want you at home. At five or six
and twenty you should be able to undertake the manage-
ment of the Russian part of the businéss, running out there
occasionally to see that everything goes on well. I hope
I need not tell you to be steady. There is a good deal too
much drinking goes on out there, arising, no doubt, from
the fact that the young men have no family society there,
and nothing particular to do when work is over.

“Stick to the business, lad. You will find Petrovytch
himself a thoroughly good fellow. Of course he has Russian
ways and prejudices, but he is less narrow than most of his
countrymen of that class. Above all things, don’t express
any opinion you may feel about public affairs—at any rate
outside the walls of the house. The secret police are every-
where, and a chance word might get you into a very
serious scrape. As you get on you will find a good deal
that you do not like. Even in business there is no getting
a government contract, or indeed a contract at all, without
bribing right and left. It is disgusting, but business can-
not be done without it. The whole system is corrupt and
rotten, and you will find that every official has his price.
However, you won’t have anything to do with this for the
present. If I were you I should work for an hour or two a
day with a German master, There are a great many Ger-



20 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

mans there, and you will find a knowledge of the language
very useful to you. You see your Russian has pretty nearly
come back to you during the last two months, and you will
very soon speak it perfectly; so you will have no trouble
about that.”

Godfrey found the long railway journey across the flat
plains of Germany very dull, as he was unable to exchange
a word with his fellow-passengers; but as soon as he crossed
the Russian frontier he felt at home again, and enjoyed
the run through the thickly-wooded country lying between
Wilna and St. Petersburg. As he stepped out at the sta-
tion everything seemed to come back vividly to his memory.
It was late in October and the first snow had fallen, and
round the station were a crowd of sledges drawn by rough
little horses. Avoiding the importunities of the drivers ol
the hotel vehicles he hailed an Isvostchik in furred cap and
coat lined with sheepskin. His portmanteaus were corded
at the back of the sledge; he jumped up into the seat be-
hind the driver, pulled the fur rug over his legs, and said,
“Drive to the Vassili Ostrov, 52, Ulitsa Nicolai.” The
driver gave a peculiar cry, cracked his whip half a dozen
times, making a noise almost as loud as the discharge of a
pistol, and the horse went off at a sharp trot.

“T thought your excellency was a foreigner,” the driver
said, “but I see you are one of us.”

“No, I am an Englishman, but I lived here till I was ten
years old. The snow has begun earlier than usual, has it not?”

“Tt won't last,” the Isvostchik said. “Sometimes we
have a week at this time of year, but it is not till December
that it sets in in earnest. We may have droskies out again
to-morrow instead of the sledges.”

“The sledges are the pleasantest,” Godfrey said.

“Yes, your excellency, for those that travel, but not for
us. At night when we are waiting we can get into the
drosky and sleep, while it is terrible without shelter. There
are many of us frozen to death every winter.”



A GREAT CHANGE, 21

Godfrey felt a sense of keen enjoyment as the sledge
glided along. There were many rough bumps and sharp
swings, for the snow was not deep enough to cover tho-
roughly the roughness of the road below; but the air was
brisk and the sun shone brightly, and he looked with plea-
sure at the people and costumes, which seemed, to his sur-
prise, perfectly familiar to him. He was quite sorry when
the journey came to an end at the house of Ivan Petrovytch.
The merchant, whose office was on the ground-floor and
who occupied the floor above (the rest of the house being
let off by floors to other families), came out to greet him.
“I am glad to see you, Godfrey Bullen,” he said. “I should
have sent to the station to meet you, but your good father
did not say whether you would arrive by the morning or
evening train; and as my driver did not know you, he
would have missed you. I hope that all has gone well on
the journey. Paul,” he said to a man who had followed
him out, “carry these trunks upstairs.”

After paying the driver Godfrey followed his host to the
floor above. Petrovytch was a portly man, with a pleasant
but by no means good-looking face. ‘‘ Wife,” he said as he
entered the sitting-room, “this is Godfrey Bullen; I will
leave him in your hands for the present, as I have some
business that I must complete before we close.”

“My name,” Mrs. Petrovytch said, “is Catharine. You
know in this country we always address each other by our
names. The high-born may use titles, but simple people
use the Christian name and the family name unless they
are very intimate, and then the Christian name only. I
heard you speaking to my husband as you came in, so that
you have not forgotten our language. I should have thought
that you would have done so. I can remember you as quite
a little fellow before you went away.”

“T have been speaking it for the last two months at
home,” Godfrey said, “and it has nearly come back to
me.”



22 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“And your father and mother and your sisters, are they
all well?”

“They are quite well, and my father and mother begged
me to give their kind regards to you.”

At this moment the servant came in with the samovar,
or tea-urn.

“Tt is four o’clock now; we dine at five o’clock, when the
office is closed. Many dine at one, but my husband likes it
when he has done his work, asthen he does not need to hurry.”

After drinking a tumbler of tea and eating a flat-cake or
two with it, Godfrey went to his room to have a wash after
his long journey, and to unpack some of his things. He
thought that he should like both Petrovytch and his wife,
but that the evenings would be dull if he had to spend
them in the house. Of this, however, he had but little fear,
for he was sure that between his father’s friends and the
acquaintances he might himself make he should be out as
much as he liked.

In the course of the next week Godfrey called at the
houses of the various people to whom he had letters of
introduction, and left them with the hall porter. His host
told him that he thought he had better take a fortnight
to go about the capital and see the sights before he settled
down to work at the office; and as not only the gentlemen
with whom he had left letters of introduction and his card
—for in Russia strangers always call first—but many others
of his father’s friends called or invited him to their houses,
he speedily made a large number of acquaintances. At the
end of the fortnight he took his place in the office. At first
he was of very little use there; for although he could talk
and understand Russian as spoken, he had entirely forgotten
the written characters, and it took him some little time
before he could either read the business correspondence or
make entries in the office books. Ivan Petrovytch did his
best to assist him, and in the course of a month he began
to master the mysteries of Russian writing.



A GREAT CHANGE. 23

At five o’clock the office closed. Godfrey very frequently
dined out, but if he had no engagement he took his meal
with the merchant and his wife, and then sallied out and
went either alone or with some of his acquaintances to a
Russian theatre. With December, winter set in in earnest.
The waters were frozen, and skating began. The season
at St. Petersburg commenced about the same time, and as
Godfrey was often sent with messages or letters to other
business houses he had an opportunity of seeing the streets
of St. Petersburg by day as well as by night. He was
delighted with the scene on the Nevski Prospekt, the
principal street of St. Petersburg. The footways were
crowded with people: the wealthy in high boots, coats lined
with sable, and caps to match; the poorer in equally ample
coats, but with linings of sheep, fox, or rabbit skins; with
the national Russian cap of fur with velvet top, and with
fur-lined hoods, which were often drawn up over the head.

The shops were excellent, reminding Godfrey rather of
Paris than London. But the chief interest of the scene lay
in the roadway. There were vehicles of every description,
from the heavy sledge of the peasant, piled up with logs for
fuel, or carrying, perhaps, the body of an elk shot in the
woods, to the splendid turn-outs of the nobles with their
handsome fur wraps, their coachmen in the national costume,
and horses covered with brown, blue, or violet nets almost
touching the ground, to prevent the snow from being thrown
up from the animals’ hoofs into the faces of those in the
sledge. The harness was in most cases more or less deco-
rated with bells, which gaily tinkled in the still air as the
sledges dashed along. Most struck was Godfrey with the
vehicles of the nobles who adhered to old Russian customs.
The sledge was drawn by three horses; the one in the
centre was trained to trot, while the two outside went at
a canter. The heads of the latter were bent half round, so
that they looked towards the side, or even almost behind
them as they went. An English acquaintance to whom



94 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILISi.

Godfrey expressed his surprise the first time he saw one of
these sledges replied, “ Yes, that is the old Russian pattern ;
and, curiously enough, if you look at Greek bas-reliefs and
sculptures of the chariot of Phoebus, or at any other repre-
sentations of chariots with three or four horses, you will
see that the animals outside turn their heads in a similar
manner.”

“But it must be horribly uncomfortable for the horses
to have their heads turned round like that.”

“Tt is the effect of training. They are always tied up
to the stables with their heads pulled in that way, until it
becomes a second nature to go with them in that position.”

“Tt is a very curious idea,” Godfrey said, “but it certainly
looks nice. What magnificent beards all the drivers in the
good sledges have!”

“Yes, that again is an old Russian custom. A driver with
a big beard is considered an absolute necessity for a well-
appointed turn-out, and the longer and fuller the beard the
higher the wages a man will command and the greater the
pride of his employer.”

“Tt seems silly,” Godfrey said. ‘But there is no doubt
those fellows do look wonderfully imposing with their fur
caps and their long blue caftans and red sashes and those
splendid beards. They remind me of pictures of Neptune.
Certainly I never saw such beards in England.”

Besides these vehicles there were crowds of public sledges,
driven by the Isvostchiks, long rough country sledges
laden perhaps with a dozen peasant women returning from
market, light well-got-up vehicles of English and other
merchants, dashing turn-outs carrying an officer or two of
high rank, and others filled with ladies half buried in rich
furs, The air was tremulous with the music of countless
bells, and broken by the loud cracking of whips, with which
the faster vehicles heralded their approach. These whips
had short handles, but very long heavy thongs; and God-
frey observed that, however loud he might crack this weapon,



A GREAT CHANGE. 25

it was very seldom indeed that a Russian driver ever struck
one of his horses with it.

Sometimes when Ivan Petrovytch told him that there
was little to be done in the office, and that he need not
return for an hour or two, Godfrey would stroll into the
Isaac or Kasan cathedrals, both splendid structures, and
wonder at the taste that marred their effect, by the profusion
of the gilding lavished everywhere. He was delighted by
the singing, which was unaccompanied by instruments, the
bass voices predominating, and which certainly struck him
as being much finer than anything he had ever heard in an
English cathedral. There was no lack of amusement in the
evening. Some of his English friends at once put Godfrey
up as a member of the Skating Club. This club possessed
a large garden well planted with trees. In this was an arti-
ficial lake of considerable extent, broken by wooded islets.
This was always lit up of an evening by coloured lights, and
twice in the week was thrown open upon a small payment
to the public, when a military band played, and the grounds
were brilliantly illuminated.

The scene was an exceedingly gay one, and the gardens
were frequented by the rank and fashion of St. Petersburg.
The innumerable lights were reflected by the snow that
covered the ground and by the white masses that clung to
the boughs of the leafless trees. The ice was covered with
skaters, male and female, the latter in gay dresses, tight-
fitting jackets trimmed with fur, and dainty little fur caps.
Many of the former were in uniform, and the air was filled
with merry laughter and the ringing sound of innumerable
skates. Sometimes parties of acquaintances executed figures,
but for the most part they moved about in couples, the
gentleman holding the lady’s hand, or sometimes placing
his arm round her waist as if dancing. Very often Godfrey
spent the evening at the houses of one or other of his
Russian or English friends, and occasionally went to the
theatre. Sometimes he spent a quiet evening at home. He



26 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

liked Catharine Petrovytch. She was an excellent house-
wife, and devoted to the comfort of her husband; but when
not engaged in household cares she seldom cared to go out,
and passed her time for the most part on the sofa. She was,
like most other Russian ladies when at home and without
visitors, very careless and untidy in her dress.

Among the acquaintances of whom Godfrey saw most
were two young students. One of them was the son of a
trader in Moscow, the other of a small landed proprietor.
He had met them for the first time at a fair held on the
surface of the Neva, and had been introduced to them by
a fellow-student of theirs, a member of a family with whom
Godfrey was intimate. Having met another acquaintance
he had left the party, and Godfrey had spent the afternoon
on the ice with Akim Soushiloff and Petroff Stepanoff. He
found them pleasant young men. He was, they told him,
the first Englishman they had met, and asked many ques-
tions about his country. He met them several times after-
wards, and one day they asked him if he would come up to
their room.

“Tt is a poor place,” one said laughing. “But you know
most of us students are poor, and have to live as best we
can,”

“Tt makes no odds to me,” Godfrey said. “It was a
pretty bare place I had when I was at school. I shall be
very glad to come up.”

The room which the students shared was a large one, at
the top of a house in a narrow street. It was simply fur-
nished enough, containing but two beds, a deal table, four
chairs, and the indispensable stove, which kept the room
warm and comfortable.

“We are in funds just at present,” Akim said. “‘ Petroff
has had a remittance, and so you find the stove well alight,
which is not always the case.”

“But how do you manage to exist without a fire?”

“We don’t trouble the room much then,” Petroff said.



A GREAT CHANGE. 27

“We walk about till we are dead tired out, and then come
up and sleep in one bed together for warmth, and heap all
the coverings from the other bed over us. Oh, we get on
very well! Food is cheap here if you know where to get
it; fuel costs more than food. Now which will you take, tea
or vodka?”

Godfrey declared for tea. Some of the water from a great
pot standing on the top of the stove was poured into the
samovar. Some glowing embers were taken from the stove
and placed in the urn, and in a few minutes the water was
boiling, and three tumblers of tea with a slice of lemon
floating on the top were soon steaming on the table. The
conversation first turned upon university life in Russia, and
then Petroff began to ask questions about English schools
and universities, and then the subject changed to English
institutions in general.

“What a different life to ours!” Akim said. “And the
peasants, are they comfortable?”

“Well, their lives are pretty hard ones,” Godfrey acknow-
ledged. ‘They have to work hard and for long hours, and
the pay is poor. But then, on the other hand, they gener-
ally have their cottages at a very low rent, with a good bit
of garden and a few fruit trees. They earn a little extra
money at harvest time, and though their pay is smaller,
I think on the whole they are better off and happier than
many of the working people in the towns.”

“And they are free to go where they like?”

“Certainly they are free, but as a rule they don’t move
about much,”

“Then if they have a bad master they can leave him and
go to someone else?”

“Oh, yes! They would go to some other farmer in the
neighbourhood. But there are seldom what you may call
bad masters. The wages are always about the same through
a district, and the hours of work, and so on; so that one
master can’t be much better or worse than another, except



28 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

in point of temper; and if a man were very bad tempered
of course the men would leave him and work somewhere else,
so he would be the loser, as he would soon only get the
very worst hands in the neighbourhood to work for him.”

“ And they are not beaten?”

“Beaten! Ishould think not,” Godfrey said. ‘Nobody
is beaten with us, though I think it would be a capital thing
if, instead of shutting up people in prison for small crimes,
they had a good flogging. It would do them a deal more
good, and it would be better for their wives and families,
who have to get on as best they can while they are shut up.”

“ And nobody is beaten at all?”

““No; there used to be flogging in the army and navy, but
it was very rare, and is now abolished.”

“And not even a lord can flog his peasants?”

“Certainly not. If a lord struck a peasant the peasant
would certainly hit him back again, and if he didn’t feel
strong enough to do that he would have him up before the
magistrates and he would get fined pretty heavily.”

“And how do they punish political prisoners?”

“There are no political prisoners. As long as aman keeps
quiet and doesn’t get up a row, he may have any opinions he
likes; he may argue in favour of a republic, or he may be a
socialist or anything he pleases; but, of course, if he tried to
kick up a row, attack the police, or made a riot or anything
of that sort he would be punished for breaking the law, but
that would have nothing to do with his politics.”

The two young men looked in surprise at each other.

“But if they printed a paper and attacked the govern-
ment?” Akim asked.

“Oh, they do that! there are as many papers pitch into
the government as there are in favour of the government;
parties are pretty equally divided, you see, and the party that
is out always abuses the party which is in power.”

“And even that is lawful?”

“Certainly it is. You can abuse the government as much



A GREAT CHANGE. 29

as you like, say that the ministers are a parcel of incompe-
tent fools, and so on; but, of course, you cannot attack them
as to their private life and character any more than you can
anyone else, because then you would render yourself liable
to an action for libel.”

“ And you can travel where you like, in the country and
out of the country, without official permits or passports?”

“Yes, there is nothing like that known in England. Every
man can go where he likes, and live where he likes, and do
anything he likes, providing that it does not interfere with
the rights of other people.”

“Ah! shall we ever come to this in Russia, Akim?”
Petroff said.

Akim made no answer, but Godfrey replied for him, “No
doubt you will in time, Petroff; but you see liberties like
these do not grow up in a day. We had serfs and vassals in
England at one time, and feudal barons who could do pretty
much what they chose, and it was only in the course of
centuries that these things got done away with.” At this
moment there was a knock at the door.

“Tt is Katia,” Akim said, jumping up from his seat and
opening the door. A young woman entered. She was
pleasant and intelligent looking. “Katia, this is an English
gentleman, a friend of ours, who has been telling us about
his country. Godfrey, this is my cousin Katia; she teaches
music in the houses of many people of good family.”

“I did not expect to find visitors here,” the girl said
smiling. “And how do you like our winter? it is a good
deal colder than you are accustomed to.”

“Tt is a great deal more pleasant,” Godfrey said: “I call
it glorious weather. It is infinitely better than alternate
rains and winds, with just enough frost occasionally to make
you think you are going to do some skating, and then a thaw.”

“You are extravagant,” the girl said, looking round; “it
is a long time since I have felt the room as warm as this. I
suppose Petroff has got his allowance?”



30 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“Yes, and a erumbling letter. My father has a vague idea
that in some way or other I ought to pick up my living,
though he never offers a suggestion as to how I should
do it.” :

The young woman went to the cupboard, fetched another
tumbler and poured herself out some tea, and then chatted
gaily about St. Petersburg, her pupils, and their parents.

“Do you live at the house of one of your pupils?” Godfrey
asked.

“Oh no!” she said. “I don’t mind work, but I like to be
free when work is over. I board in an honest family, and
live in a little room at the top of the house which is all my
own and where I can see my friends.”

After chatting for some time longer Godfrey took his
leave, As soon as he had gone the girl’s manner changed.
“Do you think you are wise to have him here, Akim 4”

“ Why not?” the student asked in turn. “ He is frank and
agreeable, he is respectable, and even you will allow that
it would be safer walking with him than some we know; we
do not talk politics with him.”

“For all that Iam sorry, Akim. You know how it will
be; we shall get him into trouble. It is our fate; we have
a great end in view; we risk our own lives, and although for
the good of the cause we must not hesitate even if others
suffer, 1 do hate with all my heart that others should be
involved in our fortunes.”

“ This is not like you, Katia,” Petroff said. ‘I have heard
you say your maxim is ‘At any cost,’ and you have certainly
lived up to it.”

“Yes, and I shall live up to it,” she said firmly; “but it
hurts sometimes, Petroff; it hurt me just now when I
thought that that lad laughing and chatting with us had no
idea that he had better have thrust his hand into that stove
than have given it tous. Ido not shrink; I should use him
as E should use anyone else, as an instrument if it were
needful, but don’t suppose that I like it.”



A GREAT CHANGE, 31

“T don’t think there is any fear of our doing him harm,”
Akim said; “he is English, and would find no difficulty in
showing that he knew nothing of us save as casual acquain-
tances; they might send him out of the country, but that
would be all.”

“Té would all depend,” she said, “upon how he fell into
their hands. If you happened to be arrested only as you
were walking with him down the Nevski Prospekt he would
be questioned, of course, but as soon as they learned who he
was and that he had nothing to do with you, they would let
him go. But if he were with us, say here, when we were
pounced upon, and you had no time to pull the trigger of the
pistol pointing into that keg of powder in the cupboard, he
would be hurried away with us to one of the fortresses, and
the chances are that not a soul would ever know what had
become of him. Still it cannot be helped now; he may be
useful, and as we give our own lives, so we must not shrink
from giving others’. But this is not what I came here to
talk to you about; have you heard of the arrest of Michael-
ovich ?”

“No,” they both exclaimed, leaping from their seats

“Tt happened at three o’clock this morning,” Katia said.
‘They surrounded the house and broke in suddenly, and
rushed down into the cellar and found him at work. He
shot two of them, and then he was beaten down and badly
wounded.”

‘Where were the other two?” Akim asked.

“He sent them away but an hour before, but he went on
working himself to complete the number of hand-bills. Of
course he was betrayed. I don’t think there are six people
who knew where the press was; even I didn’t know.”

“Where did you hear of it, Katia?”

“Feodorina Samuloff told me; you know she often helps
Michaelovich to work at the press; she thinks it must have
been either Louka or Gasin. Why should Michaelovich have
sent them away when he hadn’t finished work if one or the



32 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

other of them had not made some excuse so as to get out of
the way before the police came? But that is nothing, there
will be time to find out which is the traitor; they know
nothing, either of them, except that they worked at the secret
press with him; they were never much trusted. But Michael-
ovich is a terrible loss, he was always daring and full of
expedients.”

“They will get nothing from him,” Petroff said.

“Not they,” she agreed. “When do they ever get anything
out of us? One of the outer-circle fellows like Louka and
Gasin, who know nothing, who are instruments and nothing
more, may tell all they know for gold, or for fear of the
knout, but never once have they learned anything from one
who knows. Fortunately the press was a very old one and
there was but little type there, only just enough for printing
small hand-bills; we have two others ready to set up.”

“Were there any papers there?”

“No, Michaelovich was too careful for that.”

“T hear that old Libka died in prison yesterday,” Akim said.

“He is released from his suffering,” Katia said solemnly.
“ Anything else, Akim?

“Yes, a batch of prisoners start for Siberia to-morrow, and
there are ten of us among them.”

“Well, be careful for the next few days, Akim,” Katia
said; “don’t do anything in the schools, it will not be long
now before all is ready to strike a blow, and it is not worth
while to risk anything until after that. I have orders that
we are all to keep perfectly quiet till the plans are settled
and we each get our instructions. Now I must go, I have
two lessons to give this afternoon. It tries one a little to
be talking to children about quavers and semiquavers when
one’s head is full of great plans, and you know that at any
moment a policeman may tap you on the shoulder and take
you off to the dungeons of St. Nicholas, from which one will
never return unless one is carried out, or is sent to Siberia,
which would be worse. Be careful; the police have certainly



A CAT’S-PAW. 33

got scent of something, they are very active at present;” and
with a nod she turned and left the room.

“She is a brave girl,” Akim said. “I think the women
make better conspirators than we do, Petroff. Look at her.
She was a little serious to-day because of Michaclovich, but
generally she is in high spirits, and no one would dream that
she thought of anything but her pupils and pleasure. Then
there is Feodorina Samuloff. She works all day, I believe, in
a laundry, and she looks as impassive as if she had been carved
out of soap. Yet she is ready to go on working all night if
required, and if she had orders she would walk into the
Winter Palace and throw down a bomb (that would kill her
as well as everyone else within its reach) with as much cool-
ness as if she was merely delivering a message.”

CHAPTER ILI,

A CAT’S-PAW.

OX evening a fortnight later Godfrey went with two

young Englishmen to a masked ball at the Opera. It
was a brilliant scene. Comparatively few of the men were
masked or in costume, but many of the ladies were so.
Every other man was in uniform of some kind, and the
floor of the house was filled with a gay laughing crowd,
while the boxes were occupied by ladies of the highest
rank, several of the imperial family being present. He
speedily became separated from his companions, and after
walking about for an hour he became tired of the scene,
and was about to make his way towards the entrance when
a hand was slipped behind his arm. As several masked figures
had joked him on walking about so vaguely by himself, he
thought that this was but another jest.

(781) c



34 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“You are just the person I wanted,” the mask said.

“J think you have mistaken me for some one else, lady,’
he replied.

“Not at all. Now put up your arm and look as if I be-
long to you. Nonsense! do as you are told, Godfrey Bullen.”

“Who are you who know my name?” Godfrey laughed,
doing as he was ordered, for he had no doubt that the
masked woman was a member of one of the families whom
he had visited.

“You don’t know who I am?” she asked.

“How should I when I can see nothing but your eyes
through those holes?”

“JT am Katia, the cousin of your friend Akim.” .

“Oh, of course!” Godfrey said, a little surprised at meet-
ing the music mistress in such an assembly. “I fancied I
knew your voice, though I could not remember where I had
heard it. And now what can I do for you?”

The young woman hesitated. ‘We have got up a little
mystification,” she said after a pause, “and I am sure I can
trust you; besides, you don’t know the parties. There is a
gentleman here who is supposed to be with his regiment at
Moscow; but there is a sweetheart in the case, and you
know when there are sweethearts people do foolish things.”

“JT have heard so,” Godfrey laughed, “though I don’t
know anything about it myself, for I sha’n’t begin to think
of such luxuries as sweethearts for years to come.”

“Well, he is here masked,” the girl went on, “and unfor-
tunately the colonel of his regiment is here, and some ill-
natured person—we fancy it is a rival of his—has told the
colonel. He is furious about it, and declares that he will
catch him and have him tried by court-martial for being
absent without leave. The only thing is, he is not certain
as to his information.”

“Well, what can I do?” Godfrey asked. “How can I
help him?”

“You can help if you like, and that without much trouble



A CAT’S-PAW, 35

to yourself. He is at present in the back of that empty box
on the third tier. I was with him when I saw you down
here, so I left him to say good-bye to his sweetheart alone,
and ran down to fetch you, for I felt sure you would oblige
me. What I thought was this: if you put his mask and
cloak on—you are about the same height—it would be sup-
posed that you are he. The colonel is waiting down by
the entrance. He will come up to you and say, ‘Captain
Presnovich?’? You will naturally say, ‘By no means.’ He
will insist on your taking your mask off This you will do,
and he will, of course, make profuse apologies, and will
believe that he has been altogether misinformed. In the
meantime Presnovich will manage to slip out, and will go
down by the early train to Moscow. It is not likely that
the colonel will ever make any more inquiries about it, but
if he does, some of Presnovich’s friends will be ready to de-
clare that he never left Moscow.”

“But can’t he manage to leave his mask and cloak in the
box and to slip away without them?”

“No, that would never do. It is necessary that the
colonel should see for himself that the man in the cloak,
with the white and red bow pinned to it, is not the cap-
tain.”

“Very well, then, I will do it,” Godfrey said. “It
will be fun to see the colonel’s face when he finds out his
mistake; but mind I am doing it to oblige you.”

“I feel very much obliged,” the girl said; “but don’t you
bring my name into it though.”

“How could I?” he laughed. “Ido not see that I am
likely to be cross-questioned in any way; but never fear, I
will keep your counsel.”

By this time they had arrived at the door of the box.
“Wait a moment,” she said, “I will speak to him first.”

She was two minutes gone, and then opened the door and
let him in. “TI am greatly obliged to you, sir,” a man said
as he entered. It is a foolish business altogether, but if



36 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

you will enact my part for a few minutes you will get me
out of an awkward scrape.”

“Don’t mention it,” Godfrey replied. “It will be a joke
to laugh over afterwards.” He placed the broad hat, to
which the black silk mask was sewn, on his head, and
Katia put the cloak on his shoulders.

“T trust you,” she said in a low. voice as she walked with
him to the top of the stairs. “There, I must go now. I
had better see Captain Presnovich safely off, and then go
and tell the young lady, who is a great friend of mine—it
is for her sake I am doing it, you know, not for his—how
nicely we have managed to throw dust in the colonel’s eyes!”

Regarding the matter as a capital joke, Godfrey went
downstairs and made his way to the entrance, expecting
every moment to be accosted by the irascible colonel. No
one spoke to him, however, and he began to imagine that
the colonel must have gone to seek the captain elsewhere,
and hoped that he would not meet him as he went down
the stairs with Katia. He walked down the steps into the
street. As he stepped on to the pavement a man seized
him from behind, two others grasped his wrists, and before
he knew what had happened he was run forward across the
pavement to a covered sledge standing there and flung into
it. His three assailants leapt in after him; the door was
slammed; another man jumped on to the box with the
driver; and two mounted men took their places beside it
as it dashed off from the door. The men had again seized
Godfrey’s hands and held them firmly the instant they
entered the carriage.

“Tt is of no use your attempting to struggle,” one of the
men said, “there is an escort riding beside the sledge, and
a dozen more behind it. There is no chance of a rescue,
and J warn you you had best not open your lips; if you do,
we will gag you.”

Godfrey was still half bewildered with the suddenness of
the transaction. What had he been seized for? Who were



A CAT’S-PAW. 37

the men who had got hold of him? and why were they
gripping his wrists so tightly? He had heard of arbitrary
treatment in the Russian army, but that a colonel should
have a captain seized in this extraordinary way merely
because he was absent from his post without leave was
beyond anything he thought possible.

“T thought I was going to have the laugh all on my side,”
he said to himself, “but so far it is all the other way.” In
ten minutes the carriage stopped for a moment, there was
a challenge, then some gates were opened. Godfrey had
already guessed his destination, and his feeling of discom-
fort had increased every foot he went. There was no doubt
he was being taken to the fortress. ‘Jt seems to me that
Miss Katia has got me into a horrible scrape of some kind,”
he said to himself. “What a fool I was to let myself be
humbugged by the girl in that way!”

Two men with lanterns were at the door of a building,
‘at which the carriage, after passing into a large court-yard,
drew up. Still retaining their grip on his wrists, two of
the men walked beside him down a passage, while several
others followed behind. An officer of high rank was sitting
at the head of a table, one of inferior rank stood beside him,
while at the end of the table were two others with papers
and pens before them.

“So you have captured him!” the general said eagerly.

“Yes, your excellency,” the man who had spoken to
Godfrey in the carriage said respectfully.

“Has he been searched?”

“No, your excellency, the distance was so short, and I
feared that he might wrench one of his hands loose. More-
over, I thought that you might prefer his being searched in
your presence.”

“Tt is better so. Take off that disguise.” As the hat
and mask were removed the officer sprang to his feet and
exclaimed, “Why, who is this? This is not the man you were
ordered to arrest; you have made some confounded blunder.”



38 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“T assure you, your excellency,” the official said in trem-
bling accents, “this is the only man who was there in the
disguise we were told of. There, your excellency, is the
bunch of white and red ribbons on his cloak.”

“ And who are you, sir?” the general thundered.

“My name, sir, is Godfrey Bullen. I reside with Ivan
Petrovytch, a merchant living in the Vassili Ostrov.”

“But how come you mixed up in this business, sir?” the
general exclaimed furiously. “How is it that you are thus
disguised, and that you are wearing that bunch of ribbon?
Beware how you answer me, sir, for this is a matter which
concerns your life.”

“So far as J am concerned, sir,” Godfrey said, “I am
absolutely ignorant of having done any harm in the matter,
and have not the most remote idea why I have been arrested.
I may have behaved foolishly in allowing myself to take
part in what I thought was a masquerade joke, but beyond
that I have nothing to blame myself for. I went to the
Opera-house, never having seen a masked ball before. I was
alone, and being young and evidently a stranger, I was
spoken to and joked by several masked ladies. Presently
one of them came up tome. I had no idea who she was;
she was closely masked, and I could see nothing of her face.”
He then repeated the request that had been made him.

“Do you expect me to believe this ridiculous nonsense
about this Captain Presnovich and his colonel?”

“TI can only say, sir, what I am telling you is precisely
what happened, and that I absolutely believed it. It seemed
to me a natural thing that a young officer might come to a
ball to see a lady who perhaps he had no other opportunity
of meeting alone. I see now that I was very foolish to
allow myself to be mixed up in the affair; but I thought
that it was a harmless joke, and so I did as this woman asked
me.”

“Go on, sir,” the general said in a tone of suppressed
rage,”



A CAT’S-PAW 39

“There is little more to tell, sir. I went up with this
woman to the box she had pointed out, and there found
this Captain Presnovich as I believed him to be. I put on
his hat, mask, and cloak, walked down the stairs, and was
leaving the Opera-house when I was arrested, and am even
now wholly ignorant of having committed any offence.”

“A likely story,” the general said sarcastically. “And
this woman, did you see her face?”

“No, sir, she was closely masked. JI could not even see
if she were young or old; and she spoke in the same dis-
guised, squeaking sort of voice that all the others that had
spoken to me used.”

“And that is your entire story, sir; you have nothing to
add to it?”

“Nothing whatever, sir. I have told you the simple
truth.” ‘

The general threw himself back in his chair, too exasper-
ated to speak farther, but made a sign to the officer standing
next to him to take up the interrogation. The questions
were now formal. “Your name is Godfrey Bullen?” he
asked.

“Tt is.”

“Your nationality ?”

“ British.”

“Your domicile?”

Godfrey gave the address.

“How long have you been in Russia?”

“Four months.”

“What is your business?”

“ A clerk to Ivan Petrovytch.”

“How comes it that you speak Russian so well?”

‘T was born here, and lived up to the age of ten with my
father, John Bullen, who was a well-known merchant here,
and left only two years ago.”

“That will do,” the general said impatiently. “Take
him to his cell and search him thoroughly.”



40 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

Naturally the most minute search revealed nothing of an
incriminating character. At length Godfrey was left alone
in the cell, which contained only a single chair and a rough
pallet. “I have put my foot in it somehow,” he said to
himself, “and I can’t make head nor tail of it beyond the
fact that I have made an ass of myself. Was the whole story
a lie? Was the fellow’s name Presnovich? if not, who was
he? By the rage of the general, who, I suppose, is the chief
of the police, it was evident he was frightfully disappointed
that I wasn’t the man he was looking for. Was this Pres-
novich somebody that girl Katia knew and wanted to get
safely away? or was she made a fool of just as I was? She
looked a bright, jolly sort of girl; but that goes for nothing
in Russia, all sorts of people get mixed up in plots. If she
was concerned in getting him away I suppose she fixed on
me because, being English and a new-comer here, it would
be easy for me to prove that I had nothing to do with
plots or anything of that sort, whereas if a Russian had
been in my place he might have got into a frightful mess
over it. Well, I suppose it will all come right in the end.
It is lucky that the weather has got milder or I should have
had a good chance of being frozen to death; it is cold enough
as it is.”

Resuming his clothes, which had been thrown down on
the pallet, Godfrey drew the solitary rug over him, and in
spite of the uncertainty of the position was soon fast asleep.
He woke just as daylight was breaking, and was so bitterly
cold that he was obliged to get up and stamp about the cell
to restore circulation. Two hours later the cell door was
opened and a piece of dark-coloured bread and a jug of
water were handed in to him. “If this is prison fare I
don’t care how soon I am out of it,” he said to himself as he
munched the bread. “I wonder what it is made of! Rye!”

The day passed without anyone coming near him save
the jailer, who brought a bowl of thin broth and a ration
of bread for his dinner.



A CAT’S-PAW. 41

“Can’t you get me another rug?” he asked the man. “If
[ have got to stop here for another night I shall have a good
chance of being frozen to death.”

Just as it was getting dark the man came in again with
another blanket and a flat earthenware pan half full of sand,
on which was burning a handful or two of sticks; he placed
a bundle of wood beside it.

“That is more cheerful by a long way,” Godfrey said to
himself as the man, who had mantained absolute silence on
each of his visits, left the cell. “No doubt they have been
making a lot of inquiries about me, and find that I have
not been in the habit of frequenting low company. I should
not have had these indulgences if they hadn’t. Well, it
will be an amusement to ‘keep this fire up. The wood is
as dry as a bone luckily, or I should be smoked out in no
time, for there is not much ventilation through that narrow
loophole.”

The warmth of the fire and the additional blanket made
all the difference, and in a couple of hours Godfrey was
sound asleep. When he woke it was broad daylight, and
although he felt cold it was nothing to what he had experi-
enced on the previous morning. At about eleven o’clock,

‘as near as he could guess, for his watch and everything had
been removed when he was searched, the door was opened
and a prison official with two warders appeared. By these
he was conducted to the same room where he had been first
examined. Neither of the officers who had then been there
was present, but an elderly man sat at the centre of the
table.

“Godfrey Bullen,” he said, “a careful investigation has
been made into your antecedents, and with one exception,
and that not, for various reasons, an important one, we
have received a good report of you. Ivan Petrovytch tells
us that you work in his office from breakfast-time till five
in the afternoon, and that your evenings are at your own
disposal, but that you generally dine with him. He gave



42 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

us the names of the families with which you are acquainted,
and where, as he understood, you spend your evenings when
you are not at the Skating Club, where you generally go
on Tuesdays and Fridays at least. We learn that you did
spend your evenings with these families, and we have learned
at the club that you are a regular attendant there two or
three times a week, and that your general associates are:”
and he read out a list which included, to Godfrey’s sur-
prise, the names of every one of his acquaintances there.
“Therefore we have been forced to come to the conclusion
that your story, incredible as it appeared, is a true one.
That you, a youth and a foreigner, should have had the
incredible levity to act in the way you describe, and to
assume the disguise of a person absolutely unknown to you,
upon the persuasion of a woman also absolutely unknown
to you, well-nigh passes belief. Had you been older you
would at once have beén sent to the frontier; but as it is,
the Czar, to whom the case has been specially submitted, has
graciously allowed you to continue your residence here, the
testimony being unanimous as to your father’s position as a
merchant, and to the prudence of his behaviour while resi-
dent here. But I warn you, Godfrey Bullen, that escapades
of this kind, which may be harmless in England, are very
serious matters here. Jgnorantly, I admit, but none the
less certainly, you have aided in the escape of a malefactor
of the worst kind; and but for the proofs that have been
afforded us that you were a mere dupe, the consequences
would have been most serious to you, and even the fact of
your being a foreigner would not have sufficed to save you
from the hands of justice. You are now free to depart;
but let this be a lesson to you, and a most serious one,
never again to mix yourself up in any way with persons of
whose antecedents you are ignorant, and in future to conduct
yourself in all respects wisely and prudently.”

“Tt will certainly be a lesson to me, sir. I am heartily
sorry that I was so foolish as to allow myself to be mixed



A CAT’S-PAW. 43

up in such an affair, and think I can promise you that
henceforth there will be no fault to be found in my con-
duct.”

In the ante-room Godfrey’s watch, money, and the other
contents of his pocket were restored to him. A carriage
was in waiting for him at the outer door, and he was driven
rapidly to the house of the merchant.

“This is a nice scrape into which you have got yourself,
Godfrey,” Ivan Petrovytch said as he entered. “It is lucky
for you that you are not a Russian. But how on earth have
you got mixed up in a plot? We know nothing about it
beyond the fact that you had been arrested, for, although a
thousand questions were asked me about you, nothing was
said to me as to the charge brought against you. We have
been in the greatest anxiety about you. All sorts of rumours
were current in the city as to the discovery of a plot to
assassinate one of the grand-dukes at the Opera-house, and
there are rumours that explosive bombs had been discovered
in one of the boxes. It is said that the police had received
information of the attempt that was to be made, and that
every precaution had been taken to arrest the principal
conspirator, but that in some extraordinary manner he
slipped through their fingers. But surely you can never
have been mixed up in that matter?”

“That is what it was,” Godfrey said, “though I had no
more idea of having anything to do with a plot than I had
of flying. I see now that I behaved like an awful fool.”
And he told the story to Petrovytch and his wife as he had
told it to the head of the police. Both were shocked at the
thought that a member of their household should have been
engaged, even unwittingly, in such a treasonable affair.

‘It is a wonder that we ever saw you again,” the mer-
chant’s wife exclaimed. “It is fortunate that we are known
as quiet people or we might have been arrested too. I
could not have believed that anyone with sense could be
silly enough to put on a stranger’s mantle and hat!”



44 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“But I thought,” Godfrey urged, “that at masked balls
people did play all sorts of tricks upon each other. I am
sure I have read so in books. And it did seem quite likely
—didn’t it now?—that an officer should have come up to
meet a young lady masked whom he had no chance of meet-
ing at any other time. It certainly seemed to me quite
natural, and I believe almost any fellow, if he were asked
to help anyone to get out of a scrape like that, would
do it.”

“You may do it in England or in France, but it doesn’t
do to take part in anything that you don’t know for certain
all about here. The wonder is they made any inquiries at
all. Ifyou had been a Russian the chances are that your
family would never have heard of you again from the time
you left to go to the opera. Nothing that you could have
said would have been believed. Your story would have
been regarded by the police as a mere invention. They
would have considered it as certain that in some way or other
you were mixed up in the conspiracy. They would have
regarded your denials as simple obstinacy, and you would
have been sent to Siberia for life.”

“TI should advise you, Godfrey,” Ivan Petrovytch said,
“to keep an absolute silence about this affair. Mention it
to no one. Everyone knows that something has happened
to you, as the police have been everywhere inquiring; but
there is no occasion to tell anyone the particulars. Of
course rumours get about as to the action of the Nihilists
and of the police, but as little is said as possible. It is, of
course, a mere rumour that a plot was discovered at the
Opera-house. Probably there were an unusual number of
police at all the entrances, and a very little thing gives rise to
talk and conjecture. People think that the police would not
have been there had they not had suspicion that something
or other was going to take place, and as everything in our
days is put down to the Nihilists, it was naturally reported
that the police had discovered some plot; and as two of



A CAT’S-PAW. 45

the grand-dukes were there, people made sure it was in
some way connected with them.

“Ag nothing came of it, and no one was, as far as was
known, arrested, it would be supposed that the culprit, who-
ever he was, managed to evade the police. Such rumours
as these are of very common occurrence, and it is quite pos-
sible that there is not much more truth in them this time
than there is generally; however, of one thing you may be
sure, the police are not fonder than other people of being
outwitted, and whether the man for whom they were in
search was a Nihilist or a criminal of some other sort you
certainly aided him to escape. You are sure to be watched
for some time, and it will be known to the police in a very
few hours if you repeat this story to your acquaintances; if
they find you keep silence about it, they will give you credit
for discretion, while it would certainly do you a good deal
of harm, and might even now lead to your being promptly
sent across the frontier, were it known that you made a boast
of having outwitted them.

“There is another reason. You will find that for a time
most of your friends here will be a little shy of you, People
are not fond of having as their intimates persons about whom
the police are inquiring, and you will certainly find for a
time that you will receive very few invitations to enter the
houses of any Russians. It would be different, however,
if it were known that the trouble was about something that
had no connection with politics; therefore, I should advise
you, when you are asked questions, to turn it off with a laugh.
Say you got mixed up in an affair between a young lady
and her lover, and that, like many other people, you found
that those who mingle in such matters often get left in the
lurch. You need not say much more than that. You might
do anything here without your friends troubling much about
it provided it had nothing to do with politics. Rob a bank,
perpetrate a big swindle, run away with a court heiress, and
as long as the police don’t lay hands on you nobody else will



46 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

trouble their heads about the affair; but if you are suspected
of being mixed up in the most remote way with politics,
your best friends will shun you like the plague.

“T will take your advice certainly,” Godfrey said, “and
even putting aside the danger you point out, I should not
be anxious to tell people that I suffered myself to be en-
trapped so foolishly.”

For some time, indeed, Godfrey found that his acquaint-
ance fell away from him, and that he was not asked to the
houses of any of the Russian merchants where he had been
before made welcome. Cautious questions would be asked
by the younger men as to the trouble into which he got with
the police; but he turned these off with a laugh. “Tam
not going to tell the particulars,” he said, “they concern
other people. I can only tell you that I was fool enough to
be humbugged by a pretty little masker, and to get mixed
up in a love intrigue in which a young lady, her lover a cap-
tain in the army, and an irascible colonel were concerned,
and that the young people made a cat’s-paw of me. I am
not going to say more than that, I don’t want to be laughed
at for the next six months;” and so it became understood
that the young Englishman had simply got into some silly
scrape, and had been charged by a colonel in the army
with running away with his daughter, and he was therefore
restored to his former footing at most of the houses that he
had before visited.

Two days after his release a note was slipped into
Godfrey’s hand by a boy as he went out after dinner for a
walk. It was unsigned, and ran as follows:—

‘Dear Godfrey Bullen, my cousin is in a great state of
distress. She was deceived by a third person, and in turn
deceived you. She has heard since that the story was an
entire fiction to enable a gentleman for whom the police
were in search to escape. She only heard last night of your
arrest and release, and is in the greatest grief that she should
have been the innocent means of this trouble coming upon



A CAT’S-PAW. 47

you. You know how things are here, and she is overwhelmed
with gratitude that you did not in defence give any particu-
lars that might have enabled them to trace her, for she would
have found it much more difficult than a stranger would
have done to have proved her innocence. She knows that
you did say nothing, for had you done so she would have
been arrested before morning; not improbably we might
also have found ourselves within the walls of a prison, since
you met her at our room, and the mere acquaintanceship
with a suspected person is enough to condemn one here. By
the way, we have moved our lodging, but will give you our
new address when we meet you, that is, if you are good
enough to continue our acquaintance in spite of the trouble
that has been caused you by the credulity and folly of my
cousin.”

Godfrey, who had begun to learn prudence, did not open
the letter until he returned home, and as soon as he had
read it dropped it into the stove. He was pleased at its
receipt, for he had not liked to think that he had been
duped by a girl. From the first he had believed that she,
like himself, had been deceived, for it had seemed to him
out of the question that a young music mistress, who did
not seem more than twenty years old, could have been mixed
up in the doings of a desperate set of conspirators; however,
he quite understood the alarm she must have felt, for though
his story might have been believed owing to his being a
stranger, and unconnected in any way with men who could
have been concerned in a Nihilist plot, it would no doubt
have been vastly more difficult for her to prove her inno-
cence, especially as it was known that there were many
women in the ranks of the Nihilists.

It was a fortnight before he met either of the students,
and he then ran against them upon the quay just at the foot
of the equestrian statue of Peter the Great, opposite the Isaac
Cathedral. They hesitated for a moment, but he held out
his hand cordially.



48 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“Where have you been, and how is it I have not seen
you before?”

“We were afraid that you might not care to know us
further,” Akim said, “after the trouble that that foolish
cousin of mine involved you in.”

“That would have been ridiculous,” Godfrey said. “If
we were to blame our friends for the faults of persons to
whom they introduce us, there would be an end to intro-
ductions.”

“Hiveryone wouldn’t think as you do,” Akim said. “We
both wished to meet you, and thank you for so nobly shield-
ing her. The silly girl might be on her way to Siberia now
if you had given her name.”

“T certainly should not have done that in any case. It is
not the way of an Englishman_to betray his friend, especially
when that friend is a woman; but I thought even before I
got your letter that she must in some way or other have
been misled herself.”

“It was very good of you,” Petroff said. “Katia has
been in great distress over it. She thinks that you can
never forgive her.”

“Pray tell her from me, Petroff, that I have blamed my-
self, not her. I ought not to have let myself be persuaded
into taking any part in the matter. I entered into it as a
joke, thinking it would be fine fun to see the old colonel’s face,
and also to help a pair of lovers out of a scrape. It would
have been a good joke in England, but this is not a country
where jokes are understood. At any rate it has been a
useful lesson to me, and in future young ladies will plead
in vain to get me to mix myself up in other people’s
affairs.”

“We are going to a students’ party to-night,” Petroff said.
“One of our number who has just passed the faculty of
medicine has received an appointment at Tobolsk. It is a
long way off; but it is said to be a pleasant town, and the
pay is good. He is an orphan, and richer than most of us,



A CAT’S-PAW. 49

so he is going to celebrate it with a party to-night before he
starts. Will you come with us?”

“TI should like it very much,” Godfrey said; “but surely
your friend would not wish a stranger there on such an
occasion.”

“Oh, yes, he would! he would be delighted, he is very
fond of the English. I will-answer for it that you will be
welcome. Meet us here at seven o’clock this evening; he
has hired a big room, and there will be two or three dozen
of us there—all good fellows. Most of them have passed,
and you will see the army and navy, the law and medicine,
all represented.”

Godfrey willingly agreed to go. He thought he should
see a new phase of Russian life, and at the appointed hour
he met the two students. The entertainment was held in
a large room in a traktar or eating-house in a small street.
The room was already full of smoke, a number of young
men were seated along two tables extending the length of
the room, and crossed by one at the upper end. Several
were in military uniform, and two or three in that of the
navy. Akim and Petroff were greeted boisterously by name
as they entered.

“T will talk to you presently,” Akim shouted in reply to
various invitations to take his seat. ‘I have a friend whom
I must first introduce to Alexis.” He and Petroff took
Godfrey up to the table at the end of the room. * Alexis,”
Akim said, “I have brought you a gentleman whom I am
sure you will welcome. He has proved himself a true friend,
one worthy of friendship and honour. His name is Godfrey
Bullen.”

There was general silence as Akim spoke, and an evident
curiosity as to the stranger their comrade had introduced.
The host, who had risen to his feet, grasped Godfrey’s hand
warmly. >

He am indeed glad to meet you, Godfrey Bullen,” he
said.

(781) D



50 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“My friends, greet with me the English friend of Akim
and Petroff.”

There was a general thumping of glasses on the table,
and two or three of those sitting near Alexis rose from their
seats and shook hands with Godfrey, with a warmth and
cordiality which astonished him. Room was made for him
and his two friends at the upper end of one of the side
tables, and when he had taken his seat the lad was able to
survey the scene quietly.

Numbers of bottles were ranged down the middle of the
tables, which were of bare wood without cloth. These con-
tained, as Petroff told him, wines from various parts of
Russia. There were wines similar to sherry and Bordeaux,
from the Crimea; Kahetinskoe, strongly resembling good
burgundy, from the Caucasus; and Don Skoe, a sparkling
wine resembling champagne, from the Don. Besides these
were tankards of Iablochin Kavas, or cider; Grushevoi
Kavas, or perry; Malovinoi, a drink prepared from rasp-
berries; and Lompopo, a favourite drink on the shores of the
Baltic. The conversation naturally turned on student topics,
of tricks played on professors, on past festivities, amuse-
ments, and quarrels. No allusion of any kind was made to
politics, or to the matters of the day. Jovial songs were sung,
the whole joining in chorus with great animation. At nine
o'clock waiters appeared with trays containing the indis-
pensable beginning of all Russian feasts. Each tray contained
a large number of small dishes with fresh caviar, raw herrings,
smoked salmon, dried sturgeon, slices of German sausage,
smoked goose, ham, radishes, cheese, and butter. From
these the guests helped themselves at will, the servants
handing round small glasses of Kiimmel Liftofka, a spirit
flavoured with the leaves of the black-currant, and vodka.

Then came the supper. Before each guest was placed a
basin of stchi, a cabbage soup, sour cream being handed
round to be added to it; then came rastigai patties, com-
posed of the flesh of the sturgeon and isinglass. This was



A CAT’S-PAW. . 51

followed by cold boiled sucking pig with horse-radish sauce.
After this came roast mutton stuffed with buck-wheat,
which concluded the supper. When the table was cleared
singing began again, but Godfrey stayed no longer, excusing
himself to his host on the ground that the merchant kept
early hours, and that unless when he had specially mentioned
that he should not be home until late, he made a point of
being in between ten and eleven.

He was again surprised at the warmth with which several
of the guests spoke to him as he said good-night, and went
away with the idea in his mind that among the younger
Russians, at any rate, Englishmen must be much more popu-
lar than he had before supposed. One or two young officers
had given him their cards, and said that they should be
pleased if he would call upon them,

“T have had a pleasant evening,” he said to himself.
“They are a jolly set of fellows, more like boys than men,
It was just the sort of thing I could fancy a big breaking-up
supper would be if fellows could do as they liked, only no
head-master would stand the tremendous row they made
with their choruses, However, I don’t expect they very
often have a jollification like this, I suppose our host was
a good deal better off than most of them. Petroff said that
he was the son of a manufacturer down in the south. I
wonder what he meant when he laughed in that quiet way
of his when I said I wondered that as his father was well
off he should take an appointment at such an out-of-the-way
place as Tobolsk. ‘Don’t ask questions here,’ he said,
‘those fellows handing round the meat may be government
spies.’ I don’t see, if they were, what interest they could
have in the question why Alexis Stumpoff should go to
Tobolsk.

“However, I suppose they make a point of never touching
on private affairs where any one can hear them, however
innocent the matter may be. It must be hateful to be in
@ country where, for aught you know, every other man you



52 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

come acros’ is a spy. I daresay I am watched now; that
police fellow told me I should be. It would be a lark to
turn off down by-streets and lead the spy, if there is one,
a tremendous dance; but jokes like that won’t do here. I
got off once, but if I give them the least excuse again they
may send me off to the frontier. I should not care much
myself, but it would annoy the governor horribly, so I will
walk back as gravely as a judge.”

CHAPTER IIT.
A HUNTING PARTY.

IIVWO days later Robson, an English merchant who had

been one of the most intimate of Godfrey’s acquain-
tances, and to whom he had confided the truth about his
arrest, said to him:

“You are not looking quite yourself, lad.”

“Oh, I am all right!” he said; “but it is not a pleasant
thing having had such a close shave of being sent to
Siberia; and it isn’t only that. No doubt the police feel
that they owe mea grudge for having been the means of
this fellow, whoever he was, slipping through their fingers,
and I shall be a suspected person for along time. Of course
it is only fancy, but I am always thinking there is some one
following me when I go out. I know it is nonsense, but
I can’t get rid of it.”

“T don’t suppose they are watching you as closely as
that,” Mr. Robson said, “but I do think it is likely that
they may be keeping an eye on you; but if they are they
will be tired of it before long, when they see that you go
your own way and have nothing to do with any suspected
persons. You want a change, lad. I have an invitation to



A HUNTING PARTY. 53

join a party who are going up to Finland to shoot for a
couple of days. It is more likely than not that we shall
never have a chance of firing a shot, but it will be an outing
for you, and will clear your brain. Do you think you would
like it?”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Robson, I should like it
immensely. Petrovytch was saying this morning that he
thought I should be all the better for a holiday, so I am
sure he will spare me. I am nothing of a shot, in fact I
never fired a shot at game in my life, though I have practised
a bit with the rifle, but I am sure it will be very jolly
whether we shoot anything or not.” _

“Very well, then, be at the station to catch the seven
o'clock train in the morning. It is a four hours’ railway
journey.” 1

“Ts there anything to bring, sir?”

“No, you can take a hand-bag and sleeping things, but
beyond a bit of soap and a towel I don’t suppose you will
have need of anything, for you will most likely sleep at
some farm-house, or perhaps in a woodman’s hut, and there
will not be any undressing. There are six of us going from
here, counting you, but the party is got up by two or three
men we know there. They tell me some of the officers of
the regiment stationed there will be of the party, and they
will have a hundred or so of their men to act as beaters.
I have a spare gun that I will bring for you.”

The next morning Godfrey joined Mr. Robson at the
station, A Mr. White, whom he knew well, was one of the
party, and the other three were Russians. They had secured
a first-class compartment, and as soon as they started they
rigged up a table with one of the cushions and began to play
whist.

“You don’t play, I suppose, Godfrey?” Mr. Robson
said,

“No, sir. I have played a little at my father’s, but it
will be a long time before I shall be good enough to play.



540 CO CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST

I have heard my father say that there is better whist at St.
Petersburg than in any place in the world.”

“I think he is right, lad. The Russians are first-rate
players and are passionately fond of the game, and natu-
rally we English here have had to learn to play up to their -
standard. The game is similar to that in England, but they
score altogether differently.”

The four hours passed rapidly. Godfrey sometimes looked
out of the window at the flat country they were passing
through, but more often watched the play. They were met
at the station by two of Mr. Robson’s friends, and found
that sledges were in readiness and they were to start at
once.

‘“We have ten miles to drive,” one of them said. “The
others went on early; they will have had one beat by the
time we get there, and are then to assemble for luncheon.”

The road was good and the horses fast, so that the sledges
flew along rapidly. Most of the distance was through
forest, but the last half-mile was open, and the sledge drew
up at a large farm-house standing in the centre of the cleared
space, and surrounded at a distance of half a mile on all
sides by the forest. A dozen men, about half of whom
were in uniform, poured out from the door as the four
sledges drew up.

“You are just in time,” one of them said. “The soup is
ready and in another minute we should have set to.”

The civilians all knew each other, but the new-comers
were introduced to the Russian colonel and his five officers,
“Have you had any luck, colonel?” Mr. Robson asked.

“Wonderful,” the latter replied with a laugh. “A stag
came along and every one of us had a shot at it, and each
and every one is ready to take oath that he hit it, so that
every one is satisfied. Don’t you call that luck?” =

Mr. Robson laughed. “But where is the stag?” he asked,
looking round.

“That is more than any one can tell you. He went



A HUNTING PARTY. . 55

straight on, and carried off our twelve bullets. Captain
Fomitch here, and in fact all my officers, are ready to swear
that the deer is enchanted, and they have all been crossing
themselves against the evil omen. Such a thing was never
heard of before, for being such crack shots, all of us, of
course there can be no doubt about our each having hit the
stag when it was not more than a hundred yards away at the
outside; but come in, the soup smells too good to wait, and
the sight of that enchanted beast has sharpened my appetite
wonderfully.”

Godfrey entered with the rest. Large as the farm-house
was, the greater portion of the ground-floor was occupied
by the room they entered. It was entirely constructed of
wood blackened with smoke and age. A great fire burned on
the hearth, and the farmer’s wife and two maids were occu-
pied with several large pots, some suspended over the fire,
others standing among the brands. The window was low, but
extended half across one side of the room, and was filled
with small lattice panes. From the roof hung hams, sides
of bacon, potatoes in network bags, bunches of herbs, and
several joints of meat. A table extended the length of the
room covered with plates and dishes that from their appear-
ance had evidently been brought out from the town, and
differed widely from the rough earthenware standing on a
great dresser of darkened wood extending down one side of
the room, At one end the great pot was placed, the cloth
having been pushed back for the purpose, and the colonel,
seizing the ladle, began to fill the earthenware bowls which
were used instead of soup plates.

“Hach man come for his ration before he sits down,” he
said. “It would be better if you did not sit down at all,
for I know well enough that when my countrymen sit down
to a meal it is a long time before they get up again, and we
have to be in the forest again in three-quarters of an hour.”

“ Quite right, colonel,” one of the hosts said; “this even-
ing you may sit as long as you like, but if we are to have



56 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

another drive to-day we must waste no time. A basin of
soup and a plate of stew are all you will get now, with a
cup of coffee afterwards to arm you against the cold, and a
glass of vodka or kiimmil to top up with. No, colonel, not
any punch just now. Punch in the evening; but if we were
to begin with that now, I know that there would be no
shooting this afternoon.”

“What are the beaters doing?” Mr. Robson asked as they
hastily ate their dinner.

“They have brought their bread with them,” the colonel
said, “and our friends here have provided a deer almost as
fine as that which carried off the twelve bullets. It was
roasting over a fire in the forest when we went past, and I
saw some black bottles which I guessed were vodka.”

“Yes, colonel, I ordered that they should have a glass
each with their dinner, and another glass when they had
done this afternoon.”

“They would not mind being on fatigue duty every day
through the winter on those terms,” the colonel said. “It is
better for them than soldiering. We must mind that we
don’t shoot any of them, gentlemen. The lives of the Czar’s
soldiers are not to be lightly sacrificed, and next time, you
know, the whole of the bullets may not hit the mark as they
did this morning.”

“There really is some danger in it,” Mr. Robson said to
Godfrey, who was sitting next to him; “in fact, I should
say there was a good deal of danger. However, I fancy the
beaters all throw themselves down flat when they hear the
crack of the first rifle.”

“T see most of them have got a gun as well as a rifle.”

“Yes, there is no saying what may come along, and,
indeed, they are more likely to get birds than fur. I was
told there are a good many elk in the forest, and the pea-
sants have been bringing an unusual number in lately. A
friend of mine shot two last week; but as our party did not
get one in their first drive they are not likely to get any after-



A HUNTING PARTY, 57

wards. Occasionally in these big drives a good many animals
are inclosed, but as a rule the noise the soldiers make as
they move along to take up their places is enough to frighten
every creature within a couple of miles. I told you you
were not likely to have to draw a trigger. Expeditions like

this are rather an excuse for a couple of days’ fun than any- —
thing else. The real hunting is more quiet. Mei who are
fond of it have peasants in their pay all over the country,
and if one of these hears of a bear or an elk anywhere in
his neighbourhood he brings in the news at once, and then
one or two men drive out to the village, where beaters will
be in readiness for them, and have the hunt to themselves.

“T used to do a good deal of it the first few years I came
out, but it is bitter cold work waiting for hours till a beast
comes past, or trying to crawl up to him. After all, there is
no great fun in putting a bullet into a creature as big as a
horse at a distance of thirty or forty yards. But there, they
are making a move. They are going to drink the coffee
and vodka standing, which is wise, for after standing in the
snow for four hours, as they have been doing, they are apt
to get so sleepy after a warm meal that if we were to stop
here much longer you would find half the number would
not make a start at all.”

The sledges were brought up, and there was a three miles’
drive through the forest. Then the shooters were placed in
a line, some forty or fifty yards apart, each taking his station
behind a tree. Then a small bugler sounded a note. God-
frey heard a reply a long distance off. Three-quarters of an
hour passed without any further sound being heard,. and
then Godfrey, who had been stamping his feet and swinging
his arms to keep himself warm, heard a confused murmur.
Looking along the line he saw that the others were all on
the alert, and he accordingly took up his gun and began to
gaze across the snow. The right-hand barrel was loaded
with shot, the left with ball. Presently a shot rang out
away on his right, followed almost immediately afterwards



58 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

by another. After this evidence that there must be some-
thing in the forest he watched more eagerly for signs of
life. Presently he saw a hare coming loping along. From
time to time it stopped and turned its head to listen, and
then came on again. He soon saw that it was bearing to
the left, and that it was not going to come within his range.
He watched it disappear among the trees, and two minutes
later heard a shot. Others followed to the right and left of
him, and presently a hare, which he had not noticed, dashed
past at full speed, almost touching his legs, He was so startled
for the moment that the hare had got some distance before
he had turned round and was ready to fire, and he was in
no way surprised to see it dash on unharmed by his shot.
When there was a pause in the firing the shouting recom.
menced, this time not far distant, and he soon saw men
making their way towards him through the trees.

“Tt is all over now,” Mr. Robson shouted from the next
tree. “If they have not done better elsewhere than we
have here the bag is not a very large one.”

“Did you shoot anything, Mr. Robson?’

“T knocked a hare over; that is the only thing I have
seen. What have you done?”

“T think I succeeded in frightening a hare, but that was
all,” Godfrey laughed. “It ran almost between my legs
before I saw it, and I think it startled me quite as much as
my shot alarmed it.”

The bugle sounded again, and the party were presently
collected round the colonel. The result of the beat was five
hares, and a small stag that had fallen to the gun of Mr.
White.

“Much cry and little wool,” Mr. Robson said. “A
hundred beaters, twenty guns, and six head of game.”

Another short beat was organized, resulting in two stags
and three more hares. One of the stags and the three hares
were placed on a sledge to be taken back to the farm-house,
and the rest of the game was given to the soldiers, A glass



A HUNTING PARTY. 59

of vodka was served out to each of them, and, highly pleased
with their day’s work, the men slung the deer to poles and
set out on their march of eight miles back to the town.

“They will have done a tremendous day’s work by the
time they have finished,” Godfrey said. “Eight miles out
and eight miles back, and three beats, which must have cost
them four or five miles’ walking at least. They must have
gone over thirty miles through the snow.”

“Tt won't be as much as that, though it will be a long
day’s work,” the colonel said. “They came out yesterday
evening and slept ina barn. Another company come out
to-night to take their place.”

Jé was already dark by the time the party reached the
farm-house, and after a cup of coffee all round they began to
prepare the dinner. They were like a party of school-boys,
laughing, joking, and playing tricks with each other. Two
of them undertook the preparation of hare-soup. Two
others were appointed to roast a quarter of venison, keeping
it turning as it hung by a cord in front of the fire, and being
told that should it burn from want of basting they would
forfeit their share of it, The colonel undertook the mixing
of punch, and the odour of lemons, rum, and other spirits
soon mingled with that of the cooking. Godfrey was set to
whip eggs for a gigantic omelette, and most of the others
had some task or other assigned to them, the farmer’s wife
and her assistants not being allowed to have anything to do
with the matter.

The dinner was a great success. After it was over a huge
bowl of punch was placed on the table, and after the health
of the Czar and that of the Queen of England had been
drunk, speeches were made, songs were sung, and stories told.
While this was going on, the farmer brought in a dozen
trusses of straw. These his wife and the maids opened and
distributed along both sides of the room, laying blankets
over them. It was not long before Godirey began to feel
very drowsy, the result of the day’s work in the cold, a good



60 CONDEMNED As A NIBILISt

dinner, the heated air of the room and the din, and would
have gladly lain down; but his movement to leave the table
was at once frustrated, and he was condemned to drink an
extra tumbler of punch asa penalty. After that he had but
a confused idea of the rest of the evening. He knew that
many songs were sung, and that everyone seemed talking
together, and as at last he managed to get away and lie
down on the straw he had a vague idea that the colonel was
standing on a chair making a final oration, with the punch-
bowl turned upside down and worn as a helmet,

Godfrey had not touched the wine at dinner, knowing
that he would be expected to take punch afterwards, and
he had only sipped this occasionally, except the glass he had
been condemned to drink; and when he heard the colonel
shout in a stentorian voice “To arms!” he got up and shook
himself, and felt ready for another day’s work, although
many of the others were sitting up yawning or abusing the
colonel for having called them so early. However, it was
already light. Two great samovars were steaming, and the
cups set in readiness on the table. Godfrey managed to get
hold of a pail of water and indulged in a good wash, as after
a few minutes did all the others ; while a cup or two of tea
and a few slices of fried bacon set up even those who were
at first least inclined to rise,

A quarter of an hour later the sledges were at the door,
and the party started. The hunt was even less successful
than that of the previous day. No stag was seen, but some
ten hares and five brace of grouse were shot, At three
o’clock the party assembled again at the farm-house and had
another hearty meal, terminating with one glass of punch
round; then they took their places in their sledges and were
driven back to the town; the party for St. Petersburg
started by the six-o’clock train, the rest giving them a hearty
cheer as the carriage moved off from the platform. :

‘Well, have you enjoyed it, Godfrey?” Mr. Robson
asked.



A HUNTING PARTY. 61

“Immensely, sir. It has been grand fun. The colonel is
a wonderful fellow.”

“There are no more pleasant companions than the
Russians,” Mr. Robson said. “They more closely resemble
the Irish than any people I know. They have a wonderful
fund of spirits, enjoy a practical joke, are fond of sport, and
have too a sympathetic, and one may almost say a melancholy
vein in their disposition, just as the Irish have. They have
their faults, of course—all of us have; and the virtue of
temperance has not as yet made much way here. Society,
in fact, is a good deal like that in England two or three
generations back, when it was considered no disgrace for
a man to sit after dinner at the table until he had to be
helped up to bed by the servants. Now, White, you have
got the cards, I think.”

Godfrey watched the game for a short time, then his eyes
closed, and he knew nothing more until Mr. Robson shook
him and shouted, “Pull yourself together, Godfrey. Here
we are at St. Petersburg.” _

Three days later, when Ivan Petrovytch came in to break-
fast at eleven o’clock—for the inmates of the house had a
cup of coffee or chocolate and a roll in their rooms at half-
past seven, and office work commenced an hour later—
Godfrey saw that he and his wife were both looking very
grave. Nothing was said until the servant, having handed
round the dishes, left the room.”

“Has anything happened?” Godfrey asked.

“Yes, there is bad news. Another plot against the life
of the Czar has been discovered. The Nihilists have mined
under the road by which he was yesterday evening to have
travelled to the railway-station. It seems that some suspicion
was felt by the police. I do not know how it arose; at any
rate at the last moment the route was changed. During
the night all the houses in the suspected neighbourhood
were searched, and in the cellar of one of them a passage
was found leading under the road. A mine was heavily



62 CONDEMNED AS A NTHILIST.

charged with powder, and was connected by wires to an
electric battery; and there can be no doubt that had the
Czar passed by as intended he would have been destroyed
by the explosion. It is terrible, terrible!”

“Did they find any one in the cellar?” Godfrey asked.

“No one. The conspirators had no doubt taken the
alarm when they heard that the route was changed, and the
place was deserted. It seems that the shop above was
taken four months ago as a store for the sale of coal and
wood, and the cellar and an adjoining one were hired at the
same time. There was also a room behind the shop, where
the man and woman who kept it lived. They say that
arrests have been made all over the city this morning, and
we shall no doubt have a renewal of the wholesale trials
that followed the assassination of General Mesentzeff, the
head of the police, last autumn. It is terrible! These mis-
guided men hope to conquer the empire by fear. Instead
of that, they will in the end only strengthen the hands of
despotism. I have always been inclined to liberalism, but
I have wished for gradual changes only. For large changes
we are not yet fit; but as education spreads and we approach
the western standard, some power and voice ought to be
given to all intelligent enough to use it; that is to say, to
the educated classes. I would not—no one in his senses
would-—give the power of voting to illiterate and ignorant
men, who would simply be tools in the hands of the design-
ing and ambitious; but the peoples of the great towns, St.
Petersburg, Moskow, Kieff, Odessa, and others should be
permitted to send representatives—men of their own choice
—to the provincial councils, which should be strengthened
and given a real, instead of a nominal, voice in the control
of affairs.

“That was all I and thousands like me ever wished for
in the present, but it would have been the first step towards
a constitution which the empire, when the people become
fit for it, might enjoy. That dream is over. These men,



A HUNTING PARTY. 63

by their wild violence, have thrown back the reforms for
half a century at least. They have driven the Czar to war
against them; they have strengthened the hands of the men
who will use their acts as an excuse for the extremest mea-
sures of repression; they have ranged on the other side all
the moderate men like myself, who, though desirous of con-
stitutional changes, shrink with horror from a revolution
heralded by deeds of bloodshed and murder.”

“T quite agree with you,” Godfrey said warmly. ‘Men
must be mad who could counsel such abominable plans.
The French Revolution was terrible, although it began peace-
fully, and was at first supported by all the best spirits of
France; but at last it became a hideous butchery. But here
in Russia it seems to me that it would be infinitely worse,
for it is only in the towns that there are men with any
education; and if it began with the murder of the Czar,
what would it grow to”

“What, indeed!” Ivan Petrovytch repeated. “And yet,
like the French Revolution, the pioneers of this movement
were earnest and thoughtful men, with noble dreams for the
regeneration of Russia.”

“But how did it begin?”

“It may be said to have started about 1860. The eman-
cipation of the serfs produced a sort of fever. Every one
looked for change, but it was in the universities, the semi-
naries, and among the younger professional men that it
first began. Prohibited works of all kinds, especially those
of European socialists, were, in spite of every precaution at
the frontier, introduced and widely circulated. Socialistic
ideas made tremendous progress among the class I speak
of, and these, by writing, by the circulation of prohibited
papers, and so on, carried on a sort of crusade against the
government, and indeed against all governments, carrying
their ideas of liberty to the most extreme point and waging
war against religion as well as against society.

“Tn the latter respect they were more successful than in



64 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

the former, and I regret to say that atheism made immense
strides among the educated class. They had some profound
thinkers among them: Tchernyshevsky, Dobroluboff, Mi-
khailoff, besides Herzen and Ogareff, the two men who
brought out the Kolokol in London in the Russian language,
and by their agents spread it broadcast over Russia. The
stifling of the insurrection in Poland strengthened the re-
actionary party. More repressive edicts were issued, with
the usual result, that secret societies multiplied everywhere.
Then came the revolution and commune in Paris, which
greatly strengthened the spread of revolutionary ideas here.
Another circumstance gave a fresh impetus to this. Some
time before, there had been a movement for what was called
the emancipation of women, and a perfect furore arose
among girls of all classes for education.

“There were no upper schools or colleges open to them
in Russia, and they went in enormous numbers to Switzer-
land, especially to Zurich. Girls of the upper classes shared
their means with the poorer ones, and the latter eked out
their resources by work of all descriptions. Zurich, as you
know, is a hotbed of radicalism, and those young women
who went to learn soon imbibed the wildest ideas. Then
came a ukase, ordering the immediate return home of all
Russian girls abroad. It was undoubtedly a great mistake.
In Switzerland they were harmless, but when they returned
to Russia and scattered over the towns and villages, they
became so many apostles of socialism, and undoubtedly
strengthened the movement. So it grew. Men of good
families left their homes, and in the disguise of workmen
expounded their principles among the lower classes. Among
these was Prince Peter Krapotkine, the rich Cossack Obuch-
off, Scisoko and Rogaceff, both officers, and scores of others,
who gave up everything and worked as workmen among
workmen.

“Tnnumerable arrests were made, and at one trial a
thousand prisoners were convicted. So wholesale were the



A HUNTING PARTY. 65

arrests that even the most enthusiastic saw that they were
simply sacrificing themselves in vain, and about 1877 they
changed their tactics. The prisons were crowded, and the
treatment there of the political prisoners was vastly harder
than that given to those condemned for the most atrocious
crimes, as you may imagine when I tell you that in the course
of the trial of that one batch I spoke of, which lasted four
years, seventy-five of the prisoners committed suicide, went
mad, or died. Then when the authorities thought Nihilism
was stamped out by wholesale severity the matter assumed
another phase. The crusade by preaching had failed, and
the Nihilists began a crusade of terror. First police spies
were killed in many places, then more highly placed persons,
officers of the police, judges, and officials who distinguished
themselves by their activity and severity. Then in the
spring of last year Vera Zasulitch shot at General Trépofl,
who had ordered a political prisoner to be flogged. She
was tried by a jury, and the feeling throughout the country
was so much in favour of the people who had been so ter-
ribly persecuted that she was acquitted. The authorities
were furious, and every effort was made to find and re-arrest
Vera; and a verdict of the court acquitting many of the
accused in one of the trials was annulled by the Czar.
“Well, you know, Godfrey Bullen, I am not one who
meddles with politics. You have never heard me speak of
them before, and I consider the aims of these men would
bring about anarchy. An anarchy that would deluge the
land with blood seems to me detestable and wicked. But
I cannot but think the government has made a. terrible mis-
take by its severity. These people are all enthusiastic
fanatics. They see that things are not as they should be,
and they would destroy everything to right them. Hate
their aims as one may, one must admit that their conduct is
heroic. Few have quailed in their trials. All preserve a
calmness of demeanour that even their judges and execu-

tioners cannot but admire. They seem made of iron; they



66 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

suffer everything, give up everything, dare everything for
their faith; they die, as the Christian martyrs died in Rome,
unflinching, unrepentant. If they have become as wild beasts,
severity has made them so. Their propaganda was at first
a peaceful one. It is cruelty that has driven them to use
the only weapon at their disposal, assassination.

‘‘One man, for example, in 1877, Jacob Stefanovic, organ-
ized a conspiracy in the district of Sighirino. It spread
widely among the peasants. The priests, violating the
secret of the confessional, informed -the police, but these,
although using every effort, could learn no more. Hundreds
of arrests were made, but nothing discovered. Learning
that the priests had betrayed them the peasants no longer
went to confession, and to avoid betraying themselves in a
state of drunkenness abstained from the use of brandy; but
one man, tired and without food, took’a glass. It made him
drunk, and in his drunkenness he spoke to the man who
had sold him spirits. He was arrested, and although he did
not know all, gave enough clue for the police to follow up,
and all the leaders and over a thousand persons were
arrested. ‘Two thousand others, who were affiliated to the
society, were warned in time and escaped. You can guess
the fate of those who were captured.

“Last year, three months before you came here, General
Mezentsoff, the head of the police, was assassinated, and
since then we know that it is open war between the Nihilists
and the Czar. The police hush matters up, but they get
abroad. Threatening letters reach the Czar in his inmost
apartments, and it is known that several attempts have been
made to assassinate him, but have failed.

“One of the most extraordinary things connected with
the movement is that women play a large part in it. Being
in the thick of every conspiracy they are the life and soul
of the movement, and they are of all classes. There are a
score of women for whose arrest the authorities would pay
any money, and yet they elude every effort. It is horrible.



A PRISONER. 67

This is what comes of women going to Switzerland and
learning to look upon religion as a myth and all authority
as hateful, and to have wild dreams of an impossible state
of affairs such as never has existed in this world. It is
horrible, but it is pitiable. The prisons in the land are full
of victims; trains of prisoners set off monthly for Siberia.
It is enough to turn the brain to think of such things. How
it is to end no one can say.”

But it was only in bated breath and within closed doors
that the discovery of the Nihilist plot was discussed in St.
Petersburg. Elsewhere it was scarcely alluded to, although,
if mentioned, those present vied with each other in the
violence of their denunciation of it; but when society from
the highest to the lowest was permeated by secret agents
of the police, and every word was liable to be reported and
misinterpreted, a subject so dangerous was shunned by
common consent. It was known, though, that large num-
bers of arrests had been made, but even those whose dear-
est friends had suddenly disappeared said no word of it in
public, for to be even a distant acquaintance of such a per-
son was dangerous. Yet apparently everything went on
as usual: the theatres were as well filled; the Nevski as
crowded and gay.

CHAPTER IV.
A PRISONER.

Soon after this St. Petersburg was startled at the news

that there had been a terrible explosion at the Winter
Palace, and that the Czar and royal family had narrowly
escaped with their lives. Upon the following evening God-
frey was walking down the Nevski, where groups of people
wer» still discussing the terrible affair. He presently met



68 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

Akim Soushiloff and Petroff Stepanoff. He had not seen
them for some time, and as they had omitted to give him
the address of the lodging into which they had moved, he
was really glad to see them, for he liked them better than
any of the Russians of his acquaintance, for both had an
earnest manner and seemed to be free from narrow preju-
dices, sincere admirers of England, and on most subjects
very well informed.

“It is quite an age since I have seen you both,” he said.
“Where have you been hiding?”

“We have been working harder than usual,” Petroff said;
“our last examinations are just coming off. But you said
that you would come to see us, and you have never done
so.”

“You did not tell me where you had moved to,” Godfrey
said, “or I should have done so long ago.”

“That was stupid indeed!” Akim said. “Have you an
hour to spare now?”

“Yes, I have nothing to do, and shall be very glad to
come round and have a talk. This is a horrible business at
the Winter Palace.”

“Horrible,” Petroff said; “but it is just as well not to
talk about it in the streets. Come along, we will take you
to our place; we were just thinking of going back.”

A quarter of an hour’s walking took them to the students’
room, which was, like the last, at the top of the house. A
lamp was lighted, the samovar placed on the table, and alittle
charcoal fire lit under it. A glass of vodka was handed
round to pass the time until the water was boiling, pipes
were brought out from the cupboard and filled, for cigars,
which are cheap and good, are generally smoked in the
streets in Russia by the middle and upper classes, pipes
being only used there by Isvostchiks, labourers, and English-
men. The conversation naturally for a time turned upon
the explosion in the Winter Palace, the Russians expressing
an indignation fully equal to that of Godfrey. Then they



A PRISONER. 69

talked of England, both regretting that they were unable
to speak the language.

“JT would give much to be able to read Shakespeare,”
Petroff said. “I have heard his works spoken of in such
high terms by some of our friends who have studied your
language, and I have heard, too, from them of your Dickens.
They tell me it is like reading of another world—a world
in which there are no officials, and no police, and no soldiers.
That must be very near a paradise.”

“We have some soldiers,” Godfrey laughed, “but one
does not see much of them. About half of those we have at
home are in two military camps, one in England and one in
Ireland. There are the Guards in London, but the popula-
lation is so large that you might go a week without seeing
one, while in very few of the provincial towns are there any
garrisons at all. There are police, and plenty of them, but
as their business is only to prevent crime, they naturally
don’t play a prominent part in novels giving a picture of
everyday life. As to officials, beyond rate-collectors we don’t
see anything of them, though there are magistrates, and goy-
ernment clerks, and custom officers, and that sort of thing, but
they certainly don’t play any prominent part in our lives.”

‘So they chatted for an hour, when at short intervals two
other men came in. One was a tall handsome fellow who
was introduced by Petroff as the son of Baron Kinkoff, the
other was a young advocate of Moscow on a visit to St.
Petersburg. Both, Godfrey observed, had knocked in a
somewhat peculiar manner at the door, which opened, as
he had noticed when they came in, only by a key. Akim
observed a slight expression of surprise in Godfrey’s face
at the second knock, and said laughing:

“Our remittances have not come to hand of late, Godfrey,
and some of our creditors are getting troublesome, so we
have established a signal by which we know our friends,
while inconvenient visitors can knock as long as they like,
and then go away thinking we are out.”



70 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

Godfrey chatted for a short time longer, and then got up
to go. Akim went to the door with him. As it opened
there was a sudden rush of men from outside that nearly
knocked him down. Of what followed he had but a vague
idea. Pistol shots rang out. There was a desperate struggle.
He received a blow on the head which struck him to the
ground, and an instant later there was a tremendous ex-
plosion. The next thing he knew was that he was being
hauled from below some debris. As he looked round be-
wildered he saw that a considerable portion of the ceiling
and of the roof above it had been blown out. Several bodies
lay stretched on the floor. The room was still full of smoke,
but by the light of two or three lanterns he perceived that
the young baron, bleeding freely from a sabre wound across
the forehead, was standing bound between two policemen
with drawn swords. Policemen were examining the bodies
on the floor, while others were searching the closets, cutting
open the beds and turning out their contents. Akim lay on
his hack dead, and across him lay the young advocate. Of
Petroff he could see nothing; the other bodies were those
of policemen. Three of these near the door appeared to
have been shot; the others were lying in contorted positions
against the walls, as if they had been flung there by the
force of the explosion. All this he saw in a state of vague
wonderment, while the two policemen kneeling at his side
were passing cords tightly round him.

“This one still lives,” one of the policemen said, stooping
over the young advocate, “but I think he is nearly done
for.”

“Never mind, bring him along with the others,” a man
in plain clothes said in tones of authority. “Get them
away at once, we shall Lave half St. Petershurg here in a
few minutes.”

Godfrey was lifted by the policemen, one at his head, and
one at his feet, carried down-stairs, and flung into a vehicle
at the door. Dully he heard a roar of excited shouts and



A PRISONER. 71

questions, and the sharp orders of the police ranged round
the vehicle. Three policemen took their places inside with
him, and the vehicle drove off, slowly at first until it was
free of the crowd, and then at a sharp gallop. Godfrey was
conscious of but little as he went along; he had a vague
idea of a warm moist feeling down the back, and wondered
whether it was his own blood. Gradually his impressions
became more and more indistinct, and he knew nothing
more until he was conscious of a sensation of cold at the
back of the head, and of a murmur of voices round him.
Soon he was lifted up into a sitting position, and he felt
that bandages were being wrapped round his head. Then
he was laid down again, he heard a door slam and a key
turn, and then he knew nothing more. When he awoke
daylight was streaming in through a loophole high up in
the wall. He tried to sit up, but.could not, and looked
round trying to recall where he was and what had happened.
He was in a dark cell with no furniture save the straw on
which he was lying.

“It is a prison certainly,” he muttered to himself. “How
did I get here?”

Then gradually the events of the night before came to
his mind. There had been a terrible fight. Akim had been
killed. There had been a tremendous explosion. The police
had something to do with it. Was it all a dream, or was
it real? Was he dreaming now? He was some time before
he could persuade himself that it was all real, and indeed
it was not until the door opened and two men entered that
he felt quite sure that he, Godfrey Bullen, was really lying
there in a prison cell, with a dull numbing pain at the back
of his head, and too weak even to sit upright. One of the
men leaned over him. Godfrey tried to speak, but could
not do so above a whisper.

“He will do now,” the man said without paying any
attention to his words. “He must have a thick skull or
that sword-cut would have finished him. Give him some



72 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIS'L

wine and water now, and some soup presently. We must
not let him slip through our fingers.”

Some liquid was poured between his lips, and then he
was left alone again. “Certainly it is all real,” he said to
himself. “Akim must have been killed, and I must be a
prisoner. What in the world can it be all about?” He was
too weak to think, but after another visit had been paid
him, and he had been lifted up and given some strong broth,
he began to think more clearly. ‘Can it have been a
Nihilist arrest?” he thought to himself. “Akim and Petroff
can never be Nihilists. The idea is absurd. I have never
heard them say a word against the government or the
Czar.”

Then he thought of their friend Katia, and how she had
got him to aid in the escape of a Nihilist. “It ig all non-
sense,” he murmured, “the idea of a girl like that being
mixed up in a conspiracy.” Then his ideas again became
more and more confused, and when the doctor visited him
again in the evening he was in a state of high fever, talk-
ing incoherently to himself. For seven days he continued
in that state. There was no lack of care ; the doctor visited
him at very short intervals, and an attendant remained
night and day beside him, applying cold bandages to his
head, and carefully noting down in a book every word
that passed his lips. Then a good constitution gradually
triumphed over the fever, and on the eighth day he lay a
mere shadow of himself, but cool and sensible, on a bed in
an airy ward. Nourishing food was given to him in abun-
dance, but it was another week before he was able to stand
alone. Then one morning two attendants brought a stretcher
to the side of his bed. He was assisted to put on his clothes,
and was then placed on the stretcher and carried away.
He was taken through long passages, up and down stairs,
at last into a large room. Here he was lifted on the stretcher
and placed in a chair. Facing him at a table were nine
officers.



A PRISONER. 73

“ Prisoner,” the president said, glancing at a large closely-
written sheet of paper before him, “you are accused of
taking part in a Nihilist conspiracy to murder the Czar.”

“I know nothing of any Nihilist conspiracy,” Godfrey
said. “I was accidentally in the room with my friends
Akim and Petroff when the police entered.”

The president waved his hand impatiently. “That of
course,” he said. ‘“ Your name is Godfrey Bullen?”

“Yes, sir.”

‘Born in St. Petersburg, but of English parentage?”

Godfrey bowed his head.

“Three months since you took part in the plot by means
of which the notorious Valerian Ossinsky escaped from the
hands of the police, and you were the accomplice of Sophia
Perovskaia in that matter.”

“T never heard the name before,” Godfrey said.

