Fred Markham in Russia Part 13

"I saw at once the advantages of the plan proposed by the Zingari chief, and yet I trembled at the thought of leaving Aneouta so long among his people; not that I doubted they would protect her to the utmost of their power, but I feared she might suffer from the hards.h.i.+ps to which she would be inevitably exposed. Still I felt that I must wait to decide till I had seen my betrothed. For five days we travelled on with far greater ease than I had been accustomed to, so that at the end of the time I was fresher and stronger than when I fell in with the encampment.

"But I am wearying you, sirs, with my long history, and I am sure that this kind gentleman, who has been interpreting for me, is completely out of breath."

Mr Allwick smiled as he said this.

"Oh, no, no," exclaimed Cousin Giles, and the boys, and Mr Evergreen, in a breath. "We are very much interested. Tell him to go on. We would rather hear his adventures than see all the sights in the place."

The stranger bowed, and continued his narrative.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

Disguised as a Zingari--Start on the Expedition--Minetta's Fortune-telling--Communicative Serfs--A tyrant Land-steward--Outbreak of Peasants--Dreadful Result--Old Scratchichna--Discovery of Aneouta-- Their Flight--Stratagem of the Zingari Chief--Aneouta left in the Gipsy Encampment--Reaches the Volga--Voyage to Nishni--Conclusion of History--Cousin Giles promises to a.s.sist him.

"The gipsy tents were pitched on a wild moor, surrounded by low, barren hills, about three versts distant from the estate of young Barin Peoter Petrovitch, the owner of my poor Aneouta. Although my features are not at all of the gipsy cast, and any one examining them narrowly would at once have seen that I was no Zingari, yet by dressing carefully in their style, and by having my countenance doubly dyed, and my beard shaved off, I certainly might hope to be taken for one by the casual pa.s.ser-by.

"The chief himself attended to the arrangement of my costume. He was a widower, and childless, but he had a niece, the child of a brother, whom he adopted. She was a clever, spirited girl, and gladly undertook to be my companion; indeed Minetta--that was her name--fully entered into the spirit of the undertaking. It was arranged, also, that a little lad, her brother, should accompany us. I described Aneouta to them both, so that they might know her at once should they meet her. My countenance had been so altered by the dye and paint that I looked quite an old man, and no one could possibly recognise me. Whatever may be the faults of the Zingari, they may be safely trusted with the secrets committed to their tribe; therefore, though every one in the encampment knew my object, I had no fears of being betrayed.

"Many a good wish was uttered as we three set off together on horseback.

The chief had furnished me with a strong, active steed, which would carry Aneouta as well as me, should I be so fortunate as to be able to bear her off unperceived. We rode on till we came to a copse, a quarter of a verst or so from the house of the young Barin.

"Minetta and I then dismounting, left the horses under charge of her brother, and sauntering along in an unconcerned way, we approached the house. I had agreed to feign to be dumb, lest the tone of my voice should betray me. Thus I knew I should be perfectly safe from detection, and even Aneouta would not know me. Our difficulty was to learn where she could be found. Eagerly I cast my eyes about in every direction, expecting to see her among the work-people in the fields, but nowhere did she appear. Minetta had a good excuse to go among them, to offer to tell the girls their fortunes. They were not unaccustomed to such visits, apparently, for they smiled and laughed as she talked to them, and willingly held out their hands that she might read their fate by the marks on their palms. She cleverly adapted her promises according to the age and appearance of each, and seemed to give universal satisfaction. After she had gained their confidence, she began to put questions to them, to which they seemed fully willing to reply. First she spoke to one; then to another a little way off; and what the first told her she made use of with surprising facility, as if she had been long informed of it, to draw information from the second.

I listened with painful eagerness to all that was said to her, but for a long time she could elicit nothing which could give me information about Aneouta. At length she got nearer to the subject.

"'Surely all the girls of the estate are not in the fields to-day?' she said. 'Not long ago I heard weeping and moaning, as from one in pain or grief. The sounds came a long, long way through the air, even to where I then was standing, many versts away from this.'

"The girls looked at each other.

"'Yes, you are right,' said one. 'It was a maiden who had gone away from this when a child, and thought herself free, but she was mistaken; and the Barin, our lord, is fond of keeping all his people about him, so when he found it out, he had her brought back. Poor thing, she was very unhappy, for she was taken from all her friends; but she will be better by and by. She will marry one of our young men, and then she will make new friends, and be reconciled to her fate.'

"'Ah, let any one beware who marries her,' exclaimed Minetta, promptly.

