Thesedresses，justthenglancinginthefirstraysofthesun，remindedMichaelofthecuriousappearancewhichhehadobservedduringthenight。Itmusthavebeentheglitterofthosespanglesinthebrightflamesissuingfromthesteamboat’sfunnelwhichhadattractedhisattention。
“Evidently，“saidMichaeltohimself，“thistroopofTsiganes，afterremainingbelowallday，crouchedundertheforecastleduringthenight。
Werethesegipsiestryingtoshowthemselvesaslittleaspossible？
Suchisnotaccordingtotheusualcustomoftheirrace。“
MichaelStrogoffnolongerdoubtedthattheexpressionshehadheard，hadproceededfromthistawnygroup，andhadbeenexchangedbetweentheoldgypsyandthewomantowhomhegavetheMongoliannameofSangarre。Michaelinvoluntarilymovedtowardsthegangway，astheBohemiantroopwasleavingthesteamboat。
TheoldBohemianwasthere，inahumbleattitude，littleconformablewiththeeffronterynaturaltohisrace。
Onewouldhavesaidthathewasendeavoringrathertoavoidattentionthantoattractit。Hisbatteredhat，brownedbythesunsofeveryclime，waspulledforwardoverhiswrinkledface。
Hisarchedbackwasbentunderanoldcloak，wrappedcloselyroundhim，notwithstandingtheheat。Itwouldhavebeendifficult，inthismiserabledress，tojudgeofeitherhissizeorface。
NearhimwastheTsigane，Sangarre，awomanaboutthirtyyearsold。
Shewastallandwellmade，witholivecomplexion，magnificenteyes，andgoldenhair。
Manyoftheyoungdancerswereremarkablypretty，allpossessingtheclear-cutfeaturesoftheirrace。TheseTsiganesaregenerallyveryattractive，andmorethanoneofthegreatRussiannobles，whotrytoviewiththeEnglishineccentricity，hasnothesitatedtochoosehiswifefromamongthesegypsygirls。
Oneofthemwashummingasongofstrangerhythm，whichmightbethusrendered:
“GlittersbrightlythegoldInmyravenlocksstreamingRichcoralaroundMygracefulneckgleaming；
Likeabirdoftheair，ThroughthewideworldIroam。“
Thelaughinggirlcontinuedhersong，butMichaelStrogoffceasedtolisten。ItstruckhimjustthenthattheTsigane，Sangarre，wasregardinghimwithapeculiargaze，asiftofixhisfeaturesindeliblyinhermemory。
Itwasbutforafewmoments，whenSangarreherselffollowedtheoldmanandhistroop，whohadalreadyleftthevessel。
“That’saboldgypsy，“saidMichaeltohimself。
“CouldshehaverecognizedmeasthemanwhomshesawatNijni-Novgorod？TheseconfoundedTsiganeshavetheeyesofacat！
Theycanseeinthedark；andthatwomantheremightwellknow——“
MichaelStrogoffwasonthepointoffollowingSangarreandthegypsyband，buthestopped。“No，“thoughthe，“nounguardedproceedings。IfIweretostopthatoldfortunetellerandhiscompanionsmyincognitowouldrunariskofbeingdiscovered。Besides，nowtheyhavelanded，beforetheycanpassthefrontierIshallbefarbeyondit。
TheymaytaketheroutefromKasantoIshim，butthataffordsnoresourcestotravelers。Besidesatarantass，drawnbygoodSiberianhorses，willalwaysgofasterthanagypsycart！
Come，friendKorpanoff，beeasy。“
BythistimethemanandSangarrehaddisappeared。
Kasanisjustlycalledthe“GateofAsia“andconsideredasthecenterofSiberianandBokhariancommerce；fortworoadsbeginhereandleadacrosstheUralMountains。MichaelStrogoffhadveryjudiciouslychosentheonebyPermandEkaterenburg。Itisthegreatstageroad，wellsuppliedwithrelayskeptattheexpenseofthegovernment，andisprolongedfromIshimtoIrkutsk。
Itistruethatasecondroute——theoneofwhichMichaelhadjustspoken——
avoidingtheslightdetourbyPerm，alsoconnectsKasanwithIshim。Itisperhapsshorterthantheother，butthisadvantageismuchdiminishedbytheabsenceofpost-houses，thebadroads，andlackofvillages。