The president paid no attention, but went on: “You said
at the time,” he continued, reading from the notes, “that
you did not know the woman who spoke to you, but it is
known that she was an associate of Akim Soushiloff and
Petroff Stepanoff, at whose place you were captured the
other day. There is therefore no doubt that you know her.”

“TI knew her under another name,” Godfrey said; “but
if I had been told she was Sophia Perovskaia, it conveyed
nothing to me, for I had never heard of her.” s

“You are committing yourself, prisoner,” the president
said coldly. ‘When examined you denied all acquaintance
with the woman, and declared that she was a stranger.”

“ Excuse me, sir,” Godfrey said, “I said it was a masked
woman, and that I did not see her face, which was perfectly
true. I admit now that I did know who she was, but
naturally as a gentleman I endeavoured to shield her in a
matter concerning which I believed that she was as innocent
as I was.”

A murmur of incredulity ran round the circle of officers.

“A few days after that,” the president went on, again



74 , CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

reading from his notes, “you were present with Akim
Soushiloff and Petroff Stepanoff at a supper in a trakir in
Ossuloff Street. There were present on that occasion”—and
he read a list of six names—‘four of whom have since been
convicted and punished, and two of whom, although not
yet taken, are known to have been engaged in the mur-
derous attempt at the Winter Palace. You were greeted
there with significant enthusiasm, which was evidently a
testimony on the part of these conspirators to the part you
had played in the affair of Ossinsky.”

Godfrey felt that the meshes were closing round him.
He remembered that he had wondered at the time why he
had been received with such great cordiality.

“ Now,” the president went on, “you are captured in the
room of Akim Soushiloff and Petroff Stepanoff, who were
both beyond doubt engaged in the plot at the Winter
Palace, with two other equally guilty conspirators, and were
doubtless deliberating on some fresh atrocity when inter-
rupted by the agents of the police. You shared in the
desperate resistance they made, which resulted in the
death of eight police officers by pistol shot, or by the explo-
sion of gunpowder, by which Petroff Stepanoff, who fired
it, was also blown to pieces. What have you to say in your
defence ?”

“T still say that I am perfectly innocent,” Godfrey said.
‘‘T knew nothing of these men being conspirators in any
way, and I demand to be allowed to communicate with my
friends, and to obtain the assistance of an advocate,”

“An advocate could say nothing for you,” the president
said. “You do not deny any of the charges brought against
you, which are, that you were the associate of these assassins,
that you aided Sophia Perovskaia in effecting the escape of
Valerian Ossinsky, that you received the congratulations of
the conspirators at the banquet, and that you were found
in this room in company with four of the men concerned in
the attempt to assassinate the Czar. But the court is willing



A PRISONER. 75

to be merciful, and if you will tell all you know with refer-
ence to this plot, and give the names of all the conspirators
with whom you have been concerned, your offence will be
dealt with as leniently as possible.”

“T repeat that I know nothing, and can therefore disclose
nothing, sir, and I venture to protest against the authority
of this court to try and condemn me, an Englishman.”

“No matter what is the nationality of the person,” the
president said coldly, “who offends against the laws of this
country, he is amenable to its laws, and his nationality
affords him no protection whatever. You will have time
given you to think the matter over before your sentence is
communicated to you. Remove the prisoner.”

Godfrey was laid on the stretcher again and carried away.
This time he was taken, not to the room where he had been
placed while ill, but to a dark cell where scarce a ray of
light penetrated. There was a heap of straw in one corner,
a loaf of black bread, and a jug of water. Godfrey when
left alone shook up the straw to make it as comfortable as
he possibly could, then sat down upon it with his back against
the wall.

“Well, this is certainly a go,” he said to himself. “Tf
there was one thing that seemed less likely than another,
it was that I should get involved in this Nihilist business.
In the first place, the governor specially warned me against
it; in the second place, I have been extremely careful never
to give any opinion on public affairs; and in the third place,
if there is one thing I detest more than another it is assas-
sination, I cannot say it is cowardly in these men. The
Nihilists do more than risk their lives; they give their lives
away to carry out their end. Still, though I own it is not
cowardly, Lhate it. The question is, what next? Petrovytch
will, of course, write home to say that Iam missing. I don’t
suppose he will have the slightest idea that I have been
arrested as a Nihilist. I don’t see how he could think so.
He is more likely to think that I have been made away



76 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

with somehow. No doubt my father will come out; but, of
course, he won’t learn any more than Petrovytch, unless they
choose to tell him. I don’t suppose they will tell him. I
have heard that generally families of people they seize know
nothing about it, unless they are arrested too. They may
guess what has happened, but they don’t know. In my
case I should fancy the police would say nothing.

“They will hear from the inquiries that my father makes
that he has no suspicion of what has happened to me, and
they will know if they did tell him our ambassador would
be making arow. But even if the governor were to learn
what had become of me, and were to insist upon learning
what crime I am accused of committing, I do not see that
things would be much better. They would hand over the
notes of the evidence on which I was convicted, and, taking
it altogether, I am bound to say I do not see how they could
help convicting me. Short of catching me like a sort of
Guy Fawkes blowing up the palace, the case is about as
strong as it could be. I certainly have put my foot in it.
I was acquainted with these two conspirators; through them
I got acquainted with that confounded woman Katia, though
it seems that wasn’t her name. Then through her I helped
this fellow Ossinsky to escape. Then, trying to shield her, I
make matters twenty times worse; for while my answer be-
fore led them to believe that she was a perfect stranger to
me, I was ass enough to let out just now that I knew her.
Then there was that supper. I could not make out at the
time why they greeted me so heartily. Now, of course, it
is plain enough; and now, just after this blowing-up busi-
ness, here am I caught with four notorious conspirators,
and mixed up in a fight in which eight or ten policemen are
killed, and the roof blown off a house. That would be cir-
cumstantial evidence enough to condemn a man in England,
let alone Russia.

“T don’t suppose they are going to hang me, because they
publish the names of the fellows they hang; but imprison-



A PRISONER. 77

ment for years in one of their ghastly dungeons is bad
enough. If it is to be, it will be Siberia, I hope. There
must be some way of getting out of a big country like that—
north, south, east, or west. Well, I don’t see any use bother-
ing over it. I have got into a horrible scrape, there is no
doubt about that, and I must take what comes.”

Godfrey was essentially of a hopeful nature, and always
looked at the bright side of things. He was a strong believer
in the adage, “Where there is a will, there is a way.” He
had been in his full share of scrapes at school, and had
always made a rule of taking things easily. He now examined
the cell.

“ Beastly place!” he said, “and horribly damp. I wonder
why dungeons are always damp. Cellars at home are not
damp, and a dungeon i is nothing but a cella after all. Well,
I shall take a nap.”

The next day Godfrey was again taken before the tribunal,
and again closely questioned as to his knowledge of the
Nihilists. He again insisted that he knew nothing of
them.

‘Of course I knew Akim Soushiloff and Petroff Stepanoff;
but I had only been in their rooms once before, and the only
person I met there before was the young woman who called
herself Katia, but who you say was somebody else. This
was at the lodgings they occupied before.”

“But you were , found with Alexander Kinkoff and Paul
Kousmitch.”

“They only arrived a short time before the police entered.
I had never seen either of them before.”

These two prisoners had been examined before Godfrey
entered, and had been questioned about him. Kousmitch
had declared that he had never seen him before, and the court
knew that the spies who had been watching the house had
seen him enter but a short time before the police force ar-
rived. As the two statements had been made independently
it was thought probable that in this respect Godfrey was



78 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

speaking the truth. Not so, however, his assertions that he
was unacquainted with any of the other conspirators.

He was again taken back to his cell, and for the next
week saw no one but the warder who brought his bread
and water, and who did not reply by a single word to any
questions that he asked him. Godfrey did his best to keep
up his spirits. He had learnt by heart at Shrewsbury the
first two books of the Iliad, and these he daily repeated
aloud, set himself equations to do, and solved them in his
head, repeated the dates in Greek history, and went through
everything he could remember as having learned.

He occasionally heard footsteps above him, and wondered
whether that also was a cell, and what sort of man the pri-
soner was. Once or twice at night, when all was quiet, he
heard loud cries, and wondered whether they were the result
of delirium or torture. His gruff jailer was somewhat won
by his cheerfulness. Every day Godfrey wished him good-
morning as he visited the cell, inquired what the weather
was like outside, expressed an earnest hope that silence
didn’t disagree with him, and generally joked and laughed
as if he rather enjoyed himself than otherwise. At the end
of the week an official entered the cell.

“T have come to inform you, prisoner, that the sentence
of death that had been passed upon you has, by the clemency
of the Czar, been commuted to banishment for life to
Siberia.”

“Very well, sir,” Godfrey said. “TI know, of course, that.
I am perfectly innocent of the crime of which I am charged ;
but as the Czar no doubt supposes that I am guilty of taking
part in a plot against his life, I acknowledge and thank
him for his clemency. I have no peculiar desire to visit
Siberia, but at least it will be a change for the better from
this place. I trust that it shall not be long before I start.”

As the official was unable to make out whether Godfrey
spoke in mockery or not, he made no reply. ;

“These Nihilists are men of iron,” he said afterwards.



A PRISONER. 79

“They walk to the scaffold with smiling faces; they exist in
dungeons that would kill a dog in twenty-four hours, and
nothing can tempt them to divulge their secrets; even star-
vation does not affect them. They are dangerous enemies,
but it must be owned that they are brave men and women.
This boy, for he is little more, almost laughed in our faces;
and, in spite of his stay in that damp cell, seemed to be in
excellent spirits. It is the same with them all, though I
own that some of them do break down sometimes; but I
think that those who commit suicide do so principally be-
cause they are afraid that, under pressure, they may divulge
secrets against each other. Ossip, who attends that young
fellow, says that he is always the same, and speaks as cheer-
fully to him every morning as if he were in a palace instead
of in a dungeon.” :

Two days later Godfrey was aroused in the night.

“Why, it is not light yet,” he said. “What are you dis-
turbing me at this time for?”

“Get up,” the man said; “you are going to start.”

“Thank goodness for that!” Godfrey said, jumping up
from his straw. “That is the best news that I have heard
for a long time.”

In the court-yard seven prisoners were standing. They
were placed at some distance from each other, and by each
stood a soldier and a policeman. A similar guard took their
places by the side of Godfrey as he came out. An official
took charge of the whole party, and, still keeping a few
paces apart, they sallied out through the prison doors and
marched through the sleeping city. Perhaps Godfrey was
the only one of the party who did not feel profoundly im-
pressed. They were going to leave behind them for ever
family and friends and country, and many would have wel-
comed death as an escape from the dreary prospect before
them. Godfrey’s present feeling was that of exhilaration.

He had done his best to keep his mind at work, but
the damp and unwholesome air of the cell had told upon



80 tONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

him, enfeebled as he had been by the attack of fever. As
he walked along now he drew in deep breaths of the brisk
night air, and looked with delight at the stars glistening
overhead. As to the future, just at that moment it
troubled him but little. He knew nothing of Siberia beyond
having heard that the prisoners there led a terrible life.
That he should escape from it some time or other seemed to
him a matter of course. How, he could form no idea until
he got there; but as to the fact he had no misgiving, for it
seemed to him ridiculous that in a country so enormous as
Siberia a prisoner could not make his way out sooner or
later.

When they reached the railway-station a train stood in
readiness. Each prisoner had a separate compartment, his
two guards accompanying him. Godfrey addressed a word
to his custodians. The policeman, however, said, “ You are
forbidden to speak,” and in a minute or two the train
moved off.

Godfrey dozed occasionally until morning, and then looked
out at the dark woods through which they passed for hours.
Twice the train stopped at lonely stations, and the prisoners
were supplied with food. In the afternoon Godfrey saw the
gilded and painted domes of a great city, and knew that it
must be Moscow. Here, however, they made no stay, but
steamed straight through the station and continued their way.
Godfrey slept soundly after it became dark, waking up once
when the train came to a standstill. At early morning he
was roused and ordered to alight, and in the same order as
before the prisoners were marched through the streets of
Nijni Novgorod to the bank of the Volga. Few people
were yet abroad in the streets, but all they met looked pity-
ingly at the group of exiles, a sight of daily occurrence in
the springtime of the year. Ordinary prisoners, of whom
from fifteen to twenty thousand are sent annually to Siberia,
are taken down the Volga in a convict barge, towed by a
steamer, in batches of six or seven hundred, Political pri-























Scale of Miles
o 100 300 570















G&SGOW, EDINBURGH & DUBLIN.
ox, oS
KIE & SON, LOND!

BLACKI









A PRISONER. 81

soners are differently treated; they are carried on board the
ordinary steamer, each having a separate cabin, and during
the voyage they are allowed no intercourse whatever, either
with each other or with the ordinary passengers.

Of these there were a considerable number on board the
steamer, as the season had but just begun, and merchants,
traders, and officials were taking advantage of the river’s
being open to push forward into Siberia. At present, how-
ever, these were all below. The prisoners were conducted
to the cabins reserved for them, and then locked in. Pre-
sently Godfrey heard a buzz of many voices and a general
movement in the cabin outside, and the fact that he was
a prisoner and cut off from the world came to him more
strongly than it had hitherto done. An hour later there was a
movement and shouting overhead. Then he felt the paddles
revolving, and knew that the steamer was under way. He
could, however, see nothing. A sort of shutter was fastened
outside the scuttle, which gave him the opportunity to take
a glimpse of the sky, but nothing of the shore or water.
Nothing could be more monotonous than the journey, and
yet the air and light that came down through the port-hole
rendered it far more pleasant than existence in a prison cell.
He knew, too, that, dull as it was in the cabin, there would
be little to see on deck, for the shores of the rivers were
everywhere flat and low.

After twenty-four hours’ travel the steamer stopped.
Since Godfrey had been in Russia he had naturally studied
the geography of the empire, and knew a good deal about
the routes. He guessed, therefore, that the halt was at
Kasan, the capital of the old Tartar kingdom. It was a
break to him to listen to the noises overhead, to guess at the
passengers who were leaving and coming on board, to listen
to scraps of conversation that could be heard through the
open port-hole, and to the shouts of farewell from those on
board to those on shore as the vessel steamed on again. He
knew that after two hours’ more steaming down the Volga

(781) F



82 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

the vessel turned up the Kama, a large river running into
it and navigable for 1400 miles. Up this the vessel steamed
for three days and then reached Perm. In the evening
Godfrey and his companions were disembarked and, strictly
guarded as before, were marched to the railway-station,
placed in a special carriage attached to a train, and after
twenty-four hours’ travel at the rate of about twelve miles
an hour reached Ekaterinburg. This railway had only been
open for a year, and until its completion this portion of the
journey had been one of the most tiresome along the whole
route, as the Ural Mountains intervene between Perm and
Ekaterinburg; their height is not great here, and the railway
crosses them at not more than 1700 feet above sea-level.

On arriving at the station half the prisoners were at once
placed in vehicles and the others were sent to the prison.
Godfrey was one of the party that went on at once. The
vehicle, which was called a telega, was a sort of narrow
waggon without springs, seats, or cover; the bottom was
covered with a deep layer of straw, and there were some
thick rugs for coverings at night. It was drawn by three
horses. Godfrey was in the last of the four vehicles that
started together. His soldier guard took his place beside
him, four mounted Cossacks rode, two on each side of the
procession. ‘The driver, a peasant, to whom the horses
belonged, cracked his short-handled whip and the horses
sprang forward. Siberian horses are wiry little animals,
not taking to the eye, but possessing speed and great endur-
ance. The post-houses are situated from twelve to twenty-
five versts apart, according to the difficulty of the country,
a verst being about two-thirds of an English mile. At these
post-houses relays of horses are always kept in readiness for
one or two vehicles, but word is sent on before when political
prisoners are coming, and extra relays are obtained by the
post-masters from the peasants.

To Godfrey the sensation of being whirled through the
air as fast as the horses could gallop was, after his long con-



A PRISONER. 83

finement, perfectly delightful, and he fairly shouted with joy
and excitement. Now that they were past Ekaterinburg,
Godfrey’s guard, a good-tempered-looking young fellow,
Seemed to consider that it was no longer necessary to pre-
serve an absolute silence, which had no doubt been as irksome
to him as to his companion.

“We can talk now. Why are you so merry?’

“To be in the air again is glorious,” Godfrey said. “I
should not mind how long the journey lasted if it were like
this. How far do we travel in carriages?”

“To Tiumen, 300 versts; then we take steamer again, that
is if you go farther.”

“You don’t know where we are going to then?”

“Not at all, it will be known at Tiumen; that is where
these things are settled generally, but people like you are
under special orders. You don’t look very wicked;” and he
smiled in a friendly way as he looked at the lad beside him.

“T am not wicked at all, not in the way you think,”
Godfrey said.

“Do not talk about that,” the soldier interrupted, “I must
not know anything about you; talk about other things, but
not why you are here.”

Godfrey nodded. “If we go on beyond Tiumen we go by
steamer, do we not?”

“Yes, through Tobolsk to Tomsk, beyond that we shall
drive. You are lucky, you people, that you drive, the others
walk; it is long work, but not so long as it used to be, they
say. I have been told that in the old times, when they
started on foot from Moscow it took them sometimes two
years to reach the farthest places. Now they have the rail-
way, and the steamers on the river as far as Tomsk.”

“How do they take them in the steamers?”

“They take them in great barges that are towed; we
passed two on our way to Perm. They hold five or six
hundred, there is a great iron cage on deck, and they let
half the number up at a time in order to get air, They are



84 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

always going along at this time of year, for they all go early
in the season so as to get to the journey’s end before the
frosts set in.”

“But surely all these men cannot be guilty of great
crimes,” Godfrey said, “ for I have heard that about twenty
thousand a year are sent away?” ‘

‘No, many of them are only lazy fellows who drink and
will not work. We sent away three from my village the
year before I was taken for a soldier. They were lazy and
would not do their share of work, so the heads of the village
met and decided that they should go to Siberia. They drew
up a paper, which was sent to be confirmed by the judge of
the district, and then soldiers came and took them away.”

“But you don’t mean to say,” Godfrey said, “that men
are sent to prison all their lives because they are lazy.”

“Oh no, no one would think of such a thing as that!
Men like these are only sent to the big towns, Tiumen,
or Perm, or Tobolsk, and then they are settled on land or
work in the towns, but they are free to do as they like.
The country wants labour, and men who won’t work at home
and expect the community to keep them have to work here
or else they would starve. Then there are numbers who are
only guilty of some small offence. They have stolen some-
thing, or they have resisted the tax-gatherer, or something
of that sort. They only go to prison for the term of their
sentences, perhaps only three or four months, and then they
too are free like the others, and can work in the towns, or
trade if they happen to have money to set them up, or they
can settle in a village and take up land and cultivate it,
They can live where they like in Siberia. I had many rich
men pointed out to me in Tobolsk who had come out as
convicts.”

“You have been here before then?” Godfrey said.

“Yes, this is my second journey. I hope I shall come no
more. We get a little extra pay and are better fed than we
are with the regiment, and we have no drill; but then it is



A PRISONER. 85

sad. Last time I had one with me who had left his wife
and family behind; he was always sad, he talked to me
sometimes of them, there was no one else to talk to. He
was here for life, and he knew he should never see them
again. She was young and would marry again.”

“But she couldn’t do that as long as he lived,” Godfrey
said.

“Oh yes; from the day a prisoner crosses the frontier his
marriage is annulled and his wife can marry again. She
may come with him if she likes, but if she does she can never
go back again.”

“ And do many wives come?”

“A good many,” the soldier said; “but I only know what
I have heard. I was with one of you last time, and it was
only on the way back that I heard of things about the others.
Formerly the guards remained in Siberia if they chose, it was
too far to send them back to Russia; but now that the
journey is done so quickly, and we can get back all the way
from Tomsk by the rivers, except this little bit, we go back
again as soon as we have handed over our charges. I did
not go farther than Tomsk last time, and I was back at Nijni
in less than three months after starting. What part of
Russia do you come from?”

“Tam an Englishman.”

The soldier looked round in surprise. “I did not know
Englishmen could speak our language so well; of course I
noticed that your speech was not quite like mine, but I am
from the south and I thought you must come from some-
where in the north or from Poland. How did—” and here
he stopped. “ But I must not ask that; I don’t want to
know anything, not even your name. Look there, we are
just going to pass a convoy of other prisoners.”

In a minute or two they overtook the party. It consisted
of about a hundred and fifty prisoners escorted by a dozen
mounted Cossacks. The men were in prison garb of yellowish-
brown stuff with a coloured patch in the back between the



86 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

shoulders. They had chains fastened to rings round the
ankles and tied up to their belts. They were not heavy, and
interfered very little with their walking. The procession
in no way accorded with Godfrey’s preconceived idea. The
men were walking along without much attempt at regular
order. ‘They were laughing and talking together or with
their guards, and some of them shouted chafling remarks to
the four vehicles as they swept past them.

“They do not look very unhappy,” Godfrey said.

“Why should they?” the soldier replied; “they are better
off than they would be at home. Lots of men break the
law on purpose to be sent out; it is a good country. They
say wives get rid of their husbands by informing against
them and getting them sent here. I believe there are quite
as many husbands with scolding wives who get themselves
sent here to be free of them. As long as they are on the
road or employed in hard labour they are fed better than
they ever were at home, better a great deal than we soldiers
are. Even in the prisons they do not work so very hard,
for it is difficult to find work for them ; only if they are
sent to the mines their lot is bad. Of that I know nothing,
but I have heard. As for the rest, from what I have
seen of it I should say that a convict here is better off than
a peasant at home. But here we are at the post-house,”

CHAPTER V.
AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE,

dl hese stay at the post-houses was very short. ~ As soon as

the vehicles were seen coming along the straight level
road, the first set of horses were brought out, and the lead-
ing tarantass was ready to proceed in two or three minutes.



AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 87

The other horses were changed as quickly, and in less than
ten minutes from their arrival the whole were on their
way again, While the horses were being changed the pris-
oners were permitted to get out and stretch their legs, but
were not allowed to exchange a word with each other or
with anyone else. At every fourth stage a bowl of soup
with a hunch of bread was brought to each prisoner by one
of the guards at the ostrov or prison, where the convicts
were lodged as they came along. There were rugs in the
vehicles to lay over them at night when the air was sharp
and chilly, although in the day the sun had great power, |
and the dust rose in clouds under the horses’ feet,

There was little of interest to be seen on the journey.
Only round the villages was there any cultivation, and the
plains stretched away unbroken save by small groups of
cattle, horses, and sheep. Although Godfrey had not minded
the shaking of the springless vehicle for the first stage or
two, he felt long before he reached the journey’s end as if
every bone was dislocated. As a rule the road was good,
but in some places, where it passed through swampy tracts,
it had given in the spring thaw, and had been cut into deep
ruts. Here the shaking as they passed along at night was
tremendous. Godfrey and his companion were dashed
against each other or against the sides with such force that
Godfrey several times thought his skull was fractured, and
he was indeed thankful when, after forty hours on the road,
they drove into Tiumen.,

Tiumen is a town of over 15,000 inhabitants, and is the
first town arrived at in Siberia proper, the frontier between
Russia and that country running between Ekaterinburg and
that town. Here the prisoners were at once placed on
board a steamer, and Godfrey was glad indeed to throw
himself down upon the bed, where he slept without waking
until the steamer got under way in the morning. He was
delighted to see that the port-hole was not, as in the first
boat, blocked by an outside shutter, but that he could look



88 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

out over the country as they passed along. For a time the
scenery was similar to that which they had been passing
over, bare and desolate; but it presently assumed a different
character; fields of green wheat stretched away from the
river side; comfortable-looking little villages. succeeded each
other rapidly as the steamer passed along, and save for the
difference of architecture and the peculiar green domes and
pinnacles of the little churches he might have been looking
over a scene in England.

The river was about two hundred yards wide here, a
smooth and placid stream. The steamer did not proceéd
at any great pace, as it was towing behind it one of the
heavy convict barges, and although the passage is ordinarily
performed in a day and a half, it took them nearly a day
longer to accomplish, and it was not until late in the after-
noon of the third day that Tobolsk came in sight. Through
his port-hole Godfrey obtained a good view of the town,
containing nearly 30,000 inhabitants, with large govern-
ment buildings, and a great many houses built of stone.
It is built in a very unhealthy position, the country round
being exceedingly low and marshy. After passing Tobolsk
they entered the Obi, one of the largest rivers in Asia. The
next morning the steamer again started for her sixteen-
hundred-mile journey to Tomsk. The journey occupied
eight days, the convict barge having been left behind at
Tobolsk.

The time passed tediously to Godfrey, for the banks were
low and flat, villages were very rare, and the steamer only
touched at three places. Herds of horses were seen from
time to time roaming untended over the country. The only
amusement was in watching the Ostjaks, the natives of the
banks of the Obi. These people have no towns or villages,
but live in rough tents made of skins. He saw many of them
fishing from their tiny canoes, but the steamer did not pass
near enough to them to enable him to get a view of them, as
they generally paddled away towards the shore as the steamer



AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE, 89

approached. He heard afterwards that they are wonderfully
skilful in the use of the bow, which they use principally
for killing squirrels and other small animals. These bows
are six feet long, the arrows four feet. The head is a small
iron ball, so as to kill without injuring the fur of small
animals, and the feats recorded of the English archers of
old times are far exceeded by the Ostjaks. Even at long
distances they seldom fail to strike a squirrel on the head,
and Godfrey was informed by a man who had been present
that he saw an Ostjak shoot an arrow high into the air,
and cut it in two with another arrow as it descended, a feat
that seemed to him altogether incredible, but is confirmed
by the evidence of Russian travellers.

Tomsk is situated on the river Tom, an affluent of the
Obi. The town is about the same size as Tobolsk; the
climate of the district is considered the best in Siberia; the
land is fertile, and among the mountains are many valuable
mines, Although a comparatively small province in com-
parison to Tobolsk on one side and Yeneseisk on the other,
it contains an area of half a million square miles, and,
excluding Russia, is bigger than any two countries of Europe
together. It contains a rural population of 725,000—
130,000 natives, chiefly Tartars and Kalmuces, and 30,000
troops. ;

Here Godfrey was landed, and marched to the prison.

Of these there are two, the one a permanent convict estab-
lishment, the other for the temporary detention of prisoners
passing through. Godfrey slipped a few roubles into the
hand of his guard, for his watch, money, and the other
things in his pockets had been restored to him before start-
ing on his journey. After two days’ stop in the prison the
journey was continued as before, a soldier sitting by the
driver, a police-officer taking the place of the soldier who
had before accompanied him. He began to speak to God-
frey as soon as they started.

“We are not so strict now,” he said. “You will soon be



90 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST

across the line into Eastern Siberia, and you will no longer
meet people through whom you might send messages or.
letters. As to escape, that would be out of the question
since you left Ekaterinburg, for none can travel either by
steamer or post without a permit, or even enter an inn, and
the document must be shown at every village.”

“But I suppose prisoners do escape sometimes,” Godfrey
said.

“There have not been a dozen escapes in the last fifty
years,” the policeman said. ‘There are great numbers get
away from their prisons or employments every year, but the
authorities do not trouble about them; they may take to the
mountains or forésts, and live on game for a few months in
summer, but when winter arrives they must come in and
give themselves up.”

“What happens to them then?” Godfrey asked.

“Perhaps nothing but solitary confinement for a bit,
perhaps a beating with rods, just according to the temper
of the chief official at the time. Perhaps if it is a bad case
they are sent to the mines for a bit; that is what certainly
happens when they are political prisoners.”

“Why can’t they get right away?”

“Where are they to go to?” the officer said with a laugh.
“To the south there are sandy deserts where they would
certainly die of thirst; to the north trackless forests, cold
that would freeze a bullock solid in a night, great rivers
miles wide to cross, and terrible morasses, to say nothing of
the wolves who would make short work of you. The native
tribes to the west, and the people of the desert, are all fierce
and savage, and would kill anyone who came among them
merely for his clothes; and, besides, they get a reward from
government for every escaped prisoner they bring in alive
or dead. No, we don’t want bolts or bars to keep prisoners
in here. The whole land is a prison-house, and the prisoners
know well enough that it is better to live under a roof and
to be well fed there than to starve in the forest, with the



AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 91

prospect of a flogging at the end of their holiday. Still there
are thousands take to the woods in the summer, The govern-
ment does not care. Why should it? It is spared the
expense of feeding them, and if they starve to death or
kill each other off in their quarrels (for the greater part of
them would think no more of taking life than of killing a
fowl) there is an end of all further trouble about them, for
you understand, it is only the men who have life sentences,
the murderers, and so on, that attempt to run away; the
short-sentence men are not such fools.

“No,” he went on kindly, seeing that Godfrey looked de-
pressed at what he had heard; “whatever you do don’t think
of running away. If you behave well, and gain the good
opinion of the authorities, you won’t find yourself uncom-
fortable. You will be made a clerk, or a store-keeper, and
will have a good deal of liberty after a time. If you try
to run away, you will probably be sent to the mines; and
though it is not so bad there as they say, it is bad enough.”

But even this prospect was not very cheering to Godfrey.
Hitherto it had seemed to him that there could be no real
difficulty, although there might be many hardships and pri-
vations, in making his escape from so vast a prison. He
had told himself that it must be possible to evade pursuit in
80 vast a region; but now it seemed that nature had set so
strong a wall round the country that the Russians did not
even trouble themselves to pursue, confident that in time
the prisoners must come back again. But he was not silent
long. With the buoyancy of youth he put the question aside
for the present with the reflection, “Where there is a will
there is a way; anyhow some fellows have got away, and
if they have done it, I can.”

Godfrey had not as yet realized his situation; the sentence
“for life” had fallen upon his ears but not upon his mind;
he still viewed the matter as he might have viewed some
desperate scrape at school. He had, as he would have said,
put his foot in it horribly; but that he should really have to



92 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

pass his whole life in these wilds, should never see England
again, his father, mother, or sisters, was a thing that his
mind absolutely refused to grasp. ‘Of course I shall get
away somehow.” This had been the refrain that was con-
stantly running through his mind, and even now a satisfac-
tory reply to the assertion that not a dozen men had made
their escape at once occurred to him. There was no motive
to induce them to make their escape. They could not
return to Russia, and in any other country they would be
even more in exile than here, where everyone spoke their
language, and where, as far as he had seen, the climate was
as good as that of Russia, and the country no more flat and
ugly.

“There is nothing they can want to escape for,” he re-
peated to himself. “I have everything to escape for, and
I mean to do it.” Having once re-established that view to
his satisfaction, he began to chat away cheerfully again to
his companion. “It is not everyone,” he said, “who pos-
sesses my advantages, or who can travel five or six thousand
miles by rail, steamer, and carriage, without ever having to
put his hand in his pocket for a single kopec. The only
objection to it is that they don’t give me a return ticket.”

“That is an objection,” the policeman agreed, smiling.

“We are not going to travel night and day, as we did
between Ekaterinburg and Tiumen, I hope?”

“Oh, no; we shall only travel while it is light.”

“Well, that isa comfort. It was bad enough for that short
distance. It would be something awful if it had to be kept
up for a fortnight. How long shall we be before we get to
Trvkoutsk?”

‘About a month. I know nothing as to what will be
done with you beyond that. You may, for anything I know,
go to the mines at Nertchinsk, which are a long distance east
beyond Irkoutsk; or you may go to Verkhoyansk, a Yakout
settlement 3000 miles from Irkutsk, within the Arctic Circle.
There are lots of these penal settlements scattered over the



AN OLD’ ACQUAINTANCE. 93

country. They do not send the ordinary convict popula-
tion there. There is no danger from them; but the theory
is that the politicals are always plotting, and therefore they
are for the most part sent where by no possibility can they
get up trouble.” ,

Godfrey set his lips hard together and asked no questions
for the next half-hour. Although the journey was not con-
tinued by night the telega was still Godfrey’s constant place
of abode. Sometimes it was wheeled under a shed, some-
times it stood in the road, but in all cases the policeman
was by his side night and day. Godfrey was indifferent
whether he slept in a bed or in the telega, which, when the
straw was fresh shaken up and a couple of rugs laid upon
it, was by no means uncomfortable. The nights were not
cold and no rain had fallen since he left Nijni. He further
reflected that probably there would be fleas and other ver-
min in the post-houses, and that altogether he was a gainer
instead of a loser by the regulation.

He was pleased with the appearance of Atchinsk, a bright
little town a day’s journey from Tomsk. It was, like all
the Siberian towns, built of wood, but the houses were all
painted white or gray, picked out with bright colours. It
stood in the middle of a large grass plain, with inclosed
meadows of luxuriant herbage and bright flowers, among
which large numbers of sheep and cattle were feeding.
Beyond this the country again became dull and monotonous,
Krasnoiarsk was the next town reached. Between this town
and Kansk the country was again cultivated.

Scarce a day passed without large gangs of convicts being
overtaken on the road. For some distance Godfrey suffered
terribly from mosquitoes, which swarmed so thickly that the
peasants working in the fields were obliged to wear black
veils over their faces. Fortunately he had been warned by
his guard at Atchinsk that there would be trouble with
these pests on further, and the man had, at his request,
bought for him a few yards of muslin, under which they



94 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

sat during the day and spread over the telega at night. It
was, however, a long and dreary journey, and Godfrey was
heartily glad when at last they saw the domes of Irkoutsk,
a city of fifty thousand inhabitants.

They drove rapidly through the town to the prison, where
he was placed in a cell by himself. The morning after his
arrival the warder entered with a man carrying a basin and
shaving apparatus.

“Confound it!” Godfrey muttered. ‘I have been expect-
ing this ever since I saw the first gang of convicts, but I
hoped they did not do it to us.”

It was of course useless to remonstrate. His hair, which
had grown to a great length since he left St. Petersburg,
was first cut short; then the barber lathered his head and
set to work with a razor. Godfrey wondered what his par-
ticular style of hair was going to be. He had noticed that
all the convicts were partially shaved. Some were left bare
from the centre of the head down one side; others had the
front half of the head shaved, while the hair at the back
was left; some had only a ridge of hair running along the
top of the head, either from the forehead to the nape of the
neck or from one ear to the other.

“He is shaving me like a monk,” he said to himself as
the work proceeded. “Well, I think that is the best after
all, for with a cap on it won’t show.”

When the barber had done he stepped back and surveyed
‘Godfrey with an air of satisfaction; while the jailer, as he
wrote down the particulars in a note-book, grinned. Godfrey
passed his hand over his head and found that, as he sup-
posed, he had been shaved half-way down to the ears;
but in the middle of this bald place the barber had left
a patch of hair about the size of half-a-crown which stood
up perfectly erect. He burst into a shout of laughter, in
which the other two men joined. The jailer patted him
approvingly on the shoulder. “Bravo, young fellow!” he
said, pleased at seeing how lightly Godfrey took it, for



AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 95

many of the exiles who had stood bravely the loss of their
liberty were completely broken down by the loss of a por-
tion of their hair, which branded them wherever they went
as convicts.

Godfrey was then taken out into a large court-yard and
out through a gate into another inclosure. This had evi-
dently been added but a very short time to the precincts of
the prison. It was of considerable size, being four or five
acres in extent, and was surrounded on three sides by a
palisade some fourteen feet in height, of newly-sawn timber.
The wall of the prison formed the fourth side of the square.
In each corner of the inclosure was placed a clump of six
little wooden huts. Two low fences ran across the inclosure
at right angles to each other, dividing the space into four
equal squares, Where the fences crossed each other there
was an inclosure a few yards across, and in this were two
sentry-boxes with soldiers, musket in hand, standing by them.
A few men were listlessly moving about, while others were
digging and working in small garden patches into which the
inclosures were divided. The policeman who accompanied
Godfrey led him to one of the little huts. He opened the
door and wentin. A young man was sitting there.

“TI have brought you a companion,” the policeman said.
“He will share your hut with you. You can teach him
what is required.” With this brief introduction he closed
the door behind him and left. The young man had risen,
and he and Godfrey looked hard at each other.

“Surely we have met before!” the prisoner said. “I know
your face quite well.”

“ And I know yours also,” Godfrey replied.

“Now that you speak I know you. You are the young
Englishman, Godfrey Bullen.”

“T am,” Godfrey replied; “and you?”

“ Alexis Stumpoff.”

“So it is!” Godfrey exclaimed in surprise, and, delighted
at this meeting, they shook hands cordially.



96 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“But what are you here for?” Godfrey asked. “I thought
that you had obtained an appointment at Tobolsk.”

“Ves, I was sent out as assistant to the doctor of one of
the prisons. I suppose you understood that it was not the
sort of appointment one would choose.”

“JT was certainly surprised when I heard that you were
going so far away,” Godfrey said, “‘as my friends told me
that you had property. It seemed almost like going into
banishment.”

“That was just what it was,” the young doctor laughed.
“T had been too outspoken in my political opinions, and
one or two of our set had been arrested and sent out here;
and when I was informed, on the day after I passed my
examinations, that I was appointed to a prison at Tobolsk,
it was also intimated to me that it would be more agreeable
to go there in that capacity than as a prisoner. As I was
also of that opinion, and as, to tell you the truth, some of
our friends were for pushing matters a good deal farther
than I cared about doing, I was not altogether sorry to get
out of it.”

“But how is it that you are here as a prisoner?” Godfrey
asked.

“That is more than I can tell you. Some two months
ago the governor of the prison entered my room with two
warders, and informed me briefly that I was to be sent here
as a prisoner. I had ten minutes given me to pack up my
things for the journey, and half an hour later was in the
cabin of a steamer, with a Cossack at the door. What it
was for, Heaven only knows. I had never broken any regu-
lations, never spoken to a political prisoner when in the
hospital except to ask him medical questions, and had never
opened my lips on politics to a soul there.”

“T think perhaps I can enlighten you,” Godfrey said;
and he related to him the attempt to blow up the emperor
at the Winter Palace, and the fate of Petroff Stepanoff and
Akim Soushiloff.



Full Text

The Baldwin Library

Rm B University


CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

ie


GODFREY IS CAPTURED BY THE RUSSIAN POLICE,
CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST:

A STORY OF
ESCAPE FROM SIBERIA.

BY

G. A. HENTY,

Author of “In Freedom's Cause;” ‘‘ The Lion of the North;”
“The Young Carthaginian;” &c.

ILLUSTRATED BY WALTER PAGET.



LONDON:
BLACKIE & SON, Lintep, 49 OLD BAILEY, E.C.
GLASGOW, EDINBURGH, AND DUBLIN.
1893.





PREFACE

My DEAR Laps,

There are few difficulties that cannot be surmounted by
patience, resolution, and pluck, and great as are the obstacles
that nature and the Russian government oppose to an escape
from the prisons of Siberia, such evasions have occasion-
ally been successfully carried out, and that under far less
advantageous circumstances than. those under which the
hero of this story undertook the venture. For the account
of life in the convict establishments in Siberia I am indebted
to the very valuable books by my friend the Rev. Dr. Lans-
dell, who has made himself thoroughly acquainted with
Siberia, traversing the country from end to end and visiting
all the principal prisons. He conversed not only with
officials, but with many of the prisoners and convicts, and
with Russian and foreign residents in the country, and his
testimony as to the management of the prisons and the
condition of the convicts is confirmed by other independent
writers personally cognizant of the facts, and like him able
to converse fluently in the language, and writing from inti-
mate knowledge of the subject.

Yours sincerely,

G. A. HENTY.

CHAP.

II.

III.

IV.

VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.

XI.
XIl.
XIII.
XIV.
XY.
XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.

CONTENTS.

A Great CHANGE, .
A Cat’s-Paw, .
A Huytine Party,

A PRISONER, .

. AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE,

An Escapes,
Tue Buriat’s CHILD, .
Tue Mines oF Kara, .

Prison Lire, .

. PREPARATIONS FOR FLIGHT, .

SATIQAT Wet -tlnyentin sunt ita ase
WINTER,

Huntine, .

THE BREAK-UP OF WINTER, .
CoASTING, .

A SAMOYEDE ENCAMPMENT,

A Sea Ficut,

Home Again,

Page
11

33
52
67
86

. 104
. 123
. 142
. 163
. 182
. 202
. 222
. 242
. 262
. 282
. 802
. 322

. 339

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page
Goprrey IS CAPTURED BY THE Russtan Poticn, . Frontis. 70

A Supper or RoasreD SQUIRRELS, . . +. + + + 4s + nee
Goprrey Punisurs KopyLin In tHE Convicr Prison, . . 166
Sprarinc FisH By ToRCH-LIGHT, ee 218
GopFREY BRINGS DOWN AN Enx, . . . . . - es « 245
Tur SLAUGHTERED WOLVES,. . . . - + + + + + + 289
RUKA PAGES THEOBRAR® =) & ee 3. fo ee 20h
Goprrey AND LUKA ESCAPING FROM THE SAMOYEDES, . . 318

Map of Russian Empire, . . . . . . . ws. ~~ 80
ae






CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

CHAPTER I.
A GREAT CHANGE.

ALF a dozen boys were gathered in one of the
studies at Shrewsbury. A packed portmanteau
and the general state of litter on the floor was
sufficient to show that it was the last day of
term.

“‘Well, I am awfully sorry you are going, Bullen; we shall
all miss you. You would certainly have been in the foot-
ball team next term; it is a nuisance altogether.”

“Tt is a nuisance; and I am beastly sorry I am leaving.
Of course I have known for some time that I should be
going out to Russia; but I did not think the governor
would have sent me until after I had gone through the
school. His letter a fortnight ago was a regular stumper.
I thought I should have had another year and a half or two
years, and, of course, that is just the jolliest part of school
life. However, it cannot be helped.”

“You talk the language, don’t you, Bullen?”

“Well, I used to talk it, but I don’t remember much
about it now. You see I have been home six years. I
expect I shall pick it up again fast enough. I should not
mind it so much if the governor were out there still; but
you see he came home for good two years ago. Still it


12 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

won't be like going to a strange place altogether; and as he
has been living there so long, I shall soon get to know lots
of the English there. Still Ido wish I could have had a
couple of years. more at Shrewsbury. I should have been
content to have gone out then.”

“Well, it is time for us to be starting. I can hear the
omnibus.”

In a few minutes the omnibus was filled with luggage in-
side and out; the lads started to walk to the station. As
the train drew up there were hearty good-byes, and then
the train steamed out of the station, the compartment in
which Godfrey Bullen. had taken his seat being filled with
boys going, like himself, straight through to town. All were
in high spirits, and Bullen, who had felt sorry at leaving
school for the last time, was soon as merry as any of them.

“You must mind what you are up to, Bullen,” one of his
companions said. “They are terrible fellows those Nihilists,
they say.”

“They won't hurt Bullen,” another put in, “unless he
goes into the secret police. I should say he would make a
good sort of secret policeman.”

‘No, no; he is more likely to turn a Nihilist.”

“Bosh!” Bullen said, laughing. “I am not likely to turn
a secret policeman; but I am more likely to do that than
to turn Nihilist. I hate revolutionists and assassins, and all
those sort of fellows.”

“Yes, we all know that you are a Tory, Bullen; but people
change, you know. I hope we shall never see among the
lists of Nihilists tried for sedition and conspiracy, and sen-
tenced to execution, the name of one Godfrey Bullen.”

“Oh, they wouldn’t execute Bullen!” another said; “they
would send him to Siberia. Bullen’s always good at fight-
ing an uphill game, and he would show off to great advan-
tage in a chain-gang. Do they crop their hair there, Bullen,
and put on a gray suit, as I saw them at work in Ports-
mouth dockyard last year?”
A GREAT CHANGE, 13

“T am more likely to see you working in a chain-gang at
Portsmouth, Wilkinson, when I come back, than I am to form
part of a convict gang in Siberia—at any rate for being a
Nihilist. I won’t say about other things, for I suppose there
is no saying what a fellow may come to. I don’t suppose any
of the men who get penal servitude for forgery, and swind-
ling, and so on, ever have any idea, when they are sixteen,
that that is what they are coming to. At present I don’t
feel any inclination that way.”

“I should say you were not likely to turn forger anyhow,
Bullen, whatever you take to.”

“Why is that, Parker?”

“Because you write such a thundering bad hand that you
would never be able to imitate anyone else’s signature, un-
less he couldn’t go farther than making a cross for his name,
and the betting is about even that you would blot that.”

There was a roar of laughter, for Bullen’s handwriting
was a perpetual source of trouble to him, and he was con-
tinually losing marks for his exercises in consequence. He
joined heartily in the laugh,

“It is an awful nuisance that handwriting of mine,” he
said, “especially when one is going to be a merchant, you
know. The governor has talked two or three times about
my going to one of those fellows who teach you to write
copperplate in twenty lessons. I shouldn’t be surprised. if
he does, let me have a course these holidays. I should not
mind if he does, for my writing is disgusting.”

“Never mind, Bullen ; bad handwriting is a sign of genius,
you know. You have never shown any particular genius
yet, except for rowing and boxing, and I suppose that is
muscular genius; but you may blossom out in a new line
some day.”

“TI don’t want to disturb the harmony of this last meet-
ing, Parker, or I should bring my muscular genius into play
at your expense,”

“No, no, Bullen,” another boy said, “you keep that for
14 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

Russia. Fancy. Bullen polishing off a gigantic Cossack, or
defending the Czar’s life against half a dozen infuriated
Nihilists. That would be the thing, Bullen. It would be
better than trade any day. Why, you would get an estate
as big as an English county, with ten thousand serfs, and
sacks upon sacks of roubles.”

“ What bosh you fellows talk!” Bullen laughed. “There
is one thing I do expect I shall learn in Russia, and that is
to skate. Fancy six months of regular skating, instead of
a miserable three or four days. I shall meet some of you
fellows some day at the Round Pond, and there you will be
just working away at the outside edge, and I shall be join-
ing in those skating-club figures and flying round and round
like a bird.”

“What birds fly round and round, Bullen?”

“Lots of them do, as you would know, Jordan, if you
kept your eyes open, instead of being always on the edge of
going to sleep. Swallows do, and eagles. Never mind, you
fellows will turn yellow with jealousy when you see me.”

And so they laughed and joked until they reached Lon-
don. Then there was another hearty good-bye all round,
and in a couple of minutes they were speeding in hansoms
to their various destinations. Godfrey Bullen’s was Eccleston
Square. His father was now senior partner in a firm that
carried on a considerable business with the east of Europe.
He had, when junior partner, resided at St. Petersburg, as
the firm had at that time large dealizigs in the Baltic. From
various causes this trade had fallen off a good deal, and the
firm had dealt more largely with Odessa and the southern
ports. Consequently, when at the death of the senior part-
ner Mr. Bullen returned to England to take up the principal
management of the affairs of the firm, it was not deemed:
advisable to continue the branch at St. Petersburg, and Ivan
Petrovytch, a Russian trader of good standing, had been
appointed their agent there.

The arrangement had not worked quite satisfactorily.
A GREAT CHANGE. 15

Petrovytch was an excellent agent as far as he went. The
business he did was sound, and he was careful and conscien-
tious; but he lacked push and energy, had no initiative, and
would do nothing on his own responsibility. Mr. Bullen
had all along intended that Godfrey should, on leaving
school, go for a few years to Russia, and should, in time,
occupy the same position there that he himself had done;
but he had now determined that this should take place
earlier than he had before intended. He thought that God-
frey would now more speedily pick up the language again,
than if he remained another two or three years in England,
and that in five or six years’ time he might be able to repre-
sent the firm there, either in conjunction with Ivan Petro-
vytch or by himself. Therefore, ten:days before the break-
ing-up of the school for the long holidays, he had written to
Godfrey, telling him that he should take him away at the
end of the term, and that in two or three months’ time he
would go out to St. Petersburg.

Mr. Bullen’s family consisted of two girls in addition to
Godfrey. Hilda, the elder, was seventeen, a year older than
the lad, while Ella was two years his junior.

“Well, Godfrey,” his father said, as, after the first greet-
ing, they sat down to dinner, which had been kept back for
half an hour for his arrival, “you did not seem very enthu-
siastic in your reply to my letter.”

“I did not feel very enthusiastic, father,” Godfrey replied.
‘Of course one’s two last years at school are just the jolly
time, and I was really very sorry to leave. Still, of course
you know what is best for me; and I dare say I shall get on
very well at St. Petersburg.”

“T have no doubt of that, Godfrey. I have arranged for

‘you to live with Mr. Petrovytch, as you will regain the lan-
guage much more quickly in a Russian family than you
would in an English one; besides, it will be handy for your
work. In Russia merchants’ offices are generally in their
houses, and it is so with him; but, of course, you will know
“16 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

most of the English families. I shall write to several of my
old friends, and I am sure they will do all they can for you;
but I shall write more to my Russian acquaintances than to
my English. The last are sure to call upon you when they
hear you have come out; but it is not so easy to get a footing
in Russian families, and you might be some time before you
make acquaintances that way. Besides, it is much better for
you to be principally in the Russian set than in the English,
in the first place, because of the language; and in the
second, because you will get a much better acquaintance
with the country in general with them than among the
English.

“There are not many English lads of your own age out .
there—very few indeed; and those nearest your age would
be young clerks. I have nothing whatever to say against
young clerks; but, as a rule, they consort together, spend
their evenings in each others’ rooms or in playing billiards,
or otherwise amuse themselves, and so learn very little of
the language and nothing of the people. It is unfortunate
that it should be so; but they are not altogether to blame,
for, as I have said, the Russians, although friendly enough
with Englishmen in business, in the club, and so on, do not
as a tule invite them to their houses; and therefore the
English, especially the class I am speaking of, are almost
forced to associate entirely with each other and form a sort
of colony quite apart from native society. I was fortunate
enough to make some acquaintances among them soon after
I went out, and your mother and I were much more in Rus-
sian society than is usual with our countrymen there. I
found great advantage from it, and shall be glad for you to
do the same. You will have one very great advantage, that
you will be able to speak Russian fluently in a short time.”

“JT don’t think I remember much about it now, father.”

“T dare say not, Godfrey; that is to say, you know it,
but you have lost a good deal of the facility of speaking it.
You have always got on fairly enough with it when we have

(731)






A GREAT CHANGE. 17

spoken it occasionally during your holidays since we have
been in England, and in a very few weeks you will find that
it has. completely come back to you. You spoke it as you
did English, indeed better, when you came over to school
when you were ten, and in six years one does not forget a
language. If you had been another five or six years older,
no doubt you would have lost it a good deal; but even then
you would have learnt it very much more quickly than you
would have done had you never spoken it. Your mother
and the girls have been grumbling at me a good deal for
sending you away so soon.”

“Tt is horrid, father,” Hilda said. ‘We have always
looked forward so to Godfrey’s coming home; and of course
it would be better still as he got older. We could have gone
about everywhere with him; and we shall miss him espe-
cially when we go away in summer.”

“Well, you must make the most of him this time then,”
her father said.

“Have you settled where we are going?” Godfrey asked.

“No, we would not settle until you came home, Godfrey,”
Mrs. Bullen said. ‘As this was to be your last holiday we
thought we would give you the choice.”

“Then I vote for some quiet sea-side place, mother. We
went to Switzerland last year, and as I am going abroad
for ever so long I would rather stop at home now; and,
besides, I would rather be quiet with you all, instead of
always travelling about and going to places. Only, of course
if the girls would rather go abroad, I don’t mind.”

However, it was settled that. it should be as Godfrey
wished.

“But I do think, father,” Godfrey said, “that it will be
a good thing if I had lessons in writing from one of those
fellows who guarantee to teach you ina few lessons, I sup-
pose that is all bosh; but if I got their system and worked
at it, it might do me good. I really do write badly.”

The girls laughed.

74 (781) B
18 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“JT don’t think that quite describes it, Godfrey,” his
father said. ‘If anyone asked me about your accomplish-
ments I should say that you knew a good deal of Latin and
Greek, that you had a vague idea of English, and that you
could read, but unfortunately you were quite unable to
write. According to my idea it is perfectly scandalous that
at the great schools such an essential as writing is altogether
neglected, while years are spent over Greek, which is of no
earthly use when you have once left school. I suppose the
very worst writers in the world are men who have been
educated in public schools.

“Well, I am glad you have had the good sense to suggest
it, Godfrey. I had thought of it myself, but I was afraid
you would think it was spoiling your last holidays at home.
I will see about it to-morrow. I cannot get away very well
for another fortnight. If you have a dozen lessons before
we go, you can practise while we are away; and mind, from
to-day we will talk nothing but Russian when we are alone.”

This had been indeed a common.habit in the family since
they had come home two years before, as the two girls and
Mr. and Mrs. Bullen spoke Russian as fluently as English,
and Mr. Bullen thought it was just as well that they should
not let it drop altogether. Indeed on their travels in Swit-
zerland they had several times come across Russians, and
had made pleasant acquaintances from their knowledge of
that language.

The holidays passed pleasantly at Weymouth. Godfrey
practised two hours a day steadily at the system of hand-
writing: and although he was, at the end of the holidays,
very far from attaining the perfection shown in the ex-
amples produced by his teachers of the marvels they had
effected in many of their pupils, he did improve vastly, and
wrote a fair current hand instead of the almost undecipher-
able scrawl that had so puzzled and annoyed a succession
of masters at Shrewsbury. After another month spent in
London, getting his clothes and outfit, Godfrey started for








A GREAT CHANGE. 19

St. Petersburg. On his last evening at home his father
had a serious talk with him.

“T have told Petrovytch,” he said, “that you may possibly
some day take up the agency with him, but that nothing is
decided as to that at present, and that it will all depend upon
circumstances. However, in any case, you will learn the
ins and outs of the trade there; and if, at the end of afew
years, you think that you would rather work by yourself than
with him, I can send out a special clerk to work with you.
On the other hand, it is possible that I may require you at
home here. Venables has no family, and is rather inclined
to take it easy. Possibly in a few years he may retire
altogether, and I may want you at home. At five or six
and twenty you should be able to undertake the manage-
ment of the Russian part of the businéss, running out there
occasionally to see that everything goes on well. I hope
I need not tell you to be steady. There is a good deal too
much drinking goes on out there, arising, no doubt, from
the fact that the young men have no family society there,
and nothing particular to do when work is over.

“Stick to the business, lad. You will find Petrovytch
himself a thoroughly good fellow. Of course he has Russian
ways and prejudices, but he is less narrow than most of his
countrymen of that class. Above all things, don’t express
any opinion you may feel about public affairs—at any rate
outside the walls of the house. The secret police are every-
where, and a chance word might get you into a very
serious scrape. As you get on you will find a good deal
that you do not like. Even in business there is no getting
a government contract, or indeed a contract at all, without
bribing right and left. It is disgusting, but business can-
not be done without it. The whole system is corrupt and
rotten, and you will find that every official has his price.
However, you won’t have anything to do with this for the
present. If I were you I should work for an hour or two a
day with a German master, There are a great many Ger-
20 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

mans there, and you will find a knowledge of the language
very useful to you. You see your Russian has pretty nearly
come back to you during the last two months, and you will
very soon speak it perfectly; so you will have no trouble
about that.”

Godfrey found the long railway journey across the flat
plains of Germany very dull, as he was unable to exchange
a word with his fellow-passengers; but as soon as he crossed
the Russian frontier he felt at home again, and enjoyed
the run through the thickly-wooded country lying between
Wilna and St. Petersburg. As he stepped out at the sta-
tion everything seemed to come back vividly to his memory.
It was late in October and the first snow had fallen, and
round the station were a crowd of sledges drawn by rough
little horses. Avoiding the importunities of the drivers ol
the hotel vehicles he hailed an Isvostchik in furred cap and
coat lined with sheepskin. His portmanteaus were corded
at the back of the sledge; he jumped up into the seat be-
hind the driver, pulled the fur rug over his legs, and said,
“Drive to the Vassili Ostrov, 52, Ulitsa Nicolai.” The
driver gave a peculiar cry, cracked his whip half a dozen
times, making a noise almost as loud as the discharge of a
pistol, and the horse went off at a sharp trot.

“T thought your excellency was a foreigner,” the driver
said, “but I see you are one of us.”

“No, I am an Englishman, but I lived here till I was ten
years old. The snow has begun earlier than usual, has it not?”

“Tt won't last,” the Isvostchik said. “Sometimes we
have a week at this time of year, but it is not till December
that it sets in in earnest. We may have droskies out again
to-morrow instead of the sledges.”

“The sledges are the pleasantest,” Godfrey said.

“Yes, your excellency, for those that travel, but not for
us. At night when we are waiting we can get into the
drosky and sleep, while it is terrible without shelter. There
are many of us frozen to death every winter.”
A GREAT CHANGE, 21

Godfrey felt a sense of keen enjoyment as the sledge
glided along. There were many rough bumps and sharp
swings, for the snow was not deep enough to cover tho-
roughly the roughness of the road below; but the air was
brisk and the sun shone brightly, and he looked with plea-
sure at the people and costumes, which seemed, to his sur-
prise, perfectly familiar to him. He was quite sorry when
the journey came to an end at the house of Ivan Petrovytch.
The merchant, whose office was on the ground-floor and
who occupied the floor above (the rest of the house being
let off by floors to other families), came out to greet him.
“I am glad to see you, Godfrey Bullen,” he said. “I should
have sent to the station to meet you, but your good father
did not say whether you would arrive by the morning or
evening train; and as my driver did not know you, he
would have missed you. I hope that all has gone well on
the journey. Paul,” he said to a man who had followed
him out, “carry these trunks upstairs.”

After paying the driver Godfrey followed his host to the
floor above. Petrovytch was a portly man, with a pleasant
but by no means good-looking face. ‘‘ Wife,” he said as he
entered the sitting-room, “this is Godfrey Bullen; I will
leave him in your hands for the present, as I have some
business that I must complete before we close.”

“My name,” Mrs. Petrovytch said, “is Catharine. You
know in this country we always address each other by our
names. The high-born may use titles, but simple people
use the Christian name and the family name unless they
are very intimate, and then the Christian name only. I
heard you speaking to my husband as you came in, so that
you have not forgotten our language. I should have thought
that you would have done so. I can remember you as quite
a little fellow before you went away.”

“T have been speaking it for the last two months at
home,” Godfrey said, “and it has nearly come back to
me.”
22 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“And your father and mother and your sisters, are they
all well?”

“They are quite well, and my father and mother begged
me to give their kind regards to you.”

At this moment the servant came in with the samovar,
or tea-urn.

“Tt is four o’clock now; we dine at five o’clock, when the
office is closed. Many dine at one, but my husband likes it
when he has done his work, asthen he does not need to hurry.”

After drinking a tumbler of tea and eating a flat-cake or
two with it, Godfrey went to his room to have a wash after
his long journey, and to unpack some of his things. He
thought that he should like both Petrovytch and his wife,
but that the evenings would be dull if he had to spend
them in the house. Of this, however, he had but little fear,
for he was sure that between his father’s friends and the
acquaintances he might himself make he should be out as
much as he liked.

In the course of the next week Godfrey called at the
houses of the various people to whom he had letters of
introduction, and left them with the hall porter. His host
told him that he thought he had better take a fortnight
to go about the capital and see the sights before he settled
down to work at the office; and as not only the gentlemen
with whom he had left letters of introduction and his card
—for in Russia strangers always call first—but many others
of his father’s friends called or invited him to their houses,
he speedily made a large number of acquaintances. At the
end of the fortnight he took his place in the office. At first
he was of very little use there; for although he could talk
and understand Russian as spoken, he had entirely forgotten
the written characters, and it took him some little time
before he could either read the business correspondence or
make entries in the office books. Ivan Petrovytch did his
best to assist him, and in the course of a month he began
to master the mysteries of Russian writing.
A GREAT CHANGE. 23

At five o’clock the office closed. Godfrey very frequently
dined out, but if he had no engagement he took his meal
with the merchant and his wife, and then sallied out and
went either alone or with some of his acquaintances to a
Russian theatre. With December, winter set in in earnest.
The waters were frozen, and skating began. The season
at St. Petersburg commenced about the same time, and as
Godfrey was often sent with messages or letters to other
business houses he had an opportunity of seeing the streets
of St. Petersburg by day as well as by night. He was
delighted with the scene on the Nevski Prospekt, the
principal street of St. Petersburg. The footways were
crowded with people: the wealthy in high boots, coats lined
with sable, and caps to match; the poorer in equally ample
coats, but with linings of sheep, fox, or rabbit skins; with
the national Russian cap of fur with velvet top, and with
fur-lined hoods, which were often drawn up over the head.

The shops were excellent, reminding Godfrey rather of
Paris than London. But the chief interest of the scene lay
in the roadway. There were vehicles of every description,
from the heavy sledge of the peasant, piled up with logs for
fuel, or carrying, perhaps, the body of an elk shot in the
woods, to the splendid turn-outs of the nobles with their
handsome fur wraps, their coachmen in the national costume,
and horses covered with brown, blue, or violet nets almost
touching the ground, to prevent the snow from being thrown
up from the animals’ hoofs into the faces of those in the
sledge. The harness was in most cases more or less deco-
rated with bells, which gaily tinkled in the still air as the
sledges dashed along. Most struck was Godfrey with the
vehicles of the nobles who adhered to old Russian customs.
The sledge was drawn by three horses; the one in the
centre was trained to trot, while the two outside went at
a canter. The heads of the latter were bent half round, so
that they looked towards the side, or even almost behind
them as they went. An English acquaintance to whom
94 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILISi.

Godfrey expressed his surprise the first time he saw one of
these sledges replied, “ Yes, that is the old Russian pattern ;
and, curiously enough, if you look at Greek bas-reliefs and
sculptures of the chariot of Phoebus, or at any other repre-
sentations of chariots with three or four horses, you will
see that the animals outside turn their heads in a similar
manner.”

“But it must be horribly uncomfortable for the horses
to have their heads turned round like that.”

“Tt is the effect of training. They are always tied up
to the stables with their heads pulled in that way, until it
becomes a second nature to go with them in that position.”

“Tt is a very curious idea,” Godfrey said, “but it certainly
looks nice. What magnificent beards all the drivers in the
good sledges have!”

“Yes, that again is an old Russian custom. A driver with
a big beard is considered an absolute necessity for a well-
appointed turn-out, and the longer and fuller the beard the
higher the wages a man will command and the greater the
pride of his employer.”

“Tt seems silly,” Godfrey said. ‘But there is no doubt
those fellows do look wonderfully imposing with their fur
caps and their long blue caftans and red sashes and those
splendid beards. They remind me of pictures of Neptune.
Certainly I never saw such beards in England.”

Besides these vehicles there were crowds of public sledges,
driven by the Isvostchiks, long rough country sledges
laden perhaps with a dozen peasant women returning from
market, light well-got-up vehicles of English and other
merchants, dashing turn-outs carrying an officer or two of
high rank, and others filled with ladies half buried in rich
furs, The air was tremulous with the music of countless
bells, and broken by the loud cracking of whips, with which
the faster vehicles heralded their approach. These whips
had short handles, but very long heavy thongs; and God-
frey observed that, however loud he might crack this weapon,
A GREAT CHANGE. 25

it was very seldom indeed that a Russian driver ever struck
one of his horses with it.

Sometimes when Ivan Petrovytch told him that there
was little to be done in the office, and that he need not
return for an hour or two, Godfrey would stroll into the
Isaac or Kasan cathedrals, both splendid structures, and
wonder at the taste that marred their effect, by the profusion
of the gilding lavished everywhere. He was delighted by
the singing, which was unaccompanied by instruments, the
bass voices predominating, and which certainly struck him
as being much finer than anything he had ever heard in an
English cathedral. There was no lack of amusement in the
evening. Some of his English friends at once put Godfrey
up as a member of the Skating Club. This club possessed
a large garden well planted with trees. In this was an arti-
ficial lake of considerable extent, broken by wooded islets.
This was always lit up of an evening by coloured lights, and
twice in the week was thrown open upon a small payment
to the public, when a military band played, and the grounds
were brilliantly illuminated.

The scene was an exceedingly gay one, and the gardens
were frequented by the rank and fashion of St. Petersburg.
The innumerable lights were reflected by the snow that
covered the ground and by the white masses that clung to
the boughs of the leafless trees. The ice was covered with
skaters, male and female, the latter in gay dresses, tight-
fitting jackets trimmed with fur, and dainty little fur caps.
Many of the former were in uniform, and the air was filled
with merry laughter and the ringing sound of innumerable
skates. Sometimes parties of acquaintances executed figures,
but for the most part they moved about in couples, the
gentleman holding the lady’s hand, or sometimes placing
his arm round her waist as if dancing. Very often Godfrey
spent the evening at the houses of one or other of his
Russian or English friends, and occasionally went to the
theatre. Sometimes he spent a quiet evening at home. He
26 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

liked Catharine Petrovytch. She was an excellent house-
wife, and devoted to the comfort of her husband; but when
not engaged in household cares she seldom cared to go out,
and passed her time for the most part on the sofa. She was,
like most other Russian ladies when at home and without
visitors, very careless and untidy in her dress.

Among the acquaintances of whom Godfrey saw most
were two young students. One of them was the son of a
trader in Moscow, the other of a small landed proprietor.
He had met them for the first time at a fair held on the
surface of the Neva, and had been introduced to them by
a fellow-student of theirs, a member of a family with whom
Godfrey was intimate. Having met another acquaintance
he had left the party, and Godfrey had spent the afternoon
on the ice with Akim Soushiloff and Petroff Stepanoff. He
found them pleasant young men. He was, they told him,
the first Englishman they had met, and asked many ques-
tions about his country. He met them several times after-
wards, and one day they asked him if he would come up to
their room.

“Tt is a poor place,” one said laughing. “But you know
most of us students are poor, and have to live as best we
can,”

“Tt makes no odds to me,” Godfrey said. “It was a
pretty bare place I had when I was at school. I shall be
very glad to come up.”

The room which the students shared was a large one, at
the top of a house in a narrow street. It was simply fur-
nished enough, containing but two beds, a deal table, four
chairs, and the indispensable stove, which kept the room
warm and comfortable.

“We are in funds just at present,” Akim said. “‘ Petroff
has had a remittance, and so you find the stove well alight,
which is not always the case.”

“But how do you manage to exist without a fire?”

“We don’t trouble the room much then,” Petroff said.
A GREAT CHANGE. 27

“We walk about till we are dead tired out, and then come
up and sleep in one bed together for warmth, and heap all
the coverings from the other bed over us. Oh, we get on
very well! Food is cheap here if you know where to get
it; fuel costs more than food. Now which will you take, tea
or vodka?”

Godfrey declared for tea. Some of the water from a great
pot standing on the top of the stove was poured into the
samovar. Some glowing embers were taken from the stove
and placed in the urn, and in a few minutes the water was
boiling, and three tumblers of tea with a slice of lemon
floating on the top were soon steaming on the table. The
conversation first turned upon university life in Russia, and
then Petroff began to ask questions about English schools
and universities, and then the subject changed to English
institutions in general.

“What a different life to ours!” Akim said. “And the
peasants, are they comfortable?”

“Well, their lives are pretty hard ones,” Godfrey acknow-
ledged. ‘They have to work hard and for long hours, and
the pay is poor. But then, on the other hand, they gener-
ally have their cottages at a very low rent, with a good bit
of garden and a few fruit trees. They earn a little extra
money at harvest time, and though their pay is smaller,
I think on the whole they are better off and happier than
many of the working people in the towns.”

“And they are free to go where they like?”

“Certainly they are free, but as a rule they don’t move
about much,”

“Then if they have a bad master they can leave him and
go to someone else?”

“Oh, yes! They would go to some other farmer in the
neighbourhood. But there are seldom what you may call
bad masters. The wages are always about the same through
a district, and the hours of work, and so on; so that one
master can’t be much better or worse than another, except
28 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

in point of temper; and if a man were very bad tempered
of course the men would leave him and work somewhere else,
so he would be the loser, as he would soon only get the
very worst hands in the neighbourhood to work for him.”

“ And they are not beaten?”

“Beaten! Ishould think not,” Godfrey said. ‘Nobody
is beaten with us, though I think it would be a capital thing
if, instead of shutting up people in prison for small crimes,
they had a good flogging. It would do them a deal more
good, and it would be better for their wives and families,
who have to get on as best they can while they are shut up.”

“ And nobody is beaten at all?”

““No; there used to be flogging in the army and navy, but
it was very rare, and is now abolished.”

“And not even a lord can flog his peasants?”

“Certainly not. If a lord struck a peasant the peasant
would certainly hit him back again, and if he didn’t feel
strong enough to do that he would have him up before the
magistrates and he would get fined pretty heavily.”

“And how do they punish political prisoners?”

“There are no political prisoners. As long as aman keeps
quiet and doesn’t get up a row, he may have any opinions he
likes; he may argue in favour of a republic, or he may be a
socialist or anything he pleases; but, of course, if he tried to
kick up a row, attack the police, or made a riot or anything
of that sort he would be punished for breaking the law, but
that would have nothing to do with his politics.”

The two young men looked in surprise at each other.

“But if they printed a paper and attacked the govern-
ment?” Akim asked.

“Oh, they do that! there are as many papers pitch into
the government as there are in favour of the government;
parties are pretty equally divided, you see, and the party that
is out always abuses the party which is in power.”

“And even that is lawful?”

“Certainly it is. You can abuse the government as much
A GREAT CHANGE. 29

as you like, say that the ministers are a parcel of incompe-
tent fools, and so on; but, of course, you cannot attack them
as to their private life and character any more than you can
anyone else, because then you would render yourself liable
to an action for libel.”

“ And you can travel where you like, in the country and
out of the country, without official permits or passports?”

“Yes, there is nothing like that known in England. Every
man can go where he likes, and live where he likes, and do
anything he likes, providing that it does not interfere with
the rights of other people.”

“Ah! shall we ever come to this in Russia, Akim?”
Petroff said.

Akim made no answer, but Godfrey replied for him, “No
doubt you will in time, Petroff; but you see liberties like
these do not grow up in a day. We had serfs and vassals in
England at one time, and feudal barons who could do pretty
much what they chose, and it was only in the course of
centuries that these things got done away with.” At this
moment there was a knock at the door.

“Tt is Katia,” Akim said, jumping up from his seat and
opening the door. A young woman entered. She was
pleasant and intelligent looking. “Katia, this is an English
gentleman, a friend of ours, who has been telling us about
his country. Godfrey, this is my cousin Katia; she teaches
music in the houses of many people of good family.”

“I did not expect to find visitors here,” the girl said
smiling. “And how do you like our winter? it is a good
deal colder than you are accustomed to.”

“Tt is a great deal more pleasant,” Godfrey said: “I call
it glorious weather. It is infinitely better than alternate
rains and winds, with just enough frost occasionally to make
you think you are going to do some skating, and then a thaw.”

“You are extravagant,” the girl said, looking round; “it
is a long time since I have felt the room as warm as this. I
suppose Petroff has got his allowance?”
30 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“Yes, and a erumbling letter. My father has a vague idea
that in some way or other I ought to pick up my living,
though he never offers a suggestion as to how I should
do it.” :

The young woman went to the cupboard, fetched another
tumbler and poured herself out some tea, and then chatted
gaily about St. Petersburg, her pupils, and their parents.

“Do you live at the house of one of your pupils?” Godfrey
asked.

“Oh no!” she said. “I don’t mind work, but I like to be
free when work is over. I board in an honest family, and
live in a little room at the top of the house which is all my
own and where I can see my friends.”

After chatting for some time longer Godfrey took his
leave, As soon as he had gone the girl’s manner changed.
“Do you think you are wise to have him here, Akim 4”

“ Why not?” the student asked in turn. “ He is frank and
agreeable, he is respectable, and even you will allow that
it would be safer walking with him than some we know; we
do not talk politics with him.”

“For all that Iam sorry, Akim. You know how it will
be; we shall get him into trouble. It is our fate; we have
a great end in view; we risk our own lives, and although for
the good of the cause we must not hesitate even if others
suffer, 1 do hate with all my heart that others should be
involved in our fortunes.”

“ This is not like you, Katia,” Petroff said. ‘I have heard
you say your maxim is ‘At any cost,’ and you have certainly
lived up to it.”

“Yes, and I shall live up to it,” she said firmly; “but it
hurts sometimes, Petroff; it hurt me just now when I
thought that that lad laughing and chatting with us had no
idea that he had better have thrust his hand into that stove
than have given it tous. Ido not shrink; I should use him
as E should use anyone else, as an instrument if it were
needful, but don’t suppose that I like it.”
A GREAT CHANGE, 31

“T don’t think there is any fear of our doing him harm,”
Akim said; “he is English, and would find no difficulty in
showing that he knew nothing of us save as casual acquain-
tances; they might send him out of the country, but that
would be all.”

“Té would all depend,” she said, “upon how he fell into
their hands. If you happened to be arrested only as you
were walking with him down the Nevski Prospekt he would
be questioned, of course, but as soon as they learned who he
was and that he had nothing to do with you, they would let
him go. But if he were with us, say here, when we were
pounced upon, and you had no time to pull the trigger of the
pistol pointing into that keg of powder in the cupboard, he
would be hurried away with us to one of the fortresses, and
the chances are that not a soul would ever know what had
become of him. Still it cannot be helped now; he may be
useful, and as we give our own lives, so we must not shrink
from giving others’. But this is not what I came here to
talk to you about; have you heard of the arrest of Michael-
ovich ?”

“No,” they both exclaimed, leaping from their seats

“Tt happened at three o’clock this morning,” Katia said.
‘They surrounded the house and broke in suddenly, and
rushed down into the cellar and found him at work. He
shot two of them, and then he was beaten down and badly
wounded.”

‘Where were the other two?” Akim asked.

“He sent them away but an hour before, but he went on
working himself to complete the number of hand-bills. Of
course he was betrayed. I don’t think there are six people
who knew where the press was; even I didn’t know.”

“Where did you hear of it, Katia?”

“Feodorina Samuloff told me; you know she often helps
Michaelovich to work at the press; she thinks it must have
been either Louka or Gasin. Why should Michaelovich have
sent them away when he hadn’t finished work if one or the
32 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

other of them had not made some excuse so as to get out of
the way before the police came? But that is nothing, there
will be time to find out which is the traitor; they know
nothing, either of them, except that they worked at the secret
press with him; they were never much trusted. But Michael-
ovich is a terrible loss, he was always daring and full of
expedients.”

“They will get nothing from him,” Petroff said.

“Not they,” she agreed. “When do they ever get anything
out of us? One of the outer-circle fellows like Louka and
Gasin, who know nothing, who are instruments and nothing
more, may tell all they know for gold, or for fear of the
knout, but never once have they learned anything from one
who knows. Fortunately the press was a very old one and
there was but little type there, only just enough for printing
small hand-bills; we have two others ready to set up.”

“Were there any papers there?”

“No, Michaelovich was too careful for that.”

“T hear that old Libka died in prison yesterday,” Akim said.

“He is released from his suffering,” Katia said solemnly.
“ Anything else, Akim?

“Yes, a batch of prisoners start for Siberia to-morrow, and
there are ten of us among them.”

“Well, be careful for the next few days, Akim,” Katia
said; “don’t do anything in the schools, it will not be long
now before all is ready to strike a blow, and it is not worth
while to risk anything until after that. I have orders that
we are all to keep perfectly quiet till the plans are settled
and we each get our instructions. Now I must go, I have
two lessons to give this afternoon. It tries one a little to
be talking to children about quavers and semiquavers when
one’s head is full of great plans, and you know that at any
moment a policeman may tap you on the shoulder and take
you off to the dungeons of St. Nicholas, from which one will
never return unless one is carried out, or is sent to Siberia,
which would be worse. Be careful; the police have certainly
A CAT’S-PAW. 33

got scent of something, they are very active at present;” and
with a nod she turned and left the room.

“She is a brave girl,” Akim said. “I think the women
make better conspirators than we do, Petroff. Look at her.
She was a little serious to-day because of Michaclovich, but
generally she is in high spirits, and no one would dream that
she thought of anything but her pupils and pleasure. Then
there is Feodorina Samuloff. She works all day, I believe, in
a laundry, and she looks as impassive as if she had been carved
out of soap. Yet she is ready to go on working all night if
required, and if she had orders she would walk into the
Winter Palace and throw down a bomb (that would kill her
as well as everyone else within its reach) with as much cool-
ness as if she was merely delivering a message.”

CHAPTER ILI,

A CAT’S-PAW.

OX evening a fortnight later Godfrey went with two

young Englishmen to a masked ball at the Opera. It
was a brilliant scene. Comparatively few of the men were
masked or in costume, but many of the ladies were so.
Every other man was in uniform of some kind, and the
floor of the house was filled with a gay laughing crowd,
while the boxes were occupied by ladies of the highest
rank, several of the imperial family being present. He
speedily became separated from his companions, and after
walking about for an hour he became tired of the scene,
and was about to make his way towards the entrance when
a hand was slipped behind his arm. As several masked figures
had joked him on walking about so vaguely by himself, he
thought that this was but another jest.

(781) c
34 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“You are just the person I wanted,” the mask said.

“J think you have mistaken me for some one else, lady,’
he replied.

“Not at all. Now put up your arm and look as if I be-
long to you. Nonsense! do as you are told, Godfrey Bullen.”

“Who are you who know my name?” Godfrey laughed,
doing as he was ordered, for he had no doubt that the
masked woman was a member of one of the families whom
he had visited.

“You don’t know who I am?” she asked.

“How should I when I can see nothing but your eyes
through those holes?”

“JT am Katia, the cousin of your friend Akim.” .

“Oh, of course!” Godfrey said, a little surprised at meet-
ing the music mistress in such an assembly. “I fancied I
knew your voice, though I could not remember where I had
heard it. And now what can I do for you?”

The young woman hesitated. ‘We have got up a little
mystification,” she said after a pause, “and I am sure I can
trust you; besides, you don’t know the parties. There is a
gentleman here who is supposed to be with his regiment at
Moscow; but there is a sweetheart in the case, and you
know when there are sweethearts people do foolish things.”

“JT have heard so,” Godfrey laughed, “though I don’t
know anything about it myself, for I sha’n’t begin to think
of such luxuries as sweethearts for years to come.”

“Well, he is here masked,” the girl went on, “and unfor-
tunately the colonel of his regiment is here, and some ill-
natured person—we fancy it is a rival of his—has told the
colonel. He is furious about it, and declares that he will
catch him and have him tried by court-martial for being
absent without leave. The only thing is, he is not certain
as to his information.”

“Well, what can I do?” Godfrey asked. “How can I
help him?”

“You can help if you like, and that without much trouble
A CAT’S-PAW, 35

to yourself. He is at present in the back of that empty box
on the third tier. I was with him when I saw you down
here, so I left him to say good-bye to his sweetheart alone,
and ran down to fetch you, for I felt sure you would oblige
me. What I thought was this: if you put his mask and
cloak on—you are about the same height—it would be sup-
posed that you are he. The colonel is waiting down by
the entrance. He will come up to you and say, ‘Captain
Presnovich?’? You will naturally say, ‘By no means.’ He
will insist on your taking your mask off This you will do,
and he will, of course, make profuse apologies, and will
believe that he has been altogether misinformed. In the
meantime Presnovich will manage to slip out, and will go
down by the early train to Moscow. It is not likely that
the colonel will ever make any more inquiries about it, but
if he does, some of Presnovich’s friends will be ready to de-
clare that he never left Moscow.”

“But can’t he manage to leave his mask and cloak in the
box and to slip away without them?”

“No, that would never do. It is necessary that the
colonel should see for himself that the man in the cloak,
with the white and red bow pinned to it, is not the cap-
tain.”

“Very well, then, I will do it,” Godfrey said. “It
will be fun to see the colonel’s face when he finds out his
mistake; but mind I am doing it to oblige you.”

“I feel very much obliged,” the girl said; “but don’t you
bring my name into it though.”

“How could I?” he laughed. “Ido not see that I am
likely to be cross-questioned in any way; but never fear, I
will keep your counsel.”

By this time they had arrived at the door of the box.
“Wait a moment,” she said, “I will speak to him first.”

She was two minutes gone, and then opened the door and
let him in. “TI am greatly obliged to you, sir,” a man said
as he entered. It is a foolish business altogether, but if
36 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

you will enact my part for a few minutes you will get me
out of an awkward scrape.”

“Don’t mention it,” Godfrey replied. “It will be a joke
to laugh over afterwards.” He placed the broad hat, to
which the black silk mask was sewn, on his head, and
Katia put the cloak on his shoulders.

“T trust you,” she said in a low. voice as she walked with
him to the top of the stairs. “There, I must go now. I
had better see Captain Presnovich safely off, and then go
and tell the young lady, who is a great friend of mine—it
is for her sake I am doing it, you know, not for his—how
nicely we have managed to throw dust in the colonel’s eyes!”

Regarding the matter as a capital joke, Godfrey went
downstairs and made his way to the entrance, expecting
every moment to be accosted by the irascible colonel. No
one spoke to him, however, and he began to imagine that
the colonel must have gone to seek the captain elsewhere,
and hoped that he would not meet him as he went down
the stairs with Katia. He walked down the steps into the
street. As he stepped on to the pavement a man seized
him from behind, two others grasped his wrists, and before
he knew what had happened he was run forward across the
pavement to a covered sledge standing there and flung into
it. His three assailants leapt in after him; the door was
slammed; another man jumped on to the box with the
driver; and two mounted men took their places beside it
as it dashed off from the door. The men had again seized
Godfrey’s hands and held them firmly the instant they
entered the carriage.

“Tt is of no use your attempting to struggle,” one of the
men said, “there is an escort riding beside the sledge, and
a dozen more behind it. There is no chance of a rescue,
and J warn you you had best not open your lips; if you do,
we will gag you.”

Godfrey was still half bewildered with the suddenness of
the transaction. What had he been seized for? Who were
A CAT’S-PAW. 37

the men who had got hold of him? and why were they
gripping his wrists so tightly? He had heard of arbitrary
treatment in the Russian army, but that a colonel should
have a captain seized in this extraordinary way merely
because he was absent from his post without leave was
beyond anything he thought possible.

“T thought I was going to have the laugh all on my side,”
he said to himself, “but so far it is all the other way.” In
ten minutes the carriage stopped for a moment, there was
a challenge, then some gates were opened. Godfrey had
already guessed his destination, and his feeling of discom-
fort had increased every foot he went. There was no doubt
he was being taken to the fortress. ‘Jt seems to me that
Miss Katia has got me into a horrible scrape of some kind,”
he said to himself. “What a fool I was to let myself be
humbugged by the girl in that way!”

Two men with lanterns were at the door of a building,
‘at which the carriage, after passing into a large court-yard,
drew up. Still retaining their grip on his wrists, two of
the men walked beside him down a passage, while several
others followed behind. An officer of high rank was sitting
at the head of a table, one of inferior rank stood beside him,
while at the end of the table were two others with papers
and pens before them.

“So you have captured him!” the general said eagerly.

“Yes, your excellency,” the man who had spoken to
Godfrey in the carriage said respectfully.

“Has he been searched?”

“No, your excellency, the distance was so short, and I
feared that he might wrench one of his hands loose. More-
over, I thought that you might prefer his being searched in
your presence.”

“Tt is better so. Take off that disguise.” As the hat
and mask were removed the officer sprang to his feet and
exclaimed, “Why, who is this? This is not the man you were
ordered to arrest; you have made some confounded blunder.”
38 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“T assure you, your excellency,” the official said in trem-
bling accents, “this is the only man who was there in the
disguise we were told of. There, your excellency, is the
bunch of white and red ribbons on his cloak.”

“ And who are you, sir?” the general thundered.

“My name, sir, is Godfrey Bullen. I reside with Ivan
Petrovytch, a merchant living in the Vassili Ostrov.”

“But how come you mixed up in this business, sir?” the
general exclaimed furiously. “How is it that you are thus
disguised, and that you are wearing that bunch of ribbon?
Beware how you answer me, sir, for this is a matter which
concerns your life.”

“So far as J am concerned, sir,” Godfrey said, “I am
absolutely ignorant of having done any harm in the matter,
and have not the most remote idea why I have been arrested.
I may have behaved foolishly in allowing myself to take
part in what I thought was a masquerade joke, but beyond
that I have nothing to blame myself for. I went to the
Opera-house, never having seen a masked ball before. I was
alone, and being young and evidently a stranger, I was
spoken to and joked by several masked ladies. Presently
one of them came up tome. I had no idea who she was;
she was closely masked, and I could see nothing of her face.”
He then repeated the request that had been made him.

“Do you expect me to believe this ridiculous nonsense
about this Captain Presnovich and his colonel?”

“TI can only say, sir, what I am telling you is precisely
what happened, and that I absolutely believed it. It seemed
to me a natural thing that a young officer might come to a
ball to see a lady who perhaps he had no other opportunity
of meeting alone. I see now that I was very foolish to
allow myself to be mixed up in the affair; but I thought
that it was a harmless joke, and so I did as this woman asked
me.”

“Go on, sir,” the general said in a tone of suppressed
rage,”
A CAT’S-PAW 39

“There is little more to tell, sir. I went up with this
woman to the box she had pointed out, and there found
this Captain Presnovich as I believed him to be. I put on
his hat, mask, and cloak, walked down the stairs, and was
leaving the Opera-house when I was arrested, and am even
now wholly ignorant of having committed any offence.”

“A likely story,” the general said sarcastically. “And
this woman, did you see her face?”

“No, sir, she was closely masked. JI could not even see
if she were young or old; and she spoke in the same dis-
guised, squeaking sort of voice that all the others that had
spoken to me used.”

“And that is your entire story, sir; you have nothing to
add to it?”

