On the face of the flood

By Mary E. Ropes

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Title: On the face of the flood

Author: Mary E. Ropes

Release date: August 10, 2025 [eBook #76666]

Language: English

Original publication: London: The Religious Tract Society, 1913


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ON THE FACE OF THE FLOOD ***

Transcriber's note: Unusual and inconsistent spelling is as printed.

[Illustration: KOSTIA STOOPED, AND WITH STRONG ARMS LIFTED
 THE INSENSIBLE BURDEN.]



                       ON THE FACE OF THE

                             FLOOD


                               By

                         MARY E. ROPES

                          _Author of_
         _"Karl Jansen's Find," "Caroline Street," etc._



                             LONDON
                  THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY
      4 Bouverie Street and 65 St. Paul's Churchyard E.C.



                            CONTENTS

CHAPTER

    I. THE RING THAT ROLLED AWAY

   II. MATVEY'S PLAN

  III. A DREAD AWAKENING—KIDNAPPED

   IV. AN ORDEAL

    V. EYES SHINING IN THE DARK

   VI. OUT OF EVIL GOOD

  VII. THE RESCUE

 VIII. SERGEY MEETS HIS AUNT

   IX. A MEETING AND A WARNING

    X. TRAPPED

   XI. LOOSING THE BONDS

  XII. HOMEWARD BOUND



                    ON THE FACE OF THE FLOOD

CHAPTER I

The Ring that Rolled Away

"MY little son, Sergey, what means this? Thou hast a face on thee as
long as my axe-handle! Is there any fresh trouble, child?"

"Ach, yes, Matvey Philipitch, and a very strange trouble it is, God
knows! And with a secret to it, too, worse luck; for methinks there is
danger for me, whether I find it out or no."

"A secret, my boy? A new trouble? And surely thou hadst enough before.
But tell it out to me, so shalt thou rid thy poor little heart of a
part, at least, of its burden."

"Have you time, little father, to listen now? I would fain tell my
story at once, for I think I cannot bear it any longer alone."

"Yes, I have time," replied Matvey. "But here in the wood is no place
for confidences, where thine Uncle Abram might be hiding, and spying,
and listening, as his wont is, behind the pines. Come back with me to
my home, and my good wife and I will consult with thee how best to help
thee in thy trouble."

Sergey followed Matvey farther into the forest, and came, after five
minutes' walk, to a solidly built house. It was made of whole pine-tree
trunks, the cracks being filled up with tarred tow.

The hut was one of a number scattered about among the trees, for this
was a village of wood cutters and raftsmen. But Matvey was the foreman
and paymaster, and in virtue of this, his cottage contained two rooms
instead of only the solitary apartment which was kitchen, bedroom, and
sitting-room, all in one, in the other dwellings.

Matvey was a man in the prime of life, and far better educated, and
more intelligent, than the ordinary peasants. Sensible, honest, and
reliable, he had the full confidence of his employer, and managed
the wood-cutting in the winter, and the raft-making and launching in
the spring, when the rivers opened their icy eyelids, and the snows,
melting, swelled the flow and quickened the sluggish currents.

Matvey Philipitch Strogoff could not only read and write and keep
correct accounts for his master, but he had learned to love his Bible,
and daily he studied it, poring thoughtfully over its precious truths,
till they bore fruit in his humble, consistent, upright, Christian
life, and he became an influence for good in the wild forest where his
work lay.

His wife, Christina Ivanovna, was his true helpmeet. And now, as Matvey
and the boy Sergey entered the hut, Christina welcomed her young
visitor very kindly. For well she knew what a miserable life he led
with his uncle, Abram Kapoostin, ever since his parents' death from
cholera two years ago.

Of late, too, Abram's conduct had been so strange, and he had neglected
his duty so often, disappearing no one knew how, or whither, for
twenty-four hours at a time, that the foreman had almost made up his
mind to dismiss him. So Christina was not altogether unprepared for a
crisis in the affairs of Sergey and his uncle, and was not surprised
when her husband said—

"Christina, little dove mine, this poor child is in trouble again, and
is come to tell us all about it. Now, Sergey, sit down here and tell
thy story, keeping nothing back, so shall we know how to advise and
help thee."

So the boy began his tale as follows, while Matvey and his wife
listened intently—

"As you well know, kind friends, things have grown worse of late. You
have seen that my uncle's heart was not in his work, and often he
slipped away, and no one knew where he went or what he did. Nor know I
even now. But a strange thing happened last night. My uncle came home
drunk, and I awoke with the noise he made, and turning over, I watched
him.

"Presently I saw him take from his big boot a little leather bag, and
lay it on the table. Then there was a chink! chink! a ring of metal, a
flash, and a sparkle, and something rolled off the table, and away into
a dark corner at the foot of my bed. But Uncle Abram was too drunk to
notice this. He sat there muttering to himself, and lifting a lot of
bright things in his hands, and letting them drop, as though he liked
the look and the sound of the golden shower. But after a short time he
seemed to grow sleepy, and putting the jewels back into the bag, and
the bag into his belt, he threw himself, just as he was, upon his bed,
and in two minutes was snoring hard.

"But this morning, while we were drinking tea, he suddenly said to me,
'Sergey, did I wake thee when I came in last night?'"

"That was a hard question, little son," commented Matvey. "How didst
thou answer?"

"I knew it was a sin to lie," replied the boy; "you have taught me
that the children of God must be true in all things. So I took my poor
little courage in both hands, and looking my uncle in the face, I said:

"'Yes, you waked me.'

"Then his face grew black with rage, and he shouted, 'And if awake,
what didst thou see or hear?'

"'And pray,' said I, 'what should I see or hear?'

"And it was given me to speak quietly and almost carelessly, though my
heart beat like your big clock, Matvey Philipitch.

"And I added, 'You know, uncle, you were very drunk, as you often are.'

"'Yes, yes, as I often am!' he cried, his anger seeming to calm down
suddenly. 'That is nothing; that is no secret, is it?' And again he
looked at me as if he would read my thoughts.

"'No,' I answered, 'certainly it is no secret that you are often drunk.
The whole village knows that.'

"Then he got up to go out, but turned at the door. 'I like not thy
face, nor thy manner this morning, Sergey,' he said. 'See that thou
change both, or I will make thee rue it.' And with that he was gone.

"And then I ran to the corner whither the bright thing had rolled, and
there, in the dark and the dust, I found, shining like a little red
lamp, this!"

And opening his hand, he showed in the hollow of the palm, a broad,
massive gold ring, in which was set one great ruby, with a wonderful
light deep down in its heart.

Matvey took it up, and read, engraved on the inner side:

   "'Yevgen to Elena.'"

"Strange!" said Matvey. "How came thine uncle, I wonder, by such a
jewel as this? It must be of great value."

"I know not," replied the boy, "but therein, I am sure, lies a wicked
secret, and the thought makes me unhappy. Moreover, he is sure to miss
it when he comes to look over the rest of the trinkets, and he will
question me, and I must speak the truth, and then he will kill me."

"Kill thee, child? No, that shall he not," exclaimed Matvey. "But if
thou fear to go home to-night, thou canst stay here, and to-morrow I
will make a plan to rescue thee, little son, from the fear and the
thrall of this ungodly man. And as for this red stone ring, shall I
keep it for the present and lock it up?"

"Yes, please do, Matvey Philipitch, and so one day we may learn to whom
it belongs."



CHAPTER II

Matvey's Plan

AS the good foreman and his wife, with their young guest, sat round the
table next morning, drinking their tea out of tumblers, in true Russian
fashion, the door was rudely pushed open, and Abram Kapoostin stood
there, glowering at the cosy little group beside the warm stove.

