Michael Strogoff; Or the Courier of the Czar: A Literary Classic Page 9

  Half an hour later on, the podorojna being presented by Michael, three post-horses were harnessed to the tarantass. These animals, covered with long hair, were very like long-legged bears. They were small, but spirited, being of Siberian breed.

  The way in which the iemschik had harnessed them was thus: one, the largest, was secured between two long shafts, on whose farther end was a hoop, called a “douga,” carrying tassels and bells; the two others were simply fastened by ropes to the steps of the tarantass. This was the complete harness, with mere strings for reins.

  Neither Michael Strogoff nor the young Livonian girl had any baggage. The rapidity with which one wished to make the journey, and the more than modest resources of the other, prevented them from embarrassing themselves with packages. It was a fortunate thing, under the circumstances, for the tarantass could not have carried both baggage and travellers. It was only made for two persons, without counting the iemschik, who kept his equilibrium on his narrow seat in a marvellous manner.

  The iemschik is changed at every relay. The man who drove the tarantass during the first stage was, like his horses, a Siberian, and no less shaggy than they; long hair, cut square on the forehead, hat with a turned-up brim, red belt, coat with crossed facings and buttons stamped with the imperial cipher. The iemschik, on coming up with his team, threw an inquisitive glance at the passengers of the tarantass. No luggage!—and had there been, where in the world could he have stowed it? Rather shabby in appearance too. He looked contemptuous.

  “Crows,” said he, without caring whether he was overheard or not; “crows, at six copecks a verst!”

  “No, eagles!” said Michael, who understood the iemschik’s slang perfectly; “eagles, do you hear, at nine copecks a verst, and a tip besides.”

  He was answered by a merry crack of the whip.

  In the language of the Russian postillions the “crow” is the stingy or poor traveller, who at the post-houses only pays two or three copecks a verst for the horses. The “eagle” is the traveller who does not mind expense, to say nothing of liberal tips. Therefore the crow could not claim to fly as rapidly as the imperial bird.

  Nadia and Michael immediately took their places in the tarantass. A small store of provisions was put in the box, in case at any time they were delayed in reaching the post-houses, which are very comfortably provided under direction of the State. The hood was pulled up, as it was insupportably hot, and at twelve o’clock the tarantass, drawn by its three horses, left Perm in a cloud of dust.

  The way in which the iemschik kept up the pace of his team would have certainly astonished travellers who, being neither Russians nor Siberians, were not accustomed to this sort of thing. The leader, rather larger than the others, kept to a steady long trot, perfectly regular, whether up or down hill. The two other horses seemed to know no other pace than the gallop, though they performed many an eccentric curvette as they went along. The iemschik, however, never touched them, only urging them on by startling cracks of his whip. But what epithets he lavished on them, including the names of all the saints in the calendar, when they behaved like docile and conscientious animals! The string which served as reins would have had no influence on the spirited beasts, but the words “na pravo,” to the right, “na levo,” to the left, pronounced in a guttural tone, were more effectual than either bridle or snaffle.

  And what amiable expressions, according to the circumstances!

  “Go on, my doves!” the iemschik would say. “Go on, pretty swallows! Fly, my little pigeons! Hold up my cousin on the left! Gee up, my little father on the right!”

  But when the pace slackened, what insulting expressions, instantly understood by the sensitive animals!

  “Go on, you wretched snail! Confound you, you slug! I’ll roast you alive, you tortoise, you!”

  Whether or not it was from this way of driving, which requires the iemschiks to possess strong throats more than muscular arms, the tarantass flew along at a rate of from twelve to fourteen miles an hour.

  Michael Strogoff was accustomed both to the sort of vehicle and the mode of travelling. Neither jerks nor jolts incommoded him. He knew that a Russian driver never even tries to avoid either stones, ruts, bogs, fallen trees, or trenches, which may happen to be in the road. He was used to all that His companion ran a risk of being hurt by the violent jolts of the tarantass, but she would not complain.