“Nothing whatever, sir. I have told you the simple
truth.” ‘

The general threw himself back in his chair, too exasper-
ated to speak farther, but made a sign to the officer standing
next to him to take up the interrogation. The questions
were now formal. “Your name is Godfrey Bullen?” he
asked.

“Tt is.”

“Your nationality ?”

“ British.”

“Your domicile?”

Godfrey gave the address.

“How long have you been in Russia?”

“Four months.”

“What is your business?”

“ A clerk to Ivan Petrovytch.”

“How comes it that you speak Russian so well?”

‘T was born here, and lived up to the age of ten with my
father, John Bullen, who was a well-known merchant here,
and left only two years ago.”

“That will do,” the general said impatiently. “Take
him to his cell and search him thoroughly.”
40 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

Naturally the most minute search revealed nothing of an
incriminating character. At length Godfrey was left alone
in the cell, which contained only a single chair and a rough
pallet. “I have put my foot in it somehow,” he said to
himself, “and I can’t make head nor tail of it beyond the
fact that I have made an ass of myself. Was the whole story
a lie? Was the fellow’s name Presnovich? if not, who was
he? By the rage of the general, who, I suppose, is the chief
of the police, it was evident he was frightfully disappointed
that I wasn’t the man he was looking for. Was this Pres-
novich somebody that girl Katia knew and wanted to get
safely away? or was she made a fool of just as I was? She
looked a bright, jolly sort of girl; but that goes for nothing
in Russia, all sorts of people get mixed up in plots. If she
was concerned in getting him away I suppose she fixed on
me because, being English and a new-comer here, it would
be easy for me to prove that I had nothing to do with
plots or anything of that sort, whereas if a Russian had
been in my place he might have got into a frightful mess
over it. Well, I suppose it will all come right in the end.
It is lucky that the weather has got milder or I should have
had a good chance of being frozen to death; it is cold enough
as it is.”

Resuming his clothes, which had been thrown down on
the pallet, Godfrey drew the solitary rug over him, and in
spite of the uncertainty of the position was soon fast asleep.
He woke just as daylight was breaking, and was so bitterly
cold that he was obliged to get up and stamp about the cell
to restore circulation. Two hours later the cell door was
opened and a piece of dark-coloured bread and a jug of
water were handed in to him. “If this is prison fare I
don’t care how soon I am out of it,” he said to himself as he
munched the bread. “I wonder what it is made of! Rye!”

The day passed without anyone coming near him save
the jailer, who brought a bowl of thin broth and a ration
of bread for his dinner.
A CAT’S-PAW. 41

“Can’t you get me another rug?” he asked the man. “If
[ have got to stop here for another night I shall have a good
chance of being frozen to death.”

Just as it was getting dark the man came in again with
another blanket and a flat earthenware pan half full of sand,
on which was burning a handful or two of sticks; he placed
a bundle of wood beside it.

“That is more cheerful by a long way,” Godfrey said to
himself as the man, who had mantained absolute silence on
each of his visits, left the cell. “No doubt they have been
making a lot of inquiries about me, and find that I have
not been in the habit of frequenting low company. I should
not have had these indulgences if they hadn’t. Well, it
will be an amusement to ‘keep this fire up. The wood is
as dry as a bone luckily, or I should be smoked out in no
time, for there is not much ventilation through that narrow
loophole.”

The warmth of the fire and the additional blanket made
all the difference, and in a couple of hours Godfrey was
sound asleep. When he woke it was broad daylight, and
although he felt cold it was nothing to what he had experi-
enced on the previous morning. At about eleven o’clock,

‘as near as he could guess, for his watch and everything had
been removed when he was searched, the door was opened
and a prison official with two warders appeared. By these
he was conducted to the same room where he had been first
examined. Neither of the officers who had then been there
was present, but an elderly man sat at the centre of the
table.

“Godfrey Bullen,” he said, “a careful investigation has
been made into your antecedents, and with one exception,
and that not, for various reasons, an important one, we
have received a good report of you. Ivan Petrovytch tells
us that you work in his office from breakfast-time till five
in the afternoon, and that your evenings are at your own
disposal, but that you generally dine with him. He gave
42 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

us the names of the families with which you are acquainted,
and where, as he understood, you spend your evenings when
you are not at the Skating Club, where you generally go
on Tuesdays and Fridays at least. We learn that you did
spend your evenings with these families, and we have learned
at the club that you are a regular attendant there two or
three times a week, and that your general associates are:”
and he read out a list which included, to Godfrey’s sur-
prise, the names of every one of his acquaintances there.
“Therefore we have been forced to come to the conclusion
that your story, incredible as it appeared, is a true one.
That you, a youth and a foreigner, should have had the
incredible levity to act in the way you describe, and to
assume the disguise of a person absolutely unknown to you,
upon the persuasion of a woman also absolutely unknown
to you, well-nigh passes belief. Had you been older you
would at once have beén sent to the frontier; but as it is,
the Czar, to whom the case has been specially submitted, has
graciously allowed you to continue your residence here, the
testimony being unanimous as to your father’s position as a
merchant, and to the prudence of his behaviour while resi-
dent here. But I warn you, Godfrey Bullen, that escapades
of this kind, which may be harmless in England, are very
serious matters here. Jgnorantly, I admit, but none the
less certainly, you have aided in the escape of a malefactor
of the worst kind; and but for the proofs that have been
afforded us that you were a mere dupe, the consequences
would have been most serious to you, and even the fact of
your being a foreigner would not have sufficed to save you
from the hands of justice. You are now free to depart;
but let this be a lesson to you, and a most serious one,
never again to mix yourself up in any way with persons of
whose antecedents you are ignorant, and in future to conduct
yourself in all respects wisely and prudently.”

“Tt will certainly be a lesson to me, sir. I am heartily
sorry that I was so foolish as to allow myself to be mixed
A CAT’S-PAW. 43

up in such an affair, and think I can promise you that
henceforth there will be no fault to be found in my con-
duct.”

In the ante-room Godfrey’s watch, money, and the other
contents of his pocket were restored to him. A carriage
was in waiting for him at the outer door, and he was driven
rapidly to the house of the merchant.

“This is a nice scrape into which you have got yourself,
Godfrey,” Ivan Petrovytch said as he entered. “It is lucky
for you that you are not a Russian. But how on earth have
you got mixed up in a plot? We know nothing about it
beyond the fact that you had been arrested, for, although a
thousand questions were asked me about you, nothing was
said to me as to the charge brought against you. We have
been in the greatest anxiety about you. All sorts of rumours
were current in the city as to the discovery of a plot to
assassinate one of the grand-dukes at the Opera-house, and
there are rumours that explosive bombs had been discovered
in one of the boxes. It is said that the police had received
information of the attempt that was to be made, and that
every precaution had been taken to arrest the principal
conspirator, but that in some extraordinary manner he
slipped through their fingers. But surely you can never
have been mixed up in that matter?”

“That is what it was,” Godfrey said, “though I had no
more idea of having anything to do with a plot than I had
of flying. I see now that I behaved like an awful fool.”
And he told the story to Petrovytch and his wife as he had
told it to the head of the police. Both were shocked at the
thought that a member of their household should have been
engaged, even unwittingly, in such a treasonable affair.

‘It is a wonder that we ever saw you again,” the mer-
chant’s wife exclaimed. “It is fortunate that we are known
as quiet people or we might have been arrested too. I
could not have believed that anyone with sense could be
silly enough to put on a stranger’s mantle and hat!”
44 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“But I thought,” Godfrey urged, “that at masked balls
people did play all sorts of tricks upon each other. I am
sure I have read so in books. And it did seem quite likely
—didn’t it now?—that an officer should have come up to
meet a young lady masked whom he had no chance of meet-
ing at any other time. It certainly seemed to me quite
natural, and I believe almost any fellow, if he were asked
to help anyone to get out of a scrape like that, would
do it.”

“You may do it in England or in France, but it doesn’t
do to take part in anything that you don’t know for certain
all about here. The wonder is they made any inquiries at
all. Ifyou had been a Russian the chances are that your
family would never have heard of you again from the time
you left to go to the opera. Nothing that you could have
said would have been believed. Your story would have
been regarded by the police as a mere invention. They
would have considered it as certain that in some way or other
you were mixed up in the conspiracy. They would have
regarded your denials as simple obstinacy, and you would
have been sent to Siberia for life.”

“TI should advise you, Godfrey,” Ivan Petrovytch said,
“to keep an absolute silence about this affair. Mention it
to no one. Everyone knows that something has happened
to you, as the police have been everywhere inquiring; but
there is no occasion to tell anyone the particulars. Of
course rumours get about as to the action of the Nihilists
and of the police, but as little is said as possible. It is, of
course, a mere rumour that a plot was discovered at the
Opera-house. Probably there were an unusual number of
police at all the entrances, and a very little thing gives rise to
talk and conjecture. People think that the police would not
have been there had they not had suspicion that something
or other was going to take place, and as everything in our
days is put down to the Nihilists, it was naturally reported
that the police had discovered some plot; and as two of
A CAT’S-PAW. 45

the grand-dukes were there, people made sure it was in
some way connected with them.

“Ag nothing came of it, and no one was, as far as was
known, arrested, it would be supposed that the culprit, who-
ever he was, managed to evade the police. Such rumours
as these are of very common occurrence, and it is quite pos-
sible that there is not much more truth in them this time
than there is generally; however, of one thing you may be
sure, the police are not fonder than other people of being
outwitted, and whether the man for whom they were in
search was a Nihilist or a criminal of some other sort you
certainly aided him to escape. You are sure to be watched
for some time, and it will be known to the police in a very
few hours if you repeat this story to your acquaintances; if
they find you keep silence about it, they will give you credit
for discretion, while it would certainly do you a good deal
of harm, and might even now lead to your being promptly
sent across the frontier, were it known that you made a boast
of having outwitted them.

“There is another reason. You will find that for a time
most of your friends here will be a little shy of you, People
are not fond of having as their intimates persons about whom
the police are inquiring, and you will certainly find for a
time that you will receive very few invitations to enter the
houses of any Russians. It would be different, however,
if it were known that the trouble was about something that
had no connection with politics; therefore, I should advise
you, when you are asked questions, to turn it off with a laugh.
Say you got mixed up in an affair between a young lady
and her lover, and that, like many other people, you found
that those who mingle in such matters often get left in the
lurch. You need not say much more than that. You might
do anything here without your friends troubling much about
it provided it had nothing to do with politics. Rob a bank,
perpetrate a big swindle, run away with a court heiress, and
as long as the police don’t lay hands on you nobody else will
46 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

trouble their heads about the affair; but if you are suspected
of being mixed up in the most remote way with politics,
your best friends will shun you like the plague.

“T will take your advice certainly,” Godfrey said, “and
even putting aside the danger you point out, I should not
be anxious to tell people that I suffered myself to be en-
trapped so foolishly.”

For some time, indeed, Godfrey found that his acquaint-
ance fell away from him, and that he was not asked to the
houses of any of the Russian merchants where he had been
before made welcome. Cautious questions would be asked
by the younger men as to the trouble into which he got with
the police; but he turned these off with a laugh. “Tam
not going to tell the particulars,” he said, “they concern
other people. I can only tell you that I was fool enough to
be humbugged by a pretty little masker, and to get mixed
up in a love intrigue in which a young lady, her lover a cap-
tain in the army, and an irascible colonel were concerned,
and that the young people made a cat’s-paw of me. I am
not going to say more than that, I don’t want to be laughed
at for the next six months;” and so it became understood
that the young Englishman had simply got into some silly
scrape, and had been charged by a colonel in the army
with running away with his daughter, and he was therefore
restored to his former footing at most of the houses that he
had before visited.

Two days after his release a note was slipped into
Godfrey’s hand by a boy as he went out after dinner for a
walk. It was unsigned, and ran as follows:—

‘Dear Godfrey Bullen, my cousin is in a great state of
distress. She was deceived by a third person, and in turn
deceived you. She has heard since that the story was an
entire fiction to enable a gentleman for whom the police
were in search to escape. She only heard last night of your
arrest and release, and is in the greatest grief that she should
have been the innocent means of this trouble coming upon
A CAT’S-PAW. 47

you. You know how things are here, and she is overwhelmed
with gratitude that you did not in defence give any particu-
lars that might have enabled them to trace her, for she would
have found it much more difficult than a stranger would
have done to have proved her innocence. She knows that
you did say nothing, for had you done so she would have
been arrested before morning; not improbably we might
also have found ourselves within the walls of a prison, since
you met her at our room, and the mere acquaintanceship
with a suspected person is enough to condemn one here. By
the way, we have moved our lodging, but will give you our
new address when we meet you, that is, if you are good
enough to continue our acquaintance in spite of the trouble
that has been caused you by the credulity and folly of my
cousin.”

Godfrey, who had begun to learn prudence, did not open
the letter until he returned home, and as soon as he had
read it dropped it into the stove. He was pleased at its
receipt, for he had not liked to think that he had been
duped by a girl. From the first he had believed that she,
like himself, had been deceived, for it had seemed to him
out of the question that a young music mistress, who did
not seem more than twenty years old, could have been mixed
up in the doings of a desperate set of conspirators; however,
he quite understood the alarm she must have felt, for though
his story might have been believed owing to his being a
stranger, and unconnected in any way with men who could
have been concerned in a Nihilist plot, it would no doubt
have been vastly more difficult for her to prove her inno-
cence, especially as it was known that there were many
women in the ranks of the Nihilists.

It was a fortnight before he met either of the students,
and he then ran against them upon the quay just at the foot
of the equestrian statue of Peter the Great, opposite the Isaac
Cathedral. They hesitated for a moment, but he held out
his hand cordially.
48 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“Where have you been, and how is it I have not seen
you before?”

“We were afraid that you might not care to know us
further,” Akim said, “after the trouble that that foolish
cousin of mine involved you in.”

“That would have been ridiculous,” Godfrey said. “If
we were to blame our friends for the faults of persons to
whom they introduce us, there would be an end to intro-
ductions.”

“Hiveryone wouldn’t think as you do,” Akim said. “We
both wished to meet you, and thank you for so nobly shield-
ing her. The silly girl might be on her way to Siberia now
if you had given her name.”

“T certainly should not have done that in any case. It is
not the way of an Englishman_to betray his friend, especially
when that friend is a woman; but I thought even before I
got your letter that she must in some way or other have
been misled herself.”

“It was very good of you,” Petroff said. “Katia has
been in great distress over it. She thinks that you can
never forgive her.”

“Pray tell her from me, Petroff, that I have blamed my-
self, not her. I ought not to have let myself be persuaded
into taking any part in the matter. I entered into it as a
joke, thinking it would be fine fun to see the old colonel’s face,
and also to help a pair of lovers out of a scrape. It would
have been a good joke in England, but this is not a country
where jokes are understood. At any rate it has been a
useful lesson to me, and in future young ladies will plead
in vain to get me to mix myself up in other people’s
affairs.”

“We are going to a students’ party to-night,” Petroff said.
“One of our number who has just passed the faculty of
medicine has received an appointment at Tobolsk. It is a
long way off; but it is said to be a pleasant town, and the
pay is good. He is an orphan, and richer than most of us,
A CAT’S-PAW. 49

so he is going to celebrate it with a party to-night before he
starts. Will you come with us?”

“TI should like it very much,” Godfrey said; “but surely
your friend would not wish a stranger there on such an
occasion.”

“Oh, yes, he would! he would be delighted, he is very
fond of the English. I will-answer for it that you will be
welcome. Meet us here at seven o’clock this evening; he
has hired a big room, and there will be two or three dozen
of us there—all good fellows. Most of them have passed,
and you will see the army and navy, the law and medicine,
all represented.”

Godfrey willingly agreed to go. He thought he should
see a new phase of Russian life, and at the appointed hour
he met the two students. The entertainment was held in
a large room in a traktar or eating-house in a small street.
The room was already full of smoke, a number of young
men were seated along two tables extending the length of
the room, and crossed by one at the upper end. Several
were in military uniform, and two or three in that of the
navy. Akim and Petroff were greeted boisterously by name
as they entered.

“T will talk to you presently,” Akim shouted in reply to
various invitations to take his seat. ‘I have a friend whom
I must first introduce to Alexis.” He and Petroff took
Godfrey up to the table at the end of the room. * Alexis,”
Akim said, “I have brought you a gentleman whom I am
sure you will welcome. He has proved himself a true friend,
one worthy of friendship and honour. His name is Godfrey
Bullen.”

There was general silence as Akim spoke, and an evident
curiosity as to the stranger their comrade had introduced.
The host, who had risen to his feet, grasped Godfrey’s hand
warmly. >

He am indeed glad to meet you, Godfrey Bullen,” he
said.

(781) D
50 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“My friends, greet with me the English friend of Akim
and Petroff.”

There was a general thumping of glasses on the table,
and two or three of those sitting near Alexis rose from their
seats and shook hands with Godfrey, with a warmth and
cordiality which astonished him. Room was made for him
and his two friends at the upper end of one of the side
tables, and when he had taken his seat the lad was able to
survey the scene quietly.

Numbers of bottles were ranged down the middle of the
tables, which were of bare wood without cloth. These con-
tained, as Petroff told him, wines from various parts of
Russia. There were wines similar to sherry and Bordeaux,
from the Crimea; Kahetinskoe, strongly resembling good
burgundy, from the Caucasus; and Don Skoe, a sparkling
wine resembling champagne, from the Don. Besides these
were tankards of Iablochin Kavas, or cider; Grushevoi
Kavas, or perry; Malovinoi, a drink prepared from rasp-
berries; and Lompopo, a favourite drink on the shores of the
Baltic. The conversation naturally turned on student topics,
of tricks played on professors, on past festivities, amuse-
ments, and quarrels. No allusion of any kind was made to
politics, or to the matters of the day. Jovial songs were sung,
the whole joining in chorus with great animation. At nine
o'clock waiters appeared with trays containing the indis-
pensable beginning of all Russian feasts. Each tray contained
a large number of small dishes with fresh caviar, raw herrings,
smoked salmon, dried sturgeon, slices of German sausage,
smoked goose, ham, radishes, cheese, and butter. From
these the guests helped themselves at will, the servants
handing round small glasses of Kiimmel Liftofka, a spirit
flavoured with the leaves of the black-currant, and vodka.

Then came the supper. Before each guest was placed a
basin of stchi, a cabbage soup, sour cream being handed
round to be added to it; then came rastigai patties, com-
posed of the flesh of the sturgeon and isinglass. This was
A CAT’S-PAW. . 51

followed by cold boiled sucking pig with horse-radish sauce.
After this came roast mutton stuffed with buck-wheat,
which concluded the supper. When the table was cleared
singing began again, but Godfrey stayed no longer, excusing
himself to his host on the ground that the merchant kept
early hours, and that unless when he had specially mentioned
that he should not be home until late, he made a point of
being in between ten and eleven.

He was again surprised at the warmth with which several
of the guests spoke to him as he said good-night, and went
away with the idea in his mind that among the younger
Russians, at any rate, Englishmen must be much more popu-
lar than he had before supposed. One or two young officers
had given him their cards, and said that they should be
pleased if he would call upon them,

“T have had a pleasant evening,” he said to himself.
“They are a jolly set of fellows, more like boys than men,
It was just the sort of thing I could fancy a big breaking-up
supper would be if fellows could do as they liked, only no
head-master would stand the tremendous row they made
with their choruses, However, I don’t expect they very
often have a jollification like this, I suppose our host was
a good deal better off than most of them. Petroff said that
he was the son of a manufacturer down in the south. I
wonder what he meant when he laughed in that quiet way
of his when I said I wondered that as his father was well
off he should take an appointment at such an out-of-the-way
place as Tobolsk. ‘Don’t ask questions here,’ he said,
‘those fellows handing round the meat may be government
spies.’ I don’t see, if they were, what interest they could
have in the question why Alexis Stumpoff should go to
Tobolsk.

“However, I suppose they make a point of never touching
on private affairs where any one can hear them, however
innocent the matter may be. It must be hateful to be in
@ country where, for aught you know, every other man you
52 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

come acros’ is a spy. I daresay I am watched now; that
police fellow told me I should be. It would be a lark to
turn off down by-streets and lead the spy, if there is one,
a tremendous dance; but jokes like that won’t do here. I
got off once, but if I give them the least excuse again they
may send me off to the frontier. I should not care much
myself, but it would annoy the governor horribly, so I will
walk back as gravely as a judge.”

CHAPTER IIT.
A HUNTING PARTY.

IIVWO days later Robson, an English merchant who had

been one of the most intimate of Godfrey’s acquain-
tances, and to whom he had confided the truth about his
arrest, said to him:

“You are not looking quite yourself, lad.”

“Oh, I am all right!” he said; “but it is not a pleasant
thing having had such a close shave of being sent to
Siberia; and it isn’t only that. No doubt the police feel
that they owe mea grudge for having been the means of
this fellow, whoever he was, slipping through their fingers,
and I shall be a suspected person for along time. Of course
it is only fancy, but I am always thinking there is some one
following me when I go out. I know it is nonsense, but
I can’t get rid of it.”

“T don’t suppose they are watching you as closely as
that,” Mr. Robson said, “but I do think it is likely that
they may be keeping an eye on you; but if they are they
will be tired of it before long, when they see that you go
your own way and have nothing to do with any suspected
persons. You want a change, lad. I have an invitation to
A HUNTING PARTY. 53

join a party who are going up to Finland to shoot for a
couple of days. It is more likely than not that we shall
never have a chance of firing a shot, but it will be an outing
for you, and will clear your brain. Do you think you would
like it?”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Robson, I should like it
immensely. Petrovytch was saying this morning that he
thought I should be all the better for a holiday, so I am
sure he will spare me. I am nothing of a shot, in fact I
never fired a shot at game in my life, though I have practised
a bit with the rifle, but I am sure it will be very jolly
whether we shoot anything or not.” _

“Very well, then, be at the station to catch the seven
o'clock train in the morning. It is a four hours’ railway
journey.” 1

“Ts there anything to bring, sir?”

“No, you can take a hand-bag and sleeping things, but
beyond a bit of soap and a towel I don’t suppose you will
have need of anything, for you will most likely sleep at
some farm-house, or perhaps in a woodman’s hut, and there
will not be any undressing. There are six of us going from
here, counting you, but the party is got up by two or three
men we know there. They tell me some of the officers of
the regiment stationed there will be of the party, and they
will have a hundred or so of their men to act as beaters.
I have a spare gun that I will bring for you.”

The next morning Godfrey joined Mr. Robson at the
station, A Mr. White, whom he knew well, was one of the
party, and the other three were Russians. They had secured
a first-class compartment, and as soon as they started they
rigged up a table with one of the cushions and began to play
whist.

“You don’t play, I suppose, Godfrey?” Mr. Robson
said,

“No, sir. I have played a little at my father’s, but it
will be a long time before I shall be good enough to play.
540 CO CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST

I have heard my father say that there is better whist at St.
Petersburg than in any place in the world.”

“I think he is right, lad. The Russians are first-rate
players and are passionately fond of the game, and natu-
rally we English here have had to learn to play up to their -
standard. The game is similar to that in England, but they
score altogether differently.”

The four hours passed rapidly. Godfrey sometimes looked
out of the window at the flat country they were passing
through, but more often watched the play. They were met
at the station by two of Mr. Robson’s friends, and found
that sledges were in readiness and they were to start at
once.

‘“We have ten miles to drive,” one of them said. “The
others went on early; they will have had one beat by the
time we get there, and are then to assemble for luncheon.”

The road was good and the horses fast, so that the sledges
flew along rapidly. Most of the distance was through
forest, but the last half-mile was open, and the sledge drew
up at a large farm-house standing in the centre of the cleared
space, and surrounded at a distance of half a mile on all
sides by the forest. A dozen men, about half of whom
were in uniform, poured out from the door as the four
sledges drew up.

“You are just in time,” one of them said. “The soup is
ready and in another minute we should have set to.”

The civilians all knew each other, but the new-comers
were introduced to the Russian colonel and his five officers,
“Have you had any luck, colonel?” Mr. Robson asked.

“Wonderful,” the latter replied with a laugh. “A stag
came along and every one of us had a shot at it, and each
and every one is ready to take oath that he hit it, so that
every one is satisfied. Don’t you call that luck?” =

Mr. Robson laughed. “But where is the stag?” he asked,
looking round.

“That is more than any one can tell you. He went
A HUNTING PARTY. . 55

straight on, and carried off our twelve bullets. Captain
Fomitch here, and in fact all my officers, are ready to swear
that the deer is enchanted, and they have all been crossing
themselves against the evil omen. Such a thing was never
heard of before, for being such crack shots, all of us, of
course there can be no doubt about our each having hit the
stag when it was not more than a hundred yards away at the
outside; but come in, the soup smells too good to wait, and
the sight of that enchanted beast has sharpened my appetite
wonderfully.”

Godfrey entered with the rest. Large as the farm-house
was, the greater portion of the ground-floor was occupied
by the room they entered. It was entirely constructed of
wood blackened with smoke and age. A great fire burned on
the hearth, and the farmer’s wife and two maids were occu-
pied with several large pots, some suspended over the fire,
others standing among the brands. The window was low, but
extended half across one side of the room, and was filled
with small lattice panes. From the roof hung hams, sides
of bacon, potatoes in network bags, bunches of herbs, and
several joints of meat. A table extended the length of the
room covered with plates and dishes that from their appear-
ance had evidently been brought out from the town, and
differed widely from the rough earthenware standing on a
great dresser of darkened wood extending down one side of
the room, At one end the great pot was placed, the cloth
having been pushed back for the purpose, and the colonel,
seizing the ladle, began to fill the earthenware bowls which
were used instead of soup plates.

“Hach man come for his ration before he sits down,” he
said. “It would be better if you did not sit down at all,
for I know well enough that when my countrymen sit down
to a meal it is a long time before they get up again, and we
have to be in the forest again in three-quarters of an hour.”

“ Quite right, colonel,” one of the hosts said; “this even-
ing you may sit as long as you like, but if we are to have
56 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

another drive to-day we must waste no time. A basin of
soup and a plate of stew are all you will get now, with a
cup of coffee afterwards to arm you against the cold, and a
glass of vodka or kiimmil to top up with. No, colonel, not
any punch just now. Punch in the evening; but if we were
to begin with that now, I know that there would be no
shooting this afternoon.”

“What are the beaters doing?” Mr. Robson asked as they
hastily ate their dinner.

“They have brought their bread with them,” the colonel
said, “and our friends here have provided a deer almost as
fine as that which carried off the twelve bullets. It was
roasting over a fire in the forest when we went past, and I
saw some black bottles which I guessed were vodka.”

“Yes, colonel, I ordered that they should have a glass
each with their dinner, and another glass when they had
done this afternoon.”

“They would not mind being on fatigue duty every day
through the winter on those terms,” the colonel said. “It is
better for them than soldiering. We must mind that we
don’t shoot any of them, gentlemen. The lives of the Czar’s
soldiers are not to be lightly sacrificed, and next time, you
know, the whole of the bullets may not hit the mark as they
did this morning.”

“There really is some danger in it,” Mr. Robson said to
Godfrey, who was sitting next to him; “in fact, I should
say there was a good deal of danger. However, I fancy the
beaters all throw themselves down flat when they hear the
crack of the first rifle.”

“T see most of them have got a gun as well as a rifle.”

“Yes, there is no saying what may come along, and,
indeed, they are more likely to get birds than fur. I was
told there are a good many elk in the forest, and the pea-
sants have been bringing an unusual number in lately. A
friend of mine shot two last week; but as our party did not
get one in their first drive they are not likely to get any after-
A HUNTING PARTY, 57

wards. Occasionally in these big drives a good many animals
are inclosed, but as a rule the noise the soldiers make as
they move along to take up their places is enough to frighten
every creature within a couple of miles. I told you you
were not likely to have to draw a trigger. Expeditions like

this are rather an excuse for a couple of days’ fun than any- —
thing else. The real hunting is more quiet. Mei who are
fond of it have peasants in their pay all over the country,
and if one of these hears of a bear or an elk anywhere in
his neighbourhood he brings in the news at once, and then
one or two men drive out to the village, where beaters will
be in readiness for them, and have the hunt to themselves.

“T used to do a good deal of it the first few years I came
out, but it is bitter cold work waiting for hours till a beast
comes past, or trying to crawl up to him. After all, there is
no great fun in putting a bullet into a creature as big as a
horse at a distance of thirty or forty yards. But there, they
are making a move. They are going to drink the coffee
and vodka standing, which is wise, for after standing in the
snow for four hours, as they have been doing, they are apt
to get so sleepy after a warm meal that if we were to stop
here much longer you would find half the number would
not make a start at all.”

The sledges were brought up, and there was a three miles’
drive through the forest. Then the shooters were placed in
a line, some forty or fifty yards apart, each taking his station
behind a tree. Then a small bugler sounded a note. God-
frey heard a reply a long distance off. Three-quarters of an
hour passed without any further sound being heard,. and
then Godfrey, who had been stamping his feet and swinging
his arms to keep himself warm, heard a confused murmur.
Looking along the line he saw that the others were all on
the alert, and he accordingly took up his gun and began to
gaze across the snow. The right-hand barrel was loaded
with shot, the left with ball. Presently a shot rang out
away on his right, followed almost immediately afterwards
58 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

by another. After this evidence that there must be some-
thing in the forest he watched more eagerly for signs of
life. Presently he saw a hare coming loping along. From
time to time it stopped and turned its head to listen, and
then came on again. He soon saw that it was bearing to
the left, and that it was not going to come within his range.
He watched it disappear among the trees, and two minutes
later heard a shot. Others followed to the right and left of
him, and presently a hare, which he had not noticed, dashed
past at full speed, almost touching his legs, He was so startled
for the moment that the hare had got some distance before
he had turned round and was ready to fire, and he was in
no way surprised to see it dash on unharmed by his shot.
When there was a pause in the firing the shouting recom.
menced, this time not far distant, and he soon saw men
making their way towards him through the trees.

“Tt is all over now,” Mr. Robson shouted from the next
tree. “If they have not done better elsewhere than we
have here the bag is not a very large one.”

“Did you shoot anything, Mr. Robson?’

“T knocked a hare over; that is the only thing I have
seen. What have you done?”

“T think I succeeded in frightening a hare, but that was
all,” Godfrey laughed. “It ran almost between my legs
before I saw it, and I think it startled me quite as much as
my shot alarmed it.”

The bugle sounded again, and the party were presently
collected round the colonel. The result of the beat was five
hares, and a small stag that had fallen to the gun of Mr.
White.

“Much cry and little wool,” Mr. Robson said. “A
hundred beaters, twenty guns, and six head of game.”

Another short beat was organized, resulting in two stags
and three more hares. One of the stags and the three hares
were placed on a sledge to be taken back to the farm-house,
and the rest of the game was given to the soldiers, A glass
A HUNTING PARTY. 59

of vodka was served out to each of them, and, highly pleased
with their day’s work, the men slung the deer to poles and
set out on their march of eight miles back to the town.

“They will have done a tremendous day’s work by the
time they have finished,” Godfrey said. “Eight miles out
and eight miles back, and three beats, which must have cost
them four or five miles’ walking at least. They must have
gone over thirty miles through the snow.”

“Tt won't be as much as that, though it will be a long
day’s work,” the colonel said. “They came out yesterday
evening and slept ina barn. Another company come out
to-night to take their place.”

Jé was already dark by the time the party reached the
farm-house, and after a cup of coffee all round they began to
prepare the dinner. They were like a party of school-boys,
laughing, joking, and playing tricks with each other. Two
of them undertook the preparation of hare-soup. Two
others were appointed to roast a quarter of venison, keeping
it turning as it hung by a cord in front of the fire, and being
told that should it burn from want of basting they would
forfeit their share of it, The colonel undertook the mixing
of punch, and the odour of lemons, rum, and other spirits
soon mingled with that of the cooking. Godfrey was set to
whip eggs for a gigantic omelette, and most of the others
had some task or other assigned to them, the farmer’s wife
and her assistants not being allowed to have anything to do
with the matter.

The dinner was a great success. After it was over a huge
bowl of punch was placed on the table, and after the health
of the Czar and that of the Queen of England had been
drunk, speeches were made, songs were sung, and stories told.
While this was going on, the farmer brought in a dozen
trusses of straw. These his wife and the maids opened and
distributed along both sides of the room, laying blankets
over them. It was not long before Godirey began to feel
very drowsy, the result of the day’s work in the cold, a good
60 CONDEMNED As A NIBILISt

dinner, the heated air of the room and the din, and would
have gladly lain down; but his movement to leave the table
was at once frustrated, and he was condemned to drink an
extra tumbler of punch asa penalty. After that he had but
a confused idea of the rest of the evening. He knew that
many songs were sung, and that everyone seemed talking
together, and as at last he managed to get away and lie
down on the straw he had a vague idea that the colonel was
standing on a chair making a final oration, with the punch-
bowl turned upside down and worn as a helmet,

Godfrey had not touched the wine at dinner, knowing
that he would be expected to take punch afterwards, and
he had only sipped this occasionally, except the glass he had
been condemned to drink; and when he heard the colonel
shout in a stentorian voice “To arms!” he got up and shook
himself, and felt ready for another day’s work, although
many of the others were sitting up yawning or abusing the
colonel for having called them so early. However, it was
already light. Two great samovars were steaming, and the
cups set in readiness on the table. Godfrey managed to get
hold of a pail of water and indulged in a good wash, as after
a few minutes did all the others ; while a cup or two of tea
and a few slices of fried bacon set up even those who were
at first least inclined to rise,

A quarter of an hour later the sledges were at the door,
and the party started. The hunt was even less successful
than that of the previous day. No stag was seen, but some
ten hares and five brace of grouse were shot, At three
o’clock the party assembled again at the farm-house and had
another hearty meal, terminating with one glass of punch
round; then they took their places in their sledges and were
driven back to the town; the party for St. Petersburg
started by the six-o’clock train, the rest giving them a hearty
cheer as the carriage moved off from the platform. :

‘Well, have you enjoyed it, Godfrey?” Mr. Robson
asked.
A HUNTING PARTY. 61

“Immensely, sir. It has been grand fun. The colonel is
a wonderful fellow.”

“There are no more pleasant companions than the
Russians,” Mr. Robson said. “They more closely resemble
the Irish than any people I know. They have a wonderful
fund of spirits, enjoy a practical joke, are fond of sport, and
have too a sympathetic, and one may almost say a melancholy
vein in their disposition, just as the Irish have. They have
their faults, of course—all of us have; and the virtue of
temperance has not as yet made much way here. Society,
in fact, is a good deal like that in England two or three
generations back, when it was considered no disgrace for
a man to sit after dinner at the table until he had to be
helped up to bed by the servants. Now, White, you have
got the cards, I think.”

Godfrey watched the game for a short time, then his eyes
closed, and he knew nothing more until Mr. Robson shook
him and shouted, “Pull yourself together, Godfrey. Here
we are at St. Petersburg.” _

Three days later, when Ivan Petrovytch came in to break-
fast at eleven o’clock—for the inmates of the house had a
cup of coffee or chocolate and a roll in their rooms at half-
past seven, and office work commenced an hour later—
Godfrey saw that he and his wife were both looking very
grave. Nothing was said until the servant, having handed
round the dishes, left the room.”

“Has anything happened?” Godfrey asked.

“Yes, there is bad news. Another plot against the life
of the Czar has been discovered. The Nihilists have mined
under the road by which he was yesterday evening to have
travelled to the railway-station. It seems that some suspicion
was felt by the police. I do not know how it arose; at any
rate at the last moment the route was changed. During
the night all the houses in the suspected neighbourhood
were searched, and in the cellar of one of them a passage
was found leading under the road. A mine was heavily
62 CONDEMNED AS A NTHILIST.

charged with powder, and was connected by wires to an
electric battery; and there can be no doubt that had the
Czar passed by as intended he would have been destroyed
by the explosion. It is terrible, terrible!”

“Did they find any one in the cellar?” Godfrey asked.

“No one. The conspirators had no doubt taken the
alarm when they heard that the route was changed, and the
place was deserted. It seems that the shop above was
taken four months ago as a store for the sale of coal and
wood, and the cellar and an adjoining one were hired at the
same time. There was also a room behind the shop, where
the man and woman who kept it lived. They say that
arrests have been made all over the city this morning, and
we shall no doubt have a renewal of the wholesale trials
that followed the assassination of General Mesentzeff, the
head of the police, last autumn. It is terrible! These mis-
guided men hope to conquer the empire by fear. Instead
of that, they will in the end only strengthen the hands of
despotism. I have always been inclined to liberalism, but
I have wished for gradual changes only. For large changes
we are not yet fit; but as education spreads and we approach
the western standard, some power and voice ought to be
given to all intelligent enough to use it; that is to say, to
the educated classes. I would not—no one in his senses
would-—give the power of voting to illiterate and ignorant
men, who would simply be tools in the hands of the design-
ing and ambitious; but the peoples of the great towns, St.
Petersburg, Moskow, Kieff, Odessa, and others should be
permitted to send representatives—men of their own choice
—to the provincial councils, which should be strengthened
and given a real, instead of a nominal, voice in the control
of affairs.

“That was all I and thousands like me ever wished for
in the present, but it would have been the first step towards
a constitution which the empire, when the people become
fit for it, might enjoy. That dream is over. These men,
A HUNTING PARTY. 63

by their wild violence, have thrown back the reforms for
half a century at least. They have driven the Czar to war
against them; they have strengthened the hands of the men
who will use their acts as an excuse for the extremest mea-
sures of repression; they have ranged on the other side all
the moderate men like myself, who, though desirous of con-
stitutional changes, shrink with horror from a revolution
heralded by deeds of bloodshed and murder.”

“T quite agree with you,” Godfrey said warmly. ‘Men
must be mad who could counsel such abominable plans.
The French Revolution was terrible, although it began peace-
fully, and was at first supported by all the best spirits of
France; but at last it became a hideous butchery. But here
in Russia it seems to me that it would be infinitely worse,
for it is only in the towns that there are men with any
education; and if it began with the murder of the Czar,
what would it grow to”

“What, indeed!” Ivan Petrovytch repeated. “And yet,
like the French Revolution, the pioneers of this movement
were earnest and thoughtful men, with noble dreams for the
regeneration of Russia.”

“But how did it begin?”

“It may be said to have started about 1860. The eman-
cipation of the serfs produced a sort of fever. Every one
looked for change, but it was in the universities, the semi-
naries, and among the younger professional men that it
first began. Prohibited works of all kinds, especially those
of European socialists, were, in spite of every precaution at
the frontier, introduced and widely circulated. Socialistic
ideas made tremendous progress among the class I speak
of, and these, by writing, by the circulation of prohibited
papers, and so on, carried on a sort of crusade against the
government, and indeed against all governments, carrying
their ideas of liberty to the most extreme point and waging
war against religion as well as against society.

“Tn the latter respect they were more successful than in
64 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

the former, and I regret to say that atheism made immense
strides among the educated class. They had some profound
thinkers among them: Tchernyshevsky, Dobroluboff, Mi-
khailoff, besides Herzen and Ogareff, the two men who
brought out the Kolokol in London in the Russian language,
and by their agents spread it broadcast over Russia. The
stifling of the insurrection in Poland strengthened the re-
actionary party. More repressive edicts were issued, with
the usual result, that secret societies multiplied everywhere.
Then came the revolution and commune in Paris, which
greatly strengthened the spread of revolutionary ideas here.
Another circumstance gave a fresh impetus to this. Some
time before, there had been a movement for what was called
the emancipation of women, and a perfect furore arose
among girls of all classes for education.

“There were no upper schools or colleges open to them
in Russia, and they went in enormous numbers to Switzer-
land, especially to Zurich. Girls of the upper classes shared
their means with the poorer ones, and the latter eked out
their resources by work of all descriptions. Zurich, as you
know, is a hotbed of radicalism, and those young women
who went to learn soon imbibed the wildest ideas. Then
came a ukase, ordering the immediate return home of all
Russian girls abroad. It was undoubtedly a great mistake.
In Switzerland they were harmless, but when they returned
to Russia and scattered over the towns and villages, they
became so many apostles of socialism, and undoubtedly
strengthened the movement. So it grew. Men of good
families left their homes, and in the disguise of workmen
expounded their principles among the lower classes. Among
these was Prince Peter Krapotkine, the rich Cossack Obuch-
off, Scisoko and Rogaceff, both officers, and scores of others,
who gave up everything and worked as workmen among
workmen.

“Tnnumerable arrests were made, and at one trial a
thousand prisoners were convicted. So wholesale were the
A HUNTING PARTY. 65

arrests that even the most enthusiastic saw that they were
simply sacrificing themselves in vain, and about 1877 they
changed their tactics. The prisons were crowded, and the
treatment there of the political prisoners was vastly harder
than that given to those condemned for the most atrocious
crimes, as you may imagine when I tell you that in the course
of the trial of that one batch I spoke of, which lasted four
years, seventy-five of the prisoners committed suicide, went
mad, or died. Then when the authorities thought Nihilism
was stamped out by wholesale severity the matter assumed
another phase. The crusade by preaching had failed, and
the Nihilists began a crusade of terror. First police spies
were killed in many places, then more highly placed persons,
officers of the police, judges, and officials who distinguished
themselves by their activity and severity. Then in the
spring of last year Vera Zasulitch shot at General Trépofl,
who had ordered a political prisoner to be flogged. She
was tried by a jury, and the feeling throughout the country
was so much in favour of the people who had been so ter-
ribly persecuted that she was acquitted. The authorities
were furious, and every effort was made to find and re-arrest
Vera; and a verdict of the court acquitting many of the
accused in one of the trials was annulled by the Czar.
“Well, you know, Godfrey Bullen, I am not one who
meddles with politics. You have never heard me speak of
them before, and I consider the aims of these men would
bring about anarchy. An anarchy that would deluge the
land with blood seems to me detestable and wicked. But
I cannot but think the government has made a. terrible mis-
take by its severity. These people are all enthusiastic
fanatics. They see that things are not as they should be,
and they would destroy everything to right them. Hate
their aims as one may, one must admit that their conduct is
heroic. Few have quailed in their trials. All preserve a
calmness of demeanour that even their judges and execu-

tioners cannot but admire. They seem made of iron; they
66 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

suffer everything, give up everything, dare everything for
their faith; they die, as the Christian martyrs died in Rome,
unflinching, unrepentant. If they have become as wild beasts,
severity has made them so. Their propaganda was at first
a peaceful one. It is cruelty that has driven them to use
the only weapon at their disposal, assassination.

‘‘One man, for example, in 1877, Jacob Stefanovic, organ-
ized a conspiracy in the district of Sighirino. It spread
widely among the peasants. The priests, violating the
secret of the confessional, informed -the police, but these,
although using every effort, could learn no more. Hundreds
of arrests were made, but nothing discovered. Learning
that the priests had betrayed them the peasants no longer
went to confession, and to avoid betraying themselves in a
state of drunkenness abstained from the use of brandy; but
one man, tired and without food, took’a glass. It made him
drunk, and in his drunkenness he spoke to the man who
had sold him spirits. He was arrested, and although he did
not know all, gave enough clue for the police to follow up,
and all the leaders and over a thousand persons were
arrested. ‘Two thousand others, who were affiliated to the
society, were warned in time and escaped. You can guess
the fate of those who were captured.

“Last year, three months before you came here, General
Mezentsoff, the head of the police, was assassinated, and
since then we know that it is open war between the Nihilists
and the Czar. The police hush matters up, but they get
abroad. Threatening letters reach the Czar in his inmost
apartments, and it is known that several attempts have been
made to assassinate him, but have failed.

“One of the most extraordinary things connected with
the movement is that women play a large part in it. Being
in the thick of every conspiracy they are the life and soul
of the movement, and they are of all classes. There are a
score of women for whose arrest the authorities would pay
any money, and yet they elude every effort. It is horrible.
A PRISONER. 67

This is what comes of women going to Switzerland and
learning to look upon religion as a myth and all authority
as hateful, and to have wild dreams of an impossible state
of affairs such as never has existed in this world. It is
horrible, but it is pitiable. The prisons in the land are full
of victims; trains of prisoners set off monthly for Siberia.
It is enough to turn the brain to think of such things. How
it is to end no one can say.”

But it was only in bated breath and within closed doors
that the discovery of the Nihilist plot was discussed in St.
Petersburg. Elsewhere it was scarcely alluded to, although,
if mentioned, those present vied with each other in the
violence of their denunciation of it; but when society from
the highest to the lowest was permeated by secret agents
of the police, and every word was liable to be reported and
misinterpreted, a subject so dangerous was shunned by
common consent. It was known, though, that large num-
bers of arrests had been made, but even those whose dear-
est friends had suddenly disappeared said no word of it in
public, for to be even a distant acquaintance of such a per-
son was dangerous. Yet apparently everything went on
as usual: the theatres were as well filled; the Nevski as
crowded and gay.

CHAPTER IV.
A PRISONER.

Soon after this St. Petersburg was startled at the news

that there had been a terrible explosion at the Winter
Palace, and that the Czar and royal family had narrowly
escaped with their lives. Upon the following evening God-
frey was walking down the Nevski, where groups of people
wer» still discussing the terrible affair. He presently met
68 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

Akim Soushiloff and Petroff Stepanoff. He had not seen
them for some time, and as they had omitted to give him
the address of the lodging into which they had moved, he
was really glad to see them, for he liked them better than
any of the Russians of his acquaintance, for both had an
earnest manner and seemed to be free from narrow preju-
dices, sincere admirers of England, and on most subjects
very well informed.

“It is quite an age since I have seen you both,” he said.
“Where have you been hiding?”

“We have been working harder than usual,” Petroff said;
“our last examinations are just coming off. But you said
that you would come to see us, and you have never done
so.”

“You did not tell me where you had moved to,” Godfrey
said, “or I should have done so long ago.”

“That was stupid indeed!” Akim said. “Have you an
hour to spare now?”

“Yes, I have nothing to do, and shall be very glad to
come round and have a talk. This is a horrible business at
the Winter Palace.”

“Horrible,” Petroff said; “but it is just as well not to
talk about it in the streets. Come along, we will take you
to our place; we were just thinking of going back.”

A quarter of an hour’s walking took them to the students’
room, which was, like the last, at the top of the house. A
lamp was lighted, the samovar placed on the table, and alittle
charcoal fire lit under it. A glass of vodka was handed
round to pass the time until the water was boiling, pipes
were brought out from the cupboard and filled, for cigars,
which are cheap and good, are generally smoked in the
streets in Russia by the middle and upper classes, pipes
being only used there by Isvostchiks, labourers, and English-
men. The conversation naturally for a time turned upon
the explosion in the Winter Palace, the Russians expressing
an indignation fully equal to that of Godfrey. Then they
A PRISONER. 69

talked of England, both regretting that they were unable
to speak the language.

“JT would give much to be able to read Shakespeare,”
Petroff said. “I have heard his works spoken of in such
high terms by some of our friends who have studied your
language, and I have heard, too, from them of your Dickens.
They tell me it is like reading of another world—a world
in which there are no officials, and no police, and no soldiers.
That must be very near a paradise.”

“We have some soldiers,” Godfrey laughed, “but one
does not see much of them. About half of those we have at
home are in two military camps, one in England and one in
Ireland. There are the Guards in London, but the popula-
lation is so large that you might go a week without seeing
one, while in very few of the provincial towns are there any
garrisons at all. There are police, and plenty of them, but
as their business is only to prevent crime, they naturally
don’t play a prominent part in novels giving a picture of
everyday life. As to officials, beyond rate-collectors we don’t
see anything of them, though there are magistrates, and goy-
ernment clerks, and custom officers, and that sort of thing, but
they certainly don’t play any prominent part in our lives.”

‘So they chatted for an hour, when at short intervals two
other men came in. One was a tall handsome fellow who
was introduced by Petroff as the son of Baron Kinkoff, the
other was a young advocate of Moscow on a visit to St.
Petersburg. Both, Godfrey observed, had knocked in a
somewhat peculiar manner at the door, which opened, as
he had noticed when they came in, only by a key. Akim
observed a slight expression of surprise in Godfrey’s face
at the second knock, and said laughing:

“Our remittances have not come to hand of late, Godfrey,
and some of our creditors are getting troublesome, so we
have established a signal by which we know our friends,
while inconvenient visitors can knock as long as they like,
and then go away thinking we are out.”
70 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

Godfrey chatted for a short time longer, and then got up
to go. Akim went to the door with him. As it opened
there was a sudden rush of men from outside that nearly
knocked him down. Of what followed he had but a vague
idea. Pistol shots rang out. There was a desperate struggle.
He received a blow on the head which struck him to the
ground, and an instant later there was a tremendous ex-
plosion. The next thing he knew was that he was being
hauled from below some debris. As he looked round be-
wildered he saw that a considerable portion of the ceiling
and of the roof above it had been blown out. Several bodies
lay stretched on the floor. The room was still full of smoke,
but by the light of two or three lanterns he perceived that
the young baron, bleeding freely from a sabre wound across
the forehead, was standing bound between two policemen
with drawn swords. Policemen were examining the bodies
on the floor, while others were searching the closets, cutting
open the beds and turning out their contents. Akim lay on
his hack dead, and across him lay the young advocate. Of
Petroff he could see nothing; the other bodies were those
of policemen. Three of these near the door appeared to
have been shot; the others were lying in contorted positions
against the walls, as if they had been flung there by the
force of the explosion. All this he saw in a state of vague
wonderment, while the two policemen kneeling at his side
were passing cords tightly round him.

“This one still lives,” one of the policemen said, stooping
over the young advocate, “but I think he is nearly done
for.”

“Never mind, bring him along with the others,” a man
in plain clothes said in tones of authority. “Get them
away at once, we shall Lave half St. Petershurg here in a
few minutes.”

Godfrey was lifted by the policemen, one at his head, and
one at his feet, carried down-stairs, and flung into a vehicle
at the door. Dully he heard a roar of excited shouts and
A PRISONER. 71

questions, and the sharp orders of the police ranged round
the vehicle. Three policemen took their places inside with
him, and the vehicle drove off, slowly at first until it was
free of the crowd, and then at a sharp gallop. Godfrey was
conscious of but little as he went along; he had a vague
idea of a warm moist feeling down the back, and wondered
whether it was his own blood. Gradually his impressions
became more and more indistinct, and he knew nothing
more until he was conscious of a sensation of cold at the
back of the head, and of a murmur of voices round him.
Soon he was lifted up into a sitting position, and he felt
that bandages were being wrapped round his head. Then
he was laid down again, he heard a door slam and a key
turn, and then he knew nothing more. When he awoke
daylight was streaming in through a loophole high up in
the wall. He tried to sit up, but.could not, and looked
round trying to recall where he was and what had happened.
He was in a dark cell with no furniture save the straw on
which he was lying.

“It is a prison certainly,” he muttered to himself. “How
did I get here?”

Then gradually the events of the night before came to
his mind. There had been a terrible fight. Akim had been
killed. There had been a tremendous explosion. The police
had something to do with it. Was it all a dream, or was
it real? Was he dreaming now? He was some time before
he could persuade himself that it was all real, and indeed
it was not until the door opened and two men entered that
he felt quite sure that he, Godfrey Bullen, was really lying
there in a prison cell, with a dull numbing pain at the back
of his head, and too weak even to sit upright. One of the
men leaned over him. Godfrey tried to speak, but could
not do so above a whisper.

“He will do now,” the man said without paying any
attention to his words. “He must have a thick skull or
that sword-cut would have finished him. Give him some
72 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIS'L

wine and water now, and some soup presently. We must
not let him slip through our fingers.”

Some liquid was poured between his lips, and then he
was left alone again. “Certainly it is all real,” he said to
himself. “Akim must have been killed, and I must be a
prisoner. What in the world can it be all about?” He was
too weak to think, but after another visit had been paid
him, and he had been lifted up and given some strong broth,
he began to think more clearly. ‘Can it have been a
Nihilist arrest?” he thought to himself. “Akim and Petroff
can never be Nihilists. The idea is absurd. I have never
heard them say a word against the government or the
Czar.”

Then he thought of their friend Katia, and how she had
got him to aid in the escape of a Nihilist. “It ig all non-
sense,” he murmured, “the idea of a girl like that being
mixed up in a conspiracy.” Then his ideas again became
more and more confused, and when the doctor visited him
again in the evening he was in a state of high fever, talk-
ing incoherently to himself. For seven days he continued
in that state. There was no lack of care ; the doctor visited
him at very short intervals, and an attendant remained
night and day beside him, applying cold bandages to his
head, and carefully noting down in a book every word
that passed his lips. Then a good constitution gradually
triumphed over the fever, and on the eighth day he lay a
mere shadow of himself, but cool and sensible, on a bed in
an airy ward. Nourishing food was given to him in abun-
dance, but it was another week before he was able to stand
alone. Then one morning two attendants brought a stretcher
to the side of his bed. He was assisted to put on his clothes,
and was then placed on the stretcher and carried away.
He was taken through long passages, up and down stairs,
at last into a large room. Here he was lifted on the stretcher
and placed in a chair. Facing him at a table were nine
officers.
A PRISONER. 73

“ Prisoner,” the president said, glancing at a large closely-
written sheet of paper before him, “you are accused of
taking part in a Nihilist conspiracy to murder the Czar.”

“I know nothing of any Nihilist conspiracy,” Godfrey
said. “I was accidentally in the room with my friends
Akim and Petroff when the police entered.”

The president waved his hand impatiently. “That of
course,” he said. ‘“ Your name is Godfrey Bullen?”

“Yes, sir.”

‘Born in St. Petersburg, but of English parentage?”

Godfrey bowed his head.

“Three months since you took part in the plot by means
of which the notorious Valerian Ossinsky escaped from the
hands of the police, and you were the accomplice of Sophia
Perovskaia in that matter.”

“T never heard the name before,” Godfrey said.

The president paid no attention, but went on: “You said
at the time,” he continued, reading from the notes, “that
you did not know the woman who spoke to you, but it is
known that she was an associate of Akim Soushiloff and
Petroff Stepanoff, at whose place you were captured the
other day. There is therefore no doubt that you know her.”

“TI knew her under another name,” Godfrey said; “but
if I had been told she was Sophia Perovskaia, it conveyed
nothing to me, for I had never heard of her.” s

“You are committing yourself, prisoner,” the president
said coldly. ‘When examined you denied all acquaintance
with the woman, and declared that she was a stranger.”

“ Excuse me, sir,” Godfrey said, “I said it was a masked
woman, and that I did not see her face, which was perfectly
true. I admit now that I did know who she was, but
naturally as a gentleman I endeavoured to shield her in a
matter concerning which I believed that she was as innocent
as I was.”

A murmur of incredulity ran round the circle of officers.

“A few days after that,” the president went on, again
74 , CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

reading from his notes, “you were present with Akim
Soushiloff and Petroff Stepanoff at a supper in a trakir in
Ossuloff Street. There were present on that occasion”—and
he read a list of six names—‘four of whom have since been
convicted and punished, and two of whom, although not
yet taken, are known to have been engaged in the mur-
derous attempt at the Winter Palace. You were greeted
there with significant enthusiasm, which was evidently a
testimony on the part of these conspirators to the part you
had played in the affair of Ossinsky.”

Godfrey felt that the meshes were closing round him.
He remembered that he had wondered at the time why he
had been received with such great cordiality.

“ Now,” the president went on, “you are captured in the
room of Akim Soushiloff and Petroff Stepanoff, who were
both beyond doubt engaged in the plot at the Winter
Palace, with two other equally guilty conspirators, and were
doubtless deliberating on some fresh atrocity when inter-
rupted by the agents of the police. You shared in the
desperate resistance they made, which resulted in the
death of eight police officers by pistol shot, or by the explo-
sion of gunpowder, by which Petroff Stepanoff, who fired
it, was also blown to pieces. What have you to say in your
defence ?”

“T still say that I am perfectly innocent,” Godfrey said.
‘‘T knew nothing of these men being conspirators in any
way, and I demand to be allowed to communicate with my
friends, and to obtain the assistance of an advocate,”

“An advocate could say nothing for you,” the president
said. “You do not deny any of the charges brought against
you, which are, that you were the associate of these assassins,
that you aided Sophia Perovskaia in effecting the escape of
Valerian Ossinsky, that you received the congratulations of
the conspirators at the banquet, and that you were found
in this room in company with four of the men concerned in
the attempt to assassinate the Czar. But the court is willing
A PRISONER. 75

to be merciful, and if you will tell all you know with refer-
ence to this plot, and give the names of all the conspirators
with whom you have been concerned, your offence will be
dealt with as leniently as possible.”

“T repeat that I know nothing, and can therefore disclose
nothing, sir, and I venture to protest against the authority
of this court to try and condemn me, an Englishman.”

“No matter what is the nationality of the person,” the
president said coldly, “who offends against the laws of this
country, he is amenable to its laws, and his nationality
affords him no protection whatever. You will have time
given you to think the matter over before your sentence is
communicated to you. Remove the prisoner.”

Godfrey was laid on the stretcher again and carried away.
This time he was taken, not to the room where he had been
placed while ill, but to a dark cell where scarce a ray of
light penetrated. There was a heap of straw in one corner,
a loaf of black bread, and a jug of water. Godfrey when
left alone shook up the straw to make it as comfortable as
he possibly could, then sat down upon it with his back against
the wall.

“Well, this is certainly a go,” he said to himself. “Tf
there was one thing that seemed less likely than another,
it was that I should get involved in this Nihilist business.
In the first place, the governor specially warned me against
it; in the second place, I have been extremely careful never
to give any opinion on public affairs; and in the third place,
if there is one thing I detest more than another it is assas-
sination, I cannot say it is cowardly in these men. The
Nihilists do more than risk their lives; they give their lives
away to carry out their end. Still, though I own it is not
cowardly, Lhate it. The question is, what next? Petrovytch
will, of course, write home to say that Iam missing. I don’t
suppose he will have the slightest idea that I have been
arrested as a Nihilist. I don’t see how he could think so.
He is more likely to think that I have been made away
76 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

with somehow. No doubt my father will come out; but, of
course, he won’t learn any more than Petrovytch, unless they
choose to tell him. I don’t suppose they will tell him. I
have heard that generally families of people they seize know
nothing about it, unless they are arrested too. They may
guess what has happened, but they don’t know. In my
case I should fancy the police would say nothing.

“They will hear from the inquiries that my father makes
that he has no suspicion of what has happened to me, and
they will know if they did tell him our ambassador would
be making arow. But even if the governor were to learn
what had become of me, and were to insist upon learning
what crime I am accused of committing, I do not see that
things would be much better. They would hand over the
notes of the evidence on which I was convicted, and, taking
it altogether, I am bound to say I do not see how they could
help convicting me. Short of catching me like a sort of
Guy Fawkes blowing up the palace, the case is about as
strong as it could be. I certainly have put my foot in it.
I was acquainted with these two conspirators; through them
I got acquainted with that confounded woman Katia, though
it seems that wasn’t her name. Then through her I helped
this fellow Ossinsky to escape. Then, trying to shield her, I
make matters twenty times worse; for while my answer be-
fore led them to believe that she was a perfect stranger to
me, I was ass enough to let out just now that I knew her.
Then there was that supper. I could not make out at the
time why they greeted me so heartily. Now, of course, it
is plain enough; and now, just after this blowing-up busi-
ness, here am I caught with four notorious conspirators,
and mixed up in a fight in which eight or ten policemen are
killed, and the roof blown off a house. That would be cir-
cumstantial evidence enough to condemn a man in England,
let alone Russia.

“T don’t suppose they are going to hang me, because they
publish the names of the fellows they hang; but imprison-
A PRISONER. 77

ment for years in one of their ghastly dungeons is bad
enough. If it is to be, it will be Siberia, I hope. There
must be some way of getting out of a big country like that—
north, south, east, or west. Well, I don’t see any use bother-
ing over it. I have got into a horrible scrape, there is no
doubt about that, and I must take what comes.”

Godfrey was essentially of a hopeful nature, and always
looked at the bright side of things. He was a strong believer
in the adage, “Where there is a will, there is a way.” He
had been in his full share of scrapes at school, and had
always made a rule of taking things easily. He now examined
the cell.

“ Beastly place!” he said, “and horribly damp. I wonder
why dungeons are always damp. Cellars at home are not
damp, and a dungeon i is nothing but a cella after all. Well,
I shall take a nap.”

The next day Godfrey was again taken before the tribunal,
and again closely questioned as to his knowledge of the
Nihilists. He again insisted that he knew nothing of
them.

‘Of course I knew Akim Soushiloff and Petroff Stepanoff;
but I had only been in their rooms once before, and the only
person I met there before was the young woman who called
herself Katia, but who you say was somebody else. This
was at the lodgings they occupied before.”

“But you were , found with Alexander Kinkoff and Paul
Kousmitch.”

“They only arrived a short time before the police entered.
I had never seen either of them before.”

These two prisoners had been examined before Godfrey
entered, and had been questioned about him. Kousmitch
had declared that he had never seen him before, and the court
knew that the spies who had been watching the house had
seen him enter but a short time before the police force ar-
rived. As the two statements had been made independently
it was thought probable that in this respect Godfrey was
78 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

speaking the truth. Not so, however, his assertions that he
was unacquainted with any of the other conspirators.

He was again taken back to his cell, and for the next
week saw no one but the warder who brought his bread
and water, and who did not reply by a single word to any
questions that he asked him. Godfrey did his best to keep
up his spirits. He had learnt by heart at Shrewsbury the
first two books of the Iliad, and these he daily repeated
aloud, set himself equations to do, and solved them in his
head, repeated the dates in Greek history, and went through
everything he could remember as having learned.

He occasionally heard footsteps above him, and wondered
whether that also was a cell, and what sort of man the pri-
soner was. Once or twice at night, when all was quiet, he
heard loud cries, and wondered whether they were the result
of delirium or torture. His gruff jailer was somewhat won
by his cheerfulness. Every day Godfrey wished him good-
morning as he visited the cell, inquired what the weather
was like outside, expressed an earnest hope that silence
didn’t disagree with him, and generally joked and laughed
as if he rather enjoyed himself than otherwise. At the end
of the week an official entered the cell.

“T have come to inform you, prisoner, that the sentence
of death that had been passed upon you has, by the clemency
of the Czar, been commuted to banishment for life to
Siberia.”

“Very well, sir,” Godfrey said. “TI know, of course, that.
I am perfectly innocent of the crime of which I am charged ;
but as the Czar no doubt supposes that I am guilty of taking
part in a plot against his life, I acknowledge and thank
him for his clemency. I have no peculiar desire to visit
Siberia, but at least it will be a change for the better from
this place. I trust that it shall not be long before I start.”

As the official was unable to make out whether Godfrey
spoke in mockery or not, he made no reply. ;

“These Nihilists are men of iron,” he said afterwards.
A PRISONER. 79

“They walk to the scaffold with smiling faces; they exist in
dungeons that would kill a dog in twenty-four hours, and
nothing can tempt them to divulge their secrets; even star-
vation does not affect them. They are dangerous enemies,
but it must be owned that they are brave men and women.
This boy, for he is little more, almost laughed in our faces;
and, in spite of his stay in that damp cell, seemed to be in
excellent spirits. It is the same with them all, though I
own that some of them do break down sometimes; but I
think that those who commit suicide do so principally be-
cause they are afraid that, under pressure, they may divulge
secrets against each other. Ossip, who attends that young
fellow, says that he is always the same, and speaks as cheer-
fully to him every morning as if he were in a palace instead
of in a dungeon.” :

Two days later Godfrey was aroused in the night.

“Why, it is not light yet,” he said. “What are you dis-
turbing me at this time for?”

“Get up,” the man said; “you are going to start.”

“Thank goodness for that!” Godfrey said, jumping up
from his straw. “That is the best news that I have heard
for a long time.”

In the court-yard seven prisoners were standing. They
were placed at some distance from each other, and by each
stood a soldier and a policeman. A similar guard took their
places by the side of Godfrey as he came out. An official
took charge of the whole party, and, still keeping a few
paces apart, they sallied out through the prison doors and
marched through the sleeping city. Perhaps Godfrey was
the only one of the party who did not feel profoundly im-
pressed. They were going to leave behind them for ever
family and friends and country, and many would have wel-
comed death as an escape from the dreary prospect before
them. Godfrey’s present feeling was that of exhilaration.

He had done his best to keep his mind at work, but
the damp and unwholesome air of the cell had told upon
80 tONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

him, enfeebled as he had been by the attack of fever. As
he walked along now he drew in deep breaths of the brisk
night air, and looked with delight at the stars glistening
overhead. As to the future, just at that moment it
troubled him but little. He knew nothing of Siberia beyond
having heard that the prisoners there led a terrible life.
That he should escape from it some time or other seemed to
him a matter of course. How, he could form no idea until
he got there; but as to the fact he had no misgiving, for it
seemed to him ridiculous that in a country so enormous as
Siberia a prisoner could not make his way out sooner or
later.

When they reached the railway-station a train stood in
readiness. Each prisoner had a separate compartment, his
two guards accompanying him. Godfrey addressed a word
to his custodians. The policeman, however, said, “ You are
forbidden to speak,” and in a minute or two the train
moved off.

Godfrey dozed occasionally until morning, and then looked
out at the dark woods through which they passed for hours.
Twice the train stopped at lonely stations, and the prisoners
were supplied with food. In the afternoon Godfrey saw the
gilded and painted domes of a great city, and knew that it
must be Moscow. Here, however, they made no stay, but
steamed straight through the station and continued their way.
Godfrey slept soundly after it became dark, waking up once
when the train came to a standstill. At early morning he
was roused and ordered to alight, and in the same order as
before the prisoners were marched through the streets of
Nijni Novgorod to the bank of the Volga. Few people
were yet abroad in the streets, but all they met looked pity-
ingly at the group of exiles, a sight of daily occurrence in
the springtime of the year. Ordinary prisoners, of whom
from fifteen to twenty thousand are sent annually to Siberia,
are taken down the Volga in a convict barge, towed by a
steamer, in batches of six or seven hundred, Political pri-




















Scale of Miles
o 100 300 570















G&SGOW, EDINBURGH & DUBLIN.
ox, oS
KIE & SON, LOND!

BLACKI






A PRISONER. 81

soners are differently treated; they are carried on board the
ordinary steamer, each having a separate cabin, and during
the voyage they are allowed no intercourse whatever, either
with each other or with the ordinary passengers.

Of these there were a considerable number on board the
steamer, as the season had but just begun, and merchants,
traders, and officials were taking advantage of the river’s
being open to push forward into Siberia. At present, how-
ever, these were all below. The prisoners were conducted
to the cabins reserved for them, and then locked in. Pre-
sently Godfrey heard a buzz of many voices and a general
movement in the cabin outside, and the fact that he was
a prisoner and cut off from the world came to him more
strongly than it had hitherto done. An hour later there was a
movement and shouting overhead. Then he felt the paddles
revolving, and knew that the steamer was under way. He
could, however, see nothing. A sort of shutter was fastened
outside the scuttle, which gave him the opportunity to take
a glimpse of the sky, but nothing of the shore or water.
Nothing could be more monotonous than the journey, and
yet the air and light that came down through the port-hole
rendered it far more pleasant than existence in a prison cell.
He knew, too, that, dull as it was in the cabin, there would
be little to see on deck, for the shores of the rivers were
everywhere flat and low.

After twenty-four hours’ travel the steamer stopped.
Since Godfrey had been in Russia he had naturally studied
the geography of the empire, and knew a good deal about
the routes. He guessed, therefore, that the halt was at
Kasan, the capital of the old Tartar kingdom. It was a
break to him to listen to the noises overhead, to guess at the
passengers who were leaving and coming on board, to listen
to scraps of conversation that could be heard through the
open port-hole, and to the shouts of farewell from those on
board to those on shore as the vessel steamed on again. He
knew that after two hours’ more steaming down the Volga

(781) F
82 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

the vessel turned up the Kama, a large river running into
it and navigable for 1400 miles. Up this the vessel steamed
for three days and then reached Perm. In the evening
Godfrey and his companions were disembarked and, strictly
guarded as before, were marched to the railway-station,
placed in a special carriage attached to a train, and after
twenty-four hours’ travel at the rate of about twelve miles
an hour reached Ekaterinburg. This railway had only been
open for a year, and until its completion this portion of the
journey had been one of the most tiresome along the whole
route, as the Ural Mountains intervene between Perm and
Ekaterinburg; their height is not great here, and the railway
crosses them at not more than 1700 feet above sea-level.

On arriving at the station half the prisoners were at once
placed in vehicles and the others were sent to the prison.
Godfrey was one of the party that went on at once. The
vehicle, which was called a telega, was a sort of narrow
waggon without springs, seats, or cover; the bottom was
covered with a deep layer of straw, and there were some
thick rugs for coverings at night. It was drawn by three
horses. Godfrey was in the last of the four vehicles that
started together. His soldier guard took his place beside
him, four mounted Cossacks rode, two on each side of the
procession. ‘The driver, a peasant, to whom the horses
belonged, cracked his short-handled whip and the horses
sprang forward. Siberian horses are wiry little animals,
not taking to the eye, but possessing speed and great endur-
ance. The post-houses are situated from twelve to twenty-
five versts apart, according to the difficulty of the country,
a verst being about two-thirds of an English mile. At these
post-houses relays of horses are always kept in readiness for
one or two vehicles, but word is sent on before when political
prisoners are coming, and extra relays are obtained by the
post-masters from the peasants.

To Godfrey the sensation of being whirled through the
air as fast as the horses could gallop was, after his long con-
A PRISONER. 83

finement, perfectly delightful, and he fairly shouted with joy
and excitement. Now that they were past Ekaterinburg,
Godfrey’s guard, a good-tempered-looking young fellow,
Seemed to consider that it was no longer necessary to pre-
serve an absolute silence, which had no doubt been as irksome
to him as to his companion.

“We can talk now. Why are you so merry?’

“To be in the air again is glorious,” Godfrey said. “I
should not mind how long the journey lasted if it were like
this. How far do we travel in carriages?”

“To Tiumen, 300 versts; then we take steamer again, that
is if you go farther.”

“You don’t know where we are going to then?”

“Not at all, it will be known at Tiumen; that is where
these things are settled generally, but people like you are
under special orders. You don’t look very wicked;” and he
smiled in a friendly way as he looked at the lad beside him.

“T am not wicked at all, not in the way you think,”
Godfrey said.

“Do not talk about that,” the soldier interrupted, “I must
not know anything about you; talk about other things, but
not why you are here.”

Godfrey nodded. “If we go on beyond Tiumen we go by
steamer, do we not?”

“Yes, through Tobolsk to Tomsk, beyond that we shall
drive. You are lucky, you people, that you drive, the others
walk; it is long work, but not so long as it used to be, they
say. I have been told that in the old times, when they
started on foot from Moscow it took them sometimes two
years to reach the farthest places. Now they have the rail-
way, and the steamers on the river as far as Tomsk.”

“How do they take them in the steamers?”

“They take them in great barges that are towed; we
passed two on our way to Perm. They hold five or six
hundred, there is a great iron cage on deck, and they let
half the number up at a time in order to get air, They are
84 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

always going along at this time of year, for they all go early
in the season so as to get to the journey’s end before the
frosts set in.”

“But surely all these men cannot be guilty of great
crimes,” Godfrey said, “ for I have heard that about twenty
thousand a year are sent away?” ‘

‘No, many of them are only lazy fellows who drink and
will not work. We sent away three from my village the
year before I was taken for a soldier. They were lazy and
would not do their share of work, so the heads of the village
met and decided that they should go to Siberia. They drew
up a paper, which was sent to be confirmed by the judge of
the district, and then soldiers came and took them away.”

“But you don’t mean to say,” Godfrey said, “that men
are sent to prison all their lives because they are lazy.”

“Oh no, no one would think of such a thing as that!
Men like these are only sent to the big towns, Tiumen,
or Perm, or Tobolsk, and then they are settled on land or
work in the towns, but they are free to do as they like.
The country wants labour, and men who won’t work at home
and expect the community to keep them have to work here
or else they would starve. Then there are numbers who are
only guilty of some small offence. They have stolen some-
thing, or they have resisted the tax-gatherer, or something
of that sort. They only go to prison for the term of their
sentences, perhaps only three or four months, and then they
too are free like the others, and can work in the towns, or
trade if they happen to have money to set them up, or they
can settle in a village and take up land and cultivate it,
They can live where they like in Siberia. I had many rich
men pointed out to me in Tobolsk who had come out as
convicts.”

“You have been here before then?” Godfrey said.

“Yes, this is my second journey. I hope I shall come no
more. We get a little extra pay and are better fed than we
are with the regiment, and we have no drill; but then it is
A PRISONER. 85

sad. Last time I had one with me who had left his wife
and family behind; he was always sad, he talked to me
sometimes of them, there was no one else to talk to. He
was here for life, and he knew he should never see them
again. She was young and would marry again.”

“But she couldn’t do that as long as he lived,” Godfrey
said.

“Oh yes; from the day a prisoner crosses the frontier his
marriage is annulled and his wife can marry again. She
may come with him if she likes, but if she does she can never
go back again.”

“ And do many wives come?”

“A good many,” the soldier said; “but I only know what
I have heard. I was with one of you last time, and it was
only on the way back that I heard of things about the others.
Formerly the guards remained in Siberia if they chose, it was
too far to send them back to Russia; but now that the
journey is done so quickly, and we can get back all the way
from Tomsk by the rivers, except this little bit, we go back
again as soon as we have handed over our charges. I did
not go farther than Tomsk last time, and I was back at Nijni
in less than three months after starting. What part of
Russia do you come from?”

“Tam an Englishman.”

The soldier looked round in surprise. “I did not know
Englishmen could speak our language so well; of course I
noticed that your speech was not quite like mine, but I am
from the south and I thought you must come from some-
where in the north or from Poland. How did—” and here
he stopped. “ But I must not ask that; I don’t want to
know anything, not even your name. Look there, we are
just going to pass a convoy of other prisoners.”

In a minute or two they overtook the party. It consisted
of about a hundred and fifty prisoners escorted by a dozen
mounted Cossacks. The men were in prison garb of yellowish-
brown stuff with a coloured patch in the back between the
86 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

shoulders. They had chains fastened to rings round the
ankles and tied up to their belts. They were not heavy, and
interfered very little with their walking. The procession
in no way accorded with Godfrey’s preconceived idea. The
men were walking along without much attempt at regular
order. ‘They were laughing and talking together or with
their guards, and some of them shouted chafling remarks to
the four vehicles as they swept past them.

“They do not look very unhappy,” Godfrey said.

“Why should they?” the soldier replied; “they are better
off than they would be at home. Lots of men break the
law on purpose to be sent out; it is a good country. They
say wives get rid of their husbands by informing against
them and getting them sent here. I believe there are quite
as many husbands with scolding wives who get themselves
sent here to be free of them. As long as they are on the
road or employed in hard labour they are fed better than
they ever were at home, better a great deal than we soldiers
are. Even in the prisons they do not work so very hard,
for it is difficult to find work for them ; only if they are
sent to the mines their lot is bad. Of that I know nothing,
but I have heard. As for the rest, from what I have
seen of it I should say that a convict here is better off than
a peasant at home. But here we are at the post-house,”

CHAPTER V.
AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE,

dl hese stay at the post-houses was very short. ~ As soon as

the vehicles were seen coming along the straight level
road, the first set of horses were brought out, and the lead-
ing tarantass was ready to proceed in two or three minutes.
AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 87

The other horses were changed as quickly, and in less than
ten minutes from their arrival the whole were on their
way again, While the horses were being changed the pris-
oners were permitted to get out and stretch their legs, but
were not allowed to exchange a word with each other or
with anyone else. At every fourth stage a bowl of soup
with a hunch of bread was brought to each prisoner by one
of the guards at the ostrov or prison, where the convicts
were lodged as they came along. There were rugs in the
vehicles to lay over them at night when the air was sharp
and chilly, although in the day the sun had great power, |
and the dust rose in clouds under the horses’ feet,

There was little of interest to be seen on the journey.
Only round the villages was there any cultivation, and the
plains stretched away unbroken save by small groups of
cattle, horses, and sheep. Although Godfrey had not minded
the shaking of the springless vehicle for the first stage or
two, he felt long before he reached the journey’s end as if
every bone was dislocated. As a rule the road was good,
but in some places, where it passed through swampy tracts,
it had given in the spring thaw, and had been cut into deep
ruts. Here the shaking as they passed along at night was
tremendous. Godfrey and his companion were dashed
against each other or against the sides with such force that
Godfrey several times thought his skull was fractured, and
he was indeed thankful when, after forty hours on the road,
they drove into Tiumen.,

Tiumen is a town of over 15,000 inhabitants, and is the
first town arrived at in Siberia proper, the frontier between
Russia and that country running between Ekaterinburg and
that town. Here the prisoners were at once placed on
board a steamer, and Godfrey was glad indeed to throw
himself down upon the bed, where he slept without waking
until the steamer got under way in the morning. He was
delighted to see that the port-hole was not, as in the first
boat, blocked by an outside shutter, but that he could look
88 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

out over the country as they passed along. For a time the
scenery was similar to that which they had been passing
over, bare and desolate; but it presently assumed a different
character; fields of green wheat stretched away from the
river side; comfortable-looking little villages. succeeded each
other rapidly as the steamer passed along, and save for the
difference of architecture and the peculiar green domes and
pinnacles of the little churches he might have been looking
over a scene in England.

The river was about two hundred yards wide here, a
smooth and placid stream. The steamer did not proceéd
at any great pace, as it was towing behind it one of the
heavy convict barges, and although the passage is ordinarily
performed in a day and a half, it took them nearly a day
longer to accomplish, and it was not until late in the after-
noon of the third day that Tobolsk came in sight. Through
his port-hole Godfrey obtained a good view of the town,
containing nearly 30,000 inhabitants, with large govern-
ment buildings, and a great many houses built of stone.
It is built in a very unhealthy position, the country round
being exceedingly low and marshy. After passing Tobolsk
they entered the Obi, one of the largest rivers in Asia. The
next morning the steamer again started for her sixteen-
hundred-mile journey to Tomsk. The journey occupied
eight days, the convict barge having been left behind at
Tobolsk.

The time passed tediously to Godfrey, for the banks were
low and flat, villages were very rare, and the steamer only
touched at three places. Herds of horses were seen from
time to time roaming untended over the country. The only
amusement was in watching the Ostjaks, the natives of the
banks of the Obi. These people have no towns or villages,
but live in rough tents made of skins. He saw many of them
fishing from their tiny canoes, but the steamer did not pass
near enough to them to enable him to get a view of them, as
they generally paddled away towards the shore as the steamer
AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE, 89

approached. He heard afterwards that they are wonderfully
skilful in the use of the bow, which they use principally
for killing squirrels and other small animals. These bows
are six feet long, the arrows four feet. The head is a small
iron ball, so as to kill without injuring the fur of small
animals, and the feats recorded of the English archers of
old times are far exceeded by the Ostjaks. Even at long
distances they seldom fail to strike a squirrel on the head,
and Godfrey was informed by a man who had been present
that he saw an Ostjak shoot an arrow high into the air,
and cut it in two with another arrow as it descended, a feat
that seemed to him altogether incredible, but is confirmed
by the evidence of Russian travellers.

Tomsk is situated on the river Tom, an affluent of the
Obi. The town is about the same size as Tobolsk; the
climate of the district is considered the best in Siberia; the
land is fertile, and among the mountains are many valuable
mines, Although a comparatively small province in com-
parison to Tobolsk on one side and Yeneseisk on the other,
it contains an area of half a million square miles, and,
excluding Russia, is bigger than any two countries of Europe
together. It contains a rural population of 725,000—
130,000 natives, chiefly Tartars and Kalmuces, and 30,000
troops. ;

Here Godfrey was landed, and marched to the prison.

Of these there are two, the one a permanent convict estab-
lishment, the other for the temporary detention of prisoners
passing through. Godfrey slipped a few roubles into the
hand of his guard, for his watch, money, and the other
things in his pockets had been restored to him before start-
ing on his journey. After two days’ stop in the prison the
journey was continued as before, a soldier sitting by the
driver, a police-officer taking the place of the soldier who
had before accompanied him. He began to speak to God-
frey as soon as they started.

“We are not so strict now,” he said. “You will soon be
90 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST

across the line into Eastern Siberia, and you will no longer
meet people through whom you might send messages or.
letters. As to escape, that would be out of the question
since you left Ekaterinburg, for none can travel either by
steamer or post without a permit, or even enter an inn, and
the document must be shown at every village.”

“But I suppose prisoners do escape sometimes,” Godfrey
said.

“There have not been a dozen escapes in the last fifty
years,” the policeman said. ‘There are great numbers get
away from their prisons or employments every year, but the
authorities do not trouble about them; they may take to the
mountains or forésts, and live on game for a few months in
summer, but when winter arrives they must come in and
give themselves up.”

“What happens to them then?” Godfrey asked.

“Perhaps nothing but solitary confinement for a bit,
perhaps a beating with rods, just according to the temper
of the chief official at the time. Perhaps if it is a bad case
they are sent to the mines for a bit; that is what certainly
happens when they are political prisoners.”

“Why can’t they get right away?”

“Where are they to go to?” the officer said with a laugh.
“To the south there are sandy deserts where they would
certainly die of thirst; to the north trackless forests, cold
that would freeze a bullock solid in a night, great rivers
miles wide to cross, and terrible morasses, to say nothing of
the wolves who would make short work of you. The native
tribes to the west, and the people of the desert, are all fierce
and savage, and would kill anyone who came among them
merely for his clothes; and, besides, they get a reward from
government for every escaped prisoner they bring in alive
or dead. No, we don’t want bolts or bars to keep prisoners
in here. The whole land is a prison-house, and the prisoners
know well enough that it is better to live under a roof and
to be well fed there than to starve in the forest, with the
AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 91

prospect of a flogging at the end of their holiday. Still there
are thousands take to the woods in the summer, The govern-
ment does not care. Why should it? It is spared the
expense of feeding them, and if they starve to death or
kill each other off in their quarrels (for the greater part of
them would think no more of taking life than of killing a
fowl) there is an end of all further trouble about them, for
you understand, it is only the men who have life sentences,
the murderers, and so on, that attempt to run away; the
short-sentence men are not such fools.

“No,” he went on kindly, seeing that Godfrey looked de-
pressed at what he had heard; “whatever you do don’t think
of running away. If you behave well, and gain the good
opinion of the authorities, you won’t find yourself uncom-
fortable. You will be made a clerk, or a store-keeper, and
will have a good deal of liberty after a time. If you try
to run away, you will probably be sent to the mines; and
though it is not so bad there as they say, it is bad enough.”

But even this prospect was not very cheering to Godfrey.
Hitherto it had seemed to him that there could be no real
difficulty, although there might be many hardships and pri-
vations, in making his escape from so vast a prison. He
had told himself that it must be possible to evade pursuit in
80 vast a region; but now it seemed that nature had set so
strong a wall round the country that the Russians did not
even trouble themselves to pursue, confident that in time
the prisoners must come back again. But he was not silent
long. With the buoyancy of youth he put the question aside
for the present with the reflection, “Where there is a will
there is a way; anyhow some fellows have got away, and
if they have done it, I can.”

Godfrey had not as yet realized his situation; the sentence
“for life” had fallen upon his ears but not upon his mind;
he still viewed the matter as he might have viewed some
desperate scrape at school. He had, as he would have said,
put his foot in it horribly; but that he should really have to
92 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

pass his whole life in these wilds, should never see England
again, his father, mother, or sisters, was a thing that his
mind absolutely refused to grasp. ‘Of course I shall get
away somehow.” This had been the refrain that was con-
stantly running through his mind, and even now a satisfac-
tory reply to the assertion that not a dozen men had made
their escape at once occurred to him. There was no motive
to induce them to make their escape. They could not
return to Russia, and in any other country they would be
even more in exile than here, where everyone spoke their
language, and where, as far as he had seen, the climate was
as good as that of Russia, and the country no more flat and
ugly.

“There is nothing they can want to escape for,” he re-
peated to himself. “I have everything to escape for, and
I mean to do it.” Having once re-established that view to
his satisfaction, he began to chat away cheerfully again to
his companion. “It is not everyone,” he said, “who pos-
sesses my advantages, or who can travel five or six thousand
miles by rail, steamer, and carriage, without ever having to
put his hand in his pocket for a single kopec. The only
objection to it is that they don’t give me a return ticket.”

“That is an objection,” the policeman agreed, smiling.

“We are not going to travel night and day, as we did
between Ekaterinburg and Tiumen, I hope?”

“Oh, no; we shall only travel while it is light.”

“Well, that isa comfort. It was bad enough for that short
distance. It would be something awful if it had to be kept
up for a fortnight. How long shall we be before we get to
Trvkoutsk?”

‘About a month. I know nothing as to what will be
done with you beyond that. You may, for anything I know,
go to the mines at Nertchinsk, which are a long distance east
beyond Irkoutsk; or you may go to Verkhoyansk, a Yakout
settlement 3000 miles from Irkutsk, within the Arctic Circle.
There are lots of these penal settlements scattered over the
AN OLD’ ACQUAINTANCE. 93

country. They do not send the ordinary convict popula-
tion there. There is no danger from them; but the theory
is that the politicals are always plotting, and therefore they
are for the most part sent where by no possibility can they
get up trouble.” ,

Godfrey set his lips hard together and asked no questions
for the next half-hour. Although the journey was not con-
tinued by night the telega was still Godfrey’s constant place
of abode. Sometimes it was wheeled under a shed, some-
times it stood in the road, but in all cases the policeman
was by his side night and day. Godfrey was indifferent
whether he slept in a bed or in the telega, which, when the
straw was fresh shaken up and a couple of rugs laid upon
it, was by no means uncomfortable. The nights were not
cold and no rain had fallen since he left Nijni. He further
reflected that probably there would be fleas and other ver-
min in the post-houses, and that altogether he was a gainer
instead of a loser by the regulation.