"Pray, what is the reason of this?" he said, his thick voice rough
with anger. "I have been seeking my scoundrel of a nephew all through
the wood, and now, forsooth, I find him here. What business have you,
Matvey Philipitch, to entice away Sergey from his uncle and guardian?"

"He did not entice me," Sergey began to say, but the foreman silenced
him with a gesture, and answered Abram himself.

"There has been—there could be—no enticing. The boy was frightened and
unhappy, and so came to us, his friends, for comfort and protection;
aye, and he shall have both, in spite of thee, Abram Kapoostin."

The man made no reply, but glared at Sergey from under frowning brows.
The foreman went on—

"Some time ago, Abram, I said plainly to thee that I could not suffer
thy frequent absences from work, and that if I had to speak again, I
should feel it my duty to dismiss thee."

"Me? Dismiss me?" growled Abram. "Dismiss the best axe in the gang?"

"It is true thou art the best axe—the best workman when thou dost so
choose," replied Matvey quietly. "But more often thou dost not choose.
And no one knows what business other than the woodcraft claims thy
time, and keeps thee from thy duty. And moreover, Abram, thou canst
not deny that even when thou art here, the village kabak (dram-shop)
is haunted by thee, and most of thy wage is spent on that devil's-fire
drink that we call vodki. Idle, surly, drunken, unfaithful to God and
to the master, an influence for evil in the gang, a bad example to
all the younger men, a terror to this boy, whose guardian thou didst
promise to be—what hast thou to say for thyself?"

Apparently the man had nothing to say in self-defence; the accusation
was all too true.

Matvey continued: "I have warned thee more than once, but thou hast
not heeded. Now the time is past; I warn thee no more, but dismiss
thee. Here, take thy wages and begone, and see that thy hut is empty
and clean by to-morrow, when a better man shall come to live there.
This afternoon Sergey and I shall go over and fetch his things, but he
returns to thee no more. Now go!"

At this stern dismissal, Abram's bloodshot eyes fixed themselves
threateningly upon Sergey.

"All this trouble must be of thy doing, thou sly fox, thou thankless
little beast!" he roared, frantic with rage. "Ach, well! I will be even
with thee yet. I never forget, I never forgive! Thou hast compassed
my ruin, and it shall go hard with me but I will compass thine. Be
sure—very sure—of that, thou backbiting serpent!"

"Any more of this, and I give thee in charge of the forest police!"
cried Matvey sternly. "Get out of my place, ere I lose all patience,
and give thee what thou hast richly earned."

There was a tone in the foreman's ringing voice which even the burly,
blustering Abram could not afford to ignore and disobey. One last
baleful gaze he fastened upon the boy's troubled face, then he was gone.

"He is furious at the loss of the ring," Sergey said, when the
unwelcome visitor had gone, "and I am in worse danger than ever. I dare
not even work in the forest, for fear of meeting him. Oh, little father
and mother, what can I do?"

"Listen, my son," said Matvey. "Last night the strong south wind and
heavy rain made the river ice cracked and rotten, and in some places
there is already open water. To-night or to-morrow the remaining ice
will break up and float down the current, melting as it goes. Our
Number 1 raft, the 'Swan,' is nearly ready to start, and thou shalt go
on her as cook-boy and helper. What sayest thou, child?"

"Say—Matvey Philipitch? What can I say but a thousand grateful thanks?
I shall grieve to leave you and dear, kind mother Christina, but I
should never have a moment's peace or safety here, after those awful
threats of uncle's. For even though you have dismissed him, Matvey
Philipitch, he may be lurking about in the forest, watching and lying
in wait for me. No, it is best every way that I go on the 'Swan,' as
you say."

"If thou shouldst prefer to wait awhile longer under our protection,
child, the second raft—the 'Wild Goose'—will be going later."

"No, father Matvey, I thank you—but no! I am anxious to be far away as
soon as may be. But tell me, are all the rafts to be birds this year?"

"Yes, we shall have the 'Swan,' 'Wild Goose,' 'Duck,' 'Sea Gull,'
and others. Last year we had flowers, such as the 'Water Lily,'
'Sunflower,' and so forth. The men take a pride in their rafts, and
like them to have names. And I have known some of them grow so fond of
their queer, unwieldy craft during the long voyage, that they have wept
when they reached their port, and saw the timbers of the raft taken
asunder, and the little cabin house, where the raftsmen had cooked, and
eaten, and slept, hewn up for firewood."

"Perhaps I shall come to love the 'Swan' thus," said the boy. "But I
shall be very lonely without you and mother Christina."

"I have friends in three of the towns through which thou wilt pass,"
said Matvey, "and to them I will give thee letters in case thou
shouldst be sick or in any difficulty. For the rest, Ivan, the skipper
of the 'Swan,' and his three sons are good, honest fellows, and they
will be kind to thee. About passports there will be no trouble. My
master, the Count, pays for a yearly 'permit,' which includes all his
raftsmen, and Ivan has the certificate of a raft skipper, who knows
all the shoals, the currents, the rocks, rapids, and other dangers.
The voyage will take the whole summer, but thou canst return with the
men by one of the steam cargo boats, working thy passage homeward, and
tramping from whatever spot the steamer sets thee and thy companions
down."

That afternoon Matvey and Sergey, according to their arrangement, went
over to Abram's hut to get the boy's things. They found him clearing
up the place, and packing his possessions. He looked round as his
unwelcome callers appeared, and his surly face darkened.

"Sorry to trouble thee, Abram," said the foreman pleasantly, "but we
need not do so for long. May Sergey pack away his things in this bag
that I have brought?"

"Yes, yes! Take them and begone!" growled Abram. "I'm glad to be going
myself to-morrow. A woodman's life is too dull for me, and I have
friends with whom I can earn more in a night than I could do with my
axe in a year. Ha! Ha! Sir Foreman, what say you to that?"

"Nothing, save that thou and thy fine friends will most assuredly come
to a bad end sooner or later."

"Have done with your warnings, Matvey Philipitch. From this day I go my
own way, and none shall hinder me."

"Until God hinder thee once for all, thou stubborn will! And hinder
thee He shall, when the measure of thy sins is full!" said Matvey
solemnly. "Come, Sergey, I see thou hast thy goods ready. Say farewell
to thine uncle. It is not likely that thou and he shall meet again."

Abram laughed an evil, sneering laugh. "Nay," said he, "I am sure to
see my dutiful nephew again. You see, Matvey Philipitch, I have a small
account to settle with him, and this I would not forego, if I could."

"Well," said the foreman, "here he is! Settle it now!"

"No, no," retorted the man rudely. "Such matters are private between
relatives. But I only postpone the affair. Some day—or, better still,
some night—I will settle up old scores with this young rascal, and if
there be anything left of him when I have got through, you are welcome
to it, Sir Foreman."

"Come, little son, we have stayed long enough—too long!" said Matvey,
shuddering at the malignant words and look of Abram Kapoostin. "Life is
not long enough for us to waste time bandying words with a ruffian such
as this. Come!"



CHAPTER III

A Dread Awakening—Kidnapped

NEVER had the finishing touches of any raft so keenly interested
Sergey, as these of the "Swan." The chief object in the construction
was to float in as small a compass as possible, as much timber as could
be sent safely down the current.

This, and the care necessary to make it lie evenly and securely upon
the water, made the building of the raft far less simple and easy a
thing than at first sight it appeared. Upon the raft a little house or
cabin was erected, strongly and firmly made, and into it were packed
just the bare necessaries for the long slow voyage, though of course
additional provisions could be obtained, and certain stores renewed at
some of the places passed on the way.

