And the kibitka was driven on.
Besides, if Nicholas had wished to render the last duties to all the dead bodies they were now to meet with on the Siberian highroad, he would have had enough to do!
As they approached Nijni-Oudinsk, they were found by twenties, stretched on the ground.
It was, however, necessary to follow this road until it was manifestly impossible to do so longer without falling into the hands of the invaders.
The road they were following could not be abandoned, and yet the signs of devastation and ruin increased at every village they passed through.
The blood of the victims was not yet dry.
As to gaining information about what had occurred, that was impossible.
There was not a living being left to tell the tale.
About four o’clock in the afternoon of this day, Nicholas caught sight of the tall steeples of the churches of Nijni-Oudinsk.
Thick vapors, which could not have been clouds, were floating around them.
Nicholas and Nadia looked, and communicated the result of their observations to Michael.
They must make up their minds what to do.
If the town was abandoned, they could pass through without risk, but if, by some inexplicable maneuver, the Tartars occupied it, they must at every cost avoid the place.
“Advance cautiously,” said Michael Strogoff, “but advance!”
A verst was soon traversed.
“Those are not clouds, that is smoke!” exclaimed Nadia.
“Brother, they are burning the town!”
It was, indeed, only too plain.
Flashes of light appeared in the midst of the vapor.
It became thicker and thicker as it mounted upwards.
But were they Tartars who had done this?
They might be Russians, obeying the orders of the Grand Duke.
Had the government of the Czar determined that from Krasnoiarsk, from the Yenisei, not a town, not a village should offer a refuge to the Emir’s soldiers?
What was Michael to do?
He was undecided.
However, having weighed the pros and cons, he thought that whatever might be the difficulties of a journey across the steppe without a beaten path, he ought not to risk capture a second time by the Tartars. He was just proposing to Nicholas to leave the road, when a shot was heard on their right.
A ball whistled, and the horse of the kibitka fell dead, shot through the head.
A dozen horsemen dashed forward, and the kibitka was surrounded.
Before they knew where they were, Michael, Nadia, and Nicholas were prisoners, and were being dragged rapidly towards Nijni-Oudinsk.
Michael, in this second attack, had lost none of his presence of mind.
Being unable to see his enemies, he had not thought of defending himself.
Even had he possessed the use of his eyes, he would not have attempted it.
The consequences would have been his death and that of his companions.
But, though he could not see, he could listen and understand what was said.
From their language he found that these soldiers were Tartars, and from their words, that they preceded the invading army.
In short, what Michael learnt from the talk at the present moment, as well as from the scraps of conversation he overheard later, was this.
These men were not under the direct orders of the Emir, who was now detained beyond the Yenisei.
They made part of a third column chiefly composed of Tartars from the khanats of Khokland and Koondooz, with which Feofar’s army was to affect a junction in the neighborhood of Irkutsk.
By Ogareff’s advice, in order to assure the success of the invasion in the Eastern provinces, this column had skirted the base of the Altai Mountains.
Pillaging and ravaging, it had reached the upper course of the Yenisei.
There, guessing what had been done at Krasnoiarsk by order of the Czar, and to facilitate the passage of the river to the Emir’s troops, this column had launched a flotilla of boats, which would enable Feofar to cross and resume the road to Irkutsk.
Having done this, it had descended the valley of the Yenisei and struck the road on a level with Alsalevsk.
From this little town began the frightful course of ruin which forms the chief part of Tartar warfare.
Nijni-Oudinsk had shared the common fate, and the Tartars, to the number of fifty thousand, had now quitted it to take up a position before Irkutsk.
Before long, they would be reinforced by the Emir’s troops.
Such was the state of affairs at this date, most serious for this isolated part of Eastern Siberia, and for the comparatively few defenders of its capital.
It can be imagined with what thoughts Michael’s mind was now occupied!
Who could have been astonished had he, in his present situation, lost all hope and all courage?
Nothing of the sort, however; his lips muttered no other words than these:
“I will get there!”