have made
one home happier for my stay here, and that you and your brave wife, in
your comfortable home, think sometimes of the young fellow you were kind
to."

"If you wish it I will take it," Mikail said. "Feodora and I will pray
before the _ikon_ to the saints morning and night to protect you
wherever you may be."

"Pray for me as Godfrey Bullen, Mikail; that is my real name. I am
English, and it is to England I shall make my way."

"Godfrey Bullen," the man repeated four or five times over. "I shall not
forget it. Feodora and I will teach it to our children if the good God
should send us any."

"I should like to let you know if I get safely home," Godfrey said; "how
can I write to you?"

"I can receive letters when I am out of prison," Mikail said. "You know
my name, Mikail Stomoff; put Karoff, that is the name of the village my
wife lives at--Karoff, near Kara. If the letter does not come until my
term is over, and I have left, I will leave word there where it can be
forwarded to me."

"I hope that you will get it long before that, Mikail. The journey is
too long to do in one summer. I shall winter somewhere in the north, and
I hope to be in England by the following autumn; therefore, if I have
got safely away, you may look for a letter before the Christmas after
next. If it does not come by that time, you will know that I have failed
in my first attempt, and then you will, I hope, get one a year later. I
shall, of course, be careful what I say; in case it should be opened and
read, there will be nothing in it about your knowing that I intended to
escape."

"We shall look for it, Godfrey Bullen, we shall look for it always, and
pray the good God to send it to us."

The next morning when Godfrey rose he wrung Mikail's hand warmly.

"God bless you," the starosta said with tears in his eyes. "I shall not
come near you again; they would see that something was strange with me,
and when you were missing, would guess that I knew you were going. May
all the saints preserve you."

Before they formed up to march to their work, Godfrey shook hands with
his friend Osip. "I am going to try on our way back to-night," he said.

"Good-bye, and good luck to you," Osip replied. "I would go with you if
I was in for life; but I have lost two years already by running away,
and I dare not try again."

During the day Godfrey observed very carefully the spot where he had
hidden the tools, so that he might be able to find