Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1897-08-18

after hour they pressed on untiringly,
pausing once for brief rest, and when
at last the gray light Of dawn shone
through the forest the river was miles
to the rear.
Hungry and exhausted, the fugitives
threw themselves on mossy glade. A
dense forest of poplars and silver birch
es was all around them, and close by
was a babbling brook flowing over a
bed Of pebbles. Here they quenched
their thirst, and then, reckless Of the
consequences, they slept for an hour or
more until the sun was we'll up and
shining brightly through the trees.
Maurice knew that st. Petersburg
was many miles away, but he was hard
ly prepared for the Russians statement
that the actual distance was about Q, 500
miles.
"St. Petersburg lies to the west, /"
explained Grodno, "but to the Russian
frontier it is not more than 1000 miles.
That Is the point we must strike for,
and we stand good chance Of reaching
it, for the country to our west is much
Of it wild, and we are hundreds Of miles
north of the great Siberian roads where
capture would be certain"
"And what will We do for food?'
asked Maurice in. dismay. How are
we going to live through such jour-
ney as that?"
"There are villages scattered through
the country" replied Grodno, "and
the people are always willing to aid es-
capped prisoners. Our first necessity is q
change of clothes. We must rid our
selves Of these convict garments"
"But won't we be pursued?" asked
Maurice. "How can we hope to escape
the soldiers?''
"We must take the chances" replied
Grodno coolly. "Our escape was dis
covered long ago, Of course. It is posi-
BILE that when the empty boat is found
they will believe that we are at the
bottom Of the river, but it is more than
likely that the Cossacks will scour the
country. We must stay in hiding for a
few days. "
Grodno turned aside to converse with
Hamid, and Maurice explained to Phil
what the Russian had told him. In
spite Of the discouraging outlook the
boys were now hopeful.
Everything depends on reaching st.
Petersburg without being retaken," said
Maurice, "and once there, Phil, I shall
try to see this Colouel Jaroslav. II we
succeed in that, we shall be saved, and
Vladimir Saradoff shall pay dearly for
this outrage"
To Maurice, comparatively ignorant
of the tremendous obstacles in the way,
the chances Of reaching st. Petersburg
seemed very good. and his cheering
words frightened Phil considerably.
The conversation was cut short by
Grodno, who announced that it was
time to start.
The Russian was armed with the gun
and the sword, while Hamid was in
possession Of the revolver. They travel
ed on Though the forest until long past
noon, and then, worn out by long march
ing and by hunger, they halted by a
small stream. 1t was impossible to pro-
ceed farther without food. A close
search revealed few stunted raspber-
ries, which were eagerly devoured.
Birds were chattering overhead in the
trees, but Grodno refused to use his
weapon, for fear the Cossacks would
hear the report and be attracted to the
spot. They succeeded in finding enough
raspberries partly to satisfy their hun
ger, and with fresh hope they struggled
on for three or four miles.
Toward sunset glad sight met their
eyes. In small clearing amid the for
est stood a roughly built log hut Grod.
no advanced boldly to the door and, aft
er two or three unanswered knocks,
flung it open and entered. He reappear-
ed in a moment, beckoning to his COM
panions, and they hurried eagerly for
ward.
"Some woodcutter's hut, said Grod-
no. 1.-THE owner has gone away, but he
was considerate enough to leave this
behind him." and he pointed to cou-
pie of hard loaves of bread and a guam
tity Of dried mushrooms. A careful
search revealed nothing else that could
be Of use save few matches, and leav-
ing the hut they pressed on through the
forest. With sunset came a chilly
breeze, but this caused the fugitives
little Inconvenience with their heavy
woolen clothing, and when it became
too dark to travel they camped by the
side of a big rock and pulled branches
from the birch trees to make bed.
ut was q very encouraging sign, !"
Grodno said, THAT no trace of pursuit
had yet come near them"
He conversed awhile with Hamid,
and then both went calmly to sleep.
Maurice and Phil remained awake
for some time, listc ling to the rustllng
of the breeze in the tree tops and think
ing over their dreary situation. In spite
Of their weariness they were unable to
sleep.
II wish it were possible to make our
way back to Russia without our COM
panions, said Maurice. "They arc both
hard characters. l am certain of that,
and they may intend to commit other
crimes. We may find ourselves in d
worse plight than we were in before.
~ agree with yon there" replied
Phil, land, what is more, l have q
dreadful suspicion- that it was Grodno