d out to
Hawtry, who was rather disinclined to take the trouble, that it would
in the first place give them something to think about, and be an
amusement on the line of march; in the second, it would render their
captivity less dull, and, lastly, it would facilitate their escape if
they should determine to make the attempt.

As they walked, therefore, alongside their friend the doctor, they
asked him the names of every object around them, and soon learned the
Russian words for all common objects. The verbs were more difficult,
but thanks occasionally to the doctor (who spoke French) joining them
at their encampment at night, they soon learned the sentences most
commonly in use.

As they had nothing else to do or to think about, their progress was
rapid, and by the end of a month they were able to make themselves
understood in conversations upon simple matters.

They had been much disappointed, when, upon leaving the Crimea, the
convoy had kept on north instead of turning west; for they had hoped
that Odessa would have been their place of captivity.

It was a large and flourishing town, with a considerable foreign
population, and, being on the sea, might have offered them
opportunities for escape. The Russians, however, had fears that the
allied fleets might make an attack upon the place, and for this
reason, such few prisoners as fell into their hands were sent inland.

The journeys each day averaged from twelve to fifteen miles, twelve,
however, being the more ordinary distance. The sky was generally clear
and bright, for when the morning was rough and the snow fell, the
convoy remained in its halting-place.

The cold was by no means excessive during the day, and although the
snow was deep and heavy, there was no difficulty in keeping up with
the convoy, as the pace of the bullocks was little over a mile and a
half an hour. At night they were snug enough, for the doctor had
adapted an empty wagon as their sleeping-place, and this, with a deep
bed of straw at the bottom, blankets hung at the sides and others laid
over the top, constituted as comfortable a shelter as could be
desired.

At last, after a month's travelling, the doctor pointed to a town
rising over the plain, and signified that this was their
halting-place.

It was a town of some seven or eight thousand inhabitants, and the
mosque-like domes of the churches shining, brightly in the sun, and
the green-painted roofs and bright colors of many of the