soon after this st. petersburg was startled at the news that there had been a terrible explosion at the winter palace, and that the czar and royal family had narrowly escaped with their lives. upon the following evening godfrey was walking down the nevski, where groups of people were still discussing the terrible affair. he presently met[68] akim soushiloff and petroff stepanoff. he had not seen them for some time, and as they had omitted to give him the address of the lodging into which they had moved, he was really glad to see them, for he liked them better than any of the russians of his acquaintance, for both had an earnest manner and seemed to be free from narrow prejudices, sincere admirers of england, and on most subjects very well informed.

"it is quite an age since i have seen you both," he said. "where have you been hiding?"

"we have been working harder than usual," petroff said; "our last examinations are just coming off. but you said that you would come to see us, and you have never done so."

"you did not tell me where you had moved to," godfrey said, "or i should have done so long ago."

"that was stupid indeed!" akim said. "have you an hour to spare now?"

"yes, i have nothing to do, and shall be very glad to come round and have a talk. this is a horrible business at the winter palace."

"horrible," petroff said; "but it is just as well not to talk about it in the streets. come along, we will take you to our place; we were just thinking of going back."

a quarter of an hour's walking took them to the students' room, which was, like the last, at the top of the house. a lamp was lighted, the samovar placed on the table, and a little charcoal fire lit under it. a glass of vodka was handed round to pass the time until the water was boiling, pipes were brought out from the cupboard and filled, for cigars, which are cheap and good, are generally smoked in the streets in russia by the middle and upper classes, pipes being only used there by isvostchiks, labourers, and englishmen. the conversation naturally for a time turned upon the explosion in the winter palace, the russians expressing an indignation fully equal to that of godfrey. then they[69] talked of england, both regretting that they were unable to speak the language.

"i would give much to be able to read shakespeare," petroff said. "i have heard his works spoken of in such high terms by some of our friends who have studied your language, and i have heard, too, from them of your dickens. they tell me it is like reading of another world—a world in which there are no officials, and no police, and no soldiers. that must be very near a paradise."

"we have some soldiers," godfrey laughed, "but one does not see much of them. about half of those we have at home are in two military camps, one in england and one in ireland. there are the guards in london, but the population is so large that you might go a week without seeing one, while in very few of the provincial towns are there any garrisons at all. there are police, and plenty of them, but as their business is only to prevent crime, they naturally don't play a prominent part in novels giving a picture of everyday life. as to officials, beyond rate-collectors we don't see anything of them, though there are magistrates, and government clerks, and custom officers, and that sort of thing, but they certainly don't play any prominent part in our lives."

so they chatted for an hour, when at short intervals two other men came in. one was a tall handsome fellow who was introduced by petroff as the son of baron kinkoff, the other was a young advocate of moscow on a visit to st. petersburg. both, godfrey observed, had knocked in a somewhat peculiar manner at the door, which opened, as he had noticed when they came in, only by a key. akim observed a slight expression of surprise in godfrey's face at the second knock, and said laughing:

"our remittances have not come to hand of late, godfrey, and some of our creditors are getting troublesome, so we have established a signal by which we know our friends, while inconvenient visitors can knock as long as they like, and then go away thinking we are out."

[70]

godfrey chatted for a short time longer, and then got up to go. akim went to the door with him. as it opened there was a sudden rush of men from outside that nearly knocked him down. of what followed he had but a vague idea. pistol shots rang out. there was a desperate struggle. he received a blow on the head which struck him to the ground, and an instant later there was a tremendous explosion. the next thing he knew was that he was being hauled from below some debris. as he looked round bewildered he saw that a considerable portion of the ceiling and of the roof above it had been blown out. several bodies lay stretched on the floor. the room was still full of smoke, but by the light of two or three lanterns he perceived that the young baron, bleeding freely from a sabre wound across the forehead, was standing bound between two policemen with drawn swords. policemen were examining the bodies on the floor, while others were searching the closets, cutting open the beds and turning out their contents. akim lay on his back dead, and across him lay the young advocate. of petroff he could see nothing; the other bodies were those of policemen. three of these near the door appeared to have been shot; the others were lying in contorted positions against the walls, as if they had been flung there by the force of the explosion. all this he saw in a state of vague wonderment, while the two policemen kneeling at his side were passing cords tightly round him.