MichaelStrogoffwasrightinthechoicehehadmade，andif，asappearedprobable，thegipsiesshouldfollowthesecondroutefromKasantoIshim，hehadeverychanceofarrivingbeforethem。
AnhourafterwardsthebellrangonboardtheCaucasus，callingthenewpassengers，andrecallingtheformerones。
Itwasnowseveno’clockinthemorning。Therequisitefuelhadbeenreceivedonboard。Thewholevesselbegantovibratefromtheeffectsofthesteam。Shewasreadytostart。
PassengersgoingfromKasantoPermwerecrowdingonthedeck。
MichaelnoticedthatofthetworeportersBlountalonehadrejoinedthesteamer。WasAlcideJolivetabouttomisshispassage？
Butjustastheropeswerebeingcastoff，Jolivetappeared，tearingalong。Thesteamerwasalreadysheeringoff，thegangwayhadbeendrawnontothequay，butAlcideJolivetwouldnotstickatsuchalittlethingasthat，so，withaboundlikeaharlequin，healightedonthedeckoftheCaucasusalmostinhisrival’sarms。
“IthoughttheCaucasuswasgoingwithoutyou，“saidthelatter。
“Bah！“answeredJolivet，“Ishouldsoonhavecaughtyouupagain，bycharteringaboatatmycousin’sexpense，orbytravelingpostattwentycopecksaverst，andonhorseback。WhatcouldIdo？
Itwassolongawayfromthequaytothetelegraphoffice。“
“Haveyoubeentothetelegraphoffice？“askedHarryBlount，bitinghislips。
“That’sexactlywhereIhavebeen！“answeredJolivet，withhismostamiablesmile。
“AndisitstillworkingtoKolyvan？“
“ThatIdon’tknow，butIcanassureyou，forinstance，thatitisworkingfromKasantoParis。“
“Yousentadispatchtoyourcousin？“
“Withenthusiasm。“
“Youhadlearntthen——？“
“Lookhere，littlefather，astheRussianssay，“repliedAlcideJolivet，“I’magoodfellow，andIdon’twishtokeepanythingfromyou。
TheTartars，andFeofar-Khanattheirhead，havepassedSemipolatinsk，andaredescendingtheIrtish。Dowhatyoulikewiththat！“
What！suchimportantnews，andHarryBlounthadnotknownit；
andhisrival，whohadprobablylearneditfromsomeinhabitantofKasan，hadalreadytransmittedittoParis。TheEnglishpaperwasdistanced！
HarryBlount，crossinghishandsbehindhim，walkedoffandseatedhimselfinthesternwithoututteringaword。
Aboutteno’clockinthemorning，theyoungLivonian，leavinghercabin，appearedondeck。MichaelStrogoffwentforwardandtookherhand。
“Look，sister！“saidhe，leadinghertothebowsoftheCaucasus。
Theviewwasindeedwellworthseeing。TheCaucasushadreachedtheconfluenceoftheVolgaandtheKama。Thereshewouldleavetheformerriver，afterhavingdescendeditfornearlythreehundredmiles，toascendthelatterforafullthreehundred。
TheKamawashereverywide，anditswoodedbankslovely。
Afewwhitesailsenlivenedthesparklingwater。
Thehorizonwasclosedbyalineofhillscoveredwithaspens，alders，andsometimeslargeoaks。
ButthesebeautiesofnaturecouldnotdistractthethoughtsoftheyoungLivonianevenforaninstant。Shehadleftherhandinthatofhercompanion，andturningtohim，“AtwhatdistancearewefromMoscow？“sheasked。
“Ninehundredversts，“answeredMichael。
“Ninehundred，outofseventhousand！“murmuredthegirl。
Thebellnowannouncedthebreakfasthour。NadiafollowedMichaelStrogofftotherestaurant。Sheatelittle，andasapoorgirlwhosemeansaresmallwoulddo。Michaelthoughtitbesttocontenthimselfwiththefarewhichsatisfiedhiscompanion；
andinlessthantwentyminutesheandNadiareturnedondeck。
Theretheyseatedthemselvesinthestern，andwithoutpreamble，Nadia，loweringhervoicetobeheardbyhimalone，began:
“Brother，Iamthedaughterofanexile。MynameisNadiaFedor。MymotherdiedatRigascarcelyamonthago，andI
amgoingtoIrkutsktorejoinmyfatherandsharehisexile。“