He was pleased with the appearance of Atchinsk, a bright
little town a day’s journey from Tomsk. It was, like all
the Siberian towns, built of wood, but the houses were all
painted white or gray, picked out with bright colours. It
stood in the middle of a large grass plain, with inclosed
meadows of luxuriant herbage and bright flowers, among
which large numbers of sheep and cattle were feeding.
Beyond this the country again became dull and monotonous,
Krasnoiarsk was the next town reached. Between this town
and Kansk the country was again cultivated.

Scarce a day passed without large gangs of convicts being
overtaken on the road. For some distance Godfrey suffered
terribly from mosquitoes, which swarmed so thickly that the
peasants working in the fields were obliged to wear black
veils over their faces. Fortunately he had been warned by
his guard at Atchinsk that there would be trouble with
these pests on further, and the man had, at his request,
bought for him a few yards of muslin, under which they
94 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

sat during the day and spread over the telega at night. It
was, however, a long and dreary journey, and Godfrey was
heartily glad when at last they saw the domes of Irkoutsk,
a city of fifty thousand inhabitants.

They drove rapidly through the town to the prison, where
he was placed in a cell by himself. The morning after his
arrival the warder entered with a man carrying a basin and
shaving apparatus.

“Confound it!” Godfrey muttered. ‘I have been expect-
ing this ever since I saw the first gang of convicts, but I
hoped they did not do it to us.”

It was of course useless to remonstrate. His hair, which
had grown to a great length since he left St. Petersburg,
was first cut short; then the barber lathered his head and
set to work with a razor. Godfrey wondered what his par-
ticular style of hair was going to be. He had noticed that
all the convicts were partially shaved. Some were left bare
from the centre of the head down one side; others had the
front half of the head shaved, while the hair at the back
was left; some had only a ridge of hair running along the
top of the head, either from the forehead to the nape of the
neck or from one ear to the other.

“He is shaving me like a monk,” he said to himself as
the work proceeded. “Well, I think that is the best after
all, for with a cap on it won’t show.”

When the barber had done he stepped back and surveyed
‘Godfrey with an air of satisfaction; while the jailer, as he
wrote down the particulars in a note-book, grinned. Godfrey
passed his hand over his head and found that, as he sup-
posed, he had been shaved half-way down to the ears;
but in the middle of this bald place the barber had left
a patch of hair about the size of half-a-crown which stood
up perfectly erect. He burst into a shout of laughter, in
which the other two men joined. The jailer patted him
approvingly on the shoulder. “Bravo, young fellow!” he
said, pleased at seeing how lightly Godfrey took it, for
AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 95

many of the exiles who had stood bravely the loss of their
liberty were completely broken down by the loss of a por-
tion of their hair, which branded them wherever they went
as convicts.

Godfrey was then taken out into a large court-yard and
out through a gate into another inclosure. This had evi-
dently been added but a very short time to the precincts of
the prison. It was of considerable size, being four or five
acres in extent, and was surrounded on three sides by a
palisade some fourteen feet in height, of newly-sawn timber.
The wall of the prison formed the fourth side of the square.
In each corner of the inclosure was placed a clump of six
little wooden huts. Two low fences ran across the inclosure
at right angles to each other, dividing the space into four
equal squares, Where the fences crossed each other there
was an inclosure a few yards across, and in this were two
sentry-boxes with soldiers, musket in hand, standing by them.
A few men were listlessly moving about, while others were
digging and working in small garden patches into which the
inclosures were divided. The policeman who accompanied
Godfrey led him to one of the little huts. He opened the
door and wentin. A young man was sitting there.

“TI have brought you a companion,” the policeman said.
“He will share your hut with you. You can teach him
what is required.” With this brief introduction he closed
the door behind him and left. The young man had risen,
and he and Godfrey looked hard at each other.

“Surely we have met before!” the prisoner said. “I know
your face quite well.”

“ And I know yours also,” Godfrey replied.

“Now that you speak I know you. You are the young
Englishman, Godfrey Bullen.”

“T am,” Godfrey replied; “and you?”

“ Alexis Stumpoff.”

“So it is!” Godfrey exclaimed in surprise, and, delighted
at this meeting, they shook hands cordially.
96 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“But what are you here for?” Godfrey asked. “I thought
that you had obtained an appointment at Tobolsk.”

“Ves, I was sent out as assistant to the doctor of one of
the prisons. I suppose you understood that it was not the
sort of appointment one would choose.”

“JT was certainly surprised when I heard that you were
going so far away,” Godfrey said, “‘as my friends told me
that you had property. It seemed almost like going into
banishment.”

“That was just what it was,” the young doctor laughed.
“T had been too outspoken in my political opinions, and
one or two of our set had been arrested and sent out here;
and when I was informed, on the day after I passed my
examinations, that I was appointed to a prison at Tobolsk,
it was also intimated to me that it would be more agreeable
to go there in that capacity than as a prisoner. As I was
also of that opinion, and as, to tell you the truth, some of
our friends were for pushing matters a good deal farther
than I cared about doing, I was not altogether sorry to get
out of it.”

“But how is it that you are here as a prisoner?” Godfrey
asked.

“That is more than I can tell you. Some two months
ago the governor of the prison entered my room with two
warders, and informed me briefly that I was to be sent here
as a prisoner. I had ten minutes given me to pack up my
things for the journey, and half an hour later was in the
cabin of a steamer, with a Cossack at the door. What it
was for, Heaven only knows. I had never broken any regu-
lations, never spoken to a political prisoner when in the
hospital except to ask him medical questions, and had never
opened my lips on politics to a soul there.”

“T think perhaps I can enlighten you,” Godfrey said;
and he related to him the attempt to blow up the emperor
at the Winter Palace, and the fate of Petroff Stepanoff and
Akim Soushiloff.
AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 97

“That does indeed explain it,” Alexis said. “I was very
intimate with both of them, and it is quite enough to have
been intimate with two men engaged in a plot against the
life of the Czar to ensure one a visit to Siberia. So that is
it! I have thought of everything, and it seemed to me that
it must have been something at St. Petersburg—that my
name had been found on a list when some of the Nihilists
were arrested, or something of that sort; for I certainly did
join them, but that was before there was any idea of taking
steps against the Czar. No wonder you are here, after
being mixed up in that escape of Valerian Ossinsky, and
then being caught again with four Nihilists just after that
terrible attempt to blow up the Czar. I wonder they did
not hang you.”

“‘T wonder too,” Godfrey said. “I suppose if I had been
a year or two older they would have done so; but I can
assure you I had not the slightest idea that Petroff and
Akim were Nihilists. I do think that the country is horribly
misgoverned, but as a foreigner that was no business of
mine; and however strongly I felt, I would have had no-
thing to do with men who tried to gain their end by assassi-
nation. I was just as innocent in the affair of Ossinsky.
I behaved like a fool, I grant, but that was all. I had met
the woman, who as I now know was Sophia Perovskaia,
but she was only known to me then from having met her
once in Petroff and Akim’s room, and she was introduced
to me as Akim’s cousin Katia. I met her at the Opera-
house, and she told me a cock-and-bull story about a young
officer who had come to see a lady there, and had left his
regiment at Moscow without leave to do so. His colonel,
who was at the Opera-house, had heard of his being there
and was looking for him, and I was persuaded to change
dominoes with him to enable him to slip off.”

“Oh that was it!” Alexis said. “I wondered how you
got mixed up in the affair, and still more why they let you
out after your having been caught in what they considered

(781) G
98 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

a serious business. Well, here we are, victims both, and it
is a curious chance that has thrown us together again.”

“Well, what is our life here?” Godfrey asked.

Alexis shrugged his shoulders. “ As a life it is detestable,
though were it for a short time only there would be nothing
to grumble about. We are fairly fed; we have each a patch
of ground, where we can grow vegetables. The twelve men
in these huts can visit and talk to each other. When that
is said all is said. Oh, by the way, we are also permitted
to make anything we like! that is, we can buy the materials
if we have money, and the work can be sold in the town.
There is one man has made himself a turning-lathe, and he
makes all sorts of pretty little things. There is another man
who was an officer,in the navy; he carves little models of
ships out of wood and bone. Another man paints. I have
not decided yet what I shalldo. I had two or three hundred
roubles when I was sent off here, and as I only spent four
or five on the road, I have plenty to last me for some time
for tea and tobacco.”

“But how do you get them?”

“The warders smuggle them in. It is an understood
thing, and there is no real objection to it, though they are
very strict about bringing in spirits. Still we can get vodka
if we have a mind to; it is only a question of bribery,’

“How long are you here for, Alexis?”

“Fifteen years.”

“T am supposed to be in for life,” Godfrey said.

“Fifteen years is as bad as life,” the young doctor said,
“What is the use of your life after having been shut up
here for fifteen years?”

“Well, I don’t mean to stay, that is one thing,” Godfrey
said. “There can’t be any difficulty in escaping from here.”

“Not the least in the world,” Alexis said quietly. “But
where do you propose to go?”

“T have not settled yet. It seems to me that any one
with pluck and energy ought to be able to make his way out
AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 99

of this country somehow; besides, from what 1 hear great
numbers do get away, and take to the woods.”

“Yes, but they have to give themselves up again.”

“That may be; but I hear also that if they give them-
selves up a long way from the prison they escape from, and
refuse to give any account whatever of themselves, they are
simply sent to prison again as vagabonds. In that case they
are treated as ordinary convicts. Now from what I hear,
an ordinary convict is infinitely better off than a political
one. Of course you have to associate with a bad lot; still
that is better than almost solitary confinement. The work
they have to do is not hard, and if they are well conducted
they are let out after a time, whereas there is no hope for
a political prisoner. At any rate, even if I knew that if
I was retaken I should be hung at.once, I should try it.”

“But the distance to the frontier is enormous, and even
when you get there you would be arrested at the first place
you come to if you have no papers; besides, how could you
get through the winter?”

“T should get through the winter somehow,” Godfrey
said stoutly. ‘There are hundreds and thousands of people
in scattered villages who live through the winter. Why
shouldn’t I? I would make friends with the natives in the
north, and live in their huts, and hunt with them. But I
am not thinking of that. The distance is, as you say,
enormous, and the cold terrible. My idea is to escape by
the south.” ;

“Tt is a desert, Godfrey.”

“Oh they call it a desert to frighten people from trying
to escape that way. But I know there is a caravan route
by which the teas come from China; besides, there are tribes-
men who wander about there and pick up a living somehow.
I don’t say that I am going to succeed; I only say I am
going to try. I may lose my life or I may be sent back
again. Very well, then, I will try again some other way.
We are not far from the Chinese frontier here, are we?”
100 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“‘No; the frontier is at Kiakhta, not more than three or
four hundred miles away.”

“What are the people like?”

“They are called Buriats, and are a sort of Mongol tribe,
living generally in tents and wandering with their flocks
and herds through the country like the patriarchs of old.”

“Tf they have large flocks and herds,” Godfrey said, “the
reward the Russians offer for escaped convicts can’t tempt
them much. Most likely they are hospitable; almost all
these wandering tribes are. If one had luck one might get
befriended and stick for a time to one of these tribes in
their wanderings south, and then get hold of some other
people, and so get passed on. There can’t be anything im-
possible in it, Alexis. We know that travellers have made
their way through Africa alone. Mungo Park did, and lots
of other people have done so, and some of the negro tribes
are, according to all accounts, a deal more savage than the
Asiatic tribes. Once among them it doesn’t much matter
which way one goes, whether it is east to China or west to
Persia.”

Alexis sat and looked with some wonder at his companion.
“By the saints, Godfrey Bullen, I begin to understand now
how it is that your people, living in a bit of an island which
could be pinched out of Russia and never missed, are
colonizing half the world; how they go in ships to explore
the polar seas, have penetrated Africa in all directions as
travellers, go among the wildest people as missionaries.
We are brought up to have everything done for us: to think
as we are told to think, to have officials keep their eyes over
us at every turn, to be punished if we dare to think inde
pendently, till we have come to be a nation of grown-up
children. You are only a boy, if you will forgive my calling
you so, and yet you talk about facing the most horrible
dangers as coolly as if you were proposing going for a
promenade on the Nevski. We won’t talk any more about
it now, for you have made me feel quite restless. There,
AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 101

you have been here two hours, and I have forgotten all my
duties as host, and have not even offered you a cup of tea;
it is shameful.” And Alexis brought out a samovar and
soon had water boiling and tea made.

After they had drunk it they went out of the hut, and
Godfrey was introduced to the other exiles. Two of them
who lived together were quite old men; they had been pro-
fessors at the University of Kieff, and were exiled for having
in their lectures taught what were considered pernicious
doctrines. There were three military and two naval officers,
a noble, another doctor, and two sons of merchants. All
received him cordially, and Godfrey saw that in any other
place the society would be a pleasant one; but there was
an air of settled melancholy in the majority of the faces,
while the sentry fifty yards away, and the high prison wall
behind, seemed ever in their minds.

By common consent, as it seemed, no allusion was ever
made to politics) They had all strong opinions, and had
sacrificed everything for them, but.of what use to discuss
matters the course of which they were powerless to influence
in the smallest degree. Free, there was probably not one of
them but would again have striven in one way or another
to bring about reforms, either by instructing the ignorant,
rousing the intelligent, or frightening the powerful. But
here, with no hope of returning, the whole thing was best
forgotten. The past was dead to them, and they were with-
out a future. The news that Godfrey brought of the blow
that had been struck against the Czar roused them for a
few days. The war then was still being carried on. Others
were wielding the weapons they had forged, but of what
had happened afterwards Godfrey was ignorant. Four men
had been arrested or killed; but whether they had played
an important part in the matter he knew not, nor whether
others had shared their fate. All he could say was, that so
far as he heard, numerous arrests had taken place.

But the excitement caused by the news very speedily died
102 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

away, and they again became listless and indifferent. All
worked for a little time in their gardens, but beyond that only
those who had made some sort of occupation for themselves
had anything to interest themselves actively in. Sometimes
they played chess, draughts, or cards, but they did so, as
Godfrey observed, in a half-hearted manner, with the excep-
tion, indeed, of one of the professors, who was by far the
strongest chess-player of the party, and who passed all his
time in inventing problems which, when complete, he care-
fully noted down in a book, with their solutions,

“When I am dead,” he said one day to Godfrey, who was
watching him, “they will send this book to a nephew of
mine; you see I have written his name and address outside,
He is a great chess-player, and will send it to England or
France to be published; and it is pleasant for me to think
that my work, even here in prison, may serve as an amuse-
ment to people out in the world.”

Except in the dulness and monotony of the life there was
little to complain of, and Godfrey was surprised to find how
far it differed from his own preconceived notions of the life
of a political prisoner in Siberia. It was only when, by an
effort, he looked ahead for years and tried to fancy the
possibility of being so cut off from the world for life, that
he could appreciate the terrible nature of the punishment.
Better a thousand times to be one of the murderers in the
prison behind the wall. They had work to occupy their
time, and constantly changing associates, with the knowledge
that by good conduct they would sooner or later be released
and be allowed to live outside the prison.

When at eight o’clock in the evening the prisoners were
locked up in their huts, he endeavoured to learn everything
that Alexis Stumpoff knew of Siberia.

He found that his knowledge was much more extensive
than he had expected. “As I came out nominally, Godfrey,
as a free man, I brought with me every book I could buy on
the country, and I almost got them by heart. It seemed
AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 103

to me that I was likely to be kept here for years, if not for
life. I might be sent from one government prison to another,
from Tobolsk to the eastern sea; therefore every place pos-
sessed an interest for me. Besides this, although I was
not actually a political prisoner myself I was virtually so,
and my sympathies were wholly with the prisoners, and I
thought that I might possibly be able to advise and counsel
men who came under my charge: to describe to them the
places where they might have relations or friends shut up,
and to dissuade those who, like yourself, meditated escape,
for my studies had not gone far before I became convinced
that this was well-nigh hopeless. I learned how strict
were the regulations on the frontier, how impossible, even
if this were reached, to journey on without being arrested
at the very first village that a fugitive entered, and that so
strict were they that although numbers of the convict estab-
lishments were within comparatively short distances of the
frontier, escapes were no more frequent from them than
from those three thousand miles to the east. When I say
escapes I mean escapes from Siberia. Escapes from the
prisons are of constant occurrence, since most of the work
is done outside the walls. There are thousands, I might
almost say tens of thousands, get away every spring, but
they all have to come back again in winter. The authorities
trouble themselves little about them, for they know that
they must give themselves up in a few months.”

“Yes, my guard told me about that. He said they were
not punished much when they came in.”

“Sometimes they are flogged; but the Russian peasant
is accustomed to flogging and thinks but little of it. More
often they are not flogged. They have, perhaps, a heavier
chain, for the convicts all wear chains—we have an advan-
tage over them there—and they are put on poorer diet for
a time. They lose the remission of sentence they would
obtain by good behaviour, that is all, even when they are
recognized, but as a rule they take care not to give them-
104 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

selves up at the prison they left, but at one many hundred
miles from it. In the course of the summer their hair has
grown again. They assert stoutly that they are free labour-
ers who have lost their papers, and who cannot earn their
living through the winter. The authorities know, of course,
that they are escaped convicts, but they have no means of
identifying them. They cannot send them the rounds of a
hundred convict establishments; so instead of a man being
entered as Alexis Stumpoff, murderer, for instance, he is put
down by the name he gives, and the word vagabond is
added. The next year they may break out again; but in
time the hardships they suffer in the woods become distaste-
ful and they settle down to their prison life, and then, after
perhaps six, perhaps ten years of good conduct they are
released and allowed to settle where they will. So you see,
Godfrey Bullen, how hopeless is the chance of escape.”

“Not at all,” Godfrey said. “These men are most of
them peasants—men without education and without enter-
prise, incapable of forming any plan, and wholly without
resources in themselves, I feel as certain of escaping as I
am of being here at present. I don’t say that I shall
succeed the first time, but, as you say yourself, there is no
difficulty in getting away, and if I fail in one direction I will
try in another.”

CHAPTER VL
AN ESCAPE.

fl ees evenings were spent principally in conversations
about Siberia, Godfrey being eager to learn everything
that he could about its geography and peoples.
Alexis told him all he knew as to the mountains and
rivers, the various native tribes, the districts where the
AN ESCAPE. 105

villages were comparatively numerous, and the mighty forests
that, stretching away to the Arctic Sea, could hardly be said
to be explored. Books and paper were forbidden to the
political prisoners, and so strict were the regulations that
the warders would not under any considerations bring them
in. But Godfrey wrote all the particulars that he judged
might in any way be useful with a burnt piece of stick upon
the table as Alexis gave them, and then learned them by
heart, washing them off after he had done so.

But few of the details Alexis could give him would be
of any use in the attempt he first intended to make. The
southern frontier was so temptingly close that it seemed
absurd to turn from that and to attempt a tremendous
journey north, involving the certainty of having to struggle
through an Arctic winter, and to face the difficulties of the
passage west, either by land or sea: Beyond the fact that
from Irkutsk he would have to make for the southern
point of Lake Baikal, some sixty miles away, and then
strike about south-east for another two hundred through a
country inhabited almost entirely by Buriats, the doctor
could tell him little.

“ Kiakhta,” he said, “or rather, as far as the Russians are
concerned, Troitzkosavsk, which is a sort of suburb of
Kiakhta, is the frontier town. Kiakhta is a sort of neutral
town inhabited only by merchants, and by a treaty between
Russia and China no officer or stranger is allowed to sleep
there. Across the frontier, a few miles away, is the Chinese,
or I suppose I should say the Mongol, town of Maimatchin.
Beyond the fact that the people about there are Mongols
rather than Chinese, and that such religion as they have is
that of Thibet rather than China, for their priests are called
lamas, I know nothing except that the caravan route from
Kiakhta to Pekin is somewhere about a thousand miles,
and that the camels do it in about thirty-five days.”

“Then they make about thirty miles a day,” Godfrey said.
“I suppose there must be wells at their halting-places.”
106 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“ Ah! that is another matter, Godfrey. You see a camel
can go three days without water easily enough, and of course
they would carry skins of water for the travellers.”

“Oh, that is no odds,” Godfrey said. “One could walk
the ninety miles easily enough in three days, and there would
be no difficulty in carrying water enough for that time.
Besides, one would of course join a caravan if one could.
Luckily enough I had two hundred roubles in notes when I
was captured, and they restored them as well as my watch
and other things when I started. I suppose the Mongols are
just as fond of money as other people. The Chinese are,
certainly, and I might get some Chinese tea-merchant to let
me go in his train for a consideration.”

The Russian laughed. ‘’Pon my word, Godfrey, I begin
to think you will do it.”

“There can’t be anything impossible in doing it,” Godfrey
said, “Why, did not Burton disguise himself and go with
a caravan to Mecca and visit the holy places, and that was
twenty times as difficult and dangerous. Going along the
caravan route of course the difficulty is the language and
the Buriats. If one could talk Mongol, or whatever the
fellows call their language, it would be easy sailing; but I
own that it is a difficult thing to get along and explain what
you want with people who cannot understand a word you
say. I suppose the Buriats speak Russian.”

“T should say that a great many of them do, Godfrey,
I know there are missionaries and schools among them, and
some of them live in settled villages, though they are so
wedded to their own wandering life that they build their
houses on the exact model of their tents, with a hole in the
roof to let the smoke out. Still, as they deal with the
towns and come in to sell their cattle and sheep and herds
and so on, no doubt the greater part of them, at any rate on
this side of the frontier, speak a certain amount of Russian,
The difficulty will be to persuade them not to give you

up.
AN ESCAPE, 107

“But I can pay them more not to give me up than they
can get for doing so,” Godfrey said.

“They would kill you for what you have, Godfrey.
They are permitted to kill runaways, in fact encouraged to
do so, and the reward is the same whether they are brought
in dead or alive.”

“I should think, Alexis, it is easier to bring in a live
man than a dead one.”

“T don’t know,” the Russian laughed. “I don’t think a
Buriat would find it very easy to take you any distance
alive, but there would be no trouble in chucking you into a
cart and bringing you here after the preliminary operation
of knocking you on the head.”

Godfrey smiled. “You forget there would be some
preliminary trouble in knocking me on the head, Alexis;
but seriously, I don’t think any natives who have been in
contact at all with civilization are disposed to take life with-
out some strong motive. Of course robbery would be a
motive, but I should certainly have nothing about me that
a Tartar or a Buriat—I suppose they are all something of
the same thing—would covet. You were telling me your-
self that many of these people have very large flocks and
herds. Is it likely such people as these would cut a
stranger’s throat on the chance of finding a few roubles in
his pocket?”

“Well, one would think not, Godfrey; but of course they
are not all rich.”

“No; they may not be rich, but you say they are always
nomads. Well, people who are nomads must always have
some sort of animals to carry their tents, and a certain
amount, anyhow, of cattle, horses, or sheep. No, I don’t at
all believe in cutting throats without a motive.”

“But let us understand a little more about your inten-
tions, Godfrey. Do you mean to climb over that fence and
then to stroll away to the south with your hands in your
pockets and your hat on one side of your head, and to ask
108 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

the first man you come upon to direct you to the shortest
road to Pekin?”

Godfrey laughed. “No, not quite that, Alexis. These
clothes did very well in St. Petersburg, and though they
are all the worse for the journey here I daresay they would
pass well enough in the streets of Irkutsk. The first thing
to do will be to get some clothes, for as far as I could see
coming along the natives all dress a good deal like the
Russians. I suppose in winter they wrap up more in furs,
or they may wear their furs differently, but any sort of
peasant dress would do, as it would not excite attention,
while this tweed suit would be singular even in the streets
here.”

“That fur-lined great-coat would be all right, Godfrey.”

“Yes. I bought that at St. Petersburg. I don’t know
that it would go very well with a peasant’s dress, and it is
certainly not suitable for the time of year, though I shall
take it with me if I can. If I could roll it up and carry it
as a knapsack it would be first rate for sleeping in, besides
it might do as something to exchange when one gets to
places where money is of little use. If I can get hold of a
pistol anyhow I shall be glad. A pistol will always produce
civility if one meets only one or two men. The other
things I should want are a box of matches for making fires,
a good knife, or better still, a small axe, for chopping wood,
and a bottle or skin for holding water.”

“You will be seized and sent back in a week, Godfrey.”

“Very well, then, there will be no harm done. I regard
this as a sort of preliminary investigation. I shall ascertain -
the difficulties of travel in Siberia, and shall learn lessons
for next time. I believe myself the true way ‘is to strike
one of the great rivers, to build or steal a boat, to go down
in it to the Arctic Sea, and then to coast along until one
gets to Norway; but that is a big affair, and besides it is a
great deal too late in the year for it. When I attempt that
I shall make off as early in the spring as possible.”
AN ESCAPE, 109

“Remember you may be flogged when you are caught,
Godfrey.”

“Well, I shouldn’t like to be flogged, but as you say the
convicts don’t think much of it, I suppose I could bear it.
They used to flog in our army and navy till quite lately.”

“Tt is a dishonour,” Alexis exclaimed passionately.

Godfrey shrugged his shoulders.

“The dishonour lies in the crime and not in the punish-
ment,” he said. ‘“ At our great public schools in England
fellows are flogged. Well, there is no disgrace in it if it’s
only for breaking the rules or anything of that sort, but it
would be a horrible dishonour if it were for thieving. All
that sort of thing is absurd. I believe flogging is the best
punishment there is. It is a lot better to give a man a
couple of dozen and send him about his business, than it
is to keep him for a year in prison‘at the public expense,
and to have to maintain his wife and children also at the
public expense while he is there. Besides, I thought you
said the other day that they did not flog political prisoners.”

“Well, they don’t, at least not at any of the large prisons;
but in some of the small establishments, with perhaps a
brutal drunken captain or major as governor, no doubt it
may be done sometimes.”

“Well, I will take my chance of it.”

“And when do you think of starting?” Alexis asked after
a pause.

“Directly. I have only to decide how I am to get out
after the door is locked, and to make a rope of some sort
to climb the fence with. The blankets tied together will
do for that. As to the getting out there is no difficulty.
One only has to throw a blanket over that cross beam, get
' up on that, and get off one of the lining boards, displace a
few tiles, crawl through.” :

“T have half a mind to go with you, Godfrey.”

“Have you, Alexis? I should be awfully glad, but at the
same time I would not say a word to persuade you to do it.
110 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

You know I make light of it, but I know very well that
there will be some danger and a tremendous lot of hardship
to be gone through.”

“T don’t think I am afraid of that, Godfrey,” Alexis said
seriously. “It is not that I have been thinking of ever
since you began to talk to me of getting away. I consider
it is a hundred to one against success; but, as you say, if
we fail and get brought back no great harm is done. If
we get killed or die of hunger and thirst, again no harm is
done, for certainly life is not a thing to cling to when one is
a prisoner in Siberia; but it isnot that. You see I am differ-
ently situated to you. If you do succeed in getting away
you go home, and you are all right; if I succeed in getting
away what is to become of me? I speak Russian and German,
but there would be no return for me to Russia unless some
day when a new Czar ascends the throne, or on some such
occasion, when a general amnesty is granted; but even that
would hardly extend to political prisoners. What am I to
do? So far as I can see I might starve, and after all one
might almost as well remain here as starve in Pekin or in
some Chinese port. Granted that I could work my way
back to Europe on board ship, what should I do if I landed
at Marseilles or Liverpool? I could not go through the
streets shouting in German ‘I am a doctor, who wants to be
cured?”

‘No, Alexis,” Godfrey agreed, “you could not well do
that; but I will tell you what you could do. Of course at
the first place I get to, where there is a telegraph to England,
I will send a message to my father to cable to some firm
there. to let me have what money I require. Very well.
Then, of course, you would go home with me to England,
and there is one thing I could promise you, and that is a
post in my father’s office. You know we trade with Russia,
and though our correspondence is generally carried on in
German, I am quite sure that my father would, after you
had been my companion on such a journey as that we pro-
AN ESCAPE. Ill

pose, make a berth for you in the office to undertake corres-
pondence in Russian and German, and that he would pay a
salary quite sufficient for you to live in comfort 3 or if you
would rather, I am sure that he would find you means for
going out and settling, say in the United States, in the part
where German is the general language.”

“Then in that case, Godfrey,” the Russian said, shaking
his hand warmly, “I am your man. I think I should have
gone with you anyhow; but what you have said quite
decides me. Now, then, what is our first proceeding?”

Godfrey laughed.

“T should say to take an inventory of our belongings,
Alexis, or rather of your belongings, for mine are very briefly
described. Two hundred roubles in notes, a watch, a
pocket-knife, the suit of clothes I stand up in, half a dozen
pairs of socks, and three flannel shirts I bought on the way,
one great-coat lined with fur; I think that is about all.
It is a very small share. Yours are much more numer-
ous.”

“More numerous, but not much more useful,” Alexis said,
“They let me bring one large portmanteau of clothes, but
as I can’t carry that away on my shoulders it is of very
little use. All I can take in that way is a suit of clothes
and a spare flannel shirt or two, and some socks. I have
got two cases of surgical instruments. I will take a few of
the most useful and some other things, a pair of forceps for
instance. We may come across a Tartar with a raging
tooth, and make him our friend for ever by extracting it,
and I will put a bandage or two and some plaster in my
pocket. They are things one ought always to carry, for
one is always liable to get a hurt or a sprain. As to
money, I have a hundred and twenty roubles ; they are all
in silver. I changed my paper at Tobolsk, thinking that
silver would be more handy here. Unfortunately they took
away my pistol, but a couple of amputating knives will
make good weapons. I have got a leather waistcoat, which
112 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

I will cut wp and make from it a couple of sheaths. Of
course I have got fur cloaks, one of them a very hand-
some one. I will take that and another. There ought to
be no difficulty whatever in getting some one to give us
two peasants’ dresses in exchange for that coat, for all
these people know something of the value of furs.”

“Yes, and if you can get a gun and some ammunition
thrown into the bargain, Alexis, it will be most useful, for
we may have to depend upon what we shoot sometimes.”

“Yes, that would be a great addition, Godfrey. Well,
we will set about making the sheaths at once. I have got
a store of needles and stout thread.”

“They will be useful to take with us,” Godfrey said,
“not only for mending our clothes, if we want it, but for
exchange. Women have to sew all over the world, and
even the most savage people can appreciate the advantage
of a good needle.”

“That is so, Godfrey. I have got a packet of capital
surgical needles, and some silk. I will put them in with
the others; they won’t take up much room. Well, shall we
start to-morrow night?”

“TI think we had better wait for two or three days,” God-
frey said. ‘We must save up some of our food.”

“Yes, we shall want some bread,” Alexis agreed. “We
can’t well get that in through the warders, it would look
suspicious, but I will get in some meat through them. We
have got some of the last lot left, so we can do with very
little bread.”

For the next two days they found plenty to occupy them,
while their stock of bread was accumulating. One of the
Russian’s coats was cut up and made into two bags like
haversacks, with a band to pass over the shoulder, for carry-
ing their belongings. Straps were make of the cloth for
fastening the great-coats knapsack fashion. They agreed that
however long they might have to wait they must choose a
stormy night for their flight, as otherwise they could hardly
AN ESCAPE. 113

break through the roof and scale the fence without being
heard by the sentries who kept watch night and day. They
were eager to be off, for it was already the end of July, and
the winter would be severe in the country over which they
had to travel. On the fourth day a heavy rain set in, and
in the evening it began to blow hard.

“Now is our time,” Godfrey said; “nothing could have
been better.”

They had already loosened two of the lining boards of the
roof, and as soon as they had been locked up for the night
they removed these altogether. They packed their haver-
sacks with the articles they had agreed to take, with six
pounds of bread each and some meat, rolled four blankets
up and knotted them tightly together, strapped up the three
fur-lined cloaks, and placed the knives in their belts. Then
without much difficulty they prised up one of the thick
planks with which the hut was roofed. Godfrey got through
the opening, and Alexis passed out to him the haversacks
and coats, and then joined him, and they slid down the
roof and dropped to the ground.

The paling was but twenty yards behind the huts. As
soon as they reached it Godfrey climbed upon his com-
panion’s shoulders, threw the loop of a doubled rope over
one of the palisades and climbed on to the top. Then with
the rope he pulled up the coats and haversacks and dropped
them outside. Alexis pulled himself up by the rope; this
was then dropped on the outside and he slid down by
it. Godfrey shifted the rope on to the point of one of the
palings, so that it could be easily shaken off from below,
and then slipped down it. The rope shaken off and two
of the blankets opened, the haversacks hung over their
shoulders, and the great-coats strapped on, each put one
of the twisted blankets over his shoulder, scarf fashion,
wrapped the other round as a cloak, and then set out on
their way. Fortunately the prison lay on the south side
of the town and at a distance of half a mile from it; and as

(731) H
114 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

their course to the extremity of Lake Baikal lay almost due
south, they were able to strike right across the country.

The wind was from the north, and they had therefore
only to keep their backs to it to follow the right direction.
It was half-past ten when they started, for the nights were
short, and had it not been that the sky was covered with
clouds and the air thick with rain, it would not have been
dark enough for them to make the attempt until an hour
later. By three o’clock it was light again, but they knew
there was little chance of their escape being discovered until
the warders came to unlock the hut at six in the morning, as
the planks they had removed from the roof were at the back
of the hut, and therefore invisible to the sentries.

“No doubt they will send a few mounted Cossacks out
to search for us, as we are political prisoners,” Alexis said;
“but we may calculate it will be seven o’clock before they
set out, and as this is the very last direction they will
imagine we have taken we need not trouble ourselves about
them; besides, we shall soon be getting into wooded country.
I believe it is all wood round the lower end of the lake, and
we shall be quite out of the way of traffic, for everything
going east from Irkutsk is taken across the lake by steamer.”

After twelve hours’ walking, with only one halt of half
an hour for refreshment, they reached the edge of the forest,
and after again making a hearty meal of their bread and
cold meat, and taking each a sip from a bottle containing cold
tea, they lay down and slept until late in the afternoon. ~

“Well, we have accomplished so much satisfactorily,”
Alexis said. “Now we have to keep on to Kaltuk, at the
extreme south-western point of the lake. It is a very small
place, I believe, and that is where we must get what we
want, We shall be there by the evening. We shall be just
right, as it wouldn’t do for us to go in until it is pretty
nearly dark. A place of that sort is sure to have a store
where they sell clothes and other things, and trade with the
people round,”

ve

read
R

AN ESCAPE, _ 115

They struck the lake a mile or two from its extremity,
and following it until they could see the roofs of the houses
lay down for an hour until it should be dark enough to
enter.

“We had better put on our fur coats,” Alexis said. ‘The
people all wear long coats of some fashion or other, and in
the dusk we shall pass well enough.”

It was a village containing some fifty or sixty houses, for
the most part the tent-like structures of the Buriats. They
met no one in the street, and kept on until they saw a light
in a window of a house larger than any others, and looking
in saw that it was the place for which they were in search.
Opening the door they went in and closed it behind them,
A man came out from the room behind the shop. He
stopped for a moment at seeing two strangers, then advanced
with a suspicious look on his face. °

“Do you want a bargain?” Alexis asked him abruptly.

“T have little money to buy with,” he said sullenly.

“That matters little, for we will take it out in goods.”

The man hesitated. Alexis drew out the long keen am-
putating knife. “Look here,” he said. “We are not to
be fooled with, You may guess what we are or not; it is
nothing to us and nothing to you. We want some of your
goods, and are ready to give you good exchange for them;
we are not robbers. Here is this coat; look at it; it is
almost unworn. I have used it only one winter. You can
see it is lined with real sable, and it cost me three hundred
roubles. At any rate, it is worth a hundred to you, even
if you take out the lining, sell the skins separately, and
burn the coat. Examine it for yourself.”

The shopkeeper did so. “They are good skins,” he said,
and Alexis could sée that he quite appreciated their value.

“Now,” Alexis said, “I want two peasant dresses complete,
coat, trousers, high boots, and caps. What do you charge
for them?”

“Twenty roubles each suit.”
116 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“Very well. Pick two suits the right size for us, and lay
them down on the counter. Now we want two pounds of
brick-tea and two pounds of tobacco. We want two skins
that will each hold a gallon or a gallon and a half of water,
and a tin pot that will hold a quart, and two tin drinking
mugs. We want a gun and ammunition; it need not bea
new one. I see you have got half a dozen standing over
there in the corner. What do you charge your customers
for those? I see they are all old single barrels and flint-locks.”

“T charge fifteen roubles a piece.”

“Well we will take two of them, and we want two pounds
of powder and six pounds of shot, and a couple of dozen
bullets. Now add that up and see how much it comes to.”

“Ninety-two roubles,” the man said.

“Well, I tell you what. I will give you this cloak and
twelve paper roubles for them. I don’t suppose the goods
cost you fifty at the outside, and you will get at least a
hundred for the skins alone.”

“T will take it,” the man said. “I take it because I can-
not help it.”

“You take it because you are making an excellent bargain,”
Alexis said fiercely. “Now, mind, if you give the alarm
when we have gone it will be worse for you. They won’t
catch us; but you will see your house on fire over your
head before the week is past.”

Godfrey placed a ten-rouble note and two one-rouble
notes on the table; they gathered up their goods and made
them into a bundle, carefully loaded their guns, and put
the powder and shot into their haversacks. Then Alexis
lifted the bundle, and shouldering the guns they left the
shop.

“Will he give the alarm, do you think?” Godfrey asked.

“Not he. He is thoroughly well satisfied. I daresay
he will get a hundred and fifty roubles for the coat; besides,
he knows that escaped convicts are desperate men, and that
we should be likely to execute my threat. Besides, I don’t
AN ESCAPE, 117

suppose he would venture to stir out. For aught he knows
we may be waiting just outside the shop to see what he
does, and he will fear that he might get that hungry-looking
knife into him if he came out to raise the alarm.”

All was quiet, and they were soon beyond the limits of
the village, and struck out for the country.

They held on for two or three miles, filled their water-
skins at a little stream running towards the lake, and then
entering a wood pushed on for some little distance, lighted
a fire, and made themselves some tea,

“We are fairly off now, Godfrey. We have become what
they call wanderers, and should be safe enough among the
Russian peasants, most of whom have been convicts in
their time, in the villages north, for they are always willing
enough to help men who have taken to the woods. Well,
except in the villages, of which there are few enough about
here, we are not likely to come upon them. From here to
the frontier are Buriats, and indeed beyond the frontier.
However as we have both got guns, we need not be afraid
of any small party. Of course some of them have guns too;
but I don’t suppose they will be fools enough to risk
throwing their lives away for nothing. At any rate there
is one comfort. There is nothing to show that we are
political prisoners now. We might be honest peasants if it
were not for these confounded heads of hair.

“T should think,” Godfrey said, ‘we had better get rid
of our hair altogether. It will be some time before it grows,
but anything will be better than it is now.”

“We have got no scissors, Godfrey, and we have no soap.
If we had, those knives of ours are sharp enough to shave
with.”

“We can singe it off,” Godfrey said. ‘Not now, but in
the morning when we can see. I will do it for you, and
you can do it for me. I would rather be bald-headed alto-
gether than be such a figure as I am now.”

Accordingly in the morning they singed off their hair with
118 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

red-hot brands, then they changed their clothes for those
they had obtained the night before, folded up their great-
coats, divided the tea, tobacco, and the greater part of the
powder and shot between them, put a portion in their
haversacks, and rolled the rest up in the coats, then strapped
these to their shoulders and started on their way.

“Now I feel ready for anything,” Alexis said as they
tramped along. “We have no weight to speak of to carry,
and we have means of getting a meal occasionally. Now
if we keep a little west of south we shall strike the Selenga
river, which runs through Maimatchin, and then we shall be
in China. We shall have to avoid the town, because I know

there is a treaty between Russia and China about sending
back exiles who cross the frontier. Still, when we get there
we are at the starting-place of the caravans.”

“Ts it a desert the whole distance?” ;

“No. The first part is a mountainous country with two
or three rivers to cross. I don’t think the real desert is
more than eight or ten days’ march across. We shall
certainly have no difficulty about water for some time to
come. There are plenty of squirrels in these woods; at
least I expect so, for they abound in all the forests. We
must knock some of them over if we can. I believe they
are not bad eating, though I never tried one. Then by the
streams we ought to be able to pick up some wild duck,
though of course at this time of year the greater portion of
them are far north. Still I have great hopes we shall be
able to keep ourselves in food with the assistance of what
we may be able to buy occasionally. I think the only thing
we have got to fear at this part of our journey is the Buriats.
The thing I am really afraid of is the getting into China.
I don’t mean the frontier here; this is Mongolia, and it is
only nominally Chinese; but when we get across the desert
and enter China itself, I tell you frankly I don’t see our
way. We neither of us can speak a word of the language.
We have no papers, and we may be arrested and shut up as
AN ESCAPE. 119

suspicious vagabonds. There is one thing; at Kalgan, which
is close to the Great Wall, there are Russian ere and
I should go boldly to them and ask their help. Russians
out of Russia are sure to be liberal, though they may not
dare to be so when they are at home, and I feel sure they
would help us when we tell them our story, if we can only
get at them. However we need not trouble ourselves much
about that at present.”

Once beyond the forest they were in an undulating
country, the hills sometimes rising to a considerable height.
Occasionally they saw in the distance encampments of
natives, with sheep, cattle, and horses in considerable
numbers. They kept clear of these, although occasionally .
they had to make wide detours to do so. Time was no
object to them, and they made but short journeys, for
the Russian, who had never beer accustomed to walk long
distances, had blistered both his feet badly on the first
night’s journey, and the subsequent travelling had added to
the inflammation. On the fourth evening they halted for
the night on a little rivulet, after making only five or six
miles,

“Tt is no use, Alexis,” Godfrey said; “‘we must stop
here until your feet are quite well. We shall gain by it
rather than lose, for when you are quite right again we could
do our five-and-twenty or thirty miles a day easily, and
might do forty at a push; but your feet will never get well
if you go on walking, and it makes your journey a perfect
penance; so I vote we establish ourselves here for three or
four days. There is water and wood, and I dare say I shall
be able to shoot something—at any rate you can’t go on as
you are now.”

“Tt is horribly annoying,” Alexis said, “to be knocked
up like this just at the start.”

“Vut it makes no difference,” Godfrey urged. ‘We are
not due at Pekin on any given day. It is very pleasant out
here, where one can enjoy one’s freedom and exult that
120 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

there is no policeman or Cossack watching every movement,
It would make no difference to me if we stopped here for a
month. Now let me pull those boots off for you, then you
can sit with your feet in this little pool.”

“Warm water would be better, Godfrey. If you will get
the kettle to boil I will dip my two flannel shirts in and
wrap them round and keep on at that. That will be better
than cold water.”

“All right! I will soon get a fire alight. By Jove, they
are bad!” he exclaimed, as Alexis pulled off his stocking.
“They must have been hurting you desperately. Why did
you not say how bad they were two days ago? We might
as well have stopped then as now.”

“I hoped they would have got better when I put on these
big boots instead of those I started with. But I did not
think they were as bad as they are. I am afraid this is going
to be a troublesome business, Godfrey.” ;

“Well, it can’t be helped,” Godfrey said cheerfully.
““At any rate, don’t worry on my account.”

The Russian’s feet were indeed greatly swollen and in-
flamed. The skin had been rubbed off in several places,
and the wounds had an angry look, their edges being a fiery
red, which extended for some distance round them.

“Well, you have plenty of pluck, Alexis, or you never
could have gone on walking with such feet as those. Iam
sure I could not have done so.”

“We thought over most difficulties, Godfrey, that we
might possibly have to encounter, but not of this,”

“No, we did not think of it, though we might really have
calculated upon it. After being three or four months
without walking twenty yards it is only natural one’s feet
should go at first. We ought to have brought some soap
with us—I do not mean for washing, though we ought to
have brought it for that—but for soaping the inside of our
stockings. That is a first-rate dodge to prevent feet from
blistering. Well, I must see about the fire. I will go up to


A SUPPER OF ROASTED SQUIRRELS,
1

AN ESCAPE. 121

those trees on the hillside. JI daresay I shall be able to find
some sticks there for lighting it. These bushes round here
will do well enough when it is once fairly burning, but we
shall have a great trouble to get them to light to begin
with.”

In half an hour he was back with a large faggot.

“Tt is lucky,” he said, “there is a fallen tree. So we shall
have no difficulty about firewood. We ought to have
brought a hatchet when we got the other things. These
knives are first-rate for cutting meat and that sort of thing,
but they are of no use for rough work. My old knife is
better.”

While he was talking he was engaged in cutting some
shavings off the sticks. Then he split up another into some-
what larger pieces, and laying them over the shavings, struck
a match, and applied it. The flame shot up brightly, and
in five minutes there was an excellent fire, on which the
kettle was placed.

“We had better have our dinner first, Godfrey. Then
I can go on steadily with these fomentations while you take
your gun and look round.”

“Perhaps that will be the best way,” Godfrey said.
“We have nothing left but six squirrels. We finished the
last. piece of bread this morning and the meat last night.
How had we better do these squirrels?”

“T will skin them, Godfrey, while you are seeing to the
fire. Then we will spit them on a ramrod, and I will hold
them in the flame.”

“T think we can manage better than that,” Godfrey said,
and he went to the bushes and cut two sticks of a foot long
with a fork at one end. He stuck these in the ground, on
the opposite sides of the fire. “There,” he said, “you can
lay the ramrod on these forks, and all you have got to do is
to give it a turn occasionally.”

“How long do you suppose these things want cooking?”

‘Not above five minutes, I should think. I know that a
122 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

steak only takes about eight minutes before a good fire, and
these little beggars are not half the thickness of a steak.
They are beginning to frizzle already, and the water is just
on the boil.”

The squirrels were pronounced very good eating. When
the meal was over Godfrey filled the kettle again and gave
it to Alexis, and then, taking his gun, started down the
valley. He was away three hours, and brought back twenty
birds of various sorts, but for the most part small.

“No very great sport,” he said as he emptied his haver-
sack. ‘ However, they will do for breakfast, and I may
have better luck to-morrow. There are some fish in the
pools, but I do not see how we are to get them. I saw one
spring out of the water; it must have weighed a couple of
pounds.”

“You might shoot them, Godfrey, if you could find a
place where the bank is pretty high so as to look down on
the water.”

“So I could; I did not think of that. I must try to-
morrow.”

“Tf it hadn’t been for my feet,” Alexis said, “we should
have been down on the Selinga to-morrow, and we had

‘ calculated on being able to buy food at one of the villages
there.”

“We shall be able to hold on here,” Godfrey said, “for a
few days, and J expect that one day’s good tramp, when your
feet are better, will take us. there. After that we ought to
have no great difficulty till we get down near the desert.”
THE BURIAT’S CHILD. 123

CHAPTER VII.
THE BURIAT’S CHILD.

FTER three days’ rest the Russian’s feet were so much

better that he said he should be able to make a start

the next morning. Godfrey, however, would not listen to
the proposal.

“We are getting on all right,” he said. “Tam not much
of a shot, but at any rate I am able to bag enough birds to
keep us going, and though I have only succeeded in shooting
one fish as yet, it was a good big one and was a real help
tous. It is no use going on till your feet get really hard, for
you would only be laming yourself again. It will be quite
time enough to talk about making a start in three days’
time.”

The next morning Godfrey was roughly awakened by a
violent kick: Starting up he saw a group of six Buriats
standing round them. Three of them had guns, which were
pointed at the prisoners, the others were armed with spears.
Resistance was evidently useless; their guns had been re-
moved to a distance and the knives taken from their belts
before they were roused. Godfrey held out his hands to
show that he surrendered, and addressed the usual Russian
salutation to them. The men were short, square-built
figures, with large skulls, low foreheads, flat noses, and long
eyes like those of the Chinese. Their cheek-bones were
high and wide apart, the complexion a yellow-brown, and
the hair jet black and worn in a platted tail down the back.
They made signs to their prisoners to accompany them.
Alexis pulled on his boots. Two of the men with guns
stood guard over them while the others examined the stores,
and were evidently highly pleased with the two brightly
polished knives.
124 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“Rather an abrupt termination to our journey, Godfrey.”

“Painfully so. I was almost afraid everything was
going on too well with us, Alexis. It began to look so easy
that one could not understand why there should not be
hundreds of prisoners every year make their way across.”

“T should not have minded so much,” Alexis said, “if
we had not got such a satisfactory kit together. We had
everything we really wanted for a journey across Asia.”

“Except food and water, Alexis.”

“Well, yes, those are important items certainly, and if
we had difficulty about it here in a decent sort of country,
what might be expected on farther? Well, we have had
our outing; I only hope they won’t give us up at Irkutsk.
I suppose it depends where their grazing-grounds are.
There are another two months of summer; I wish we could
have had our fling till then.”

Half a mile along the valley they came upon a tent,
evidently belonging to the men who had taken them. They
talked a good deal among themselves as they approached it,
but went straight on without making a stop.

“T expect they are taking us down to some chief or other,
if they call them chiefs,” Alexis said. “I expect they came
out to hunt for horses or cattle that have strayed.”

Seven or eight miles farther the valley opened on to a plain,
and a short distance in front of them, on the stream, stood ten
tents, one of which was considerably larger than the others.
Great flocks of sheep grazed on the plain, and at a distance
they could see numbers of cattle, while some horses with
their saddles on were hobbled near the tents.

“JT think we are lucky, Godfrey. The owner of all this
must be a rich man, and can hardly covet the roubles he
would get for giving us up. Besides, he is sure to talk
Russian.”

As they came up to the huts they saw that their occu-
pants were all gathered, talking excitedly in front of a large
tent. One of the men ran on and then returned; the news
THE BURIAT’S CHILD. 125

he gave was evidently bad. He talked excitedly, pointing
to his own leg about half-way between the knee and the
ankle. The men broke into exclamations of regret.

“T wonder what is the matter, Alexis; something has
happened. I should think that someone must have met
with an accident.”

“Without wishing ill to anyone, Godfrey, I sincerely wish
it may be so, then I might be able to win their good-will.”

Little attention was paid to the party when they joined
the group, all were too busy in discussing some event or
other. Three or four minutes later a man came to the door
of the tent and waved his hand, and gave some order. His
dress was a handsome one. ‘The little crowd fell back, but
one of the men who had brought the captives in went up
and spoke to him. He again waved his hand impatiently,
and was turning to enter the tent when Alexis cried loudly:
“T am a doctor, if anyone has been hurt I may be of
service to him.”

The man stepped hastily forward. “Do you say you are
a doctor ?”

“Tam.”

“Come in then,” he said abruptly, and entered the tent.

“T will call you if you can be of any use,” Alexis said to
Godfrey as he followed him.

The tent was a large one. Some handsome Koord carpets
covered the ground. Facing the door was another opening
leading into a small tent serving as the women’s apartment.

There were several piles of sheep-skins round the tent,
and by one of these three women were standing. Two of
these were richly dressed in gowns of handsome striped
materials. They wore head-dresses of silver work with
beads of malachite and mother-of-pearl, and had heavy silver
ornaments hanging on their breasts. Their hair fell down
their backs in two thick braids. The other woman was
evidently of inferior rank. All were leaning over a pile of
skins covered with costly furs, on which a boy of seven or
126 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

eight years old was lying. His father, for such the man
evidently was, said something in his own language, and the
women turned eagerly to Alexis. .

“You are a Russian doctor!” one of the women exclaimed
joyfully.

“T am, lady,” he said. “I graduated at St. Petersburg.”

“Can you do anything for my son?” she asked. “ Half
an hour ago he went up incautiously behind a young horse
that had been driven in from the herd only yesterday and
it kicked him. See, it is terrible,” and she burst into
tears. j

Alexis went forward and lifted a wet cloth that had been
placed on the leg. A slight exclamation broke from his
lips as he did so. The bone was evidently completely
smashed, and one of the splintered ends projected through
the skin.

“He must die,” the mother sobbed, “nothing can save
him.”

The father did not speak, but looked inquiringly at Alexis.
The latter made a sign to him to move to the other side of
the tent.

“Well,” the Buriat asked, “must he die?”

“There is no reason for his dying,” Alexis said, “but
there is no possibility of saving his leg, it must be ampu-
tated.”

“What would be the use of living without a leg?” the
Buriat exclaimed.

‘A great deal of use,” Alexis said quietly. ‘There are
hundreds, aye thousands, of men in Russia who have lost
a leg, some from an accident like this, or from a-waggon
going over them, some from a wound in battle. In some
cases the leg is taken off much above the knee, but even
then they are able to get about and enjoy their lives; but
when it is below the knee, like this, they are able to do
everything just the same as if they had both feet. They
can walk and ride, and, in fact, do everything like others;
THE BURIAT’S CHILD. 127

besides, for such men there are people at St. Petersburg who
make feet of cork, and when these are on, with a boot and
trousers, or with a high boot, no one could tell that the
wearer had not two feet. I have met men who had lost a
leg, and they walked so well that I did not know till I was
told that they had not two legs.”

“I will speak to his mother,” the Buriat said, and return-
ing to the women he spoke to them in their own language.
At first they appeared shocked and even terrified at the idea,
but as he went on, evidently repeating what Alexis had told
him, the expression of their faces changed. The Buriat
called Alexis across.

“You cannot hesitate, lady,” he said, “when your child’s
life is at stake. No Russian mother would do so for a
moment. It may seem to you dreadful that he should have
but one foot, but in a little time, éven with so rough a limb
as I could make for him, he would be running about and
playing again, and, as I have been telling his father, he can
obtain from St. Petersburg a foot so perfect that when
wearing a high boot no one would suspect the misfortune
that has happened to him.”

“Can he not be cured without that?”

“No, lady. If it had been a simple fracture his leg
might be bandaged up so that it would heal in time, but,
as you can see for yourself, the bone is all splintered and
broken, and unless something is done mortification will set
in, and in a few days he will cease to live.”

‘But are you sure that he will live if you do it?”

“JT am sure, lady, that the operation will not kill him.
I believe that he will live, but that is in the hands of God,
You see him now, the shock has prostrated him. He has
but little life in him, and if he dies he will die from that
and not from the taking off of his foot. But I do not think
he will die, he is young and hardy, and on my faith as a
Russian gentleman I believe that he will live.”

“It shall be tried,” the Buriat said abruptly. “God has
128 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

doubtless sent you here at this moment. Why otherwise
should a doctor be brought to my door when this has hap-
pened? Do as you will.”

Alexis felt the boy’s pulse. “I must wait,” he said,
“until he has recovered somewhat from the shock. Give
him some warm milk with a spoonful, not more, of vodka
in it. Your men have taken the knives that I and my
friend carried; they were specially made for this, and we
shall need them. Do not fear as to the operation, it is the
most simple in surgery. Let him have the milk at once.
Let him remain quiet upon his back, and do not let him
attempt to move his leg. Do not tell him about this, it
would frighten and agitate him. If I had medicines that
we use in our hospitals I could send him to sleep so that he
would know nothing about it, and when he woke up would
be ignorant that his foot had been removed; but as there
is none of it within a hundred miles of us we must man-
age it as we best can. Please tell your men to release my
friend, I shall need his assistance.”

After bidding the woman heat some milk at once the
Buriat went out and ordered Godfrey’s guards to release
him at once, and to restore to them their knives and all
their other possessions. Alexis informed Godfrey of what
had taken place, and what he proposed to do.

“The operation would be a very easy one if we had
chloroform and proper implements. Unfortunately there
is no chance of their having such a thing as a fine saw, and
how in the world I am to make a clean cut through the
bone I do not know. The knife that you carry is just the
right thing for the job; but how about a saw? If we could
have chloroformed him, we could, after making the cuts
through the flesh, have put the leg on a log of wood and have
cut clean through the bone with a chopper. It would not
be a good plan, for it would probably splinter the bone, but
it might have been tried, but without chloroform it is not
to be thought of.”
THE BURIATS CHILD. 129

Godfrey thought for a moment. “The knives are of a
very good steel, Alexis?”
“Oh yes, of the very best steel

“Ts it hard steel like that of a razor?”

“Yes, very much the same.”

“Then I should think it could be managed. I know the
least thing will notch a razor. Now I should think if we
took the large knife, and with my pocket-knife or with the
edge of a hard stone notch the edge carefully all the way
down, it would make a very good saw.”

“T should think it might do anyhow, Godfrey, and the
idea is a very good one. Well, let us set about it at once.
I can get a piece of fresh bone to try on; no doubt they
kill a sheep here every day.”

They set to work and in ten minutes had notched the
blade of the knife all the way down. Alexis had, as he ex-
pected, no trouble in obtaining a freshly-picked bone, and
they found that the knife sawed through it very cleanly.
Then Alexis went in to see the boy again. Before, he had
been lying with his eyes half-closed, without a vestige of
colour in his cheeks; the warm milk had done its work
almost instantaneously, and he was perfectly conscious and
there was a slight colour in his cheeks. His pulse had
recovered strength wonderfully. Alexis nodded approvingly
to the Buriat. He drew him outside the tent.

“Tf J were you,” he said, “I would send away all the
people from the other huts. If the poor child screams they
may get excited and rush in, and it is better that everything
should be perfectly quiet. I should send away also the
ladies, unless of course his mother particularly wishes to be
with him; but it will be trying for her, and I own that I would
rather not have anyone in the tent but you and my friend.”

The Buriat went inside; he returned in two or three
minutes. “My wife will stay; my sister and the attendant
will go.” Then he called to the men who were standing at
the doors of their huts:

(781) 1

1?
130 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“The doctor says there must be silence for some time;
he is going to do something and he wishes that all shall
retire to a distance until I wave my hand for them to re-
turn. Will there be anything you want?” he asked Alexis.

“A large jug of warm water,” he said, “a bowl, and some
soft rag—that is all. By the time that is ready I shall be.
You will have to hold his leg, Godfrey,” he went on as the
Buriat returned to his tent. ‘“ You must hold it just under
the knee as firmly as possible, so as to prevent the slightest
movement. But I am going to try to mesmerize him. I
have seen it done with perfect success, and at any rate it is
worth trying. In the weak state he is in J ought to be
able to succeed without difficulty. Now I want a couple
of small flat stones with rounded edges, a strip of soft skin,
and a bit of stick three or four inches long and as thick as
your finger, to make a tourniquet with.”

By the time that these were ready a perfect stillness reigned
in the camp. The whole of the natives had gone away to a
distance of over a quarter of a mile, and were sitting in a
group watching the tents, and, Godfrey had no doubt, de-
hating hotly as to the folly of allowing a stranger to have
anything to do with the son of their employer. He now
followed Alexis into the tent, where all was in readiness,
The child’s head was slightly raised by a skin folded and
placed under it. His mother knelt beside him.

“What do you wish me to do?” the Buriat asked.

“T wish you to stand beside him and aid his mother to
hold him should he struggle, and I may need you to dip the
rag into the warm water, squeeze it out, and give it me.”

“Of course he will struggle,” the Buriat said; “we men
can bear pain, but a child cannot.”

“T am going to try to put him to sleep,” Alexis replied;
“‘a sleep so sound that he will not wake with the pain. I
do not say that I shall be able to, but I will try.”

The Buriat looked at Alexis as if he doubted his sanity.
That a Russian doctor should be able to take off the child’s
THE BURIAT’S CHILD. 131

leg was within his comprehension. He had once seen a
man in the street of Irkutsk with only one arm, but that
anyone could make a child sleep so soundly that he would
not wake under such an operation seemed to him beyond
the bounds of possibility.

“Tell the child that I am going to do him good,” Alexis
said to the mother, “and that he is to look at my eyes
steadily.” He placed himself at the side of the couch and
gazed down steadily at the child; then he began to make
passes slowly down his face. For three or four minutes the
black eyes looked into his unwinkingly, then the lids closed
a little. Alexis continued his efforts, the lids drooped more
and more until they closed completely. He continued the
motions of his hand for another minute or two, then stoop-
ing he lifted an eyelid; the eye was turned upwards, so that
the iris was no longer visible.

“Thank God, he has gone off!” he said. ‘“ Now for the
tourniquet. That is right; twist gradually now, Godfrey,
and. place the stone on the main artery. Now,” he said to
the Buriat, “hold this stick firm with one hand and place
the other on his chest to prevent his moving. Do you lay
your arm across him,” this to the mother; “that is right.
Kneel with your face against his. Now, Godfrey, grasp
the leg just below the knee and hold it firmly.”

Godfrey did so, and then shut his eyes as he saw the
doctor about to use the knife, expecting to hear a piercing
scream from the child. There was no sound, however, and
in a very few seconds he heard Alexis utter a low exclama-
tion of satisfaction. He looked now; the flesh was already
cut through and no cry had escaped the child. Another
moment the foot and the lower portion of the leg came away
at the point where the bone was crushed; then Alexis
pushed the flesh upwards so as to expose another inch of
the shin-bone, and then took the saw and cut through it.
Some strands of silk lay close to his hand; with a long
needle he took up the ends of the arteries and tied them
132 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

with the silk; then he took hold of the stick of the tourni-
quet and loosened it a little. The result was satisfactory; the
arteries were securely tied. Then he tightened it again and
gave it to the Buriat to hold, wiped the wound with the
damp rag, drew down the flesh over the end of the bone,
brought up the flap of flesh from behind, and with a few
stitches sewed it in its place.

“Tt is all done,” he said, rising to his feet. Then he passed
his hand several times across the child’s forehead. “Tell
him softly, when he opens his eyes,” he said to the mother,
“that he will soon be well now, and that he must go to
sleep.” He continued the passes for some time, occasionally
lifting the eyelid. “He is coming round now,” he said at
last.” A few more passes and the child drowsily opened
its eyes. His mother spoke to him softly, and with a faint
smile he closed them again. Alexis stood quietly for another
minute or two. “He is asleep now,” he said to the Buriat;
“you need hold him no longer.”

The tears were running down the man’s cheeks; he seized
one of the hands of Alexis and pressed it to his lips, while
the mother, sobbing with joy, did the same to the other.
To them it seemed almost a miracle.

“Have some milk kept warm,” Alexis said, “(and give it
to him when he awakes. Do not tell him anything about
his foot having been taken off. Keep a blanket lying over
him so that he will not see it. It is well that he should not
be agitated, but tell him that he must lie perfectly quiet
and not move his leg, as it would hurt him if he did so.
Now, chief, it would be as well if you called the others back
and told your servant to get some breakfast, for my friend
and I have had nothing to eat since your men woke us this
morning.”

The Buriat went outside the tent and waved a blanket,
and the others came running in at the signal.

‘Tell them not to make a noise,” Alexis said; “the longer
the child sleeps quietly the better,”
THE BURIAT’S CHILD. 133

The Buriats uttered exclamations of the most profound
astonishment when the chief told them that the Russian
doctor had taken off the leg of the child without his feeling
' the slightest pain, and that there was every hope of his
speedily recovering, whereupon they looked at Alexis with a
feeling of respect amounting to awe. A. sheep was at once
killed, skinned, cut up, and placed in a great cooking pot
over a fire; but long before this was done two great bowls
of hot milk were brought out by the Buriat to Alexis and
Godfrey, to enable them to hold on until the meal was
prepared. At his order the men at once set about erecting
a tent for them close to his own, and as soon as this was
up, piles of soft skins were brought in.

“That has been a lucky stroke indeed, Godfrey,” Alexis
said as they took possession of their new abode.

“Tt has indeed, Alexis. Nothing could have been more
providential. We are in clover as long as we choose to stop
here. Do you think the child will recover?”

“I think there is every hope of his doing so. These natives
are as hard as nails. JI don’t suppose the child has ever had
a day’s illness in his life, and in this pure dry air there is
little fear of the wound doing badly. The next thing to do
is to make him a pair of crutches to get about with till he
can bear to have a wooden stump on. The only nuisance
is that we shall be delayed. Asa doctor, I cannot very well
leave my patient till he is fairly on the road towards re-
covery.”

“Certainly not,” Godfrey agreed. ‘“ Well, I daresay we
shall put away the time pleasantly enough here.”

Half an hour later two horses were brought up, and these
with their saddles and bridles were presented by the Buriat
to his guests, and were picketed by their tent. The next
three weeks passed pleasantly; they rode, hunted, and shot.
The little patient made rapid progress towards recovery,
and at the end of that time was able to get about on two
crutches Godfrey had made for him.
134 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“Tt is better that you should make them, Godfrey, and
also the wooden leg when he is ready for it,” Alexis had said.
“It is just as well that their gratitude should be divided a
little, so I will hand that part of the work over to you.”

The Buriats were delighted indeed when they saw the
child hopping about the camp with his crutches, and their
gratitude knew no bounds to their guests. Alexis had made
no secret to the Buriat of their intention of trying to make
their way to Pekin. He endeavoured in every way to dis-
suade them from it.

“You will never find your way across the desert,” he said,
“and will die for want of water. The people are wild and
savage. They are ruled by their lamas, and if they do not
put you to death, which they would be likely to do for what
you have, they will certainly send you back to Kiakhta and
hand you over to the Russians there; and even if you got
through the desert the Chinese would seize you and send
you back. It would be madness to try. It would be better
than that to go south and make for Thibet, although even
that would be a desperate expedition. The tribes are wild
and savage, the desert is terrible for those who do not know
it. You would never find the wells, and would perish
miserably of thirst even if you escaped being killed by the
tribesmen. Still your chances would be greater than they
would be of reaching Pekin. But you had far better make
up your minds to live here. I will give you flocks and herds.
You should be'as of my family, and you, Alexis, should
marry my sister, who is rich as well as pretty, for she owns
a third of all the flocks and herds you see.”

Alexis warmly thanked the Buriat for the offer, but said
they must take time to consider it. “One might do worse,”
he said, laughing, to Godfrey when they were alone. “The
women are certainly a great deal better-looking than the
men, and the girl would be considered fair-looking even
in Russia. At any rate it would be vastly better being a
Buriat here thar being inside that prison at Irkutsk.”
THE BURIAT’S CHILD. 135

“I agree with you there, Alexis; but it would be horrible
being cut off here from the world for life.”

“But one is cut off in prison, Godfrey; and though I
agreed to share your attempt I have never been very
hopeful about its success, and I am still less hopeful now
from what I hear of the difficulties ahead of us. As I said
when you first talked of it, there must be some frightful
difficulties here, or this would be the way by which convicts
would always try to escape, and yet we have never heard
of one doing so.”

“Yes, I begin to think myself I have made a mistake,
Alexis, in choosing this route instead of a northern one.
Besides, we shall have winter upon us in a very few weeks
now, which would of course add tremendously to our diffi-
culties. But you are not seriously thinking of stopping
here, are you?” :

“I don’t know, Godfrey. You see you have got a home
and friends waiting for you if you do get away, I have
nothing but exile. Ido believe we shall never succeed in
getting out through China, and I think we couldn’t do
better than stop here for a year or two. By the end of
that time we may succeed in establishing relations by means
of this Buriat with some of the tea merchants at Kiakhta,
and getting one of them to smuggle us through with a cara-
van; but, at any rate, if you still hold to going I shall go too.
I have no intention of deserting you, I can assure you.”

In another fortnight Godfrey had made a stump for the
child. The hollow was lined with sheepskin to take off the
jar, and it strapped firmly on to the limb. The wound was
not quite sufficiently healed yet for the child to use it regu-
larly, but when on first trying it he walked across the tent
the joy of his father and mother knew no bounds,

They had only been waiting for this to make a move, for
the pasture had for some time been getting short, and on
the following day the tents were pulled down, and for three
days they journeyed east, and then finding a suitable spot
136 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

again pitched their tents. They were now, as the Buriat
told them, only some thirty miles from Kiakhta. Godfrey
and Alexis had talked matters over during the journey.
They agreed that the season was now too late for them to
think of attempting the journey until the following spring,
and had almost concluded that the attempt to get through
China should be altogether abandoned. Going north there
were the rigour of the climate and the enormous distances
as obstacles, but the passage would be chiefly by water.
There was no danger from the tribes they would have to
pass through, no difficulties such as they might meet with
from the opposition of the Chinese, and they had pretty well
resolved to pass the winter with the Buriats and to make a
start in the spring.

Their host was greatly pleased when they informed him
of their intention at any rate to spend the winter with them,
for he hoped that before the spring Alexis would have made
up his mind to accept his offer, and to settle down as a
member of the tribe.

The day after the Buriats pitched their fresh camp one
of the men reported that he had seen a large bear at the
edge of a forest two miles from the huts. Alexis and God-
frey at once took their guns, borrowed a couple of long
spears and two hunting knives, and started for the wood,
the native going with them to show them the exact spot
where he had seen the bear. There was a good deal of
undergrowth about, and they thought it probable that the
animal was not far off. The Buriat had brought a dog with
him, and the animal at once began sniffing the ground. His
master encouraged it, and presently it started, sniffing the
ground as it went. It had gone but a few hundred yards
when it stopped before a thick clump of bushes and began
growling furiously. They had a short consultation, and then
the two friends took up their post one at each corner of the
bushes, while the Buriat went round to the rear of the clump
with his dog and began beating the bushes with his stick,
THE BURIAT’S CHILD. 137

while the dog barked and yelped. A minute later a bear
broke out of the bushes within four yards of Alexis.

The Russian levelled his gun. Godfrey heard a report
far louder than usual, and something flew close to his head.
A moment later he saw Alexis struck to the ground by the
bear. Godfrey rushed up, and fired when within two paces
of the animal, which with a fierce growl turned upon him.
He sprang aside and plunged his spear deep into its side.
The bear struck at the handle and broke it in two, and then
rose on its hind-legs. Godfrey drew his knife and awaited
its rush, but it stood stationary for half a minute, swayed
to and fro, and then fell on its side. Godfrey leaned over
it and plunged his knife in deep behind its shoulders, press-
ing it until the blade disappeared. Then feeling certain it
was dead he ran to Alexis, who lay motionless on the ground.
By the side of him lay the stock of the gun and a portion
of the barrel; it had exploded, completely shattering the
Russian’s left hand. But this was not his only or even his
most serious injury. The bear had struck him on the side
of the head, almost tearing off a portion of the sealp and
ear.

The Buriat had by this time come round, and Godfrey
bade him run to the camp at the top of his speed to fetch
assistance. Feeling in his friend’s pocket he drew out the
bandage which Alexis always carried, and wrapped up as
well as he could his shattered hand, of which the thumb and
two first fingers were altogether missing; the wound on the
head was, he felt, altogether beyond him. In less than half
an hour the chief Buriat and four of his men dashed up on
horseback. They had brought with them two poles and a
hide to form a litter. The chief was deeply concerned when
he saw how serious were the Russian’s injuries. No time
was lost in lashing the hides to the poles. Alexis was lifted
and laid upon the litter, and two of the Buriats took the
poles while the others led back the horses. As soon as he
arrived in camp Godfrey bathed the wounds with warm
138 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

water, and poured some spirits between the lips of the
wounded man, but he gave no signs of consciousness.

“T am afraid,” he said to the Buriat, who was looking on
anxiously, ‘that his skull is injured or there is concussion
of the brain. The only thing that I can see will be for him
to be carried at once to Kiakhta. ‘There is sure to be a
hospital there and doctors.”

“That would be best,” the Buriat said; “but I will take
a house there, and my wife and sister shall nurse him.”

“That will be better than going into the hospital,” God-
frey agreed, “for two reasons. In the first, because Alexis
would certainly get more careful nursing among his friends
than in a hospital, and he might then avoid, if he survives
his injuries, being again imprisoned.”

No time was lost. Four Buriats took the poles, Godfrey
walked beside the litter, and the Buriat, his wife and sister,
mounted and rode off to have everything ready for them
when they arrived at Troitzkosavsk, the suburb of Kiakhta.
It was late before they reached it. The Buriat met them half
a mile outside the town, and at once conducted them to a
house that he had hired from a friend established there.
As soon as Alexis was laid upon a couch Godfrey and the
Buriat went out and ascertained where one of the surgeons
of the military hospital lived. On reaching the house they
were shown by the Cossack who acted as the doctor's servant
to his room.

“A friend of mine has been badly injured by a bear,” the
Buriat said; “I wish you to come and see him at once. He
is in a house I have taken near this. I will be responsible
for all charges.”

The doctor looked keenly at Godfrey and then said, “I
will come. You are not a Buriat?” he said to Godfrey as
they started.

“T am not, doctor; though I have been living with them
for some time.”

“ And the man who is ill, is he a Buriat?”
THE BURIAT’S CHILD. 139

“No, sir; he is a Russian, and a member of your own
profession.”

“ He is clever,” the Buriat said. ‘ He saved the life of my
child by taking off his leg, and he is running about again
now. He is asa brother to me, and I would gladly give a
thousand cattle rather than that he should die.”

No other words were spoken until they arrived at the
house. The surgeon stooped over Alexis, lifted one of his
eyelids, and felt his pulse.

“Concussion of the brain,” he said; “a serious case.
Bring me rags and hot water.” He bathed the wound for
some time and then carefully examined it. “There is a
fracture of the skull,” he said to Godfrey, “and I fancy there
is a piece of bone pressing on the brain. Put wet cloths
round his head for the present; I will go and fetch my
colleague, and I will send down some ice from the hospital.
His hand is bandaged up, what is the matter with that?”

“His gun burst, doctor, and has mangled his hand dread-
fully. That was how it was the bear got at him and. struck
him.”

The surgeon removed the bandages and examined it.
“Keep it bathed with warm water until I return,” he said.

Half an hour later he came back with the other surgeon,
a man older than himself, both carrying cases of instruments.
The wound on the head was again examined. They then
proceeded to operate, and in a few minutes removed a por-
tion of splintered bone. Then the flap of skin was carefully
replaced in its position, and a few stitches put in to hold it.
The hand was then attended to.

“No, I don’t think it need come off,” the senior surgeon
said; “we may save the third and little fingers. At any
rate we will try; if it does not do we can take the whole off
afterwards.”

The operation was performed, then ordering the ice that
had just been brought to be applied to the head, the sur-
geons left,
140 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“We will look in again early in the morning,” one of

them said to Godfrey, “and then we will have a chat with
you.”

The women took it by turns to watch, and Godfrey, worn
out by the excitement of the day, slept until morning.
Alexis was restless, moving uneasily and muttering to him-
self His eyes were open, but he took no notice of what
was going on around him. The surgeon they had first seen
came alone.

“He is better,” he said to the Buriat, “but he is very far
from being out of danger yet. It will be a long illness, but
I hope that we may be able to bring him round. I will send
him some medicine presently. Keep cloths with cold water
and ice to his head.” He beckoned to Godfrey to follow
him out of the room.

“T don’t want to ask any questions,” he said, “about my
patient. I have been called in by this Buriat to see a friend
of his, and it does not concern me who or what he may be;
but it is different with you. As a Russian officer I cannot
be seeing you daily without reporting that I have met a
person who scarcely appears to be what he seems. It is
painful to me to be obliged to say so. I do not give advice
any way. I only say that if you do not wish to be asked
questions, it would be best for you to leave here after night-
fall; until then, I shall not consider it necessary to make any
report. I shall be back again once or twice to-day; you
had better think the matter over.”

Godfrey had been thinking the matter over as he walked
beside the litter, and had already arrived at a decision. It
was evident that many weeks, if not months, must elapse
before Alexis would be fit to sustain the hardships that
would attend an attempt to escape, and he thought it pro-
bable that more than ever he would be inclined to throw in
his lot with the wandering Buriats; he had therefore only
himself to think about. He had foreseen that he would not
be able to stop at Kiakhta without being exposed to being
THE BURIAT’S CHILD. 141

questioned, and that there remained therefore only the
option of living with the Buriats during the winter or of
giving himself up. The former plan would be the most
advantageous in the event of his trying to reach Pekin; but
the difficulties in that direction appeared to him so great
that he shrank from the thought of facing them, especially
as he should now be alone, and he preferred the idea of
trying to escape by the north.

In this case a further sojourn among the Buriats would
be useless; in a Russian prison he would be able to pick
up many valuable hints from the men with whom he would
work, and might find someone ready to make the attempt
with him. The difficulties of escape from prison did not
seem very great, and would, he thought, be even less at one
of the penal settlements than if confined in an ordinary jail.
When, however, the doctor spoke ‘to him, Godfrey only
thanked him, and said he would speak with him again when
he next called. The Buriat saw that he was looking serious
when he returned to the room.

“What did he say to you?” he asked. “Did he threaten
to report you?”

“He spoke very kindly,” Godfrey replied. “But he said
that it would be his duty to do so if I remained here.”

The Buriat shook his head. “I was thinking of that
yesterday, and was afraid for you. Out on the plains there
would have been none to question you; but here in the
town a stranger is noticed at once, for every resident is
known. You must make off at once. You can take my
horse, we will watch over your friend. Once in my tents
you will be safe.”

Godfrey thanked him warmly, but told him that he had
not quite decided as to what he should do, but would let
him know later on. Then, as he could do nothing for
Alexis, he threw himself down on a pile of skins, and thought
the matter over in every light.
142 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

CHAPTER VII.
THE MINES OF KARA.

ODFREY found it a difficult matter to decide what was
best to be done; but after two hours’ thinking his
mind was quite made up. He did not stand in the same
position as Alexis with the Buriats. It was Alexis who
had laid them under such an obligation by saving their
child’s life. He himself was simply liked as the doctor’s
companion, and without Alexis the long months of winter
would be dreary indeed. He thought that imprisonment
would be preferable to living alone in a Buriat hut. Ac-
cordingly he rose at last, and told the Buriat that his course
was decided.

“T shall give myself up,” he said. “I know that you
would make me welcome in your tents; but from what you
have told me, I see that there is no prospect whatever of
an escape through China, and that if I go out to the plains
I shall be there for life, while if I go to a prison I may in
time be released, or at any rate I can again escape.”

“Whenever you come to us you will be welcome,” the
Buriat said. ‘For yourself, you know best; but we shall
be all sorry to lose you. Is there anything I can do for
you? I know the governor here, for I have had large
dealings with him for sheep and cattle for the troops.”

“T shall be very glad if you will go with me to him,”
Godfrey said. “A word from you may be of great advan-
tage to me. There are no prisons here, and I am most
anxious to be sent to Nertchinsk and not to Irkutsk, be-
cause it was from there we escaped.”

The Buriat’s wife and sister were sorry when they heard
Godfrey’s determination, but they were too much occupied
with Alexis to try and dispute it.
THE MINES OF KARA. 143

“When will you go?” the Buriat said.

“ At once, if you will take me. I have no preparations
to make; I only cause extra trouble here, and can be of no
assistance. But first, if you will procure paper, pen, and ink,
I will write a letter for you to give to Alexis when he re-
covers, telling him why I leave him.”

The Buriat sent out one of his men, who presently re-
turned with writing materials, and Godfrey then wrote a
long letter to Alexis, explaining at length the reasons that
actuated him in deciding to give himself up.

“You are in good hands,” he said, “and I could do no-
thing for you; and in any case I should have to leave you
now, for did I not give myself up I must leave this even-
ing, therefore I could do no good to you in any case. I
know that you were half inclined to stay with the Buriats,
and you will now have even greater reasons for doing so than
before. If, however, you should at any future time change
your mind and try to make your escape, I need not tell you
how delighted I should be to see you in England. I inclose
the address of my father’s office, where you will be sure
either to find me or to hear of me. But even if I have not
got home you will receive the heartiest welcome when you
tell him of our having been together and show him this
letter, and you may rely upon it that my father will be able
to procure a situation for you in London, even if he cannot
find a berth for you in his own house of business.”

When he had finished he handed the letter to the Buriat
to give to Alexis.

“Here is money,” the Buriat said, “which my wife found
upon Alexis. You had better take it with you.”

“T cannot do that,” Godfrey said, “it is his; I have some
of my own. I know he would gladly give it to me if he
were conscious; but I cannot take it now.”

“Very well,” the Buriat said, “you are doubtless right;
but at any rate you can take some from me. I am rich.
I have many thousands of sheep and cattle. If you do not
144 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

take it I shall be offended, and shall think that in some
way we have displeased you. A thousand roubles are no-
thing to me; I have given as much for one suit of furs for
my wife. You must take this; if you ever attempt to
escape again, you will need money.”

After much debate Godfrey accepted five hundred roubles
in notes, seeing that the Buriat would be really pained by
his refusal, and knowing that the money would indeed be
useful to him when he next tried to make his escape. Being
anxious to hear the surgeon’s next report about Alexis,
Godfrey delayed his start until after his visit.

“There is no change,” the doctor said, after examining
his patient, “nor did I expect there would be after such
serious injuries as he has received. It would be strange,
indeed, if he did not suffer from the shock. It may be
some days before any change takes place. It is vastly better
that he should be restless, or even wildly delirious, than
lying unconscious as he was when I first saw him. Well,
and what are you going to do, young fellow?”

“T am going to give myself up,” he said.

“You have had enough of the plains, eh?”

“Yes, sir, for the present.”

“Mind, don’t be foolish enough to say that you have
escaped; there is not the least occasion for that; that would
make the case a great deal worse.”

“My friend here was going with me to the governor,
doctor, to tell him that I have been living with him for
some time.”

“Yes, that is all well enough; but if you give yourself
up it is a confession that you have escaped; that won’t do
at all. I tell you what will be the best thing: I will go with
you to Colonel Prescoff, the governor. I shall tell him the
truth, that I was attending one of the Buriat’s men, who
had been badly injured by a bear, when I saw you there.
I found that you could not give a good account of yourself,
and had no papers, and that, therefore, as was my duty, I
THE MINES OF KARA, 145

brought you to him. Then you must say that you have
been working here and there, and that you come from, say,
Tomsk. I suppose you have been there?”

Godfrey smiled.

“That is near enough,” the doctor went on. “As for
your papers, you lost them, or they were burnt or stolen
from you. He won’t ask you many questions. Then the
Buriat will speak up for you—he is rather an important
man, being one of the richest of his tribe—and say what he
can for you. Is there anything you want done particu-
larly 2”

“JT want to be sent to Nertchinsk instead of to Irkutsk.
I would rather work in the mines or anywhere else than be
shut up in prison.”

“And besides, you would not be known?” the doctor
laughed. ;

“That is the principal thing, sir.”

“Whatever you do, my lad,” the doctor said, “if you
have been a political prisoner — mind, I don’t ask the
question, and don’t want to know—but if you have been,
don’t let it out. It is better to have been a murderer than
a Nihilist out here. I dare say the colonel would send you
to Nertchinsk if your friend here asks him, but it is a good
deal further and a more expensive journey.’

“T will gladly pay for the vehicle, sir.”

“ Ah, well; if you will do that, I should think it could
be managed. I will go in first with your friend and have
a talk with the colonel, and we will see if we can put the
matter straight for you before you are called in.”

Godfrey took his fur-lined coat, said good-bye to the two
ladies, gently put his hand on his comrade’s shoulder, and
followed the doctor and his host. When they arrived at
the governor’s house the doctor left him in the room where
two military clerks were writing, and went in with the
Buriat to the governor. In five minutes the bell rang, An

orderly answered it, and returning, bade Godfrey follow
(731) K
146 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

him. The governor was seated at a table, the doctor and
the Buriat standing near.

“So I hear,” the colonel said, looking sharply at Godfrey,
“that you are unable to give an account of yourself, and
have nothing but a cock-and-bull story of having wandered
about through the country. We understand what that
means. However, our friend here,” and he motioned to the
Buriat, “speaks well of you, and says that you have done
him some service. However that cannot be taken into
consideration. It is clear that having no papers and no
domicile, you are a vagabond, and as such must be com-
mitted to prison. You will be taken to Nertchinsk.” God-
frey bowed. The colonel touched the bell again, and the
orderly entered. “Take this man to the cells,”

The Buriat stepped forward and shook hands with God-
frey. “Come again,” he said in a low voice, “you will
always be welcome.”

The doctor nodded. “TI shall see you before you start,”
he said. Godfrey saluted the colonel and followed the
orderly out of the room. He was taken across a court-yard
to a cell.

‘““A good style of young fellow,” the colonel said when
he left. “He has either been an officer and got into some
scrape with his colonel, or he is a political.”

“One or the other, colonel, no doubt,” the doctor agreed.

“Well, it is no business of mine,” the colonel said. “I
suppose he has had four or five months in the woods and
wants to get into snug quarters again before winter. Well,
good morning, gentlemen!” and his visitors took their leave.

Late in the evening the doctor came into Godfrey’s cell.
“By the bye,” he said, “I put your name down as Ivan
Holstoff. It was as good as any other, and you had to be
entered by some name. I feared that you might blurt out
your own whatever it may be, and that might be fatal, for
if you are a political prisoner your name will have been
sent to every station where there are troops.”
THE MINES OF KARA. 147

“JT am very much obliged to you, doctor, for your kind-
ness,” Godfrey said. “I will take care to remain Ivan
Holstoff. How much am I to pay for the carriage?”

“Your friend the Buriat has seen to that, and handed
the governor money for a vehicle there and back, as the
soldier in charge of you will have to return.”

“Tt is very good of him,” Godfrey said gratefully.
“Please tell him when you see him how much obliged I
am to him for his kindness to me.”

“T think my patient will do,” the doctor said. ,“ He is
quieter and less feverish this evening. I think he will pull
round; and now good bye! I think you have done right in
giving yourself up. You are but a lad yet, and with good
conduct, now that you are entered only as a vagabond, you
will get leave to work outside the prison in two or three
years, and get a permit to settle anywhere in Siberia a
couple of years later.”

