The Iola register., 1902-02-21

4 6OS
should It even come, and 1t was to be
feared that n battle fought under the
walls of Irkutsk would be as disas-
trous as the battles Of Kalyvan, of
Tomsk and of Krasnoiarsk.
Ivan Ogareff was not at first lavish |
in these sinister inslnuations. He took |
care they should penetrate by degrees |
into the minds of the defenders of lr- |
kutsk. He seemed to answer only when |
great many questions were put to |
him and then as though with regret. |
In any case he added always that 1t |
must defend itself to the last man, and |
they must blow it up rather than sur
render it!
If the defenders of Irkutsk could
have been discouraged, Ivan Ogal fl
had chosen an efficient means. But
the garrison and population of lrkutsk
were too patriotic to allow themselves
to be frightened. OF 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 capitulaton. 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
bravest defenders. Wassili Feodor. One
knows with what anxiety this unhap-
py father was devoured. If his daugh-
ter, Nadia Feodor, had left Russia at
the date assigned by the last letter he
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 long
time prisoner? Wassil Feodor 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
courier from the ear he had a pre-
sentiment that this courier could give
him some tdings of his daughter. 1t
was only n very slight hope, but still
he clung to it.
Wassili Feodor went to find Ivan
very next morning after the arrival OF
the pretended courier, went to the pal
ace of the governor general. There he
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
hruse of Ichim the day on which she
was there with Michael Srogoff. 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 Wassili Feodor
"But at what time" asked Ivan Oga-
ref, had your daughter to leave Rus
sian territoryY
"At nearly the same time as you," re-
piled Wassili Feodor.
81 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 ON the 18th of
JulyT asked Ivan Ogarefr.
"Yes, certainly at that date"
every WELL" replied Ivan Ogareff.
Then, recollecting himself, he added:
"But, no; l was forgetting. l 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!"
ITO be Continued