“I，too，amgoingtoIrkutsk，“answeredMichael，“andIshallthankHeavenifitenablesmetogiveNadiaFedorsafeandsoundintoherfather’shands。“
“Thankyou，brother，“repliedNadia。
MichaelStrogoffthenaddedthathehadobtainedaspecialpodorojnaforSiberia，andthattheRussianauthoritiescouldinnowayhinderhisprogress。
Nadiaaskednothingmore。ShesawinthisfortunatemeetingwithMichaelameansonlyofacceleratingherjourneytoherfather。
“Ihad，“saidshe，“apermitwhichauthorizedmetogotoIrkutsk，buttheneworderannulledthat；andbutforyou，brother，Ishouldhavebeenunabletoleavethetown，inwhich，withoutdoubt，Ishouldhaveperished。“
“Anddaredyou，alone，Nadia，“saidMichael，“attempttocrossthesteppesofSiberia？“
“TheTartarinvasionwasnotknownwhenIleftRiga。ItwasonlyatMoscowthatIlearntthenews。“
“Anddespiteit，youcontinuedyourjourney？“
“Itwasmyduty。“
Thewordsshowedthecharacterofthebravegirl。
Shethenspokeofherfather，WassiliFedor。Hewasamuch-esteemedphysicianatRiga。Buthisconnectionwithsomesecretsocietyhavingbeenasserted，hereceivedorderstostartforIrkutsk。Thepolicewhobroughttheorderconductedhimwithoutdelaybeyondthefrontier。
WassiliFedorhadbuttimetoembracehissickwifeandhisdaughter，sosoontobeleftalone，when，sheddingbittertears，hewasledaway。
Ayearandahalfafterherhusband’sdeparture，MadameFedordiedinthearmsofherdaughter，whowasthusleftaloneandalmostpenniless。
NadiaFedorthenasked，andeasilyobtainedfromtheRussiangovernment，anauthorizationtojoinherfatheratIrkutsk。Shewroteandtoldhimshewasstarting。Shehadbarelyenoughmoneyforthislongjourney，andyetshedidnothesitatetoundertakeit。Shewoulddowhatshecould。
Godwoulddotherest。
THEnextday，the19thofJuly，theCaucasusreachedPerm，thelastplaceatwhichshetouchedontheKama。
ThegovernmentofwhichPermisthecapitalisoneofthelargestintheRussianEmpire，and，extendingovertheUralMountains，encroachesonSiberianterritory。Marblequarries，minesofsalt，platina，gold，andcoalareworkedhereonalargescale。
AlthoughPerm，byitssituation，hasbecomeanimportanttown，itisbynomeansattractive，beingextremelydirty，andwithoutresources。
ThiswantofcomfortisofnoconsequencetothosegoingtoSiberia，fortheycomefromthemorecivilizeddistricts，andaresuppliedwithallnecessaries。
AtPermtravelersfromSiberiareselltheirvehicles，moreorlessdamagedbythelongjourneyacrosstheplains。
There，too，thosepassingfromEuropetoAsiapurchasecarriages，orsleighsinthewinterseason。
MichaelStrogoffhadalreadysketchedouthisprogramme。
AvehiclecarryingthemailusuallyrunsacrosstheUralMountains，butthis，ofcourse，wasdiscontinued。Evenifithadnotbeenso，hewouldnothavetakenit，ashewishedtotravelasfastaspossible，withoutdependingonanyone。Hewiselypreferredtobuyacarriage，andjourneybystages，stimulatingthezealofthepostillionsbywell-applied“navodkou，“ortips。
Unfortunately，inconsequenceofthemeasurestakenagainstforeignersofAsiaticorigin，alargenumberoftravelershadalreadyleftPerm，andthereforeconveyanceswereextremelyrare。Michaelwasobligedtocontenthimselfwithwhathadbeenrejectedbyothers。
Astohorses，aslongastheCzar’scourierwasnotinSiberia，hecouldexhibithispodorojna，andthepostmasterswouldgivehimthepreference。But，onceoutofEurope，hehadtodependaloneonthepowerofhisroubles。
Buttowhatsortofavehicleshouldheharnesshishorses？
Toatelgaortoatarantass？Thetelgaisnothingbutanopenfour-wheeledcart，madeentirelyofwood，thepiecesfastenedtogetherbymeansofstrongrope。
