tish, the route to Irkutsk will not be
safe," observed his neighbor. "Besides, yesterday I wanted to send
a telegram to Krasnoiarsk, and it could not be forwarded. It's to be
feared that before long the Tartar columns will have isolated Eastern
Siberia."

"In short, little father," continued the first speaker, "these merchants
have good reason for being uneasy about their trade and transactions.
After requisitioning the horses, they will take the boats, carriages,
every means of transport, until presently no one will be allowed to take
even one step in all the empire."

"I'm much afraid that the Nijni-Novgorod fair won't end as brilliantly
as it has begun," responded the other, shaking his head. "But the safety
and integrity of the Russian territory before everything. Business is
business."

If in this compartment the subject of conversation varied but
little--nor did it, indeed, in the other carriages of the train--in all
it might have been observed that the talkers used much circumspection.
When they did happen to venture out of the region of facts, they never
went so far as to attempt to divine the intentions of the Muscovite
government, or even to criticize them.

This was especially remarked by a traveler in a carriage at the front
part of the train. This person--evidently a stranger--made good use
of his eyes, and asked numberless questions, to which he received only
evasive answers. Every minute leaning out of the window, which he would
keep down, to the great disgust of his fellow-travelers, he lost
nothing of the views to the right. He inquired the names of the most
insignificant places, their position, what were their commerce, their
manufactures, the number of their inhabitants, the average mortality,
etc., and all this he wrote down in a note-book, already full.

This was the correspondent Alcide Jolivet, and the reason of his putting
so many insignificant questions was, that amongst the many answers he
received, he hoped to find some interesting fact "for his cousin." But,
naturally enough, he was taken for a spy, and not a word treating of the
events of the day was uttered in his hearing.

Finding, therefore, that he could learn nothing of the Tartar invasion,
he wrote in his book, "Travelers of great discretion. Very close as to
political matters."

Whilst Alcide Jolivet noted down his impressions thus minutely, his
confrere, in the same train, traveling for the same object, was devoting
himself