They had, however, lashed
themselves to their raft, I saw, and now slowly piloted the great
floating platform towards the quay.
I think I must have waited half an hour, when my attention was suddenly
attracted by the rattle of wheels over the stones, and turning I saw an
old closed carriage drawn by three horses abreast, with bells upon the
harness, approaching me rapidly. When it drew up, the driver, a
burly-looking, fair-headed Finn in a huge sheepskin overcoat, motioned
me to enter, urging in broken Russian--
"Quickly, Excellency!--quickly!--you must not be seen!"
And then the instant I was seated, and before I could close the door,
the horses plunged forward and we were tearing at full gallop out of the
town.
For five miles or so we skirted the sea along a level, well-made road
through a barren wind-swept country whence the meager harvest had
already been garnered. There were no villages. All around was a
houseless land, rolling miles of brown and green, broken and checkered
by bits of forest and clumps of dark melancholy pines.
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