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were among the mountains, for there it would be terrible.
Being accustomed to read atmospheric signs, Michael Strogoff
knew that a struggle of the elements was approaching.

The night passed without incident. Notwithstanding the jolting
of the tarantass, Nadia was able to sleep for some hours.
The hood was partly raised so as to give as much air as there
was in the stifling atmosphere.

Michael kept awake all night, mistrusting the iemschiks, who are
apt to sleep at their posts. Not an hour was lost at the relays,
not an hour on the road.

The next day, the 20th of July, at about eight o'clock in the morning,
they caught the first glimpse of the Ural Mountains in the east.
This important chain which separates Russia from Siberia was still
at a great distance, and they could not hope to reach it until
the end of the day. The passage of the mountains must necessarily
be performed during the next night. The sky was cloudy all day,
and the temperature was therefore more bearable, but the weather
was very threatening.

It would perhaps have been more prudent not to have ascended
the mountains during the night, and Michael would not have done so,
had he been permitted to wait; but when, at the last stage,
the iemschik drew his attention to a peal of thunder reverberating
among the rocks, he merely said:

"Is a telga still before us?"

"Yes."

"How long is it in advance?"

"Nearly an hour."

"Forward, and a triple tip if we are at Ekaterenburg to-morrow morning."


CHAPTER X A STORM IN THE URAL MOUNTAINS

THE Ural Mountains extend in a length of over two thousand miles
between Europe and Asia. Whether they are called the Urals,
which is the Tartar, or the Poyas, which is the Russian name,
they are correctly so termed; for these names signify "belt"
in both languages. Rising on the shores of the Arctic Sea,
they reach the borders of the Caspian. This was the barrier
to be crossed by Michael Strogoff before he could enter
Siberian Russia. The mountains could be crossed in one night,
if no accident happened. Unfortunately, thunder muttering
in the distance announced that a storm was at hand.
The electric tension was such that it could not be dispersed
without a tremendous explosion, which in the peculiar state
of the atmosphere would be very terrible.

Michael took care that his young companion should be as well protected
as possible. The hood, which might have been easily blown away,
was fastened more securely with ropes, crossed above and at the back.
The traces were doubled, and, as an additional precaution,
the nave-boxes were stuffed with straw, as much to increase the strength
of the wheels as to lessen the jolting, unavoidable on a dark night.
Lastly, the fore and hinder parts, connected simply by the axles to
the body of the tarantass, were joined one to the other by a crossbar,
fixed by means of pins and screws.

Nadia resumed her place in the cart, and Michael took his seat
beside her. Before the lowered hood hung two leathern curtains,

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