The cabin was small, but it was wonderful how many things it was
capable of holding. It contained a little stove which was to answer the
treble purpose of warming the people, cooking the food, and drying the
clothes.

A few low stools and a rough table formed the furniture. Beds there
were none, but two shelves were used as sleeping-places. And if more
than two people wished to sleep at the same time, there was always the
floor.

By way of food they had a keg of sour cabbage for soup, some herrings
in brine, several huge loaves of rye bread, a wooden bucket of Finnish
salt butter, and a box of buckwheat grain for porridge. There were an
old battered samovar, a broken-nosed teapot, a few tin pots and wooden
spoons, and a knife or two, also two or three earthenware bowls. These
things, with a pound or so of tea and sugar, just about took up the
available space in the little cabin.

The brilliant shining of the sun for a day or two had completed the
destruction of the ice begun by the south wind and rain. And now no ice
was to be seen. The river was in full flood. And the morning came when
Sergey said a grateful farewell to the good foreman and his wife, and
joining Ivan and his three stalwart sons on the deck of the "Swan,"
began his long slow voyage.

With the blue sky and golden sunlight over him, kind people with him,
new scenes and possible adventures before him, the lad felt lighter of
heart than for years past. For, after all, he was only thirteen, and at
that age the future looks very fair.

All day the "Swan" floated at a fair pace down the stream. And as there
was a moon that night, and plenty of light by which to navigate the
clumsy craft, there was no need to stop and moor the raft.

Right through the peaceful, solemn night they drifted in the cold
white light, keeping in mid-stream so as to take full advantage of the
strong current which prevails in flood-time. The woods were still white
with the remains of unmelted snow, and now and again Sergey caught a
fleeting glimpse of some furtive moving thing among the pine stems,
and heard old Ivan mutter into his grizzled beard, "Volk!" (wolf), or
"Zaitsa" (hare), or "Lysitsa" (fox).

That first night on the river Tihonka was a thing to be remembered for
its novelty, its mystery, and its beauty. So much absorbed indeed was
the boy that Ivan had to remind him of his duty as cook, and tell him
to prepare supper.

All went smoothly enough that night and the whole of the next day, but
towards nightfall the weather changed. A great wind rose, the sky was
overcast, and the water was lashed to fury wherever there was space
enough to be exposed to the gale.

"We must moor the 'Swan' to-night," said Ivan. "It would not be safe to
run her through the darkness. And besides, we are reaching a rocky part
of the river, and for this we must have light."

So when darkness began to settle down, the raft was moored close in
shore, and the men, wrapping themselves in their sheepskins, lay down,
two on the sleeping-shelves, two on the floor, and were soon snoring
loudly. Sergey snuggled into a corner and tried to sleep too.

But the cabin was close and stuffy, and the boy could not close his
eyes. Longing for a whiff of the fresh, pine-scented air, he got up
noiselessly, so as not to rouse the sleepers, and stepped out on to the
deck of the raft, and thence to a big flat boulder close to which the
"Swan" was moored. Here he sat down, and presently, lulled by the soft
sounds of the going in the pine tops, and the swirl of the water, he
fell into a deep slumber.

Whether he slept for several hours or for only a brief time Sergey
never knew. But he regained consciousness under a suffocating
sensation, and a sickening sense of misfortune and danger.

As he came gradually to himself, he realised that he was no longer
sitting on the rock where he had fallen asleep, but was being carried
along in strong arms that seemed to make light of his weight. Some sort
of a gag had been forced into his mouth, so that he could not cry out;
nor could he loosen his hands and arms, so tightly was his sheepskin
rolled about him.

Hardly awake, he did not struggle at first, but when he began to kick
and writhe, fighting desperately for freedom, his worst fears were
confirmed, for a hoarse brutal voice said in his ear, "Did I not tell
thee we should meet again, thou fox—thou wolf-cub? And now I have thee,
and thou shalt pay what thou owest, even to the last copeck."

Sergey could not answer, the gag prevented speech, but he shuddered
from head to foot. Just when he had thought himself safe for ever from
the tyranny of this bad man, here he was, in worse case than before,
for Matvey and Christina were miles away, and Ivan and his sons fast
asleep.

"There is no one to help me!" sighed the poor lad. "My uncle may have
his will with me now."

Then the extreme of his misery recalled to Sergey's mind what he ought
to have remembered before, and a cry went up from the boy's burdened
heart to Him Who, watching over Israel, slumbers not nor sleeps.

Sergey could not speak his prayer aloud, but he knew that the Heavenly
Father could hear the unspoken prayer, and it gave him comfort to feel
that, after all, he was not quite alone or wholly friendless.

For ten minutes or so he was carried over what he was sure was very
rough ground.

Then suddenly his bearer seemed to step over some threshold, and in
a blaze of light he was set on his feet, the gag was removed, and he
found himself in the centre of a barn-like building, and about him a
number of rough-looking men who eyed him curiously.

"Here he is!" said Abram Kapoostin. "I'd been on a raft too often
myself not to know where Ivan would moor such a night as this. And I
was lucky to find him outside the cabin instead of in. I swore—comrades
mine—that I would meet this young fox again, and I have kept my word.
Now then, thou young thief and traitor, what hast thou done with my
jewel?"



CHAPTER IV

An Ordeal

IT was small wonder that Sergey for a long minute stood aghast,
helpless with surprise and fear. But with a strong effort he pulled
himself together, reflecting that it was certainly better and safer
for him to be with several people than with his uncle alone. And
anyway, as Matvey had told him, he was not really friendless, since the
Heavenly Father was pledged to guard His trusting children, even as He
had guarded Daniel in the den, and his friends in the burning, fiery
furnace.

So when the question was repeated, "What hast thou done with my jewel?"

Sergey faced the speaker firmly and said, "I have it not; I handed it
over to one who will try to restore it to its rightful owner."

"That am I!" shouted Abram. "Speak the truth for once, thou little
viper! Was not the ruby ring mine?"

"Yes, certainly," replied Sergey, "if your name is Elena."

A loud guffaw went round the circle, and one huge man, who seemed to
be in some sort the leader, said with a pleased chuckle, "He had thee
there, Kapoostin!"

"'Yevgen to Elena' was plainly engraved inside the ring," said Sergey.
"So it could hardly belong to this uncle of mine—at least, not
rightfully."

"Ah! But with us might is right!" replied the big leader. "We have been
oppressed and down-trodden in the past, so now we, in our turn, have
become the oppressors."

"But all this is not to the point," interrupted Abram. "I for one
believe not what the boy says. He most likely has the jewel hidden away
upon his person. Captain, may I search him?"

"Yes," answered the big man. "But mind, no violence!"

"You dropped it, uncle, and it rolled into a corner when you were very
drunk and did not notice. I picked it up and gave it into safe keeping,
and there it is now!"

"So thou sayest! But I search thee all the same!"

Sergey submitted silently, and the search was a thorough one, but of
course no ring was found.

"So the boy spoke the truth," said the chief when the search was over.
"And thou, Elena, must look elsewhere for thy ring."

And again a burst of laughter shook the sides of the men.

"Sir Captain," said Sergey, "I was just starting on a raft voyage. My
friends will miss me and be distressed. Have I your leave to go back to
the river and rejoin them?"

"Let him not go, Captain!" cried Abram. "He will betray us to the
police the next place the raft comes to, and then we shall be caught
and sent to Siberia."

