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Nadia，whowaskneelinginprayer，arose。“Look，look！“saidhe。
“TheTartars！“shewhispered。
ItwasindeedtheEmir’sadvance-guard，passingrapidlyalongtheroadtoIrkutsk。
“Theyshallnotpreventmefromburyinghim！“saidMichael。Andhecontinuedhiswork。
Soon，thebodyofNicholas，thehandscrossedonthebreast，waslaidinthegrave。MichaelandNadia，kneeling，prayedalasttimeforthepoorfellow，inoffensiveandgood，whohadpaidforhisdevotiontowardsthemwithhislife。
“Andnow，“saidMichael，ashethrewintheearth，“thewolvesofthesteppewillnotdevourhim。“
Thenheshookhisfistatthetroopofhorsemenwhowerepassing。
“Forward，Nadia！“hesaid。
Michaelcouldnotfollowtheroad，nowoccupiedbytheTartars。HemustcrossthesteppeandturntoIrkutsk。HehadnotnowtotroublehimselfaboutcrossingtheDinka。Nadiacouldnotmove，butshecouldseeforhim。Hetookherinhisarmsandwentontowardsthesouthwestoftheprovince。
Ahundredandfortymilesstillremainedtobetraversed。
Howwasthedistancetobeperformed？Shouldtheynotsuccumbtosuchfatigue？Onwhatweretheytoliveontheway？
BywhatsuperhumanenergyweretheytopasstheslopesoftheSayanskMountains？NeitherhenorNadiacouldanswerthis！
Andyet，twelvedaysafter，onthe2dofOctober，atsixo’clockintheevening，awidesheetofwaterlayatMichaelStrogoff’sfeet。
ItwasLakeBaikal。
LAKEBAIKALissituatedseventeenhundredfeetabovethelevelofthesea。Itslengthisaboutsixhundredmiles，itsbreadthseventy。
Itsdepthisnotknown。MadamedeBourboulonstatesthat，accordingtotheboatmen，itlikestobespokenofas“MadamSea。“Ifitiscalled“SirLake，“itimmediatelylashesitselfintofury。
However，itisreportedandbelievedbytheSiberiansthataRussianisneverdrownedinit。
Thisimmensebasinoffreshwater，fedbymorethanthreehundredrivers，issurroundedbymagnificentvolcanicmountains。
IthasnootheroutletthantheAngara，whichafterpassingIrkutskthrowsitselfintotheYenisei，alittleabovethetownofYeniseisk。Astothemountainswhichencaseit，theyformabranchoftheToungouzes，andarederivedfromthevastsystemoftheAltai。
Inthisterritory，subjecttopeculiarclimaticalconditions，theautumnappearstobeabsorbedintheprecociouswinter。
ItwasnowthebeginningofOctober。Thesunsetatfiveo’clockintheevening，andduringthelongnightsthetemperaturefelltozero。
Thefirstsnows，whichwouldlasttillsummer，alreadywhitenedthesummitsoftheneighboringhills。DuringtheSiberianwinterthisinlandseaisfrozenovertoathicknessofseveralfeet，andiscrossedbythesleighsofcaravans。
Eitherbecausetherearepeoplewhoaresowantinginpolitenessastocallit“SirLake，“orforsomemoremeteorologicalreason，LakeBaikalissubjecttoviolenttempests。Itswaves，shortlikethoseofallinlandseas，aremuchfearedbytherafts，prahms，andsteamboats，whichfurrowitduringthesummer。
ItwasthesouthwestpointofthelakewhichMichaelhadnowreached，carryingNadia，whosewholelife，sotospeak，wasconcentratedinhereyes。Butwhatcouldthesetwoexpect，inthiswildregion，ifitwasnottodieofexhaustionandfamine？
Andyet，whatremainedofthelongjourneyoffourthousandmilesfortheCzar’scouriertoreachhisend？NothingbutfortymilesontheshoreofthelakeuptothemouthoftheAngara，andsixtymilesfromthemouthoftheAngaratoIrkutsk；
inall，ahundredmiles，orthreedays’journeyforastrongman，evenonfoot。
CouldMichaelStrogoffstillbethatman？
Heaven，nodoubt，didnotwishtoputhimtothistrial。
Thefatalitywhichhadhithertopursuedhisstepsseemedforatimetosparehim。ThisendoftheBaikal，thispartofthesteppe，whichhebelievedtobeadesert，whichitusuallyis，wasnotsonow。
Aboutfiftypeoplewerecollectedattheangleformedbytheendofthelake。
Nadiaimmediatelycaughtsightofthisgroup，whenMichael，carryingherinhisarms，issuedfromthemountainpass。
ThegirlfearedforamomentthatitwasaTartardetachment，senttobea
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