Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1901-12-25

! vivacity that was never wanting. TheI
adroitly, without at first insisting on !
too much, he spoke Of the gravity o.
the situation, exaggerating. as he hat
done while addressing the grand duke
both the successes Of the Tartars ant
the forces at their disposal. TO lister
to him, the succor would be insutticien
should 1t even come. and 1t was to b'
feared that a battle fought under thu
walls of Irkutsk would be as disas
trous as the battles Of Kalyvan. ol
Tomsk and Of Krasnoiarsk.
Ivan Ogaref was not at first Lavish
in these sinister insInuations. He tool
care they should penetrate by degrees
into the minds Of the defenders OF lr
kutsk. He seemed to answer only wher
q great many questions were put tt
him and then as though with regret
In any case be added always that u
must defend itself 10 the last man. anC
they must blow 1t up rather than sur
render 1t!
Ii the defenders Of irkutsk coulc
have been discouraged. Ivan Ogaren
had chosen an efficient means. Blu,
the garrison and population OF irkutsb
were too patriotic to allow themselves
to be frightened. or those soldiers. OF
those citizens, shut up In an isolated
town at the farthest end Of the Asiatic
world, not one had dreamed OF speak
ing of capitulation. The disdain OF
Russia for those barbarians was with
out limit In any case no one for mo-
ment suspected the hateful role which
Ivan Ogareff was playing. No one
could have imagined that the pretended
courier of the czar was nothing else
than traitor.
A circumstance altogether unnatural
was the cause. from his arrival at lr.
kutsk. OF there being frequent relations
between Ivan Ogareff and one OF Its
bra vest defenders. Wassili Feodor One
knows with what anxiety this unhap'
py father was devoured. If his daugh'
ter, Nadia Feodor. had left Russia al
the date assigned by the last letter lie
had received from Riga. what had be-
come Of her? Was she still trying to
traverse the invaded provinces. or
rather. had she already been for a long
time a prisoner? Wassili Fcodor could
not find any solace for his sorrow ex'
cept when he had some opportunity OF
fighting against the Tartars. opportu'
mites which were too seldom for his
liking. Now. when Wassili Feodor was
Informed Of the unexpected arrival OF
q courier from the car he had pre-.
sentiment that this courier could give
him some tidings Of his daughter. II
was only a very slight hope. but Still
he clung to 1t.
WassIII Feodor went TO find Ivan
Ogaref, who availed himself Of this
opportunity to have daily relations
with the commandant. Did the rene
gade think he could turn that clrcum-
stance to his own profit? Did he judge
all men by himself? Could he believe
that q Russian, even a political exile,
could be so mean as to betray his coun-
try? Whatever was the case. Ivan
Ogaref met with skillfully feigned ca
gerness all the advances made to him
by the father Of Nadia. The latter, the
very next morning after the arrival OF
the pretended courier, went to the pal
ace of the governor general. There ne
Informed Ivan Ogareff Of the circum.
stances under which his daughter had
to leave European Russia and told him
now what was his anxiety In her re.
gard.
Ivan Ogareff did not know Nadia. al
though he had met her at the post
house Of Ichim the day on which she
was there with Michael Strogoff. But
then he had paid no more attention to
her than the two journalists. who were
at the same time in the pOsthouse. He
could not therefore give any news OF
his daughter to Wasslli Feodor.
"But at what lime." asked Ivan Oga-
ref. had your daughter 10 leave Rus
sian territory?'
AT nearly the same time as YOU" re-
piled Wassili Feodor.
Il quilted Moscow on the 18th OF
July"
And Nadia also had to leave Moscow
on that date. Her letter told me so ex.
pressly."
"She was at Moscow OH the 18th OF
July?" asked Ivan Ogarefr.
"Yes. certainly at that date"
Every WE'LL" replied Ivan Ogaref
Then. recollecting himself, he added
But. no: l was forgetting. was
about to confound dates. 1t is unfortu
nately too probable that your daugh'
ter has had to cross the frontier. and
only one hope remains-that she may
have stopped on receiving news Of the
Tartar invaSion!
Wassili Feodor hung down his head
He knew Nadia. and he knew well that
nothing would prevent her setting OF
By this statement Ivan Ogareff had
just committed gratuitously an act OF
real cruelty. With one word he coulo
reassure Wassili FeOdor.
Although Nadia had passed the fron
tier under the circumstances previous
ly described. Wassili Feodor. by com
pairing the date at which his daughter
was certainly at Mini Novgorod and
the date of the order forbidding any one
to leave it. would without doubt draw
this conclusion-that Nadia could moi
have been exposed to the dangers oi
an invasion and that she was still, II
spite Of herself. on the European terri
tory Of the empire.
Ivan Ogarelf might have said thai