  For a little while Nadia did not speak. Then possessed with the one thought, that of reaching her journey’s end:

  “I have calculated that there are three hundred versts between Perm and Ekaterenburgh, brother,” said she. “Am I right?”

  “You are quite right, Nadia,” answered Michael; “and when we have reached Ekaterenburg, we shall be at the foot of the Ural Mountains on the opposite side to this.”

  “How long will it take to get across the mountains?”

  “Forty-eight hours, for we shall travel day and night. I say day and night, Nadia,” added he, “for I cannot stop even for a moment, and I must go on without rest towards Irkutsk.”

  “I shall not delay you, brother; no, not even for an hour, and we will travel day and night”

  “Well then, Nadia, if the Tartar invasion has only left the road open, we shall arrive in twenty days.”

  “You have made this journey before?” asked Nadia.

  “Many times.”

  “During winter we should have gone more rapidly and surely, should we not?”

  “Yes, especially with more rapidity, but you would have suffered much from the frost and snow.”

  “What matter! Winter is the friend of Russia.”

  “Yes, Nadia, but what a constitution any one must have to endure such friendship! I have often seen the temperature in the Siberian steppes fall to more than forty degrees below freezing point! I have felt, notwithstanding my reindeer coat,* my heart growing chill, my limbs stiffening, my feet freezing in triple woollen socks; I have seen my sleigh horses covered with a coating of ice, their breath congealed at their nostrils. I have seen the brandy in my flask change into hard stone, on which not even my knife could make an impression. But my sleigh flew like the wind. Not an obstacle on the plain, white and level farther than the eye could reach. No rivers in which one is obliged to look for a fordable passage. No lakes which must be crossed in boats. Hard ice everywhere, the route open, the road sure. But at the price of what suffering, Nadia, those alone could say, who have never returned, but whose bodies have been covered up by the snowstorm.”

  “However, you have returned, brother,” said Nadia.

  “Yes, but I am a Siberian, and, when quite a child, I used to follow my father to the chase, and so became inured to these hardships. But when you said to me, Nadia, that winter would not have stopped you, that you would have gone alone, ready to struggle against the frightful inclemencies of the Siberian climate, I seemed to see you lost in the snow and falling, never to rise again.”

  “How many times have you crossed the steppe in winter?” asked the young Livonian.

  “Three times, Nadia, when I was going to Omsk.”

  “And what were you going to do at Omsk?”

  “See my mother, who was expecting me.”

  “And I am going to Irkutsk, where my father expects me. I am taking him my mother’s last words. That is as much as to tell you, brother, that nothing would have prevented me from setting out”

  “You are a brave girl, Nadia,” replied Michael. “God Himself would have led you.”

  All day the tarantass was driven rapidly by the iemschiks, who succeeded each other at every stage. The eagles of the mountain would not have found their name dishonoured by these “eagles” of the highway. The high price paid for each horse, and the tips dealt out so freely, recommended the travellers in a special way. Perhaps the postmasters thought it singular that, after the publication of the order, a young man and his sister, evidently both Russians, could travel freely across Siberia, which was closed to every one else, but their papers were
all en règle and they had the right to pass.

  However, Michael Strogoff and Nadia were not the only travellers on their way from Perm to Ekaterenburg. At the first stages, the courier of the Czar had learnt that a carriage preceded them, but, as there was no want of horses, he did not trouble himself about that.

  During the day, halts were made for food alone. At the post-houses could be found lodging and provision. Besides, if there was not an inn, the house of the Russian peasant would have been no less hospitable. In the villages, which are almost all alike, with their white-walled, green-roofed chapels, the traveller might knock at any door, and it would be opened to him. The moujik would come out, smiling and extending his hand to his guest He would offer him bread and salt, the burning charcoal would be put into the “samovar,” and he would be made quite at home. The family would turn out themselves rather than that he should not have room. The stranger is the relation of all. He is “one sent by God.”