'I have read his destiny in the stars. He will speedily die. Let him beware, I say.'

"The girls looked at each other with horror, resolved to warn all the young men in the village of the fate they might expect if they wished to marry the new-comer.

"'Then she has not yet been sent out into the fields to labour?' she continued. 'I thought not.'

"'Oh, no, she is still in the overseer's house,' answered one of the girls; 'she has plenty of work there, for he is a hard man, and not likely to excuse her because she is weak or ill. For my part, I would rather be in the fields, where at least we have freedom to talk, and laugh, and sing as much and as loud as we please, at least as long as the land-steward keeps away from us. When he comes all are dumb and grave. If we talk, he thinks we are plotting mischief; if we laugh, he fancies we are laughing at him. He is miserable himself, and he wants to make everybody miserable also.'

"'Why is that?' asked Minetta. 'He is well-to-do in the world--a good house, and plenty to eat and drink.'

"'Ah, but he is always in terror of his life,' answered the girl.

'Before he came here he was steward of an estate owned by a Barin and his wife, who were the most grinding couple in all the country round.

They starved their house serfs, and ground every moment of work out of the peasants that the law would allow. No other man but Gavrillo, our land-steward, would have lived with such people, I verily believe. The mujicks bore it for many years, not without complaining and grumbling, but without trying to right themselves. At last they could bear it no longer. A bad season came, and they were starving, and when they complained, they were only ground more and more; so they rose up with arms in their hands, and attacked the Barin's house one morning, just before daylight, and the Barin put his head out of the window, and they shot him, and he fell down into the road; and when his wife looked out to see what had become of her lord, they shot her too. When they were certain that they were both dead they went off to the house of Gavrillo, intending to shoot him also. He, however, hearing the shots, guessed that something wrong was happening, and, mounting his horse, galloped away as hard as he could go. The mujicks saw him, and followed. They thirsted for his blood; and as they well knew that no mercy would be shown them, they were determined to have it. They followed him across fields, and there they kept up with him. Then he reached a plain, a wild heath, and he distanced them, but at the other side of the heath was a wood--he must either skirt it or go through it. Fear drove him through it, and they rapidly gained on him again. They now were almost sure that they should catch him, but as they got to the farther edge of the wood they saw him tearing along, his horse all foam, and his clothes in shreds, and his hat knocked off, a quarter of a verst or less before them. Shots were fired at him, but the bullets missed. A broad and rapid river was before him. They thought that they should now certainly overtake him, and already they fancied their revenge secure, when he reached the bank. He hesitated not a moment. He heard the infuriated mujicks behind him--their cries of rage and fierce threats--and saw the broad rapid stream before him. Death from behind was certain. The water might float him--he urged in his horse--the animal was strong and fearless. Bravely it swam on, encouraged by its master's voice. Shot after shot was fired at him--still he held on. He was mounting the one bank when his pursuers reached the other, uttering cries of disappointed hate. He shook his clenched fist at them, and galloped on. He did not stop nor think himself safe till he had reached the nearest town. He there gave notice of what had occurred, and the governor sent off for troops to punish the rebels. The mujicks, meantime, with shouts of vengeance, went back to his house. His wife and children were within, and a h.o.a.rd of his ill-gotten gold. They could not fly. He had had no time to secure his gold. The mujicks surrounded the dwelling, and closed the doors that no one might escape. There was a shout for f.a.ggots, dried branches, logs of wood. They were brought, they were piled up round the house, and a fire was kindled on every side. It blazed up fiercely. It crackled, and hissed, and roared. There was a strong wind: the cries of the inmates were overcome. Soon the smoke stifled them; and Gavrillo, when he returned with the troops many days afterwards, found nothing but a heap of ashes where his house had been.

The mujicks then burnt down the house of their lord and emptied his granaries, and then dispersed in every direction. Not an inhabitant was left in the place. Even the old men and the women and children were carried off. Some of the latter, alas! Were soon captured and cruelly treated, but many of the men escaped to the distant steppe, and there, banding themselves together, robbed and plundered all they could venture to attack. That is the reason that Gavrillo is so melancholy and morose,' said the girl.

"'Enough to make him so,' answered Minetta. 'But has he not married again? Who takes care of his house?'

"'Oh, no, he has taken no second wife. I should pity the woman to whom should fall such a fate. He has a blind and deaf old woman who takes care of his house, and I suppose he thinks if his house was again burnt there would be no great loss if she was burnt too. She is as sweet tempered as he is. A pretty life poor Aneouta will have with her.'

"'And Gavrillo himself, where is he?' asked Minetta.

