The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1891-01-29
THE EXILES.s
=
sRUSSIAN STORY.


to two Jennings Ga species of small rat)
caught in the traps he had set on the marshy
plain which bordered upon the shore of the
sea. The foxes and gluttons obstlnately
kept away from the traps.
He had also discovered several hiding
places in which foxes had collected numer-
Gus jennings slain by them, as one might
Judge from the fact that their skulls had
been pierced by the canine teeth of those
animals. In one of these hiding places,
Yermac found half of white hare. But
the flesh of all these creatures, spoiled by
its long stay in the earth, could only be used
by him as bait for his traps.
He was hungry, but would accept nothing
from his companions He did not regret,
despite the 'tortures Of his stomach, having
voluntarily stepped aside from the common
life. Nevertheless, he comprehended that
if he did not take some energetic resolution
he would run the risk OF perlshlng from IN
anition.
The fall Of the temperature augmented
the sharpness of his wants. His limbs grew
numb and his sight became extremely faint
His skin grew dry, discolOred and earthy;
it seemed glued to his bones, so prompt had
been the emaciation of the muscles. His
pulse was scarcely perceptible; his body lost
all warmth and it seemed to him that his
very breath was frozen. He dragged himself
along like man who is slowly recovering
from a severe illness.
His sleep became light, and, when he
strove to summon slumber as a restoring
agent the lethargy which took possession
of him frightened him-he saw in it pre-
cursor Of death. He felt himself subjected
to the most terrible Trial he n@G yea undeE"
gone in a life full Of painful incidents. and
vet he was not afraid of weakening In his
resolution. of being forced to ask favors Or
Of placing himself anew at the mercy of the
fugitives What he feared was that death
might compel him to abandon the pursuit
Of them, that he might not be able to re-
turn from one of his nocturnal walks, in
the pain have caused you'll"
"Ah! Dimitri!" cried Yermac, greatly
moved, do not talk thus At this moment
many things are forgotten. But how were
you able to get hereto push your search so
far?"
tThe courage of the child did everything.
AS for me, felt that was dying and did
not wish to lose an hour, in order to redeem
myself in your eyes, to turn from me your
malediction."
What an affecting scene was this recon
Citation of father and son in this vast frame,
lighted up by the last phase of the aurora
borealis, in which now the glare OF huge
conflagration was mingled with the soft
shades of early dawn!
That night was finished in the hut amid
the chat of Ladislas and the happy Mad
eye and the confidential talk of Dimitri
and his father. The Yakoutes feted the
Tunguse.
! At length, Yermac said to Yegor:
''Thanks to my son, am able to restore
you this child whom we all believed lost
and who certainly, would have died of want
without Dimitri Do you not think, Sem
enOff, that this is something's"
"You were our debtor, Yermac; am
now yours, +" he answered. But do not all
these circumstances cause you to reflect?
Will you not, at last, depart from that cruel
attitude towards US which has made Us enc
mies?"
'.As to that, it is impossible!"
1--WE esteem and hate each otherI"
Z 81 have no hatred"
'But I should much prefer hatred, the
blind instrument of barbarous legislation,
to that inflexibility of character which moth
nothing can move Your hatred, if not al
ready extinguished, would surely be extin-
guished at this hour when we contract such
great obligations towards you. But you can
neither hate nor love-"
81 obey more elevated dictates"
70 "Here, take your weapons again, Yer
mac" said Yegor. Whatever you may say,
] now no longer fear anything from you
rUo1~ l,o, IL
yours and take mine I owe you that" add
ed he, casting a compassionate look on poor
Dimitri, whose soul seemed about to take its
flight
From that moment, NJ. Lafeur was forced
to transform himself altogether into nurse.
1t was not easy to care for Yermac's son.
The ball had penetrated deeply, and the
Partisan possessed none of the resources of
a surgeon.
Hence the state of the unhappy young
man grew worse with extreme rapldlty
There was no hope for him.
A few days later-at the nocturnal hour
when Dimitm had arrived at the camp of
the fugitves-three men, the two Yakoutes
and the Tunguse, lighted a fire upon the
shore of the sea to dig a grave. When the
fire had sunk in the snow to the level Of
the SOIL, JQ6 UlT66 men Jug up Gu0 SdIGn
with a spear of hard wood. After an hour
of this toll, which by developing their heat
caused to hover above them vapor whiten-
ed by the moon in its fugitive apparitions,
the three men returned to the hut to an
nounce that the grave was ready.
An instant afterwards, they reappeared
without, bearing stiffened body wrapped
In a sheet of cloth Ladislas preceded them.
He held in his hand a lantern to illuminate
the dark points of the road. Yermac came
behind them, followed by Yegor and M.
Lafeur.
Around the hut, the dogs were bowling in
alamentable fashion. 1t was the knell OF
the dead.
This group Of men advanced over the
rough surface of the soil, through lugubri-
Gus obscurity and beneath a sky yelled by
rapidly moving clouds Itwas terribly cold,
the thermometer indicating thirty-two de-
grees below zero.
They reached the grave. There, without
the least rite the frozen body was laid in
10 frO1o7 cy7sO71pS op5 oOyTnrod with cOOyT