He had told me that on account of the shore being so full of weeds and
the clearness of the water, fishing from the banks was almost an
impossibility, and how they had to accustom themselves to troll from a
boat so small as to only accommodate the rower and the fisherman.
Then he remarked suddenly--
"You are English, I presume--possibly from Helsingfors?"
"No," I answered. "From Abo. I crossed from Stockholm, and am going to
Petersburg."
"And I also. I live in Petersburg," he added. "We may perhaps meet one
day. Do you know the capital?"
I explained that I had visited it once before, and had done the usual
round of sight-seeing. His manner was brisk and to the point, as became
a man of business, but when we stopped at Bele-Ostrof, on the opposite
side of the small winding river that separates Finland from Russia
proper, the Customs officer who came to examine our baggage exchanged a
curious meaning look with him.
My fellow-traveler believed that I had not observed, yet, keenly on the
alert as I now was, I was shrewd to detect the least sign or look, and I
at once resolved to tell the fellow nothing further of my own affairs.
Pages:
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358