"this one still lives," one of the policemen said, stooping over the young advocate, "but i think he is nearly done for."

"never mind, bring him along with the others," a man in plain clothes said in tones of authority. "get them away at once, we shall have half st. petersburg here in a few minutes."

godfrey was lifted by the policemen, one at his head, and one at his feet, carried down-stairs, and flung into a vehicle at the door. dully he heard a roar of excited shouts and[71] questions, and the sharp orders of the police ranged round the vehicle. three policemen took their places inside with him, and the vehicle drove off, slowly at first until it was free of the crowd, and then at a sharp gallop. godfrey was conscious of but little as he went along; he had a vague idea of a warm moist feeling down the back, and wondered whether it was his own blood. gradually his impressions became more and more indistinct, and he knew nothing more until he was conscious of a sensation of cold at the back of the head, and of a murmur of voices round him. soon he was lifted up into a sitting position, and he felt that bandages were being wrapped round his head. then he was laid down again, he heard a door slam and a key turn, and then he knew nothing more. when he awoke daylight was streaming in through a loophole high up in the wall. he tried to sit up, but could not, and looked round trying to recall where he was and what had happened. he was in a dark cell with no furniture save the straw on which he was lying.

"it is a prison certainly," he muttered to himself. "how did i get here?"

then gradually the events of the night before came to his mind. there had been a terrible fight. akim had been killed. there had been a tremendous explosion. the police had something to do with it. was it all a dream, or was it real? was he dreaming now? he was some time before he could persuade himself that it was all real, and indeed it was not until the door opened and two men entered that he felt quite sure that he, godfrey bullen, was really lying there in a prison cell, with a dull numbing pain at the back of his head, and too weak even to sit upright. one of the men leaned over him. godfrey tried to speak, but could not do so above a whisper.

"he will do now," the man said without paying any attention to his words. "he must have a thick skull or that sword-cut would have finished him. give him some[72] wine and water now, and some soup presently. we must not let him slip through our fingers."

some liquid was poured between his lips, and then he was left alone again. "certainly it is all real," he said to himself. "akim must have been killed, and i must be a prisoner. what in the world can it be all about?" he was too weak to think, but after another visit had been paid him, and he had been lifted up and given some strong broth, he began to think more clearly. "can it have been a nihilist arrest?" he thought to himself. "akim and petroff can never be nihilists. the idea is absurd. i have never heard them say a word against the government or the czar."

then he thought of their friend katia, and how she had got him to aid in the escape of a nihilist. "it is all nonsense," he murmured, "the idea of a girl like that being mixed up in a conspiracy." then his ideas again became more and more confused, and when the doctor visited him again in the evening he was in a state of high fever, talking incoherently to himself. for seven days he continued in that state. there was no lack of care; the doctor visited him at very short intervals, and an attendant remained night and day beside him, applying cold bandages to his head, and carefully noting down in a book every word that passed his lips. then a good constitution gradually triumphed over the fever, and on the eighth day he lay a mere shadow of himself, but cool and sensible, on a bed in an airy ward. nourishing food was given to him in abundance, but it was another week before he was able to stand alone. then one morning two attendants brought a stretcher to the side of his bed. he was assisted to put on his clothes, and was then placed on the stretcher and carried away. he was taken through long passages, up and down stairs, at last into a large room. here he was lifted on the stretcher and placed in a chair. facing him at a table were nine officers.

[73]

"prisoner," the president said, glancing at a large closely-written sheet of paper before him, "you are accused of taking part in a nihilist conspiracy to murder the czar."

"i know nothing of any nihilist conspiracy," godfrey said. "i was accidentally in the room with my friends akim and petroff when the police entered."

the president waved his hand impatiently. "that of course," he said. "your name is godfrey bullen?"

"yes, sir."

"born in st. petersburg, but of english parentage?"

godfrey bowed his head.

