Should the raft
be stopped, not only would the fugitives not reach Irkutsk,
but they would be obliged to leave their floating platform,
for it would be very soon smashed to pieces in the ice.
The osier ropes would break, the fir trunks torn asunder would
drift under the hard crust, and the unhappy people would have
no refuge but the ice blocks themselves. Then, when day came,
they would be seen by the Tartars, and massacred without mercy!
Michael returned to the spot where Nadia was waiting for him.
He approached the girl, took her hand, and put to her
the invariable question: "Nadia, are you ready?" to which she
replied as usual, "I am ready!"
For a few versts more the raft continued to drift amongst
the floating ice. Should the river narrow, it would soon form
an impassable barrier. Already they seemed to drift slower.
Every moment they encountered severe shocks or were compelled
to make detours; now, to avoid running foul of a block, there to
enter a channel, of which it was necessary to take advantage.
At length the stoppages became still more alarming.
There were only a few more hours of night. Could the fugitives
not reach Irkutsk by five o'clock in the morning, they must
lose all hope of ever getting there at all.
At half-past one, notwithstanding all efforts, the raft
came up against a thick barrier and stuck fast. The ice,
which was drifting down behind it, pressed it still closer,
and kept it motionless, as though it had been stranded.
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