The Iola register., 1902-02-14


with their outposts.
Meanwhile it was necessary to ma
neuver with more care in the midst Of
the Ice, which was fast closing.
The old mariner rose up, and the mu-
jiks took up again their boathooks.
All had as much as they could do, and
the management of the raft became
more and more difficult, for the bed of
the river was becoming obstructed.
Michael Strogoff had moved softly to
the fore part of the raft.
Alcide Jollvet had followed him.
Both listened to what the old sailor
and his men were saying.
Guard there on the right"
"Look! The blocks of ice are thick
ening on the leftw
keep it Off Keep 1t Off with your
boathookr'
Before an hour we shall be stop
pedv'
"If God wills itr' replied the old sail
or. Against his will nothing can be
done"
"You hear them 2" said Alcide Jolivet
"Yes," replied Michael Strogoff, but
God is with U.S."
Meantime the situation became more
and more serious. If the raft once
ceased TO make headvay, the fugitives
would not only never reach Irkutsk,
but they would be obliged to abandon
their floating apparatus, which, crush
ed by the ice blocks, would not be long
in sinking under the waters. The will
low bindings were already breaking,
the fir, trunks, violently separated, were
becoming entangled under the hard
crust, and soon the unfortunate people
would have no other refuge than the
ice itself. Then, when daylight should
come, they would be perceived by the
/ Tartars and massacred without pity.
| Michael Strogoff returned to the back
part of the raft, where Nadia was wait
ing for him. He approached the young
girl, he took her hand and put to her
that invariable question. nadia, are
you ready?" to which she answered as
usual:
81 am ready"
For some versts more the raft con-
tinued to make its way through the
floating ice. If the Angara should be
choked up with ice, 1t would form a
barrier, and consequently it would be
impossible to follow the current. AL
ready the passage down the river was
slower. At every instant there were
collisions, or time was lost by having
to make long turnings. Here they must
escape landing on the ice; there they
must take a narrow pass between it
In fine, many anxious drawbacks.
And now only few hours Of the
night remained. II the fugitives did
not reach Irkutsk before o'clock in
the morning, they must give up all
hope of ever entering there.
At length, at half past l, in spite of
all their united efforts, the raft struck
! against thick barrier and stopped al
| together. The ice which was floating
down the river cast itself upon 1t and
! forced 1t against the obstacle and held
It motlonless as If it had been driven
upon reef.
At this place the Angara becomes mar
rowed to not more than half its normal
breadth; hence the accumulation of ice
! WIlCll were ny llllit lllNlC
piled one upon another under the action
of the double pressure, which was con-
siderable, and of the cold, whose in
tensity was redoubling. At 500 PAGES
down the river again became wide, and
ice blocks, detaching themselves by lit
tie and little from the lower edge of that
field, continued to float down to IDkutsk
! hanan ~ "a Ynrnl10 hIn thnf without fhnt
naErowingof the banks the barrier would
not have been formed, and the raft could
have continued TO descend the current.
But the evil was irreparable, and the
| fugitves had to give up all hope of
reaching the end of their journey. If
they had had at their disposal the tools
which the whalers usually employ to
open out canals across the iceflelds, II
they had been able TO cut this field as
far as the place where the river be-
came wider perhaps the time would
] not have been wanting, but not single
saw, not n pickaX, nothing with which
to cut the crust, which the extreme cold
had rendered as hard as granite.
What should they do?
At that moment rifle shots were heard
on the right bank of the AngaTa. A
shower of bullets was directed upon
the raft Had the unhappy men been
perceived2 Evidently, for other deto-
nations resounded on the left bank.
The fugitives, caught between two fires,
became a target for the Tartar marks
men. Some were wounded by these
balls, although in the midst of the
great darkness they only fell by chance,
Come, Nadia" whispered Michael
Strogoff in the ear of the young girl.
Without making any observation,
ready for everything, Nadia took the
hand of Michael Strogoff.
II am thInlnng or crossing tne Dar-
rler," he said to her in low voice.
"Guide me, but let no one see us leave
the raft"
Nadia obeyed. Michael Strogoff and
| she plidpd uuipklv over the surfapa of