"three months since you took part in the plot by means of which the notorious valerian ossinsky escaped from the hands of the police, and you were the accomplice of sophia perovskaia in that matter."

"i never heard the name before," godfrey said.

the president paid no attention, but went on: "you said at the time," he continued, reading from the notes, "that you did not know the woman who spoke to you, but it is known that she was an associate of akim soushiloff and petroff stepanoff, at whose place you were captured the other day. there is therefore no doubt that you know her."

"i knew her under another name," godfrey said; "but if i had been told she was sophia perovskaia, it conveyed nothing to me, for i had never heard of her."

"you are committing yourself, prisoner," the president said coldly. "when examined you denied all acquaintance with the woman, and declared that she was a stranger."

"excuse me, sir," godfrey said, "i said it was a masked woman, and that i did not see her face, which was perfectly true. i admit now that i did know who she was, but naturally as a gentleman i endeavoured to shield her in a matter concerning which i believed that she was as innocent as i was."

a murmur of incredulity ran round the circle of officers.

"a few days after that," the president went on, again[74] reading from his notes, "you were present with akim soushiloff and petroff stepanoff at a supper in a trakir in ossuloff street. there were present on that occasion"—and he read a list of six names—"four of whom have since been convicted and punished, and two of whom, although not yet taken, are known to have been engaged in the murderous attempt at the winter palace. you were greeted there with significant enthusiasm, which was evidently a testimony on the part of these conspirators to the part you had played in the affair of ossinsky."

godfrey felt that the meshes were closing round him. he remembered that he had wondered at the time why he had been received with such great cordiality.

"now," the president went on, "you are captured in the room of akim soushiloff and petroff stepanoff, who were both beyond doubt engaged in the plot at the winter palace, with two other equally guilty conspirators, and were doubtless deliberating on some fresh atrocity when interrupted by the agents of the police. you shared in the desperate resistance they made, which resulted in the death of eight police officers by pistol shot, or by the explosion of gunpowder, by which petroff stepanoff, who fired it, was also blown to pieces. what have you to say in your defence?"

"i still say that i am perfectly innocent," godfrey said. "i knew nothing of these men being conspirators in any way, and i demand to be allowed to communicate with my friends, and to obtain the assistance of an advocate."

"an advocate could say nothing for you," the president said. "you do not deny any of the charges brought against you, which are, that you were the associate of these assassins, that you aided sophia perovskaia in effecting the escape of valerian ossinsky, that you received the congratulations of the conspirators at the banquet, and that you were found in this room in company with four of the men concerned in the attempt to assassinate the czar. but the court is willing[75] to be merciful, and if you will tell all you know with reference to this plot, and give the names of all the conspirators with whom you have been concerned, your offence will be dealt with as leniently as possible."

"i repeat that i know nothing, and can therefore disclose nothing, sir, and i venture to protest against the authority of this court to try and condemn me, an englishman."

"no matter what is the nationality of the person," the president said coldly, "who offends against the laws of this country, he is amenable to its laws, and his nationality affords him no protection whatever. you will have time given you to think the matter over before your sentence is communicated to you. remove the prisoner."

godfrey was laid on the stretcher again and carried away. this time he was taken, not to the room where he had been placed while ill, but to a dark cell where scarce a ray of light penetrated. there was a heap of straw in one corner, a loaf of black bread, and a jug of water. godfrey when left alone shook up the straw to make it as comfortable as he possibly could, then sat down upon it with his back against the wall.

"well, this is certainly a go," he said to himself. "if there was one thing that seemed less likely than another, it was that i should get involved in this nihilist business. in the first place, the governor specially warned me against it; in the second place, i have been extremely careful never to give any opinion on public affairs; and in the third place, if there is one thing i detest more than another it is assassination. i cannot say it is cowardly in these men. the nihilists do more than risk their lives; they give their lives away to carry out their end. still, though i own it is not cowardly, i hate it. the question is, what next? petrovytch will, of course, write home to say that i am missing. i don't suppose he will have the slightest idea that i have been arrested as a nihilist. i don't see how he could think so. he is more likely to think that i have been made away[76] with somehow. no doubt my father will come out; but, of course, he won't learn any more than petrovytch, unless they choose to tell him. i don't suppose they will tell him. i have heard that generally families of people they seize know nothing about it, unless they are arrested too. they may guess what has happened, but they don't know. in my case i should fancy the police would say nothing.

