"
This was said in a very angry tone, but was suddenly interrupted
by a burst of laughter from his companion, who exclaimed,
"Well! this is a good joke, I must say."
"You venture to laugh!" said the Briton angrily.
"Certainly, my dear confrere, and that most heartily.
'Pon my word I never saw anything to come up to it."
Just then a crashing clap of thunder re-echoed through the defile,
and then died away among the distant peaks. When the sound
of the last growl had ceased, the merry voice went on:
"Yes, it undoubtedly is a good joke. This machine certainly
never came from France."
"Nor from England," replied the other.
On the road, by the light of the flashes, Michael saw, twenty yards
from him, two travelers, seated side by side in a most peculiar vehicle,
the wheels of which were deeply imbedded in the ruts formed in the road.
He approached them, the one grinning from ear to ear, and the other
gloomily contemplating his situation, and recognized them as the two
reporters who had been his companions on board the Caucasus.
"Good-morning to you, sir," cried the Frenchman. "Delighted to see
you here. Let me introduce you to my intimate enemy, Mr. Blount."
The English reporter bowed, and was about to introduce in his turn
his companion, Alcide Jolivet, in accordance with the rules of society,
when Michael interrupted him.
"Perfectly unnecessary, sir; we already know each other,
for we traveled together on the Volga.
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