The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1890-11-06

ulllpu.
'Out for little trip, as you see" an
swered Yegor.
'sAnd here is young and charming lady,
continued the chief of police, turning towards
Nadege, ''who fears neither wretched roads
nor dangerous accidents"
Nadege bowed, growing red and pale by
turns.
eve are going to Aldanskoi," said Yegor,
with assumed carelessness 'SMy betroth-
ed and desire to get some idea of that
part of the country, with which we are
acquainted only through the vague ac-
counts"
"Of the merchants who frequent the Yak
outsk fair, interrupted the chief, with a
satirical meaning that did not escape Veg
or IT also am going to Aldanskoi," added
he.
''Indeed!" exclaimed Yegor, ironical in
his turn.
''My sole vexation is that know the way
only by this direction constantly follow the
right bank of the Lena"
The chief of police, having brought his
! own horse with him, was not escorted by
the guide furnished at each relay station.
Yegor had every interest in not letting
this man, in whom he saw an irreconcilable
foe, outwit him; the contrary would expose
him to being stopped. He, therefore, invitc
ed him to profit by his guide as far as the
nearest relay station and to accompany him
to Aldanskoi.
This proposition somewhat astonished
Yermac, but he affected to accept it with
| genuine pleasure. He thanked the exile and
added:
'FWho would have thought, when we
were at the bottom of the Oukboul shaft,
that we would again encounter each other,
on fine September morning, among the
marshes of the country Of the Yalzoutes!"
F'Do not talk Of the mine," said the exile.
cit recalls, to my great confusion, facts
that I have bitterly regretted, believe me,
| Monsieur!"
eve will drop it, then,'' he said, dryly,
| and he cOlOred.
The exile noticed that he uttered not
word that could open the way to reconcile
alton.
''I believed this road utterly unavailable
| for carriages" said Yermac. And he point
ed to the traces of the wheels of M. Lafeurs
little cart, attentively watching the exile as
| he did so.
ST thought the same" he replied. 81
was told so, but see my informant was
mistaken We have just brealfasted," con-
|
see-teal killed in the neigh6oring pond.
am going to shoot another brace or two; they
will be better for our next meal than dry
biscuit"
IT will wait for you here" said Yermac
''You do not hunt? Why then oyou carry
gun?"
The chief of police vaguely caught 2
glimpse of a hidden design in Yegor Seine
motifs words and the invitation they convey.
| ed: but he shrunk from seeming afraid and
replied, resolutely:
CHOW I think of it, why should [ not
participate in the amusement? am your
man"
Yegor ordered the guide TO go i'll advance
and asked Nadege to get into the saddle.
He motioned to his dog Wab to follow the
latter. The Yalkoute, on foot and singing an
improvisation, led by the brides the horses
of Yegor and the chief of police.
| Nadege, before departing cast upon her
lover supplicating look, which she strove
to render persuasive. He understood its
generous Specification.
The two hunters, full of distrust for each
other, passed along the edge of pond over
ground covered with a profusiOn Of dwarf
cedars. Nadege heard them discharge
their weapons several times. From affair,
she even saw number of large birds fall,
stricken by their shot This only partially
| treasured her.
| If she could have seen YegOr closer, and
noticed his fierce eyes, compressed lips and
clenched hands, she would have feared
| some violence on his part. The young man,
dismayed and overwhelmed, no longer hes
| itated at the thought of crime. He loaded
his gun with bullets, and, without further
| delay when Yermac took aim at a fen
| duck, which had just risen, covered him and
| fired.
The chief of police heard whistle about
| his ears not small hunting shot, but ball,
| which shattered the face of his cap. He no
| longer doubted the intentions of the escaped
| convict, for, in his view, Yegor was nothing
else. He thought of replying in kind as he
was also furnished with like munitions, but
| that would bring on a duel, and the rigid
| functionary Immediately discarded the idea
| as an egregious weakness an effect of fear.
| It was not his business to dsembarrass
himself of his adversary, no matter how
| criminal he might be. His strict duty for
babe that except as last resort 1t was
alive, with his hands tied behind his back
| that he should return him to the seat Of
| government.
But he had not, however, sufficient hero
ism to await the second shot that was in
tended for him. He allowed himself to fall
among the leafy bushes, just as the second
report was heard Once on the ground,
Yermac slung his gun across his back and
crawled upon his hands and knees, gliding
| through the clumps of dwarf cedars. In
this way, he succeeded in getting altogether
out of range.
The fact is that Yegor, after having re-
loaded his weapon, advanced cautiously, his
finger upon the trigger, in the direction
where the chief of police had concealed him
self from his sight. He feared trap,
surprise, a sudden attack, but found no one
on the spot where he supposed the chief
was in ambush. He secured the surround
ing thicketS, still maintaining his caution,
and, at last, lost an exact idea of the re-
spective positions they had occupied at the
moment he assailed the too jealous agent of
: the law.
! Finally he found himself again on the
1 Al