"they will hear from the inquiries that my father makes that he has no suspicion of what has happened to me, and they will know if they did tell him our ambassador would be making a row. but even if the governor were to learn what had become of me, and were to insist upon learning what crime i am accused of committing, i do not see that things would be much better. they would hand over the notes of the evidence on which i was convicted, and, taking it altogether, i am bound to say i do not see how they could help convicting me. short of catching me like a sort of guy fawkes blowing up the palace, the case is about as strong as it could be. i certainly have put my foot in it. i was acquainted with these two conspirators; through them i got acquainted with that confounded woman katia, though it seems that wasn't her name. then through her i helped this fellow ossinsky to escape. then, trying to shield her, i make matters twenty times worse; for while my answer before led them to believe that she was a perfect stranger to me, i was ass enough to let out just now that i knew her. then there was that supper. i could not make out at the time why they greeted me so heartily. now, of course, it is plain enough; and now, just after this blowing-up business, here am i caught with four notorious conspirators, and mixed up in a fight in which eight or ten policemen are killed, and the roof blown off a house. that would be circumstantial evidence enough to condemn a man in england, let alone russia.

"i don't suppose they are going to hang me, because they publish the names of the fellows they hang; but imprison[77]ment for years in one of their ghastly dungeons is bad enough. if it is to be, it will be siberia, i hope. there must be some way of getting out of a big country like that—north, south, east, or west. well, i don't see any use bothering over it. i have got into a horrible scrape, there is no doubt about that, and i must take what comes."

godfrey was essentially of a hopeful nature, and always looked at the bright side of things. he was a strong believer in the adage, "where there is a will, there is a way." he had been in his full share of scrapes at school, and had always made a rule of taking things easily. he now examined the cell.

"beastly place!" he said, "and horribly damp. i wonder why dungeons are always damp. cellars at home are not damp, and a dungeon is nothing but a cellar after all. well, i shall take a nap."

the next day godfrey was again taken before the tribunal, and again closely questioned as to his knowledge of the nihilists. he again insisted that he knew nothing of them.

"of course i knew akim soushiloff and petroff stepanoff; but i had only been in their rooms once before, and the only person i met there before was the young woman who called herself katia, but who you say was somebody else. this was at the lodgings they occupied before."

"but you were found with alexander kinkoff and paul kousmitch."

"they only arrived a short time before the police entered. i had never seen either of them before."

these two prisoners had been examined before godfrey entered, and had been questioned about him. kousmitch had declared that he had never seen him before, and the court knew that the spies who had been watching the house had seen him enter but a short time before the police force arrived. as the two statements had been made independently it was thought probable that in this respect godfrey was[78] speaking the truth. not so, however, his assertions that he was unacquainted with any of the other conspirators.

he was again taken back to his cell, and for the next week saw no one but the warder who brought his bread and water, and who did not reply by a single word to any questions that he asked him. godfrey did his best to keep up his spirits. he had learnt by heart at shrewsbury the first two books of the iliad, and these he daily repeated aloud, set himself equations to do, and solved them in his head, repeated the dates in greek history, and went through everything he could remember as having learned.

he occasionally heard footsteps above him, and wondered whether that also was a cell, and what sort of man the prisoner was. once or twice at night, when all was quiet, he heard loud cries, and wondered whether they were the result of delirium or torture. his gruff jailer was somewhat won by his cheerfulness. every day godfrey wished him good morning as he visited the cell, inquired what the weather was like outside, expressed an earnest hope that silence didn't disagree with him, and generally joked and laughed as if he rather enjoyed himself than otherwise. at the end of the week an official entered the cell.

"i have come to inform you, prisoner, that the sentence of death that had been passed upon you has, by the clemency of the czar, been commuted to banishment for life to siberia."