  On arriving that evening Michael instinctively asked the postmaster how many hours ago the carriage which preceded them had passed that stage.

  “Two hours ago, little father,” replied the postmaster.

  “Is it a berlin?”

  “No, a telga.”

  “How many travellers?”

  “Two.”

  “And they are going fast?”

  “Eagles!”

  “Let them put the horses to as soon as possible.”

  Michael and Nadia, resolved not to stop even for an hour, travelled all night.

  The weather continued fine, though the atmosphere was heavy and gradually becoming charged with electricity. Not a cloud was in the sky, but a sort of mist ascended from the ground. It was to be hoped that a storm would not burst whilst they were among the mountains, for there it would be terrible. Being accustomed to read atmospheric signs, Michael Strogoff knew that a struggle of the elements was approaching.

  The night passed without incident. Notwithstanding the jolting of the tarantass, Nadia was able to sleep for some hours. The hood was partly raised so as to give as much air as there was in the stifling atmosphere.

  Michael kept awake all night, mistrusting the iemschiks, who are only too ready to sleep at their posts, and not an hour was lost at the relays, not an hour on the road.

  The next day, the 20th of July, at about eight o’clock in the morning, they caught the first glimpse of the Ural Mountains in the east. However, this important chain which separates Russia in Europe from Siberia was still at a great distance, and they could not hope to reach it until the end of the day. The passage of the mountains must necessarily be performed during the next night.

  The sky was very cloudy all day, and the temperature was therefore more bearable, but the weather was very threatening.

  It would perhaps have been more prudent not to have ascended the mountains during the night, and Michael would not have done so, had he been permitted to wait; but when, at the last stage, the iemschik drew his attention to a peal of thunder reverberating among the rocks, he merely said:

  “Is a telga still before us?”

  “Yes.”

  “How long is it in advance?”

  “Nearly an hour.”

  “Forward, and a triple tip if we are at Ekaterenburg tomorrow morning.”

  * This coat is called a “dakha;” it is very light, and yet almost impervious to the cold.

  CHAPTER X.

  A STORM IN THE URAL MOUNTAINS.

  THE Ural Mountains extend in a length of nearly three thousand versts between Europe and Asia. Whether they are called the Urals, which is the Tartar, or the Poyas, which is the Russian name, they are correctly so termed; for these names signify “belt” in both languages. Rising on the shores of the Arctic Sea, they reach the borders of the Caspian. Such was the barrier to be crossed by Michael Strogoff before he could enter Siberian Russia, and, as has been said, he acted wisely in taking the road leading from Perm to Ekaterenburg, situated on the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains. This was the easiest and surest route, as it was that of all the commerce of Central Asia. The mountains could be crossed in one night, if no accident happened. Unfortunately, thunder muttering in the distance announced that a storm was at hand. The electric tension was such that it could not be dispersed without a tremendous explosion, which in the peculiar state of the atmosphere would be very terrible.

  Michael took care that his young companion should be as well protected as possible. The hood, which might have been easily blown away, was fastened more securely with ropes, crossed above and at the back. The traces were doubled, and, as an additional precaution, the nave-boxes were stuffed with straw, as much to increase the strength of the wheels as to lessen the jolting, unavoidable on a dark night Lastly, the fore and hinder parts, connected simply by the axles to the body of the tarantass, were joined one to the other by a crossbar, fixed by means of pins and screws. This bar took the place of the curved bar which in berlins, suspended on the “swans-necks,” fastens the two axles one to the other.

  Nadia resumed her place in the cart, and Michael took his seat beside her. Before the lowered hood hung two leathern curtains, which would in some degree protect the travellers against the wind and rain.

  Two great lanterns, suspended on the left of the iemschik’s seat, threw a pale glimmer scarcely sufficient to light the way, but serving as warning lights to prevent any other carriage from running into them.

  It was well that all these precautions were taken, in expectation of a rough night.