"It is quite likely, Abram Kapoostin, that this, or worse, may be thy
fate anyway. But as for the boy," added the Captain, "well—I would
rather keep him than let him go, of course, for he would be useful to
us.

"Look here, youngster! Wilt thou join us? We are not altogether a bad
lot. If we sometimes rob the rich, at least we do not harry the poor.
Some of us are in service, some are artisans, others clerks, and a few
are students. When a big, wealthy house is left in charge of careless
or drunken servants we are burglars and take all we can find.

"And now and again a rich traveller or two pay toll, but we never maim
nor murder. All of us being engaged in some sort of work, we can only
meet occasionally to make plans and compare notes. We have all had
grievances in the past, and now it is sometimes our turn to be on the
upper end of the see-saw."

"Why try to explain all this to a mere child, Captain?" grumbled Abram.
"If you want him, keep him. I will have him under my eye, and if he
tries to get away, he shall suffer for it."

"Thanks, Kapoostin! When I am in need of thine advice, I will ask for
it. Now, boy—wilt thou take service—say as page in a nobleman's house
(there are large estates about here), and secretly be one of us and
play into our hands, meeting with us now and again thus in the forest?"

There was dead silence for a minute. Then the lad's answer came in
clear tones:

"No, Sir Captain, I will not!"

The men looked at each other in surprise.

"And why?" demanded the chief.

"There is more than one reason," replied Sergey.

"Let us hear them!"

"First, Sir Captain, my voyage on the raft was planned on purpose to
get me away from my uncle, because I could be neither good nor happy
living with him."

"Now for reason number two!"

"I was brought up by my parents," said Sergey, "to be honest and
truthful, to believe in a good God, and to try to be obedient and
faithful to Him. I could not continue thus if I became one of your
band."

"Well now," said the chief, looking round at the faces in the
torch-light, with an amused smile on his lips—"we have got it this
time, have we not? Bless the brat! I would not have him at a gift after
that! He shall go back to his raft and be rid of us all, and especially
of this bad-egg uncle of his."

"He will betray us if you let him go, Captain," said Kapoostin.

"I don't think he will," replied the chief, "and moreover, I don't
think he can. He has no idea who we all are, and as, at our meetings,
we wear wigs and beards, he could not recognise any of us, even if he
did happen to meet us elsewhere. But say, child—wouldest thou betray
us—were it in thy power, and send us to Siberia?"

"No, Sir Captain, you have done me no harm; I would not betray you."

"On thy word of honour?"

"On my word of honour."

"Then farewell, little lad."

"Farewell, Sir Captain, and thank you."

"Take him back to the river, Kapoostin," said the big man. "And thou,
Appolon, go too, to protect the boy from this uncle of his."

And the three passed out of the building and vanished into the darkness
of the forest.



CHAPTER V

Eyes Shining in the Dark

NO one in the little rafthouse on the "Swan" ever knew of Sergey's
adventure that night. For, tired with the arduous day's work, and
sleepy from fourteen to sixteen hours' exposure to wind and sun, the
raft skipper and his big sons slept heavily to the music of their own
snoring.

So when the boy, left at the water's edge by his uncle and the guardian
Appolon, crept noiselessly into the cabin, no one stirred foot or hand,
and Sergey betook himself to his usual corner without disturbing the
sleepers. Worn out with excitement and weariness, the boy fell asleep
too, and knew nothing until he was roused by old Ivan next morning.

"How now, little son?" said the kind old voice. "Thou art not an over
early riser, thou new cook-boy. Wake up, child, the samovar ought to
have been boiling ere this. Didst thou sleep well?"

Sergey sat up rubbing his eyes.

"Not very, Ivan, but, all the same, I should not have been so lazy. I
will make haste now and get your tea ready."

There were new experiences that day for the lad, and some were of such
interest and novelty that they made him forget the strange happenings
of the night before.

For after a while the river began to narrow again, changing into a
turbid, rushing stream, running in rapids over rocks and stones, down
a somewhat steep incline. It was just above this incline that the men
drove their strong poles deep down into the sand and mud at the bottom
to arrest the progress of the raft. They then threw out a plank (so
narrow was the channel) on each side to make bridges to the banks.

"Now, Sasha! Now, Kostia!" cried old Ivan. "Quick and lively does it!
On shore with you! Vassia and Sergey, stay with me."

In a minute the two elder sons, each with a coil of rope over his arm,
had crossed the plank bridges, and now stood on the wooded, rocky
banks, one on each side. One end of the coils of rope was securely
knotted in huge iron rings screwed into the sides of the raft, while
the rest of the rope hung in even coils over the left arm of the young
men.

"Now, children, are you ready?" shouted Ivan, when Sasha and Kostia
had stood at attention a moment while the "Swan" strained against the
arresting poles.

Sergey had meanwhile quickly drawn in the bridge planks, while Ivan and
Vassia kept the poles in their places. Yes, all was quite ready, for
Kostia and Sasha had now taken a turn of their respective ropes round
sturdy tree stems.

"Out with the poles! Let her go!" they shouted together.

And old Ivan and Vassia drew out the poles. The raft made a sudden rush
which threw Sergey down and rolled him into the little cabin.

But having gone as far as the stout rope on either side would allow,
the "Swan" was again pinned tightly in place by the poles, while the
men on shore ran forward, and for the second time took a turn of their
ropes round the trees.

Once more the poles were pulled up and the "Swan" rushed on until
again checked by the ropes. And the same process was repeated until
the rapids were past, and the river broadened out into a quiet expanse
of water with a lazy current which bore the ponderous "Swan" only very
slowly on her way.

The shore here was low lying, and would be marshy when the frost was
all out of the earth. But as yet only the surface of the ground was
melted, and in many sheltered places the snow still lay.

As the raft drifted easily along, Sergey cooked the dinner, which
to-day consisted of cabbage soup, a dish of baked potatoes, and a big
earthen pot of buckwheat porridge, with a lump of butter and a handful
of salt in it.

When the lad saw how these men ate, he wondered how the raft could be
provisioned for so long a voyage, even with such purchase of food as
could be made at the villages or in the towns upon the river. But he
had yet to learn that there were ways and means of obtaining food other
than by buying. Indeed, that very evening Ivan called a halt, and they
moored the "Swan" close in shore where the water was deep right up to
the bank.

Here they got out fishing-tackle, and baiting their hooks with bits of
salt herring, they fished over the raft side, while Sergey was told to
take a hand-net and draw it through the shallows a little farther on.

In an hour or two the anglers had caught plenty of large fish to last
several days, while Sergey had secured a bucketful of small, silvery
fry, which were consigned at once to strong brine for future use. The
larger fish were split open, cleaned, rubbed dry, and laid in salt for
twelve hours, then taken up and spread out on the raft deck to dry.

The lesser kinds were cooked at once, and the boy learned how to fry
them in water with plenty of pepper and salt. And he was surprised to
find that when the frying-pan had been on the stove for about half an
hour the water had turned into savoury gravy, and the fish floated in a
light brown sea.

To vary the meals, Ivan, who had an old gun with him, now and then
shot capercailzie and blackcock, and occasionally a hare, so that the
raftsmen did not fare badly on the whole.

One dark night, the moon hidden, black clouds gathering, and a strong
wind moaning among the riverside woods, Ivan decided that it would not
be safe to proceed. So they secured the "Swan" to a big tree, cooked
their supper, and lay down in the cabin as usual to sleep. In the
morning the skipper had shot a hare, which was now hanging on a nail
just inside the cabin door. The weather being milder than usual, the
door of the cabin had been left open.