"very well, sir," godfrey said. "i know, of course, that i am perfectly innocent of the crime of which i am charged; but as the czar no doubt supposes that i am guilty of taking part in a plot against his life, i acknowledge and thank him for his clemency. i have no peculiar desire to visit siberia, but at least it will be a change for the better from this place. i trust that it shall not be long before i start."

as the official was unable to make out whether godfrey spoke in mockery or not, he made no reply.

"these nihilists are men of iron," he said afterwards.[79] "they walk to the scaffold with smiling faces; they exist in dungeons that would kill a dog in twenty-four hours, and nothing can tempt them to divulge their secrets; even starvation does not affect them. they are dangerous enemies, but it must be owned that they are brave men and women. this boy, for he is little more, almost laughed in our faces; and, in spite of his stay in that damp cell, seemed to be in excellent spirits. it is the same with them all, though i own that some of them do break down sometimes; but i think that those who commit suicide do so principally because they are afraid that, under pressure, they may divulge secrets against each other. ossip, who attends that young fellow, says that he is always the same, and speaks as cheerfully to him every morning as if he were in a palace instead of in a dungeon."

two days later godfrey was aroused in the night.

"why, it is not light yet," he said. "what are you disturbing me at this time for?"

"get up," the man said; "you are going to start."

"thank goodness for that!" godfrey said, jumping up from his straw. "that is the best news that i have heard for a long time."

in the court-yard seven prisoners were standing. they were placed at some distance from each other, and by each stood a soldier and a policeman. a similar guard took their places by the side of godfrey as he came out. an official took charge of the whole party, and, still keeping a few paces apart, they sallied out through the prison doors and marched through the sleeping city. perhaps godfrey was the only one of the party who did not feel profoundly impressed. they were going to leave behind them for ever family and friends and country, and many would have welcomed death as an escape from the dreary prospect before them. godfrey's present feeling was that of exhilaration.

he had done his best to keep his mind at work, but the damp and unwholesome air of the cell had told upon[80] him, enfeebled as he had been by the attack of fever. as he walked along now he drew in deep breaths of the brisk night air, and looked with delight at the stars glistening overhead. as to the future, just at that moment it troubled him but little. he knew nothing of siberia beyond having heard that the prisoners there led a terrible life. that he should escape from it some time or other seemed to him a matter of course. how, he could form no idea until he got there; but as to the fact he had no misgiving, for it seemed to him ridiculous that in a country so enormous as siberia a prisoner could not make his way out sooner or later.

when they reached the railway-station a train stood in readiness. each prisoner had a separate compartment, his two guards accompanying him. godfrey addressed a word to his custodians. the policeman, however, said, "you are forbidden to speak," and in a minute or two the train moved off.

godfrey dozed occasionally until morning, and then looked out at the dark woods through which they passed for hours. twice the train stopped at lonely stations, and the prisoners were supplied with food. in the afternoon godfrey saw the gilded and painted domes of a great city, and knew that it must be moscow. here, however, they made no stay, but steamed straight through the station and continued their way. godfrey slept soundly after it became dark, waking up once when the train came to a standstill. at early morning he was roused and ordered to alight, and in the same order as before the prisoners were marched through the streets of nijni novgorod to the bank of the volga. few people were yet abroad in the streets, but all they met looked pityingly at the group of exiles, a sight of daily occurrence in the springtime of the year. ordinary prisoners, of whom from fifteen to twenty thousand are sent annually to siberia, are taken down the volga in a convict barge, towed by a steamer, in batches of six or seven hundred. political pri[81]soners are differently treated; they are carried on board the ordinary steamer, each having a separate cabin, and during the voyage they are allowed no intercourse whatever, either with each other or with the ordinary passengers.

