of
even speaking of a capitulation. The contempt of the Russians for these
barbarians was boundless.

No one suspected the odious part played by Ivan Ogareff; no one guessed
that the pretended courier of the Czar was a traitor. It occurred very
naturally that on his arrival in Irkutsk, a frequent intercourse was
established between Ogareff and one of the bravest defenders of the
town, Wassili Fedor. We know what anxiety this unhappy father suffered.
If his daughter, Nadia Fedor, had left Russia on the date fixed by the
last letter he had received from Riga, what had become of her? Was she
still trying to cross the invaded provinces, or had she long since been
taken prisoner? The only alleviation to Wassili Fedor's anxiety was
when he could obtain an opportunity of engaging in battle with the
Tartars--opportunities which came too seldom for his taste. The very
evening the pretended courier arrived, Wassili Fedor went to
the governor-general's palace and, acquainting Ogareff with the
circumstances under which his daughter must have left European Russia,
told him all his uneasiness about her. Ogareff did not know Nadia,
although he had met her at Ichim on the day she was there with Michael
Strogoff; but then, he had not paid more attention to her than to the
two reporters, who at the same time were in the post-house; he therefore
could give Wassili Fedor no news of his daughter.

"But at what time," asked Ogareff, "must your daughter have left the
Russian territory?"

"About the same time that you did," replied Fedor.

"I left Moscow on the 15th of July."

"Nadia must also have quitted Moscow at that time. Her letter told me so
expressly."

"She was in Moscow on the 15th of July?"

"Yes, certainly, by that date."

"Then it was impossible for her--But no, I am mistaken--I was confusing
dates. Unfortunately, it is too probable that your daughter must have
passed the frontier, and you can only have one hope, that she stopped on
learning the news of the Tartar invasion!"

The father's head fell! He knew Nadia, and he knew too well that
nothing would have prevented her from setting out. Ivan Ogareff had just
committed gratuitously an act of real cruelty. With a word he might
have reassured Fedor. Although Nadia had passed the frontier under
circumstances with which we are acquainted, Fedor, by comparing the date
on which his daughter would have been at Nijni-Novgorod, and the date of
the proclamation which forbade a