The men were soon asleep, and Sergey was just dropping off, when his
quick ears caught an unusual sound. First a dull, soft thud on the raft
deck, and then the cautious tread of light cushioned feet which paused
in the open doorway. Wondering and somewhat alarmed, the boy sat up,
and saw, just by the door, two great greeny-yellow eyes full of fierce
fire. It was far too dark to make out any face or form, and fascinated
and silent with fear, he could only stare back into the savage, hungry
glare of this invisible intruder.



CHAPTER VI

Out of Evil Good

SUDDENLY the ferocious gaze was veiled or turned aside, and Sergey
heard a noise against the wall as of leaping, clawing, and tearing.
This roused Ivan who, grasping his old gun which stood loaded in
a corner, sprang to the doorway just in time to see a large grey,
cat-like animal with tufted ears, springing off the raft on to the
shore. He fired at the retreating robber, and the creature, with a yell
of rage and pain, dropped and rolled over on the bank.

"Bring a light, child!" cried Ivan.

And Sergey hastily lighted the lantern and looked about to see where
the skipper could be.

"Here! I am here!" called Ivan from the bank, and the lad noticed that
the old man's voice sounded faint.

He sprang ashore, and found Ivan on his knees beside a huge lynx. The
light of the lantern flashed on its glazing eyes, and sharp white teeth
bared in an evil grin.

"Is the beast dead?" inquired Sergey.

"Yes, he is dead now, but he was not when I came after him here! And
see what he has given me to remember him by!" And Ivan showed his right
hand, which had a ragged deep wound across the back of it, while the
sleeve of his shirt had been torn to shreds by the vicious claws of the
big cat, and the flesh of the arm was scarred as though with barbed
hooks.

"Oh, poor dear Ivan!" cried the boy. "How dreadfully it must hurt!"

"That is not what troubles me, little son," replied the old man, "but
our voyage has not long begun, and there are many difficult bits of
waterway before us. And I fear I shall be unable to use my hand for a
long while."

"No, I fear you are right. But as we are coming to a town to-morrow,
you must surely see a surgeon, and hear what he says."

"I will, child; thou sayest well! But now call my sons, for they must
take this beast's skin. It is a good one, and we can sell it as soon as
we got to the town of Krasnoi-Yablok."

Ivan's hand and arm were roughly swathed with a wet towel, Vassia and
Sergey acting as dressers, while Kostia and Sasha skinned the lynx, and
pegged the skin and feet out on the raft deck to dry in the wind.

Poor Ivan suffered much pain during the next few hours, but he made
no complaint, and early next morning the raft was tied up close to
the wharf of Krasnoi-Yablok. And Ivan, taking the boy with him, found
his way to a hospital where a doctor and surgeon were attending to
out-patients.

The latter carefully examined the skipper's injuries, which he said
might become serious and even dangerous unless fully cleansed and
dressed every day. He also warned Ivan that if he proceeded on his
voyage, the chances were that he might have an illness which would
prove fatal.

"But, Sir Doctor, I am in charge of the big 'Swan' raft," said Ivan.
"My sons are willing, good lads, but as yet they are inexperienced. How
can I trust them to take the raft on? Then too, here is this boy, for
whom I am responsible; I promised to look after him, and I am loath to
neglect my duty."

"When God makes impossible to us what we considered our duty," said the
surgeon, with a grave smile, "should it not convince us that the path
of duty lies elsewhere?"

Ivan looked up quickly and crossed himself devoutly.

"You are right, good Sir Doctor! The will of God be done!"

"If thou fearest that thy sons cannot safely take the raft farther
without thee, skipper, why not all remain here until thy wounds are
healed enough for thee to travel?"

"Nay, Sir Doctor, that cannot be, for our firm is under contract to get
the rafts to their terminus in a given time, with a margin of only a
few days. So that whether I stay or not, the 'Swan' must go."

"Then thou must settle matters as thou best can, good skipper. I can
say no more." And the surgeon turned away to another patient.

"Ivan, listen!" said Sergey in low tones. "Since I go on the raft that
will make a fourth hand; and Kostia is so clever and strong that he can
surely be skipper for a time. Stay here and get cured, and then come on
by train, and join the 'Swan' farther down."

Ivan thought silently for a minute. Then he said, "Yes, Sergey, little
son, thy counsel is good. So be it!" And the matter was thus settled.

The "Swan" was not to start until late in the afternoon, so Sergey
wandered about the town, looking in at shop-windows, and much
interested in watching some of the showy vehicles and well-dressed
people who had apparently driven in from surrounding estates.

Presently his whole attention was fixed upon a handsome couple who
alighted from their open carriage in front of a jeweller's shop, near
the door of which Sergey was standing.

"Come in here with me, Elena dear," said the gentleman. "We will
try in some sort to replace thy losses. Those forest banditti near
Glynoi-Liess took most of thine ornaments, did they not? Was ever
carriage tour so disastrous before! Come in, my dove, and choose some
for thyself."

"There was only one thing, Yevgen, that I have grieved and even wept
over," replied the lady, "and that is the ruby ring thou gavest me on
my wedding-day. I never cease to miss it. It was the most precious
thing I had, and now I shall never see it again."

Thus spake the lady, and she was about to follow her husband into the
shop, when a hand gently touched her arm, and a voice that trembled
with earnestness said, "'This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous
in our eyes!'

"Yes, most gracious Barrina, for you 'shall' see your jewel again! It
is in safe hands; I know, and can tell you in whose! There can be no
mistake! Is it not a great red stone with a heart of fire, and inside
the gold ring is engraved,—

   "'Yevgen to Elena'?"

"Yes! Yes! Those are the words, but child, child, who art thou?"



CHAPTER VII

The Rescue

THE raft had started on her voyage again.

Sergey had told the lady Elena his story, or at least that part of it
relating to his uncle Abram Kapoostin, and to the finding of the ring.
He had given her Matvey's address, and had also himself written a few
lines to the foreman, for the lady to enclose.

And then he bade an affectionate farewell to old Ivan, adding that he
hoped to see him again very soon, when he should join the "Swan" later
on.

But it was rather a depressed little company that started the raft
again. Kostia, as skipper, felt the responsibility, and the other three
missed the serene presence and quiet confidence of the old veteran
whose every summer, for the last thirty years, had been spent in this
kind of life.

But, after all, the thing could not be helped, and they must make the
best of it. If each did his utmost, disaster might be averted, and at
least they would have nothing with which to reproach themselves.

The first night they were all too much excited and too anxious to
sleep. It was bright moonlight, and a calm, open waterway, so that
there was no difficulty about going on, but the absence of the old
skipper was enough to make them all doubly watchful. As the weather
was not cold, the four spent the night on the raft deck. And as the
day began to break, they too felt light at heart and happier about the
voyage before them.

In the course of the morning they successfully worked their way down
some rapids, and swung round a curve in the river just below, without
coming into collision with any of the rocks that were scattered about.
And after this they all gained confidence. It was evident that Kostia,
had studied his father's methods to some purpose, and the rest of the
crew began to trust him implicitly and obey orders without question.

When Sergey was not busy in the cabin, he lent a hand in managing the
raft, and was quite pleased at being allowed to take his part in the
work.

So for a week they drifted down the streams, borne on the spring flood.
Once, while fishing, they caught an enormous sturgeon, but before they
could secure it with net and spike, it had broken the strong line and
vanished into the depths from which it had come.

One day, soon after they had passed a little waterside village, they
spied, just ahead of the raft, what looked like a bundle of clothes in
the water. They could see that it was gradually sinking, and presently
it would be entirely submerged.

