The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1902-01-01
BY Jules Verne


soil, which, being strongly tr0lden
down. had the hardness Of rock, and
ut length he succeeded in drawing from
! it the body Of the unfortunate man.
He listened if his heart. still beat. it
beat no more!
He wished then to bury it, that 1t
might not remain exposed on the
steppe, and that hole in which Nicho-
las had been buried alive he enlarged
! and deepened in such manner as to
be able to lay MIN there when dead.
The faithful Serko was placed near his
master.
At that moment q great noise was
heard on the road about half verst
away.
Michael StrogoG listened.
By the noise he kuew-9at once that a
detachment Of cavalry was advancing
toward the Dinka. -.-
NADIA, Nadiap' said he in low
voice.
At his voice Nadia, who had remained
in prayer, rose up. =
''You see them! You see them" he
said to her.
''The Tartarsw she murmured.
It was indeed the advance guard Of
the emir which was defling quickly on
the road to Irkutsk.
s'They shall not preventive from in
terring him." said Michael Strogof.
And he continued his work.
Soon Nicholas body, with his hands
Joined on his sbreasts>was laid in the
tomb. Michael Strogof and Nadia,
kneeling down. prayed the last time for
that poor being. good and inoffensive,
who through devotedness. to them had
lost his life.
"And now" said MlchaeiE throwing
back the earth, 1.-The wolves; OF the
steppe shall not devour him"
Then his hand stretched in menace
toward the troop Of horsemen which
was passing. .-,--. -...
"On our journey. Nadia", said he.
Michael Strogof could no longer fol-
low the highroad. now occupied by the
Tartars. Eemust throw himself across
the steppe and turn Irkutsk. In doing
i, this they would have to cross the Din
ka and thus would be relieved from one
great anxiety.
Nadia could no longer drag herself
along, but she could see for him. he
took her in his arms and struck into
the southwest Of the province.
There remained for them to travel
more than 200 versts. How could 1t
be done? How could food be found on
the journey2
By what superhuman energy would
they succeed in passing the first slopes
OF the Sayensk mountains? Neither
Nadia nor he could tell.
And yet twelve days after, at s o'clock
IN the evening. an immense sheet Of
water rolled at the feet Of Michael Stro-
goT.
It was Lake Baikal.;
Lake Baikal is situated at a height
Of LOO feet above the level Of the sea.
Its length it about 900 versts, its
breadth about hundred. It's depth IS
| unknown. Nine. de Bourboulon tells
US that the sailors say that it wishes to
! be called Mrs. Sea-" If one calls it
'.Mr. Lake." it at once is in a rage.
Anyhow, according to a Russian legend.
Russian is never drowned there.
This immense basin of fresh water,
fed by more than 800 rivers, is embos-
omed in magnificent circle Of vol
canic mountains. 1t has no other out
let but the Angara, which, after haV-
ing passed Irkutsk, throws itself into
the Yenisei a little above the town Of
Yeniseisk.
+ The first days Of October had come.
| The sun now sank below the horizon at
5 o'clock. and the long nights allowed
the temperature to fall to zero in the
thermometers. The first snow, which
was to remain until summer, already
whitened the neighb6ring heights. Dur
ing the Siberian winter this interior
sea, with its ice several feet thick. is
dotted with trains OF couriers and cara
| vans.
1t was at the southwest point Of the
Lake that Michael Strogof had Just ar
rived, carrying Nadia, whose whole
life, so to speak, was concentrated In
her eyes What could they both expect
In this wild part Of the province but
to die there Of want and destitution?
! And yet how many still remained to be
made Of those 6OO0 versts that the
courier Of the czar should attain his
end? Only sixty versts along the shore
OF the lake as far as the mouth Of the
river Angara. and eighty rersts from
! the mouth Of the Angara to 1rkutsk-
in all hundred and forty Versts, say
three days journey for strong and
vigorous man even on foot.
Some fifty people found themselves
assembled at the corner which forms
the southwest point Of the lake.
Nadia first perceived this group when
Michael Strogof, carrying her In his
arms, came out from the defle Of the
mountains.
"Stopw she cried. 1.-The Tartars! The
Tartarsr'
The young girl feared for an instant
that it was nothing else than q de-
tachment Of Tartars sent to scour the
shores Of Lake Baikal, in which case
Eight would be cut of for both.
| But Nadia was soon reassured on
this head.
"They are RussiansT she cried.
And after this last effort her eyelids
closed, and her head fell down on the
breast Of Michael Strogof.
But they had been perceived, and
some OF those Russians, running up to
them, led the blind man and the young
girl to the border Of little beach to
which was moored raft.
The raft was about to depart.
These Russians were fugiti7es Of va
rious conditions whom a common in
terest had gathered together on this
point Of the Baikal.
Driven back by the Tartar scouts,
4 @or-o raF,,oa IN, Trc,1tSty