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never laughed before.

"But the poor devil is quite right!" he cried.
"He is perfectly right, my dear fellow. It is not his fault
if we did not know how to follow him!"

Then drawing several copecks from his pocket, "Here my friend,"
said he, handing them to the iemschik; "take them.
If you have not earned them, that is not your fault."

This redoubled Mr. Blount's irritation. He even began to speak
of a lawsuit against the owner of the telga.

"A lawsuit in Russia, my dear fellow!" cried Alcide. "Things must
indeed change should it ever be brought to a conclusion!
Did you never hear the story of the wet-nurse who claimed payment
of twelve months' nursing of some poor little infant?"

"I never heard it," replied Harry Blount.

"Then you do not know what that suckling had become by the time
judgment was given in favor of the nurse?"

"What was he, pray?"

"Colonel of the Imperial Guard!"

At this reply all burst into a laugh.

Alcide, enchanted with his own joke, drew out his notebook,
and in it wrote the following memorandum, destined to
figure in a forthcoming French and Russian dictionary:
"Telga, a Russian carriage with four wheels, that is when it starts;
with two wheels, when it arrives at its destination."


CHAPTER XII PROVOCATION

EKATERENBURG, geographically, is an Asiatic city; for it is situated
beyond the Ural Mountains, on the farthest eastern slopes of the chain.
Nevertheless, it belongs to the government of Perm; and, consequently,
is included in one of the great divisions of European Russia. It is
as though a morsel of Siberia lay in Russian jaws.

Neither Michael nor his companions were likely to experience
the slightest difficulty in obtaining means of continuing their
journey in so large a town as Ekaterenburg. It was founded in 1723,
and has since become a place of considerable size, for in it
is the chief mint of the empire. There also are the headquarters
of the officials employed in the management of the mines.
Thus the town is the center of an important district,
abounding in manufactories principally for the working and refining
of gold and platina.

Just now the population of Ekaterenburg had greatly increased;
many Russians and Siberians, menaced by the Tartar invasion,
having collected there. Thus, though it had been so troublesome
a matter to find horses and vehicles when going to Ekaterenburg,
there was no difficulty in leaving it; for under present circumstances
few travelers cared to venture on the Siberian roads.

So it happened that Blount and Alcide had not the slightest trouble
in replacing, by a sound telga, the famous demi-carriage which had managed
to take them to Ekaterenburg. As to Michael, he retained his tarantass,
which was not much the worse for its journey across the Urals;
and he had only to harness three good horses to it to take him swiftly
over the road to Irkutsk.

As far as Tioumen, and even up to Novo-Zaimskoe, this road has
slight inclines, which gentle undulations are the first signs

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