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Itwas，however，necessarytofollowthisroaduntilitwasmanifestlyimpossibletodosolongerwithoutfallingintothehandsoftheinvaders。Theroadtheywerefollowingcouldnotbeabandoned，andyetthesignsofdevastationandruinincreasedateveryvillagetheypassedthrough。Thebloodofthevictimswasnotyetdry。
Astogaininginformationaboutwhathadoccurred，thatwasimpossible。
Therewasnotalivingbeinglefttotellthetale。
Aboutfouro’clockintheafternoonofthisday，NicholascaughtsightofthetallsteeplesofthechurchesofNijni-Oudinsk。Thickvapors，whichcouldnothavebeenclouds，werefloatingaroundthem。
NicholasandNadialooked，andcommunicatedtheresultoftheirobservationstoMichael。Theymustmakeuptheirmindswhattodo。
Ifthetownwasabandoned，theycouldpassthroughwithoutrisk，butif，bysomeinexplicablemaneuver，theTartarsoccupiedit，theymustateverycostavoidtheplace。
“Advancecautiously，“saidMichaelStrogoff，“butadvance！“
Averstwassoontraversed。
“Thosearenotclouds，thatissmoke！“exclaimedNadia。“Brother，theyareburningthetown！“
Itwas，indeed，onlytooplain。Flashesoflightappearedinthemidstofthevapor。Itbecamethickerandthickerasitmountedupwards。
ButweretheyTartarswhohaddonethis？TheymightbeRussians，obeyingtheordersoftheGrandDuke。HadthegovernmentoftheCzardeterminedthatfromKrasnoiarsk，fromtheYenisei，notatown，notavillageshouldofferarefugetotheEmir’ssoldiers？
WhatwasMichaeltodo？
Hewasundecided。However，havingweighedtheprosandcons，hethoughtthatwhatevermightbethedifficultiesofajourneyacrossthesteppewithoutabeatenpath，heoughtnottoriskcaptureasecondtimebytheTartars。HewasjustproposingtoNicholastoleavetheroad，whenashotwasheardontheirright。
Aballwhistled，andthehorseofthekibitkafelldead，shotthroughthehead。
Adozenhorsemendashedforward，andthekibitkawassurrounded。
Beforetheyknewwheretheywere，Michael，Nadia，andNicholaswereprisoners，andwerebeingdraggedrapidlytowardsNijni-Oudinsk。
Michael，inthissecondattack，hadlostnoneofhispresenceofmind。
Beingunabletoseehisenemies，hehadnotthoughtofdefendinghimself。
Evenhadhepossessedtheuseofhiseyes，hewouldnothaveattemptedit。Theconsequenceswouldhavebeenhisdeathandthatofhiscompanions。But，thoughhecouldnotsee，hecouldlistenandunderstandwhatwassaid。
FromtheirlanguagehefoundthatthesesoldierswereTartars，andfromtheirwords，thattheyprecededtheinvadingarmy。
Inshort，whatMichaellearntfromthetalkatthepresentmoment，aswellasfromthescrapsofconversationheoverheardlater，wasthis。ThesemenwerenotunderthedirectordersoftheEmir，whowasnowdetainedbeyondtheYenisei。TheymadepartofathirdcolumnchieflycomposedofTartarsfromthekhanatsofKhoklandandKoondooz，withwhichFeofar’sarmywastoaffectajunctionintheneighborhoodofIrkutsk。
ByOgareff’sadvice，inordertoassurethesuccessoftheinvasionintheEasternprovinces，thiscolumnhadskirtedthebaseoftheAltaiMountains。Pillagingandravaging，ithadreachedtheuppercourseoftheYenisei。There，guessingwhathadbeendoneatKrasnoiarskbyorderoftheCzar，andtofacilitatethepassageoftherivertotheEmir’stroops，thiscolumnhadlaunchedaflotillaofboats，whichwouldenableFeofartocrossandr俿um？theroadtoIrkutsk。Havingdonethis，ithaddescendedthevalleyoftheYeniseiandstrucktheroadonalevelwithAlsalevsk。FromthislittletownbeganthefrightfulcourseofruinwhichformsthechiefpartofTartarwarfare。
Nijni-Oudinskhadsharedthecommonfate，andtheTartars，tothenumberoffiftythousand，hadnowquittedittotakeupapositionbeforeIrkutsk。Beforelong，theywouldbereinfo
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