"The fact is," said he to himself, "that I have much more need of her
than she can have of me. Her presence will be useful in drawing
off suspicion from me. A man traveling alone across the steppe,
may be easily guessed to be a courier of the Czar. If, on the contrary,
this young girl accompanies me, I shall appear, in the eyes of all,
the Nicholas Korpanoff of my podorojna. Therefore, she must
accompany me. Therefore, I must find her again at any cost.
It is not probable that since yesterday evening she has been able
to get a carriage and leave Nijni-Novgorod. I must look for her.
And may God guide me!"
Michael left the great square of Nijni-Novgorod, where the tumult
produced by the carrying out of the prescribed measures had now
reached its height. Recriminations from the banished strangers,
shouts from the agents and Cossacks who were using them so brutally,
together made an indescribable uproar. The girl for whom he searched
could not be there. It was now nine o'clock in the morning.
The steamboat did not start till twelve. Michael Strogoff had
therefore nearly two hours to employ in searching for her whom
he wished to make his traveling companion.
He crossed the Volga again and hunted through the quarters
on the other side, where the crowd was much less considerable.
He entered the churches, the natural refuge for all who weep,
for all who suffer. Nowhere did he meet with the young Livonian.
"And yet," he repeated, "she could not have left Nijni-Novgorod yet.
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