  “Nadia, we are ready,” said Michael Strogoff.

  “Let us start,” answered the young girl.

  The order was given to the iemschik, and away rattled the tarantass up the first slopes of the Ural Mountains.

  It was eight o’clock, and darkness was coming on in spite of the lengthened twilight of these latitudes. Masses of vapour, as yet disturbed by no wind, hung in the vault of heaven. Although they had no lateral motion, they were evidently gradually approaching the earth. Some of these clouds, emitting a lurid glare, enveloped the mountains on descending, as if chased down by some upper storm. The road led up towards these dense masses, and should the clouds not soon resolve into rain, the fog would be such that the tarantass would be unable to advance without the danger of falling over some precipice.

  The Ural chain does not attain any very great height, the highest summit not being more than five thousand feet. Eternal snow is there unknown, and what is piled up by the Siberian winter is soon melted by the summer sun. Shrubs and trees grow to a considerable height. The iron and copper mines, as well as those of precious stones, draw a considerable number of workmen to that region. Also, those villages termed “gavody” are there met with pretty frequently, and the road through the great passes is easily practicable for post-carriages.

  But what is easy enough in fine weather and broad daylight, offers difficulties and perils when the elements are engaged in fierce warfare, and the traveller is in the midst of it.

  Michael Strogoff knew from former experience what a storm in the mountains was, and perhaps this would be as terrible as the snowstorms which burst forth with such vehemence in the winter.

  Rain was not yet falling, so Michael raised the leathern curtains which protected the interior of the tarantass and looked out, watching the sides of the road, peopled with fantastic shadows, caused by the wavering light of the lanterns.

  Nadia, motionless, her arms folded, gazed forth also, though without leaning forward, whilst her companion, his body half out of the carriage, examined both sky and earth.

  The calmness of the atmosphere was very threatening, the air being perfectly still. It was just as if Nature were half stifled, and could no longer breathe; her lungs, that is to say those gloomy, dense clouds, not being able to perform their functions. The silence would have been complete but for the grindings of the wheels of the tarantass over the road, the creaking of the axles and boards, the snorting of the horses and the clattering of their iron hoo
fs among the pebbles, sparks flying out on every side.

  The road was perfectly deserted. The tarantass encountered neither pedestrians nor horsemen, nor a vehicle of any description, in the narrow defiles of the Ural, on this threatening night. Not even the fire of a charcoal-burner was visible in the woods, not an encampment of miners near the mines, not a hut among the brushwood.

  Under these peculiar circumstances it might have been allowable to postpone the journey across the mountains till the morning. Michael Strogoff, however, had not hesitated, he had no right to stop, but then—and it began to cause him some anxiety—what possible reason could those travellers in the telga ahead have for being so imprudent?

  Michael remained thus on the look-out for some time. About eleven o’clock lightning began to blaze continuously in the sky. The shadows of huge pines at different elevations appeared and disappeared in the rapid light. Sometimes when the tarantass neared the side of the road, deep gulfs, lit up by the flashes, could be seen yawning beneath them. From time to time, on their vehicle giving a worse lurch than usual, they knew that they were crossing a bridge of roughly-hewn planks thrown over some chasm, thunder appearing actually to be rumbling below them. Besides this, a booming sound filled the air, which increased as they mounted higher. With these different noises rose the shouts and exclamations of the iemschik, sometimes scolding, sometimes coaxing his poor beasts, who were suffering more from the oppression of the air than the roughness of the roads. Even the bells on the shafts could no longer rouse them, and they stumbled every instant.

  “At what time shall we reach the top of the ridge?” asked Michael of the iemschik.

  “At one o’clock in the morning if we ever get there at all,” replied he, with a shake of his head.

  “Why, my friend, this will not be your first storm in the mountains, will it?”

  “No, and pray God it may not be my last!”

  “Are you afraid?”

  “No, I’m not afraid, but I repeat that I think you were wrong in starting.”