The next morning at daybreak Godfrey was placed in a
vehicle. A soldier mounted by the side of the driver, the
latter shouted to his horses, and started at full gallop. Soon
after leaving the town they passed a caravan of forty carts
carrying tea. The soldier, who appeared a chatty fellow,
told him they would be three months on their way to
Moscow. Ata town named Verchne Udinsk they regained
the main road and turned east and continued their journey
through Chita, a town of three thousand inhabitants, to
Nertchinsk, a distance of six hundred miles. The country
was hilly, and for the most part wooded, but varied at
times by rolling prairies on which large herds of cattle were
grazing. The journey was far more pleasant than that
Godfrey had before made, for being no longer regarded as
a political prisoner his guard chatted with him freely; and
at night, instead of having to sleep in the vehicle in the
open air, he was lodged in the convict stations, which, as
the season was late, were for the most part unoccupied. He
was glad, however, when he arrived at Nertchinsk, for the
148 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

jolting of the springless vehicle was very trying. He did
not see the governor of the prison, but was at once assigned
to a cell there on the guard handing to the authorities the
official report of the governor at Kiakhta.

“You are to go on again to-morrow,” the warder said
to him that evening. ‘We are full here, and there is
a party going on to Kara. You will go with them. The
barber will be here to shave you directly. You have not
been out very long, judging by the length of your hair.
Here is your prison dress. You must put that on to-morrow
instead of the one you have on, but you may carry yours
with you if you like, it will be useful to you when your
term in the prison is done.”

Accordingly the next morning Godfrey was taken into
the court-yard, where some fifty other prisoners were
assembled, and ten minutes later marched off under a
guard of eight mounted Cossacks. He carried his peasant’s
clothes and fur coat rolled up into a bundle on his shoulder,
and had, after he changed his dress, sewn up his money in
the collar of his jacket with a needle and thread he had
brought with him, keeping out some twenty roubles for
present purposes. The journey occupied five days, the
marches averaging twenty-five miles apiece. The prisoners
talked and sung by the way, picked the blackberries and
raspberries that grew thickly on the bushes by the wayside,
and at night slept in the stations, their food consisting of
very fair broth, with cabbage in it, meat, and black bread.
Godfrey was asked no questions. He did not know whether
this was because the convicts thought only of themselves,
and had no curiosity about their companions, or whether it
was a sort of etiquette observed among them. Godfrey was
surprised to find how much the country ditfered from the
ideas he had formed of Siberia.

The forests were beautiful with a great variety of foliage.
Late lilies bloomed by the roadside with flowers of other
kinds, of whose names he was ignorant. To the north was
THE MINES OF KARA. 149

a chain of hills of considerable height. The forest was alive
with birds, and he frequently caught sight of squirrels run-
ning about among the branches. No objection was offered
by the guards to their making purchases at the villages
through which they passed, except that they would not allow
them to buy spirits. At the first opportunity Godfrey laid
out four or five roubles in tea and tobacco, some of which
he presented to the guards, and divided the rest among his
fellow-prisoners, who forthwith dubbed him “the count.” At
length Kara was reached. It was not a town, but purely a
convict settlement, the prisoners being divided among four
or five prisons situated two or three miles from each other.
They were first marched to the most central of these. Here
they were inspected by the governor, who had the details
of each case reported by the authorities of the prisons they
had left. They were at once divided into parties in accor-
dance with the vacancies in the various prisons.

Only four were left behind. These were taken to a guard-
room until allotted to the various wards. One by one they
were taken out, Godfrey being the last to be summoned.
He was conducted to a room in which several convicts were
seated writing; through this a long passage led to the
governor’s room.

“You are known as Ivan Holstoff,” the governor said

when the warder had retired.
/ “Ves, sir.”

“Agel”

“Seventeen.”

“Charged with being a vagabond, found without papers
or documents, and unable to give a satisfactory account of
yourself.”

Godfrey bowed. The colonel glanced through the paper
by his side signed by the governor at Kiakhta, and saying
that the prisoner had been most favourably reported upon
by a wealthy Buriat, a government contractor with whom
he had been living out on the plains.
150 CONDEMNED AS A NIHIUIST.

“You persist in giving no further account of yourself?”
the governor asked.

“I would rather say nothing further, sir,” Godfrey replied.

“You are not a Russian,” the governor said sharply.

‘Tam a Russian born,” the lad replied.

“You speak with a slight accent.”

“I was away for some years from my country,” Godfrey
replied. -

“T suppose you would call yourself a student?”

“Yes, sir, I was a student until lately.”

“You are a young lad to have got yourself into trouble.
How was it? Do not tell me what crime you are charged
with, but you can tell me anything else. It will go no
farther, and there will be no record of what you say.”

Godfrey liked the officer’s face. It was stern, but stern-
ness is a necessity when a man is in charge of some three
thousand prisoners, the greater proportion of whom are
desperate men; but there was a kindness in the half-smile
with which he spoke.

“Tam here, sir, from pure misfortune. I have no doubt
most people you question declare they are innocent, and I
do not expect you to believe me. The facts against me
were very strong, so strong that I believe any jury would
have convicted me upon them, but in spite of that I was
innocent. I behaved like a fool, and was made the dupe
of others, but beyond that I have nothing whatever to
blame myself for or to regret.”

“It may be as you say,” Colonel Konovovitch said, “I
am not here to revise sentences, but to see them carried
out. Conduct yourself well, lad, and in two years you will
get a permit to reside outside the prison. Three years
later you will be practically free, and can go where you like
in Siberia and earn your living in any way you choose.
Many of the richest men in the country have been convicts.
I shall keep an eye on you, and shall make matters ag easy
for you as I can.”
- THE MINES OF KARA. 151

He touched the bell, and the warder re-entered and led
Godfrey away. The colonel sat for some little time in
thought. He liked the lad’s face and his manner, which,
although perfectly respectful, had none of the servility with
which Russians generally address their superiors. ‘He did
not say that he was a Russian,” he said to himself, “ only
that he was born in Russia. I should say from his appear-
ance and manner that he was English. What was he sent
out here for, I wonder? He may have beén a clerk and
been condemned for forgery or embezzlement. He may
have been a political prisoner, most likely that I should say.
He may have got mixed up in some of these Nihilist plots;
if so, he has done well to become a vagabond. I can’t help
thinking he was speaking the truth when he declared he
was innocent, Well, perhaps in the long run it will be the
best for him. A clerk’s lot is not a very bright one, and
I should say he is likely to make his way anywhere. -He
has a hard two years’ time before him among those scoun-
drels, but I should think he is likely to hold his own.”

Then he dismissed the subject from his thoughts and
turned to a pile of papers before him.

Godfrey, on leaving the presence of the governor, was
taken by the warder to one of the prison blocks, and was
handed over to the prison official in charge of it. He was
taken to a small room and there furnished with a bag in
which to keep his underclothing and other effects.

“You will use this bag for a pillow at night,” the official
said. ‘‘ What money you have you can either give to me to
take charge of for you, or can hand it over to the head man
of the room to lay out for you as you require it, or you can
keep it yourself. If you choose to hold it yourself you had
better keep a very sharp look-out; not that there are any
professional thieves here, it is only for very serious offences
that men are sent east of Irkutsk.”

Godfrey thanked the official, but said that what little he
had he might as well keep with him. His money in paper
152 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

was safely hidden in the lining of his convict jacket, and
as he knew that that would be worn by night as well as by
day, it was perfectly safe there. He was provided with
some flannel shirts and other underclothing.

“I see you have underclothing of your own,” the official
said; “but of course you have the regular allowance given
you; if you run short of money you can sell them, Now
come along with me.”

Godfrey was led into a large room, where the scene some-
what widely differed from what he had pictured to himself
would be the interior of a prison at the dreaded mines of
Kara, The room was large and fairly lofty; the walls were
clean and whitewashed; down both sides ran benches, six feet
wide, similar to one he had seen in an English guard-house.
There were some sixty men in the room ; some of these were
lying upon the bed-places smoking pipes, others were sitting
on them talking together or mending their clothes, and
several parties were engaged in card-playing. Save for the
ugly gray uniforms with the coloured patches in the centre
of the back, significant of the term of imprisonment to which
their wearers had been sentenced, and the strangely shaved
heads of those present, he might have been in a singularly
free-and-easy barrack-room. Most of the men looked up as
the official entered.

“A new comrade,” he said. “Mikail Stomoff, do you
take him in your charge;” and having said this he at once
left the room.

Mikail Stomoff, a big powerful man, came across to
Godfrey. He was the starosta or head man of the ward,
elected to the position by the votes of his tellow-prisoners.
It was his duty to keep order and prevent quarrelling, and
to see that the ward was swept out and kept tidy. He
transacted all business for the prisoners, made their pur-
chases outside, and was generally the intermediary between
them and the authorities. In return for all this he was free
from labour at the mines.
THE MINES OF KARA. 153

“Well, my lad,” he said, “you began early. How long
are you in for, and what have you done?”

“T am in here for being a vagabond,” Godfrey said, “and
I believe the punishment for that is five years.”

“A vagabond, eh? we have not many of them here.
The wanderers generally work their way west. However,
I daresay you had your reasons, and I don’t know that you
are not right, for most of us prefer hard work here to the
dulness of the prisons in the west. Now, lad,” he went
on, dropping his voice, “if you have got any money do not
say a word about it. You will be robbed to a certainty if
you keep it yourself. The best thing you can do is to hand
- it over to me, and I will take care of it for you.” Godfrey
nodded, and putting his hand in his pocket pulled out the
ten-rouble note he had set aside, and two or three smaller
notes, and slipped them into the man’s hand.

“You can have it out as you want it,” the man said;
“and anything you want outside I can get for you out of
it. The only thing prohibited is vodka.”

Some of the other men came round, and Godfrey thought
he had never seen more villainous faces. Some of them
were heavy, stolid, and stupid; others were fierce and pas-
sionate.

“He is a vagabond,” Mikail said to them. “I don’t
know what he has been before that, and if he is wise,” and
he gave a significant glance at Godfrey, “he will keep that
to himself.”

“YT should say he had been a political,” one of the men
said in a tone of contempt, for there was a certain jealousy
of the politicals among the convict class; because, although
their lot was really much harder than that of ordinary con-
victs, they were allowed to retain their own clothes, were
lodged separately, and were almost all men of education,
and in many cases of noble family. The feeling was evi-
denced by the indifference with which the rest of the men
strolled away again when they heard the suggestion
154 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“How do they all get tobacco?” Godfrey asked the sta-
rosta. ‘Is it part of the rations? Surely the money they
may have when they come in here must soon be spent.”

“We may buy the tobacco,” Mikail said. “Every man has
something for his work. They pretend it is half the value
of the work we do, but of course we know better than that.
Still we all get something each day, and can spend it as we
like. I don’t think they allow smoking in the western
prisons, but they do in all those east of Irkutsk. The
authorities encourage it, indeed, for it is considered healthy
and keeps away fever. There are no fevers in summer, but
in winter, from so many men being shut up together, the
air gets bad and sometimes we have outbreaks of fever.”

“But where do you buy your tobacco?”

“People come to the prison gates and sell it as we come
back from work. You can buy anything except vodka, and
you can buy that, though not openly; it gets smugeled in.”

“How many hours do you work a day?”

“Thirteen; but of course it is only for five months in the
year. In winter the ground is too hard.”

“Too hard!” Godfrey repeated. “Why, it never gets
cold in mines.”

“You don’t think you are going to work underground,
do you?” the man said; “there are very few underground
mines here. It is all on the surface. There are some
underground, because I have worked in them. I would
rather work there than here. They can’t look after you so
sharp, and you can take it as easily as you like.”

Godfrey looked astonished. His ideas of the Siberian
mines had been taken from stories written by men who
had never been within thousands of miles of them, and who
drew terrible pictures of the sufferings of exiles simply for
the purpose of exciting feeling throughout Europe against
the Russian government.

“But it is very unhealthy in the mines underground, is
it not?”
THE MINES OF KARA. 155

“No; why should it be? It is much cooler and plea-
santer working underground than it is in the dust and heat,
I can tell you.”

“But I thought all quicksilver mines were unhealthy.”

“Quicksilver!” the man repeated; “there is not a quick-
silver mine in all Siberia, There is gold and silver, but I
don’t believe there is a place where quicksilver is found.
Anyhow there is not one that is worked. They have been
gammoning you, young fellow.”

“Well, they have gammoned a good many other people
too,” Godfrey said. “I know I have read frightful accounts
of the sufferings of prisoners in quicksilver mines.”

“Who wrote them?” Mikailasked. “There are a few con-
victs who may years afterwards be proved innocent, and
allowed to return to Russia, but they are not the sort that
would write lies about this place, for if they did they would
soon find themselves on the road again. There are not a
dozen men who have ever made their escape. Some of
them may have invented lies for the sake of getting pity,
and make themselves out to be hard used. Have you ever
read any books by them?”

“Only one,” Godfrey said. “It was written by Baron
Rosen; he was a political prisoner who was pardoned after
being here a great many years. He described the life of
political prisoners, of course, and even that was not very
bad. Many of them had their wives with them, and they
seem to have lived together pretty comfortably.”

“Ah! well, I don’t think a political prisoner who came
here now would say as much. They are sent to lonely
settlements, many of them up at Yakutsk; though, of
course, there are some down here. It isa horribly dull life.
Some of them do work in the mines, but they are better off
than those who have no work to do at all. I would rather
be in for murder a hundred times than be a political; and
what name do you go by, young fellow?”

“T am entered as Ivan Holstoff.”
156 CONDEMNED AS 4 NIHILIS',

“That will do well enough. Don’t you be fool enough
to tell any one what your real name is. There are sneaks
here as well as elsewhere who are glad enough to curry
favour so as to get easy jobs, or to be let out sooner than
they otherwise would be, by acting as spies; so you keep your
real name to yourself. If it got to the ears of the governor
he might find out what prison you escaped from and what
you were in for, and if you were a political you would either
be sent back there, or put with the politicals here, so keep it
to yourself.”

“Shall I give you my watch?”

“Yes, I think you had better. It would be of no good
to anyone who took it as long as he was in here, but he
would be able to sell it when he went to live outside. I
will take care of it for you. I have got a safe where I keep
the money and things locked.

“We have got to work, and pretty hard, but I tell you
we are a good bit better off than they are in the prisons of
Russia. We have got plenty to eat, though I cannot say
much for its niceness; anyhow we are a long way better fed
than the soldiers who look after us; but here comes the
food.”

A warder brought in a huge tray upon which were placed
bowls of a sort of soup, while two others brought baskets
piled up with huge chunks of black bread. Mikail took
from a cupboard a spoon, and gave it to Godfrey. “You
keep this for yourself,” he said; “we don’t have knives and
forks, and do not want them.”

“Is this a day’s allowance of bread 2” Godfrey asked, as
he took hold of one of the lumps.

“No. You get as much as that in the morning. Our
allowance is four pounds a day, two in the morning and
two in the evening. The evening bread generally lasts for
evening and morning soup, and we take the morning bread
away with us to eat in the middle of the day.”

Godfrey sat down on the edge of the bed bench and ate
THE MINES OF KARA. 157

his supper. As he looked at the men more carefully he saw
that there were greater differences between them than he
had at first noticed. Some of them he judged to have been
gentlemen, and he afterwards found that there were three
or four who had been officers in the army, but sentenced for
grave military crimes. There were half a dozen in for
forgery or embezzlement, and over thirty for murder. Some
among the prisoners were Tartars. These were all in for
murder or robbery with violence.

“Where am I to sleep?” he presently asked Mikail.

“T sleep in that corner next to the wall. Put your bag
next to mine. They are not so likely to play tricks with
you then.”

Godfrey was not sorry to lay himself down on the boards.
There was no attempt at undressing on the part of any of
the convicts. He would have thought the bed a very hard
one a few months since; but he was now well contented
with it, though he would have preferred rather more room
on each side.

“I suppose I ought to feel very miserable,” he said to
himself. ‘I can’t make out why I don’t. Here am I shut
up with about a hundred as villainous-looking fellows as
one could want to see—something like half of them mur-
derers, all desperate criminals. I ought to be down in the
dumps. It seems unnatural that I shouldn’t be. I suppose
I have a sort of Mark Tapley disposition, and get jolly
under difficulties. Of course I should feel it more if I
hadn’t made up my mind to escape somehow. ‘The colonel
seems a good sort of fellow, and even the prisoners speak
well of him. Then it is a comfort to hear that all that
talk about the quicksilver mines was a lie, and the work
is going to be no worse than a gold-digger would have
in California or a navvy at home. There is no great hard-
ship about that, at any rate for a time. If it was not for
the thought of how horribly anxious they must be at home
about me, I should not mind. It will be something to talk
158 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

about all one’s life. The first thing for me to do is to learn
from the others as much as possible about the country. I
have learned a lot about the geography of Siberia from
Alexis, and have got a good idea about all the rivers. I
dare say I shall learn a good deal more from some of these
men. Another thing is to pick up as much of their language
as I can from these Tartar fellows. They seem to be scattered
pretty well all over the country. At least I have seen some
of them all the way I have gone. I know there are other
tribes. Those fishing chaps they call Ostjaks are the ones I
. should have most to do with. I expect one could get on with
them if one happened to get them in the right vein. I
suppose they speak some sort of dialect like that of these
Tartars. At any rate I should think it would be sure to be
near enough for the natives to understand each other. I
believe Russian helps with all these languages, for the Rus-
sians are themselves only civilized Tartars. At any rate
one of the first things to be done is to learn to speak the
language, and I should be able to learn a lot about the
country from them too. I have got eight or nine months
before one can think of making a start, for of course it
must be done in the spring. It is the end of September
now, though I have lost all account of the days of the
month.”

So he lay thinking for a long time, always confidently and
hopefully. Soon after daylight the convicts were astir.

“Ts there any place where we can get water to wash?”
he asked Mikail.

“There is a tap and a trough out there in the yard,” the
man said, looking somewhat surprised at the request.

Godfrey hurried out, threw off his jacket and shirt, turned
the tap on to his head, and enjoyed a thorough sluice. Feel-
ing vastly better for the wash, he slipped on his things
again and went into the room. He was not surprised now
that he had woke with something like a headache, for the
air of the room was close and unwholesome. Breakfast
THE MINES OF KARA. 159

similar to the supper the night before was soon served.
Godfrey had plenty of bread left from the evening betore,
and put the piece now served out to him under his jacket.
Half an hour later the convicts, ranged two and two, started
for the mines. The distance was five miles. The heavy
tools were taken in carts drawn by horses, and a guard of
soldiers with loaded muskets marched beside the line.

The mine was a large open cutting, and the prisoners
were employed in digging the sand and carrying it on
hand-barrows to the place where it was to be washed.
The work was not entirely performed by prisoners, as there
were many free labourers also employed. Godfrey was
given a shovel, and his work consisted in loading the sand
and gravel, as the pickmen got it down, on to the barrows.
Being unaccustomed to work, his back ached and his hands
were blistered by the end of the day; but he knew, from
his experience in rowing, that this would pass off before
long. At any rate the labour was far easier than he had
anticipated. He had expected to see overseers with whips,
but there was nothing of the sort. A few men directed the
labour, and spoke sharply enough if they saw any of the
prisoners shirking, but there was nothing to distinguish it
from any other work of the kind, save the Cossack guards
here and there leaning upon their muskets, and certainly the
men worked no harder than ordinary labourers would do.
Indeed, when the time was up and the prisoners started on
their return towards the prison, the free labourers continued
their work, and would do so, he afterwards learned, for
some hours, as it would take a considerable time for all the
sand obtained during the day to be thoroughly washed up
and the gold extracted. Godfrey had at first looked narrowly
at the sand as he shovelled it, for specks of gold, but had
seen none; and indeed the proportion of gold at the mines
of Kara was so small that they would not have paid if
worked by free labour; but the produce served to lessen the
expenses of the prisons, and the mines afforded work to the
160 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

convicts. The prisoners were not forbidden to talk, and
Godfrey, who had happened to be placed next to a young
fellow of the better class, learned a good many particulars
as to the mines. He had seen no women at them, and asked
if they were not employed at that labour.

“T never heard of such a thing,” the other said. ‘They
have to work; they wash and mend our clothes, and scrub
the floors, and help the cooks, but that is all. After work-
ing for a certain time, according to the length of their
sentence, they are allowed to live out of prison, and after a
still further time are at liberty to settle down anywhere in
Siberia they choose.”

“Have you been here long?” Godfrey asked.

“T have been here three years,” he said, ‘and I should be
out by this time if I had not run away last year.”

“ How did you get on?”

“T got on well enough till the cold weather came. There
are plenty of berries in the woods, and besides we occa-
sionally came down and stole things from the carts waiting
at night at the post-houses. We got a chest of tea once,
and that lasted us all through the summer. There were ten
of us together. Besides that, the people all along the road
are very good to escaped prisoners. They dare not give
them anything, because, if it were known they did so, they
would be severely punished; but on the window-sill of almost
every house is placed at night a plate with food on it, in
case any wanderer should come along. Of course when
winter came I had to give myself up.”

“Do you think escape altogether is possible?”

“JT don’t say that it is not possible, for some have done
it; but I suppose for every one who has tried it, hundreds
have died. ‘There is no living in the mountains in winter.
Men do get free. There are a great many private mines,
and in some of these they ask no questions, but are glad
enough to engage anyone who comes along. After working
there as a free labourer for a couple of years it is compara-


THE MINES OF KARA. 161

tively easy to move somewhere else, and in time one may
even settle down as a free labourer in a town; but there is
no getting right away then, for no one can leave Siberia
without a passport giving particulars of all his life.

“You are not thinking of trying, are you? because, if you
will take my advice, you won't. It is all very well to go
out for a summer holiday, but that is a very different thing
from attempting an escape. I was a fool to try it, but I
had such a longing to be in the woods that I could not
help it. So now I shall be obliged to work here for a
couple of years longer before I can live outside the prison.
I am here for knocking down my colonel. We were both
in love with the same girl. She liked me best, and her
father liked him best. He was a tyrannical brute. One
day he insulted me before her, and I knocked him down.
I was tried for that, and he trimped up a lot of other
charges against me; and there was no difficulty in getting
plenty of hounds to swear to them. So you see here I am
with a ten years’ sentence. I don’t know that I am not
lucky.”

“How is that?” Godfrey asked.

“There were half a dozen fellows in the regiment—I was
one of them—who ventured to think for themselves. We
had secret meetings, and were in communication with men
of other regiments. Well, I was sent off before anything
came of it. But they got hold of the names of the others
when they arrested some Nihilists at Kieff, and they were
all sent out here for life. I met one of them a few months
back, and he told meso. So you see it was rather lucky that
I knocked down the colonel when I did. Besides, it is ever
so much better to be a convict than a political. I don’t
know how it was you had the luck to get turned in with us.
I can tell you there is no comparison between their lot and
ours. Still it is hateful, of course, living among such a gang
as these fellows.”

“They look pretty bad.” Godfrey said.
(731. L
162 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“Bad is not the word for it,” the other said. “A man
I know who works as a clerk in the office told me that there
are about two thousand two hundred prisoners in the six
prisons of Kara, but of these only about a hundred and fifty
are women. ‘They are even worse than the men, for of the
hundred and fifty there are a hundred and twenty-five mur-
deresses, and of the others twelve are classed as vagabonds,
and I suppose most of these are murderesses too. Out of
the two thousand men there are about six hundred and
seventy murderers. That is not such a big proportion as
among the women, though, as there are nearly seven hundred
classed as vagabonds, you would not be far wrong if you
put down every other man as a murderer.”

“Tt is horrible,” Godfrey said.

“Well, it is not pleasant; but you must remember that
a great many of these murderers may be otherwise pretty
honest fellows. A great many of them have killed a man
or woman when mad with vodka; some of the others have
done it in a fit of jealousy; a few perhaps out of vengeance
for some great wrong. The rest, I grant, are thoroughly bad.

“By the way, my name is Osip Ivanoff. There are two or
three decent fellows in our ward. I will introduce you to
them this evening. It makes it pleasanter keeping together.
We have got some cards, and that helps pass away the
summer evenings. In winter it is too dark to play. There is
only one candle in the ward; so there is nothing for it but
to lay up and go to sleep as soon as it gets dark. There is
the prison. I dare say you won’t be sorry when you are
back. The first three or four days’ work is always trying.”
PRISON LIFE. 163

CHAPTER IX.
PRISON LIFE.

ODFREY found that there was no Sunday break in the
work at Kara, but that once a fortnight the whole of
the occupants of the ward had baths, and upon these days
no work was done. Upon a good many saints’ days they
also rested; so that, practically, they had a holiday about
once in every ten days. For his own part he would have
been glad had the work gone on without these breaks. When
the men started for work at five in the morning, and re-
turned to the prison at seven at night, the great majority,
after smoking a pipe or two, turned in at once, while upon
the days when there was no work quarrels were frequent;
and, what was to him still more objectionable, men told
stories of their early lives, and seemed proud rather than
otherwise of the horrible crimes they had committed. His
own time did not hang at all heavy upon his hands.

One of the Tartar prisoners who spoke Russian was glad
enough to agree, in exchange for a sufficient amount of
tobacco to enable him to smoke steadily while so employed,
to teach him his own dialect. Godfrey found, as he had
expected, a sufficient similarity between the two languages
to assist him very greatly, and with two hours’ wotk every
evening, and a long bout on each holiday, he made rapid
progress with it, especially as he got into the habit of
going over and over again through the vocabulary of all the
words he had learned, while he was at work in the mine,
When not employed with the Tartar he spent his time in
conversation with Osip Ivanoff and the little group of men
of the same type. They spent much of their time in playing
cards, whist being a very popular game in Russia. They
often invited Godfrey to join them, but his mind was so
164 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

much occupied with his own plans that he felt quite unable
to give the requisite attention to the game.

He soon learnt the methods by which order and discipline
were maintained in the prisons. For small offences the pun-
ishment was a decrease in the rations, the prohibition of
smoking—the prisoners’ one enjoyment—and confinement to
the room. The last part of the sentence was that which the
prisoners most disliked. So far from work being hardship,
the break which it afforded to the monotony of their life
rendered the privation of it the severest of punishments, and
Godfrey learned that there was the greatest difficulty in
getting men to accept the position of starosta, in spite of
the privileges and power the position gave, because he did
not go out to work. For more serious offences men were
punished by a flogging, more or less severe, with. birch rods.
For this, however, they seemed to care very little, although
sometimes incapacitated for doing work for some days, from
-the effects of the beating.

Lastly, for altogether exceptional crimes, or for open out-
breaks of insubordination, there was the plete—flogging
with a whip of twisted hide, fastened to a handle ten inches
long and an inch thick. The lash is at first the same thick-
ness as the handle, tapering for twelve inches, and then
divided into three smaller lashes, each twenty-five inches
long and about the thickness of the little finger. This ter-
rible weapon is in use only at three of the Siberian prisons,
of which Kara is one. From twenty to twenty-five lashes
are given, and the punishment is considered equivalent to a
sentence to death, as in many cases the culprit survives the
punishment but a short time. The prisoners were agreed
that at Kara the punishment of the plete was extremely rare,
only being given for the murder of a convict or official by
one of the convicts. The quarrels among the prisoners,
although frequent, and attended by great shouting and ges-
ticulation, very rarely came to blows, the Russians having
no idea of using their fists, and the contests, when it came
PRISON LIFE. 165

to that, being little more than a tussle, with hair pulling and
random blows. Had the prisoners had knives or other
weapons ready to hand, the results would have been very
different.

Godfrey had not smoked until he arrived at Kara; but
he found that in the dense atmosphere of the prison room
it was almost necessary, and therefore took to it. Besides
smoking being allowed as useful to ward off fevers and
improve the health of the prisoners, it also had the effect
of adding to their contentment, rendering them more easy
of management, as the fear of the smoking being cut off
did more to ensure ready obedience than even the fear of
the stick. Tea was not among the articles of prison diet;
but a samovar was always kept going by Mikail, and the
tea sold to the prisoners at its cost price, and the small
sum paid to the convicts sufficed to provide them with this
and with tobacco.

Vodka was but seldom smuggled in, the difficulty of bring-
ing it in being great, and the punishment of those detected
in doing so being severe. At times, however, a supply was
brought in, being carried, as Godfrey found, in skins similar
to those used for sausages, filled with the spirit and wound
round and round the body. These were generally brought
in when one or other of the prisoners had received a remit-
tance, as most of them were allowed to receive a letter once
every three months; and these letters, in the case of men who
had once been in a good position, generally contained money.
This privilege was only allowed to men after two years’ un-
broken good conduct.

Godfrey’s teacher in the Tartar language had been re-
commended to him by Osip as being the most companion-
able of the Tartar prisoners. He was a young fellow of
three or four and twenty, short and sturdy, like most of his
race, and with a good-natured expression in his flat face.
He was in for life, having in a fit of passion killed a Russian
officer who had struck him with a whip. He came from the
166 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIS‘.

neighbourhood of Kasan in the far west. Godfrey took a
strong liking to him, and was not long before he conceived
the idea that when he made his escape he would, if possible,
take Luka with him. Such companionship would be of
immense advantage, and would greatly diminish the difficul-
ties of the journey. As for Luka, he became greatly at-
tached to his pupil. The Tartars were looked down upon
by their fellow-prisoners, and the terms of equality with
which Godfrey chatted with them, and his knowledge of the
world, which seemed to the Tartar to be prodigious, made
him look up to him with unbounded respect.

The friendship was finally cemented by an occurrence that
took place three months after Godfrey arrived at the prison.
‘Among the convicts was a man named Kobylin, a man of
great strength. He boasted that he had committed ten
murders, and was always bullying and tyrannizing the
quieter and weaker prisoners. One day he passed where
Luka and Godfrey were sitting on the edge of the plank bed
talking together. Luka happened to get up just as he came
along, and Kobylin gave him a violent push, saying, “Get
out of the way, you miserable little Tartar dog.”

Luka fell with his head against the edge of the bench, and
lay for a time half stunned. Godfrey leapt to his feet, and
springing forward struck the bully a right-handed blow
straight from the shoulder. The man staggered back several
paces, and fell over the opposite bench. Then, with a shout
of fury, he recovered his feet and rushed at Godfrey, with
his arms extended to grasp him; but the lad, who had been
one of the best boxers at Shrewsbury, awaited his onset
calmly, and, making a spring forward just as Kobylin
reached him, landed a blow, given with all his strength
and the impetus of his spring, under the Russian’s chin,
and the man went backwards as if he had been shot,

A roar of applause broke from the convicts, Mikail
rushed forward, but Godfrey said to him:

“Let us alone, Mikail. This fellow has been a nuisance


GODFREY PUNISHES KOBYLIN IN THE CONVICT PRISON,
PRISON LIFE. . 167

in the ward ever since I came. It is just as well that he
should have a lesson. I sha’n’t do him any harm. Just
leave us alone for a minute or two; he won’t want much
more.”

The Russian rose slowly to his feet, bewildered and half
stupefied by the blow and fall. He would probably have done
nothing more; but, maddened by the taunts and jeers of the
others, he gathered himself together and renewed the at-
tack, but he in vain attempted to seize his active opponent.
Godfrey eluded his furious rushes, and before he could recover
himself, always succeeded in getting in two or three straight
blows, and at last met him, as in his first rush, and knocked
him off his feet.

By this time Kobylin had had enough of it, and sat
on the floor bewildered and crestfallen. Everything that a
Russian peasant does not understand savours to him of
magic; and that he, Kobylin, should have been thus van-
quished by a mere lad seemed altogether beyond nature.
He could not understand how it was that he had been
unable to grasp his foe, or how that, like a stroke of
lightning, these blows had shot into his face. Even the
jeering and laughter of his companions failed to stir him.
The Russian peasant is accustomed to be beaten, and is
humble to those who are his masters. Kobylin rose slowly
to his feet.

“You have beaten me,” he said humbly. “Ido not know
how; forgive me; I was wrong. I am ignorant, and did
not know.” ;

“Say no more about it,” Godfrey replied. “We have had a
quarrel, and there is an end of it. There need be no malice.
We are all prisoners here together, and it is not right that
one should bully others because he happens to be a little
stronger. There are other things besides strength. You ~
behaved badly, and you have been punished. Let us smoke
our pipes, and think no more about it.”

The sensation caused in the ward by the contest was
168 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

prodigious, and the victory of this lad was as incompre-
hensible to the others as to Kobylin himself. The rapidity
with which the blows were delivered, and the ease with
which Godfrey had evaded the rushes of his opponent,
seemed to them, as to him, almost magical, and from that
moment they regarded Godfrey as being possessed of some
strange power, which placed him altogether apart from
themselves. Osip and the other men of the same stamp
warmly congratulated Godfrey.

“What magic is this?” Osip said, taking him by the
shoulders and looking with wonder at him. “I have been
thinking you but a lad, and yet that strong brute is asa
child in your hands. It is the miracle of David and Goliath
over again.”

“Tt is simply skill against brute force, Osip. I may tell
you, what I have not told anyone before since I came here,
that my mother was English. I did not say so, because, as
you may guess, I feared that were it known and reported
it might be traced who I was, and then, instead of being
merely classed as a vagabond, I should be sent back to the
prison I escaped from, and be put among another class of
prisoners,”

“T understand, Ivan. Of course I have all along felt sure
you were a political prisoner; and I thought, perhaps, you
might have been a student in Switzerland, which would
account for you having ideas different to other people.”

“No, I was sent for a time to a school in England, and
there I learned to box.”

“So, that is your English boxing,” Osip said. “I have
heard of it, but I never thought it was anything like that.
Why, he never once touched you.”

“If he had, I should have got the worst of it,” Godfrey
laughed; “ but there was nothing in it. Size and weight go
for very little in boxing; and a man knowing nothing about
it has not the smallest chance against a fair boxer who is
active on his legs,”
PRISON LLE. 169

“But you did not seem to be exerting yourself,” Osip
said. ‘You were as cool and as quiet as if you had been
shovelling sand. You even laughed when he rushed at
you.”

“That is the great point of boxing, Osip. One learns to
keep cool, and to have one’s wits about one; for anyone who
loses his temper has but a poor chance indeed against another
who keeps cool. Moreover a man who can box well will
always keep his head in all times of danger and difficulty.
It gives him nerve and self-confidence, and enables him at
all times to protect the weak against the strong.”

“Just as you did now,” Osip said. “Well, I would not
have believed it if I had not seen it. I am sure we all feel
obliged to you for having taken down that fellow Kobylin.
He and a few others have been a nuisance for some time.
You may be sure there will be no more trouble with them
after the lesson you have given.”

Luka’s gratitude to Godfrey was unbounded, and from
that time he would have done anything on his behalf, while
the respect with which he had before regarded him was
redoubled. Therefore when one day Godfrey said to him,
“When the spring comes, Luka, I mean to try to escape,
and I shall take you with me,” the Tartar considered it to be
a settled thing, and was filled with a deep sense of gratitude
that his companion should deem him worthy of sharing in
his perils.

Winter set in in three weeks after Godfrey reached Kara,
and the work at the mine had to be abandoned. As much
employment as possible was made for the convicts. Some
were sent out to aid in bringing in the trees that had been
felled during the previous winter for firewood, others sawed
the wood up and split it into billets for the stoves, other
parties went out into the forest to fell trees for the next
winter’s fires. Some were set to whitewash the houses, a
process that was done five times a year; but in spite of all
this there was not work for half the number. The time hung
170 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

very heavily on the hands of those who were unemployed.
Godfrey was not of this number, for as soon as the work at
the mine terminated he received an order to work in the
office as a clerk.

He warmly appreciated this act of kindness on the part
of the commandant. It removed him from the constant
companionship of the convicts, which was now more un-
pleasant than before, as during the long hours of idleness
quarrels were frequent and the men became surly and dis-
contented. Besides this he received regular pay for his
work, and this was of importance, as it was necessary to
start upon such an undertaking as he meditated with as
large a store of money as possible. He had, since his arrival,
refused to join in any of the proposals for obtaining luxuries
from outside. The supply of food was ample, for in addition
to the bread and soup there was, three or four times a week,
an allowance of meat, and his daily earnings in the mines
were sufficient to pay for tobacco and tea. Even the ten
roubles he had handed over to Mikail remained untouched.

One reason why he was particularly glad at being pro-
moted to the office was that he had observed, upon the
day when he first arrived, a large map of Siberia hanging
upon the wall; and although he had obtained from Alexis
and others a fair idea of the position of the towns and
various convict settlements, he knew nothing of the wild
parts of the country through which he would have to pass,
and the inhabited portion formed but a small part indeed
of the whole. During the winter months he seized every
opportunity, when for a few minutes he happened to be alone
in the office, to study the map and to obtain as accurate an
idea as possible of the ranges of mountains, One day, when
the colonel was out, and the other two clerks were engaged
in taking an inventory of stores, and he knew, therefore, that
he had little chance of being interrupted, he pushed a table
against the wall, and with a sheet of tracing paper took the
outline of the northern coast from the mouth of the Lena to
PRISON LIFE. 171

Norway, specially marking the entrances to all rivers how-
ever small. He also took a tracing, giving the positions of
the towns and rivers across the nearest line between the
head of Lake Baikal and the nearest point of the Angara
river, one of the great affluents of the Yenesei.

The winter passed slowly and uneventfully. The cold
was severe, but he did not feel it, the office beiig well
warmed, and the heat in the crowded prison far greater
than was agreeable to him. At Christmas there were three
days of festivity. The people of Kara, and the peasants
round, all sent in gifts for the prisoners. Every one laid
by a little money to buy special food for the occasion, and
vodka had been smuggled in. The convicts of the different
prisons were allowed to visit each other freely, and although
there was much drunkenness on Christmas Day there were
no serious quarrels, All were on.their best behaviour, but
Godfrey was glad when all was over and they returned to
their ordinary occupations again, for the thought of the last
Christmas he had spent in England brought the change in
his circumstances home to him more strongly than ever, and
for once his buoyant spirits left him, and he was profoundly
depressed, while all around him were cheerful and gay.

Nothing surprised Godfrey more than the brutal indif-
ference with which most of the prisoners talked of the
crimes they had committed, except perhaps the indifference
with which these stories were listened to. It seemed to
him indeed that some of the convicts had almost a pride in
their crimes, and that they even went so far as to invent
atrocities for the purpose of giving themselves a supremacy
in ferocity over their fellows. He noticed that those who
were in for minor offences, such as robbery with violence,
forgery, embezzlement, and military insubordination, were
comparatively reticent as to their offences, and that it was
those condemned for murder who were the most given to
boasting about their exploits.

“One could almost wish,” he said one day to his friend
172 ; CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

Osip, “that one had the strength of Samson, to bring the
building down and destroy the whole of them.”

“I am very glad you have not, if you have really a fancy
of that sort. I have not the least desire to be finished off
in that sudden way.”

“But it is dreadful to listen to them,” Godfrey said. “I
cannot understand what the motive of government can be
in sending thousands of such wretches out here instead of
hanging them. I can understand transporting people who
have been convicted of minor offences, as, when their term is
up, they may do well and help to colonize the country. But
what can be hoped from such horrible ruffians as these?
They have the trouble of keeping them for years, and even
when they are let out no one can hope that they will turn
out useful members of the community. They probably take
to their old trade and turn brigands.”

“I don’t think they do that. Some of those who escape
soon after coming out might do so, but not when they have
been released. They would not care then to run the risk
of either being flogged to death by the plete or kept in
prison for the rest of their lives. Running away is nothing.
I have heard of a man, who had run away repeatedly,
being chained to a barrow which he had to take with him
wherever he went, indoors and out. That is the worst I
ever heard of, for as for flogging with rods these fellows
think very little of it. They will often walk back in the
autumn to the same prison they went from, take their
flogging, and go to work as if nothing had happened. They
are never flogged with the plete for that sort of thing; that
is kept for murder or heading a mutiny in which some of
the officials have been killed. No; the brigands are chiefly
composed of long-sentence men who have got away early,
and who perhaps have killed a Cossack or a policeman who
tried to arrest them, or some peasant who will not supply
them with food. After that they dare not return, and so
join some band of brigands in order to be able to keep to
PRISON LIFE. 173

the woods through the winter. I think that very few of the
men who have once served their time and been released
ever come back again.”

During the winter the food, although still ample, was less
than the allowance they had received while working. The
allowance of bread was reduced by a pound a day, and upon
Wednesdays and Fridays, which were fast days, no meat
was issued except to those engaged in chopping up firewood
or bringing in timber from the forest. Leather gloves were
served out to all men working in the open air, but in spite
of this their hands were frequently frost-bitten. The even-
ings would have been long indeed to Godfrey had it not
been for his Tartar instructor; the two would sit on the
bench in the angle of the room and would talk together in
Tartar eked out by Russian. The young fellow’s face was
much more intelligent than those of the majority of his
countrymen, and there was a merry and good-tempered ex-
pression in his eyes. They chatted about his home and his
life there. His mother had been an Ostjak, and he had spent
some years among her tribe on the banks both of the Obi
and Yenesei, but had never been far north on either river.
He took his captivity easily. His father and mother both
died when he had been a child, and when he was not with
the Ostjaks he had lived with his father’s brother, who
had, he said, “droves of cattle and horses.”

“Tf they would put me to work on a river,” he said, “I
should not mind. Here one has plenty to eat, and the work is
not hard, and there is a warm room to sleep in, but I should
like to be employed in cutting timber and taking it in rafts
down the river to the sea. I love the river, and I can shoot.
All the Ostjaks can shoot, though shooting has brought
me bad luck. If I had not had my bow in my hand when
that Russian struck me I should not be here now. It was
all done in a moment. You see I was on the road when
his sledge came along. The snow was fresh and soft, and
T did not hear it coming. he horses swerved, nearly upset-
174 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

ting the sledge, and knocking me down in the snow. Then
I got up and swore at the driver, and then the Russian,
who was angry because the sledge had nearly been upset,
jumped out, caught the whip from the driver and struck me
across the face. It hurt me badly, for my face was cold.
I had been in the wood shooting squirrels, and I hardly
know how it was, but I fitted an arrow to the string and
shot. It was all over in a moment, and there he lay on the
snow with the arrow through his throat. I was so frightened
that I did not even try to run away, and was stupid enough
to let the driver hold me till some people came up and
carried me off to prison; so you see my shooting did me
harm. But it was hard to be sent here for life for a thing
like that. He was a bad man that Russian. He was an
officer in one of the regiments there, and a soldier who was
in prison with me afterwards told me that there was great
joy among the soldiers when he was killed.”

“ But it was very wrong, Luka, to kill a man like that.”

“Yes; but then you see I hadn’t.time to think. I was
almost mad with pain, and it was all done ina minute. I
think it is very hard that I should be punished as much as
Iam when there are many here who have killed five or six
people, or more, and some of them women, and they have no
worse punishment than I have. Look at Kobylin; he was
a bandit first of all, as I have heard him say over ard over
again. He beat his wife to death, because she scolded him
for being drunk, then he took to the woods. The first he
killed was a Jew pedlar, then he burnt down the house of
the head-man of a village because he had put the police on
his track. He killed him as he rushed out from the door,
and his wife and children were burnt alive. He killed four
or five others on the road, and when he was betrayed, as he
was asleep in the hut, he cut down with an axe two of the
policemen who came to arrest him. He is in for life, but
he is a great deal worse than I am, is he not?

“Then there is that little Koshkin, the man who is
PRISON LIFE. 175

always walking about smiling to himself. He was a clerk
to a notary, and he murdered his master and mistress and
two servant women, and got away with the money and lived
on it for a year; then he went into another family and did
the same, but this time the police got on his track and
caught him. Nine lives he took altogether, not in a pas-
sion or because they were cruel to him. I heard him say
that he was quite a favourite, and how he used to sing to
them and was trusted in every way. No, I say it isn’t fair
that I, who did nothing but just pay a man fora blow,
should get as much as those two.”

“It does seem rather hard on you, but you see there can-
not be a great variety of punishments. You killed a man,
and so you had sentence for life. They can’t give more
than that, and if they were to give less there would be more
murders than there are, for every one would think that
they could kill at least one person without being punished
very heavily for it.”

“T don’t call mine murder at all,” Luka said. “I would
not kill a man for his money; but this was just a fight.
Whiz went his whip across my face, and then whiz went
my arrow.”

“Oh, it is not so bad, Luka, I grant. If you had killed
aman in cold blood I would have had nothing to do with
you. I could not be friends with a man who was a cold-
blooded murderer. I could never give him my hand, or
travel with him, or sleep by his side. J don’t feel that with
you. In the eye of the law you committed a murder, and
the law does not ask why it was done, or care in what way
it was done. The law only says you killed the man, and
the punishment for that is imprisonment for life. But I, as
aman, can see that there is a great difference in the moral
guilt, and that, acting as you did in a fit of passion, suddenly
and without premeditation, and smarting under an assault,
it was what we should in England call manslaughter.
Before I asked you to teach me, when Osip first said that
176 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

he should recommend me to try you, I saw by the badge
on your coat that you were in for murder, and if it had not
been that he knew how it came about, I would not have
had anything to do with you, even if I had been obliged to
give up altogether my idea of learning your language.”

The starosta continued a steady friend to Godfrey. The
lad acted as a sort of deputy to him, and helped him to keep
the accounts of the money he spent for the convicts, and the
balance due to them, and once did him real service. As
Mikail’s office was due to the vote of the prisoners, his
authority over them was but slight, and although he was
supported by a considerable majority of them there were
some who constantly opposed him, and at times openly
defied his authority. Had Mikail reported their conduct
they would have been severely punished; but they knew he
was very averse to getting any one into trouble, and that
he preferred to settle things for himself. He was un-
doubtedly the most powerful man in the ward, and even
the roughest characters feared to provoke him singly.

On one occasion, however, after he had knocked down
a man who had refused to obey his orders, six or seven of
his fellow convicts sprung on him. Godfrey, Osip, and
three or four of the better class of convicts rushed to his
assistance, and for a few minutes there was a fierce fight,
the rest of the prisoners looking on at the struggle but
taking no active part one way or the other. The assailants
were eventually overpowered, and nothing might have been
said about the matter had it not been that one of Mikail’s
party was seriously injured, having an arm broken and
being severely kicked. Mikail was therefore obliged to
report the matter, and the whole of the men concerned in
the attack upon him received a severe flogging.

“TI should look ont for those fellows, Mikail,” Godfrey
said, “or they may injure you if they have a chance.”

Mikail, however, scoffed at the idea of danger.

“They have got it pretty severely now,” he said, “and
PRISON LIFE. 177

the colonel told them that if there was any more insubordi-
nation he would give them the plete; and they have a good
deal too much regard for their lives to risk that. You won't
hear any more of it. They know well enough that I would
not have reported them if I had not been obliged to do so,
owing to Boulkin’s arm being broken; therefore it isn’t fair
having any grudge against me. They have been flogged.
before most of them, and by the time the soreness has
passed off they will have forgotten it.”

Godfrey did not feel so sure of that, and determined to
keep his eye upon the men. He did not think they would
openly assault the starosta, but at night one of them might
do him an injury, relying upon the difficulty of proving
under such circumstances who had been the assailant.

The solitary candle that burned in the ward at night was
placed well out of reach and protected by a wire frame. It
could not, therefore, be extinguished, but the light it gave
was so faint that, except when passing just under the beam
from which it hung, it would be impossible to identify any
one even at arm’s-length. Two of those concerned in the attack
on Mikail were the men of whom Luka had been speaking.
Kobylin the bandit muttered and scowled whenever the
starosta came near him, and there could be little doubt that
had he met him outside the prison walls he would have
shown him no mercy. Koshkin on the other hand appeared
to cherish no enmity.

“T have done wrong, Mikail,” he said half an hour after
he had had his flogging, “and I have been punished for
it. It was not your fault; it was mine. These things will
happen, you know, and there is no need for malice;” and he
went about the ward smiling and rubbing his hands as usual
and occasionally singing softly to himself. As Godfrey knew
how submissive the Russians are under punishment he
would have thought this perfectly natural had he not heard
from Luka the man’s history. That was how, he thought

to himself, the scoundrel smiled upon the master and
(731) M
178 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

mistress he had resolved to murder. “Of the two I think
there is more to be feared from him than from that villain
Kobylin, who has certainly been civil enough to me since
I gave him that thrashing. I will keep my eye on the
little fellow.”

Of necessity the ward became quiet very soon after night
set in. The men talked and smoked for a short time, but
in an hour after the candle was lit the ward was generally
perfectly quiet. Godfrey, working as he did indoors, was
far less inclined for sleep than either the men who had been
working in the forest or those who had been listlessly passing
the day in enforced idleness, and he generally lay awake for
a long time, either thinking of home and school-days, or in
meditating over his plans for escape as soon as spring arrived,
and he now determined to keep awake still longer. ‘‘ They
are almost all asleep by seven o’clock,” he said to himself.
“Tf any of those fellows intend to do any harm to Mikail
they will probably do it by ten or eleven, there will be no
motive in putting it off longer; and indeed the ward is quieter
then than it is later, for some of them when they wake light
a pipe and have a smoke, and many do so early in the morn-
ing so as to have their smoke before going to work.”

Five evenings passed without anything happening, and
Godfrey began to think that he had been needlessly anxious,
and that Mikail must understand the ways of his own people
better than he did. The sixth evening had also passed off
quietly, and when Godfrey thought that it must be nearly
twelve o'clock he was about to pull his blanket up over his
ear and settle himself for sleep when he suddenly caught
sight of a stooping figure coming along. It was passing
under the candle when he caught sight of it. He did not
feel quite sure that his eyes had not deceived him, for it was
but a momentary glance he caught of a dark object an inch
or two above the level of the feet of the sleepers.

Godfrey noiselessly pushed down his blanket, gathered -
his feet up in readiness for a spring, and grasped one of his
PRISON LIFE. 179

shoes, which as usual he had placed behind the clothes-bag
that served as his pillow. Several of the sleepers were snor-
ing loudly, and intently as he listened he heard no footfall.
In a few seconds, however, a dark figure arose against the
wall at the foot of the bench; it stood there immovable for
half a minute and then leaned over Mikail, placing one hand
on the wall as if to enable him to stretch as far over as pos-
sible without touching the sleeper. Godfrey waited no
longer but brought the shoe down with all his force on the
man’s head, and then threw himself upon him pinning him
down for a moment upon the top of Mikail. The latter
woke with a shout of surprise followed by a sharp cry of
pain. Godfrey clung to the man, who, as with a great effort
he rose, dragged him from the bed, and the two rolled on the
grqund together. Mikail’s shout had awakened the whole
ward and a sudden din arose. -Mikail leapt from the bench
and as he did so fell over the struggling figures on the ground.

“Get hold of his hands, Mikail,” Godfrey shouted, ‘‘he
has got a knife and I can’t hold him.”

But in the dark it was some time before the starosta could
make out the figures on the floor. Suddenly Godfrey felt
Mikail’s hand on his throat.

“That's me,” he gasped. The hand was removed and a
moment later he felt the struggles of his adversary cease,
and there was a choking sound.

“That is right, Mikail, but don’t kill him,” he said.

At this moment the door at the end of the ward opened
and two of the guard ran in with lanterns. They shouted
orders to the convicts to keep their places on the benches.

“This way,” Mikail called, “there has been attempted
murder, I believe.”

The guards came up with the lanterns.

‘What has happened to him?” one of them said, bending
over the man who was lying insensible on the ground.

“He is short of wind,” Mikail said, “that is all that ails
him; I had to choke him off.”
180 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“But what is it all about?”

“I don’t know myself,” Mikail said. “I was asleep when
I felt a thump as if a cow had fallen on me, then I felt a
sharp stab on the hip, two of them one after the other, then
the weight was lifted suddenly off and I jumped up. As I
put my feet on the ground I tumbled over Ivan here and—
who is it? Hold the lantern close to his face—ah, Koshkin.
What is it, Ivan, are you hurt?”

“He ran his knife pretty deep into my leg once or twice,”
Godfrey said. “I got his arms pinned down, but I could not
keep him from moving his hands. If we had lain quiet he
would have hurt me seriously, I expect; but we were both
struggling, so he only got a chance to give me a dig now and
then.”

“But what is it all about, Ivan, for I don’t quite under-
stand yet?” Mikail asked.

“I told you, Mikail, that fellow would do you a mischief.
You laughed at me, but I was quite sure that that smiling
manner of his was all put on. I have lain awake for the
last five nights to watch, and to-night I just caught sight of
something crawling along at the edge of the bench. He
stood up at your feet and leant over, as I thought then, and
I know now, to stab you, but I flung myself on him, and
you know the rest of it.”

“Well, you have saved my life, there is no mistake about
that,” and Mikail lifted and laid him on the bench. “Now,”
he said to the guards, “you had better take that fellow out
and put him in the guard cell, the cold air will bring him
round as soon as you get him out of this room. You had
better hold him tight when he does, for he is a slippery cus-
tomer. When you have locked him up will one of you go
round to the doctor’s? This young fellow is bleeding fast,
and I fancy I have lost a good deal of blood myself.”

As soon as the soldiers had left the ward carrying Kosh-
kin between them Mikail called Osip and Luka. “Here,” he
said, “get the lad’s things down from under his iron belt and
PRISON LIFE. 181

try and stop the bleeding till the doctor comes. I feel a bit
faint myself or I would ask no one else to do it.”

In ten minutes the doctor arrived. Godfrey had three
cuts about half-way between the hip and the knee.

“They are of no consequence except for the bleeding,”
the doctor said. ‘Has anyone got a piece of cord?”

“There is a piece in my bag,” Mikail replied. The doctor
took it and made a rough tourniquet above the wounds,
then drew the edges together, put in two stitches in each,
and then strapped them up. ‘Then he attended to Mikail.
“You have had a narrow escape,” he said; “the knife has
struck on your hip bone and made a nasty gash, and there
is another just below it. If the first wound had been two
inches higher there would have been nothing to do but to
bury you,”

“Well, this is a nice business,” Mikail said, when the
doctor had left. “To think of that little villain being so
treacherous! You were right and I was wrong, Ivan, though
how you guessed he was up to mischief is more than J can
imagine.”

“Well, you know the fellow’s history, Mikail, and that he
had murdered nine people he had lived among and who
trusted him. What could one expect from a villain like that?”

“Qh, I know he isa bad one,” Mikail said, “but I did not
think he dare take the risk.”

“T don’t suppose he thought there was much risk, Mikail.
If I had been asleep he would have stabbed you to the
heart, and when we found you dead in the morning who was
to know what prisoner had done it?”

“Well, it was a lucky thought my putting you next to me,
young fellow; I meant it for your good not for my own, and
now you see it has saved my life.”

“A kind action always gets its reward, Mikail—always,
sooner or later; in your case it has been sooner, you see. -
Now I shall go off to sleep, for I feel as drowsy as if I had
been up for the last three nights.”
182 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

CHAPTER X
PREPARATIONS FOR FLIGHT.

ane next morning Godfrey and Mikail were by the

doctor’s orders carried to the hospital and placed in a
comfortable and well-arranged ward. “You won’t have to
be here many days,” the doctor said when he came round
the ward. “TI only had you brought here because the air is
sweeter and better than it isin that room you were in.” An
hour later the governor with a clerk came in, Mikail was
first called upon for his statement, which was written down
by the clerk.

“Had you any reason for supposing that the man had any
special enmity against you?” the governor asked.

“Only because of that flogging he had for the row in the
ward last week, sir.”

“Ah, yes, he was one of those who attacked you then
and was flogged; that accounts for it,”

Then Godfrey gave his account of what had happened.

“Did you observe anything that made you specially
watchful?” the governor asked.

“TI thought perhaps one of them might try to take revenge
on Mikail, sir. One or two of them were very sullen and
surly, and would, I thought, do him harm if they had the
chance; but I suspected this man more than the others
because he seemed so unnaturally pleasant, and as I had
heard him boasting about the things for which he is here, I
thought he was more dangerous than those who grumbled
and threatened.”

The governor nodded. “Yes, he is a thorough-paced
villain; you have done very well, young man, and I shall not
forget it.”
PREPARATIONS FOR FLIGHT. 183

Five days later there was a stir in front of the hospital,
and Mikail, whose bed was by the side of the window, raised.
himself on his elbow and looked out.

“Tt is a punishment parade,” he said; “T expect they are
going to flog Koshkin with the plete. No governor of a
prison is allowed to do that until the circumstances of the
case have been sent to the governor of the province, and the
sentence receives his approval; that is no doubt what has
caused the delay. All the prisoners are mustering.”
Godfrey, who was in the next bed, managed to draw him-
self on to Mikail’s, and then to sit up so as to look out. The
whole of the convicts of that prison, some eight hundred in
number, were drawn up forming three sides of a square; in
front of them, four paces apart, were a line of soldiers with
fixed bayonets, while behind was another line. Then Kosh-
kin, stripped to the waist, was brought forward and bound to
a thick board having an iron leg, so that when laid down
the board inclined to an angle of about thirty degrees.
On this he was so strapped as to be perfectly immovable.
Then a man approached with the dreaded whip and took
his place on one side of the criminal. The governor then
entered the square. He was attended by all the prison
officials. His face was very grave and stern, and he walked
along the lines, scrutinizing closely each man as he passed
him. Then he took his place in the centre of the square
and held up his hand.

“This man,” he said, “has attempted to murder the star-
osta of his ward, and is for this sentenced to fifty lashes.
Let this be a lesson to all here.”

Then he signalled to the executioner, who brought down
his lasl. with great force upon the bare back of the prisoner.
A terrible cry broke from Koshkin. Two more blows were
given, and then the executioner moved to the other side
and delivered another three blows. In this way the lashes
184 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

crossed each other at an angle. Godfrey could look no more,
but crawled back on to his own bed. Mikail continued look-
ing out until the punishment was over.

‘He has not bled,” he said; “he will die.”

“How do you mean, Mikail?”

“Well, that is how it is, Ivan. It is as the executioner
likes, or as he is ordered. He can, according to the way
he strikes, cut the flesh or not each stroke. If it bleeds the
man seldom dies, if it doesn’t there is little chance for him.
There are several ways of flogging the prisoner, and his
friends generally bribe the executioner; then he strikes with
all his strength the first blow—that is terrible, but it
seems to numb the flesh somehow, and afterwards he does
not strike so hard, and the prisoner hardly feels the blows.
The worst is when he hits softly at first and then harder
and harder, then the man feels every blow to the end; but
they are obliged to hit hard, if not they get flogged them-
selves. I saw a case where the executioner had been well
bribed and, therefore, hit gently, and the prisoner was taken
down and he was tied up in his place and got twenty lashes.
Years ago they used the plete at all the prisons, now they
only use it at three prisons, where the worst criminals are
sent, and this is one of them.”

A week later they were both discharged from the
hospital and returned to the ward. The first thing they
heard on entering it was that Koshkin had died the night
before. Godfrey went back to his work in the office. He
was doubtful how he should be received in the ward, but
he found that, except by Kobylin and four or five others, he
was welcomed quite cordially.

“You have done us all a service,” Osip said. “There
was sure to have been trouble sooner or later, and that
flogging will cow these fellows for some time. This is only
the second there has been since I came here—I mean, of
PREPARATIONS FOR FLIGHT. 185

course, at this prison. Besides, Mikail is a good fellow, and
we all like him, and everyone would have been sorry if he
had been killed.”

“What is he in for? I never asked before. Of course,
I see that he has the murderer’s badge on his back. Do
you know how it happened? I never heard him speak of
it.”

“Yes, he told us about it one evening, that was before he
became starosta. Some vodka had been smuggled in and he
had more than was good for him, and that opened his lips.
He had been a charcoal-burner and having had the good
fortune to escape the conscription he married. She was a
pretty girl, and it seems that the son of a rich proprietor
had taken a fancy to her, and when the next year’s con-
scription came he managed by some unfair means to get
Mikail’s name put down again on the list. Such things can
be done, you know, by a man with influence. Mikail ran
away and took to the woods. He was hunted for two or
three months in vain. Then someone betrayed him, and
one morning he woke up in a hut he had built for himself
and saw the place was surrounded by soldiers.

“With the officers was the man who had injured him.
Mikail was mad with fury, and rushing out with a big club
he had cut he stretched the fellow dead on the ground—
and served him right. However, of course Mikail was taken,
tried, and condemned. He had killed a noble’s son, and three
weeks later was on his way to Siberia. His wife has
followed him, and is living now in a village two miles away.
Another six months and Mikail will have served his ten
years, which is the least time a murderer can serve before
he gets leave to live outside the prison. He is sure to get
it then, his conduct has been always good, and no doubt
this affair will count in his favour. His wife came out two
years after he was sent here. She keeps herself by spinning
186 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

and helping at a farm. It has been a good thing for Mikail,
for it has kept him straight. If it had not been for that he
would have taken to the woods long ago.”

“TI don’t call that a murder,” Godfrey said indignantly.
“Tf I had been on the jury I would never have convicted
him. He was treated illegally and had the right to resist.”

“T don’t blame him very much myself,” Osip said. “Of
course it would have been wiser to have submitted, and
then to have tried to get off serving, but I don’t suppose
anyone would have listened to him. If it hadn’t been a
noble he killed I have no doubt he would have got off.”

“But you are noble yourself, Osip.” e

“Yes, but that does not give me any marked advantage
at present. Of course it will make a difference when I get
out. My friends will send me money, and I shall live at
Tobolsk and marry some wealthy gold-miner’s daughter, and
be in the best society. Oh, yes, it is an advantage being
noble born, even in Siberia,”

Godfrey was quite touched with the joy that Luka
manifested when, on his return from work, he found him in |
the ward. “Ah, my master,” he exclaimed, with tears in
his eyes, “why did you not tell me that you were watching?
I would have kept awake all night and would have thrown
myself on that dog; it would have made no matter if he
had killed me. It would not have hurt me so much as it
did to see you bleeding.”

“You must not call me master,” Godfrey said, holding
out his hand, which the Tartar seized and pressed to his
forehead. * Youand I are friends, there are no masters here.”

Godfrey learnt that every effort had been made by the
authorities to discover how Koshkin had obtained the knife,
but without success) He must have bribed one of the
guards to fetch it in for him, but there was no tracing which
had been concerned in the matter. All the prisoners had
PREPARATIONS FOR FLIGHT. 187

been searched and their bags examined, but no other
weapons had been discovered. Godfrey did not hear a
single word of pity for Koshkin, or of regret at his death.
Indifference for others was one of the leading characteristics
of the prisoners. Although living so long together they
seldom appeared to form a friendship of any kind; each
man lived for and thought only of his own lot. Godfrey
observed that it was very seldom that a prisoner shared any
dainty he had purchased with another, and it was only
when three or four had clubbed together to get in a ham,
a young sucking pig, or some vodka that they were seen to
partake of it togevher.

Some of the prisoners, indeed, scarcely ever exchanged
a word with the rest, but moved about in moody silence
paying no attention to what was going on around them.
Some again were always quarrelling, and seemed to take
a delight in stirring up others by giving them unpleasant
nicknames, or by turning them into ridicule.

“Tam glad indeed, Mikail,” Godfrey said, as he lay
down beside the starosta that night, “that you were not
seriously hurt. I only heard to-day that you had a wife
waiting for you outside.”

“Yes, it is true,” Mikail replied. ‘I never talk of her.
I dare not even let myself think of her, it seems too great
a happiness to be true; and something may occur, one
never knows. Ah, Ivan, if it had not been for you what
news would have been taken to her! Think of it, after her
long journey out here; after waiting ten years for me, to
hear that it was useless. I tremble like a leaf when I think
of it. That night I lay awake all night and cried like a
young child, not for myself, you know, but for her. She
has taken a cottage already, and is furnishing it with her
savings. She is allowed to write to me, you know, once
every month. At first it was every three months. What
188 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIS'T.

happiness it was to me when my first five years was up and
she could write once a month! Do you think I shall know
her? She will have changed much. I tell myself that
always; and I—I have changed much too, but she will know
me, I am sure she will know me. I tremble now at the
thought of our meeting, Ivan; but I ought not to talk so, I
ought not to speak to you of my happiness—you, who have
no friend waiting to see you.”

‘I like to hear you talk of your wife, Mikail. My friends
are a long way off indeed; but I hope that I shall see them
before very long.”

“You think that you may be pardoned?” Mikail asked.

“No, I mean to escape.”

“Ah, lad,” Mikail said kindly, “I don’t suppose there is
ever a prisoner comes here who does not say to himself, I
will escape. Every spring there are thousands who take to
the woods, and scarce one of these but hopes never to see
the inside of a prison again, and yet they come back, every
one of them.”

“But there have been escapes, Mikail, therefore there is
nothing impossible in it.”

“There are twenty thousand convicts cross the frontier
every year, lad. There is not one man makes his escape in
five years,”

‘‘ Well, I mean to be the man this five years, Mikail.”

“I would not try if I were you. Were you in on a life
sentence for murder, or still worse, as a political prisoner,
I would say try if you like, for you would have nothing to
lose; but you have a good prospect now. I am sure you
must have been a political, but now that you have been a
wanderer you are so no longer. You have won the gover-
nor’s good-will, and as soon as your time is up, perhaps
before, you will be allowed to live outside the prison. If
you go away in the spring you will, when you return as
PREPARATIONS FOR FLIGHT. 189

winter comes on, forfeit all this, and have to begin again.
When you come out there will be my little hut ready for
you, and such a welcome from my wife and me that you
will forget how small and rough it is, and there you will
live with us till your five years are up, and you can go
anywhere you like in Siberia.”

“I thank you sincerely, Mikail, and I should, I am sure,
be as happy as an exile could be with you and your faithful
wife; but if I have to try afresh every year for twenty
years I will break out and strive to escape. You know
that I am English by my mother’s side. I can tell you now
that I am altogether English, and I will gain England or
die. At any rate, if it is to be done I will do it. I have
health and strength and determination. I have learnt all
that there is to be learnt as to the difficulties of the journey.
I have more to gain, more to strive for than other prisoners.
Even if they escape they cannot return home. They
must still be exiled from Russia; must earn their bread
among strangers as they are earning it here. I have a home
awaiting me—a father, mother, and sisters—to whom T shall

_ come back as one from the grave. Why, man, the difficul-
ties are nothing in comparison to the reward. A journey
across Asia is as nothing to the journeys many of my
countrymen have made across Africa. Here there is no
fear of fever, of savage tribes, or savage beasts. It is in
comparison a mere pleasure excursion. I may not succeed
next time, just as I did not succeed last year, but succeed in
the end I will.”

“TI believe you,” Mikail said earnestly, infected by
Godfrey’s enthusiasm. “Did you not overthrow, as if he
were a babe, Kobylin, whom everyone else feared? Yes, if
anyone can do it you can.”

At last the long winter was over, the thaw came, and the
work at the mine was renewed. Godfrey was afraid that
190 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

he might be still kept in the office, and he spoke to Mikail
on the subject; the latter spoke to one of the officials, and
told him that the prisoner Ivan Holstoff petitioned that
he might be again put to work on the mine instead of being
kept in the office, as he felt his health suffering from the
confinement. Two days later Godfrey was called into the
governor’s room.

“T hear that you have asked to go to the mine again,
lad.”

“Yes, sir; I like active work better than sitting indoors
all day.”

The colonel looked at him keenly. ‘ You are doing well
here, lad; it will be a pity to have to begin over again. I
can guess what is in your thoughts. Think it over, lad, don’t
do anything rash; but if—,” and he hesitated, “if you
are headstrong and foolish, remember you will be better
off here than elsewhere, and that I am never very hard on
runaways. That will do; you will go out again with the
gang to-morrow.”

“Thank you, sir,” Godfrey said earnestly, and with a bow
returned to his work at the desk in the next room.

On the following day work at the mine was resumed.
Godfrey at once began.his preparations for his flight, and
as a first step managed to conceal under a lump of rock a
heavy hammer and a pick used in the work; he had already
laid in a stock of a dozen boxes of matches. The next
evening he said to Mikail when they had lain down for the
night,—

“Now, Mikail, I want you to help me.”

“So you really mean to go?”

“Yes, my mind is quite made up. I want you to get me
in some things from outside.”

“T will get you anything if you will tell me what you
want.”
PREPARATIONS FOR FLIGHT. 191

“I want most of all two long knives.”

“Yes, knives are useful,” Mikail said; “but they are
awkward things to get. I dare not ask any of the people
who trade here to get such a thing. Ah! I know what I
will do; I am losing my head. I will steal you two from
the kitchen; but that must be done the last thing, for if
knives were missed there would be a great search for them.
What is the next thing?”

“T should like a coil of thirty or forty yards of fine rope,
and some string. They are always useful things to have.”

“That is so,” the convict assented.

“Then I shall want some thread and neeiles.”

“There is no difficulty about that; I can buy them for
you at the gate. I don’t know what excuse to make to get
you the rope, but I will think of something.”

“TJ don’t think there is anything else, except that I should
like these twenty roubles changed into kopecks.”

The man nodded. ‘When will you try?”

“To-morrow. It is dark now by the time we leave off
work; it will be easy to slip away then. Luka is going
with me.”

“That is good,” Mikail said, “he will be very useful; he
is a good little fellow, and will be faithful to you. You had
best keep steadily west, and give yourself up at Irkutsk.
It is a rough road working round by the north of Lake
Baikal; but you had better take that way, it is safer than
by the south. But no doubt if you are careful you might
go that way too. Then the summer after, if you can get
away again, you can give up at Tomsk. Once fairly away
from here there is no fear of your being overtaken; they
never take the trouble to hunt the woods far, they know it
1s of no use. Remember, as long as you don’t go too far
from the road, you will light upon cottages and little farm-
houses where you can get something to eat; but if you go
192 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

too far into the woods you may starve. There will be no
berries except strawberries yet, and strawberries are not
much use to keep life together when you are travelling.”

“Oh, by the by, there is one more thing I want you to
get for me if possible, and that is fish-hooks and line.”

“That is difficult,” Mikail said; “however, a rouble or
two will goa long way. But you must put off your start
for another two or three days. The rope and the hooks
will need time to get.”

It was, indeed, the fourth evening before Mikail told
Godfrey that he had got everything except the knives. “I
will manage to get these in the morning,” he said, “when
I go into the kitchen and see about breakfast. If I were
you, I would put on those two spare shirts over the one
you wear, and take your three spare pairs of stockings. Of
course you will wind the rope round your waist. I suppose
you will buy bread from the others, there are always plenty
ready to sell; you had better take enough for two or three
days. Cut it in slices, put them inside your upper shirt
with the other things you take, your belt will keep them
safe. Don’t try to slip away unless you see a really good
opportunity; it is no use being shot at. Besides, with those
irons on your legs, they would soon overtake you. Better
put it off for another time than to run any risk.”

Godfrey at once informed Luka that they were to try
to escape on the following evening, told him to put on
his spare shirts at night, gave him the matches, and told
him to stow away in the morning as much bread as he
could carry. The young Tartar made no reply beyond a
pleasant nod; his confidence in his companion was unbounded.
The next morning, while eating their breakfasts by the dim
light of a candle, Mikail passed close to Godfrey and slipped
two long knives into his hand; these he hid instantly inside
his shirt.
PREPARATIONS FOR FLIGHT. 193

“T have got the bread,” Mikail said; “it was better for
me to buy it than you. I have put it under your bag.”

As it was quite dark in the corner of the room Godfrey
had no difficulty in cutting up the hunks of bread, and con-
cealing them without observation. Mikail strolled up while
he was so engaged. Godfrey had already given him money
for the various purchases, and he now pressed a hundred—
rouble note into his hand, and said:

“Now, Mikail, you must take this from me; it is not
a present to you, but to your brave wife. When you get
out you will want to do your share towards making the
house she has got for you comfortable. Till you get your
free ticket. you will still be working in the mines like the
others; and though you will get the same pay as free
labourers then, it will be some time before you can lay
much by. When your term is over you will want to take
up a piece of land and farm, and you must have money for
this until your crops grow.”

“T will not take it,” the man said huskily; “it is a hun-
dred roubles. I would not rob you; you will want every
kopeck you have. The money would be a curse to me.”

‘JT have five hundred still left, Mikail, which will be
ample forme. You will grieve me if you refuse to take it.
It will be pleasant to me, whether I am taken again or
whether I escape, to think that I have made one home hap-
pier for my stay here, and that you and your brave wife,
in your comfortable home, think sometimes of the young
fellow you were kind to.”

“Tf you wish it I will take it,” Mikail said. ‘“Feodora
and I will pray before the thon to the saints morning and
night to protect you wherever you may be.”

“Pray for me as Godfrey Bullen, Mikail; that is my real
name. Jam English, and it is to England I shall make my
way.”

(731) N
194 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“Godfrey Bullen,” the man repeated four or five times
over. “TI shall not forget it. Feodora and I will teach it
to our children if the good God should send us any.”

“T should like to let you know if I get safely home,”
Godfrey said; “how can I write to you?”

“T can receive letters when I am out of prison,” Mikail
said. “You know my name, Mikail Stomoff; put Karoff,
that is the name of the village my wife lives at—Karoff,
near Kara. If the letter does not come until my term is
over, and I have ree I will leave word there where it can
be forwarded to me.’

ah hope that you will get it long before that, Mikail. The
journey is too long to do in one summer. I shall winter
somewhere in the north, and I hope to be in England by
the following autumn; therefore, if I have got safely away,
you may look fora ieee before the Christmas after next.
If it does not come by that time, you will know that I have
failed in my first attempt, and then you will, I hope, get
one a year later. I shall, of course, be careful what I say;
in case it should be opened and read, there will be nothing
in it about your knowing that I intended to escape.”

“We shall look for it, Godfrey Bullen, we shall look for
it always, and pray the good God to send it to us.”

The next morning when Godfrey rose he wrung Mikail’s
hand warmly.

“God bless you,” the starosta said with tears in his eyes.
“JT shall not come near you again; they would see that
something was strange with me, and when you were miss-
ing, would guess that I knew you were going. May all
the saints preserve you.”

Before they formed up to march to their work, Godfrey
shook hands with his friend Osip. ‘I am going to try on
our way back to-night,” he said.

“Good-bye, and good luck to you,” Osip replied. “TI
PREPARATIONS FOR FLIGHT. 195

would go with you if I was in for life; but T have lost ‘two
years already by running away, and I dare not try again.”

During the day Godfrey observed very carefully the spot
where he had hidden the tools, so that he might be able to
find it in the dark, piling three small stones one on the
top of the other by the roadside at the point nearest to it.
When work was over, he managed to fall in with Luka at
the rear of the line. A Cossack marched alongside of him.

“Five roubles,” Godfrey whispered, “if you will let us
drop behind.”

Five roubles was a large sum to the soldier. The life of
the guards was really harder than that of the prisoners,
except that they did no work, for they had to mount guard
at night when the convicts slept, and their rations were
much more scanty than those given to the working convicts,
and they were accustomed to eke out their scanty pay by
taking small bribes for winking at various infractions of
the prison rules. The Cossack at once held out his hand.
Godfrey slipped five rouble notes into it. They kept on till
they reached a wood, where beneath the shadow of the
trees it was already perfectly dark.

The Cossack had stepped forward two or three paces
and was walking by the next couple.

“Now, Luka,” Godfrey said, and the two sprang off the
path among the trees. They waited two or three minutes,
then returned to the road and hurried back to the mine.
They had been the last party to start for the prison, and
the place was quite deserted. It took them fully half an
hour to find the tools. The rings round their ankles were
sufficiently loose to enable the pick to be inserted between
them and the leg; thrusting it in as far as it would go under
the rivet, is was comparatively easy work to break off the
head with the hammer. In ten minutes both were free.
Leaving the chains and tools behind them, they made their
196 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

way out of the cutting and struck across the country, and
in an hour entered the forest. It was too dark here to
permit them to proceed farther; they lay down and slept
until day began to break, and then continued their way up
the rising ground until, after four hours’ walking, they were
well among the mountains. They found an open space by
the side of a rivulet where the wild strawberries grew
thickly, and here they sat down and enjoyed a hearty meal
of bread and strawberries.

‘Now we have got to keep along on this side of that
range of mountains in front of us till we get to Lake Baikal,”
Godfrey said. ‘We will push on for a day or two, and then
we must find some cottages, and get rid of these clothes.
What we want above all things, Luka, are guns.”

“Yes, or bows’and arrows,” Luka said.

“Tt would be as dificult to get them as guns. They don’t
use them in these parts, Luka.”

“I can make them,” Luka said; “not as good as the
Ostjaks’ bows, but good enough to kill with.”

“That is satisfactory, Luka, If I can get hold of a gun
and you can make a bow and arrows we shall do very well.”

For four days they continued their journey through the
forest, gathering much fruit, chiefly strawberries and rasp-
berries, and eating sparingly of their bread. At night they
lit fires, for the evenings were still cold, and slept soundly
beside them. On the fifth morning Godfrey said, “We
must turn south now, Luka, our bread won’t last more
than two days at the outside, and we must lay in a fresh
supply. We have kept as near west as we could, and we
know by the mountains that we cannot be far wrong, still
it may take us some time to find a village.” To Godfrey’s
satisfaction they arrived at the edge of the forest early in
the afternoon.

“We cannot be very far from Nertchinsk,” he said, “We
PREPARATIONS FOR FLIGHT. 197

must be careful here, for there are lots of mines in the neigh-
bourhood.”

After walking for another three or four hours several
large buildings were seen among the trees in the valley, and
these it was certain belonged to one or other of the mines.
When it became dark they descended still farther, and kept
down until they came upon a road. This they followed until
about midnight they came upon a small village. They found,
as they had hoped, bread and other provisions upon several
of the window-sills, and thankfully stowing these away again
struck off to the hills.

“This is capital,” Godfrey said, as after getting well into
the forest they lighted a fire, threw themselves down beside
it, and made a hearty meal. “If we could rely upon doing
as well as this always I should not mitid how long our
journey lasted. It is glorious to be out in these woods after
that close prison.”

The Tartar nodded. The closeness of the air in the prison
never troubled him, but he was quite ready to agree to any-
thing that Godfrey might say. “Good in summer,” he said,
“but not very good in winter.”

“No, I expect not; but we shall have to make the best of
it, Luka, for it is quite certain that we shall have to spend
the winter out somewhere.”

“We will make skin coats and keep ourselves warm,”
Luka said confidently. ‘“ Make a good hut.”

“Yes, that part of the thing seems simple enough,” God-
frey agreed; “the difficulty will be in feeding ourselves. But
we need not bother about that now. Well, we had better
go off to sleep, Luka; we have been tramping fully eighteen
hours, and I feel as tired as a dog.”

In a few minutes they were fast asleep, but they were on
their feet again at daybreak and journeyed steadily for the
next three days, always keeping near the edge of the forest.
198 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

On the fourth day they saw a small farmhouse lying not far
from the edge of the wood.

‘‘Here is the place that we have been looking for for the
last week,” Godfrey said. “This is where we must manage
to get clothes. The question is, how many men are there
there? Not above two or three, I should say. But anyhow
we must risk it,” :

They waited until they saw lights in the cottage, and
guessed that the family had all returned from their work.

“Now then, Luka, come along. You must look fierce,
you know, and try to frighten them a bit. But mind, if
they refuse and show fight we must go away without hurting
them.”

Luka looked up in surprise.. “Why that?” he asked.
“You could beat that pig Kobylin as if he were a child,
why not beat them and make them give?”

“ Because I am not going to turn robber, Luka. I know
some of the runaways do turn robbers, and murder peasants
and travellers. You know some of the men in the prison
boasted of what they had done, but that is not our way.
We are honest men though we have been shut up in prison.
I am willing to pay for what I want as long as I have
money, after that we shall see about it. If these people
won’t sell we shall find others that will.”

They went quietly up to the house, lifted the latch and
walked in, holding their long knives in their hands. Two
men were seated at table, three women and several children
were near the fire. There was a general exclamation of
alarm as the two convicts entered.

“Do not fear,” Godfrey said loudly; “we do not wish to
rob anyone. We are not bandits, we are ready to pay for
what we require, but that we must have.”

The men were both convicts who had long since served
out their time. “What do you want?” one of them asked.
PREPARATIONS FOR FLIGHT. 199

“We want clothes. You need not be afraid of selling
them to us. If we were captured to-morrow, which we don’t
mean to be, we will swear to you that we will not say where
we obtained them. We are ready to pay the full value. Why
should you not make an honest deal instead of forcing us to
take life?”

“We will sell them to you,” one of the men said after
speaking a few words in a low tone to the other, and then
rising to his feet. ¢

“Sit down,” Godfrey said sternly. ‘We want no tricks.
Tell the women to fetch in the clothes.”

The man, seeing that Godfrey was determined, abandoned
his intention of seizing a club and making a fight for it, and
told one of the women to fetch some clothes down. She
returned in a minute or two with a large bundle.

“Pick out two suits, Luka, one for you and one for me.”
Luka was making a careful choice when Godfrey said, “Don’t
pick out the best, Luka, I don’t want Sunday clothes, but
just strong serviceable suits; they will be none the worse for
a patch or two. Now,” he said to the men, “name a fair
price for those clothes and I will pay you.”

The peasants had not in the slightest degree believed
that the convicts were going to pay them, and their faces
lighted up. They hesitated as to the price.

“Come, I will give you ten roubles. I am sure that is
more than they are worth to you now.”

“Very well,” the man said, “I am contented.”

Godfrey placed a ten-rouble note upon the table. “ Now,”
he said, “we want a couple of hats.” Two fairly good ones
were brought down.

“Ts there nothing else?” the man asked, ready enough to
sell now that he saw that he was to be paid fair prices.

“We want some meat and bread, ten pounds of each if
you have got it.”
200 CONDEMNED AS A NIHIList.

“We have a pig we salted down the other day,” the man -
said. “We have no bread—we are going to bake to-morrow
morning—but you can have ten pounds of flour.”

“That will do. We want a small frying-pan, a kettle, and
two tin mugs. Have you got any tea in the house?”

“T have got about a pound.”

“We will take it all) We can’t bother ourselves about
sugar, Luka, we must do without that; every pound tells.
We have brought plenty of tobacco with us to last some
time. Have you got a gun?” he asked the man suddenly.

“Yes,” he said, “we have got two. The wolves are
troublesome sometimes in winter. Fetch the guns, Elizabeth.”

The guns were brought down. One was a double-barrel of
German make, the other a long single-barrel. ‘How much
do you want for this?” he asked, taking up the former.

“T don’t use it much,” the man said, “one will be enough
for me, I will take fifty roubles.”

“No, no,” Godfrey said. “You value your goods too high;
money is not as plentiful with me as all that. I can’t go
higher than twenty roubles,” and he laid the gun down
again.

“T will take thirty,” the man said.

After a good deal of bargaining Godfrey obtained the gun,
a flask of powder, and a bag of bullets and shot for twenty-
five roubles. Then he paid for the other goods he had
purchased. Luka made them into a bundle and lifted them
all on to his shoulder. Then saying good-bye to the peasants
they again started for the forest.

“We are set up now, Luka.”

“Yes indeed,” the Tartar replied. “We could journey
anywhere now; we want but two or three blankets and
some furs and we could travel to Moscow.”

“Yes, if we had one more thing, Luka. '

“ What is that?”
PREPARATIONS FOR FLIGHT. 201

* Passports.”

“Yes, we should want those; but I daresay we could do
without them.”

They enjoyed their suppers greatly that night, frying
some pork and then some dough-cakes in the fat, and wash-
ing it down with numerous cups of tea.

“The next thing will be for you to make a bow and arrows,
Luka. I did not buy the other gun for two reasons: in the
first place because we could not afford it, and in the second
because you said you liked a bow best.”

Luka nodded. “I never shot with a gun,” he ae “A
bow is just as good, and makes no noise.”

“That is true enough, Luka. Well, I shall-be a good deal
more comfortable when we leave those convict clothes behind
us. Of course we shall be just as liable to be seized and
shut up as vagabonds when we cannot produce papers as if
we were in our convict suits, but there is something dis-
gusting in being dressed up in clothing that tells every one
you are a murderer or a robber, and to know there is that
patch between one’s shoulders.”

Luka was quite indifferent to any sentimental considera-
tions. Still he admitted that it was an advantage to get rid
of the convict garb. In the morning they put on the peasants’
clothes. As Godfrey was about the same size as the man
whose garments he had got, the things fitted him fairly.
Luka’s were a good deal too large for him, but as the Russian
peasants’ clothes always fit them loosely, this mattered

_ little. The other things were divided into two bundles of
equal weight.

Luka would willingly have carried the whole, pointing out
that Godfrey had the gun and ammunition, but the latter
said ;

“Tf you take the frying-pan and kettle and the two tin
mugs that will make matters even, Luka.”
202 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

The two convict suits were left at the foot of the tree
where they had slept. Godfrey first thought of throwing
them on to the fire, but changed his mind, saying:

. “Some poor beggar whose clothes are worn out may come
upon them, and be glad of them, some time during the
summer; we may just as well let them lie here. Now, Luka,
we must walk in good earnest. We ought to be able to
make five-and-thirty miles a day over a tolerably level
country, and at that rate we shall be a long way off before
winter.”