map of russian empire

map of russian empire

of these there were a considerable number on board the steamer, as the season had but just begun, and merchants, traders, and officials were taking advantage of the river's being open to push forward into siberia. at present, however, these were all below. the prisoners were conducted to the cabins reserved for them, and then locked in. presently godfrey heard a buzz of many voices and a general movement in the cabin outside, and the fact that he was a prisoner and cut off from the world came to him more strongly than it had hitherto done. an hour later there was a movement and shouting overhead. then he felt the paddles revolving, and knew that the steamer was under way. he could, however, see nothing. a sort of shutter was fastened outside the scuttle, which gave him the opportunity to take a glimpse of the sky, but nothing of the shore or water. nothing could be more monotonous than the journey, and yet the air and light that came down through the port-hole rendered it far more pleasant than existence in a prison cell. he knew, too, that, dull as it was in the cabin, there would be little to see on deck, for the shores of the rivers were everywhere flat and low.

after twenty-four hours' travel the steamer stopped. since godfrey had been in russia he had naturally studied the geography of the empire, and knew a good deal about the routes. he guessed, therefore, that the halt was at kasan, the capital of the old tartar kingdom. it was a break to him to listen to the noises overhead, to guess at the passengers who were leaving and coming on board, to listen to scraps of conversation that could be heard through the open port-hole, and to the shouts of farewell from those on board to those on shore as the vessel steamed on again. he knew that after two hours' more steaming down the volga [82]the vessel turned up the kama, a large river running into it and navigable for 1400 miles. up this the vessel steamed for three days and then reached perm. in the evening godfrey and his companions were disembarked and, strictly guarded as before, were marched to the railway-station, placed in a special carriage attached to a train, and after twenty-four hours' travel at the rate of about twelve miles an hour reached ekaterinburg. this railway had only been open for a year, and until its completion this portion of the journey had been one of the most tiresome along the whole route, as the ural mountains intervene between perm and ekaterinburg; their height is not great here, and the railway crosses them at not more than 1700 feet above sea-level.

on arriving at the station half the prisoners were at once placed in vehicles and the others were sent to the prison. godfrey was one of the party that went on at once. the vehicle, which was called a telega, was a sort of narrow waggon without springs, seats, or cover; the bottom was covered with a deep layer of straw, and there were some thick rugs for coverings at night. it was drawn by three horses. godfrey was in the last of the four vehicles that started together. his soldier guard took his place beside him, four mounted cossacks rode, two on each side of the procession. the driver, a peasant, to whom the horses belonged, cracked his short-handled whip and the horses sprang forward. siberian horses are wiry little animals, not taking to the eye, but possessing speed and great endurance. the post-houses are situated from twelve to twenty-five versts apart, according to the difficulty of the country, a verst being about two-thirds of an english mile. at these post-houses relays of horses are always kept in readiness for one or two vehicles, but word is sent on before when political prisoners are coming, and extra relays are obtained by the post-masters from the peasants.

to godfrey the sensation of being whirled through the air as fast as the horses could gallop was, after his long con[83]finement, perfectly delightful, and he fairly shouted with joy and excitement. now that they were past ekaterinburg, godfrey's guard, a good-tempered-looking young fellow, seemed to consider that it was no longer necessary to preserve an absolute silence, which had no doubt been as irksome to him as to his companion.

"we can talk now. why are you so merry?"

"to be in the air again is glorious," godfrey said, "i should not mind how long the journey lasted if it were like this. how far do we travel in carriages?"

"to tiumen, 300 versts; then we take steamer again, that is if you go farther."

"you don't know where we are going to then?"

"not at all, it will be known at tiumen; that is where these things are settled generally, but people like you are under special orders. you don't look very wicked;" and he smiled in a friendly way as he looked at the lad beside him.

"i am not wicked at all, not in the way you think," godfrey said.

"do not talk about that," the soldier interrupted, "i must not know anything about you; talk about other things, but not why you are here."

godfrey nodded. "if we go on beyond tiumen we go by steamer, do we not?"

"yes, through tobolsk to tomsk, beyond that we shall drive. you are lucky, you people, that you drive, the others walk; it is long work, but not so long as it used to be, they say. i have been told that in the old times, when they started on foot from moscow it took them sometimes two years to reach the farthest places. now they have the railway, and the steamers on the river as far as tomsk."

"how do they take them in the steamers?"

