Godfrey said. "It was somewhere
about the middle of June when we started, and there are only three
months of open weather here. Every day is of importance. I sha'n't so
much mind when we get to the mouth of the Petchora, for I heard from one
of the Russians in the prison that canoes often go as far as that from
Archangel to trade, so I shall feel when I get there that we are getting
into civilized regions. It is about four hundred miles from Kara Bay, so
that we have a good eight hundred miles to travel before we get there.
We can certainly paddle forty miles a day by sticking to it steadily;
but allowing for another stoppage of four days, and we can't allow less
than that, that will be a fortnight. How long have we been now, Luka?
There is nothing to count time from."

Luka shook his head.

"Well, it is somewhere above three weeks," Godfrey went on; "so that by
the time we get to the mouth of the Petchora, it will be the last week
in July. That will give us a couple of months; but I fancy we can't
count much on the weather in September. Still, if the canoes go from
Archangel to Petchora and back, we ought to be able to do it from
Petchora, for the distance from there to Archangel is a good deal less
than from the mouth of the Yenesei to the Petchora. There is one thing,
if the weather gets very bad on the way, or we get laid up by bad
weather for a long time on the way to Petchora, we can go up the river,
I hear, to a place called Ust Zlyma, and from there go overland to
Archangel. It is about two hundred or two hundred and fifty miles
across, and we could walk that in ten days. I am quite sure that we
should not be suspected of being anything but what we look; and at
Archangel there is sure to be a British consul, and he would put us up
to the best plan of getting out of the country. However, there will be
plenty of time to see about that as we get on."

The wind fell on the morning of the fourth day, but it would be some
hours before the sea would have gone down sufficiently for them to make
a start. Godfrey again went out shooting, this time accompanied by Luka.

Godfrey was as fortunate as he had been before, shooting three
capercailzie and nineteen grouse; while Luka brought down with his
arrows four capercailzie, which he found sitting on stunted trees. On
their way back to the boat they collected a great quantity of eggs, and
came upon a rabbit warren.

"Do not shoot," Luka said, as Godfrey cocked his gun,