t of
the plain only by the clouds of fine dust which rose under the wheels
of the tarantass. Had it not been for this white riband, which stretched
away as far as the eye could reach, the travelers might have thought
themselves in a desert.

Michael and his companions again pressed rapidly forward. The horses,
urged on by the iemschik, seemed to fly over the ground, for there
was not the slightest obstacle to impede them. The tarantass was going
straight for Ichim, where the two correspondents intended to stop, if
nothing happened to make them alter their plans.

A hundred and twenty miles separated Novo-Saimsk from the town of Ichim,
and before eight o'clock the next evening the distance could and should
be accomplished if no time was lost. In the opinion of the iemschiks,
should the travelers not be great lords or high functionaries, they were
worthy of being so, if it was only for their generosity in the matter of
"na vodkou."

On the afternoon of the next day, the 23rd of July, the two carriages
were not more than thirty versts from Ichim. Suddenly Michael
caught sight of a carriage--scarcely visible among the clouds of
dust--preceding them along the road. As his horses were evidently less
fatigued than those of the other traveler, he would not be long
in overtaking it. This was neither a tarantass nor a telga, but
a post-berlin, which looked as if it had made a long journey. The
postillion was thrashing his horses with all his might, and only kept
them at a gallop by dint of abuse and blows. The berlin had certainly
not passed through Novo-Saimsk, and could only have struck the Irkutsk
road by some less frequented route across the steppe.

Our travelers' first thought, on seeing this berlin, was to get in
front of it, and arrive first at the relay, so as to make sure of fresh
horses. They said a word to their iemschiks, who soon brought them up
with the berlin.

Michael Strogoff came up first. As he passed, a head was thrust out of
the window of the berlin.

He had not time to see what it was like, but as he dashed by he
distinctly heard this word, uttered in an imperious tone: "Stop!"

But they did not stop; on the contrary, the berlin was soon distanced by
the two tarantasses.

It now became a regular race; for the horses of the berlin--no doubt
excited by the sight and pace of the others--recovered their strength
and kept up for some minutes. The three carriages were hidden in a
cloud of dust. From th