The forests abounded with squirrels. Although Luka as-
sured him that they were excellent eating, Godfrey could
not bring himself to shoot at the pretty creatures, “It
would be a waste of powder and shot, Luka,” he said. “We
have plenty of meat to go on with at present, when it is
gone it will be time enough to begin to think of shooting
game; besides, there are numbers of mines about this country,
and the sound of a gun might bring out the Cossacks,”

CHAPTER XI.
AFLOAT.

le was a pleasant journey through the forest, with its

thick and varied foliage, that afforded a shade from
the sun’s rays, with patches of open ground here and there
bright with flowers. Godfrey had enjoyed it at first, but
he enjoyed it still more after he had got rid of the convict
badge. He had now no fear of meeting anyone in the
woods except charcoal-burners or woodmen, or escaped con-
victs like themselves. By such they would not be suspected
of being aught but what they seemed—two peasants ; unless.
AFLOAT. 203

indeed, a hat should fall off. The first night after leaving
the prison Godfrey had done his best to obliterate the con-
vict brand, by singeing it off as he had done before.

Each day the air grew warmer, and they could pick as
they walked any quantity of raspberries and whortleberries.
Luka always filled the kettle at each streamlet they came to,
as they could never tell how long they would be before they
arrived at another, and the supply rendered them indepen-
dent, and enabled them to camp whenever they took a fancy
to a spot. They walked steadily from sunrise to sunset,
and as they went at a good pace Godfrey was sure that they
were doing fully the thirty-five miles a day he had calcu-
lated on. Although Sundays had not been observed at the
prison, and the work went on those days as on others, God-
frey had not lost count, and knew that it was on a Monday
evening that they had broken out, and each Sunday was
used as a day of rest.

“We are travelling at a good pace, Luka,” he said, “and
thirty-five miles a day six days a week is quite enough, so
on Sundays we will always choose a good camping ground
by a stream, wash our clothes, and rest.”

They had little trouble about provisions. At lonely
houses they could always obtain them, and there they were
received very hospitably, the peasants often refusing abso-
lutely to accept money, or at anyrate giving freely of all
the articles they themselves raiséd, and taking pay only for
tea and sugar, which they themselves had to purchase.
When no such places could be met with they went down to
villages at night, and never failed to find bread and cakes
on the window-sills, though it was not often that meat was
there, for the peasants themselves obtained it but seldom.
Godfrey had no fear of his money running short for a long
time. The six hundred roubles with which he arrived at Kara
had been increased by his earnings during the nine months
204 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

he had been there. He had spent but a few kopecks a week
for tea and tobacco, and his pay while he had been a clerk
was a good deal larger than while he had been working in
the mine. Luka, too, had saved every kopeck he had
received from the day when Godfrey told him that he would
take him with him when he ran away. He had even given
up smoking, and was with difficulty persuaded by Godfrey
to take some tobacco occasionally from him. Between them
in the nine months they had laid by nearly a hundred
roubles, and had, therefore, after deducting the money given
by Godfrey to Mikail and that paid for the gun and clothes,
over five hundred roubles for their journey.

They were glad, indeed, when at last they saw the broad
sheet of Lake Baikal. They had for some time been bearing
to the north of west, and struck the lake some twenty miles
from its head. There were a good many small settlements
round the lake, a good deal of fishing being carried on upon
it, although the work was dangerous, for terrible storms
frequently swept down from the northern mountains and sent
the boats flying into port. The lake is one of the deepest
in the world, soundings in many places being over five thou-
sand feet. Many rivers run into the lake, the only outflow
being by the Angara. Baikal is peculiar as being the only
fresh-water lake in the world where seals are found, about
two thousand being killed annually. The shores are in
most places extremely steep, precipices rising a thousand
feet sheer up from the edge of the water, with soundings of
a hundred and fifty fathoms a few yards from their feet.
Fish abound in the lake, and sturgeon of large size are
captured there.

Godfrey knew that there were guard-houses with Cossacks
on the road between the northern point of water and the
steep mountains that rise almost directly from it. He had
specially studied the geography of this region, and knew
AFLOAT. 205

that after passing round the head of the lake there was a
track across the hills by which they would, after travelling
a hundred and fifty miles, strike the main road from
Irkutsk to Yakutsk, near the town of Kirensk, on the river
Lena. From Kirensk it would be but little more than a
hundred miles to the nearest point on the Angara, which is
one of the principal branches of the Yenesei.

To gain this river would be a great point. The Lena,
which was even nearer to the head of Lake Baikal, also
flowed into the Arctic Sea; but its course was almost due
north, and it would be absolutely hopeless to endeavour
to traverse the whole of the north coast of Siberia. The
Angara and the Yenesei, on the other hand, flowed north-
west, and fell into the Arctic Sea near the western boundary
of Siberia, and when they reached that point they would be
but a short distance from Russia. It seemed to him that
the only chance was by keeping by a river. In the great
ranges of mountains in the north of Siberia there would be
no means of obtaining food, and to cross such a district
would be certain death. By the rivers, on the other hand,
there would at least be no fear of losing their way. The
journey could be shortened by using a canoe if they could
obtain one, and if not, a raft. They would often find little
native villages or huts by the banks, and would be able to
obtain fish from them. Besides, they could themselves
eatch fish, and might possibly even winter in some native
village. For all these reasons he had determined on making
for the Angara.

Buying a stock of dried fish at a little fishing village on
the lake they walked to within a mile of its head, there
they slept for the night, and started an hour before daybreak,
passed the Cossack guard-house unseen just as the daylight
was stealing over the sky, and then went along merrily.

The road was not much used, the great stream of traffic
206 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

passing across Lake Baikal, but was in fair condition, and
they made good progress along it. Long before that, Luka
had, after several attempts, made a bow to his satisfaction.
It was formed of three or four strips of tough wood firmly
bound together with waxed twine, they having procured the
string and the wax at a farmhouse on the way. There was
one advantage in taking this unfrequented route. The road
between Irkutsk and Tomsk was, as Godfrey had learned
on his outward journey, frequented by bands of brigands
who had no hesitation in killing as well as plundering way-
farers. Here they were only likely to fall in with convicts
who had escaped from Irkutsk or from convoys along the
road, and were for the most part perfectly harmless, seeking
only to spend a summer holiday in freedom, and knowing
that when winter came on they would have to surrender
themselves.

Of such men Godfrey had no fear, his gun and his com-
panion’s bow and arrows rendered them too formidable to
be meddled with, and until they came down upon the main
road there was no chance of their meeting police officers
or Cossacks. No villages were passed on the journey, and
Godfrey, therefore, had no longer any hesitation in shooting
the squirrels that frisked about among the trees. He found
them, as Luka had said, excellent eating, although it required
three or four of them to furnish anything like a meal. He
soon, however, gave over shooting, for he found that Luka
was at least as certain with his bow as he was with the gun,
with the advantage that the blunt arrow did not spoil the
skins. These, as Luka told him, were valuable, and they
would be able to exchange them for food, the Siberian
squirrel furnishing a highly-prized fur.

Each day Luka brought down at least a dozen of these
little creatures, and these, with their dried fish and cakes
made of flour, afforded them excellent food on their way.
AFLOAT, 207

After four days’ walking across a lofty plateau they descended
into a cultivated valley, and before them rose the cupolas
of Kirensk, while along the valley flowed the Lena, as yet
but a small river, although it would become a mighty flood
before it reached the sea, nearly four thousand miles away.
It would have to be crossed at Kirensk, and they sat down
and held a long council as to how they had best get through
the town. They agreed that it must be done at night, for in
the daytime they certainly would have to produce passports.

“There will not be much chance of meeting a Cossack
or a-policeman at one or two o’clock in the morning, Luka,
and if there were any about we ought to be able to get past
them in the dark.”

“Tf one stops us I can settle him,” Luka said, tapping his
knife.

“No, no, Luka, we won’t have any bloodshed if we can help
it, though I do not mean to be taken. If a fellow should
stop us and ask any questions, and try to arrest us, I will
knock him down, and then we will make a bolt for it.
There is no moon now, and it will be dark as pitch, so that
if we kick out his lantern he would be unable to follow us.
If he does, you let fly one of your blunted arrows at him.
That will hit him quite hard enough, though it won’t do him
any serious damage. Of course, if there are several of them
we must fight in earnest, but it is very unlikely we shall
meet with even two men together at that time of night.”

Accordingly they went in among some trees and lay down,
and did not move until they heard the church bells of the
distant town strike twelve. Then they resumed their
journey, keeping with difficulty along the road. Once in
the valley it became broader and better kept. At last they
approached the bridge. Godfrey had had some fear that
there might be a sentry posted here, and was pleased to find
it entirely deserted.
208 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“We will take off our shoes here, Luka, tie them with a
piece of string, and hang them round our necks. We shall
go noiselessly through the town then, while if we go clat-
tering along in those heavy shoes, every policeman there may
be in the streets will be on the look-out to see who we are.”

They passed, however, through the town without meet-
ing either policeman or soldier, The streets were absolutely
deserted, and the whole population seemed to be asleep.
Once through the town they put on their shoes again, fol-
lowed the road for a short distance, and then lay down
under some trees to wait for daylight. Now that they were
in the country they had no fear of being asked for pass-
ports, and it was not until the sun was well up that they
continued their journey. Four miles farther they came upon
a village, and went boldly into a small shop and purchased
flour, tea, and such articles as they required. Just as they
came out the village policeman came along.

“Where do you come from?” he asked.

“T don’t ask you where you come from,” Godfrey replied.
“We are quiet men and hunters. We pay for what we get,
and harm no one who does not interfere with us. See, we
have skins for sale if there is anyone in the village who will
buy them.”

“The man at the spirit-shop at the end of the village will
buy them,” the policeman said; “he gives a rouble a dozen
for them.”

“Thank you,” and with a Russian salutation they
walked on.

“Of course he suspects what we are,” Godfrey said to
his companion; “but there was no fear of his being too
inquisitive. The authorities do not really care to arrest the
wanderers during the summer months, as they know they
will get them all when winter comes on; besides, in these
villages all the people sympathize with us, and as we are
AFLOAT. 209

armed, and not likely to be taken without a fight, it is not
probable that one man would care to venture his life in such
a matter.”

On arrival at the spirit-shop they went in.

“The policeman tells us you buy skins at a rouble for a
dozen. We have ten dozen.”

“ Are they good and uninjured?” the man asked.

“They are. There is not a hole in any of them.”

The man looked them through carefully.

“TI will buy them,” he said. ‘Do you want money, or
will you take some of it in vodka?”

“We want money. We do not drink in summer when we
are hunting.”

The man handed over ten rouble notes, and they passed
out. A minute later the policeman strolled in.

“Wanderers?” he said with a wink. The vodka seller
shrugged his shoulders.

“T did not ask them,” he said. “They came to me with
a good recommendation, for they told me that you had sent
them here. So after that it was not for me to question them.”

“T told them you bought skins,” the policeman said.
“They seemed well-spoken fellows. The one with the bow
was a Tartar or an Ostjak, I should say; he may have been
a Yakute, but I don’t think so. However, it matters little
to me. If there was anything wrong they ought to have
questioned them at Kirensk; they have got soldiers there.
Why should I interfere with civil people, especially when
one has a gun and the other arrows?”

“That was just my opinion,” the other said. “Well,
here is a glass of vodka, and I will take one with you.
They are good skins, all shot with a blunt arrow.”

Godfrey and his companion now took matters easily.
There was no motive for hurrying, and they devoted them-

selves seriously to the chase. ~
(781) 0
210 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“We must have skins for the winter,” Luka said. “I
can dress and sew them. The squirrels are plentiful here,
and if we set snares we may catch some foxes. We shall
want some to make a complete suit with caps for each of us,
and skins to form bags for sleeping in; but these last we
can buy on the way. The hunters in summer bring vast
quantities of skins down to the rivers to be taken up to
Krasnoiarsk by steamer, and you can get elk skins for a
rouble or two, which will do for sleeping bags, but they are
too thick for clothing unless they are very well prepared.
At any rate we will get as many squirrel skins as we can,
both for clothes, and to exchange for commoner skins and
high boots.”

It was three weeks after they had left Kirensk before
they struck the Angara, near Karanchinskoe. They had
traversed a distance, as the crow flies, of some eight hundred
miles since leaving Kara, but by the route they had tra-
velled it was at least half as far again, and they had been
little over ten weeks on the journey. Luka had assured
Godfrey that they would have no difficulty in obtaining a
boat.

“Everywhere there are fishing people on the rivers,” he
said. ‘There are Tunguses—they are all over Siberia.
There are the Ostjaks on all the rivers. There are my own
people, but they are more to the south, near Minusinsk,
and from there to Kasan, and seldom come far north. In
summer everyone fishes or hunts. I could make you a
boat with two or three skins of bullocks or horses or elk, it
only needs these and a framework of wood; but we can buy
one for three or four roubles—a good one. We want one
strong and large and light, for the river is terribly swift.
There are places where it runs nearly as fast as a horse can
gallop.”

“Certainly we will get a good-sized one, Luka. If the
AFLOAT. 211

river runs so swiftly we shall have no paddling to do, and
therefore it will not matter at all about her being fast;
besides, we shall want to carry a good load. We will not
land oftener than we can help, and can sleep on board, and
it will be much more comfortable to have a boat that one
can move about in without being afraid of capsizing her.
Whatever it costs, let us get a good boat.”

“We will get one,” Luka said confidently. ‘We shall
find Ostjaks’ huts all along the banks, and at any of these,
if they have not a boat that will suit us, they will make us
one in two or three days.”

Avoiding the town, and passing through the villages at
night, they kept along down the river bank for four days.
The river was as wide as the Thames at Greenwich, with a
very rapid current. They saw in some of the quiet reaches
fishing-boats at work, some with nets, others with lines, and
at night saw them spearing salmon and sturgeon by torch-
light. Across the river they made out several of the yourts
or summer tents of the Ostjaks, but it was not until the
fourth day that they came upon a group of seven or eight
of these tents on the river bank. The men were all away
fishing, but the women came out to look at the strangers.
As Luka spoke their dialect he had no difficulty in opening
the conversation with them. He told them that he and
his companion wanted to go down the river to Yeneseisk,
and wished to buy a boat, a good one.

The women said that some of the men would be in that
evening, and that the matter could be arranged.

“They will be glad to sell us a boat,” Luka said to God-
frey. “They are very poor the Ostjaks; they have nothing
but their tents, their boats, and their clothes. They live on
the fish they catch, but fish are so plentiful they can scarce
get anything for them, so they are very glad when they
can sell anything for money.”
212 CONDEMNED AS. A NIHILIST.

The Ostjak men arrived just before it became dark.
They wore high flat-topped fur caps, a dress something like
along loose blouse, and trousers of fine leather tucked into
boots that came up to the knee. Most of them had bows
and arrows in addition to their fishing gear. Godfrey felt no
uneasiness among these men as he would have done among
the Buriats in the east, for they were now at a distance from
any convict settlements, and these people would know
nothing about the rewards offered to the natives in the
neighbourhood of the mines for the arrest of prisoners. A
present of some tobacco, of which Godfrey had laid inâ„¢a
large stock, put the Ostjaks into an excellent temper. Fish
were broiling over the fire when they returned, and the two
travellers joined them at their meal. After this was over
and pipes lighted the subject of the boat was discussed,
The Ostjaks were perfectly ready to trade. They said they
would sell any of their six boats for three roubles, and that
if they did not think any of these large enough they would
build them a larger one in three days for six roubles.

Godfrey had exchanged twenty roubles for kopecks at the
first village they had passed after reaching the river, as he
knew that notes would be of no use among the native tribes,
and without bargaining he accepted the offer they made.
After passing the night stretched by the fire they went
down with the men in the morning to inspect the boats.
They were larger than he had expected to find them, as the
fishing population often shift their quarters by the river and
travel in boats, taking their family, tent, and implements
with them.

“What do you think, Luka?”

“They are large enough,” Luka said, “but they are not
in very good condition. I should say that farthest one
would do very well; but let us have a look at the state of
the skins.”
AFLOAT, 213

The boat was hauled ashore and carefully examined.
Three or four of the skins were found to be old and
rotten; the rest had evidently been renewed from time to
time.

“We will take this if you will put in four good skins,”
Luka said to the owner. °

“Tt will be six roubles if we put in fresh skins,” the
Ostjak said. “We will put in good skins and grease all the
boat, and then it will be the saric as new. ‘he other
skins were all new last year.”

“No,” Luka said. ‘You said you would build a whole
boat larger than this for six roubles.”

The men talked together. “We will do it for five
roubles,” they said at last, and Luka at once agreed to the
terms.

There was no time lost. The Ostjaks ordered the women
to set about it at once, and leaving the matter in their
hands went off to their fishing. Godfrey asked them to
take him with them, leaving Luka to see to the repairs of
the boat. The fishing implements were of the roughest
kind. The hooks were formed of fish bones, bound together
by fine gut; the lines were twisted strips of skin, strong
gut attaching the hook to these lines; the bait was small
pieces of fat, varied by strips of fish with the skin on them.
Clumsy as the appliances were, jack, tench, and other fish
were caught in considerable numbers, and among them two
or three good-sized salmon. The nets were of coarse mesh,
made of hemp, which grows wild in many parts of Siberia.
They were some ten feet in depth and some twenty yards long.
The upper ends were supported by floats made of bladders,
and the whole anchored across the stream by ropes at the
extremities, fastened to heavy stones. In these nets a con-
siderable quantity of fish were taken. The fishing was
over early, for there had been a good supply taken on the
214 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

previous day, and as at this time of year they would not
keep, it was useless obtaining more.

When they reached shore the common sorts of fish were
thrown to the dogs; a dozen of the best picked out, and
with these two of the men started at once for the nearest
village, where they would be sold for a few kopecks; the
rest were handed over to the women, while the men pro-
ceeded to throw themselves down by the fire and smoke.
Godfrey went to see how the women were getting on with
the boat. They had already made a great deal of progress.
The skins, which had been chosen by Luka from a pile in
the hut, were already prepared by having fat rubbed into
them. The hair was left on them, as that would come
inside. The bad skins had been taken off, the others cut
to fit, and now only required sewing into their places. As
a matter of course Godfrey and Luka took their meals
with the Ostjaks and greatly enjoyed the change of diet.
They gladdened the hearts of their hosts by producing a
packet of tea, of which a handful was poured into a pot of
water boiling over the fire. The liquor was drunk with de-
light by the Ostjak men and women, but Godfrey could not
touch it, for some of the fish had already been boiled in
the water, which the Ostjaks had not thought it necessary
to change.

At night he went out again with them in the boats for
a short time to see them spear salmon, A man holding
a large torch made of strips of resinous wood stood in the
bow of the boat, and on either side of him stood an Ost-
jak holding a long barbed spear. In a short time there were
swirls on the surface of the river. These increased till the
water round the boat seemed to boil. The Ostjaks were soon
at work, and in half an hour twenty fine salmon were lying
in the bottom of the boat, and then having caught as much
as there was any chance of selling the natives they returned
AFLOAT. 215

to their yourts. The next morning the work on the boat
was resumed, and as all the women assisted it was finished
in a very short time. Then melted fat was poured into the
seams, and the whole boat vigorously rubbed with the same.
By twelve o’clock it was finished. Then there was a little
fresh bargaining for two salmon spears, a supply of torches,
half a dozen common fox skins, and three large hides for
stretching over the boat at night. Some of the lines and
fish-hooks were also bought, and a few fish for present con-
sumption, then Godfrey and Luka took their places in the
boat, and bidding farewell to the Ostjaks paddled out into
stream.

The boat was some twenty feet long and six feet wide in
the centre. It was almost flat-bottomed, and drew but two
or three inches of water. A flat stone had been placed on
a layer of clay in the bottom, and they had taken with
them a bundle of firewood. Godfrey was in the highest
spirits. It was true that the real dangers of the journey
had not yet begun, but so far everything had gone very
much better than he had anticipated. He had not thought
there would be any chance of recapture, for he knew that
unless they came into the towns the Russians took no
trouble about the escaped convicts. All the convicts with
whom he had spoken had agreed that there was little trouble
in sustaining life in the forests during summer, for that even
if they could not obtain food from the peasants they had
only to carry off a sheep at night from the folds.

“That is why the peasants are so ready to give,” one
said. “I don’t say that they are not sorry for us, but the
real reason is they know that if they did not give we should
take, and instead of being harmless wanderers, as they call
us, we should be driven to become bandits.”

Still Godfrey had anticipated much greater difficulties
than they had met with; in fact up to the present time it
216 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

had been simply a delightful tramp through the woods.
The next part of the journey would, he expected, be no
less pleasant. They had a large and comfortable boat,
well adapted for the navigation of the river. There would
be no difficulty as to food, for fish could be obtained in any
quantities, and grain was, he had heard from some of the
Tartar prisoners who knew that portion of the Yenesei,
abundant and extraordinarily cheap.

He seated himself in the stern of the boat with a paddle.
There was no occasion to steer, for it mattered in no way
whether the boat drove down the river bow or stern first;
but at present it was an amusement to keep her straight with
an occasional stroke with the paddle. Luka sat on the floor-
boards at the bottom of the boat, and set himself to work
to manufacture from the squirrels’ skins two fur caps of the
same pattern as those worn by the Ostjaks. Godfrey had
asked him to do so in order that they might be taken for
members of that tribe by anyone looking at them from the
villages on the banks. As to the dress it did not signify, as
many of the more settled Ostjaks had adopted the Russian
costume. Godfrey intended to fish as they drifted along,
but they had at present at least as much fish on board
as they could consume while it was good. Luka, as he
worked, sang a lugubrious native ditty, while with his knife
he trimmed the skins into shape. Having done this he
proceeded to sew them together with great skill.

“Why, you are quite a tailor, Luka,” Godfrey remarked.

“Every one sews with us,” Luka replied. “The women
do most, but in winter the boys help, and sometimes the
men, to make rugs and robes of the skins of the beasts we
have taken in the summer. What do you say, shall I
leave these tails hanging down all round, except just in
front? They often wear them so in winter.”

“But it is not winter now, Luka.”
AFLOAT. 217

“No, it is not winter; but you see the Ostjaks and most
of the Russians wear their hair long, quite down to the
neck. Our hair is growing, but at present it will only just
lie down flat. If I leave on these black tails round the caps,
at a little distance it will look like hair. Then, if you like,
I can make two summer caps to put on when we land to
buy anything.”

“Very well, Luka, I think the idea is a good one. The
people do wear their hair long, ahd our close crops might
excite attention. This is better than gold-digging at Kara,
isn’t it?”

Luka nodded. “No good for man always to work,” he
said. ‘Good to lie quiet sometimes.”

“JT don’t know that I care about lying quiet generally,
Luka, but it is pleasant to do so in a boat. Iam keeping
a look-out for wild-fowl, it would make a pleasant change
to fish diet.”

“Not so far south as this. The Yenesei swarms with
them in winter, but in summer they go north. Just before
the frost begins you can shoot as many as you like.”

“That will be something to look forward to. When
does the weather begin to get cold and dry?”

“Where I lived the nights began to get cold at the end
of September, but we shall be far down the Yenesei by that
time, and it will begin early in the month.”

“We shall be a long way down,” Godfrey said, “if we
keep on at this pace. We must be going past the banks
eight or nine versts an hour.”

“That is nothing; it will be more than twice that some-
times. The Angara between the lake and Irkutsk runs
fifteen versts. When I was taken east we saw barges, each
towed up-stream by twenty horses, and it took them some-
times four days, sometimes six, to make forty-five versts.”

As they went along they passed several fishing-boats, but
218 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

as they were keeping in the middle of the stream, while the
boats lay in the slacker water near the shore, there was no
conversation. Twice the Ostjaks shouted to know where
they were going, but Luka only replied by pointing down
the stream. The journey was singularly uneventful. At
night they lit a torch for a short time, and generally speared
sufficient fish for the next day, but if not, they cut a strip or
two from the back of one they had caught, baited three or
four hooks and dropped them overboard, and never failed
in a short time to fill up their larder. Sometimes they
grilled the fish over the fire, sometimes fried them, some-
times cut them up in pieces that would go into the kettle,
and boiled them. Occasionally, when evening approached,
they paddled to the shore near a village, and Luka, whose
Tartar face was in keeping with his dress, went boldly in
and purchased tobacco, tea, and flour, and a large block of
salt, occasionally bringing off a joint of meat, for which the
price was only four kopecks, or about a penny a pound; five
kopecks being worth about three halfpence according to the
rate of exchange. A hundred kopecks go to the rouble; the
silver rouble being worth from two and tenpence to three
shillings and twopence, the paper rouble about two shillings.

At first Godfrey had steered half the night and Luka the
other half, but after the second night they gave this up as a
waste of labour, as the boat generally drifted along near the
middle of the river, and even had it floated in-shore no
harm would have been done. The fox skins made them a
soft bed, and they spread a couple of the large skins over
the boat and were perfectly warm and comfortable. Godfrey
thought that on an average they did a hundred and twenty
miles a day. On the eighth day the river, which had been
widening gradually, flowed into another and greater stream,
the Yenesei. Hitherto they had been travelling almost due
west, but the Yenesei ran north. As they floated down


SPEARING FISH BY TORCH-LIGHT.
AFLOAT. 219

they had had much conversation as to their plans. It was
now nearly the end of August, and it would not be long
before winter was upon them. Another month and the
Yenesei would be frozen, and they would be obliged to winter.
The question was where should they do sot

Now they were on the Yenesei Luka was on his. native
river, though his home was fully a thousand miles higher
up. Godfrey had at first proposed that he should disem-
bark here and make his way up the banks home, but the
offer filled Luka with indignation.

“What are you going to do without me?” he asked.
“You can talk a little Tartar, quite enough to get on among
my people, but how could you get on with the Ostjaks?
Besides, even if I were to leave you, and I would rather die
than do that, I could not go to my home, for in my native
village I should be at once arrested and sent back to the
mines. I might live among other Tartars, but what good
would that be? They would be strangers to me. Why
should I leave you, who have been more than a brother to
me, to go among strangers? No, wherever you go I shall
go with you, and when you get to your own land I shall
be your servant. You can beat me if you like, but I will
not leave you. Did you not, for my sake, strike down the
man in the prison? Did you not take me with you, and
have you not brought me hither? What could I have done
alone? If you are tired of me shoot me, but as long as I
live I will not leave you.”

Godfrey hastened to assure Luka that he had only spoken
for his good, that he was well aware that without him he
should have little chance of getting through the winter,
and that nothing therefore was farther from his thoughts
than to separate himself from him if he was willing to remain.
It was some time before Luka was pacified, but when he at
last saw that Godfrey had no intention whatever of leaving
220 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

him behind if he were willing to go with him, he recovered
his spirits and entered into the discussion as to where they
had better winter. He had never been below the town of
Yeneseisk, but he knew that the Ostjaks were to be found
fully a thousand miles below that town, especially on the
left bank of the river, but below that, and all along the
right bank, the Tunguses and Yuraks were the principal
tribes. It was finally agreed that they should keep on for
at least eight hundred miles beyond Yeneseisk, and then
haul up their boat and camp at some Ostjak village, and
there remain through the winter.

“We will get at Yeneseisk whatever you think the Ostjak
will prize most—knives and beads for the women, and some
cheap trinkets and looking-glasses. Some small hatchets,
too, would probably be valued.”

“Yes,” Luka said, “Ostjaks have told me that their kin-
dred far down the river were more like the people to the
extreme north by the sea. They are pagans there, and not
like us to the south. They have reindeer which draw their
sledges, They are very poor and know nothing. From them
we can get furs, but we can buy goat-skins and sheep-skins
at Yeneseisk.”

‘‘We shall have to depend upon them for food,” Godfrey
said.

“Why, we can get food for ourselves,” Luka said some-
what indignantly. “When the cold begins, before the river
freezes, we shall get great quantities of fish. They will
freeze hard, and last till spring. Then, too, the river will
be covered with birds. We shall shoot as many as we can
of these, and freeze them too. Flour we must take with
us, but flour is very cheap at Yeneseisk. Corn will not
grow there, but they bring it down in great boats from the
upper river.”

“But how do they get the boats back, Luka?”
AFLOAT. 221

“They do not get them back; they break them up for
firewood. Firewood is dear at Yeneseisk, and they get
much more for the barges for fires than it cost to build them
in the forests higher up.”

“Then how do they do for fires among the Ostjaks?”

“T have heard they do not have wood fires; they kill
seals. There are numbers of them farther down the river,
and from their fat they make oil for lamps and burn these.
We shall be in no hurry as we go.down. We will float near
the banks, and may kill some seals. What are you thinking
of?” for Godfrey was looking rather serious.

“JT was thinking, Luka, that these things we are thinking
of buying, the things to trade with the Ostjaks, you know,
and the flour, and tea, and goat-skins, and so on, will take
a good deal of money. We don’t spend much now, but
when we get into Russia we shall want money. We can’t
beg our way right across the country.”

“No;” Luka said, “but we shall not be idle all the
winter.” i‘

“ How do you mean we shall not be idle, Luka?”

“We must hunt; that is what the Ostjaks and Tunguses
do. We must get skins of beaver, sable, ermine, and black
foxes, and we must sell them at Turukhansk. There are
Russian traders there. They do not live there in the winter,
but come down in the spring to buy the skins that have
been taken in the winter.”

“That sounds more cheerful,” Godfrey said. “You had
better get another flask of powder, and some more bullets
and shot for me, Luka, and some better arrow-heads for
yourself,”

“Yes, we shall want them more than anything. We can
do without flour, but we cannot do without weapons.”

“Well, you must do the buying, Luka. They will take
you for an Ostjak, from some village up the river, who has
222 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

come in to lay in his stock of provisions for the winter. It
is of no use my trying to pass here as a native, though in
Russia I might be taken as a Russian.”

CHAPTER XIL
WINTER.

A FEW hours after entering the Yenesei they saw on

the right bank of the river, which was now of great
width, the domes of the town. They ran in to the shore a
mile above it.

“T shall not land, Luka,” Godfrey said. “I don’t want
to be questioned. I shall put off, and drop our anchor a
quarter of a mile out and fish, You must make two or
three journeys if necessary.”

“The things will not be heavy, Godfrey, the flour is the
only thing that will weigh much. I will get someone to
help me down with that.”

They had already gone over and over again the list of
purchases to be made.

“T shall drop down a little nearer the town, Luka, when
I think it is about time for you to be coming back, so you
won’t have so far to carry the things. Don’t be more than
three hours whether you have got anything or not, or I
shall begin to feel anxious about you.”

Luka nodded, and went off. Godfrey paddled the boat
out a short distance, let down the stone, and began to fish.
He was under no real uneasiness as to the young Tartar,
there was nothing about him to distinguish him from other
natives, and as these would be about this time arriving in
considerable numbers at Yeneseisk to sell the skins of the
WINTER. 223

animals they had taken in the chase during the summer,
and. to lay in stores for the winter, it was unlikely in the
extreme that anyone would even question him. Such indeed
was the case. There were numbers of natives in the stores
of the Russian traders, and he made his purchases without
any question whatever being asked. He bought rather more
hatchets, knives, and trinkets than they had agreed upon,
and two sacks of flour, although he deemed the latter to be
a luxury that they could very well dispense with altogether.
Godfrey was just thinking of taking up his anchor and
going down towards the town when he saw him returning,
accompanied by two natives carrying the sacks. He pulled
up his anchor and paddled to shore. “Have you got every-
thing, Luka?” he asked.

“Hiverything—powder, shot, and balls; tea, salt; ten
knives, and eight axes; beads, four goat-skins, looking-
glasses, tobacco, and flour;” and one by one he handed the
articles as he named them into the boat.

“How much flour is there, Luka?”

“Two hundred pounds. I have got more trinkets than
we said. They were very cheap. They look like gold and
silver, and only cost ten kopecks apiece. I have also brought
two bottles of vodka.”

“That is bad, Luka.”

“The two only cost a rouble,” Luka said calmly; “they
may be very useful to us; and I bought more tea and tobacco
than we said.”

The men who had carried the flour had received a few
kopecks for their trouble, and had gone off as soon as they
had laid down their burdens. Directly the things were
handed into the boat, Luka stepped in and they pushed off
into the stream.

“I have bought plenty of arrow-heads, and two steel
spear heads and shafts.”
224 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“J wondered what those short poles were.”

“They are of tough wood and the right length, ten feet
long. They are good for seal-hunting and for bears.”

“ Well, I think you have done capitally, Luka, You have
made the money go along way. I suppose you have spent
the hundred roubles you took with you?”

“T have four left. I think I have done very well. We
have everything we shall want through the winter.”

“Well, we are fairly off for the north now,” Godfrey said,
in high spirits that everything was settled, and that for eight
months at least there would not be the slightest risk of
meeting with a Russian policeman or soldier. ‘“ Hurrah for
the north, Luka, and for shooting and adventures!”

Luka smiled. It was rarely he laughed, but he was
always ready to smile when Godfrey addressed him.

“The air feels brisk and cold to-day. We shall soon have
winter upon us.”

“Yes; look there!” Luka said, pointing into the air
ahead of them.

“What is it? It looks like a long black streak.”

“Geese,” Luka said. “It is a flight of wild geese from
the north.”

As it approached Godfrey saw that the Tartar was right.
A solitary bird led the way, two followed him closely, then
came rank after rank widening out till it was a broad band
of fully fifty abreast. Line after line they followed in almost
military array, and extending in length fully a quarter of a
mile.

“Why, there must be thirty or forty thousand of them
there,” he exclaimed in amazement.

“You will see bigger flocks than that,” Luka said. “Why,
all the river, from Minusinsk down to Turukhansk, more
than 2000 miles, is well-nigh covered with birds. We shall
have no lack of meat presently.”
WINTER, 225

During the day many flights similar to those first seen
passed overhead, some larger, some containing only a score
or two birds. The next day the numbers were still larger,
whole battalions coming along almost incessantly. These
were by no means confined to geese. There were gulls and
swans, flocks of small birds of many kinds, flights of wild
ducks—the latter, for the most part, flying much lower than
the geese, which kept far overhead.

“We had better land to-night,” Luka said. “They fly
close after dark, and the flocks will settle on the banks. We
will shoot them as they come overhead. You may not see them
well, but they are so thick that you can hardly miss them.”

Accordingly, when evening came on they landed, fastened
the boat, took a couple of sheep-skins each to throw over
their shoulders (for even in these two days the cold had
sensibly increased), and lay down to await the coming of the
birds. All day long the air had been full of their cries, but
it had grown quieter now, though occasionally they heard a
sharp cry of the leader of a flock, followed by a responsive
note from the birds following him. From time to time
Godfrey could hear the whirring sound of a multitude of
wings as the flocks passed overhead. These became louder
as the time went on, and he knew that they were flying
lower. He had loaded his gun with heavy shot, and once
or twice was disposed to fire, but Luka each time stopped
him. “They are much too high yet. They will come close
down presently.” The stars were shining brightly, and
Godfrey could make out the outlines of the geese as they
passed overhead. Presently there was a sharp call a few
hundred yards higher up the bank,

“This lot are coming low,” Luka whispered. “They are
probably going to settle to feed. Get ready now.”

Godfrey lay with his gun pointed upwards; a minute later

he heard the rustling of wings, which rose to a sound like a
(781) P
226 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

mighty wind, and then some forty yards overhead a dark
cloud of birds swept along across the sky. Godfrey fired
one barrel, waited a moment and then fired again. With a
loud cry of surprise and alarm the flock divided in two, and
almost instantly there were several heavy thuds on the
ground close by.

“Hurrah! we have got some of them,” Godfrey said, and
leaping up they ran to collect the fallen birds. There were
five of them. “That is grand,” he exclaimed in delight

«“ Will you shoot some more?” Luka asked.

“No, we have as many as we can eat, Luka, for the next
three days at least. It would be a waste of powder and shot
to kill more, and worse still, it would be a waste of life. It
is right to kill what we require as food, but to my mind.
there is nothing more wicked than taking life merely for |
amusement. I consider that we should well deserve any
misfortune that might happen to us if we were to kill any
one of God’s creatures wantonly. One of our best poets

has written:
“ All things both great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.’

“Tt makes me furious sometimes, Luka, when I read
books of what is called sport, and find men boasting of
killing numerous creatures merely for the pleasure of killing
them. I feel that nothing would give me greater pleasure
than to flog such brutes.”

Luka did not much understand this outburst of indigna-
tion, but as usual he grunted an assent, and carrying the
birds they returned to the boat.

“Tt is freezing to-night,” the Tartar said as they stepped
in. ‘I will lay the geese in the bow beyond the cover.
They will be frozen by the morning.”
WINTER. 227

Godfrey was glad of the wrapping of warm furs that
night, and even when he shook them off and looked out at
sunrise, it was still so chilly that, after he had leaned over
the side of the boat as usual, and sluiced his head with
water, he was glad to take a paddle and work hard fora
bit to keep himself warm.

“Get the fire alight, Luka, and the kettle on,” he said,
“and cut up one of those geese. How are you going to
get the feathers offf I suppose you will have to pluck
them and singe them.”

“It would take much too long that. We can spare the
feathers this time.”

So saying, with his knife he made a slight incision down
the breast-bone, and then proceeded to tear off the skin, bit
by bit, feathers and all.

“That is a quick way,” Godfrey said, “though it doesn’t
improve the bird’s appearance; but that is a trifle. Never
mind the bread, we shall have to do without that before
long, and I feel as hungry as a hunter.”

In a very few minutes the fire was blazing, and portions
of the goose frizzling over it, and in twenty minutes the
meal was ready. Godfrey thought he had never eaten
anything nicer; and the meat being much less rich than
that of tame geese, he did very well without bread. For
the next three days they made no pause, floating down
night and day, the stream varying in speed from five to
ten miles an hour. At points where the stream was most
rapid, they paddled in towards the bank to avoid the waves
raised by the river in its course. The light boat always
floated easily over these, but she needed to be kept with
her head to them; and Godfrey was afraid that a moment’s
carelessness might bring her broadside on to them, and
therefore preferred to glide along at a somewhat slower
rate near the shore.
228 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

The river was now a mile and a half wide. To the left the
country was flat, but on the right they could see hills rising
far above each other. One or two small trading stations were
seen on the right bank, but upon the left they passed only a
few clusters of Ostjak yourts. On the right great pine
forests came down in places to within a short distance of the
river, but these were rarely seen on the left. On the fifth day
after leaving Yeneseisk they saw a small trading station on
the right bank. This Godfrey, who had got the geography
of the river by heart, judged to be Peslovska, because it was
one of the few trading stations which was not situated at
a point where a tributary stream ran into the Yenesei.

“We are far enough down now, Luka,” he said. “We
are not more than two hundred miles from Turukhansk.
We will land at the next Ostjak huts we come to, and see
if they are disposed to be friendly with us.”

“They will be friendly,” Luka said confidently. “ Why
not? They are peaceable people, and they know that did
they touch strangers they would be punished. There are
Russian soldiers at Turukhansk. The Ostjaks are very poor.
You have things to give them, and you want nothing of them.”

Twenty miles further they saw a group of seven huts on
the left bank ahead of them, and paddling in landed close
to them. Three or four canoes, much smaller than their
own lay there, and as they climbed the lofty bank some of
the Ostjaks came out from their huts.

“What do you want?” one of them asked abruptly.

“T am travelling with this gentleman, who has come from
a far distant country to hunt and to shoot game here in
winter. We would like to live beside your village and to
hunt with you. You see he has a gun. He has many
things as presents, and it will be well for the village where
he settles. Here is some tobacco for all,” and Luka handed
a small roll of tobacco to each of the men. “We have also
WINTER. 229

some presents for the women,” and he produced two or
three looking-glasses, and some rows of large blue and red
beads. The women, who were listening in the huts, at once
came out.

“Tt is good,” an old man, who seemed to be the leader
of the Ostjaks, said. ‘Why should not the stranger live
here with us and hunt with us if he chooses? He will be
welcome. Let us help the strangers.”

The whole of the Ostjaks at-once set to work. Godfrey
chose a piece of level ground twenty or thirty yards lower
down than the huts. He and Luka, aided by some of the
men, carried the various articles out of the boat. While
they were doing this, the women stuck some poles in the
ground round the circle Godfrey had traced, and lashed
them together in the middle with some strips of hide. The
three large skins were placed against this on the northern
side. Then the women paused.

“You had better buy some more large skins if they have
got them, Luka. Say that you will give a knife for hides
enough to finish the huts with.”

The knives were large ones with rough handles and
strong blades, and when Luka took one out from a bundle
and said to the chief, “We will give this knife for enough
skins to finish the hut,” he gave an order to his wife, and
she and two of the other women at once brought some elk
hides from a pile lying by the side of his tent. A few
stitches here and there with the needle made of a sharp
fish-bone, with a thread of twisted gut, fastened the corners
of the hides together, and in half an hour the tent was
. complete. The goat-skins were spread on the ground. The
fox and other skins were made into two piles, one on each
side of the tent, and all the goods stored inside.

“This is splendid,” Godfrey said; “here we are as snug
as if we were born Ostjaks. I had no idea they would have
230 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

made us so comfortable. We will give them a cup of tea
all round, Luka, as a reward for their labours. We don’t
care for sugar, but the two pounds you bought at Yeneseisk
will come in useful now. They will think a lot more of it
if it is sweet. See if they have got a big kettle. That little
thing of ours will only hold a couple of quarts.”

Upon inquiry the chief produced a cauldron, which he
exhibited with great pride. It had evidently been used for
melting down blubber. Luka carried it down to the water’s
edge, and then scrubbed it with sand until it was tolerably
clean; then he rubbed it with wisps of coarse grass, filled it
with water, and stood it on a fire that the Ostjaks had
made from drift-wood picked up from the shore. In half
an hour the water boiled. He put in two or three handfuls
of tea and half a pound of sugar, let it boil for another
minute or two, and then took the pot off the fire. Then he
invited the Ostjaks to dip in their cups. In each of the
huts they had a few tin mugs, for the expense and risk of
carriage of crockery rendered the prices prohibitive, and
even the tin mugs were prized as among their most precious
possessions. Luka and Godfrey also dipped in their cups
as an act of civility, but the latter made a wry face when it
approached his lips, for the odour of the blubber was very
strong, and he took an opportunity, when none of the Ost-
jaks were looking, to pour the contents of the tin upon the
ground beside him; but to the Ostjaks the smell and flavour
of blubber was no drawback, and men and women sat round
the fire drinking the sweet liquor with great enjoyment, and
evidently highly contented at the coming of this stranger
among them.

While they were partaking of it Godfrey heard a sound
behind, and looking round saw a boy driving in several rein-
deer. He was delighted at the sight, not only because it
promised hunting expeditions, but because they might aid
WINTER. 231

to carry them across the frozen steppes, to the Obi, before
the frost broke up. Talking with the Ostjaks Luka found
that, as the temperature had been below freezing-point all
day, they intended to commence fishing in earnest the next
morning. The position of the huts had been specially
selected for that purpose. The river made a sharp bend
just above them, and the point threw the current across
to the opposite bank, forming almost a back-water at the
spot where the huts stood. It seemed strange to Godfrey,
as he lay down that night, to be without the gentle motion
of the boat to which he had been so long accustomed, and
he lay awake for some time, not forgetting before he went
to sleep to thank God for the wonderful success that had
so far attended him, and to pray for a continuance of His
protection.

As soon as it was light the boats all put off, and anchor-
ing a short distance out were soon engaged in fishing. God-
frey put down four lines, each with six of the hooks Mikail
had purchased for him before starting from Kara. These
were baited with strips of fish, and he and Luka were soon
busy at work hauling in the fish. They were mostly jack
or tench, and by the evening they had caught nearly a
hundred. When they rowed to shore they found that they
had been far more successful than any of the Ostjaks, this
being due to the superiority of their hooks over the fish-
bone contrivances of the natives. Following the example
of the Ostjaks they laid the fish in lines in front of their
tent to freeze during the night.

After boiling their kettle, frying a couple of fish, and
taking supper, they lighted two torches and again went
out, returning before midnight with twenty-five salmon
averaging fifteen pounds each. By the morning the fish
were all frozen as hard as picces of wood, and were then
laid in a pile. For four days this work continued with
232 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

equal success, and by the end of that time they had a pile
of fish six feet square and three feet high, making, Godfrey
calculated, nearly a ton of fish. They had observed that
some of the Ostjaks had each morning brought in several
wild geese and swans, and Luka learnt from them that
there was a large marsh a mile away in which large flights
of geese settled every night. Accompanied by two of the
Ostjaks they started late in the evening for the spot.
When they came near the marsh they could hear a low
chattering noise as the birds fed on the aquatic grasses.
Sometimes they heard cries in the air, answered by calls
from the feeding birds, and followed speedily by a great
rustling of wings as fresh flocks alighted.

Godfrey and Luka had brought with them some fox-skins
and sat wrapped up in them, but in spite of that they felt
the cold as they waited hour after hour. Godfrey dozed
off several times, and at last slept for three or four hours.
He was awakened by a touch from Luka, and a low
warning to keep silence. The morning was breaking. He
found that the Ostjaks had built a sort of shelter of bushes,
which had the effect of breaking the force of the north wind
and of hiding them from the water-fowl. Raising his head
cautiously he saw before him a sheet of shallow water; this
was absolutely covered with geese, a few swans being seen
here and there. Luka had warned him not to fire until the
Ostjaks had shot all their arrows, as the sound of his gun
would at once scare the whole flock. The edge of the water
was about forty yards away. The Ostjaks and Luka had
both made holes through the bushes in front of them so as
to be able to shoot without exposing their heads. Moving
gently Godfrey found aspot where he could see through the
boughs. The natives were just ready to shoot. There were
three swans close to the edge of the water, and the bows
twanged almost together.
WINTER. 233

Although he knew how marvellous was the shooting of
the Ostjaks, he was nevertheless surprised at seeing that each
of the birds was struck in the head, and was thus killed
instantly without the slightest noise being made.

Again and again they shot, and each arrow brought down
its bird. Luka’s third arrow was less successful ; it wounded
a bird on the neck, and with loud cries of pain and alarm it
flew flapping across the pool. In an instant the whole mass
of birds rose on the wing, circling round and round with
loud cries. The natives, lying on their backs, shot arrow after
arrow into the air, in each case transfixing a goose. Each
had twelve arrows, and when they were exhausted Luka
said, “Now, Godfrey, you can fire.”

Godfrey waited until a number of birds flew in a mass
over him, and then discharged both barrels. Five geese
fell, and then the whole vast flock flew away to the north,
leaving the lagoon entirely deserted save by the floating
bodies of their dead companions.

“ Arrow better than gun,” Luka said as he rose. “Gun
kill, but frighten all away. Arrow keep on killing.”

“That is true enough, Luka; there is no doubt the
bow is the best for this sort of work; but I shall manage
better another time.”

The birds were picked up. Twelve had fallen to each of
the Ostjaks. Luka had eleven, and Godfrey five. It was
a heavy burden to carry back to the huts, Godfrey and
Luka’s shares of the birds were laid by the pile of fish, with
the exception of one which Luka proceeded to skin and
hang up, while Godfrey saw to the fire and put on the kettle.

When they had finished breakfast Godfrey said, “We
will take three or four hours’ sleep now, Luka, and then
I am going down to have a look at that marsh.” They
accordingly started at mid-day. Godfrey made a detour
round the lagoon, and a hundred yards beyond it, on the
234 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

opposite side, found a clump of bushes that he thought
would suit his purpose. With Luka’s assistance he cleared
a spot in the middle large enough for them to lie down on,
and then returned to camp. They took their next meal
early, and then, taking some furs to make themselves com-
fortable, again started round the lagoon. It was just sun-
set when they got there, and spreading two or three fox-
skins on the ground, and throwing two over their shoulders,
they waited.

It was scarcely dusk when the first flock of geese passed .
close over their heads, on their way to the lagoon. Luka
discharged two arrows, and then Godfrey fired his two
barrels into them. Several fell, but the flock scattered with
wild screams; but, after circling round and round for some
time, settled in the lagoon. A quarter of an hour passed,
and then another flock came along. All night the flocks
continued to arrive at short intervals, and from each God-
frey brought down several. Luka’s arrows were soon ex-
hausted, but Godfrey continued firing until morning began
to break. Then they got up to see the result of the night’s
shooting. Luka, although seldom excited, gave a shout of
pleasure. The ground around them was thickly strewn with
geese. Many were only wounded; but Luka, with a short,
heavy stick, soon put them out of their pain, although not
without several sharp chases. Then they collected and
counted the birds. There were eighty-four in all.

“ Another night’s shooting, Luka, and our larder will be
full.”

Each taking up six geese, which was as much as they
could carry, they returned to the tents, and then set out
again, accompanied by all the boys and girls of the village;
and this time the whole of the geese were carried to the
hut.

“Tt is an awful pity,” Godfrey said, as he looked at the
WINTER. 235

great pile, “that we haven’t got anything we could use for
holding the feathers. Well, we will have them picked anyhow.
We can make a thick layer of them under the skins for the
present. When it gets downright cold we can nestle in
among them somehow.”

Accordingly the children were set to work to pluck the
birds, which were then left out to freeze in the same way
as the fish. That night and the next day they rested, and
then had another night’s shooting. The amount of success
. Was as great as that which had attended the first.

“We have plenty now to last us well on into the spring,”
Godfrey said as he looked at the great pile. “What is to
be done next, Luka?”

“Pour water over them and the fish and let them freeze.”

“Do they keep better that way, Luka?”

“Yes; not get so dry.”

The Ostjaks had been astounded at the success of their
visitors, both in fishing and shooting. Godfrey now had a
conversation with their chief, and offered to shoot a supply
of geese for the natives, if they would furnish him and his
companion with a complete outfit of furs for the winter.
This the chief at once agreed to, as they had a large supply
of foxes’ skins in camp, and these, with the exception of the
rarer sorts, were practically worthless for the purpose of
exchange.

Godfrey made the chief another offer: to give him a hatchet,
two knives, and six fish-hooks, if he would supply them with
as much seal’s flesh as they might require during the winter,
and with blubber for lamps. The Ostjaks had already killed
a good many seals; but the pursuit of them required time
and patience, and Godfrey wanted to ensure a supply for
the winter, although Luka told him they would have plenty
of opportunities of getting seals then. Accordingly, for the
next ten days the shooting was continued at night, Godfrey
236 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

and Luka sleeping during the day, and leaving it to the
young Ostjaks to collect and bring in the birds.

The cold daily increased, and Godfrey began to feel much
the want of warmer clothing. However, on the eighth day
the Ostjaks brought in two suits. They were the joint
work of the women of the village. As the Ostjaks were
greatly pleased at the quantity of food coming in daily, which
ensured them a sufficiency of meat throughout the winter,
in addition to their own stock of fish, the work was well
done. For each a closely-fitting shirt had been made of the
squirrel skins they had brought down with them, with the
fur inside. The trousers were of red fox-skin, with the hair
outside. The upper garment was a long capote of the same
fur, reaching down to the ankles, and furnished with a hood
covering the head and face, with the exception of an opening
from the eyes down to the mouth. In addition to these, was
given to each as a present a pair of Ostjak boots. These
were large and loose. They were made of goat-skins, rendered
perfectly supple by grease and rubbing, and with the hair
inside. They came up to the thighs, and had a thick sole made
of layers of elk-hide. There was also for each a pair of socks
of squirrel’s skin, with the hair inside, and a pair of finger-
less gloves of double skin, the fur being both inside and
out, except in the palm, which was of single skin, with the
fur inside.

“Well, if it is cold enough to require all that,” Godfrey
said, “it will be cold indeed; but it will be awful walking
about with it. Surely one can never want all those furs!”

But in time Godfrey found that they were none too
many, for at Turukhansk the thermometer in winter some-
times sinks to 60 degrees below zero. For a time, how-
ever, he found no occasion to use the capote, the fur shirt
trousers and boots being amply sufficient, while the fur cap
with the hanging tails kept his neck and ears perfectly
WINTER. 237

warm. Already the ice was thick on the still reach of the
river beside which the huts stood, although, beyond the shelter
of the point, the Yenesei still swept along. The lagoon had
been frozen over for some days, in spite of the water being
kept almost perpetually in motion by the flocks of water-fow],
and the ground was as hard as iron. The Ostjaks were now
for some days employed in patching up their huts and pre-
paring them to withstand the cold of winter.

An immense pile of firewood had been collected on the
shore, for boughs of trees and drift-wood, brought down by
the river, often came into the backwater, and these were
always drawn ashore, however busied the men might be at
the time in fishing, All through the summer every scrap of
wood that came within reach had been landed, and the result
was a great pile that would, they calculated, with the blubber
they had stored, be sufficient to last them through the
winter.

“What will they do if fuel should run short?” Godfrey
asked Luka,

“They will cross the frozen river with their sledges to
the forests. They would either take their huts down and
establish themselves there, or would cut wood, fill their
sledges, and bring it over. I have been talking to them.
On the other side there are many Russian villages, for the
post-road is on that side. In summer the carriages are drawn
by horses; in winter they have reindeer. These people are
very poor; the skins that they make their clothes with are
all poor, the animals were torn by the dogs or injured—
that is why they could not sell them. Those red fox-skins
would have been worth two roubles each if they had been
good; but the merchants will give nothing for those that
are injured. They say it does not pay for the carriage.
So they were glad to make them up for us.”

“What do they do with the reindeer?”
238 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“They milk them in summer, and in winter they let them
to the owners of the post-stations. Of course, when they
move they use them themselves.”

“ What we want, Luka,” Godfrey said, after sitting pice
for some time, “is more money. If we had that, we might -
hire sledges and reindeer as soon as the snow gets on the
ground, and travel west; but of course there is no tempting
these poor people to make such a journey without money to
pay them well.”

“They will go hunting presently,” Luka said.- “You
might get some good furs and sell them.”

“Yes; but I don’t see why I should. No doubt many of
the Russian peasants in the villages have guns; and if they
don’t get skins, why should 1?”

“A great many skins come down every year,” the Tartar
said. “Black fox is worth money, fifteen, twenty roubles;
ermine is worth money; lots of them in the woods.”

“Well, we must hope for the best. If we can but get
enough for them to take us across to the Obi, we ought to
be able to coast round in a canoe to Archangel. But I don’t
think we could do it from this river in one season. The ice
does not break up till June, and begins to form again in
October. We can only rely upon three open months. I
doubt whether we could get in that time from the Yenesei.
However, fe is of no use our bothering ourselves about
that now.’

Another fortnight and the frost was so severe that the ice
extended almost across the river, and a heavy fall of suow
covered everything. As soon as it was deep enough God-
frey and Luka followed the example of the Ostjaks and
raised a high wall of it encircling the tent to keep off the
bitter north wind. Then the weather changed again. The
wind set in from the south, and drenching rains fell. At
the end of two or three days the ice on the river had dis-
WINTER. 239

appeared, but it was not long before winter set in more bit-
terly than before. The ground became covered with the
snow to a depth of upwards of three feet, and the river froze
right across. The wall round the tent was rebuilt, Godfrey
fashioning wooden shovels from some planks he found among
the drift-wood. The Ostjaks took to their snow-shoes, and
Godfrey fashioned for himself and Luka two pairs of runners,
such as he had seen in uso near St. Petersburg.

These were about five feet long, by as many inches
wide, and slightly turned up at each end. A strap was
nailed across, under which the foot went. The ends were
turned up by damping the wood and holding it over the
fire, a string being fastened tightly from end to end, so as
to keep the wood bent. When they were completed they
practised with them steadily, and found that as soon as the
surface of the snow hardened they could get along upon
them at a good pace on level ground, completely distancing
the Ostjaks on their broader snow-shoes, The Ostjaks
evidently admired them greatly, but were too much wedded
to their own customs to adopt them.

Godfrey was so warmly clad that he felt the cold but
little. His eyes, however, suffered from the glare of the
snow, and he at once adopted spectacles, which were made
for him by the Ostjaks. They were the shape of goggles,
and made of skin with the hair on, narrow slits being cut
in them, these slits being partly covered with the hair, and
so shielding the eyes from the glare of the snow. They were
fastened on by leathern straps, tied at the back of the head.
_The Ostjaks themselves seldom wore them, but they were
used by Samoyedes, a kindred tribe, dwelling generally far-
ther north, though many of them at times came down even
as far as Yeneseisk. ,

Early in November the Ostjaks prepared for a hunting
expedition. The men, since they were confined to their huts
240 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

by the snow, had been busy in manufacturing traps of
various kinds and getting the sledges into order. -On a large
sledge, which was to be drawn by three reindeer, was placed
the skins necessary for forming a tent. On these were
piled a store of provisions, which were chopped out from
the frozen masses by hatchets. On the smaller sledges were
placed the traps and a quantity of the coarser kinds of
frozen fish as food for the dogs. It had been settled that
Godfrey and Luka should accompany them. They had con-
tributed liberally from their store of geese and fish, and
added to the load on the reindeer sledge their kettle, frying-
pan, and a parcel of tea and tobacco. When all was ready the
three reindeer were harnessed to the large sledge, one to each
of the three small sledges, and soon after daybreak on the
5th of November they started, the Ostjaks being anxious to
be off, for the weather again showed signs of breaking, and
it might be another month before the river was permanently
frozen for the winter. Six Ostjaks, including the chief,
formed with Godfrey and Luka the hunting party; the others
remained behind to look after the rest of the reindeer, as it
was necessary to keep a space clear from snow, to enable
them to get at the grass. They would, too, continue the
fishing, keeping holes broken in the ice and catching fish by
torchlight. The men walked with the sledges, which only —
went at a walking pace.

Across the river the route was easy, the surface of the
snow being crisp and hard, but it was hard work mounting
the opposite bank, which was exceedingly steep. The rein-
deer pulled well, and at difficult points the men aided them.
A short distance from the bank they crossed the post-road,
and in another half-hour were in the forest.

Godfrey had already been told that they would travel for
several days before they began to hunt, as the villagers with
their guns scared the wild animals from the forests in their
WINTER. 241

neighbourhoods. There was no difficulty in travelling through
the forest, for the pine-trees stood generally at some dis-
tance apart, and there was but little growth of underwood.
All day they kept steadily on, When evening came they
cut some young poles, erected their tent, and lit a fire in
the centre. By this time Godfrey had become accustomed
to the smoke, which escaped from the top of the tent by a
hole.

A couple of geese were cut up and broiled over the flame,
and some cakes baked in the frying-pan, their pipes were
lighted, and they lay down in a circle with their feet to the
fire. For three more days the journey was continued.
Then, as several tracks had been seen in the snow, they
halted and prepared for the hunt. The method was simple.
The men scattered in several directions, and when they
struck upon a recent track followed it up. Each man took
with him a dog, a certain amount of provisions, a box of
matches from Godfrey’s store, and a large skin to wrap him-
self in at night. Sometimes, as Godfrey found, the track had
to be followed a long distance before they came up to the ani-
mal, which always travelled in zigzag courses hunting about
for white mice and other prey. Sometimes it was found to
have taken to a hole, and then a trap was set to catch it
when it came out. The animals were principally ermine; but
one or two sable, which are considerably larger, with much
more valuable skins, and some martens were taken, All be-
long to the weasel family; the upper part of the ermine being
brown in summer, but, like most animals in or near the
arctic zone, changing into a pure white in winter, with the
exception of the tail, which remains black as in summer,
The ermine is but little larger than the English ferret,
while the sable and marten are the size of large polecats,
When the Ostjaks came up with them they eitler knocked

them on the head with a club or shot them through the
(781) Q
242 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

head. They were then carefully skinned, the bodies being
thrown to the dogs for food. ;

It had been agreed that the animals caught should be
divided; but Godfrey felt that he was doing but little, for
he was unable to shoot them, as this would have damaged
their skins. However, he aided in tracking them down, and
in setting traps when he traced them to a hole; and once
or twice he came up with and killed one with a club.
Occasionally he shot a squirrel—the little animals coming
out from their nests in holes in the trees at the sound of
footsteps, their curiosity costing them dear. After remain-
ing four days at this spot the tent was pulled down and
packed up, and they advanced another two days’ journey
into the forest.

CHAPTER XIII.
HUNTING.

T the end of a fortnight one of the Ostjaks started
with the large sledge for the huts, taking with him all

the skins that had been collected. These had mounted up
to a considerable number, the Ostjaks considering their luck
to have been extraordinary, and putting it down in a great
degree to their white companion, for whom they began to
have an almost superstitious respect, since the way he had
supplied their village with food for the winter seemed to them
almost miraculous. The reindeer with the light sledge would
accomplish the return journey in two days with ease, although
the distance had taken them five days on their way out.
It was to return with a fresh supply of provisions, especially
for the dogs. The night after the sledge had left, the dogs
barked fiercely for some time. They slept in the tent.
HUNTING. 243

Some of the Ostjaks made pillows of them, others allowed
them to lie upon them, and they helped to keep the tent
warm; the din when they began barking was prodigious.

“What is it all about?” Godfrey shouted in Luka’s ear.

“T think it must be a bear,” Luka shouted back.

“Why don’t they let the dogs out?”

“They would drive the bears away, and it is too dark to
see to shoot them. In the morning they will follow their
track.” ‘

The dogs presently ceased barking and with low growls
lay down again. As soon as it was light the Ostjaks turned
out and found great footmarks round the tent. Before
starting from the huts Godfrey had exchanged the heads of
their fishing-spears for the iron spear-heads they had pur-
chased. Loading his gun with ball, Godfrey with Luka and
four of the Ostjaks started in pursuit, taking six of the dogs,
and a sledge, with them. On his long runners he would
soon have left the Ostjaks behind; but Luka translated
their warning that they must all keep together, for as there
were two bears it would be dangerous to attack them in
lesser numbers.

In about an hour they arrived at a dense thicket, and it
was evident that this was the lair of the bears until they
took up their permanent winter quarters in a hollow tree.
The dogs were urged to attack them, but could not be
persuaded to enter far, confining themselves to barking
fiercely. “How are we going to get at them?” Godfrey asked.

The Ostjaks consulted together, and then they collected
some dry pine needles and twigs, and two of them went to
the windward side of the thicket and made a fire, upon
which, as soon as it was fairly alight, they threw some dead
leaves mixed with snow.

“Tf they were to light the bushes themselves, it would
drive them out quicker than that smoke,” Godfrey said.
244 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“Not good, not good,” Luka said earnestly. “Once catch
fire, big flame run through forest, burn miles and miles.”

“TI did not think of that,” Godfrey said. “That would
be a foolish trick.”

However, the smoke had the desired effect, and in a
minute or two, two bears burst out on the other side, growl-
ing angrily, The dogs rushed at them, barking loudly but
taking care to keep at a safe distance from their paws.
The bears both raised themselves on their haunches. The
Ostjak bows twanged and Godfrey fired. One of the bears
rolled over, the other charged at his assailants. Godfrey
fired his second barrel, then dropping his gun and grasping
his spear, stood ready to meet the charge. But the bear did
not reach him, for as it rose on its hind-legs the Ostjaks and
Luka again shot their arrows, and the bear rolled over dead.
The two animals were placed on the sledge, the reindeer
harnessed, and, the Ostjaks taking ropes to aid it with its
heavy burden, they returned to the tent.

They had scarcely reached it when one of the other
hunters returned with news that they had come upon the
track of an elk. The bears were at once dragged into the
tent, the entrance securely fastened to prevent a passing wolf
or ounce from tearing them; then, taking with them this time
all the dogs and the three sledges, they started, and in half
an hour came to where the chief and his remaining followers
were awaiting them.

“They came along here yesterday afternoon,” the chief
said to Luka. “There is one big stag, and one young one,
and three females.”

After three hours’ walking they came to a spot where the
snow was much trampled, and there were marks of animals
having lain down.

“That is where they slept,” the chief said. “They are
travelling south, but they will probably stop to feed before


GODFREY BRINGS DOWN AN ELK,
HUNTING. 245

they have gone far; we may catch them then.” He
ordered one of the men to stop with the sledges, and the
rest proceeded onwards.

Not a word was spoken now, and as they went they took
the greatest pains not to brush against any branch or twig.

The Ostjaks were now walking their fastest, and Godfrey
had to exert himself to keep up with them. Their footfall
was so light as to be scarce audible. After two hours’
travelling they saw an opening ‘among the trees, and here
some young pines were growing thickly. The chief
pointed significantly towards them, and Godfrey understood
that the animals would probably be feeding there. They
now went slowly, and the chief whispered orders that they
were to make a circle round the opening and close round
on the other side as noiselessly as possible. He himself
would enter the thicket from the side on which he now
was. The crackling of the pine twigs would drive them out
on the other side. Very quietly they worked round and
took up their stations, each standing behind a fir-tree, and
then waited.

They could hear the stamping of heavy hoofs and the
occasional breaking of twigs. Presently there was a louder
and more continuous sound of breaking bushes, and then
with a sudden rush a great elk, followed by four others, burst
out of the thicket. As they came along the Ostjaks stepped
out from their hiding-places and let fly their deadly arrows.
The leading elk came close to the tree behind which Godfrey
was standing, and as it passed he fired both barrels, hitting
it just behind the shoulder. The elk ran a few paces and
then fell. Three out of the other four had been brought
down by the Ostjak arrows; the young male escaped. The
satisfaction of the Ostjaks was great; for here, in addition to
the value of the skins, was food for themselves and the dogs
for some time to come.
246 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

A man was at once sent back for the sledges. While wait-

ing for these the rest set out on various tracks of ermine they
had passed on the way, and three of these and a marten were
killed before the sledges came up. The big elk was placed
on one sledge, one of the females on each of the others.
The fourth was skinned, cut up, and divided among the three
sledges. Lightly as the sledges ran over the snow the men
were all obliged to harness themselves to ropes to assist the
deer, and it was late in the evening before they arrived at
the hut. The fire was lighted at once. Godfrey undertook
the cooking, while the rest skinned the bears and elk, cut
them up, and hung up the carcasses on boughs beyond the
reach of the dogs. These had a grand feast off the offal
while the men were regaling themselves with fresh elk steaks.

For two months the hunting was continued with much
success, then the Ostjaks said they would return home.
Godfrey, however, vas anxious to continue hunting; he had
a small tent that had been made for him and Luka, and the
Ostjak leader offered to leave one of the sledges with six
dogs that had been trained to draught work. As soon as
the Ostjaks had started on their return journey the tent, a
store of provisions and furs, were packed in the sledge, and
a fresh start made, as they had been in their present position
for over a week. As they went along two of the poles were
arranged so that they made a deep groove in the snow, by
which they could find their way back to the starting-point.
Two days’ journey took them into a hilly country. They
established themselves in a sheltered valley, and made that
the centre from which they hunted.

They were now twelve days’ journey from the Yenesei
and well beyond the range of ordinary hunting parties.
They had soon reason to congratulate themselves on entering
the more mountainous country, for here the game was
much more abundant than it had been before The dogs
o

HUNTING. 247

had by this time become attached to them, for Godfrey was
fond of animals, and had petted them in a manner to which
they were quite unaccustomed from their Ostjak masters.
One of them especially, a young dog, had taken regularly to
accompany Godfrey when hunting, and he found the animal
of the greatest utility, as it was able to follow the back track
with undeviating certainty. This was of importance, for
there was but a short twilight each twenty-four hours, the
sun being below the horizon except for an hour or two at
noon, and they were obliged to carry torches while follow-
ing the tracks of the smaller animals.

Ermines were found in considerable numbers, and in the
first week four fine sables were killed, as well as two martens
and a bear; the latter was specially prized. They had
brought a fortnight’s provisions for themselves and the dogs,
but they were anxious to eke these stores out as long as
possible, as they could no longer depend upon getting fresh
supplies from home. The bodies of the ermines were but
a mouthful for one of the dogs, while the sables and martens
gave them a mouthful all round. The bear, however, con-
tained a large quantity of excellent food, and setting aside
the hams for their own consumption they hung up the rest
of the meat on a tree to serve out gradually among the dogs.
They soon found, however, that they need be under no
anxiety as to food, as foxes abounded, principally’ red,
though two of the valuable black foxes fell to Godfrey’s
gun. They found many aths in the woods completely
trodden down by animals. Here they used the Ostjak
method of catching them: putting up a screen of branches
across the track. Looking at these objects with suspicion, the
animals invariably refused to try either to jump over or erawl
through them, but went round at one end or the other. Here
accordingly traps were fixed and many animals were taken.

Intense as the cold was Godfrey felt it even less than he
248 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

had anticipated. The wide-spreading woods broke the
force of the winds, and while they could sometimes see the
tops of the trees swaying beneath its force they scarcely felt
a breath below. Luka knew nothing of the Esquimaux
fashion of making snow-huts, and said he had never heard
of it among the Ostjaks or Samoyedes. At each of the
halts, however, Godfrey piled the snow high over the low
tent of reindeer-skin which he had got the women to make
for him according to his own plan. It resembled a tent
@abri, or shelter tent, seven feet long and as much wide, was
permanently closed at one end, and had flaps crossing each
other at the entrance. Instead of depending entirely upon
the two uprights and the ridge-pole between them, Godfrey
when erecting it put eight or ten poles on each side, stretch-
ing from the ridge out to the side of the tent, so as to
support the skin under the snow they piled over it.

The bottom was covered with a thick mat of furs, the
sides were lined with them, and others were hung across the
entrance, so that the cold was effectually kept out. A large
fire was kept burning in front of the tent, and from this,
from time to time, red embers were taken out and placed in
a cooking-pot inside. At night two or three lamps, fed by
oil melted down from the fat of the animals they killed,
were kept alight, and in this way lying snugly in their
sleeping-bags they felt perfectly warm and comfortable,
although the temperature outside was from forty to fifty
degrees below zero. The dogs slept outside, with the excep-
tion of the one of which Godfrey had made a special pet,
it being allowed to share the tent with them. A high bank
of snow was erected on each side of the entrance to the
tent. This served further to break the force of the wind
and to retain and reflect back the heat of the fire. The
dogs therefore, being provided with a good supply of meat
from the proceeds of the chase, did very well.


HUNTING. 249

One afternoon the sky was very thick and overcast, and
Luka said he thought that they were going to have snow.

“Tn that case, Luka,” Godfrey said, “we will set to work
to make things comfortable. If there is a heavy fall we
might be almost buried here. Ordinarily it is sheltered,
but if there is a wind, anc I can see that it is blowing now,
it might drift very deep in this hollow, and we might find
ourselves completely snowed up. I think the tent is strong
enough to stand any pressure, but it does not contain
much air. We will cut down some strong poles and lay
them side by side across the snow walls in front of the
tent. ‘The smoke will find its way out through them, and
if a deep snow comes on it will save the dogs from being
snowed up; besides, it will give us a lot of additional air,
which we may want. Two or three hours will do it. The
time won't be thrown away anyhow, for the branches we
cut off and the poles themselves will do for firewood.”

The snow-flakes began to fall just as they finished the
work—the result being a sort of flat-roofed shelter with
snow walls ten feet long and six feet high, in front of the
tent. A large quantity of firewood was piled up at the
entrance to the shelter.

“That is a capital idea, Luka,” Godfrey said as they
retired into the tent. “We can sit with the entrance of
the tent open now if we like and get the benefit of the
fire outside, for the air having to pass close by it on its
way to us gets comparatively warm.”

When they went out to build up the fire for the last
time before lying down, snow was falling steadily, and was
already deep in front of the entrance to the shelter. The
dogs had been well fed and lay thickly clustered round the
fire, evidently greatly contented with the unusual luxury
of a roof over them. Godfrey crawled into the tent again,
closed the flaps, hung up a skin before them, and getting
250 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

into his sleeping-bag lay there comfortably smoking his
pipe and talking to Luka.

“We are as snug here as if we were in a palace, Luka;
but I should not like to be caught out in the woods to-night.
Have you ever heard of any of the Ostjaks or Samoyedes
being frozen to death?”

“Couldn’t be frozen if they had a hatchet and matches
with them,” he replied. ‘Can always chop down branches
and make a hut and a fire in the middle to keep it warm.
Then snow comes and covers it up and keeps out the wind.
Out on the plains a man might get frozen if stupid, but he
ought never to be if he knew what to do. He should look
for a hollow where the snow had drifted deep, then make a
hole in the side of the drift and crawl in. He ought to be
quite warm there if furs are good. But they do not often
get lost; they never go very far from huts when snow in
the sky. Directly it comes on they would make for home.
Can always get along in snow-shoes.”

“The isvostchiks are often frozen in St. Petersburg in
their sledges at night,” Godfrey said.

“They can’t build huts in a town,” Luka remarked ; “they
can’t find snow deep enough to get into; town not good in
winter.”

“Are there many wolves here, Luka? Do they often
attack people?”

“No, there is plenty of game in the woods. In Russia
the game now, so I hear, is scarce, so the wolves must take
to eating men; but here there is plenty of game, and so they
do not often attack people. I have heard of hunters going
out and never coming back again. Then people say wolves
eat them, but not often so. May be killed by elk, or hurt
by a falling tree, or climb hills and fall down. I do not
think it is often the wolves. Wolves great cowards.”

“T am glad to hear it, Luka: I have heard them howl
HUNTING. 251

sometimes at night and wondered whether they would come
this way.”

“Not come here,” Luka said decidedly, “we keep plenty
of big fire. All beasts afraid of fire. Then we have got
dogs and guns, Much easier for wolves to attack elk ; but
even that they seldom do unless it is wounded or has injured
itself.” /

‘Well, I think I will go off to sleep; my pipe is out and
the hot tea has made me sleepy.”

After sleeping for some hours, Godfrey awoke with a
strange feeling of oppression. Outside he could hear the
dogs whimpering.

“Wake up, Luka,” he said, “it is very close in here. I
fancy the snow must have drifted very deep and covered us
up completely. Let us get up and see about it.”

It was quite dark outside, except that the embers of the
fire threw a dull red light on the snow. The shelter seemed
but half its former dimensions. The snow had drifted in
at its entrance and lay in a bank piled up to the roof.

“Bring your spear, Luka, and mine, and shove them up
between these poles. We must make a few holes up through
the snow if we can to let a little air in.”

The spears were pushed up and then worked a little to and
fro to try to enlarge the hole. They were eight feet long,
but Godfrey did not feel at all sure that they penetrated
through the cover of snow. However, when they had made
a dozen of these holes there was a distinct change in the
air.

“They have gone nearly through, if not quite, and any-
how they are near enough to the surface for the air to find
its way out. Now we had better set to work at once to
dig a passage out. That is one advantage of this shelter,
there is a place to throw the snow back into.”

Going down on their hands and knees they soon scraped
252 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

the snow away until they reached the entrance to the shelter.
Here the snow weighted by the pressure above was much
denser and harder, and they could cut out blocks with their
hatchets.

“ Now,” Godfrey said, “we must make a tunnel sloping
upwards. It must be as steep as it can so that we are
able to climb up, making steps to give us foothold. I will
begin, for we only just want it wide enough for one. I will
hand the blocks down to you as I cut them, and you pile
them regularly along the sides here. As we fill the shelter
up you must drive the dogs back into the tent. We shall
want every inch of room for the snow before we get out.”

For hours they worked steadily, taking it by turns to cut
and to pile. The last four feet were much more difficult
than the first, the snow, being lighter and less packed, falling
in upon them as they dug. Once Luka was completely
buried, and Godfrey had to haul him back by the legs. The
atmosphere inside, however, improved as they got upwards,
being able to penetrate between the particles of the light
snow. It was six hours before they both struggled out,
followed by the dogs in an impetuous rush. It took them
another couple of hours to clear away and beat down the
snow sufficiently to make an easy entrance to the shelter.
A fire was lighted outside and a meal cooked, for the lamps
were quite sufficient to keep the tent sufficiently warm, and
they would have been well-nigh stifled with smoke had they
attempted to light the fire in the shelter. The snow was
still falling and drifting, and the sky showed no signs of
change.

“The entrance will fill up again by to-morrow,” Luka
said, ‘and we shall have more trouble than ever to get
out.”

“We must provide against that, Luka; we must build a
sort of roof over the entrance here, and then we shall only
HUNTING. 253

have to start from this point again. Let us set to work and
chop down some poles at once.”

After three hours’ more work a cover was built over the
entrance, and roofed with pine branches so as to prevent the
snow from drifting in.

‘Now, Luka, there is one more job, and unfortunately a
long one, but we must do that. We must get the snow that
we have packed in the shelter below out of the way, for
if by any chance this passage fell through, we should have
nowhere to pile the snow; besides, we may have another
passage as deep as the present one to dig to-morrow, for the
snow is drifting down in clouds, It has deepened a couple
of feet since we began to make the roof over the entrance.”

Luka, who was always ready to work, set to cheerfully, but
the short twilight had faded into deep darkness before the
work was completed.

“Tf we had had a couple of good shovels with us, Luka,
we should have made short work of this,” Godfrey said as
they retired below into their tent. “We could do as much
work in an hour as one can in five with these tools, It is
heart-breaking to shovel out snow with a hatchet, I am as
tired as adog. This is harder work than the gold-mines at
Kara by a long way.”

“Yes,” Luka said, “ but there is no man with @ gun.”

“No, that makes a difference, Luka, this is free work and
the other isn’t; not that one can call it exactly free when we
have no choice but to do it.”

For another four days the snow continued to fall ; but as
the wind had dropped, and the snow no longer drifted,
their work each morning was comparatively easy.

“I wish it would stop,” Godfrey said, “for we begin to
want food for the dogs; our stock of dried fish has been ex-
hausted since we were shut up. There is half a deer hang-
ing to a branch of that tree close to the tent, but it is eight
254 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

or ten feet below the snow, and as we can’t calculate the
exact position now it would be a big job to try to get at it.”
There was, however, no change in the aspect of the weather
on the following morning, and Luka announced that beyond
the tea and a handful or two of flour there was nothing
whatever for breakfast, while the dogs had fasted on the
previous day,

“Well, Luka, there is nothing to do but to try and get
at that venison. I have been thinking that it will be
easiest to try from below; it is much quicker work chopping
out the solid snow than it is trying to make a hole in that
loose stuff at the surface. The tree was just about in a line
with the front of the tent, wasn’t it? and we hung the deer
on a branch that stretched out nearly as far as the tent. I
should say we hung it about half-way along that branch and
not above twelve feet from the tent.”

Luka agreed as to the position.

“Very well, then, as we know exactly the direction, and
as the distance is but twelve feet, it ought not to take us
very long to chop out a passage just big enough and high
enough for one to crawl through. When we get near the
place where we think it is, we must make the tunnel a good
bit higher, for the bottom of the meat was quite five feet
from the ground so that it should be well out of reach of the
dogs. Now, will you go first or shall I?”

“I will begin,” Luka said. “We must make the passage
wide enough to push the snow past us as we get it down.”

“Certainly we must, Luka. Make it pretty wide at the
bottom, and make the top arched so as to stand the pressure
from above.”

It was easy enough work at first, but became more difficult
every foot they advanced, as the one behind had to crawl
backward each time with the snow that the one at work
passed back to him. At last the tunnel was driven twelve
HUNTING. 255

feet long, and the last four feet it had been given an up-
ward direction, by which means less snow had to be removed
than would have been the case had the bottom remained
level with the ground and the height been increased.

“We are a good twelve feet in now, Luka, and certainly
high enough. Which way do you think we had better try?”

Luka replied by calling one of the dogs and taking it with
him to the end of the tunnel. The animal at once began to
snuff about eagerly, and then to scratch violently to the right.

“That will do,” Luka said, pushing it back past him and
taking its place. He had driven but a foot in the direction
in which the dog was scratching when the hatchet struck
something hard. It required some care to dig round the
meat and make a hole large enough for Luka to stand up
beside it and cut the cord by which it hung. The dogs
yelped with joy when he dragged it back to the other end
of the passage. The fire was made now in the passage under
the roof they had made at the end of the first day’s work, for
outside the snow fell so fast that it damped the fire greatly,
and as the smoke made its way out through the entrance it
was no inconvenience to them below. A good-sized piece of
raw meat was chopped off and given to each of the dogs.
The ramrod was thrust through another large piece and held
by Luka over the fire, and then Godfrey carried the rest of
the joint outside and placed it in the fork of a tree.

“Tt smells good, Luka,” he said as he returned to the fire;
“T wish it would attract a bear.”

Luka shook his head. “Bears are asleep, Godfrey; they are
hunted in summer, and sometimes they may be found in
the early part of the winter, but never when the snow is
deep; they would die of hunger. There might be wolves, but
we don’t want them. Wolf skins fetch very little, and their
flesh is only good for the dogs; we don’t want wolves, but we
must be on our guard. In such weather as this food is very
256 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

scarce. They might come and attack us. Yesterday I
heard howls once or twice. I think when we have done
breakfast it will be better to take that meat down below.”

“Why, they wouldn’t smell it as much as this cooked
meat, Luka.”

“No, I was not thinking of that, but if they come we may
want it.”

“You mean they might besiege us, Luka?”

“Yes, shut us up here. Wolves very patient; wait a long
time when they scent food.”

“Well, we will have the dogs sleep up here for the future.
They will act as sentries, and there is none too much air
down there. That reminds me, I will cut a long pole or two,
fasten them together, and try and drive them down through
the snow to the roof of the shelter below.”

Luka shook his head. ‘ You might drive it down five or
six feet, but you would never get it down to the roof, and if
you did you could never pull it up again.”

“TJ don’t know, Luka. I once saw them driving down
some bars in tough clay when they were making a railway
cutting at home. I think we might do it in the same
way.”

Godfrey after breakfast cut a pole, chopping it off just
below where two or three small branches had shot from it,
leaving a bulge. This bulge he shaped and smoothed very
carefully with his knife, so that it was in the form of a
peg-top.

“There,” he said. ‘You see it is thicker here than it is
anywhere else, so that the hole it makes will be a little
larger than the pole itself, and instead of the snow holding
the pole all the way down it will touch it only on this
shoulder.”

This succeeded admirably. It was six feet long. They
had cleared away the loose snow to a depth of eighteen
HUNTING. 257

inches, and both holding it were able to force the pole down
as much more; then they hammered it with a billet of wood
until only a foot showed; then they spliced another to it,
and working it up and down jumped it in until they could
again use the mallet, and at last struck on something solid,
which could only be one of the beams forming the roof of
the hut. Godfrey went below, and soon discovered the spot
where the pole came down, and with his knife managed to
clear away the snow round it. Then he went up and assisted
Luka to withdraw the pole, which left a hole of about three
inches in diameter.

“That is a capital chimney,” he said. “Now we will
throw a few fir branches over it, to prevent the dogs treading
here and shutting it up. I think the air looks rather lighter,
Luka, and that the storm is nearly over. There is a howl
again. Iam afraid that we are going to have trouble with
the wolves. Is there anything we can do?”

Luka shook his head. “We might get up into trees,” he
said. ‘We should be safe there, but then we should lose
the dogs.”

“That would never do, Luka; we should have to haul the
sledge back a hundred and fifty miles. No, I'll tell you what
we will do: we will cut down some young trees and block
up our tunnel with beams, leaving three or four inches be-
tween each to fire through or use our spears.”

“That is a very good plan,” Luka said. ‘We should be
quite safe then.”

It took-them some hours’ work to carry out the idea.
The middle of the tunnel was closed by a row of pointed
stakes, some four inches in diameter, driven deep into the
snow and reaching up to the roof of the shelter. An opening
of a foot wide was left in the middle, another stake being
placed beside it in readiness to fill it up if required. The

operation was completed by the light of the fire, as it was
(731) R
258 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

pitch dark by the time it was done. Then another meal was
cooked and eaten, and the brands carried below, where, at
the bottom of the descent, the fire was now kindled. The
dogs had for some time been growling angrily in the upper
passage, and the fire was no sooner alight below than they
broke into a chorus of fierce barking.

“We had better bring them down here, Luka, and fill
up the opening. I think the wolves must be gathering in
numbers.”

Going up again they sent the dogs down, firmly lashed
two cross-bars to the others, and to these lashed the pole
they had left in readiness, thus completing the grating acrosg
the tunnel. As they worked the smoke from the fire below
curled up round them. A few months before Godfrey
would have found it almost insupportable, but by this time
he had, like the natives, become so accustomed to it that it
affected him very little. Still he said to Luka: “You had
better break off the hot ends of the sticks so as to have a
red fire only for the present, the smoke makes my eyes water
so that I can scarcely see. Now the sooner those fellows
come to get their first lesson the better.”

Kneeling by the grating, with his gui in his hand and his
spear beside him, Godfrey gazed out, and could presently
distinguish the outline of a number of moving figures.

“TI can see their eyes at the entrance,” he said. ‘Shall
I give them a shot, or will you send an arrow into them)”

“You fire,” Luka replied. “Bow makes no noise, gun
will frighten them; besides, I have only twenty arrows and
they would get broken. Better keep them till there is
need.”

Godfrey levelled his gun, which was charged with buck-
shot, and fired both barrels. Terrific yells and howls fol-
lowed, and the opening was clear in a moment, though
Godfrey could see two or three dark figures on the snow.


THE SLAUGHTERED WOLVES,
HUNTING. 259

There was a sound of whimpering and snarling, and then of
a fierce fight outside.

“They are killing and eating the wounded,” Luka said;
‘“‘when they have done that they will come again. Let them
get close up next time.” :

In a few minutes the entrance to the tunnel was darkened
again, and then cleared. The dead wolves had been pulled
away. Another quarter of an hour and the animals reap-
peared. As all was silent they gtadually approached. God-
frey could hear their panting, and presently heard a noise
against the bars. A moment later there was a rush and an
outburst of snarling growls, then he and Luka drove their
spears again and again between the bars, yells of pain fol-
lowing each stroke. The animals in front were unable to
retreat, and the others behind crowded in upon them, mad-
dened with the smell of blood, and all trying to get first at
their prey. They quarrelled and fought among themselves,
while their cries and growls were answered by the furious
barking of the dogs in the shelter below.

