ck in some bog, the fore-part arrives at
the post-house on two wheels; but this result is considered quite
satisfactory.

Michael Strogoff would have been obliged to employ a telga, if he had
not been lucky enough to discover a tarantass. It is to be hoped that
the invention of Russian coach-builders will devise some improvement
in this last-named vehicle. Springs are wanting in it as well as in the
telga; in the absence of iron, wood is not spared; but its four wheels,
with eight or nine feet between them, assure a certain equilibrium over
the jolting rough roads. A splash-board protects the travelers from
the mud, and a strong leathern hood, which may be pulled quite over the
occupiers, shelters them from the great heat and violent storms of the
summer. The tarantass is as solid and as easy to repair as the telga,
and is, moreover, less addicted to leaving its hinder part in the middle
of the road.

It was not without careful search that Michael managed to discover this
tarantass, and there was probably not a second to be found in all Perm.
He haggled long about the price, for form's sake, to act up to his part
as Nicholas Korpanoff, a plain merchant of Irkutsk.

Nadia had followed her companion in his search after a suitable vehicle.
Although the object of each was different, both were equally anxious to
arrive at their goal. One would have said the same will animated them
both.

"Sister," said Michael, "I wish I could have found a more comfortable
conveyance for you."

"Do you say that to me, brother, when I would have gone on foot, if need
were, to rejoin my father?"

"I do not doubt your courage, Nadia, but there are physical fatigues a
woman may be unable to endure."

"I shall endure them, whatever they be," replied the girl. "If you ever
hear a complaint from me you may leave me in the road, and continue your
journey alone."

Half an hour later, the podorojna being presented by Michael, three
post-horses were harnessed to the tarantass. These animals, covered
with long hair, were very like long-legged bears. They were small
but spirited, being of Siberian breed. The way in which the iemschik
harnessed them was thus: one, the largest, was secured between two long
shafts, on whose farther end was a hoop carrying tassels and bells; the
two others were simply fastened by ropes to the steps of the tarantass.
This was the complete harness, with mere strings for reins.

Neither Michael Strogoff nor the youn