"they take them in great barges that are towed; we passed two on our way to perm. they hold five or six hundred, there is a great iron cage on deck, and they let half the number up at a time in order to get air. they are[84] always going along at this time of year, for they all go early in the season so as to get to the journey's end before the frosts set in."

"but surely all these men cannot be guilty of great crimes," godfrey said, "for i have heard that about twenty thousand a year are sent away?"

"no, many of them are only lazy fellows who drink and will not work. we sent away three from my village the year before i was taken for a soldier. they were lazy and would not do their share of work, so the heads of the village met and decided that they should go to siberia. they drew up a paper, which was sent to be confirmed by the judge of the district, and then soldiers came and took them away."

"but you don't mean to say," godfrey said, "that men are sent to prison all their lives because they are lazy."

"oh no, no one would think of such a thing as that! men like these are only sent to the big towns, tiumen, or perm, or tobolsk, and then they are settled on land or work in the towns, but they are free to do as they like. the country wants labour, and men who won't work at home and expect the community to keep them have to work here or else they would starve. then there are numbers who are only guilty of some small offence. they have stolen something, or they have resisted the tax-gatherer, or something of that sort. they only go to prison for the term of their sentences, perhaps only three or four months, and then they too are free like the others, and can work in the towns, or trade if they happen to have money to set them up, or they can settle in a village and take up land and cultivate it. they can live where they like in siberia. i had many rich men pointed out to me in tobolsk who had come out as convicts."

"you have been here before then?" godfrey said.

"yes, this is my second journey. i hope i shall come no more. we get a little extra pay and are better fed than we are with the regiment, and we have no drill; but then it is[85] sad. last time i had one with me who had left his wife and family behind; he was always sad, he talked to me sometimes of them, there was no one else to talk to. he was here for life, and he knew he should never see them again. she was young and would marry again."

"but she couldn't do that as long as he lived," godfrey said.

"oh yes; from the day a prisoner crosses the frontier his marriage is annulled and his wife can marry again. she may come with him if she likes, but if she does she can never go back again."

"and do many wives come?"

"a good many," the soldier said; "but i only know what i have heard. i was with one of you last time, and it was only on the way back that i heard of things about the others. formerly the guards remained in siberia if they chose, it was too far to send them back to russia; but now that the journey is done so quickly, and we can get back all the way from tomsk by the rivers, except this little bit, we go back again as soon as we have handed over our charges. i did not go farther than tomsk last time, and i was back at nijni in less than three months after starting. what part of russia do you come from?"

"i am an englishman."

the soldier looked round in surprise. "i did not know englishmen could speak our language so well; of course i noticed that your speech was not quite like mine, but i am from the south and i thought you must come from somewhere in the north or from poland. how did—" and here he stopped. "but i must not ask that; i don't want to know anything, not even your name. look there, we are just going to pass a convoy of other prisoners."

in a minute or two they overtook the party. it consisted of about a hundred and fifty prisoners escorted by a dozen mounted cossacks. the men were in prison garb of yellowish-brown stuff with a coloured patch in the back between the[86] shoulders. they had chains fastened to rings round the ankles and tied up to their belts. they were not heavy, and interfered very little with their walking. the procession in no way accorded with godfrey's preconceived idea. the men were walking along without much attempt at regular order. they were laughing and talking together or with their guards, and some of them shouted chaffing remarks to the four vehicles as they swept past them.

"they do not look very unhappy," godfrey said.

"why should they?" the soldier replied; "they are better off than they would be at home. lots of men break the law on purpose to be sent out; it is a good country. they say wives get rid of their husbands by informing against them and getting them sent here. i believe there are quite as many husbands with scolding wives who get themselves sent here to be free of them. as long as they are on the road or employed in hard labour they are fed better than they ever were at home, better a great deal than we soldiers are. even in the prisons they do not work so very hard, for it is difficult to find work for them; only if they are sent to the mines their lot is bad. of that i know nothing, but i have heard. as for the rest, from what i have seen of it i should say that a convict here is better off than a peasant at home. but here we are at the post-house."