In two or three minutes Godfrey, who had reloaded his
gun, fired both barrels into the mass, and at the flash and
sound the wolves again fled. This time they did not venture
to re-enter the passage. Occasionally one showed itself, and
was instantly shot by Godfrey or Luka, who took turns on
watch throughout the night. As soon as the dim light broke
they removed the bar and issued out with the dogs. A
dozen wolves lay dead outside the bars, seven were scattered
round the entrance. Godfrey shot two more who were
lurking under the trees, while Luka sent an arrow through
another.

“There are plenty of them about still,” Godfrey said.
“Let us get three or four of the dead ones upon a branch
out of their reach as food for the dogs, drag the rest away
from the entrance to the tunnel, and bring the others up
260 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

from below. That will give them, with the three we have
shot now, enough for a big meal. Then I should think
they would move off.”

This was accordingly done, and they went below and
cooked breakfast, while the dogs feasted on a dead wolf.
Then they lay down for three hours’ sleep. When they went
up again the dead wolves had disappeared, only a few bones
and the blood-marked snow showing where they had lain.
Godfrey fired a couple of shots to scare away any that might
be lingering in the neighbourhood, and then replacing the
bars they went out hunting, and from that time heard no
farther of the wolves.

They continued their hunting, shifting their camp occa-
sionally until it was time to rejoin the Ostjaks, and then
travelled east. They struck the river some thirty miles
below the camp, crossed at once and travelled up the other
side until they arrived at the huts) They were heartily
welcomed by the natives, and remained there for three days
to rest the dogs. They were very glad of getting a supply
of fish again. These the Ostjaks had in abundance, as they
kept their frozen piles for food when the keenness of the
wind rendered the cold so bitter that they were forced to
remain in their huts. At other times they fished by torch-
light at holes that they kept broken in the ice, spearing the
fish, which were attracted by the light. The Ostjaks were
surprised at the large number of skins, some of them of
the most valuable kind, that Godfrey had brought back,
and were impatient for a fresh start. They were this time
absent for only six weeks, returning at the beginning of
May. The hunt was marked by no adventure. They did
fairly well, but were not fortunate in securing any skins of
the black fox and but few of the sable.

Upon their return the furs that had been taken during
the two hunts with the Ostjaks were fairly divided, and
HUNTING. 261

Godfrey added his and Luka’s shares to those they had
themselves obtained. There were over fifty in all, including
three black foxes, six sables, and ten martens, the rest being
of inferior value, Then a list was made of the necessaries
that Luka was to purchase at Turukhansk. These included
ten pounds of brick tea, some copper nails if he could obtain
them, a store of ammunition, some more fish-hooks, the
largest kettle he could buy, a frying-pan, a few pounds
of sugar, ten pounds of salt, some stout sheeting, thirty
yards of duck canvas, three blocks, a coil or two of rope,
needles and twine, a saw, a couple of chisels, and some other
tools.

“You must make the best bargain you can for the skins,
Luka; I have no idea how much they are worth.”

The Ostjaks were, however, able to tell them the prices
the traders pay for the skins of each animal, provided that
they were fine specimens and in good condition. The black
foxes were worth from fifty to a hundred roubles, the sables
from thirty to fifty, the martens some ten roubles less; the
other skins were worth from fifteen to thirty roubles.

Luka took the sledge and a reindeer and started alone,
having gone over the list of things required again and again
until Godfrey was convinced that he was perfect. He took
his sleeping-bag but no tent. He calculated that he should
be away five days, as it would take him two to drive to
Turukhansk, and a day there to make his purchases.

On the fifth evening he returned, with everything he had
been ordered to get, and a few other things that he thought
would be useful. He had obtained in all six hundred and
fifty roubles as the result of their six months’ hunting, and
of these had expended a hundred and seventy roubles.

“We are well set up for money now, Luka,” Godfrey said,
as he added the notes to those he before possessed. “I have
still four hundred roubles out of what I received from the
262 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

Buriat, so we have now nearly nine hundred, which will be
enough to pay our way to England from any point we may
land at.”

CHAPTER XIV.
THE BREAK-UP OF WINTER.

PRING was rapidly approaching now.. Occasionally for
a day or two southerly winds set in and rain fell in
torrents, then again the Arctic currents prevailed, and
everything was frozen as hard as before. Flocks of geese
passed over, flying north, but returned again when the
cold set in afresh. Small birds, too, in great numbers made
their appearance, crowding on patches of ground that the
sun and rain had cleared of snow, fluttering round the tents
in flocks, picking up scraps of food that had been thrown
out, and keeping the dogs ina state of perpetual excitement.
The Ostjaks said that the break-up of the ice might come
any day, or it might be delayed for another month; it
depended less upon the weather here than on that higher up.
It is not the sun or the rain that breaks up the ice, but the
rise of the river from the snow melting a thousand miles
higher up, and all over the country drained by the rivers
running into the Yenesei.

The women were now making a canoe under Godfrey's
instructions. He had often gone out in canoes on the
Severn and on the sea when staying at watering-places there.
The craft that had done them such good service before
would not do for their present undertaking. They required
a boat which should be fairly fast, sea-worthy, and yet light,
for it might be necessary to carry it considerable distances.
It was necessary that its dimensions should exceed those of
THE BREAK-UP OF WINTER. 263

an English canoe, for it must carry a considerable amount of
food, although of course he meant to depend chiefly on the
fishing-lines and gun, It was made five-and-twenty feet long,
and three feet wide. The central compartment was thirteen
feet long. This was covered in at the sides and ends, leay-
ing an opening for them to sit and paddle, fifteen inches
wide, and five feet long. Underneath the covered parts pro-
visions, furs, cooking utensils, &c., could be stowed away on
both sides, leaving room for them to lie down at full length
in the centre.

The two end compartments were entirely covered in, but
had openings over which a cover was lashed, and could, if
necessary, be used for holding stores; but Godfrey did not
intend to put anything here except temporarily, as it was
important that the canoe should be as buoyant and light as
possible. The frame of the boat was built of the tough and
elastic wood of which the Ostjaks made their bows, It was
very light, the ribs being bound to the longitudinal pieces by
fine gut. It was built, as nearly as Godfrey could lay them
out, on the lines of an English cruising canoe. The deck
strips were similarly lashed, and when the framework was
completed Godfrey tested its strength by dropping it three
feet to the ground, rolling it over and over, and trying it in
a variety of ways.

When fully satisfied with it the work of putting on the
cover commenced. This was made of very soft and well-
tanned reindeer hide, stretched as tightly as possible, and
then rubbed with seal oil. The keel of the boat had been
made very strong, as the rigidity of the whole craft depended
upon this. It had been made flat, and the skins had been
taken over it. When it was finished a false keel six inches
in depth in the centre, tapering away to nothing at the ends,
was fixed underneath. This keel was also made of tough
wood, a little more than a quarter of an inch thick, but
264 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

widening suddenly to over an inch where it touched the
boat, in order that it might be securely fixed with screws to
the keel inside,

The boat was provided with a light mast, which could be
stepped or unstepped at pleasure, and there were two stays
of twisted leather, one fastening to each side of the boat.
An iron ring with a cord travelled up and down the mast,
the halliard running through a small block, as Luka had
been able to obtain a sheave at Turukhansk. The sail was
a lug made of sheeting, oiled, and the boat carried beside a
triangular sail of very much smaller dimensions and stouter
cloth for heavy weather. She also carried a small mizzen
mast and sail. In rough weather the cockpit could be com-
pletely covered with a light apron with openings where the
rowers sat, with a sort of collar, which could be lashed
tightly round their waists. The edges of this apron could
be lashed down over the gunwale round the cockpit. When
completed the canoe itself, with its mast and sails, weighed
but sixty pounds, and could be carried with ease by one
person on his shoulder.

The Ostjaks greatly admired the craft, which was entirely
different from anything they had ever seen. The false
keel puzzled them greatly, and Godfrey’s explanations,
even when aided by Luka, failed altogether in making them
understand that it would have the effect of enabling the
craft to sail near the wind without drifting to leeward.
The additional draught of water was no inconvenience what-
ever ina craft designed for the sea, and it added materially
to the strength of the canoe. On the 15th of May it was
freezing hard. The natives going down to the water's edge
in the morning reported a sudden rise of three feet in the
river. It continued to rise all day, and by nightfall was
fifteen feet above its former level.

In the evening the north wind dropped suddenly, and an
THE BREAK-UP OF WINTER. 265

hour later it sprang up from the south, and by midnight a
torrent of rain was falling. Godfrey could hear sounds like
the reports of cannon above the pattering of the rain on the
skins, and knew that it must be the ice breaking. In the
morning when he looked out the whole mass of ice seemed
to be moving. Black cracks showed everywhere across the
white surface. The river had during the night risen another
twenty feet. By mid-day the scene was a wild one indeed.
No longer was the surface smooth. Hurrying along at the
rate of fifteen miles an hour the great masses of ice were
dashed against each other by the force of the current.

Two miles lower down the river narrowed suddenly, and
here a block was formed. Some of the pieces of ice were
thrust down, others climbed over them, thrusting them-
selves one on the top of the other till a ridge thirty or forty
feet high was formed from bank to bank. At times this gave
way, and then the whole was whirled down the stream, while
another ridge at once commenced to form. Godfrey walked
down to the point and stood for hours looking at the scene.
The great blocks of ice, six or eight feet thick, seemed almost
to be endowed with vitality as they climbed one above the
other, until thrust off the crest of the ridge by the pressure
of those behind them. The din was prodigious, a crackling,
rustling, roaring sound, with sharp explosions and deep
muffled booming. The whole air seemed to quiver with
sound, and the loudest shout would have been inaudible
a yard or two away. Below the ridge the river, so long as
the barrier stood, was comparatively clear, but from time to
time great masses of ice that had been sunk by the pressure
and swept along under the ridge came to the surface with
a surge that lifted one end high out of the water, reminding
Godfrey of the spring of some enormous fish; then the ice
would come down with a mighty splash, and hasten away
reeling and rocking on the rapid current. Entranced by this
266 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

mighty conflict of the forces of nature, Godfrey stood there
until seven or eight o’clock in the evening.

It would be light for three hours yet, for the sun now
only sank for a short time below the horizon, The rain
was still falling heavily when he returned to his hut, The
river had risen another thirty feet since the evening before,
and the height of the bank had decreased from a hundred
feet to about thirty. For two more days it rained inces-
santly. The river had now risen to its high-water mark,
ten feet below the bank. Godfrey asked the Ostjaks if
there was no fear of its overflowing, but they told him that
there was no cause for uneasiness, for that at its present point
it overflowed at many places both above and below them,
and extended over a vast tract of country, and that at every
additional foot it would spread so widely that it would
speedily begin to fall again. The ridge had now ceased to
form, although the river was still packed with floating masses,

‘In another two days,” the Ostjaks’ chief said, “the ice
will be all gone except a few blocks. Much of the ice above
is carried out by the floods and left to melt on the land as
the water lowers, but even without that the river at its
present rate would soon carry it all down.”

This Godfrey could well imagine, for at the rate of fifteen
miles an hour over three hundred and sixty miles of the
river would have been emptying daily. At the end of
another three days but few blocks of ice were visible, and
Godfrey now began to make preparations for his start.
First the canoe was to be tried. She was taken down and
placed in the water, and the sides under the half-decks were
filled in with frozen geese and fish from the pile, which was
still but little affected by the thaw.

When she was thus brought down to nearly the weight
she would have to carry, Godfrey and Luka took their places
in her, dipped their paddles in the stream, shot out, and
THE BREAK-UP OF WINTER. 267

paddled about for some time in the still water behind the
shelter of the point. Godfrey found to his satisfaction
that she paddled easily, quite answering to his expectations.
Then Luka, who had already practised the mancuvre on
shore, stepped the masts, fastened the stays, and hoisted the
sails. There was a light breeze from the south, and the
boat ran rapidly along before it till it was again abreast of
tho village, then she was put about and made short tacks in
the dead-water. Godfrey found that she stood stiffly up to
the canvas, and, as far as he could see, made little or no
leeway. Then he returned to the village. The Ostjaks, who
seldom made use of sails, and then only when dead before
the wind, were perfectly astounded alike at the rapidity
with which the boat glided through the water and at the
ease with which she came about, and were astonished beyond
measure at seeing her make a zigzag progress in the teeth
of the wind.

Early the next morning the rest of the preparations were
completed. The tea, tobacco, cooking utensils, and other
necessaries were stowed away under the deck astern of
Godfrey, together with twenty pounds of fat. This had
been carefully set aside for the purpose when animals were
killed and cut up. It had been melted down in the chief's .
large pot and poured into a tin drinking-mug, in which four
strands of unravelled cord had been placed to act as wicks.
The tin was dipped in ice water, and in a few minutes the
fat solidified, then the tin was dipped again, this time in hot
water, and the short fat candle with its four wicks then
came easily out, and the process was repeated. These
candles weighed just about a pound each. Godfrey collected
fat enough to make fifty, but being afraid of overburdening
the canoe he decided that twenty must suffice, believing that
he would be able to pick up drift-wood as they coasted along.

A store of pine-wood torches was lashed on the deck on
268 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST

each side of the mast forward of Luka, the fishing spears,
hatchets, and other articles for trade stowed away, the furs
and their winter garments laid thickly at the bottom of the
boat. They took with them Jack, Godfrey’s favourite dog,
and then, bestowing all the rest of their possessions on the
Ostjaks, they took a hearty farewell of them, stepped on
board, and started. They had at the last moment decided
to take their old boat also with them. This was fastened
by a tow-rope behind the canoe. It was filled with frozen
provisions, having been first lined with rough furs, others
were laid closely over them. In this way Godfrey calculated
that they would remain frozen for a long time. The rest
of the store of flour and a stock of firewood were added.

As to the extra weight of towing the canoe it was im-
material, as until they reached the mouth of the river there
would be no occasion for paddling, and beyond that the
stock of provisions could be transferred to their own canoe
to take the place of those used up on the way, and the craft
could then be cast adrift. As there was a light breeze, how-
ever, the sail was hoisted, rather because it gave them
steerage way than for any increase to their speed. As soon
as the canoe shot out into the rougher water in the full force
of the stream, Godfrey was still more delighted with the
boat, the empty compartments fore and aft rendering her
exceedingly buoyant. She had been built with somewhat
higher sides than the canoes Godfrey had seen at home, and
rose a good deal towards the ends; and she floated as lightly
as a cork on the surface of the water. That afternoon they
passed Turukhansk. Below this the river widened out. In
the evening they lowered the sail, as they did not wish to run
the risk of striking either the shore or a piece of ice that
might have got delayed on its journey. All night they
hurried on, lying snugly in the bottom of the boat with the
apron closed overhead.
THE BREAK-UP OF WINTER. 269

In the morning they found they were not far from the
left bank, and that the river now was more than four
miles wide. The sail was again hoisted and breakfast made,
after which they got out their lines and hooks, baited, and
dropped them into the water. During the course of the day
they caught several fish, and picked up a considerable
quantity of floating wood, which they stowed in the large
canoe.

“I think, Luka,” Godfrey said, ‘that instead of letting
our old boat go we may as well keep it for a time. As long
as there is wind, it makes no great difference to our speed,
though, of course, it would be heavy if we were paddling.
If we had bad weather we could land and turn it bottom
upwards, and there would be a hut ready made for us. This
canoé is all right for sleeping in when the water is smooth,
but with its deep keel we could not sleep in it ashore.”

Luka was, as usual, quite of Godfrey’s opinion. After
this they made the old boat their kitchen, for there was but
little room in the canoe for cooking purposes; and it was,
moreover, a relief to get into the roomy craft where they
could move about as they pleased. As drift-wood was
abundant they made their fires entirely of this, keeping
their candles for the time when they might have to leave
their store-boat behind them. On the third day the river
widened out greatly. They could no longer see the right
bank, and Godfrey concluded that they were now in the
Gulf of Yenesei.

“The weather is going to change,” Luka said the next
morning; “the wind will soon be coming from the north;
going to blow hard.”

“In that case, Luka, the sooner we are ashore the better.
The current now is nothing like so swift as it was. I don’t
think we are going past the land at more than three miles
an hour, but that would be quite enough if the wind comes
270 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

from the north to knock up a nasty sea in no time. Let us
get our paddles out; there is not a breath of wind.”

In half an hour they reached the shore, but had to cvast
along for some time before they found a place free of rocks.

“This will do, Luka, we are not a minute too soon ; those
puffs just now were so strong that we made no way against
them. Now, then, jump out and get the canoe high and
dry.”

They had retained their long boots, and stepped out into
water up to their knees. Then they lifted the canoe and
carried it ashore,

“Tt is heavier than it was when we put it in,” Luka said,

“T should think so. What with the furs and. provisions,
candles, and one thing and another, there must be a hun-
dred and fifty pounds weight in her. There, put her down
here, Luka, and let us get the other up. We must take the
things out first. Quick, man, the wind is getting up fast.
Isn’t it cold; we shall want our fur jackets on directly.”
The firewood and provisions were carried up some distance
above the water’s edge, and then the boat was lifted and
placed beside them. A thick sleet had now set in, and the
wind was blowing with tremendous gusts. :

“Now, then, look about, Luka, and see if you can find
a sheltered nook. I will pile stones into the well of the
canoe so as to anchor her safely. If she were to be rolled
over and over her skin would soon be cut to pieces.”

Before he had finished this Luka returned. ‘Good place
here,” he said. “Good shelter.”

“We'll finish this job first, Luka. This is much more
important than our getting wet.”

As soon as it was done they went to the large canoe, and
lifting it carried it away to the place Luka had found—a
ridge of rock running back at a right angle from the shore,
with a perpendicular face some twelve feet high. At one
THE BREAK-UP OF WINTER. 271

point there was a deep cleft in it, some eight feet wide at
the mouth and narrowing gradually in.

“Capital, Luka; we chal be as snug as possible here.
Now, turn her over and take her in.”

The cleft was so deep that the stern of the boat was,
when she was laid down bow foremost, fully fifteen feet
inside the entrance.

“Now it may blow as much as it likes,” Godfrey said,
“it won’t hurt us here. Now do you go and get some of
the firewood. I will fetch some skins from the canoe, and
the sails.”

After getting out some provisions, the cooking utensils,
and a couple of the candles, Godfrey returned to the boat.
Then he made another journey for some more skins and the
two sails. By this time the wind was blowing so fiercely
that he could scarcely stagger along with his load. The sea
was covered with white heads, and the waves were breaking
noisily against the rocks: Luka had already brought up
plenty of firewood, and had thrown a large skin over the
furs containing the frozen fish, and piled stones on it to
prevent its being blown away.

“Now, where will you put the fire?” he asked. “If you
put it inside it would burn the boat, if you put it outside it
would be no good to us.”

“T quite see that, Luka. We must make ourselves com-
fortable, for this storm may last for days for anything I
know. We must prop this end of the boat up so that we
can sit upright under it with something to spare. We must
pile up some stones a couple of feet high under each gun-
wale.” In a quarter of an hour this was done. The sail
was then laid over the boat, the ends being kept down by
stones.

“That is snug,” Godfrey said. “Now we will put the mizzen
over forward so as to keep the wind out right along.” There
272 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

were four feet of head room at the entrance to the boat tent,
and in front of this the fire was soon lit, one of the pine
torches being cut up to start it with. The skins were laid
upon the ground, and taking off their wet coats they put on
fur jackets. ‘Now we can see about breakfast, Luka.”

Luka had run down and filled the kettle, while Godfrey
was fastening down the sail. This was placed on the fire,
and as soon as it began to burn clear some of the fish they
had caught the day before were laid on the glowing embers,
together with two legs of a goose.

“The thing we are going to have most trouble about,
Luka, is fresh water,” Godfrey said as they ate their break-
fast. Luka looked surprised. ‘When we once get beyond
the stream of the Yenesei,” he went on, “the water will be
salt.”

“Salt!” Luka repeated.

“ Yes, too salt to make tea with. We shall be all right for
a time, no doubt. What with the melting snow and the
rains we have had, there are sure to be lots of little streams
running into the sea; but when the land dries we shall be
in a bad way.”

Luka looked serious; this was altogether beyond his
experience.

“Of course if we can get plenty of fresh fish we shall get
on fairly, as we sha’n’t require much to drink. We will
look about the rivers when I can get at the map. I know
there is a small one called the Gida running in just between
the mouths of the Yenesei and Obi; and there is the Kara
on farther, and then the Petchora, As far as I can remember
that is all that were marked, but of course there may be
lots of little streams that were not put down. There is one
thing, if we find that we generally get wind, and can keep
the big boat with us, we could make her carry water as well
as fuel. She would hold any quantity, for half a dozen barrels
THE BREAK-UP OF WINTER. 273

would not sink her above an inch. We should certainly
get out of the difficulty that way. It gave me quite a fright
at first. I felt so sure that I had thought of everything,
and there, I never for a moment thought about the sea
being salt. How it is blowing outside! It is lucky indeed
you have found such a snug corner, Luka, for if we had
been out in the open we could only have piled stones in the
boat to prevent it blowing away, and lain at full length
underneath her, which would be all well enough for one
night, but would be a frightful nuisance if it had to go on
for three or four days.”

So sheltered were they, indeed, that they scarce felt the
wind that was howling above them, and were as comfortable
beneath their boat as they had been in their hut by the
river side.

“When it is as rough as this in the gulf, Luka, it will be
tremendous out at sea.”

Luka had never seen waves higher than those in some of -
the rapids of the upper river, and he was astonished at the
white-headed waves and at the showers of spray they sent
vp as they struck the rocks.

‘Are the waves ever much bigger than this?” he asked.

“Bigger! I should think so. Out in the open sea one of
the waves would make a hundred of these.”

“Then they must break the vessels to pieces, Godfrey ?”

“No, they are built very stout and strong, and very big.
They get broken to pieces if the sea drives them against
rocks, and sometimes in very great storms get so beaten by
the waves that the planks open and the water runs in and
they sink.”

“T should not like to go to sea if the waves were like
that,” Luka said thoughtfully. ‘This is terrible. Why, if
we had not come ashore in time the boat would have sunk.”

“She would have made a good fight for it, Luka. With
(731) s
274 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

the apron tied in round us we could stand a very heavy sea.
So long as we keep her head to the waves the water might
wash over us, but it could not get in; and even if it did
fill the space where we sleep, the compartments at the ends
are quite buoyant enough to keep her up.”

“What would you do if you were out in what you calla
great sea, Godfrey?”

“T should lash the mast and the sail and our paddles
and the firewood together, fasten our mooring rope to
them and throw them overboard, that would keep us head
to sea—because these things would all float in the water, and
the wind would not get hold of them. They call a contriv-
ance like that a floating anchor. Then we would both lie
down in the bottom, button the flaps over the holes in the
cover, and lie there as snugly as possible. You see our
weight would be down quite low in the boat then, and that
would keep her steady. Oh, we should get on capitally if
there were plenty of room for us to drift.”

‘How far have we to go now?”

“T can’t exactly tell you. I wish I knew. From the
ong jagged cape, which is the northern point of land on the
western side of the Gulf of Yenesei and forms the separation
between it and the mouth of the Gulf of Obi, to Waigatz
Straits, between the mainland and Waigatz Island, which
lies south of the island called Nova Zembla, is about two
hundred and fifty miles in a straight line, but I should
think it is quite three times that if we have to follow all
the ins and outs of the shore. From there to Archangel, if
we go in to Archangel, is about three hundred and fifty miles
more, cutting across everything. If we had a current with
us, like the stream of the Yenesei, we should make very
short work of it; but unfortunately there is nothing of that
sort. Paddling steadily we might go three miles an hour—
say a hundred miles in three days. If we had wind that
THE BREAK-UP OF WINTER. 275

would help us, of course we should go a great deal faster,
because we should paddle and sail too.”

“But if we don’t go to the place you call Archangel, where
should we go?”

‘“We should keep far north of it, Luka, and sailing in
a straight line nearly due west, should strike the northern
coast of Norway somewhere or other. I should say, from
what I saw of it on the map, it would be five hundred
miles from Waigatz. But that ‘would be madness for us to
attempt. We might get caught in terrible storms; we
might get into fogs, and as we have no compass there we
should lie, not knowing which way to go. No, we must
stick to the land till we get to the mouth of the White Sea.
With a favourable wind we should get across that in a
day, and then go on coasting again till we get beyond the
Russian frontier; then at the first village we come to we land,
find out all about the distances, and arrange to get taken in
reindeer sledges to some regular settlement.”

“What sort of people are they there?” Luka asked.

“They are the same sort of people as the Samoyedes. I
don’t know that they are just the same. Anyhow, they
speak the same sort of language. Well, you know the
Northern Ostjaks we stayed with speak nearly the same as
the Samoyedes. You could hardly get on with them at
first, because their talk was so different to that of the
Southern Ostjaks; but you got to speak it quite easily at
last. So I have no doubt you will be able to make any
natives you may meet, whether they are Samoyedes or any-
thing else, understand you without difficulty.

“What is it, Jack? What are you whining about?” he
asked the dog, who, having made a hearty meal, had been
lying down between them while they were talking, but
who now sat up, snuffing and whining uneasily,

“Tt may be either a fox or a bear,” Luka said making
276 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

his way farther back into the hut, and returning with his
bow and arrows, Godfrey’s gun, and the two spears.

“I hope it is a bear,” Godfrey said as he removed the
charges of shot, and rammed down bullets in their place.
“We don’t want any more skins, unless it happens to be a
black fox, which would be worth having, but a supply of
bear meat would come in very handy.”

The dog’s whine presently changed into an angry growl.

“Bear sure enough. I expect he knows of this place, and
has come here for shelter. He had much better have left
it alone. It is lucky for us that the fire has burnt low; it
would have scared him if it had been blazing. Lie down,
Jack.”

Lying perfectly still they presently heard a sharp snuffing
noise, and a minute or two later a bear came round a corner
of the rock. Astonished at the sight of the white object,
the animal sat up on its haunches,

“Now!” Luka exclaimed, and discharged his arrow at
the same moment that Godfrey had pulled his trigger. The
arrow struck the bear in the throat, and such was the force
with which it was sent that the head showed at the back
of the neck. Godfrey's bullet struck it in the chest, and the
bear at once rolled over. Thinking it was killed, he crawled
from under the boat and ran forward, but the animal sud-
denly rose to its feet; running up alongside, he placed the
muzzle close to its ear and pulled the other trigger.

“Tt is dead now, Luka,” he shouted as he bent over it.
At the same moment he heard a cry of warning, and was
simultaneously struck a heavy blow which stretched him on
the ground beside the bear. It flashed through his mind that
his assailant was the female bear. He had heard from the
Ostjaks that the best plan, if attacked by an enraged bear,
was to sham death, and he therefore lay without moving a
muscle as he was struck down. He heard the twang of


LUKA FACES THE BEAR.
THE BREAK-UP OF WINTER. 277

Luka’s bow, and Jack’s sharp barking close to his ear.
Then with a deep angry growl the bear left him and rushed
towards the tent. Godfrey at once sprang to his feet. He
had not brought his spear with him as he crawled out, but
he sprang to the fire and dragged outa brand. Luka had
discharged another arrow, and Jack was harassing the bear
by snapping at its hind-legs. In terror for the safety of
the canoe rather than that of Luka, who could, he knew,
well defend himself, Godfrey leapt forward and struck the
bear across the nose with the brand. With a roar of fury it
turned upon him, but as it did so it exposed its side to
Luka, who discharged another arrow behind its shoulder.
It rolled over and over, but again gained its feet. The
pause, however, had given Luka time to emerge from under
the boat with his spear in his hand, and running up he
thrust it right through the body, and the bear fell over
dead. Then he ran to Godfrey.

“ Are you hurt?” he asked.

“Tam hurt a bit, Luka, for I felt a sharp pain as the
beast knocked me over, but I do not think it can be much.
It was very lucky that we put our fur jackets on again; if
it hadn't been for that, I expect he would have regularly
laid open my shoulder.”

He took off his coat. The bear’s claws had penetrated
through the skin, and had scored three gashes on his
shoulder. But these, Luka said, were of no great depth, and
beyond making his arm stiff for paddling for a day or two
would matter little.

They at once set about skinning the two bears, put the
four hams carefully aside, cut off most of the meat, gave Jack
another hearty meal, and then retired again to their shelter.

‘My heart was in my mouth when I saw him rushing at
the tent; if he had struck the boat, or thrown his weight
upon it, it would have been a terrible business.”
278 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“I was afraid too,” Luka said. “I was just going to
shoot again when you struck him on the nose, and so gave
me a chance of hitting him in a vital spot. If it hadun’t
been for your blow I should hardly have stopped him; he
was so close that even if I wounded him mortally he would
have come down on the boat.”

“Well, it is fortunate it has ended so, Luka; it will
be a lesson to me when I shoot a bear next to look out for
its mate, and also not to leave my spear behind me, or to
advance towards a bear I think dead until I have loaded
my gun again.”

For two days longer they had to remain in their shelter;
but the third morning when they awoke the wind had died
away, and the sun was shining brightly. As there was still
some sea on, Godfrey determined to stay another day and
explore the coast a little. Leaving Luka to look after the
boats and goods in case any more bears might be in the
neighbourhood, he started with Jack. He was amazed at
the quantity of birds that he met with—thrushes, wagtails,
warblers, chifchaffs, fieldfares, and red-poles rose at every
step. The air quivered with the song of innumerable larks,
which mingled with those of the willow-warblers; snipe
in considerable numbers sprang up and darted off with a
sharp cry from almost under his feet; plovers circled round
and round; ducks of various kinds passed between the
shore, and, as Godfrey supposed, inland swamps or lakes;
martins in great numbers darted hither and thither hawk-
ing for insects. Occasionally birds, which he supposed to
be grouse, rose with a loud whirr.

Short as was the time since the snow had cleared off the
ground, spring had come in with marvellous rapidity. The
grass was already well-nigh knee-deep, and flowers of
various kinds were in full bloom. Where the ground was
comparatively bare of grass, it was studded with the yellow
THE BREAK-UP OF WINTER. 279

blossoms of wild heart’s-ease, and amongst some stunted
alder-trees Godfrey found a dwarf rose already in bud, and
wild onions and wild rhubarb in flower. Then he came
upon a broad expanse of a shrub that looked to him like a
rhododendron, with a flower with a strong aromatic scent.
Several times he heard the call of a cuckoo. Ona patch of
sand there were some wild anemones in blossom. Godfrey
pulled a bulb of wild onion, cut off a slice and tasted it. It was
similar in flavour to the cultivated plant, but very sharp and
acrid. However he set to work, and pulled up several dozen
bulbs. They were small, not exceeding the size of a radish,
but they would be very valuable, as one of them chopped
fine would be sufficient to give a savour to a whole goose,

Turning to the right and coming down upon the shore
he saw that the edge of the water was fringed with sea-
gulls of various kinds picking up tiny fish as the waves
broke in sandy coves, or scuttling into the water and mak-
ing sudden dips and dives into it. Farther out flocks of
black ducks were féeding, while two or three pairs of
swans passed overhead going north. Presently he saw
three or four native huts ahead; some reindeer were graz-
ing near them, and three boats were hauled upon the shore.
These were doubtless Samoyedes. As soon as he caught
sight of them he turned. He had heard that the Samo-
yedes, although more friendly than the Tunguses with
strangers, were much less to be depended upon than the
Ostjaks, and as he had no faith in being able to explain
what he was doing there with his comparatively limited
command of the Ostjak language, he thought it better to
return at once to Luka. He found when he reached the
tent that the Tartar was beginning to feel anxious, for he
had been four hours absent. As they had abundance of
food, and had no occasion to trade with the natives at
present, they decided not to pay a visit to them.
280 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

As soon as dinner had been cooked, they set to work to
get everything in readiness for a start. The stores were
taken out of the canoe, and she was carried down to within
a few feet of the water. The tent was dismantled, and the
boat also carried down. Then they devoted themselves for
the rest of the afternoon to collecting more drift-wood, for the
water was again falling, and the highest level it had reached
was strewn with debris, As there was now no practical
distinction between night and day they lay down and slept
for four or five hours, then put the large canoe into the water,
and placed the firewood in her, with the stock of flour, frozen
meat, and the bears’ flesh; then with the kettle and frying-
pan they baled eight or ten buckets of water into her, for
Godfrey did not know how soon the river would become
brackish. They spread the bear-skin over all, then having
carefully repacked the canoe, they put her also into the
water, stepped the mast, took their places in her, hoisted
the sail, and with the boat in tow started north again.

The wind was from the south, and with the assistance
of the current they went along rapidly; but, neverthe-
less, the paddles were got to work, as, now that they were
fairly on their way again, every mile gained was of import-
ance. They kept about a mile from shore so as to take
advantage of the current. In twenty minutes the native
encampment was passed. They saw no one moving about
there, and supposed that they must all be asleep, for the sun
was low down on the horizon. Godfrey’s watch was still
going, but as he had had no opportunity of comparing it
with any other timepiece for just a year, he could only con-
sider it to be an approximate guide. Once a month or so he
had made a point of setting it. This he did by sticking up
a pole and measuring the shadow it cast, knowing that this
would be at its shortest at twelve o’clock. By this means he
calculated that he was never more than half an hour wrong.
THE BREAK-UP OF WINTER. 281

The shore continued very flat, and once or twice they
saw sand-banks stretching out a considerable distance.
Sometimes both paddled, sometimes Godfrey steered only
and Luka laid in his paddle. Three times in the course
of the day the big canoe was pulled up, and Luka went on
board and cooked a meal, the flat slab on which they lit
their fire having been raised three or four inches above the
bottom to keep it out of the water. Hitherto Godfrey had
done all the steering when the.boat was under sail, but he
now instructed Luka. Little teaching was, indeed, needed,
as the steering was done with the paddle, and Luka was
accustomed to keeping the boat straight when paddling.
He was, however, nervous with the sail, which was boomed
straight out with a light spar Godfrey had cut for the
purpose. However as the wind was dead aft there was no
fear of this jibing so long as the boat’s course was kept
true; this was rendered all the more easy by the steady
drag of the boat astern.

Twelve hours after starting Godfrey told Luka to lie
down and sleep, as he intended that so long as they had
favourable winds they should continue their voyage with-
out stopping. There was no occasion for going ashore.
The bears’ flesh would last them as long as it kept good,
and they had plenty of water on board for at least a fort-
night. In a few minutes Luka was sound asleep. Jack
lay on the deck in front of him, sometimes sleeping, some-
times waking up, and giving a sharp bark in reply to the
ery of a sea-gull passing overhead, or a flock of black ducks
skimming along close to the surface of the water within
fifty yards of the boat.
282 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

CHAPTER XV.
COASTING.

ie current was now losing its power, and Godfrey,
dipping his hand into the water and then putting it
to his lips, found that it was distinctly brackish, and con-
gratulated himself upon having laid in a stock of water
when he did. After Luka had slept for six hours, Godfrey
‘roused him. ,

“Now, Luka, you must take my place and steer; move
very carefully else we shall capsize her. That is it. Now,
if there is any change you lean forward and touch me sli
shall wake in a moment. If the sail should shift over to
the other side all you have got to do is to shift this sheet
to its fastening on that side. With this light wind jibing
does not matter at all, but if the wind freshens wake me
at once,”

For a quarter of an hour Godfrey watched to see that
Luka steered steadily, then he worked himself down in the
cockpit and closed his eyes. It did not seem to him that
he had been asleep long when Luka touched him.

“I would not have woke you,” Luka said; “but the land
seems going right away from us.”

Godfrey sat up. “So it is, Luka! I should not be sur-
prised if that is the extreme northern point. Of course it may
be only a deep bay, but at anyrate we must see.” He looked
at his watch, “ Why, I have been asleep nearly seven hours.
Now, Luka, you had better haul the boat alongside, and see
about cooking. We forgot to try those onions yesterday.
Cut one up small and put it in the pan with the meat. By
the by, you had better tie a piece of cord to those four bears’
hams, and let them tow overboard for two or three hours.
COASTING. 283

The water must be quite salt now, and when you take them
out we will rub a little fresh salt into them. They ought to
keep well then.”

As soon as Luka had got into the boat—Jack jumping in
with him, as he always made a point of superintending the
cooking operations—Godfrey took his place in the stern,
jibed the sail, which had before been on the port quarter,
over to starboard, brought her head somewhat to the north
of west, and hauled in the sheet.. Lying over till the water
nearly touched her gunwale, the light little craft would have
gone speedily along had it not been for the drag of the boat
astern, This, however, towed lightly, for she was loaded
with but a very small proportion of the weight she would
carry. Godfrey judged, by the objects on the shore, that
they could not be going along less than three miles an hour.
Tn six hours the land trended away due south, and he knew
that they had now reached the first of the two deep bays
they would have to pass before reaching the northern
extremity of the Cape. He kept on his course, and an
hour later, with the exception of the low coast nearly astern,
no land was to be seen. Luka, who was paddling steadily,
looked round. He had such implicit confidence in his
companion that he was quite sure the boat was keeping the
right course, but he had a vague sense of uneasiness at see-
ing nothing but sea around him.

“How do you know which way to go?” he asked.

“T know that by keeping on the same way we were going
past the last land, we shall strike the coast again on the
other side of this bay. I think it is twenty or thirty miles
across. I can tell the way by the wind in the first place, and
in the second place by the position of the sun. You see it is
over my right shoulder at present; there is the mark of my
shadow on the side. I have got to keep it about there, making
some allowance for the change in the position of the sun.”
284 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST;

Luka understood this. “But suppose the wind was to
change?” he said.

“TI should know it by the position of the sun. You see
at present it comes nearly due south, and is blowing almost
straight towards the sun; but if it were very cloudy, or at
night when I could not see the sun, I should not be able to
tell. Then after holding on till I felt sure that we were
well past the mouth of this bay, I should put her about
on the other tack, and should be sure to come upon the
land sooner or later. Anyhow, even in the darkest night
we should know if the wind had gone round to the north,
as it would be so much colder. Besides, there is never a
great shift of wind like that without knowing it; the one
wind is sure to drop, and there would be something like a
dead calm before the other set in. Anyhow, with a bright
sun and a steady wind like this we cannot go wrong, and
you will see land ahead in seven or eight hours.”

It was less than six hours when Godfrey saw the low land
ahead, and they were presently coasting along it again with
the wind free, for they were now running but little to the
west of north. Thirty miles farther there was another
break in the coast.

“That was a first-rate map I made the. tracing from,”
Godfrey said; “the coast-line is most accurately marked.
Now we have another run of about the same distance as the
last, then there is about fifty miles almost due north, then
we shall be round this other Cape.”

They made the passage safely across, although it took
them longer than the first, for the wind dropped lighter, and
they had both to use their paddles.

“We have just done it in time, Luka, and that is all. If
we had been half an hour later there would be nothing for
it but to anchor. Look at that white cloud on the water;
that is a fog; we are only just in time. Iam heading for
COASTING. 285

that cove. Paddle hard, Luka, or it will be on us now before
we get there.”

They had just entered the cove, which was forty or fifty
feet wide, and ran as many yards into the land, when the
fog rolled over them.

“Tt is like a wet blanket,” Godfrey said; “it is thirty or
forty degrees colder than it was a minute back. Paddle very
slowly and carefully now, Luka, and dip your paddle deeply
in. I want to go as far up this ereck as I can; but I don’t
want to run ashore.”

Very gently they paddled on until Godfrey felt the ground
at a depth of about three feet. ‘That-will do nicely,” he
said. ‘ Now I will drop the anchor over.”

The anchor was one of Ostjak manufacture. It consisted
of a long, flat, narrow stone weighing about six pounds; to
each of the flat sides were lashed two pieces of fir, about an
mech and a half in diameter. They projected a few inches
below the stone, and were cut off just below a branch of
about an inch in diameter and eight or ten inches long.
These branches, when growing, bent downwards and nen
at an angle closely resembling that of the fluke of an anchor
with the upright. The nile therefore, was an excellent
imitation of an anchor with four flukes, two on each side,
the stone serving as a weight. This was thrown out of the
bow of the canoe, and a couple of fathoms of line let out.
Then Godfrey hauled up the larger boat and fastened it
alongside. They could just make out the outline of the
shore about fifteen feet on either side of them.

‘We must take to our fur jackets again, Luka; my teeth
are chattering, and after working as hard as we have been
doing for ihe last three or four hours it won’t do to get a
chill, I am as hungry as a hunter; we had breakfast at
five o’clock by my watch, and it is bare now.”

Luka soon lit the fire in the boat. The provisions in the
286 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

canoe had been finished two days before, as they had been
obliged to throw overboard what they had not eaten owing
to its having become unfit for use. The food, however,
wrapped up in furs in the boat was still solidly frozen. They
cut a couple of fish out of the mass and placed them in the
frying-pan; stuck a wooden skewer through some pieces of
bear’s meat and held them in the flame, and hung the bear’s
hams, as they did each time they cooked, in the smoke of
the fire.

‘We must try to get some more fish next time we set
sail, Luka. I am sure we passed through several shoals of
fish by the swirling of the water.”

It was thirty-six hours before the fog cleared off, swept
away by a south-westerly wind. As they had nothing to do
but to eat and sleep during this time, they got up their
anchor and hoisted their sail the moment the fog cleared off,
and in eighteen hours reached the sharp point of the Cape.
Rounding this, Godfrey said:

“Now, Luka, we are at the mouth of the Gulf of Obi
It is nearly two hundred miles, according to this map, to the
opposite side, and we daren’t try to make that; besides,
the wind has been getting more to the west and would be
right in our teeth, for you see by this tracing the opposite
point of land is a good bit to the south of west. There is
nothing for it but for us to keep along this shore for some-
thing like a hundred and fifty miles. We can lay our course
well with this wind. The gulf won’t be more than eighty
miles wide there, and we can strike across and coast down
the opposite bank. It seems a long way round, but we shall
do it as quickly as we should beating right across in the
teeth of this wind. I doubt if we could do that at all with
this craft behind us.”

Fortunately the wind was not high, or they could not
have ventured out, as a heavy swell would have set in from
COASTING. 287

the other side of the gulf. They kept their course within
half a mile of the shore.

“What are those black things:on that low point?” God-
frey asked. “I can hear them barking. They must be
tremendously big dogs, if they are dogs.”

“They are seals,” Luka said; “they go right up the rivers
in summer, and the Samoyedes and Yuruks kill great
numbers on the coast. They eat the flesh and sell the teeth
for ivory.” .

“Well, we don’t want them at present,” Godfrey said;
“but if we fall short of food we will see whether we can
kill some. At present the great thing is to get on.”

Night and day the canoe kept on her way. Except when
Godfrey was asleep Luka did not steer, for he did not
like the management of the sail, especially now that the
boat at times heeled over a great deal with the beam wind.
He himself took his sleep by. fits and starts two or three
hours at a time, and except when cooking, paddled away
assiduously. Twice Godfrey was lucky enough to bring
down some ducks when a flock swept past the boat within
shot. They had, too, a supply of fresh fish, for Godfrey now
always had two lines out towing astern, with some white
geese feathers fastened to the hooks as bait. Ordinarily
they caught nothing, but they passed through several large
shoals of fish, and at these times they pulled them out as
fast as they could haul in and let go the lines, sometimes
bringing in three or four at a time, as there were six hooks
on each line. These fish were herrings, and they formed a
welcome change. Luka had never seen one before, for
although they penetrate for some distance up the great rivers,
they never ascend to the upper waters. Jack, too, benefited
greatly, for of late he had been kept on somewhat short
rations, as they had now been reduced to the four half-cured
bear’s hams and a comparatively small stock of frozen food.
288 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

On the fifth day after rounding the cape the wind, which
had been gradually getting lighter, dropped altogether, and
for the next two days both of them worked steadily with
their paddles.

“We must have made a good two hundred miles,” God-
frey said; “and we could safely venture to strike across in
such quiet weather as this, but there is a river marked on
the chart as coming in somewhere here, and I want to find
itifI can. There is water enough for another week, but it
begins to taste horribly of skin, and besides that it has a
considerable mixture of ashes. I am sure we must be very
close to it; indeed, according to my calculation of two hun-
dred miles, we ought to have passed it already. Anyhow,
we will keep on until we get there.”

Godfrey was not far out, for late in the day they saw an
opening of some fifty yards wide in the bank. They at once
made for it, and entering it, paddled along as near the bank
as they could go to avoid the current. Godfrey tasted the
water from time to time, and after paddling for two hours
pronounced it perfectly sweet.

“We will land here, Luka. I am sure we both want to
stretch our limbs a bit and have a rest. Look about for a
good place to land; the banks are too steep to be able to get
the big canoe up, but we can carry the other—it is light
enough now.”

They presently found a place where a portion of the bank
had fallen in and left a gap. Here they landed, moored the
large canoe to the shore and carried the other up the bank.
An exclamation of pleasure broke from Godfrey at the wide
expanse of bright green dotted with flowers. Jack was
exuberant in his delight, circling round and round like a
wild thing, barking loudly and occasionally throwing himself
down to roll. The two paddles were driven firmly into the
ground, the sail unlaced from the yard, which was lashed to
COASTING, 289

the paddles as a ridge-pole, over which the sail was thrown.
The furs were taken out of the boat and spread in the tent.

‘We will have a cup of tea, Luka, and then turn in for
twelve hours’ sleep. I am sure we deserve it.”

After a long rest they woke thoroughly refreshed; then,
while Luka was lighting a fire, Godfrey went down to the
river, stripped, and had a short swim, the water being too
cold to permit his stopping more than two or three minutes
in it. When they had had breakfast he said:

“Now, Luka, do you go down to the boat, take the fire-
wood out, and then sluice the boat thoroughly with water
and get it perfectly clean. By the time you have done that
I shall be back, and we will then lift her out of the water
and turn her bottom upwards to dry thoroughly. Then we
will melt down some of that bear fat we saved and give her
a thorough rubbing with it. But we will leave that job until
to-morrow ; it will take four-and-twenty hours for her to dry.
Tam going out with my gun to see what I can shoot. The
whole place seems full of birds, though they are mostly small
ones; still I might come across something better. You had
better keep Jack with you.”

Godfrey’s expedition was not a very successful one. He
brought back four grouse and a dozen small birds, which he
had killed with a single shot, firing into the thick of a flock
that flew by overhead. The grouse were roasted for dinner,
and Godfrey found to his satisfaction that Luka had baked
a pile of cakes, this being the first time they had tasted
bread for a fortnight, as it demanded more time and atten-
tion than they could spare to it in the boat. Luka told
him that several flights of black duck had passed up the
river while he had been at work at the boat, and volunteered
to grease the boat next day if Godfrey would try to get a
shot at them.

“Tt will be of no use my trying to shoot them on the
(731) T
290 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

river,” Godfrey said, “as I should have no means of pick-
ing them up; and I can tell you I found the water too cold
this morning to care about stripping and swimming out for
them. I will have another try on the plain. I saw four or
five deer to-day, but only the first passed within shot, and
as I had not a bullet in the gun he got off without my
firing at him. I will try to-morrow if I can’t stalk one.”

Accordingly the next-day Godfrey set out. After an
hour’s walking he saw three deer. He worked round very
cautiously so as to get a clump of bushes between him and
them, and then crawled up to it and looked through. They
were a hundred and fifty yards away, and he had no confi-
dence in his gun at that distance. He stood for some time
thinking, and then remembered he had read that on the
American plains the deer were often decoyed into coming
close up to the hunter by working upon their curiosity. He
drew his ramrod out from his gun, put the cap he wore
—which was the fur one with tails—on to the end of it,
pushed this through the bushes, and began to wave it to
and fro. The deer caught sight of it immediately, and
stood staring at it for a minute or two, ready to bound
away should the strange object seem to threaten danger.
As nothing came of it, they began to move towards it
slowly and with hesitation, until they gathered in a group at
a distance of not more than fifty yards.

Godfrey, while waving the cap with one hand, was hold-
ing his gun in readiness with the other. Feeling sure that
he could not miss the mark now, he gently lowered the cap
and raised his gun to his shoulder. Slight as was the move-
ment it startled the deer; but as they turned to fly he fired
both barrels at the shoulder of the one nearest to him, and
had the satisfaction of seeing it fall, while its companions
dashed away over the plain. He ran up to the fallen animal
and found that it was already dead, both bullets having
COASTING. 291

struck it in the region of the heart. He proceeded to cut off
the head and the lower part of the legs, opened and cleaned
it, and was then able to lift it on to his shoulder. As he
neared the tent Jack came tearing along to meet him with
loud barks of welcome.

“Yes, I have got food for you for some time, Jack, though
it does not seem to me that you do much toarn it.”

Luka was at work greasing the boat. Godfrey called him
up on to the bank. ‘ ,

“We must try and do something to preserve the meat,
Luka.”

“Shall we rub it with salt, Godfrey?”

“We can spare some salt, but not much. It would never
do to be left without that. We can do well enough without
bread, but we can’t do without salt,”

“Smoke it well,” Luka said.

“We might try that, but I am afraid those hams are
beginning to go.”

‘‘Not smoke enough, Godfrey.”

“No, I suppose not.”

“They must have plenty, lots of smoke.”

“Well, there is plenty of wood to make smoke with.”

“We must keep it close,” Luka said. “We ought to
smoke it for two days.”

“We can keep it close enough by cutting some poles and
making a circular tent with the sail. It will spoil its white-
ness, but that is of no great consequence. You had better
leave the boat for the present, Luka, and come with me and
cut poles and boughs for the fire.”

Taking hatchets they started out and presently cut eight
poles ten feet long. z

“Now which is the best wood for smoking it with?”

“Pine makes the best smoke next to oak.”

“There are plenty of stunted pines about, and I should
292 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

think some of this aromatic shrub with it would be good.
I will make up two big bundles of that, and we will take
them and the poles back first; then we will cut some pine
boughs.”

As all these were obtained within a few hundred yards
of the camp, they had soon materials for their fire. The
poles were then stuck in a circle and lashed together at the
top, the sail taken down and wrapped round it. It was not
large enough, but by adding the storm-sail and the hide of
the deer the covering was made complete. Then a number
of sticks were tied from pole to pole across it. The deer
flesh was then cut up into strips of about a foot long, three
or four inches wide, and half an inch thick; and these were
hung over the sticks until the whole of the deer was so
disposed of. The three remaining bear’s hams were also
hung up, and a fire of the pine-wood was then with some
difficulty lighted and some of the sweet-smelling shrub laid
on it. Godfrey, who had undertaken this part of the busi-
ness while Luka went back to the boat, crawled out from
the tent almost blinded.

“By Jove!” he said as he closed the aperture, “‘if it is as
bad as that now that it is only just lighted, the meat ought
to be smoked as dry as a chip by to-morrow.”

Godfrey had nothing to do now but to watch the smoke
rising from the opening at the top of the tent, opening
the entrance a little whenever it slackened, drawing the
sticks together with the iron ramrod, and throwing on a
fresh armful of the fuel. Having finished greasing the boat,
Luka did the same to the canoe. They spent the next
twenty-four hours in alternately sleeping, collecting drift-
wood on the river-bank, and attending to the fire, which had
to be watched carefully, and some dry splinters added from
time to time to get the green wood to keep alight. Every
hour or two a piece of meat was taken out and examined,
COASTING, 293

and. in thirty hours from the time of lighting the fire Luka
pronounced that it was done. The strips had shrivelled
to half their former thickness and were almost black in
colour.

“They will give us plenty of work for our teeth, Luka,”
Godfrey said. “They look almost like shoe-leather, but per-
haps they will be better than they look. I once tasted some
smoked reindeer tongues—at least they called them reindeer
tongues, but I do not suppose they were—and they were
first-rate. Now there is nothing more to do; let us get
ready for another start.”

The sail was taken off and the poles chopped into five-—
feet lengths,

“We will lay them in the bottom of the boat, Luka, four
longways and four crossways. As there are sixteen of them,
that will make the top line five or six inches above the
floor. Then we will lay our firewood on them. In that
way it won’t get wet with the water, and, what is quite as
important, it won’t dirty the water.”

This was done. The flour and deer’s flesh were stowed
on similar platforms fore and aft of the firewood and covered
with skins. Some twelve buckets of water were then baled
in. What remained of the frozen provisions was inspected;
but it was agreed that as it had already melted a good deal,
it would not be eatable much longer, and as they had food
enough to last for some time, it was of no use keeping it.
It was therefore broken up, Jack was allowed to eat as
much as he wanted, and the rest was left. When everything
was packed the canoe was carried down and placed in the
water, and they took their places; Jack jumped on board,
and a fresh start was made.

As soon as they emerged from the small river, they struck
out straight from the land. The wind was light and from
the north, and both took their paddles. Their four days’
294 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

rest had done them good, and the canoe, under the influence
of sail and oar, went fast through the water.

“Twenty-four hours ought to take us across,” Godfrey
said. “The gulf looks from eighty to ninety miles across
at the point where the river runs into it. We must head
rather to the south, for there is sure to be a current out in
the middle, as the Obi is a big river.”

It was, however, thirty hours before they reached the
opposite shore—Godfrey accounting for the difference on
the supposition that the stream must have been a good deal
stronger than they expected, and must have drifted them
down a long way. ‘They found, indeed, that even inshore
they were passing the land at a rate of nearly two miles
an hour.

“That is all the better, Luka, for with this north wind
our sail will be no good to us. We may as well get it down
at once and stow it. The shores are muddy, I see; so we
shall not hurt the canoe if we should drift up against it.
That is a comfort, for we can both go to sleep. I am sure,
after thirty hours’ paddling with only two or three long
easies, we deserve a rest. First of all we must have a meal.
One does not know whether to call it dinner or supper when
there is no night and we sleep just when we are tired.”

They had caught eight or ten fish as they came across,
passing through a great shoal of herrings. In half an hour
the kettle was boiling over the fire, the fish were hissing
and crackling in the frying-pan over it, and a strip of
deer’s flesh, with the ramrod run through it, was frizzling.
It was pronounced excellent. There was a slight aromatic
bitterness that gave a zest and flavour to it, and the flesh
inside was by no means so tough as Godfrey had expected
to find it. When all three of the voyagers had satisfied
their hunger, the brands were as usual extinguished, the
embers thrown overboard; then returning to the canoe,
COASTING. 295

they lay down, and were in a very few minutes fast asleep.
They slept for six hours, and when they woke the land was
no longer in sight.

“Tt is lucky there is no fog,” Godfrey said, “and that we
have the sun to act as a compass. We can’t be many miles
out. We won't make straight for shore, Luka; we will
head about north-west, so as to edge in gradually. There
must be a good deal of current here, and it will be helping
us along.”

In an hour the low line of coast was visible, and they then
headed still more to the north.

“There must be a good three-mile-an-hour current here,”
Godfrey observed presently. “Weare going along first-rate
past the shore. It took us over five days to come up. At
this rate we shall go down in two.”

They paddled steadily for twelve hours, stopping once
only to cook a meal. Then they went close inshore again,
had supper, and slept. When they woke they found they
were still within a mile of the shore, and the current was
now taking them along no more than a mile an hour.

“The gulf must be wide here, Luka. I don’t think we
should gain anything by going out four or five miles farther,
so we will keep about as we are. We ought to be at the
point by the end of to-day’s work. We were two hundred
miles up. I expect we drifted down five-and-twenty miles
in crossing, and we must have passed the land at a good
five miles an hour yesterday; so that we ought not to be
more than thirty or forty miles from the point, for this
peninsula does not go as far north as the other by twenty
or thirty miles.”

After eight hours’ paddling they found themselves at the
mouth of a deep bay.

“That is all right,” Godfrey said, examining his tracing.
“That land on the farther side of the bay is the northern
296 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

point of the gulf. We will paddle across there and anchor
by the shore for to-night. To-morrow we shall have a long
paddle, for it is seventy or eighty miles nearly due west to
a sheltered bay that lies just this side of Cape Golovina.
Once round that, we have nearly four hundred miles to go
nearly due south into Kara Bay. This long tongue of land
we are working round is called the Yamal Peninsula. Once
fairly down into Kara Bay, we shall leave Siberia behind
us, and the land will be Russia.”

They struck across the bay, and landed under shelter of
the cape. The land was higher here than any they had
before met; and after their sleep Godfrey took his gun, accom-
panied by Jack, and ascended the hill.

“It is rum,” he said to himself, as he gazed over the wide
expanse of sea to the north, “that this should be one sheet
of ice in the winter. I do not like the look of those clouds
away to the north. I think we are going to have either a
fog or a gale. We won’t make a move till we see. This
coast seems rocky, and it won’t do to make along it unless we
have settled weather.”

He returned and told Luka, and then wandered away
again, as he had seen that birds were very plentiful, and he
returned in three hours to the boat with a dozen grouse, six
ptarmigan, and a capercailzie. Godfrey was now a good
shot, and the birds, never having been disturbed by the
approach of man, were so tame that he had no difficulty
whatever in making a bag. As he went down to the boat
he congratulated himself that they had not made a start, for
the sky was now overcast, and the wind was already blow-
ing strongly.

“We will have some bread to-day, Luka. These birds
deserve something to eat with them, and our flour is hold-
ing out well. We have not eaten above twenty pounds
since we started. I wish we had some yeast or something
COASTING. 297

to make it rise. By the by I have an idea. Don’t mix that
till I come back, Luka.”

Here, as when he landed on the Yenesei, he had seen
numbers of rough nests on the ground, the birds being so
tame that they often did not fly off even when he passed
quite close to them. He returned to a spot where he had
seen these nests quite thick, and had no difficulty in col-
lecting a large number of little eggs of a great variety of
colour. :

“T expect about two out of every three are bad,” he said.
“We shall have to break them singly to find out the good
ones. Fancy making a cake of sparrows’ eggs!”

Upon breaking them he found that not more than one in
five was good. Still there were quite enough for the pur-
pose. The frying-pan was used as a basin, and in this he
made a sort of batter of eggs and flour. By the time he had
done this four of the grouse were nearly roasted. He poured
the batter into the empty kettle, melted some deer’s fat in
the pan, and then poured in the batter again. Then he
washed out and filled the kettle, and placed it upon the fire.

“‘Now, by the time the water is boiling, Luka, the batter
and the grouse will be cooked. That is what we call a
Yorkshire pudding at home; it will go splendidly with the
birds.”

The pudding turned out really good, and they enjoyed
the meal immensely, Jack having the bones of the four birds
for his share, together with the solitary fish they had caught
the day before. By the time they had finished they were
glad to get up their tent, which they pitched with the
entrance close to the fire, for even in the sheltered spot
where they were fierce gusts of cold wind swept down upon
them. The canvas of the tent was fastened down by heavy
stones placed upon it, the furs brought in, and everything
made snug. For three days the storm raged.
298 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“Tt is a nuisance losing so much time,” Godfrey said.
“It was somewhere about the middle of June when we
started, and there are only three months of open weather here.
Every day is of importance. I sha’n’t so much mind when
we get to the mouth of the Petchora, for I heard from one
of the Russians in the prison that canoes often go as far as
that from Archangel to trade, so I shall feel when I get
there that we are getting into civilized regions. It is about
four hundred miles from Kara Bay, so that we have a good
eight hundred miles to travel before we get there. We can
certainly paddle forty miles a day by sticking to it steadily;
but allowing for another stoppage of four days, and we can’t
allow less than that, that will be a fortnight. How long have
we been now, Luka? There is nothing to count time from.”

Luka shook his head.

“Well, it is somewhere above three weeks,” Godfrey went
on; ‘‘so that by the time we get to the mouth of the Pet-
chora, it will be the last week in July. That will give
us a couple of months; but I fancy we can’t count much on
the weather in September. Still, if the canoes go from
Archangel to Petchora and back, we ought to be able to do it
from Petchora, for the distance from there to Archangel is a
good deal less than from the mouth of the Yenesei to the
Petchora. There is one thing, if the weather gets very bad
on the way, or we get laid up by bad weather for a long
time on the way to Petchora, we can go up the river, I hear,
to a place called Ust Zlyma, and from there go overland to
Archangel. It is about two hundred or two hundred and
fifty miles across, and we could walk that in ten days, I
am quite sure that we should not be suspected of being
anything but what we look; and at Archangel there is sure
to be a British consul, and he would put us up to the best
plan of getting out of the country. However, there will be
plenty of time to see about that as we get on.”
COASTING. 299

The wind fell on the morning of the fourth day, but it
would be some hours before the sea would have gone down
sufficiently for them to make a start. Godfrey again went
out shooting, this time accompanied by Luka.

Godfrey was as fortunate as he had been before, shooting
three capercailzie and nineteen grouse; while Luka brought
down with his arrows four capercailzie, which he found sit-
ting on stunted trees. On their way back to the boat they
collected a great quantity of eggs, and came upon a rabbit
warren.

“Do not shoot,” Luka said, as Godfrey cocked his gun,
“it will frighten them all into their holes. If you will go
on with the dog, I will lie down here and will bring you as
many rabbits as I can carry.”

Two hours later he came down to the tent with two dozen
rabbits he had shot. After cooking two of them, and giving
one to Jack as his share, they packed up all their belongings
and again took to the canoe. They used their paddles until
round the cape, and then heading westward hoisted their sail,
for what wind there was was still from the north, and the
help it afforded was sufficient greatly to reduce the labour of
paddling. They kept steadily on, one or other taking occa-
sional snatches of sleep. But with this exception, and that
of the time spent by Luka in cooking, they continued to
paddle until, forty hours after starting, they reached Cape
Golovina, passing between it and Beloc Island. They did
not make the halt they had intended under shelter of the
cape, for the weather was fine, and Godfrey wanted to take
advantage of the north wind as long as it lasted. Once
round the cape they headed nearly due south, and the wind
freshening a little, drove them along merrily, and they were
able to cease paddling, and to take a fair proportion of sleep
alternately.

Luka was now getting more accustomed to the manage-
300 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

ment of the sail, and no longer feared an occasional jibe,
and night and day—if it could be called night when the
sun never set—they continued their voyage along the coast
of the Yamal Peninsula. At the end of the fourth day the
wind freshened so much that the large sail was taken down
and the leg-of-mutton sail substituted for it; but as the
wind continued to rise, and the sea to get up fast, Godfrey
began to look out for some spot into which to run for shelter.
The coast was very indented and broken, and in two hours
they passed the mouth of a deep bay into which the boat
was at once directed, and was presently moored under the
shelter of its northern bank.

‘She is a splendid sea-boat,” Godfrey said. “If it wasn’t
for the boat in tow I should not mind what weather I was
out in her.”

Their stay was of short duration, for in a few hours the
wind sank again. “I don’t think it is done yet,” Godfrey
said when they were beyond the shelter of the bay. “TI fancy
it will blow up again presently; still we may as well push on.
I think it is rather more from the east than it was.”

For the next twenty-four hours, however, there was no
very marked change in the force of the wind, but it had
now veered round to the north-east.

“We are getting well down now,” Godfrey said. “We
have been sailing for five days, and we have certainly been
running a good three miles an hour from the time we rounded
the cape. So we are three hundred and fifty miles down.
I should say we must be entering Kara Bay.” ~

“Very bad weather coming,” Luka said looking back.

Godfrey turned round. A heavy black cloud was sweep-
ing up with a misty line below it.

“By Jove, you are right; that is a big squall and no mis-
take. There is no bay to run to here, Luka, and we could
not get there in time if there was. We must do as I talked
COASTING. 301

about. Quick, lower the sail down, there is not a moment
to lose. No; wait until I bring her up head to the wind.
Now, then, down with it. Now unstep the mast, lash that
and the boom, the other sail, and its spar together; that is
the way.” And with their joint efforts the work was accom-
plished in a couple of minutes. ‘Now, then, fasten this
rope to your end, Luka; I will tie the other end to mine.
That is right. It is long enough to make a good big angle.
Now fasten the head-rope to the middle; be sure it is put in
the middle, Luka. That is right. Now, launch it overboard.”

The work was done as quickly as it is described, and in
three minutes from the time the mast was lowered the canoe
was riding to the floating anchor.

“Now then, Luka, on with the apron.”

“Shall we sit up?”

“No; we will lie down, cover up the holes, and lash them
carefully when we are in. It is going to be a drencher, and
it is of no use our getting wet through to begin with, We
could not do anything with the paddles.”

They had scarcely made themselves snug when, with a
roar, a deluge of rain fell on the deck and cover, and a moment
later even this sound was partly deadened by the howl of
the wind. Although their heads were close together, God-
frey felt that it would be utterly useless to make any remark.
He felt under no uneasiness, for, with their weight well down
and anchored head to sea, he felt sure that the light canoe
would ride over anything like a cork bottle. The motion
of the boat rapidly increased, but she herself rode lightly
over the waves. As these increased the jerking of the boat
behind at her rope became more and more violent, and the
canoe quivered from end to end with the shocks.

“This will- never do,” Godfrey said to himself. “The
boat will pull the stern out of her. It will be an awful loss
to cut her adrift, but it can’t be helped.”
302 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST

He unlashed the fastenings of the cover of the circular
hole above him, reached his hand forward and got hold of
Luka’s paddle, and passed it with his own out through the
hole. Then he sat up himself. Confident as he felt in the
canoe, he was almost frightened at the wild aspect of the
sea. The wind was literally howling, driving the rain before
it with a force that stung Godfrey’s neck as it struck it,
He got out a strip of deer-skin lashing, of which there was
a supply always close at hand under the deck, lashed the
paddles together, and then, leaning aft, lashed them at the
centre firmly to the tow-rope. Then with some difficulty he
got out his knife and cut the rope close to its fastening; the
paddles flew overboard, and the boat drifted rapidly astern,
the drag of the paddles being, as Godfrey observed with
satisfaction, sufficient to keep her head to wind. Then he
wriggled himself down underneath the apron again and
lashed down the cover of the hole.

CHAPTER XVI
A SAMOYEDE ENCAMPMENT.

ies action of the canoe was altogether changed as soon

as it was released from the strain of the boat behind.
There was no more tugging and jarring, but she rose and
fell on the waves almost imperceptibly.

“Well, Jack, old fellow, what do you think of it?” Godfrey
said to the dog as it nestled up close to him. “Here we are
now, out in a regular storm. It is lucky we have plenty of
sea-room, Jack. I reckon it is seventy or eighty miles across
to the other side of the gulf, and I don’t suppose she can
drag those spars through the water much more than a mile
A SAMOYEDE ENCAMPMENT. 303

an hour. So we have plenty of time before us. We must
both put away as much time in sleep as we can. We have
lost almost all our provisions, old boy, and our water, which
was of still more consequence. It is very lucky I always
made arule of having the kettle filled and put on board
here after each meal and of keeping a dozen pounds of
meat here, I thought we might be obliged to cast the boat
adrift suddenly. Well, if we have luck, we may find it
again. We shall both drift in the same line, and there is no
reason why she shouldn’t live through it. The stock of fire-
wood has gone down, and she has not got above a couple of
hundred pounds’ weight in her altogether. I am afraid she
will take enough salt water on board to spoil our supply of
fresh, but I think we are drifting pretty straight for the
Kara River. I calculated that it lay dead to leeward of us
when the wind went to the north-west.”

It was a considerable time before Godfrey went off to
sleep owing to the rapid changes of the angle at which he
was lying. Sometimes his head was two or three feet higher
than his feet, and directly afterwards the position was
exactly reversed. The rolling was but slight, and this he
scarcely felt, being too tightly packed in along with the furs
and the dog to move much. But at last the noise of the
water and the roar of the wind lulled him to sleep. He
woke once, and then went off again, and his watch told him
that he had been altogether asleep twelve hours. When he
next woke, he felt at once that the motion was slighter than
it had been and that the wind had greatly abated.

“Are you asleep, Luka?” he shouted.

“T am not asleep now,” Luka replied drowsily.

“The storm is pretty nearly over; I will get the cover off
and look round, and then we will see if we can’t boil some
water and have some tea. We have never used any of those
candles yet; this will be a good opportunity to try them.”
304 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

Unlashing and removing the cover, Godfrey sat up and
looked round. The gale had broken. Black clouds were
hurrying past overhead, but there were patches of blue sky.
The sea was still very heavy, but it was rarely that the
canoe dipped her nose under a wave, so lightly did she rise
and fall over them.’

“Tn a few hours we shall have our sail up again, Luka,”
he said as the Tartar thrust his head up through his open-
ing. It was but fora moment. He instantly dived under
again and replaced the cover, appalled at the sea, which was
infinitely rougher than anything he had ever before wit-
nessed,

“It looks pretty bad, doesn’t it?” Godfrey said, laughing,
as he, too, resumed his position of shelter.

“Tt is terrible,” Luka said.

“T expect it has been worse. At any rate, as you can see
we have got through it without taking a drop of water on
board, thanks to the floating anchor. Now I will pass the
kettle forward to you. Be very careful with it, for it is all
the water we have.”

“All the water! Why, what has become of the boat?”
Luka exclaimed.

“I had to cut her adrift half an hour after the squall
struck us. Did not you hear me look out when I took your
paddle?”

“T felt you take the paddle, but there was too much noise
to hear anything, and I was too frightened to listen. I
thought that surely we should go to the bottom. Why did
you cut her loose?” ;

“Because she was tugging so hard. She would have
pulled us to pieces, and it was better to let her go than to
risk that. She will have drifted the same way we have
done, only she will have gone three times as fast, for she
was a good deal higher out of water, and the paddles which
A SAMOYEDE ENCAMPMENT, 305

I fastened on to her head-rope won’t have anything like
the hold on the water that our spars have. We will keep
in the same direction when we get our sails up, and if she
has lived throuch it we shall very likely find her ashore
somewhere along the coast. Now be sure you lash that
kettle securely to the deck-beam, Luka. Put it as near
one side as you can get it, then there will be room for you
to lie alongside and watch it. But stop! Before you fasten
it pour out half a mugful of water for Jack. He doesn’t
like tea, and there will be nothing but tea for him after we
have once made it.”

The candle was lighted and fixed under the kettle, but
the four wicks gave out such an odour that Godfrey was
glad to sit up again and remain outside, until a nudge from
Luka told him that the tea was ready. They ate with it
some slices of raw bear’s ham. Luka offered to cook it, but
Godfrey had had the candle put out the moment he got
under the cover and would not hear of its being lighted
again.

“Tt is not at all bad raw,” he said. “ They eat raw ham
in Germany, and that last smoking it got was almost as
good as cooking it. I expect the sea will have gone down
in a few hours, and then we can have a regular meal; but
if you were to light that smelly thing again now it would
make me ill. Now, Jack, I will light my pipe and look
out again, and you shall come out too for a breath of fresh
air. I will hold you tight and see that you don’t go over.”

In twelve hours the sea had almost gone down. The
floating anchor was hauled up and unlashed, the masts were
stepped, the large sail hoisted, and, free from the dead weight
that had hitherto checked her speed, the little craft sped
along gaily before the gentle wind, Godfrey keeping her as
near as possible dead before it, on the chance that they

might catch sight of the boat.
(781) u
306 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“Tf we drifted a mile an hour and she drifted three,” he
said, “she would have gained four-and-twenty miles while
we were asleep, and perhaps since then she has been gaining
a mile an hour; so she is from thirty-five to forty miles
ahead of us, and must be quite half-way across the gulf.
Anyhow, we need not begin to look out yet; we are going
about four knots an hour, I should think, and I don’t
suppose she is going more than one. In about ten hours
we must begin to look about for her.”

Before the end of that time the sea had gone quite down,
and the wind had fallen so light that Godfrey thought they
were scarce making three knots an hour. “I hope it won’t
fall altogether,” he said, “for as we have no paddles it
would be awkward for us.”

“Two of the bottom boards will do for paddles.”

“Yes, I know that, Luka, I am steering with one of
them; but they would do very little good, for they are so
thin that they would break off directly we put any strength
on to them.”

Godfrey occasionally stood up and looked round, but
could see no signs of the boat, and indeed could hardly have
done so unless he had passed within a couple of miles at
most of her.

“The wind may have changed a little,” he said, “though
I don’t think it has done so. Anyhow, I will head a little
more to the south, so as to be sure that we shall strike the
shore to the east both of the Kara River and the point she
is likely to drift to.”

Four hours later they made out land ahead of them, some
six miles away as they guessed, and holding on reached it
in two hours and a half’s time. They stepped out as soon
as they got into shallow water, carried the canoe ashore,
drank a mug of cold tea and ate some raw meat, and
then lay down for a long sleep. When they woke they
A SAMOYEDE ENCAMPMENT, 307

collected some drift-wood and lighting a fire, cooked some
meat.

“What are you going to do, Godfrey?” Luka asked.
“Are you going to set out at once to look for the boat?”

“No, we had better wait for a few hours. She may not
have drifted to the shore yet, though I do not think she
can be far off; still it is as well to give her plenty of time.
At any rate we can shoot some birds, so the time won’t
be lost.” ;

Having made a fair bag and been absent from the canoe
for five hours they returned, and after cutting up a caper-
cailzie and grilling it over the fire, they got the boat into the
water and started.

They had sailed about eight miles to the west when Luka
exclaimed, “There is something there by the shore close to
that point. It may be the boat; it may be a rock.”

It was another quarter of an hour before Godfrey was
able to assure himself that it was really the boat. “Thank
God for that, Luka!” he exclaimed. “We have reason to
thank Him for a great many things. I do so every hour,
and I hope you do so too. But finding the boat again safe
Seems to me the greatest blessing we have had yet; I don’t
know what we should have done without it.”

Another quarter of an hour brought them to the point.
The boat lay just afloat, bumping on the sand as each little
wave lifted and left her, They sprang out of the canoe into
shallow water and threw out the anchor, and then waded to
the boat. She had about four inches of water in her, but
was entirely uninjured.

“Hurrah!” Godfrey shouted, “she is as good as ever.
Now, Luka, get everything out of her as soon as you can,
then we can turn her over and empty her, put the things
in again, and be off at once. We have got no time to lose,
for you must remember there is not much more than a quart
308 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

of cold tea left in the kettle. JI am sure the Kara River
can’t be very far off, but I can’t say whether it is three
miles or thirty.”

In half an hour they were again afloat and working their
paddles to assist the sail. Two hours later Luka said,
“Huts on that point ahead of us.”

“So there are,” Godfrey said. ‘Six or eight of them
and a lot of cattle.”

“Reindeer!” Luka corrected. ‘‘Samoyede village.”

“Why, there must be hundreds of them,” Godfrey said
in surprise.

“Yes, the Ostjaks told me in our old camp that many of
the Samoyedes had five hundred, and some of them a thou-
sand reindeer. They keep them just as we do cattle. - Their
wealth is counted by their reindeer. They make their
clothes of its skin; its milk and flesh are their chief food.
It draws their sledges, and when they want money they can
sell some of them.”

“Did you ask how much they can be sold for?”

“Yes, the Ostjaks said that they were worth here two or
three roubles each.”

“Then if there are many of these encampments along the
shore, Luka, we need not trouble about food; and if any-
thing happens to our boat we can make a couple of sledges,
buy four reindeer, and start by land.”

“Then we should have to wait until winter,’ Luka
said.

“Yes, that would be a nuisance; but it would not he so
very long to wait. I had no idea reindeer were so cheap.
If I had I think instead of spending the winter hunting
I would have bought some reindeer and started to drive.
Still it would have been a terrible journey, and perhaps we
have done better as it is. Well, shall we land? What do
you think?”
A SAMOYEDE ENCAMPMENT. 309

“We don’t want anything,” Luka said. “The Samoyedes
are generally friendly. They are not like the Tunguses and
Yuraks. But you see there are but two of us, and we have
hatchets and knives and other things they value. If we
wanted anything I should say let us land, but as we don’t
it would be better to go on.”

“You are right, Luka. I don’t suppose there would be
any risk of being robbed; still it is just as well not to run
even the smallest chance of trouble when everything is going
on so well.”

On passing the point on which the encampment was
situated they saw a wide opening. “The Kara!” Godfrey
exclaimed joyously. ‘ We will cross to the other side, and
coast up on that shore till the water becomes fresh.”

It required four hours’ sailing and paddling before they
got beyond the influence of the sea, then they landed, shot
and hunted for a couple of days, took in a fresh supply of
water, and started again.

““We have passed the line of the Ural Mountains now,”
Godfrey said. “The Kara rises in that range. We may
almost consider ourselves in Russia.”

One morning Luka woke Godfrey soon after he had lain.
down for his turn of sleep.

“Fog coming,” he said.

Godfrey sat up and looked round. “That it is, Luka.
We must head for shore directly.” He seized his paddle,
but the fog cloud had drifted rapidly down upon them, and
before they were half-way to shore drifts of white cloud
floated past them on the water, and five minutes later they
were surrounded by a dense white wall, so thick that even
the canoe towing behind was invisible. They ceased
paddling.

“There is nothing to do but to wait,” Godfrey said.
“Get your fur coat on; it is bitterly cold. There is one
310 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

comfort, what wind there is is towards the shore, and we
shall drift that way.”

“T can’t feel any wind at all,” Luka said.

“No, it is very slight; but there must have been some to
bring this fog down from the north. We were not more
than half a mile from the shore when it closed in upon us.
lf we only drift fifty yards an hour we shall be there in
time. Let us have a cup of tea and then we will rig up the
cover and turnin. We have a lot of sleep to make up for.
There is one comfort, there is no chance of our being run
down.”

Godfrey saw by his watch when he woke that he had
been asleep for four hours, and he sat up and looked round.
The fog was as thick as before. The movement woke Luka,
and he too sat up.

“Listen, Luka!” Godfrey exclaimed as he was about to
speak. “TI heard a bird chirp.” The sound was repeated.
“It is over there,” Godfrey said. ‘Hurrah! we shall soon
be ashore,” and they seized their paddles.

After rowing for a minute or two they stopped and again
listened. “There it is again,” Godfrey said; “right ahead.
Paddle gently, Luka; we sha’n’t see the shore until we are
on it, and we must not risk running head on to a rock.”
Presently something dark appeared just in front of the
canoe. :

“Hold water!” Godfrey exclaimed, and as they stopped
her way the boat drifted quietly against a rock. They
brought her broadside to it and stepped out.

“That is a comfort. The fog can last for a week now.
Let us get the canoe ashore. We can moor the boat; the
water is as smooth as glass, and there is no risk whatever of
her damaging herself Bring an armful of firewood ashore,”
he went on as they laid the canoe down gently on a flat
rock. ‘TJ will look about for a place for the tent.”
A SAMOYEDE ENCAMPMENT. 311

“Do not go far or you will lose yourself.”

“T will take care of that. I won't go beyond speaking
distance.”

Godfrey soon found a patch of sand large enough for the
tent, and this was soon erected and a fire lit. Jack as usual
indulged in a wild scamper, but returned to Godfrey’s
whistle. “Don’t go too far, Jack, or you will be losing
your way too.”

The fog did not clear off for another forty-eight hours,
but when at the end of that time they looked out of their
tent the sky was clear and the birds were singing gaily.
The ground rose almost perpendicularly behind them to a
height of from twenty to thirty feet. It was rocky, with
some deep indentations.

“We will do some shooting, Luka; but as there may be
some natives near we will hide the canoe. It is no use
running any risks. We will stow the tent and get every-
thing packed before we start; and then we shall be able to
set out when we return.”

The canoe was packed and carried some fifty yards along
the shore, and then laid behind a great boulder that had
fallen at the mouth of a cleft in the rock.

“Shall we pull up the boat?” Luka asked.

“No, I don’t think that is worth while. There is nothing
there worth stealing. The natives have got plenty of fish
of their own, no doubt, and drift-vood too. Now let us
be off.”

The birds were scarcer than usual, and they wandered a
long distance before they had made up anything like their
usual bag.

“We have been eight hours out,” Godfrey said, looking
at his watch. “We may as well have a meal before we
start back. It will take us two or three hours to get to
the boat again. There will be no loss of time. It takes no
312 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

longer cooking here than it would there, and we may as
well carry the birds inside as out.”

They were engaged in eating their meal when Jack
suddenly gave an angry growl, and looking up they saw a
party of a dozen Samoyedes with bows and arrows at a
distance of fifty yards behind them. They sprang to their
feet. :

“Shall I shoot?” Luka asked.

“No, no, Luka, their intentions may be friendly. Be-
sides, though we might kill three or four of them they
would riddle us with arrows. We had best meet them as
friends.”

When the Samoyedes came up Luka gave them the
ordinary salutation of friendship.

“Where come from?” the man who seemed to be the
leader of the natives asked suspiciously.

“A long way from the east,” Luka said, pointing in that
direction.

“Who are you?”

“Ostjak,” Luka said, knowing that the Samoyedes would
have heard of that tribe, but would know nothing of his own.

‘““Who this?” the native asked, pointing to Godfrey.

“A friend of Ostjaks,” Luka said, “come to hunt and
shoot. I come with him.”

“This Samoyede country,” the native said ; “not want
Ostjaks here.”

“We do no harm,” Luka said. “We go west, far along,
not want Samoyede country. Buy milk of Samoyedes.
Good friends.”

The Samoyedes talked together, and then the leader said
“Come!” Without any appearance of hesitation Godfrey
and Luka set off with the natives. Their language, though
differing from that of the northern Ostjaks, was sufliciently
alike for them to be able to understand each other.
A SAMOYEDE ENCAMPMENT. 313

“Do you think they mean to be friendly?” Godfrey
asked in Russian.

“T don’t know,” Luka replied. ‘Perhaps not made up
their minds yet.”

“They are going down to the coast, that is a comfort,
Luka; they are going to the west of our boats. I suppose
they have an encampment there. I expect they heard my
gun and have been following us ata distance until they saw
us sit down.” "

“Must have seen them,” Luka said.

“Only one may have been following us, and may have
sent the others back to fetch up the rest from their tents.
Well, it does not matter now they have got us. If they ask
where we came from, as I expect they will, you had better
tell them, Luka, we came in a boat. They will guess it
without our telling, and will very likely look for it. It is
better to make no concealment.”

Two hours’ walking brought them to a little valley, in
the middle of which ran a small stream. They followed it
down for half a mile, and then at a sudden turn they saw
the sea in front of them, a cluster of ten Samoyede yourts
and a herd of reindeer feeding on the slope behind them.
A number of women and children and five or six old men
came out to look at them as they approached.

“Sit down and let us talk,” the leader said as they
reached the village, and set the example by seating himself
by a large fire. Godfrey and Luka at once did the same.

“The Ostjak and his friend have come very far,” he said.

“A long distance,” Luka replied. “We have travelled
many days and are going to the Petchora.”

“Have you reindeer? Did you walk all the way?”

‘“‘No, we have no reindeer; we came in a boat. You
will find it along the shore.”

“Flow far?”
314 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“ About an hour’s walk I should say.”

The Samoyede gave an order, and two of the men at
once left the circle, got into a canoe, and paddled away.

“The strangers will stay here for a day or two. We
have plenty of milk and fish.”

Luka nodded. “We are in no hurry to go on. We
have plenty of time to reach the Petchora before the winter
sets in.”

The Samoyede spoke to one of the women, and she set to
work to clear out one of the tents. The chief got up and
walked away, and the conference was evidently over. Three
hours later they saw the canoe reappear at the mouth of
the river with the boat towing behind it. The Samoyedes
gathered on the shore to examine it, evidently surprised at
its form and size, which differed entirely from their own,
which were little craft capable of holding two at most.
They tasted the water at the bottom of the boat and found
it to be fresh. The stove for cooking spoke for itself, and
as there was firewood, meat, flour, and some rough furs,
there seemed all that was necessary for a journey. When
they returned the chief asked Luka:

“Ts that Ostjak canoe?”

“Yes; but it is built much larger than our canoes gener-
ally are, as it was for long journey.”

Presently the women brought a large bowl of reindeer
milk and some fried fish. As they were eating, four of the
men who were standing behind suddenly threw themselves
upon Godfrey and Luka, while the others closed in, and in a
minute they were securely bound hand and foot. Godfrey
made no struggle, for he felt that it would be useless and
might result in his being shot or stabbed. The hatchets
and knives were taken from their belts, and they were then
carried to the tent and thrown down. Jack had fought
fiercely, biting several of the natives, until he was struck
A SAMOYEDE ENCAMPMENT. 315

with a spear in the shoulder by the chief, when he limped
off uttering piercing yells.

“What do you think they mean to do with us, “Luka?”
Godfrey asked. ‘Will they hand us over to the Russians,
do you think? Cowardly blackguards. I wish now we had
fought at first.”

“No, won’t hand us to Russians; too far off. They
don’t think of that; they have taken us for the sake of our
hatchets and knives and of your gun. Perhaps they will
keep us to work for them. Perhaps they will cut our
throats.”

“Tt is not a pleasant look-out either way. Still, if they
keep us, we are safe to get away before long; we must
hope for the best. I wonder they haven’t taken my ammu-
nition and the other things.”

“Not know about pockets,” Luka said. “They would
have taken them if they had.”

Two or three hours later the Samoyedes came in and
carefully examined the captives’ lashings. Their hands
were tied behind them with reindeer thongs, which were
so tightly bound that they almost cut into the skin, and
their feet were equally firmly lashed. In a few minutes
the sound of talk ceased and the camp became quiet.

“T suppose it is their bedtime,” Godfrey said. “If the
fools do not set a guard over us we shall soon be free.”

“How is that?” Luka asked.

“We will gnaw through one of the thongs, of course,
there can be no difficulty about that; we will give them an
hour to get to sleep and then we will set to work. What is
that? Ah, Jack, is it you?” as the dog crept in between
them with low whines. “Poor old chap, you did your best.
I can’t pat you now. Roll yourself to the door and look
out, Luka.”

“There are three of them sitting by a fire, but it will be
316 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

darker presently and they will not see us”—for although
it could scarcely be called night the sun now dipped for an
hour or two below the horizon at midnight.