"What can that be?" said Kostia, who, pole in hand, was keeping the
"Swan" from coming too near the bank. For the river here, though deep
and rapid, was narrow.

Just then a little wave turned the bundle over, and a white face was
upturned to the sky.

"Look! Look!" exclaimed Sasha. "It is a woman!"

"And we must get her out quickly," added Kostia. "Another minute and
she will sink!"

So saying, he stepped to the edge of the raft on the right side.

"Sasha!" cried he. "Stand by with the boat-hook, but mind you only
catch her clothes, Vassia, keep the raft steady, and steer a bit to the
left. Sergey, go and see to the samovar and make some tea."

There were a few anxious moments while each member of the little
company carried out the orders of the young skipper. Then Kostia
stooped, and with strong arms lifted the insensible burden that Sasha
drew in with his boat-hook.

"Take her into the cabin and slip off that sodden cloak, and try to get
her warm," said Kostia. "I don't think she's dead. She does not look to
me as though she had been very long in the water."

Vassia and Sergey bore the poor creature into the cabin, where the
little stove was brightly burning. Here they laid her down, unhooked
and drew away her thick cloak, chafed her hands, and poured a little
warm tea between her pale lips. And, much to their delight, after about
twenty minutes she began to revive, and presently she sat up and looked
wonderingly about her.

"What is this?" she said faintly. "Where am I? Who are you?"

"Have no fear, Matushka!" said Vassia, kindly. "You are safe, and with
friends. We are raftsmen, and but now we fished you up out of the
water."

"The water? Ach, yes!" she replied in a weak voice. "He pushed me
in!—like father like son!—and left me to drown. He was drunk—so
drunk—and did not know what he was doing. And the water was deep, and I
could not get back to the bank."

"And this man," said Vassia, "is he your husband?"

"My husband? Ach, no! Though, for the matter of that, he would
doubtless have done the same. But this was my husband's father. When my
husband deserted me, I kept house for my father-in-law. But there is no
peace nor happiness to be had with any of the family. Assuredly God's
curse rests on the Kapoostins root and branch."

"The Kapoostins?" exclaimed Sergey. "Said you the Kapoostins?"

"Yes; that they are all bad alike—thieves, drunkards, liars, cruel as
death. But why art thou staring so, child? What is it to thee?"

"What is it to me, Matushka? Why, my uncle is a Kapoostin," said the
boy, "and my mother was his sister—no, his half-sister."

"Is thine uncle's name Abram?"

"Yes, it is. How did you guess that?"

"Easily enough," she said indifferently, wringing the water out of her
long brown hair. "Abram is my husband, who left me years ago."

"Why, none of us at Glynoi-Liess ever thought that he was married,"
said Sergey.

"No? Well, he can keep a secret when he likes; also to Abram Kapoostin
a big lie is easier than the truth."



CHAPTER VIII

Sergey Meets His Aunt

JUST then Kostia came into the cabin.

"Vassia," said he, "go and help Sasha. I would speak with our
passenger," and he smiled pleasantly. "I came," he added, as his young
brother left the cabin, "to ask what we are to do with you, good
Matushka. We are all men here, and have no place for a woman, so that
we cannot offer to carry you far. Would you like us to stop now, and
put you on shore?"

"I was just telling this boy and the young man you call Vassia,"
replied the woman, "that I had been pushed into deep water by my
drunken father-in-law, for whom I had kept house and worked hard ever
since my husband deserted me. And this lad tells me," she continued,
with a little friendly nod at Sergey, "that my husband, Abram
Kapoostin, is his uncle on the mother's side."

"So he is; I know that well!" replied Kostia. "Strange that you should
turn out to be his wife! We have all believed him to be a single man.
But now, Matushka, tell me what we shall do for you. For every moment
we are getting farther away from your home. Do you wish to return to
your father-in-law?"

"No! A thousand times no!" answered the woman.

"Then have you no friends anywhere near, to whom you could go?"

"There are some people I know in the next town you come to. I dare say
I could get work there."

Kostia, thought a moment, then he said—

"The next town is Krasnoi-Puil; we get there about nine o'clock
to-night. And as the weather is changing and storm threatens, we shall
probably lie up in shelter of the quay all night."

"I have never had a Tiotia (aunt) before," said Sergey, "and I do wish,
Kostia, that I could have kept her a little longer."

"Thou canst see her again, Sergey, on thy return journey," said Kostia.
"Those cargo boats stop at all the towns on the river, and we will find
out thy Tiotia if she will give us the name and address of her friends."

"And your name, what is it, my aunt?" asked the boy.

"I am Olga—Olga Kapoostin, and my friends are the Kierayoffs, at number
10 Black Street." And Kostia, wrote down names and address on a small
slate hung against the cabin wall.

"So," said he, "we shall find you when we return this way in autumn,
before the hard frosts begin. And now, good Matushka Olga, Sergey and
I will leave thee to dry thy clothes at the stove, for it is ill work
sitting in wet things. Come, child, I would give thee a lesson in
steering the 'Swan.' For who knows how soon thou mayest be called to
act as skipper!" And he laughed genially at his little joke.

That evening, after supper which Olga prepared—much to Sergey's
satisfaction—aunt and nephew had the chance of a little quiet talk. He
told her, in answer to questions—all about his uncle, her husband—and
how, by the advice of the foreman, Matvey Philipitch, he had started
on the raft to get right away from the wretched life he was leading,
and the danger in which at last he had found himself. And Olga, in her
turn, told him how Abram had left her years ago, taking with him their
only child, a little girl called Dunia.

"He had no child at Glynoi-Liess; of that I am sure," said Sergey. "He
gave us all to understand that he was a single man."

Down Olga's sad, worn face great tears ran.

"I never want to see him again," she said. "But oh, what would I not
give to know what he has done with my dear little girl! Life is very
hard, Sergey, for us poor folk. Living or dying, there is no help and
no comfort."

"Ah, say not so, Tiotia mine!" cried the boy earnestly. "My parents
taught me, and so also Matvey Philipitch, our foreman, that even when
we feel ourselves most alone, most desolate, our Heavenly Father is
watching over us, pitying us, loving us all the time. And, indeed,
Tiotia dear, of late I have come to know what a very real thing is the
Presence of God, and His great love shown in our Saviour Jesus Christ.
And I love to read in the Gospels the wonderful things written there,
and I, too, want to be the Lord's disciple, and to follow Him in all
things. Have you a New Testament, Tiotia Olga?"

"No, I have never had one. I can read quite well, and write too, but
have never had a book belonging to me."

"Well, look here," said the lad, drawing a little volume from his
pocket. "Here is the Gospel of St. John, which I will give you for your
own. You need not mind taking it, for I know it almost all by heart.
And when you read therein of God's great love in sending His Son, and
of the good deeds and sweet words of that Son, you will be helped and
comforted as I have been."

"I promise thee, child, that I will diligently study this book."

"And you will pray for light and guidance to understand it, Tiotia?"

"I will indeed."

"And I will pray for you," said the boy.

"Do so, dear child! We ought to feel for each other, Sergey, for we
have some experiences alike. I am fleeing from one Kapoostin—thou from
another. My life has been in danger from my father-in-law, thine from
his son."

"But now, thank God," said Sergey, "we have both given our enemies the
slip. Your Kapoostin will think you drowned, and mine knows now that
I am well beyond his reach. So, Tiotia dear, we will not despair any
longer, but thank God and take courage."

That night the "Swan" reached Krasnoi-Puil and was moored to a ring in
the stone quay.

And Olga parted from the three brothers and from Sergey with grateful
acknowledgments, and betook herself to her friends in the town. While
the raftsmen and their cook-boy, tired with the day's work, lay down
early to sleep, so as to gain strength for the duties of the coming day.



