Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1902-12-29
The Courier
Of the Gar
BY Jules Verne
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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 overtaking it. This was neither
a tarantass nor a telga, but post ber-
lin, all over dust and looking as if it
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.
Michael's first thought on seeing this
berlin was to get in front of it and ar
rive first at the relay. so as to make
sure Of fresh horses. He said a word
to his driver, who soon brought him up
with the berlin.
AS he passed a 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 imperi-
Gus tone:
"Stopr'
But he did not stop. On the contrary,
the berlin was soon distanced by the
tarantass.
1t 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 n cloud of dust. From this
cloud issued the cracking of whips,
mingled with excited shouts and ex-
CARNATIONS Of anger.
Nevertheless the advantage remained
with Michael, which might be very inn
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 a short
space Of time.
Half an hour after the berlin was left
far behind, looking only speck on the
horizon on the steppe.
II was o'clock in the evening when
Michael and his companion arrived at
the posthouse in Ichim.
The news was worse and worse with
regard to the invasion.
Here had arrived just a 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 q Lancashire gentleman.
The Anglo-Norman, formal, cold, grave,
parsimonious of gestures and words,
appearing only to speak or gesticulate
under the influence of a 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 bis brain.
The strong contrast they presented
would at once have struck the most
superficial observer, but a physiogno-
mist, regarding them more closely,
would have defined their particular
characteristics by saying that if the
Frenchman was call eyes," the Eng
lishman was "all ears"
In fact, the visual apparatus of the
pne had been singularly perfected by
practice. The sensibility of it's retina
must have been as instantaneous as
that Of those conjurers who recognize
p card merely by rapid movement in
cutting the pack or by the arrangement
Pnly Of marks invisible to others. The
B'renchman, 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
md to hear. When his aural appara-
us had been once struck by the sound
( voice, he could not forget it, and
fter ten or even twenty years he
would have recognized it among a
housand. His ears, to be sure, had
ot the power of moving as freely as
hose of animals who are provided with
hrge auditory flaps; but, since scien-
fc men know that human ears pos
ess, in fact, a very limited power of
Movement, we should not be far wrong
affirming that those of the said
nglishman became erect and turned
all directions while endeavoring to
hther In the sounds in a manner ap-
aren't only to the naturalist. 1t must
observed that this perfection of
ght and hearing was of wonderful
ssistance to these two men in their
pcaton, for the Englishman acted as
rrespondent for The Daily Telegraph
I'D the Frenchman as correspondent
the-of what newspaper or of what
w W
ked he replied in jocular manner
at he corresponded with This cousin
adeleine." This Frenchman, however
meath his careless surface was won
rfully shrewd and sagacous. Even
bile speaking at random, perhaps the
tier to hide his desire to learn, he