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“Burntouthiseyes！Oh！poorlittlefather！IamgoingtoKrasnoiarsk。Well，whyshouldnotyouandyoursistermountinthekibitka？Bysittingalittleclose，itwillholdusallthree。Besides，mydogwillnotrefusetogoonfoot；
onlyIdon’tgofast，Isparemyhorse。“
“Friend，whatisyourname？“askedMichael。
“MynameisNicholasPigassof。“
“ItisanamethatIwillneverforget，“saidMichael。
“Well，jumpup，littleblindfather。Yoursisterwillbebesideyou，inthebottomofthecart；Isitinfronttodrive。
Thereisplentyofgoodbirchbarkandstrawinthebottom；
it’slikeanest。Serko，makeroom！“
Thedogjumpeddownwithoutmoretelling。HewasananimaloftheSiberianrace，grayhair，ofmediumsize，withanhonestbighead，justmadetopat，andhe，moreover，appearedtobemuchattachedtohismaster。
Inamomentmore，MichaelandNadiawereseatedinthekibitka。
MichaelheldouthishandsasiftofeelforthoseofPigassof。“Youwishtoshakemyhands！“saidNicholas。“Theretheyare，littlefather！
shakethemaslongasitwillgiveyouanypleasure。“
Thekibitkamovedon；thehorse，whichNicholasnevertouchedwiththewhip，ambledalong。ThoughMichaeldidnotgainanyinspeed，atleastsomefatiguewassparedtoNadia。
Suchwastheexhaustionoftheyounggirl，that，rockedbythemonotonousmovementofthekibitka，shesoonfellintoasleep，itssoundnessprovinghercompleteprostration。
MichaelandNicholaslaidheronthestrawascomfortablyaspossible。
Thecompassionateyoungmanwasgreatlymoved，andifateardidnotescapefromMichael’seyes，itwasbecausethered-hotironhaddriedupthelast！
“Sheisverypretty，“saidNicholas。
“Yes，“repliedMichael。
“Theytrytobestrong，littlefather，theyarebrave，buttheyareweakafterall，thesedearlittlethings！
Haveyoucomefromfar。“
“Veryfar。“
“Pooryoungpeople！Itmusthavehurtyouverymuchwhentheyburntyoureyes！“
“Verymuch，“answeredMichael，turningtowardsNicholasasifhecouldseehim。
“Didyounotweep？“
“Yes。“
“Ishouldhavewepttoo。Tothinkthatonecouldneveragainseethoseoneloves。Buttheycanseeyou，however；
that’sperhapssomeconsolation！“
“Yes，perhaps。Tellme，myfriend，“continuedMichael，“haveyouneverseenmeanywherebefore？“
“You，littlefather？No，never。“
“Thesoundofyourvoiceisnotunknowntome。“
“Why！“returnedNicholas，smiling，“heknowsthesoundofmyvoice！
PerhapsyouaskmethattofindoutwhereIcomefrom。
IcomefromKolyvan。“
“FromKolyvan？“repeatedMichael。“ThenitwasthereImetyou；
youwereinthetelegraphoffice？“
“Thatmaybe，“repliedNicholas。“Iwasstationedthere。
Iwastheclerkinchargeofthemessages。“
“Andyoustayedatyourpostuptothelastmoment？“
“Why，it’satthatmomentoneoughttobethere！“
“ItwasthedaywhenanEnglishmanandaFrenchmanweredisputing，roublesinhand，fortheplaceatyourwicket，andtheEnglishmantelegraphedsomepoetry。“
“Thatispossible，butIdonotrememberit。“
“What！youdonotrememberit？“
“IneverreadthedispatchesIsend。Mydutybeingtoforgetthem，theshortestwayisnottoknowthem。“
ThisreplyshowedNicholasPigassof’scharacter。
Inthemeanwhilethekibitkapursueditsway，atapacewhichMichaellongedtorendermorerapid。ButNicholasandhishorsewereaccustomedtoapacewhichneitherofthemwouldliketoalter。
Thehorsewentfortwohoursandrestedone——soon，dayandnight。
Duringthehaltsthehorsegrazed，thetravelersateincompanywiththefaithfulSerko。Thekibitkawasprovisionedforatleasttwentypersons，andNicholasgenerouslyplacedhissuppliesatthedisposalofhistwoguests，whomhebelievedtobebrotherandsister。
Afteraday’srest，Nadiarecoveredsomestrength。
Nicholastookthebestpossiblecareofher。
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