never to rise again."

"How many times have you crossed the steppe in winter?"
asked the young Livonian.

"Three times, Nadia, when I was going to Omsk."

"And what were you going to do at Omsk?"

"See my mother, who was expecting me."

"And I am going to Irkutsk, where my father expects me.
I am taking him my mother's last words. That is as much
as to tell you, brother, that nothing would have prevented me
from setting out."

"You are a brave girl, Nadia," replied Michael. "God Himself
would have led you."

All day the tarantass was driven rapidly by the iemschiks,
who succeeded each other at every stage. The eagles of the mountain
would not have found their name dishonored by these "eagles"
of the highway. The high price paid for each horse, and the tips
dealt out so freely, recommended the travelers in a special way.
Perhaps the postmasters thought it singular that, after the publication
of the order, a young man and his sister, evidently both Russians,
could travel freely across Siberia, which was closed to everyone else,
but their papers were all en regle and they had the right to pass.

However, Michael Strogoff and Nadia were not the only travelers on