Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1901-11-13
CHAPTER VI.
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2llJlH Ichim. Suddenly Michael
XE3&H$ caught sight of car
riage, scarcely visible
among the clouds Of dust, preceding
them along the road. AS his horses
were evidently less fatigued than those
of the other traveller, he would not be
long in oyertaking it. This was neither
a tarantass nor telga, but post ber-
lin, all over dust and looking as If 1t
had made long journey. The postil-
ion was thrashing his horses with all
his might and only kept them at
gallop by dint Of abuse and blows. The
berlin had certainly not passed through
Novo-Saimsk and could only have
struck the Irkutsk road by some less
frequented route across the steppe.
Michaeps first thought on seeing this
berlin was to get in front of 1t and ar
rive first at the relay, so as to make
sure Of fresh horses. He said word
to his driver, who soon brought him up
with the berlin.
AS he passed head was thrust out
Of the window of the berlin.
He had no time to see what 1t was
like. but as he dashed by he distinctly
heard this word uttered in an fmperi-
GUS tone:
"Stop!"
But he did not stop. On the contrary,
the berlin was soon distanced by the
tarantass.
It now became q regular race. for the
horses of the berlin. no doubt excited
by the sight and pace Of the others, re-
covered their strength and kept up for
some minutes. The two carriages were
hidden In a cloud Of dust. From this
cloud issued the cracking Of whips,
mingled with excited shouts and ex-
clamations Of anger.
Nevertheless the advantage remained
with Michael. which might be very I'M
portant to him If the relay were poorly
provided with horses. Two carriages
were perhaps more than the postmaster
could provide for. at least in short
space Of time.
Half an hour after the berlin was left
far behind. looking only speck on the
horizon on the steppe.
It was 8 o'clock In the evening when
Michael and his companion arrived at
the poSthouSe In lchim.
The news was worse and worse with
regard to the invasion.
Here had arrived just short time
before two men.
The one was English. the other
French. Both were tall and thin. but
the latter was sallow. as are the south.
ern provencals, while the former was
ruddy like a Lancashire gentleman.
The Anglo-Norman, formal, cold, grave.
parsimonious Of gestures and words.
appearing only to speak or gesticulate
under the influence Of spring operat-
ing at regular intervals. The Gaul. on
the contrary. was lively and petulant,
expressed himself with lips, eyes,
hands, all at once, having twenty diff.
ferent ways Of explaining his thoughts,
whereas his interlocutor seemed to
have only one immutably stereotyped
on his brain.
The strong contrast they presented
would at once have struck the most
superficial observer, but q physiogno-
mist, regarding them more closely.
would have defined their particular
characteristics by saying that if the
Frenchman was "all eyes," the Eng
ushman was "all ears"
In fact, the visual apparatus Of the
one had been singularly perfected by
practice. The sensibility Of its retina
must have been as instantaneous as
that Of those conjurers who recognize
q card merely by rapid movement In
cutting the pack or by the arrangement
only of marks invisible to others. The
Frenchman, indeed, possessed in the
highest degree what may be called "the
memory Of the eye"
The EngliShman, on the contrary, ap-
peared especially organized to listen
and to hear. When his aural appara-
tus had been once struck by the sound
of voice, he could not forget 1t, and
after ten or even twenty years he
would have recognized it among a
thousand. His ears, to be sure, had
not the power Of moving as freely as
those Of animals who are provided with
large auditory flaps; but since scien-
tifc men know that human ears pos
sess, in fact, very limited power Of
movement, we should not be far wrong
in affirming that those OF the said
EngliShman became erect and turned
in all directions while endeavoring to
gather in the sounds in q manner ap-
parent only to the naturalist. 1t must
be observed that this perfection Of
sight and hearing was Of wonderful
assistance to these two men in their
vocation, for the Englishman acted as
correspondent for The Daily Telegraph
and the Frenchman as correspondent
Of the-of what newspaper or Of what
newspapers he did not say. and when
asked he replied in a jocular manner
that he correSponded with his cousin
Madeleine" This Frenchman. however,
beneath his careless surface was won
derfully shrewd and sagacious. Even
while speaking ut random. perhaps the
better to hide his desire to learn, he
never forgot himself His loquacity
even helped him to conceal his thoughts,
and he was perhaps even more discreet
than his confrere Of The Daily Tele-
graph.
1t Is needless to say that these two
men were devoted to their mission in
the world-that they delighted to throw
themselves in the track Of the most un-
expected intelligence; that nothing ter