"'Oh, he is away from home just now--gone to see after the sale of some timber; and the Barin is away on his road to Moscow, and won't be back till after the grand doings at the coronation of the Czar, and that makes us all so merry, you know.'

"Minetta had now heard all she required--so had I. The Barin's absence would enable me the better to carry off Aneouta; at the same time I fancied that he might make out a good story to the Emperor, and persuade him to disallow my pet.i.tion when he found that I was interfering with one whom he claimed as his serf. The Zingari chief, however, who knows the world well, afterwards told me that I need have no fears on that score, and that if the Czar grants my pet.i.tion no one is likely to interfere with me. Well, Minetta and I left the field highly satisfied with the information we had obtained, and betook ourselves to Gavrillo's house. The old woman, his housekeeper, sat in the porch knitting. The girl we had spoken with had in no way done her injustice; a more unattractive female was never seen. I groaned as I thought that my poor Aneouta should have been committed to the charge of such a being. A brown handkerchief was tied over her head: from beneath it escaped a few straggling white hairs. The eyes in her parchment-like countenance were scarcely perceptible, while her mouth was garnished with two yellow bones, which did the duty of teeth; her feet were encased in straw shoes, and her entire dress was of a dark hue, obtained by age and dirt.

There was not a spot of white about her.

"'What do you want here?' she growled out, as she saw us approach.

"'To tell your fortune, dear mother,' answered Minetta, in the blandest voice.

"'My fortune has been settled long ago, and a bad one it has been,'

answered the old woman.

"'The moon changes, and fine weather comes at last,' replied the gipsy, smiling. 'Those who are wise never mourn the past, but look to the future. See what wonderful things this age has produced! Steamers, and railroads, and balloons--all you have heard of, I doubt not. Even now the world is ringing with the latest and grandest discovery, made by our people, too. Those only who come to us can benefit by it.'

"'What is it, girl?' asked the old woman, with more animation than could be expected.

"'What is it? What you, perchance, would like to have, if you could afford to pay for it,' answered Minetta archly.

"'How do you know that I cannot afford to pay? Tell me what your discovery is, and I will tell you whether I will pay for it,' croaked out the old woman.

"'Oh, no, no; you will not trust to it,' answered Minetta. 'There are others who will value the great secret more than you; I must keep it for them. Farewell, mother;' and taking my hand, she began to move away.

"'Stop, stop, girl; let me know what it is,' cried the old woman, her curiosity fully excited.

"Still Minetta went on.

"'Stop, stop!' again croaked out the old woman.

"The Zingari maiden pretended to relent, and stopped.

"'Well, mother dear, perhaps you would like to try the effects of this great discovery. Often has the attempt been made, but in vain, to give back youth to age, to renovate the beauty which years and sickness have destroyed. The secret has been obtained. A liquid, distilled from the dew found on certain plants at early dawn, has that wondrous power.

Every day the effect is perceptible; the limbs become strong, the muscles vigorous, the cheeks fill out, the roses return, the eyes grow bright, the step elastic, the--'

"'Oh, give me some of it!' shrieked the wretched hag, stretching out her withered arms. 'I'll try it!--I'll try it! What do you demand, girl?-- say quickly!'

"'Try it first, and as you prove its effects, then you shall reward me accordingly,' said Minetta, producing a bottle with a colourless liquid from under her cloak. She poured out some of the liquid on a sponge, and held it to the mouth of the hag. In a few moments its effects were indeed perceptible; her eyes closed, her arms hung down, and she was in a state of stupor.

"'What have you been about?' I exclaimed, afraid that some injury might have been done the old woman.

"'No harm whatever,' she answered, laughing. 'Do you go in, and bring out your Aneouta. I will watch here, and then the sooner we are away the better.'

"With a beating heart, I sprang into the house. There were but five or six rooms. In the last I found a female, sitting with her hands crossed on her knees, looking on vacancy. She started on hearing a person enter, and gazed up at my countenance. I knew her by her figure; but, alas! Grief and anxiety had sadly changed her features. Still she was my Aneouta. Of that I was certain. Eagerly, inquiringly, she looked at me. Her eyes ran over my gipsy costume, then she once more gazed into my eyes, and springing up, threw herself into my arms.

"'It is you--you, my Steffanoff!' she exclaimed, in a voice that went to my heart. 'Tell me not that it is any one else. It is you--it is you.

I know you through your disguise. The dark skin--the Zingari dress--the white hair cannot deceive me. You have come to save me from this--to take me away--to carry me to your home. Tell me that I do not dream.