The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1890-11-13

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sacks, and the improVised rcpast only need
| ed little gayety to render it charming, but
even NJ. Lafeur, despite all his efforts to
animate his friends, could not inspire it.
The horses, set at liberty, pasturod il 9
neighboring meadow
Yegor and Nadege had good reason for
] being full of care.
The chief of police, as VIC have seen, had
escaped from Yegor, at the same time &C
/ curing convincing proof that the trip to
| Aldanskoi was but the first step in an es-
| cape across Siberia. Besides, the shattered
face of his cap was evidence sufficient to
convince the most incredulous that a Grim
inal attempt had been made, for why should
the governors secretary have tried to take
the life of the chief of police if his presence
had not been an obstacle to his plans? The
shots fired by the exile clearly established
what he was about.
AS soon as he could safely quit his hiding
! place, Yermac searched for his horse. He
heard it neighing frequently and compre-
hended that the animal had been abandoned.
He finally saw it in the distance, wandering
at will Now it approached him, and then
it tore madly away as if under the influence
of fear
He strove to overtake it, but his strength
failed him. On leaving Yakoutsk, he had
brought with him only few pounds of bis.
cult, but even this slight supply of provis-
ions was in the valise fastened to the horses
saddle. The recovery of the animal was,
therefore, an imperative necessity
Happily, the horse eventually recognized
It's master and ran to him. But the fugi-
tiyes had now more than three hours start
I, 4Io Of Of
solved to continue his pursuit of them Once
at Aldanskoi, he would procure, thought he,
reliable messenger to inform the governor
Of the exile's escape and ask for squad OF
Cossacks.
Let us return to the fugitive3 and the
brave man who was aiding them.
After a few hours rest, they resumed
their travels. They found only marshes
before them; green grass and hills became
rare. The sky clouded; snow fell-the first
of the autumn-and the thermometer sank
to two degrees below zero. When they
again erected their tent they were forced to
light fire. Affair off, in the narrow valleys
of the Verkho- Yansk Mountains, they heard
torrent roaring The next day they ford.
ed it.
This operation was not effected without
considerable fatigue; the banks Of the tor
rent were encountered with up-rooted trees
and enormous blocks of stone precipitated
from the neighboring heights. But, at last.
they were out OF the marshes and were ap-
preaching the Verkho Yansk chain. Once
there, they would be safe!
AS they advanced, the forests, rare at
first, were more frequently met. In them
the poplar trees grew to an enormous size,
and upon the dry lands dwarf cedars min
gled with birches and frs. In the last
mentioned forests, heath-cocl1s abounded,
and M Lafleur and little Ladislas, who
was capital shot, hunted them with sue
cess.
At length, the passage of the formidable
chain of mountains was begun. The wind
blew, that day, with violence and increased
the difficulties of the undertaking.
The cart made its way toilsomely among
the fragments of rock which streWed the
narrow road. The ascent of the rugged
slopes was dangerous in the extreme. The
travellers wound about enormous masses OF
black rock entirely bare, the submits OF
which sloped at an elevation of several hun.
dred feet. They passed along the edges OF
deep abySSeS.
They pushed slowly through gloomy de-
file in which the wind ragged. On emerging
from it, M. Lafeur advised Yegor to put the
cart in an elbow formed by the rocks, which
would enable Nadege and little Ladislas tc
rest for few instants sheltered from the
blast and to gather a fresh supply of
strength. This advice was adopted and the
party halted. The horses were tied to huge
trees.
While the young girl and her brother took
some provisions from the sacks, Yegor, M.
LafeQr, and the Yakoute Tekel scaled the
sides of the mountain to make observations.
Stones loosened by their feet rolled down
behind them.
They reached narrow platform which
the whistling wind swept over Behind
them, the side of the mountain inclined
menacingly. Thick clouds floated above
their heads and torrent, the noise of which
was brought to them at intervals by the
blast, roared near at hand
From this eliminating point, they saw, as
it were behind a suddenly raised curtain,
the imposing chain of mountains stretching
as far as the eye could reach, its axis run
ming towards its frozen pole amid vast soli-
tudes that could readily be imagined. It
was as if the gigantic waves of an ocean
dashed by tempest had been suddenly
petrifed and the vertigo of troubled
gaze had all at once put them again in mo-
ton.
The aspect of these massive portions of
tremendous frame, black with northern
trees, with their lofty SUBMITS loaded down
with snow, their crystal glaciers packed be-
tween high slopes, their sombre defles
often torn by the lightning, and their steep.
inaccessible walls-all this saddened the
heart, froze the senses and troubled the
mind.
And beneath the dark sky stretching to
infnity, the parallel chains and their lateral
extensions with their few grassy plains, the
ramifcations of desolate valleys dimly seen
through narrow gorges, the unfathomable
ravines, the gaps from which assembled in
blush vapor the foam of waterfalls, the i'm
measurable circular basins the blancned
elevations and tEv sharp peaks.
The spot was lugubrious, desolate and
sad-more than sad-sinister. It seemed
chosen for the accomplishment of crime.
Suddenly, from this post Of observation.
Tl.a Ny.I-c11to dicoo.oro1 11,1o,, tho vx-or4a,.,