“Well, see or not see, we will go, Luka. If we are to be
killed it shall be making a fight for it, and not having our
throats cut like sheep. Now, I think you are more accus-
tomed to chewing tough food than I am, so I will roll over
on my face, and do you set to work and bite through the
thong.”

Luka’s sharp teeth cut through the twisted hide in five
minutes. It was a quarter of an hour more before Godfruy’s
hands recovered their usual feeling. As soon as they were
efficient he unfastened the thongs round his companion’s
wrists and those round their feet.

“Now then, Luka, put your head out and see if you can
see my gun.”

“Gun sure to be in chief’s tent,” Luka said. He looked
out. “Can’t see gun. My bow and arrows are lying on
ground by chief’s tent.”

“Very well, then, you had better crawl round and fetch
them first, that will be something to begin a fight with
anyhow. Here, I will slit open the tent behind with my
knife, then you can crawl along past the others till you get
to the chief’s tent without those fellows at the fires seeing
you. I am more afraid of those beastly dogs giving the
alarm than of the men.”

Godfrey cut a slit with his pocket-knife in the reindeer-
skin covering, and then Luka crawled out. He lay flat on
his stomach and dragged himself along, looking, as Godfrey
thought, in the twilight, just like the seals he had seen
crawling over the rocks. He passed three of the yourts
and then turned off. In four or five minutes he reappeared
with his bow and quiver of arrows and two native spears.
He crawled back as carefully as he had gone.
A SAMOYEDE ENCAMPMENT. 317

“Give me the knife, Godfrey.”

Godfrey handed it to him, “You are not going to kill any-
one, Luka? If they attack us, of course we shall shoot them
down in self-defence, but I would not have anyone killed in
cold blood on any account.”

The Tartar shook his head. “I am not going to kill
anyone. I looked into the tent; the gun is leaning by the
side of the chief. Women and children are lying all round.
Couldn’t get in. I will cut a slit in skin and take gun.”

“Tt will be first-rate if you can manage that, Luka.
We can make a good fight of it if you can manage to get
the gun.”

Godfrey was able to watch Luka’s proceedings now. He
stopped behind the fourth tent, placed his ear against the
skin and listened intently. Then he inserted the blade in
the skin two feet above the ground and very quietly, with
a sawing motion, cut downwards. Then he began at the
top again and made a horizontal cut four or five inches long,
and then cut again down to the ground, removing the flap
of skin. He peered into the tent, then he inserted his arm,
a moment later he withdrew it with the gun, and then re-
turned to Godfrey. The latter’s first step was to charge
the gun, for he had fired two shots while Luka was cooking
the meal before they were surprised.

“Now, Luka, which do you think we had better do,
make for the canoes or go off on foot?”

“We want big canoe,” Luka said. ‘“Can’t well do with-
out it. We had better go to that.”

“T think so too,” Godfrey said. “If we can once get on
board we can beat them off. Of course there is more risk
of being discovered that way, but I think we had better
chance it.”

They kept along for some distance on the side of the hill,
and then, when about a hundred yards from the huts,
318 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

crawled down to the river, crept back along the bank until
they reached the boat, which was hauled up with the native
canoes on shore.

“How are we to get it down, Luka?” Godfrey whispered.
“Tf we stand up to carry it down those fellows by the fire,
who are not twenty yards away, must see us. If we try to
push it down we are safe to make a noise.”

“Wait a moment, give me knife again,” Luka said; and
having obtained it he went along the line of canoes, cutting
and slicing the skins from end to end. Then he returned
to Godfrey.

“They can’t follow now,” he said. “Once on board we
are safe.”

“I have been thinking, Luka, our best plan will be to lie
down one on each side, and to hoist her up as well as we
can, and move her forward inch by inch.”

Luka nodded, and they separated to carry out their plan,
when Jack decided the matter by leaping on board, and
sending the paddles with a rattle to the bottom of the boat,

“Jump up, Luka, and in with her.”

As they sprang up there was a shout from the three
natives by the fire, which was answered by the fierce bark-
ing of two or three score of dogs. After a moment’s hesita-
tion two of the natives rushed back to their yourts for their
bows, while the third, who happened to have his close at
hand, fitted an arrow and discharged it hastily. As they
were running the boat down it missed its mark, and before
he could shoot again the boat was in the water, and they
had sprang on board. The native ran down to the edge
with his bow bent, but Luka’s bow twanged and the man
fell back with an arrow through his body. They seized the
paddles and drove the boat twenty yards into the stream,
when the whole of the Samoyedes rushed down to the bank
and began to discharge their arrows.


GODFREY AND LUKA ESCAPING FROM THE SAMOYEDES.
A SAMOYEDE ENCAMPMENT. ; 319

“Tie flat down, Luka,” Godfrey said, setting the example,
“the stream will take us.”

There was a great jabber of voices on the bank.

“The chief is telling them to take to their canoes,” Luka:
said laughing. ‘You will hear some shouts directly. The
water won’t begin to come in through the slits till they put
their weight in the canoes.”

Godfrey lifted his head for a moment and saw five or six
of the natives on the bank abreast of him, standing in readi-
ness to shoot. Quickly as he withdrew it again two arrows
struck the boat within a few inches of the point where he
had looked over.

“Luka,” he said, “we must get a little further out; I am
afraid the stream might set us in towards the bank. I will
put my cap upon a piece of firewood and hoist it up. They
will shoot at it, and the moment they do we must both
spring up and give two or three strong strokes to take her
further out.”

Lying flat on his back at the bottom of the boat, Godfrey
raised his cap; almost instantaneously there were three or
four sharp taps on the side of the boat, and one arrow passed
through it but an inch above his chest. In a moment he
sat upright with a paddle in his hand, and a couple of sharp
strokes sent the boat out into the centre of the current.
At this moment they heard a series of yells and splashes.
“Lucky for them,” Luka laughed, “I made the slits so big.
Tf they had got out farther they would all have been
drowned: these people are not able to swim.”

“No, I should think not,” Godfrey said. ‘They don’t
look as if water had ever touched them from the day they
were born. We are safe now, in ten minutes we shall be
clear of the river, and have only got to paddle back and
fetch our canoe.”

“We may have to fight yet,” Luka said. “Sure to follow
320 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

us. The meat and flour is all gone. I expect they gave it to
their dogs. That is what made them sleep so sound. They
will know that we shall have to land somewhere to get food,
and think they will have us then. They will mend canoes
very quick, and some of them will come after us.”

“Tt will be worse for them if they do,” Godfrey said.
“With my gun and your bow we could keep a score of
canoes at a distance. Still, as you say, we may have trouble
in getting our canoe. However, we must have that if we
have to fight the whole tribe for it.”

Godfrey looked up from time to time. He could do so
safely now, for they were fifty yards from the bank, and
there was time for him to withdraw his head before an
arrow could reach him. The natives, however, had ceased
to follow the boat, having doubtless run back when they
heard their companions’ cries. Godfrey thought it as well
not to take to the paddles until they were well out of the
river, lest one might have run on and hidden himself in a
clump of bushes. As soon as they were out of the river
they took up the paddles, and rowed straight out for a dis-
tance of a couple of miles. “How long will they be in
patching up their canoes, Luka?”

“They will do it in an hour,” Luka said. “The women
will sew the slits together, and the men melt fat and smear
over.”

“Very well. Then we had better turn now and make
for the place where the canoe is hid. They won’t expect
us to land so soon, and most of the men will be waiting to
follow with the canoes. If only four or five follow us along
the bank we can manage them easily enough. Fortunately,
the canoe is light enough for one of us to carry it down to
the water. While you are doing that I can keep them off.
This boat paddles a lot heavier than the other, Luka.”

Luka grunted in assent.
A SAMOYEDE ENCAMPMENT. 321

“Do you think you will know the place where you hid
the canoe?” Godfrey asked presently.

“Let us go close in to see,” Luka said. “We went ashore
in fog. I don’t know how it looks from the sea. The coast
is all alike here. We must keep very close.”

“How far along do you think it is, Luka?”

“Tt can’t be much more than an hour to paddle,” Luka
replied. “The Samoyedes were away three hours to fetch
the boat, and they were in no hurry and had to tow her back
with their canoe.”

For half an hour they kept the boat parallel with the
land, and then inclined towards the shore. Presently Luka
said, “There are six men walking along on bank.”

“Well, there won’t be six left to walk back,” Godfrey re-
plied grimly, “if they interfere with us. Now, Luka, it
is nearly an hour since we turned 3 we will go in within a
hundred yards of the shore. Those bows of theirs are not
like yours, they won’t carry more than forty or fifty yards.
Now, I will just give those gentlemen a hint that they had
better keep away from the edge of the cliff;” and so saying
he laid down his paddle, and took up his gun and fired.
He aimed high, as he wished to frighten and not hurt. The
natives instantly disappeared from the edge. “Now, Luka,
do you keep on paddling; I will watch the top of the bank,
and if one of them shows his head I will fire. They won’t
suspect we have any idea of landing, and will probably keep
a bit back. All we want is time to land and climb the
bank. Keep inshore now, so that next time I fire I may
be able to send the bullet pretty close. This gun is not
much use at more than fifty yards’ distance.”

Only once did Godfrey see a head above the bank, and
the instant he did so he fired.

“That will show them we are keeping a sharp look-out;

I don’t think they will come near for some little time now.
(731) xX
322 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

I daresay they are puzzling themselves, first, why we are

coming this way, and secondly, why we are keeping so close.”
“There is the place where we had tent,” Luka exclaimed

suddenly. ‘Do you see the ashes of the fire?”

_ ©That is it, sure enough. Now, run ashore and dash

up the bank.”

As soon as the canoe touched the shore they leapt out and
ran up the bank. Not twenty yards away were the Samo-
yedes. Godfrey uttered a shout and raised his gun to his
shoulder, and the natives with a yell ran off at full speed.

“Now, Luka, do you go and get the canoe in the water.
Be careful; if you find it heavy for you with the stores on
board, take them out; there is no occasion for hurry. Those
fellows won't venture within range of my gun again; they
will keep at a distance, and send up word to the tents that
we have landed. So take your time over it; if you were to
make a slip and damage the canoe it would be fatal to us.”

The natives stopped at a distance of a quarter of a mile,
and then, as Godfrey expected, one of them started at a run
back towards the village. In ten minutes Godfrey heard
a shout from below, and looking round saw the canoe safely
by the side of the boat. He ran down and took his place
in her, and they paddled out towing the boat behind them.

CHAPTER XVII.
A SEA FIGHT

S soon as they had reached a distance of two or three
hundred yards from the shore Godfrey ceased paddling.
“Now we can talk matters over, Luka. There is no occasion
for hurry now. If these fellows in the canoes are disposed
A SEA FIGHT. 323

to fight we can’t prevent them. They will certainly be out
of the river before we could get back there; and even if we
did pass first they could easily overtake us, for those light
craft of theirs would go two feet to our one unless we had
wind fof our sail. So we may as well take things easy, and
decidedly the first thing to do is to wash and dress Jack’s
wound, and then to get some tea and something to eat. We
have had nothing since we were caught yesterday between
twelve and one o’clock.

“What a lucky thing it was we hid the canoe, Luka!”
he went on, as the Tartar pulled the boat up alongside the
canoe and began to prepare to light a fire. ‘The chances are
we should not have been able to get her off as well-as the boat,
and even if we had they would have taken out all our stores.
The meat we might replace, but the loss of the tea and
tobacco, and above all of the matches, would have been
terrible; besides, they would have got our spare hatchets
and knives, the fish-hooks and lines, and all our furs. We
don’t want the furs for warmth now, but it would make a
deal of difference to our comfort if we had to sleep on hard
boards. Ido not know how to feel-thankful enough that
we hid the canoe away.”

“We could not have gone without our things,” Luka
said. “We would have fought them all and killed them
rather than lose our tea and tobacco.”

Godfrey laughed at his companion’s earnestness.

“TI think that would have been paying too dearly for
them, Luka, Still we should have missed them badly.”

Just as they had finished their meal they saw some black
spots ahead of them close inshore. ‘I should not be sur-
prised if they have been picking up those fellows who fol-
lowed us, Luka. No doubt the man who ran back would
tell them they could do nothing against our arms. But
I don’t think they will dare attack us in our hoat even if
324 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

they have got all the men there. ‘There were only twelve
at first, not counting the old men who were in their camp
when we were brought there. You shot one of them, so
there are only eleven, even if they have got on board those
who followed us. I have always heard that they are
plucky little fellows, but I do not think they would be fools
enough to attack us on the water. I feel sure they can’t
have any intention of doing so. I expect their original idea
was to hover about us night and day, and then, when we
went ashore to get food, to steal the boat and hunt us down.
Now they find we have got a second boat they will see that
it is alonger job than they expected, for they will guess that
our real valuables are on board the boat we hid, and that
we may have enough provisions here to last for some time.”

The canoes, as they approached them, sheered off to a
distance of a quarter of a mile, and then gathered together
evidently in consultation. Then they turned and paddled
rapidly back again, soon leaving the canoe and boat far
behind.

“J wonder what they are up to now?” Godfrey said;
“some mischief I have no doubt.”

“Perhaps more yourts on farther? They might send on
a man with fast reindeer a long way ahead, so that they
might attack us with forty or fifty canoes.”

“So they might, Luka. That would be very awkward,
and we should be afraid of landing anywhere. They may
pass the news on from camp to camp for any number of
miles. Yes, that is a very serious business. The only thing
I see for it is to make right out beyond sight of land, and
then push on as fast as we can. Fortunately they don’t
know anything about our sail, and as they left us so fast
just now they will reckon that we cannot make much more
than two miles an hour; while, when we get the wind, we
can go six if we help with the paddles, We may as well
A SEA FIGHT. 325

keep on as we are at present, as if determined to keep
near the land till, at any rate, we are some distance past
the mouth of the river. There is not likely to be another
of their camps for some distance along, for, of course, they
would always be near a river, as they must have water for
themselves and their reindeer.”

Paddling quietly, they continued on their course until
they had passed the mouth of the river. When they had
gone half a mile they saw nine canoes, each containing one
man, come out from the river and follow them.

“They mean to stick to us,” Godfrey said uneasily. “I’m
afraid we are going to have a lot of trouble with them,
Luka.”

After paddling for another two hours they turned their
heads seaward. The canoes did the same. In four hours
more the land had almost disappeared, but the clump of
canoes still maintained their position behind them.

“It is of no use going out any further, Luka. We are a
long way out of sight of any one on shore now. Now let
us head west again.” An hour later one of the canoes left
the group and paddled rapidly towards the land.

“That is what their game is,” Godfrey said. “They
have sent off to tell their friends ashore the course we are
taking, and do what we will they will keep them informed
of it. We may have a fleet of canoes out at any moment
after us. Do you think we could leave them behind if we
were to cast off the boat?”

Luka shook his head decidedly. “No; their canoes are
very small; paddle quick, much quicker than we could.”

“She is very fast, Luka.”

“Yes; but too many things on board. If we threw over
everything—food, and kettles, and dog, and furs—we might

go as fast as they could; but even then I think they would
beat us.”


326 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“Well, we won’t try that anyhow, Luka; I would rather
risk a fight than that. I don’t see anything to do but to
wait for the wind. It is not often calm like this long, and
we have had it three or four days already. If we do get
a wind we can certainly beat them by cutting loose the
boat.”

“Beat them anyhow,” Luka said. “With wind and
paddles they might keep up with us rowing very hard for
a bit; but men tire, wind never tires. We sure to beat
them at last. I think we shall have wind before very long.”

“T hope so, Luka; and not too much of it. Well, as we
can’t get away from them by paddling, Luka, we may as
well lower our lines. We have only got two or three days’
provisions on board, and we may just as well lay in a stock
while we can.”

The hooks were baited with pieces of meat and lowered,
and the paddles laid in. Scarcely were the lines out when
Godfrey felt a fierce tug. “ Hulloa!” he exclaimed, “1 have
got something bigger than usual.” He hauled up, and gave
a shout of satisfaction as he pulled acod of fully ten pounds
weight from the water. Five minutes later Luka caught
one of equal size.

“That will do, Luka. I will throw mine into the boat,
and we will keep yours on board. Now we have got among
cod there is no fear of our not getting plenty of food. I
know they catch enormous quantities off the northern coast
of Norway, and it is evident that they come as far as these
waters. It is some time since we tried this deep-sea fishing,
which accounts for our not having caught any before.”

“Are they good fish?” Luka asked. ‘I have never seen
any like them.”

“Pirst-rate, Luka, especially if we had some oyster sauce
to eat with them; as we haven't we must do without. They
are capital, and they are not full of bones like the herrings.
A SEA FIGHT. 327

Now we will paddle on again. You leave that fish alone,
Jack; you shall have some of it for supper.”

“There is a dark line on the water over there,” Luka
said presently, “wind coming.”

“That is a comfort, Luka.”

Half an hour later the breeze came up to them. “Shall
I get up the sail, Godfrey?”

Godfrey did not reply for a minute or two. “ Yes, I think
we may as well, Luka. Whether we go fast or slow these
fellows will be able to send word on shore, and we may as
well tire them a bit.”

The sails were hoisted, Godfrey took the sheet and laid
in his paddle. “The wind may freshen,” he said, “and it
would not do to fasten the sheet.”

Luka, who seemed tireless, continued paddling, and the
boats went through the water at a considerably faster pace
than before. The effect on their pursuers was at once
visible. Instead of paddling in a leisurely manner in a close
group, the paddles could be seen to flash faster and faster.

“They have to row pretty hard to keep up with us now,”
Luka said, looking over his shoulder at them. “ Up to now
they felt comfortable, think everything right, and quite sure
to catch us presently. Now they begin to see it is not so
easy after all” They maintained their relative positions till
the sun was near the horizon.

“Tt is ten o’clock, Luka, the sun will set in half an hour.
You lay your paddle in, and get us a cup of tea and a bit of
that dry meat. You had better boil the kettle over one of
the candles. Then you lie-down to sleep for four hours,
after that I will take a turn. We are a deal better off than
those fellows behind; they must keep on paddling all night,
and as they only have one man in each boat there is no
relief for them.”

Luka did as he was ordered. After drinking bis tea
828 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

Godfrey lighted his pipe, and Luka lay down. Godfrey did
not feel very sleepy, although he had not closed his eyes
the night before; but they had had a long bout of sleep when
compelled to keep their tent by the fog, and the excitement
of the chase kept him up now. As it grew dusk he could
see that the canoes drew closer, but he had no hope, in any
case, of giving them the slip, for it was never perfectly dark.
When, four hours later, he woke Luka the sky was brighten-
ing again.

“More wind come presently,” the Tartar said, looking at
the sky.

“T won't lie down just yet, Luka. It will be quite light
in half an hour, and I want to have a good look towards
the shore before I go to sleep.” ,

Luka at once took the paddle. The wind was perceptibly
freshening and the canoe was slipping fast through the
water.

“Now, Luka,” Godfrey said presently, “stand up and
have a look round. Be careful how you do it; it would not
do to capsize her now.”

Two minutes later Luka exclaimed, “I see them; a whole
lot of canoes, twenty or thirty, over there,” and he pointed
towards the shore but somewhat ahead of them.

“Sit down, Luka, and I will stand up and have a look.
Yes, it is as much as they will do to cut us off. They did
not calculate on our coming along so fast. I will luff up a
little more, and we shall pass ahead of them however hard
they paddle.”

So saying he sat down, hauled in the sheet and headed
nearer to the wind. “The fellows behind won't see them
for some time,” he said. “The canoes must be four miles
away at least, and I don’t suppose they could see each other
more than half that distance, being so low in the water. If
we had just a little more wind we should do it nicely.”
A SBA FIGHT. 329

Half an hour later the sheet was eased again, and the boat
resumed her former course, as Godfrey saw that he should
pass well ahead of the canoes coming out from the shore, and
she moved faster with the wind abeam than she did close-
hauled. Even while sitting down the canoes could be seen
now. The natives were paddling their hardest, and the
light craft danced over the surface of the water, which was
now beginning to be ruffled by the breeze.

Half an hour later they joined the pursuers astern, and
their yells could be heard although they were half a mile
away. Godfrey counted them as he passed ahead of the
fleet, and there were. thirty-three canoes, each with two
paddlers.

“The yourts must be thick along the coasts here, Luka;
they must have gathered up all those canoes from at least
half a dozen camps. Now I will lend you a hand.”

He eased the sheet still further, so that the boat should
heel over less, and fastened it in a loose knot, which could
be slipped in an instant. Then he betook himself to his
paddle.

“Those fellows behind have had a long row out against
the wind, and have no doubt been working their hardest
ever since they caught sight of our sail. A stern-chase is a
long chase. I fancy the wind has freshened a little, but it
is very little.”

Occasionally he looked back over his shoulder.

“They are gaining slowly, Luka, but they are a good half
mile behind us still, and it will take them two or three
hours to pick that up. I am quite sure now that if we cut
the boat adrift we can forge ahead, hand over hand, but that
must be a last resource; it is almost a matter of life and
death to be able to keep it with us. Still it is a satisfac-
tion to know that if the worse comes to the worst we can
get away from them.”
330 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST,

Jack fully entered into the excitement of the chase, taking
his seat on the covering near the stern, and barking defiance
at their pursuers. Another hour’s paddling and the space
between the canoe and.the natives was lessened by half.

“Now, Luka, I will send them a couple of bullets as a re-
minder that we have got weapons.”

Laying in his paddle he took his gun, turned round and
knelt looking astern, and fired both barrels at the fleet of
canoes. He had not taken any particular aim, for the gun
was of little use at a distance exceeding a hundred yards, and
the motion of the canoe would have prevented anything like
accuracy of shooting even with a rifle. He intended to
frighten rather than to hurt, and gave the gun a considerable
elevation. He saw, however, the men in one of the canoes
cease paddling and drop behind the rest, and could make
out that one of its occupants was doing something.

“TI hit one of the canoes, Luka; I fancy they are trying
to patch up the hole.” He loaded the gun again, this time
with his largest-sized shot, laid it down and resumed his
paddle.

“T have put in buck-shot this time, Luka; I don’t want
to kill any of the poor beggars, and the shot will spread. I
have put in double charges so as to give them a good dose
as they come up. Small shot would be of no use, it would
not get through those thick leather coats of theirs. Now,
then, let us send her along.”

The wind was certainly freshening, for it was not until
another four or five miles had been traversed that the canoes
had crept up to within a hundred yards’ distance. At last
Godfrey felt it was time to fire again, and waiting till the
canoes were within about seventy yards’ distance he fired
both barrels, slightly shifting his aim between each shot. A
series of yells arose from the canoes, four or five of them at
once dropped behind.
A SEA FIGHT. 331

“Paddle your hardest, Luka, while I load again, the
beggars are coming up fast now.”

The natives with yells of fury were sending their canoes
through the foaming water, and were but fifty yards away
when he again fired. This time five or six of the natives
dropped their paddles, and two of the canoes were upset.
A volley of arrows fell thickly round the boat, and one or
two spears skimmed along the water close to it. Godfrey
seized his paddle again.

“Head towards the shore, Luka,” he said; and as the boat
headed round he slackened the sheet and so brought the
wind nearly dead aft. The boat was on an even keel now,
and they could feel by the lessened strain on the paddles
that her speed was considerably increased. In two or three
minutes Godirey looked round; the canoes were a hundred
yards behind.

“We are gaining on them, Luka.”

Another ten minutes and the interval was more than
doubled. '

“They are beginning to get tired,” Godfrey said. “We
are going a good deal faster, of course, now we have got
the wind astern, but I do not think they are going as fast as
they did, and I expect that last dose of buck-shot took the
heart out of them a good deal. They had reckoned that we
should be only able to fire once or twice before they came
up, and that I should use bullets; but that handful of buck-
shot evidently peppered a good many of them, and they
know if they come up they will have four more barrels at
least among them. I think the fighting is all over now.”

Another hour and the canoes were a mile astern, and the
land was now but four or five miles away. Godfrey thought
that he could safely resume his course west, especially as the
wind had distinctly freshened.

“T will lay in my paddle now, Luka. I must give all my
332 CONDEMNED AS A NIHBILIST.

attention to the sail. I expect they will give it up. They
will think when they see me cease paddling that we know
we can get away from them whenever we like.”

Godfrey’s surmise turned out correct; the natives did not
attempt to follow, but held on their course straight for the
land, paddling slowly now. They were in two divisions,
five or six of the canoes being a good deal astern of the
others, those with single rowers that had followed them
so long having dropped behind to pick up the occupants
of the canoes that had capsized. In several of the canoes
in this division Godfrey could make out that only one man
was paddling, and guessed that the other was more or less
disabled by the shot.

“T don’t think we shall be troubled any more by them,”
he said; “they will be a couple of hours before they reach
land, by which time we shall be out of sight, and even
reindeer will hardly take the news along the shore with all
its deep indentations as quickly as we shall sail; besides, I
fancy, they will come to the conclusion that the game is not
worth the candle. Now lay in your paddle and let us have
breakfast comfortably. It is just twelve o’clock.”

Day after day they coasted along, passed through Waigatz
Straits, between the island of that name and the mainland,
then touched at four islands lying across the mouth of a
large and deep bay, and then held on until they reached
the mouth of the Petchora. The distance to this point
from the Kara River was, Godfrey calculated, about three
hundred and fifty miles. It took them fifteen days to cover
that distance, as they stopped and spent a day shooting
several times, for they were not fortunate along here in
catching many fish as they went. On passing one of the
islands Godfrey shot a seal, the flesh of which they found
was by no means bad.

The weather continued very fine, but there was so little
A SEA FIGHT. 333

wind that during the whole distance they did not once put
up their sail, but depended entirely upon their paddles.
Upon one of their shooting expeditions Godfrey had the
good luck to shoot a very fine black fox. They had had
their meal and were stretched at full length by the fire.
Luka had gone off to sleep. Godfrey was almost dozing
when he heard a slight rustle in the grass, and opening his
eyes saw a black fox standing at a distance of ten paces. It
had evidently been attracted by the smell of some fish they
had been frying, and stood with its nose in the air sniffing.
Godfrey’s gun was lying beside him, the left-hand barrel he
always kept loaded with ball. His hands stole quietly to it,
and as he grasped it he sat up and fired a snap shot at the
fox as it turned and darted away. To his surprise as well
as delight it rolled over.

“There is a piece of luck, Luka,” he said, as the latter
sprang to his feet bow in hand at the report. “That is a pure
fluke, for I fired without raising the gun or taking the least
aim.”

Luka examined the fox. “It is one of the largest I ever
saw,” he said, “and tho fur is in splendid condition.”

“Tts skin will come in handy, Luka, We must put in and
replenish our stores at Droinik, at the mouth of the Petchora.
We are running very short of tea and tobacco, we have
been very extravagant lately, and we have had no flour
since those scamps robbed us. It is very lucky Jack was
so sound asleep. I often scold you, Jack, for being such a
sleepy little beggar, but for once it is lucky, for if you had
heard the fox coming he would have been off without my
getting a shot at him.”

Accordingly when they reached the mouth of the Pet-
chora they landed three miles from Droinik, and Luka,
taking the fox-skin and those of other smaller animals they
had shot during their excursions, went into the town, and
334 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

returned with four pounds of tea, as much tobacco, forty
pounds of flour, two large tin kettles, each capable of hold-
ing a gallon of water, to carry an extra supply, and sixty
silver roubles.

“T am heartily glad you are back, Luka, for I have been
nearly eaten alive; the mosquitoes are awful—worse, I
think, than at any place we have landed.”

They had indeed entirely given up sleeping ashore since
their forced stay on the Gulf of Obi, always pushing off
two or three hundred yards from the shore and anchoring,
for the mosquitoes were terrible; and upon their hunting
expeditions they always smeared their faces, necks, and
hands thickly over with bears’ fat, but even with this they
suffered severely. Nowhere, indeed, are mosquitoes so great
a scourge as along the shores of the Arctic Sea.

They had already determined that they would at any rate
make for the Kanin Peninsula, and would then be guided
by the weather. If it still remained calm and quiet, they
would sail across the entrance to the White Sea, and coast
along until they reached the frontier of Norway, which
would be about four hundred miles from the point of the
Kanin Peninsula; if the weather showed signs of changing
they would go up the White Sea to Archangel, which would
be about the same distance.

Two days’ paddling took them to the western mouth of
the bay, the course from here lay due west to Kolgueff
Island, nearly two hundred miles away. Godfrey did not
hesitate to strike for it, as it was seventy or eighty miles
saved, and there was no risk of missing it. Four long days’
paddling took them there, and an equal time brought them
to the western point of the Kanin Peninsula. The weather
continued still and clear, the sea was as smooth as glass,
and there were no signs of change; but September had
begun, and every hour was of importance. They therefore
A SEA FIGHT. 335

determined now to abandon the boat, which made a con-
siderable difference in their speed.

“Our candles will do for cooking. We have still forty
pounds of dried flesh, and twenty of flour, and we may ex-
pect to get a few fish anyhow. Our three kettles will hold
two gallons and a half of water, enough to last us seven or
eight days. In three days at most we ought to strike the
coast again, and we are sure to find some streams running
down to the sea in a very short time, so we will risk it. We
know that the two of us can send her along a good five
miles an hour.”

Accordingly the dried meat and flour were transferred
to the canoe, the kettles were filled up with fresh water,
and, after taking a long drink and letting Jack lap as much
as he could take, they took their seats in the canoe again,
threw off the tow-rope and started due west.

Accustomed as they now were to the work, and their
muscles hardened by exercise, they sent the boat rapidly
through the water.

“We mustn’t exert ourselves too much, Luka,” Godfrey
said after the first quarter of an hour. “A long slow stroke
is the one to send her along, and we can keep that up for
any time. We must do our very best till we sight the
coast again. After the way she behaved in that storm I
am not afraid of wind, but I am horribly afraid of fog. If
we had but a compass it would not matter to us one way or
other; but if a fog came down when we are a good way off
the land, there would be nothing to do but to lay in our
paddles and wait, even if it lasted for a fortnight. Still, as
long as there is no change of weather, there does not seem
any reason why a fog should set in; but I shall not feel
happy till we have got the land alongside of us.”

For three days the paddles were kept going, each taking
alternately six hours’ sleep, and working together for twelve.
BBld CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

Jack having nothing to do was the most uneasy of the
party, sometimes lying down with his nose between his
paws, sometimes getting up and giving a series of short
impatient barks. Early on the second day they were for-
tunate in passing through a large shoal of herrings. Godfrey
laid in his paddles and attended to the lines, and in half an
hour had forty-five fish. After that they paid no further
attention to fishing, being now amply supplied with food.
The herrings, too, required less water than the dried meat.
They fried them over the candles, and whenever their
mouths were parched they chewed a piece of raw herring
and found great relief from it. Jack was allowed two raw
herrings a day; with that and a very small allowance of
water he did very well. On the third day a light southerly
wind sprang up, and they at once hoisted their sail and found
that it eased their labour materially.

“T should think we ought to see the land to-night, Luka;
three days at eighty miles a day is two hundred and forty
miles. If we don’t see it by evening, we must head a little
more to the south. Of course we cannot depend very
accurately on our steering, and we may have been going a
trifle north of west all this time. But it is all right, for the
coast we are making for keeps on trending north, and we
are certain to hit it sooner or later.”

At six o’clock they. had a meal which Luka had been
cooking, and then Godfrey said, “Now I will have my six
hours’ sleep.” He stood up to change places and let Luka
come astern to steer, when he exclaimed, ‘Look, is that a
cloud ahead of us, or is it land?”

“Land!” Luka said after gazing at it attentively. “It
is high land.”

All idea of sleep was given up. Godfrey seized his paddle
again, and in four hours they were within a mile of the
land, It differed widely from the low coast they had so
A SEA FIGHT, 337 —

long been passing, Steep hills rose from the very edge of
the shore, clad in many places with pine forests. They were
not long before they found a suitable place to land, and
soon had the canoe ashore and the tent erected, for the
nights were already becoming unpleasantly cold. Luka
went into the woods, and soon returned with some dried
branches and a quantity of pine cones. Godfrey cut three
sticks and made a tripod, from which the small kettle was
suspended, and fish and meat were soon grilling over the fire.
As soon as the kettle boiled a handful of tea was dropped
into it, and it.was taken off the fire. The three companions
made an excellent meal, then Luka and Godfrey lighted
their pipes and sat smoking by the fire for half an hour,
and then lay down in the tent for a sound sleep.

When Godfrey woke he found that Luka was already up.
He had stirred up the embers, put on fresh wood, filled the
kettle and hung it over the fire, and had then evidently
sauntered off into the wood. Godfrey, after the luxury of
arapid bathe, began to prepare breakfast, and by the time
it was ready Luka came down with a dozen squirrels he
had shot.

“Lots of them in the wood,” he said; ‘‘if stop here three
or four days, get lots of skins.”

“J don’t think they would be much good to us, Luka,
though those you shot will be useful for food; but I have
been obliged to stand with my head over the smoke of the
fire to keep off these rascally mosquitoes, and my face was
so swelled with their bites when I woke that I could hardly
see out of my eyes till I bathed my face with cold water.
The sooner we are off the better, if we don’t want to be
eaten alive.”

Accordingly, as soon as the meal was finished they packed
up and continued their voyage. After eight hours’ paddling

they came upon the mouth of a river.
(731) ¥


338 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“This must be the Seriberka,” Godfrey said. “That is
the only river marked in the map anywhere about here.
We will paddle a mile or two up and fill our kettles. If it
is that river, we shall come upon an island a few miles off
the coast, in another twenty or thirty miles. See, Luka,
how near we are getting to the end of the map. We are
not very much more than a hundred miles from this line;
that is the division between Russia and Norway. Once we
land on the other side of that line we are free.”

In seven or eight hours after leaving the river, Godfrey
said, “There is Kildina Island, Luka. We will land over
there instead of upon this shore. There may be some Lap-
landers about, and there is a Russian place called Kola
about twenty miles up a river a little way past the island,
and the natives might take us there if they came upon us,
for they would not understand either Ostjak or the Samo-
yede dialect, and I don’t suppose they would talk Russian.
Anyhow, we may as well be on the safe side. After
coming seven or eight thousand miles we won’t run any
risk of a failure in the last hundred. I don’t much like
the look of the sky away to the north. I fancy we are
going to have a storm. Thank God it did not come two
days earlier.”

They landed on the island, hauled up the boat, then
Godfrey took some time in finding a hollow where they
could light a fire without risk of its being seen on the main-
land, as, if there were Lapps there, they might cross in
their canoes to see who had made it. They had no trouble
in collecting plenty of drift-wood along the shore, and care-
fully choosing the driest, so as to avoid making a great
smoke, they lit a fire and erected the tent to leeward of it,
so that the smoke might blow through it, and so keep out
their enemies the mosquitoes. Godfrey’s prediction about
the weather was speedily verified. The wind got up very
HOME AGAIN. 339

rapidly, and in two hours was blowing a gale from the
north.

“No fear of canoes coming across,” Luka said.

“No fear at all. I don’t suppose there was any real risk
of it in any case, but I feel more nervous now than I have
done all the time. At any rate the storm has made it
perfectly safe. There will soon be a sea on that no canoe
could face,”

For three days the storm raged, and they were glad to
resume their fur jackets. Jack lay coiled up in the furs in
the tent, and nothing could persuade him to move except
for breakfast and dinner. They waited twelve hours after
the gale ceased to allow the sea to go down and then started
again, hoisting their sail as there was enough wind to help
them.

CHAPTER XVIII.
HOME AGAIN.

Goeeeee felt in wild spirits as they hoisted their sail,
for the end of the journey was close at hand, and,
unless some altogether unforeseen misfortune were to befall
them, they would have accomplished an undertaking that
had been deemed almost impossible. They kept well out
from land, increasing the distance as they sailed west until
they were some ten miles out, for the map showed that
some five-and-twenty miles from the point where they had
camped a rocky peninsula jutted out. In three hours they
could make out its outline, for the land was bold and high,
and it took them another four hours before they were
abreast of its eastern point, Cape Navalok. Then they
coasted along the peninsula until they arrived at Cape
340 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

Kekour, its western point. They had now been paddling
nearly twelve hours, for Godfrey was too impatient to be
content with the sail only. Just before they arrived at the
cape, Luka, seeing a good place for landing, suggested a halt.

“No, no,” Godfrey said, “we will not risk another land-
ing. We have been marvellously fortunate up to now, and
it would be folly to run even the slightest risk when we are
so near the end of our journey. We will keep on. There
ave only thirty or forty more miles to go, and then we shall
enter the Voranger Fiord. Then we shall be in Norway.
Think of that, Luka! We can snap our fingers at the Rus-
sians, and tell everyone we meet that we have escaped from
their prisons.”

“Who shall we meet?” Luka asked.

“Ah, that is more than I can tell, you. The sooner we
meet some one the better. Norway is not like this country
we have been passing along; it is all covered with great
mountains and forests. I don’t know anything about the
coast, but I fancy it is tremendously rocky, and we should
have a poor chance there if caught in another storm from.
the north. There are Laplanders, who are people just like
the Samoyedes, and who have got reindeer; if we find any
of them, as I hope we shall, we ought to be all right. We
have got a hundred silver roubles, and if you show a man
money and make signs you want to go somewhere, and
don’t much care where, he is pretty safe to take you. Now
you take a sleep, Luka. I will steer. There is no occasion
to paddle, the wind is taking us along nearly three miles an
hour, and time is no particular object to us now. You get
three hours, then I will take three, and then we will set to
with the paddles again.”

Eight hours later they could make out high land on the
starboard bow, and knew that they were approaching the
entrance to the fiord. They had not taken to their paddles
HOME AGAIN, 341

again, for the wind had freshened, and they were going fast
through the water. Luka cooked a meal, and as it was
growing dark the land closed in on both sides to a distance
of about eight miles,

An hour later they saw lights on their right hand.
‘‘Hurrah!” Godfrey exclaimed, “there is a village there.
We won’t land to-night. We might find it difficult to get
a place to sleep in. One night longer on board won’t do
us any harm. Thank God we are fairly out of Russia at
last, and shall land as free men in the morning.”

They drew in towards the shore a mile or so above the
lights, and paddled cautiously on until close to the land.
There they dropped their anchor overboard, and, wearied
out by their long row, were speedily sound asleep.

It was broad daylight when they woke. Godfrey, when
he sat up, gave a loud cheer, which set Jack off barking
wildly. “Took!” Godfrey shouted, “it is a town, and
there are two steamboats lying there, Thank God, our
troubles are all over. You had better get breakfast, Luka.
It is of no use going ashore till people are awake.”

Breakfast over the anchor was at once pulled up, and in a
quarter of an hour they were alongside a quay. Their ap-
pearance was so similar to that of the Lapps that they them-
selves would have attracted but little notice, but the canoe
was so different in its appearance to those used by these
people that several persons stood on the little quay watch-
ing them as they came alongside, Their surprise at the boat
was increased when Godfrey came up on to the quay. No
Laplander or Finn of his height had ever been seen, and
Moreover, his face and hands were clean. They addressed
him in a language that he did not understand. He replied
first in English, then in Russian. Apparently they recognized
the latter language, and one of them motioned to Godfrey
to follow him.
342 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

“You wait here till I come back, Luka. I daresay the
people are honest enough, but I don’t want any of our furs
or things stolen now that we have got to the end of our
journey.” :

He then followed his conductor to a large house in the
principal street, where he went in to a sort of office and
spoke to a man sitting there. Then he went out, and ina
minute returned with a gentleman. ‘

“Do you speak English, sir?” Godfrey said.

“T speak it a little,” the gentleman replied in surprise at
hearing the language from one who looked like a Lap-
lander.

“Do you speak Russian better?” Godfrey next asked.

“Yes,” he replied in that language. “I know Russian
well. And who are you?”

“Tam an Englishman. I was resident in St. Petersburg
when I was seized and condemned to exile in Siberia as a
Nihilist, although I was perfectly innocent of the charge.
I was taken to the mines of Kara in the east of Siberia,
but made my escape, descended the Yenesei, and have
coasted from there in a canoe.”

The man looked at him incredulously.

“JT am not surprised that you doubt my story,” Godfrey
said. “If you will come down with me to the wharf you
will see the canoe in which I made the journey. I built it
on the Yenesei. I have with me a Tartar who escaped
with me and shared my fortunes.”

The merchant put on his hat and walked down to the
wharf.

“It is a strange craft,” he said, “though I have seen some
at Christiania similar in form but smaller, built of wood,
that Englishmen have brought over. And is it possible that
you have sailed from the mouth of the Yenesei in her?”

“There has been no great difficulty about it,” Godfrey
HOME AGAIN. 343

said. “We have kept near the coast, and have generally
lauded when bad weather came on. I have a gun, and with
that and fishing there has been no difficulty about food.
The journey has been a long one. It is seventeen months
since I left Kara. I am provided with Russian money,
sir, and shall be glad if you can tell me what is my best
way of getting back to England.”

“Tt is fortunate indeed that you did not arrive here
two days later, for the last steamer will sail for Hamburg
to-morrow. She touches at many ports on her way, but I
don’t know that you can do better than go to Hamburg,
whence there is a steamer nearly every day to England. If
you had been two days later you would have lost her, for
the season is just over, and you would then have had to
travel by land and river down to Tornea on the Gulf of
Bothnia, But come up with me to my house; I am the
agent here for the steamer. What are you going to do with
your canoe?”

“TI shall take her home with me just as she stands,”
Godfrey said.

“And the Tartar?”

“Yes, the Tartar and the dog.”

“Very well. Stay here for ten minutes,” he said to Luka,
“T will send a man down to help you up with the canoe.
We may as well put it in my yard,” he went on as he started
back with Godfrey. “The people are as honest as the day,
but they might be pulling it about and examining it, and it
is just as well to stow it away safe. Well, this is a wonder-
ful escape of yours! During the twenty years I have been
here, it has never happened before.”

‘TI wonder it has not been done many times,” Godfrey
said. “Canoes go from Archangel to the Petchora, which
is quite half-way to the mouth of the Obi, and there is no
more difficulty between the Petchora and the Yenesei than
344 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

there is on this side. The first thing to do now is to get
some clothes.”

“The first thing to do, I think, is to get some breakfast,”
the trader said.

“T have already had some breakfast on board,” Godfrey
said; “but I daresay I can eat another.”

“T will warrant you can. Your breakfast was probably
of the roughest.”

“Tt was,” Godfrey admitted. “I have not eaten a piece
of real bread for more than a year. We haven’t had much
of anything made of flour since we started in the canoe in
June; but one gets to do without bread very well.”

“T have not asked you your name yet,” the trader said.

“Tt is Godfrey Bullen. My father is head of a firm in
London that does a good deal of trade with Russia. He
was living in St. Petersburg a good many years, That is
how it is that I speak the language.”

“Twas wondering how it was that you spoke it so well.
Now, then, let me introduce you to my wife and family.
This is an English gentleman, wife,” he said in his own lan-
guage to a pleasant-looking lady. “He does not look like
it, but when I tell you that he has made his escape from
Siberia in a canoe it will account for it.”

Godfrey found that his early meal had in no way abated
his appetite. The breakfast was an excellent one, but he
confined himself to bread and butter, and thought he had
never tasted anything so good in his life. He learned that
his host was an importer of goods of all kinds, and did
the principal trade at Vadsd, besides supplying all the vil-
lages on the fiord. :

“If you had been here a few days earlier,” he said, “you
would have found a countryman of yours, a Mr. Clarke, who
almost monopolizes the whaling trade here. He owns three
steamers, and has a great melting-down establishment. I
HOME AGAIN. 345

myself send great quantities of cod to Hamburg by steamer.
Most of the boats here work for me.”

After breakfast Godfrey gave his host a sketch of his
adventures.

“Tt has been a wonderful journey,” his host said when he
concluded. ‘TI have heard of one or two cases where men
have made their way to Archangel, and thence by land to
our frontier, but I never heard of anyone attempting it by
sea before. It was a perilous journey indeed, and required
a knowledge of canocing, which no Russian prisoner would
be likely to have. Then you were certainly fortunate in
having a companion with you who was at home with those
Ostjaks, Still, as you brought him with you for that pur-
pose, that was forethought rather than luck.”

‘‘Which is the first port at which the steamer will stop
that I can send a telegram from?”

The merchant laughed. “If you go down-stairs into the
office, and go through the door to your left hand, you will
find yourself in a telegraph office.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. We have had the telegraph here for some
little time.”

Godfrey rushed down-stairs, and sent off a telegram as
follows :— j

“ Have just arrived here. Made my escape from prison at
Kara, in Siberia. Seventeen months on the way. Am in first-
rate health. Sturt to-morrow by steamer to Hamburg. Hope
all ave well. Have plenty of money.”

He directed it to his father’s office, so that the news might
be broken gradually to his mother. In the afternoon the
answer came :—

“Thank God for His mercies. All well. I shall cross to
Hamburg to meet you.”
®

346 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

While Godfrey was being made much of by the merchant
and his family, and, indeed, by many of their acquaintances,
who, upon hearing the news, came in to see him and inquire
into the wonderful voyage, Luka was no less a centre of
attraction to the fishermen, and was so generously treated
that long before it became dark he was obliged to be assisted,
in a state of inebriation, to a pallet that had been prepared
for him. Godfrey was annoyed when he heard it; “but,” as
his host said, “after being eighteen months, and, for aught I
know, eighteen months before that, without touching liquor,
very little would be likely to produce an effect upon him. I
daresay it is his talking as much as the spirit that has turned
his head; besides, you know, the lower class of Russians
and Tartars are all fond of spirits.”

“J shall not be angry with him in the morning,” Godfrey
said, ‘ because I do think that it is pardonable; but I shall
talk seriously to him about it, and tell him that if he is com-
ing home to England with me he must give up spirits. He
has done without them so long that it can’t be any hard-
ship.”

“What are you going to do with him?”

“JT have not the most remote idea,” Godfrey laughed.
“Tf he likes to return to his people I daresay my father
would be able, through the Russian embassy, to get a par-
don for him and permission to go back; but I don’t think he
has any notion of that. He lost his parents when he was a
child, and I never heard him express the slightest desire to go
back again. He has attached himself to me heart and soul,
and I think looks upon it as a settled thing that he will be
always with me. I don’t know in what capacity, still, I
suppose, something will be. found for him.”

The steamer was to start at nine o’clock on the following
morning, and by that hour Godfrey, Luka, and Jack were
on board and the canoe carefully stowed on deck. Both had
HOME AGAIN. 347

obtained a complete fit-out from the merchant’s stores, and
although Godfrey’s garments would scarcely have passed
muster in London, they did very well for the voyage.
Luka was greatly amused at his own appearance in Euro-
pean garb, though Godfrey thought he looked much better
in his Ostjak costume.

“We will rig him out fresh when I get him home,” he
said to the merchant. “I don’t know what he looks like
now in that greatcoat and billycock hat.”

The merchant stayed on board until the last moment. As
soon as he got into his boat the paddles began to revolve
and the steamer started on her way. She was ten days on
her voyage, ascending many of the fiords, landing or taking
on board cargo or passengers.

Godfrey enjoyed the voyage greatly. The scenery was
magnificent, and eagerly as he desired to be at home, he was
almost sorry when the end approached. It had been so
strange to have nothing to do but to sit and watch the shore,
to eat and to sleep. Luka had been very penitent over his
little excess at Vadsé, and had solemnly promised Godfrey
to abstain from spirits in future; and he, too, enjoyed the
voyage in his way, eating enormously, and drinking vast
quantities of tea and coffee. Godfrey had sent off one or
two telegrams from the ports at which he touched, so that
his father might be able to judge when the ship was likely
to arrive; and when one morning early the vessel steamed
up to the wharf at Hamburg Godfrey saw him waiting there.
It was a joyful meeting indeed, and it was not until they
were alone together at an hotel, Luka being left down-stairs
in charge of the canoe, that they were enabled to begin to
talk. ;

“Did you know what had become of me, father?”

‘Yes, my boy. Petrovytch telegraphed to me that you
had been missing three days, and I at once went over to St.
348 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

Petersburg. He thought that you had fallen into bad hands,
and had been murdered and thrown into the Neva; but
remembering that you had got into that silly scrape before
with the police, J thought it possible that, coming, as your
absence did, directly after the affair at the Winter Palace,
suspicion had fallen on you again. I went to the head of the
police; he declined to give me any information. Then I set
the embassy at work, and they found out that you had
been arrested with some desperate Nihilists. At last they
obtained a sight of the records of the court-martial before
which you had been tried, and told me that the case was so
strong against you that nothing could be done; indeed, had
it not been for your youth, and the fact that you were a
British subject, you would certainly have been executed.
I tried everything, but I found it absolutely useless. The
embassy recommended me to let the matter drop for the
present, and in time, perhaps, when the Nihilist scare passed
off, it might be possible to interest some minister or other in
your favour and obtain a reversion of your sentence. Then
a few months later came the assassination of the Czar, and,
of course, that rendered it more hopeless than ever, and all
we could hope for was, that in the course of years we might
again move in the matter. Of course it has been a terrible
business for us all. But we won’t talk about that now.
Thank God it is over, and that you have returned to us.
But what madness, Godfrey, to mix yourself up with these
people!”

“Indeed, father, I was perfectly innocent, though I cannot
blame the court-martial for finding me guilty.” And he
then gave his father the details of his connection with the
two Nihilists Akim Soushiloff and Petroff Stepanoff, and of
the circumstances of his arrest in their room.

“T am very glad to hear that, Godfrey. Not that it
makes any actual matter now, but because, after the warn-
HOME AGAIN. 349

ing I had given you to avoid the society of any people
holding extreme opinions, it seemed to me you must have
showed an incredible amount of wilfulness and folly in
getting yourself mixed up with these desperate conspira-
tors. I am heartily glad to find that I was mistaken, and
that, except as regards that foolish business at the theatre,
you have really not been to blame in the matter, and have
been altogether a victim of circumstances. Now, tell me
how you got away. And first, who is that queer-looking
little fellow with your canoe?” :

‘He is my comrade and friend, father. He escaped from
prison with me, and is devoted to me; but for him I should
have had no chance whatever of making my way through
all the difficulties of the journey.” And he then gave his .
father an outline of their adventures from the time of their
leaving Kara.

When he had finished, Mr. Bullen went down-stairs and
saw Luka, and shook hands with him heartily, telling him
in Russian that he had heard from Godfrey how much he
owed to him, and assuring him that he need have no fear
for the future.

Two days later the party arrived at home. There is no
occasion to say anything as to the joy of that meeting.
The three years of hardship and roughing it had converted
the careless school-boy into a powerful young fellow. His
spirits were as high and he was as full of fun as of old 3 but
the experience he had gone through had strengthened his
character, had given him self-reliance and confidence, and
had, as his father and mother soon saw, had a very bene-
ficial effect in forming his character.

Two or three days after his arrival Godfrey wrote to
Mikail. It was a very guarded letter, because he knew that
it would be opened by the prison authorities, but it thanked
him for the kindness he had shown to him while in prison,
350 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST.

and expressed a hope that, now that he would have obtained
partial freedom, and would be united to his wife, he would
succeed and prosper. He inclosed a five-hundred-rouble note
from his father as a present in return for the kindness he
had shown him, and he also inclosed a directed envelope, so
that he could acknowledge the receipt of the letter.

An answer written by the priest of the village—for Mikail
was unable to write—came at the end of five months. It was
expressed in the most grateful terms. He had been released
four months after Godfrey left, and the governor had, as a
reward for his good conduct, allowed him to work for a
farmer instead of inthe mines. He said that he was per-
fectly happy, and that, as he should now be able to purchase
a small farm for himself, he should be sure to do well. “I
have a boy,” he said, “who was born three months ago; we
have christened him Godfrey, in memory of the night when
you saved my life at the risk of your own.”

Luka was for some time a difficulty. He absolutely
refused to return to Russia, and was for a time established
as doorkeeper at the office, but in the spring after Godfrey’s
return the latter took him down with him to a house Mr.
Bullen had just purchased near Richmond. Luka was so
delighted with the country that he was established there,
and became a sort of general factotum, assisting in the
garden, stables, or house, wherever he could make himself
useful, and being in special charge of a sailing boat that
Godfrey keeps on the river. He had picked up a good deal
of English from Godfrey on their travels, and soon came to
speak it fairly, and being regarded as a friend by all the
family, he is in every way perfectly contented with his lot.
Four years after Godfrey’s return, a clerk one day came
into the office with the news that a gentleman wished to
speak to him, and Godfrey was astounded at the entry of
Alexis
HOME AGAIN. 351

“T have come,” the Russian said. “You told me to come,
and I have done so.”

“T am delighted to see you, Alexis. J had thought of
you as married and settled among the Buriats.”

“T did marry,” Alexis said; “but three years afterwards
Tlost my wife. What wasI todo? I could not remain all my
life a wandering shepherd, afraid ever to enter a town or to
speak with a civilized being; so I sold my flocks and herds.
You know my wife owned a third of those of the Buriat.
He was a rich man and bought most of them, and for the
rest I found other purchasers. Then he negotiated for me
with one of the tea merchants, and I managed to go as a
driver with one of his caravans to Pekin.”

“And what do you mean to do, Alexis? I can still
keep my promise, and make a berth for you here in the
office.”

“T thank you, my friend,” Alexis said; “but I shall
return to my profession. I am a doctor, you know, and,
have my Russian diplomas. I shall learn your language,
and study in your hospitals for a time; then I shall set up
here. I believe you have many Russians in your poorer
districts; and as, besides, I speak German, I should be able
to obtain a sufficient practice. Moreover, I have brought
with me orders on a bank here for five thousand pounds,
which I paid into their branch at Hong-Kong. I will get
you to invest that for me, and you will see that it will give
me an income sufficient for all my wants.”

Alexis carried out his plans, and has now a large al-
though not very remunerative practice among the Russian
and German colony in the East End of London. He married
the daughter of a clergyman there, and remains fast friends
with Godfrey, who has now set up an establishment of his
own, of which Luka is major-domo, and special guardian
and playmate to Godfrey’s little boys.
352 CONDEMNED AS A NIHIULIST.

Godfrey has not returned to Russia, but is his father’s
right hand in the London business; at the same time he is
free to visit St. Petersburg did he wish to do so, as Mr.
Bullen drew up a full statement of his case, and this having
been forwarded by the Russian ambassador, with a strong
recommendation on his part, a reversal of the sentence of
the court-martial was obtained, and a full pardon granted
to him. It is not probable, however, that he will again set
foot on Russian soil, his experiences as a prisoner in Siberia
having been, as he says, ample for a lifetime.

THE END.








































BLACKIE & SON’S
BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.



BY G. A. HENTY.

Beric the Briton: A Story of the Roman Invasion. By
G. A. Henry. With 12 page Illustrations by W. Parxrnson,
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

This story deals with the invasion of Britain by the Roman legionaries.
Beric, who is a boy-chief of a British tribe, takes a prominent part in the
insurrection under Boadicea: and after the defeat of that heroic queen (in
A.D. 62) he continues the struggle in the fen-country. Ultimately Beric
is defeated and carried captive to Rome, where he is trained in the exercise
of arms in a school of gladiators. Such is the skill which he there acquires
that he succeeds in saving a Christian maid by slaying a lion in the arena,
and is rewarded by being made librarian in the palace, and the personal
protector of Nero. Finally he escapes from this irksome service, organizes
a band of outlaws in Calabria, defies the power of Rome, and at length
returns to Britain, where he becomes a wise ruler of his own people.

In Greek Waters: A Story of the Grecian War of Inde-
pendence (1821-1827). By G. A. Henry. With 12 page Illus-
trations by W. 8. Stacry, and a Map. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant,
olivine edges, 6s.

A large part of this story deals with the revolt of the Greeks, in 1821,
against Turkish oppression, Mr. Beveridge and his son Horace, like most
Englishmen at that time, are stirred with enthusiasm for the down-trodden
nation. So they fit out a privateer, load it with military stores, and set
sail for Greece to assist the insurgents. On their arrival, however, they
find that the leaders of the insurrection are a cowardly, thieving, blood-
thirsty crew. So they resolve to hold aloof from politics, and give all
possible assistance to the victims of war, both Greeks and Turks. They
rescue the Christians who are beleaguered in the island of Cyprus, assist
the Turkish garrison in Athens, relieve the captive Greeks who are being
sent to the slave markets, destroy Turkish shipping, and fight the Turkish
war vessels. The story is full of stirring adventure, and will delight the

boy who loves the sea, and the hazards of seafaring. -
2 BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.



BY G. A. HENTY.
‘Mr, Henty is one of the best of story-tellers for young people.”—Spectator.

Redskin and Cow-boy: A Tale of the Western Plains. By
G. A. Henry. With 12 page Illustrations by Atrrep Parse,
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“Tt has a good plot; it abounds in action; the scenes are equally spirited and
realistic, and we can only say we have read it with much pleasure from first to
last. The pictures of life on a cattle ranche are most graphically painted, as are
the manners of the reckless but jovial cow-boys.”—Times.

The Dash for Khartoum: A Tale of the Nile Expedition.
By G. A. Henty. With 10 page Illustrations by J. ScuénBere and
J. Nasu, and 4 Plans. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“The Dash for Khartowm is your ideal boys’ book.”—Tablet.

“Tt is literally true that the narrative never flags a moment; for the incidents
which fall to be recorded after the dash for Khartoum has been made and failed
are quite as interesting as those which precede it. ‘The characters of all the per-
sons are remarkably life-like.”—Academy.

By England’s Aid: The Freeing of the Netherlands (1585-
1604). By G. A. Henry. With 10 page Illustrations by ALFRED
Pearse, and 4 Maps. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“Boys know and love Mr. Henty’s books of adventure, and will welcome hia
tale of the Freeing of the Netherlands.”—Athenwum.

“The story is told with great animation, and the historical material is most
effectively combined with a most excellent plot. The maps and woodcuts are
excellent illustrations.”—Saturday Review.

By Right of Conquest: Or, With Cortez in Mexico. By
G. A. Henry. With 10 page Illustrations by W. 8. Sraczy, and
2 Maps. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“Mr. Henty’s skill has never been more convincingly displayed than in this
admirable and ingenious story.”—Saturday Review.

“« By Right of Conquest is the nearest approach to a perfectly successful histori-
cal tale that My. Henty has yet published.”—Academy.

With Lee in Virginia: A Story of the American Civil
War. By G. A. Henry. With 10 page Illustrations by Gorpon
Browne, and 6 Maps. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“The story is a capital one and full of variety, and presents us with many
picturesque scenes of Southern life. Young Wingfield, who is conscientious,
spirited, and ‘hard as nails,’ would have been a man after the very heart of
Stonewall Jackson.” —Zimes.

By Pike and Dyke: A Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Re-
public. By G. A. Henty. With 10 page Illustrations by Maynarp
Brown, and 4 Maps. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 63.

“The mission of Ned to deliver letters from William the Silent to his adherents
at Brussels, the fight of the Good Ventuse with the Spanish man-of-war, the battle
on the ice at Amsterdam, the siege of Haarlem, are all told with a vividness and
skill, which are worthy of Mr. Henty at his best.”—Academy.
BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 3



BY G. A. HENTY.

“Surely Mr. Henty should understand boys’ tastes better than any man living.”
—The Times.

With Clive in India: Or, The Beginnings of an Empire.
By G. A. Henry. With 12 page Illustrations by Gorpon Browne.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“ Among writers of stories of adventure for boys Mr. Henty stands in the very
first rank. Those who know something about India will be the most ready to
thank Mr. Henty for giving them this instructive volume to place in the hands
of their children,”—Academy.

The Lion of St. Mark: A Tale of Venice in the Fourteenth
Century. By G. A. Henry. With 10 page Illustrations by Gorpon
Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“Every boy should read The Lion of St. Mark. Mr, Henty has never produced
any story more delightful, more wholesome, or more vivacious. From first to
last it will be read with keen enjoyment.”—The Saturday Review.

Under Drake’s Flag: A Tale of the Spanish Main. By
G. A. Henry. Illustrated by 12 page Pictures by GoRDON BRowne.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“There is not a dull chapter, nor, indeed, a dull page in the book; but the
author has so carefully worked up his subject that the exciting deeds of his
heroes are never incongruous or absurd.”—Observer.

Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden.
By G. A. Henry. With 12 page Illustrations by Gorpon Brownz.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“Ronald, the hero, is very like the hero of Quentin Durward. The lad’s
journey across France with his faithful attendant Malcolm, and his hairbreadth
escapes from the machinations of his father’s enemies, make up as good a
narrative of the kind as we have ever read. For freshness of treatment and
variety of incident, Mr. Henty has here surpassed himself.”—Spectator.

For the Temple: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem. By
G. A. Henry. With 10 page Illustrations by S. J. Sonomon, and
a Celoured Map. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“Mr. Henty’s graphic prose pictures of the hopeless Jewish resistance to Roman
sway adds another leaf to his record of the famous wars of the world. The book
is one of Mr. Henty’s cleverest efforts.” Graphic.

True to the Old Flag: A Tale of the American War of
Independence. By G. A. Henry. With 12 page Illustrations by
Gorpon Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“Does justice to the pluck and determination of the British soldiers. The son
of an American loyalist, who remains true to our flag, falls among the hostile red-

skins in that very Huron country which has been endeared to us by the exploits
of Hawkeye and Chingachgook.”—The Times.
4 BLACKIE & SON’S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

BY G. A. HENTY.

“ Among writers of stories of adventure for boys Mr. Henty stands in the very
first rank.” —Academy.

The Lion of the North: A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus and
the Wars of Religion. By G. A. Henry. With 12 page Pictures
by J. ScHénBerc. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“A praiseworthy attempt to interest British youth in the great deeds of the

Scotch Brigade in the wars of Gustavus Adolphus. Mackay, Hepburn, and Munro

live again in Mr. Henty’s pages, as those deserve to live whose disciplined bands
formed really the germ of the modern British army.’ —Athenewm.

The Young Carthaginian: A Story of the Times of
Hannibal. By G. A. Henry. With 12 page Illustrations by C. J.
STANILAND, R.I. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s,

“The effect of an interesting story, well constructed and vividly told, is en-
hanced by the picturesque quality of the scenic background. From first to last

nothing stays the interest of the narrative. It bears us along as on a stream,
whose current varies in direction, but never loses its force.”—Saturday Review.

With Wolfe in Canada: Or, The Winning of a Continent.
By G. A. Henty. With 12 page Illustrations by Gorpon Browne.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“‘A4 model of what a boys’ story-book should be. Mr. Henty has a great power
of infusing into the dead facts of history new life, and as no pains are spared by
him to ensure accuracy in historic details, his books supply useful aids to study
as well as amusement.”—School Guardian.

In Freedom’s Cause: A Story of Wallace and Bruce. By
G. A. Henty. With 12 page Illustrations by Gorpon Browns.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“‘Mr. Henty has broken new ground as an historical novelist. His tale of the
days of Wallace and Bruce is full of stirring action, and will commend itself to
boys.” —A theneum.'

Through the Fray: A Story of the Luddite Riots. By
G. A. Henty. With 12 page Illustrations by H.M. Pacer. Crown
8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“Mr. Henty inspires a love and admiration for straightforwardness, truth, and
courage, This is one of the best of the many good books Mr. Henty has produced,
and deserves to be classed with his Facing Death.”—Standard.

Captain Bayley’s Heir: A Tale of the Gold Fields of Cali-
fornia. By G. A. Henry. With 12 page Illustrations by H. M.
Pacer. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“*A Westminster boy who makes his way in the world by hard work, good

temper, and unfailing courage. The descriptions given of life are just what a
healthy intelligent lad should delight in.”—St. James’s Gazette.
BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 5



BY G. A. HENTY.

“Mr. Henty is one of our most successful writers of historical tales. —Seotsman,

Condemned as a Nihilist: A Story of Escape from Siberia.
By G. A. Hunry. With 8 page Illustrations by Waurer Pacer,
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

Godfrey Bullen, the hero of this story, is an English boy resident in St.
Petersburg. Through two student friends he becomes innocently involved
in various political plots, resulting in his seizure by the Russian police,
and his exile to Siberia. He is conveyed to the most remote part of that
northern wilderness, and placed in a convict settloment. After a first un-
successful attempt to escape he gives himself up to the Russian authorities
at the mines of Kara. He again escapes; walks eight hundred miles till
he reaches the Angara river; buys a canoe from the fisher-folk; sails down
the Siberian rivers for a thousand miles; coasts along the arctic shores of
Russia, and at last, after many exciting adventures with wolves, bears, and
hostile Samoyedes, he reaches N orway, and thence home, after a perilous
journey which lasts nearly two years.

Held Fast for England: A Tale of the Siege of Gibraltar,
By G. A. Heyry. With 8 page Illustrations by Gorpon Browne.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“‘Among them we would place first in interest and wholesome educational
value the story of the siege of Gibraltar. . . . There is no cessation of exciting
incident throughout the story.”—Athenewm.

One of the 28th: A Tale of Waterloo. By G. A. Heyry.
With 8 page Illustrations by W. H. Ovzrenp, and 2 Maps. Crown
8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s,

“Written with Homeric vigour and heroic inspiration. It is graphic, pictur-
esque, and dramatically effective . . . shows us Mr. Henty at his best and
brightest. The adventures will hold a boy of a winter’s night enthralled as he
rushes through them with breathless interest ‘from cover to cover.’ ’—Observer.

The Cat of Bubastes: A Story of Ancient Egypt. By
G. A. Henry. With 8 page Illustrations by J. R. Wxcvuentn.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“The story, from the critical moment of the killing of the sacred cat to the
perilous exodus into Asia with which it closes, is very skilfully constructed and
full of exciting adventures. It is admirably illustrated.”—Saturday Review.

Maori and Settler: A Story of the New Zealand War. By
G. A. Henry. With 8 page Illustrations by ALYRED PEarss, and
a Map. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.
“Tt is a book which all young people, but especially boys, will read with
avidity.”—A thenewm.

“A first-rate book for boys, brimful of adventure, of humorous and interesting
conversation, and of vivid pictures of colonial life.”—Schoolmaster.


6 BLACKIE & SON’S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.





BY G. A. HENTY.
“Mr. Henty is the king of story-tellers for boys.”—Sword and Trowel.

St. George for England: A Tale of Cressy and Poitiers.
By G. A. Henry. With 8 full-page Illustrations by Gorpoy
Brownz. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“ Mr. Henty’s historical novels for boys bid fair to supplement, on their behalf,
the historical labours of Sir Walter Scott in the land of fiction.” —Standard.

“A story of very great interest for boys. In his own forcible style the author
has endeavoured to show that determination and enthusiasm can accomplish mar-
yellous results; and that courage is generally accompanied by magnanimity and
gentleness.”—Pall Mall Gazette.

The Bravest of the Brave: With Peterborough in Spain.
By G. A. Hewry. With 8 full-page Pictures by H. M. Pacer.

Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“Mr. Henty never loses sight of the moral purpose of his work—to enforce the
doctrine of courage and truth, mercy and lovingkindness, as indispensable to the
making of an English gentleman. British lads will read The Bravest of the
Brave with pleasure and profit; of that we are quite sure.”—Daily Telegraph.

For Name and Fame: Or, Through Afghan Passes. By
G. A. Henry. With 8 full-page Illustrations by Gorpon Browne.

Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“The best feature of the book, apart from its scenes of adventure, is its honest
effort to do justice to the patriotism of the Afghan people.”—Daily News.

“Not only a rousing story, replete with all the varied forms of excitement of a
campaign, but, what is still more useful, an account of a territory and its inhabi-
tants which must for a long time possess a supreme interest for Englishmen, as
being the key to our Indian Empire.”—Glasgow Herald.

In the Reign of Terror: The Adventures of a Westminster
Boy. By G. A. Hunty. With 8 full-page Illustrations by J.
Scuéxzerc. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“Harry Sandwith, the Westminster boy, may fairly be said to beat Mr. Henty’s
record. His adventures will delight boys by the audacity and peril they depict.
The story is one of Mr. Henty’s best.”—Saturday Review.

Orange and Green: A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick.
By G. A. Henry. With 8 full-page Illustrations by Gorpon

Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“An extremely spirited story, based on the struggle in Ireland, rendered
memorable by the defence of ‘Derry and the siege of Limerick.”—Sat. Review.

‘The narrative is free from the vice of prejudice, and ripples with life as
vivacious as if what is being described were really passing before the eye. A
Should be in the hands of every young student of Irish history.”—Belfast News.

By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War. By G, A.
Heyry. With 8 full-page Pictures by Gorpon Brownz. Crown
8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“ By Sheer Pluck will be eagerly read. The author’s personal knowledge of the
west coast has been turned to good advantage.” —Atheneum.

“‘Morally, the book is everything that could be desired, setting before the boys
a bright and bracing ideal of the English gentleman.”—Christian Leader.
BLACKIE & SON’S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 7



BY G. A. HENTY.

“Mr, Henty is the king of story-tellers for hoys.”—Sword and Trowel.

The Dragon and the Raven: Or, The Days of King
Alfred. By G. A. Henry. With 8 page Illustrations by C. J.
STANILAND, RI. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“ A story that may justly be styled remarkable. Boys, in reading it, will be
surprised to find how Alfred persevered, through years of bloodshed and times

of peace, to rescue his people from the thraldom of the Danes. We hope the
book will soon be widely known in all our schools.”—Schoolmaster.

A Final Reckoning: A Tale of Bush Life in Australia.
By G. A. Henry. With 8 page Illustrations by W. B. WoLtEn,
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“ All boys will read this story with eager and unflagging interest. The episodes
are in Mr. Henty’s very best vein—graphic, exciting, realistic; and, as in all Mr.
Henty’s books, the tendency is to the formation of an honourable, manly, and
even heroic character.”—Birmingham Post.

Facing Death: Or, The Hero of the Vaughan Pit. A Tale of
the Coal Mines. By G. A. Henry. With 8 page Pictures by
Gorpoy Brownz. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“Tf any father, godfather,’ clergyman, or schoolmaster is on the look-out for a
good book to give as a present to a boy who is worth his salt, this is the book we
would recommend.”—Standard.

A Chapter of Adventures: Or, Through the Bombard-
ment of Alexandria. By G. A. Henry. With 6 page Illustrations
by W. H. Overenp. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 3s. 6d.

“‘The*experience of Jack Robson and his two companions in the streets of
Alexandria when Arabi’s rioters filled the city is capitally told. ‘They have their
fill of excitement, and their chapter of adventures is so brisk and entertaining we
could have wished it longer than it is."—Saturday Review.



Grettir the Outlaw: A Story of Iceland. By S. Barine-
GovLp. With 10 page Illustrations by M. Zeno Diemer, and a
Coloured Map. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“Is the boys’ book of its year. That is, of course, as much as to say that it
will do for men grown as well as juniors. It is told in simple, straightforward
English, as all stories should be, and it has a freshness, a freedom, a sense of sun
and wind and the open air, which make it irresistible.’—National Observer.



Two Thousand Years Ago: Or, The Adventures of a Roman
Boy. By Professor A. J. Cuurcu. With 12 page Tilustrations by
Aprien Marin. Crown 8yo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“Adventures well worth the telling. The book is extremely entertaining as
well as useful, and there is a wonderful freshness in the Roman scenes and
characters.” —The Times.
8 BLACKIE & SON’S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

Nee

BY GEORGE MACDONALD.

A Rough Shaking. By Gores MacDonarp. With
12 page Illustrations by W. Parxiyson. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant,
olivine edges, 6s.

“One of Mr. Mac Donald’s wonderful and charming stories.”—Atheneum.

‘One of the very best books for boys that has been written. It is full of mate-
rial peculiarly-well adapted for the young, containing in a marked degree, the
elements of ail that is necessary to make up a perfect boys’ book. ”_Teachers’ Aid.

At the Back of the North Wind. By Gzorcn Mac
Donato. With 75 Illustrations by ARrHuR Hucuss. Crown
8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“Jn At the Back of the North Wind we stand with one foot in fairyland and
one on common earth. The story is thoroughly original, full of fancy and pathos,
and underlaid with earnest but not too obtrusive teaching.” —The Times.

Ranald Bannerman’s Boyhood. By Gzorez MacDowatp.
With 36 Illustrations by ArTHuR Hucues. Crown 8vo, cloth ele-
gant, olivine edges, 5s.

“The sympathy with boy-nature in Ranald Bannerman’s Boyhood is perfect.
Itis a beautiful picture of childhood, teaching by its impressions and suggestions
all noble things.”—British Quarterly Review.

The Princess and the Goblin. By Gzorez MacDowatp.
With 32 Illustrations, Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6d.

“Little of what is written for children has the lightness of touch and play of
fancy which are characteristic of George Mac Donald’s fairy tales. Mr. Arthur
Hughes’s illustrations are all that illustrations should pe.”—Manchester Guardian.

The Princess and Curdie. By Grorce Mac Donatp.
With 8 page Illustrations Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 8s. 6d.
“There is the finest and rarest genius in this brilliant story. Upgrown people

would do wisely occasionally to lay aside their newspapers and magazines to
spend an hour with Curdie and the Princess.” —Shefield Independent.



BY SARAH DOUDNEY.



Under False Colours. By Sarau Doupyzy. With 12
page Illustrations by G. G. Kinpurnz. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant,
olivine edges, 6s.

“This is a charming story, abounding in delicate touches of sentiment and
pathos. Its plot is skilfully contrived. It will be read with a warm interest by
every girl who takes it up.” —Scotsman.

“Sarah Doudney has no superior as a writer of high-toned stories—pure in
style, original in conception, and with skilfully wrought-out plots; but we have
ceca nounine from her pen equal in dramatic energy to this book.” —Christian

eader.
BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 9



NEW EDITION OF THE UNIVERSE.

The Universe: OrThe Infinitely Great and the Infinitely Little.
A Sketch of Contrasts in Creation, and Marvels revealed and
explained by Natural Science. By F. A. Povcuet, up. With
272 Engravings on wood, of which 55 are full-page size, and a
Coloured Frontispiece. Tenth Edition, medium 8vo, cloth elegant,
gilt edges, 7s. 6d.; also morocco antique, 16s.

“We can honestly commend Professor Pouchet’s book, which is admirably, as
it is copiously illustrated.”—Vhe Times.

“Searcely any book in French or in English is so likely to stimulate in the
young an interest in the physical phenomena.”—Jortnightly Review.



BY ROBERT LEIGHTON.

The Thirsty Sword: A Story of the Norse Invasion of
Scotland (1262-63). By Roserr LeicHroy. With 8 page Illus-
trations by ALFRED PEaRsE, and a Map. Crown 8vo, cloth ele-
gant, olivine edges, 5s.

In this story of The Thirsty Sword, and the vengeance which it accom-
plishes, there is found much of the simple directness and tragic strength
of the old Scandinavian Sagas. It is laid in that period of Scottish history
which ended with the famous battle of Largs; and it tells how Roderic
MacAlpin, the sea-rover, came to the Isle of Bute; how he slew his brother
Earl Hamish in Rothesay Castle; how Alpin, the earl’s eldest son, challenged
his uncle to ordeal by battle, and was likewise slain; how young Kenric
now became king of Bute, and vowed vengeance against the slayer of his
brother and father; and finally, it tells how this vow was kept when Kenric
and the murderous sea-rover met at midnight on Garroch Head, and ended
their feud in one last great fight.

The Pilots of Pomona: A Story of the Orkney Islands.
By Rozert Lrieuron. With 8 page Illustrations by Joun Lercu-
TON, and a Map. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“A story which is quite as good in its way as Treasure Island, and is full of
adventure of a stirring yet most natural kind. Although it is primarily a boys’
book, it is a real godsend to the elderly reader who likes something fresh—some-
thing touched with the romance and magic of youth.”—Glasgow Evening Times,

“Wis pictures of Orcadian life and nature are charming.”—Saturday Review.

Robinson Crusoe. By Dantet Deroz. Illustrated by 100
Pictures by Gorpon Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 6s.

“One of the best issues, if not absolutely the best, of Defoe’s work which has
ever appeared.”—The Standard.

Gulliver’s Travels. [Illustrated by more than 100 Pictures
by Gorpon Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s,

“Mr. Gordon Browne is, to my thinking, incomparably the most artistic,
spirited, and brilliant of our illustrators of books for boys, and one of the most
humorous also, as his illustrations of ‘Gulliver’ amply testify.”—Zruth.
10 BLACKIE & SON’S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.



BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN.

We, Mr. Fenn stands in the foremost rank of writers in this department.”—Daily
ews.

Quicksilver: Or, A Boy with no Skid to his Wheel. By
GeorcE ManviLLe Fenn. With 10 page Illustrations by Frank
Dapp. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“ Quicksilver is little short of an inspiration. In it that prince of story-writers
for boys—George Manville Fenn—has surpassed himself. It is an ideal book for
a boy’s library.”—Practical Teacher.

“The story is capitally told, it. abounds in graphic and well-described scenes,
and it has an excellent and manly tone throughout.”—Vhe Guardian.

Dick o’ the Fens: A Romance of the Great East Swamp. By
G. Manvitte Fenn. With 12 page Illustrations by Frank Dapp.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“We conscientiously believe that boys will find it capital reading. It is full
of incident and mystery, and the mystery is kept up to the last moment. It is
rich in effective local colouring; and it has a historical interest.” —T'imes.

“Deserves to be heartily and unreservedly praised as regards plot, incidents,
and spirit. It is its author’s masterpiece as yet.”—Spectator.

Devon Boys: A Tale of the North Shore. By G. Manvitiz
Fenn. With 12 page Illustrations by Gorpon Brownz. Crown
8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

« An admirable story, as remarkable for the individuality of its young heroes
as for the excellent descriptions of coast scenery and life in North Devon. It is
one of the best books we have seen this season.”"—Athenewm.

The Golden Magnet: A Tale of the Land of the Incas. By
G. Manvitte Fenn. Illustrated by 12 page Pictures by GorDon
Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“There could be no more welcome present for a boy. There is not a dull page
in the book, and many will be read with breathless interest. ‘The Golden Mag-
net’ is, of course, the same one that attracted Raleigh and the heroes of West-
ward Ho!”—Journal of Education.

In the King’s Name: Or, The Cruise of the Kestrel. By
G. Manvitte Fenn. Illustrated by 12 page Pictures by Gorpon
Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“A capital boys’ story, full of incident and adventure, and told in the lively
style in which Mr. Fenn is such an adept.”—Gilobe,

“The best of all Mr. Fenn’s productions in this field. It has the great quality
of always ‘moving on,’ adventure following adventure in constant succession.”—
Daily News.

Bunyip Land: The Story of a Wild Journey in New Guinea.
By G. Manvinte Fenn. With 12 page Ilustrations by GorDoN
Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“Mr. Fenn deserves the thanks of everybody for Bunyip Land, and we may ven-
ture to promise that a quiet week may be reckoned on whilst the youngsters have
such fascinating literature provided for their evenings’ amusement.”—Spectator.
BLACKIE & SON'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 11



BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN.

“No one can find his way to the hearts of lads more readily than Mr. Fenn.”—
Nottingham Guardian.

Yussuf the Guide: Being the Strange Story of Travels in
Asia Minor. By G. Manvinty Fenn. With 8 page Illustrations
by J. Scuénpere. Crown 8yo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“The narrative will take its readers into scenes that will have great novelty
and attraction for them, and the experiences with the brigands will be especially
delightful to boys.”—Scotsman.

Menhardoe: A Story of Cornish Nets and Mines. By G.
Mayvinie Funny. With 8 page Illustrations by C. J. Srantanp.

Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.
, gant, Ses,

“They are real living boys, with their virtues and faults. The Cornish fisher-
men are drawn from life, they are racy of the soil, salt with the sea-water, and
they stand out from the pages in their jerseys and sea-boots all sprinkled with
silvery pilchard scales.” —Spectator.

Nat the Naturalist: A Boy’s Adventures in the Eastern
Seas. By G. Manvitte Fenn. With 8 page Pictures. Crown 8vo,

cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.
“This sort of book encourages independence of character, develops resource,

and teaches a boy to keep his eyes open.”—Saturday Review.
Brownsmith’s Boy: A Romance in a Garden. By G. May-
VILLE Fenn. With 6 page Illustrations. New Edition. Crown

8vo, cloth elegant, 8s. 6d.

“Mr. Fenn’s books are among the best, if not altogether the best, of the stories
for boys. Mr. Fenn is at his best in Brownsmith’s Boy.” —Pictorial World.





BY DR. GORDON STABLES.

’Twixt School and College: A Tale of Self-reliance. By
Gorpon STABLES, ©.3., M.D., RN. With 8 page Illustrations by
W. Parkinson. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“One of the best of a prolific writer's books for boys, being full of practical
instructions as to keeping pets, from white mice upwards, and inculcates in a way
which a little recalls Miss Edgeworth’s ‘Frank’ the virtue of self-reliance,
though the local colouring of the home of the Aberdeenshire boy is a good deal
more picturesque. "—A thenceum.

The Seven Wise Scholars. By Ascorr R. Hors. With

nearly 100 Illustrations by Gorpon Browne. Cloth elegant, 5s.

“‘As full of fun as a volume of Punch; with illustrations, more Jaughter-
provoking than most we have seen since Leech died.”—Shefield Independent.

Stories of Old Renown: Tales of Knights and Heroes.
By Ascott R. Hors. With 100 Illustrations by Gorpon Browne.

Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 3s. 6d.
‘A really fascinating book worthy of its telling title. There is, we venture to
say, not a dull page in the book, not a story which will not bear a second read-
ing.”—Guardian.


12 BLACKIE & SON’S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.



BY ANNE BEALE.

The Heiress of Courtleroy. By Anne Beatz. With 8
page Illustrations by T. C. H. Castiz. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant,
olivine edges, 5s.

Mimica, the heroine of this story, comes to England as an orphan, and
is coldly received by her uncle, who makes her feel that she is a pensioner .
‘on his bounty. The girl has a brave nature, however, and she deals with
his indifference to herself and his selfish treatment of his tenants at Court-
leroy in a spirit of practical kindness. It is a difficult task which the girl
has set herself, but at last she succeeds in saving the estate from ruin and
reclaiming her uncle from the misanthropical disregard of his duties as a
landlord.



BY ROSA MULHOLLAND.

Giannetta: A Girl’s Story of Herself. By Rosa MunHoLuanp.
With 8 page Illustrations by LockHart Bociz., Crown 8vo, cloth
elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“Giannetta is a true heroine—warm-hearted, self-sacrificing, and, as all good
women nowadays are, largely touched with the enthusiasm of humanity. One
of the most attractive gift-books of the season.”—The Academy.

BY HARRY COLLINGWOOD.

The Pirate Island: A Story of the South Pacific. By
Harry CoLtiinewoop. With 8 page Pictures by C. J. StanitanD
and J. R. WELLS. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“A capital story of the sea; indeed in our opinion the author is superior in some
respects as a marine novelist to the better known Mr. Clark Russell.” —The Times.

The Log of the ‘‘Flying Fish:” A Story of Aerial and
Submarine Peril and Adventure. By Harry CoLtinewoop. With
12 page Illustrations by Gorpon Brownz. Crown 8vo, cloth
elegant, olivine edges, 6s.

“The Flying Fish actually surpasses all Jules Verne’s creations; with incred-
ible speed she flies through the air, skims over the surface of the water, and darts
along the ocean bed. We strongly recommend our school-boy friends to possess

,

themselves of her log.”— Atheneum.

The Congo Rovers: A Story of the Slave Squadron. By
Harry CoLtinecwoop. With 8 page Illustrations by J. ScHONBERG.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“No better sea story has lately been written than the Congo Rovers. It is as
original as any boy could desire.”—Morning Post.
BLACKIE & SON’S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 13



BY G. NORWAY.

Hussein the Hostage: Or, A Boy’s Adventures in Persia,
By G. Norway. With 8 page Illustrations by JoHN ScHéNBERG,

Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“ Hussein the Hostage is full of originality and vigour. The characters are life-
like, there is plenty of stirring incident, the interest is sustained throughout, and
every boy will enjoy following the fortunes of the hero.”—Journal of Kducation.

The Loss of John Humble: What Led to It, and what
Came of It. By G. Norway. With 8 page Illustrations by Joun

Soutnperc. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“This story will place the author at once in the front rank, It is full of life
and adventure. He is equally at home in his descriptions of life in Sweden and
in the more stirring passages of wreck and disaster, and the interest of the story
is sustained without a break from first to last.”—Standard.



BY F. FRANKFORT MOORE.

Highways and High Seas: Cyril Harley’s Adventures on
both. By F. Franxrort Moors. With 8 page Illustrations by
ALFRED Pearse. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

“This is one of the best stories Mr. Moore has written, perhaps the very best.
The exciting adventures among highwaymen and privateers are sure to attract
boys.”—Speetator.

Under Hatches: Or, Ned Woodthorpe’s Adventures. By F.
Franxrort Moors. With 8 page Illustrations by A. ForEstiEr.

Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 5s.

‘The story as a story is one that will just suit boys all the world over. The
characters are well drawn and consistent; Patsy, the Irish steward, will be found
especially amusing.” —Schoolmaster.



BY ALICE CORKRAN.

Meg’s Friend. By Auicz Corkray. With 6 page Illustra-
tions by Rosert Fowier. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3s. 6d.

“One of Miss Corkran’s charming books for girls, narrated in that simple
and picturesque style which marks the authoress as one of the first amongst
writers for young people.” —TZhe Spectator.

Margery Merton’s Girlhood. By Aticz Corxray. With
6 page Pictures by Gorpon Bro