CHAPTER IX

A Meeting and a Warning

IT was just about a week after the adventure with Olga Kapoostin that
on drifting down to the landing-stage of a riverside village late one
afternoon, the young raftsmen were gladdened by the sight of a tall,
grey-bearded man standing on the bank.

It was Ivan himself, healed of the lynx-bite, in excellent spirits, and
very happy to see again his three sons, the little cook-boy, and his
beloved "Swan."

"I arrived by train this morning," said he, "and came down to watch for
you, as, from what I could hear, I judged that you had not yet passed
down the river. And glad I am, my children, to set my old eyes upon you
all once more, and find you safe and well. For which God be thanked."
And the old man doffed his cap and bowed reverently.

The "Swan,"—reprovisioned for her further voyage,—was about to be
unmoored, when a wharf watchman came up, and made a sign that he would
speak with Ivan.

The old man, rope in hand, stepped ashore again.

"What is it, Gregori?" said he.

"Only this," replied the watchman in low tones. "Keep an eye on the
banks as you go, skipper, and hold to mid-stream wherever you can.
There has been a wood-famine hereabouts, and timber is scarce. A man
called Yefraim Issakoff has a saw-mill not far from here, and of late
it has been stopped quite often for want of tree stems to saw up. He
is not over-particular as to how or where he gets his material, and he
won't pay for anything that he can steal. But forewarned is forearmed.
Thou art no novice, Skipper Ivan, and wilt know how to be careful."

"I thank thee, friend!" replied the old man. "It is kind of thee to
give me this warning. I will keep mine eyes open, and no one shall take
my 'Swan' from me if I can help it."

And after a few more words, the raft was started, but not before both
Ivan and Kostia had noticed, standing on the bank at a short distance,
a slim, sly-looking youth, with a greasy cap crushed down over his
eyes. He had, moreover, a bright red scar across his left cheek, which
made his face one to be remembered. But just as the raft began to glide
down the stream, the young stranger disappeared, and the raftsmen drew
their own conclusions as to his reasons for having watched them.

"Look here, Rebiata (children)," said Ivan, "that fellow, I am certain,
is a spy in the hire of Issakoff of the saw-mill, farther down the
river. He has taken stock of us, and now is gone to report us to
his master. I have been warned that he may try in some way to get
possession of the raft. But perhaps we can manage to slip through his
hands without having to fight him; that is, my children, if for an hour
or so, you are willing to work extra hard?"

"Try us, father! We shall not disappoint thee," said Kostia.

And Sasha, Vassia, and Sergey backed him up manfully.

"Well then," said the old man, "you see, all of you, how sluggish is
the current here, and that the 'Swan' hardly seems to move. Of course,
Issakoff is reckoning upon this, and can very well guess just how long
it will take us, in an ordinary way, to reach some lonely, convenient
place, where he and his fellows can, by trick or by force, make us give
up the raft."

"Which we will not do!" muttered Kostia in his deep voice.

"Which most assuredly we will not do!" chimed in the others.

"Well, listen, children! One way in which I have known a raft stopped,
is like this. A stout rope is stretched across a narrow part of the
river, and just under the surface of the water, to catch that portion
of the raft which is beneath, and arrest its progress. Then, while the
raftsmen are wondering what is the matter, and getting in each other's
way to find out, some men appear, as though accidentally, in a boat,
and offer their help. While they are helping, the raft is drawn nearer
and nearer to one of the banks, and here the rest of the timber robbers
are ready waiting, and the raft is speedily taken to pieces and carried
off."

"And what becomes of the raftsmen?" asked Sergey.

"Well, sometimes (to their shame be it said), they take a bribe and a
bottle of vodki to keep the thing secret, and they make up a story for
their master about having lost the raft in the rapids, or smashed it up
on the rocks. And now and then their master never hears of either men
or raft again, for they find it safer to disappear."

"Well, father," said Kostia, "since we are not such raftsmen as these,
what is thy plan for us?"

"It is this," replied the skipper. "If Issakoff tries the rope trick,
it will certainly be at the bend lower down, where the river narrows in
the curve. But he will not expect us to be there for at least two hours
more, the current being so slow. Now, children, supposing we could
be there in one hour instead of double that time, we might get past
that curve before he is ready for us. Afterwards the stream broadens
out, and the land on each side is marshy, and the rope trick would be
impossible."

"But how are we going to send the 'Swan' along thus quickly, father?"
asked Sasha.

"My son, if two strong men towed it, one on either bank, we could more
than double our pace."

"Good! Good! Batiuska! The two strong men shall be Sasha and myself!"
cried Kostia.

"So be it, my children! But in case of the rope being stretched across
early, it would be well for one of you to crouch in the front of the
raft, with my big hunting-knife in his hand. Then the very instant the
rope is reached, cut it through, and we go on at speed again without a
minute's delay. Sergey, that task shall be thine!"

"How thankful I am that thou art skipper once more, father!" said
Kostia, as the old man punted the raft to one bank and landed his
eldest son, and then to the opposite side to set Sasha on shore. "I
should never have known what to do."

"Are the towing-ropes firmly fastened in the rings, children?" cried
the old man. "Pull, then, with all your might! And thou, little Sergey,
sit here, and be ready with the knife."



CHAPTER X

Trapped

NO doubt Yefraim Issakoff of the saw-mill was wise enough to know that
none of the usual modes of deception would be of any use with such an
experienced skipper as old Ivan. And the spy had probably witnessed and
duly informed his master that the clever raftsman had joined the "Swan"
at the last stopping-place. So, putting their wicked heads together,
Issakoff and his men devised another method which they thought was sure
of success.

Meanwhile, the "Swan," towed at a fine pace by Kostia and Sasha—reached
the narrow place where the river began to curve, and it found no rope
stretched under water to bar their progress. The sturdy towing-men
were to have been taken on board just before the curve was reached, as
they would be needed for working the poles and steadying the raft amid
the rush and swirl of the water. But just as the "Swan" was about to
pick up first one, then another of the skipper's sons, there came an
agonised scream from the river round the corner and out of sight of the
raftsmen.

"Help! Help!" again yelled the voice. "I perish! I drown! Oh help!"

The screams diverted the attention of Kostia and Sasha, who, instead of
trying to board the "Swan," pressed forward to the point of land that
formed the river's curve.

Deprived of their help, it was all that Ivan, Vassia, and Sergey could
do, to get the clumsy craft round the corner. And as it was, the dash
of the water swept the "Swan" once sharply against the rock, and but
for the old skipper's outstretched hand, Sergey would have been jerked
off into the water.

As soon as the raft had rounded the curve, those on the deck, and
Kostia and Sasha on opposite banks—could see a man struggling in
the water. The two young men rushed forward, ready to plunge to his
rescue, when suddenly the drowning man's left cheek came to view, and
lo, across it flamed the scarlet mark. Also, at that very moment,
it flashed upon all the witnesses, both on and off the raft, that
the so-called drowning man was a fraud, and only pretending to be in
distress.

"Hold, Sasha!" cried Kostia from the edge of the stream. "Do nothing!
It is the spy! Father, take us on board quick! You need not stop, come
near the bank, and I will leap, and then we will pick up Sasha from his
side."

