All was understood by the old Siberian, and though the young
girl was ignorant that her much-regretted companion still lived,
she at least knew his relationship to her whom she had made her mother;
and she thanked God for having given her the joy of taking the place
of the son whom the prisoner had lost.
But what neither of them could know was that Michael, having been
captured at Kolyvan, was in the same convoy and was on his way
to Tomsk with them.
The prisoners brought by Ivan Ogareff had been added to those already kept
by the Emir in the Tartar camp. These unfortunate people, consisting
of Russians, Siberians, soldiers and civilians, numbered some thousands,
and formed a column which extended over several versts. Some among them
being considered dangerous were handcuffed and fastened to a long chain.
There were, too, women and children, many of the latter suspended
to the pommels of the saddles, while the former were dragged mercilessly
along the road on foot, or driven forward as if they were animals.
The horsemen compelled them to maintain a certain order, and there were
no laggards with the exception of those who fell never to rise again.
In consequence of this arrangement, Michael Strogoff,
marching in the first ranks of those who had left the Tartar camp--
that is to say, among the Kolyvan prisoners--was unable to mingle
with the prisoners who had arrived after him from Omsk. He had
therefore no suspicion that his mother and Nadia were present in
the convoy, nor did they suppose that he was among those in front.
Pages:
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232