The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1892-03-17

asleep. Masha wrapped hcrseif IN
shawl, put on \ warm cloak and with .
box IN her hand passed out onto the
back staircase. The mnid carried two
bundles after her. They descended into
the garden. The snowstorn ragedi q
strong wind blew against them, as If
trying 10 stop the young cnlprit With
difficulty they reached the end Of the
garden. In the road q sledge awaited
them.
The horses, from cold, would not stand
still VladimiT's Coachman was walking
TO and fro in front OF them, trying to
quiet them. He helped the young lady
and her maid to their seats and, packing
away the bundles and dressing case,
took up the reins and the horses hew
forward into the darkness Of the night.
Having intrusted the young lady to
the care Of fate and Of Tereshka, the
coachmRn. let us return to the young
lover.
Vladimir had spent the whole day in
driving. In the morning he had called
on the Jadrino priest aud with difficulty
came to terms with him. Then he went
to seek the witnesses from among the
neighbOring gentry. The first on whom
he called was former cOrnet Of horse,
Drawn by name, man In his foFdes,
who consented at once. The adventure,
be declared, reminded him Of old times
and Of his larks when he was in the
Hussars. He persuaded Vladimir tostop
to dinner with him, assuring him that
there would be no difficulty in getting
the other two witnesses. Indeed, imme-
diately after dinner in came the sur.
veyor, Schmidt, with q mustache and
spurs, and the son Of q captain magis-
trate, q boy Of sixteen, who had recently
entered the Uhlans. They not only ac-
cepted Vladimir's proposal, but even
swore that they were ready to sacrifice
their lives for him. Vladimir embraced
them with delight and drove of to get
everything ready.
It had long been dark. Vladimir dis
patched his Trustworthy Tereshka TO
NenRradova with his two horse sledge,
and with appropriate instructions for
the occasion. For himself he ordered
the small sledge with one horse and
started alone without a coachman for
JadrinO. where Maria ought to arrive in
q couple Of hours. He knew the road,
and the drive would oply occupy twenty
minutes
But Vladimir had scarcely passed
from the Enclosure into the open field
when the wind rose, and soon there was
. driving snowstorm so heavy and so
severe that he could not see. In q mo-
ment the road was covered with snow.
All landmarks disappeared in the murky
yellow darkness, through which fell
white fakes Of snow. Sky and earth be-
came merged into one. Vladimir, in the
midst Of the field, tried in vain to get to
the road. The horse walked on at ram
dom, and every moment stepped either
into deep snow or into rut, so that the
sledge was constantly upsetting.
Vladimir tried at least not to lose the
right direction, but it seemed to him
that more than half an hour had passed,
and he had not yet reached the Jadrino
wood. Another ten minutes passed, and
still the wood was invisible. Vladimir
drove across fields intersected by deep
bitches. The snowstorm did not Abate,
and the sky did not clear, The horse
was getting tired, and the Precipitation
rolled from him like hail, in spite Of the
fact that every moment his legs were
disappearing in the snow.
At last Vladimir found that he was 60
ing in the wrong direction. He stopped,
began to reflect, recollect, and consider,
till at last he became convinced that he
ought to have turned to the right. He
did so now. His horse could scarcely
drag along. But he had been more than
an hour on the road, and Jadrino could
not now be far. He drove and drove,
hut there was no getting out Of the field.
Still, snowdriftS and bitches. Every mo-
ment the sledge was upset, and every
moment Vladimir had to raise it up.