But almost before the words were out of his mouth, a strong noosed cord
was thrown round him from behind, where the trees were thick, and the
deepest shadows fell. And at the same moment Sasha too dropped to the
ground on the bank, captured in the same manner by invisible enemies.
In a trice the nooses were drawn taut round the shoulders and arms of
the young men, and they were fastened to pine-trees. Others of the
enemy caught the raft by means of boat-hooks strapped to long poles,
and in spite of all that Ivan, Vassia, and Sergey could do, the "Swan"
was pulled to shore and made fast, and the old skipper and his son were
bound just as Kostia and Sasha had been.

In the struggle and confusion, however, Sergey was overlooked, and so
managed to slip out of sight and hide. But as soon as the marauding
party began to move away with their prisoners, the boy followed, hiding
and dodging among the trees, rightly judging that as he was free, he
might perhaps be of service later. The raft could not well be broken up
before morning, so it was safe enough at the bank.

Sergey, keeping the raiders and their four prisoners well in sight,
followed through the wood, and from the thick shelter of the
undergrowth watched the whole party emerge into a wide open space where
stood the saw-mill, and near it a house and a shed. He noticed that
Sasha was one of the prisoners, so that the men who secured him on
the other bank of the river, must have punted him across. And the lad
wondered at the care and fore-thought spent in making their wicked plan
so successful. He saw the prisoners thrust into the shed, and a heavy
bolt shot home to keep them safe. All the raiders went into the house,
and Sergey noticed how one room on the ground-floor was lighted up just
after the men entered.

After a while, he ventured to come out from his hiding-place, and peep
in through the uncurtained window, which, though covered nearly all
over with dust and dirt, had one clean corner which gave him a good
view. He saw the whole party gathered round a table on which were two
huge bottles of vodki and a number of glasses. At the head of the table
sat a middle-aged, wicked-looking man, to whom the rest seemed to defer.

This, Sergey was sure, must be Yefraim Issakoff, the owner of the
saw-mill.

The men were a rough, wild set of follows, just the sort to carry out
the bidding of such a master. In these lonely places all kinds of
crimes are committed and go unpunished, for the police are few, even in
the towns, and are so wretchedly paid that they are always open to a
bribe from any malefactor who will make it worth while for them to shut
their official eyes.

Meanwhile, the only member of the "Swan's" crew at liberty, and fully
realising how much might depend upon his knowing the exact position of
affairs, Sergey watched and listened intently, seeing and hearing all
that passed.

"Well, my men," roared Issakoff, "we've made a grand haul to-night!"

"Ay, it was a fine bit of work, it was," responded the spy; "especially
my drowning."

"Thou hast always some compliment to pay thyself, young Scratch-face!"
said another of the men. "By my faith, if thou—"

"I suppose that barn is safe?" interrupted Issakoff.

"Ay, we could keep a wild bull in it," replied a big burly man who was
shaggy enough for a bear. "It's as strong as a prison."

"'What became of that boy?" inquired Issakoff. "There 'was' a boy,
wasn't there?"

At this mention of himself, "that boy" cowered to the earth for a
minute or two, but he could hear the reply in the spy's voice.

"Yes, I think there was a boy, but he doesn't count; he was quite
small, and I dare say he was drowned."

"We'll hope so," rejoined Issakoff. "Now, brothers, pass the bottles
round. No need to keep sober to-night. The raft is ours, the men are
safe, and if there is any fuss to-morrow, I shall lodge information in
the next town and say I caught them carrying off my property, and so I
took their raft for compensation. So now, my children, let us drink to
the song of the dying 'Swan,' and to-morrow the 'Swan' will be dead!"
And Yefraim Issakoff lifted his glass high in air, and laughed loud and
long.



CHAPTER XI

Loosing the Bonds

SERGEY waited and watched until, overcome with vodki fumes, all the men
were lying round helpless, and many of them snoring. Not till then did
he feel it safe to give up his anxious peering in at the window and
steal down to the shed. Very slowly and softly he drew back the bolt,
making no noise.

"It is I—Sergey," he whispered. "Here is my knife! Let me cut your
bonds. Be very still and come quickly down to the bank. The 'Swan' is
there quite safe."

Chafing their stiff and swollen arms, the four men stole out of the
shed and followed the lad down to the river. There was the "Swan"
untouched. So secure in his possession of it had Issakoff felt himself
that he had not removed even a single thing from the cabin.

In fear and trembling, in such haste as they could combine with absence
of noise, they got on board, and loosed the raft from her moorings. And
as they pushed off with the boat-hook into mid-stream, the old skipper
sobbed like a child, and his sons cried too for company.

But Sergey was too happy for tears; he was overcome with thankfulness.
Kneeling down bareheaded on the deck, he poured out his prayer out of a
full, glad heart.

   "O dear, kind Lord," he said, "it is quite true what we have heard—that
Thou deliverest those that look unto Thee; for lo, Thou hast delivered
us as Thou didst Thy servant Daniel in the lion's den, and the three
Hebrew youths in the fiery furnace, and St. Peter in the prison, and
David from the giant. And now, good God, we thank and bless Thee, that
here we are before Thee, under Thine open sky, and on our dear raft
once more. Watch over us still, we pray; protect us all the way, and
teach us to love Thee better and to trust Thee wholly. Forgive us all
our sins, and make us truly Thy children, for Christ's sake."

   "Amen," said four husky men's voices.

And the lad, opening his eyes, saw Ivan and his sons all reverently
kneeling, and realised that it had been given him to voice a prayer for
them all.

"And now," said Sergey, "I am sure you must be needing food, as I am
myself. So I go to prepare supper," and he vanished into the cabin.

The next place they came to was a large straggling village, and here
they bought butter and vegetables, and Ivan called on the chief man
there, related the adventure of the night before, and begged him to
telegraph back at once to the town so that the authorities should take
measures to prevent such a thing happening again.

"For," he added, "we have other rafts following shortly, and unless
safety be assured to us, we must make formal complaint at the capital,
and have proper inquiry, and Issakoff and his men put under arrest."

At this, the elder of the village promised to attend to everything, and
made a note of the name and the address of the owner of the saw-mill.

And now the raft was once more ready to start, and Kostia was just
going to push off when a woman, accompanied by a girl of about Sergey's
age, hurried down to the water's edge.

"Stop a minute—only a minute!" she cried. "I want to ask a question."

"Quick, then, Matushka," said Ivan; "we must be off at once."

"I will not keep thee long," pleaded the stranger. "Tell me, please,
whence comes thy raft?"

"From far up the river—a place in the forest called Glynoi-Liess,"
replied Ivan.

"Hast thou," asked the woman, "ever met thereabouts a man called Abram
Kapoostin?"

"Again that abhorred name!" rapped out the old man impatiently. "Of
course, yes, my good woman, I know him—more's the pity! For there are
some kinds of knowledge that we should be better without."

"Hear my reason for asking," said the woman. "Years ago now a man came
to this village one day with a child—his little daughter."

At this, Sergey eagerly turned his head and listened.

"I had a small shop in the village," the woman went on, "and he came in
and bought a loaf and some kringles on a string, and then said, 'Good
Matushka, might I leave my little girl with you just while I make a
call or two on business? I will return in an hour.'

"'Thou must tell me thy name first,' I said.

"'I am Abram Kapoostin,' he answered, 'and this is my little daughter,
Dunia. My wife is dead, and I am going to try and make a new home
somewhere up the river.'

"'Very well,' I said, 'leave the child then, if thou wilt, but leave
also that bundle thou hast on thine arm. It will be safe here, and
would only cumber thee in thy visits.'

"So, very unwillingly, and with a hateful look on his ugly face, he
handed me the bundle, after first taking from it some things and
stuffing them into his pockets. Then, with not so much as a 'thank
you,' he went his way, and from that day to this I have never seen him
again. Believe me, this is the truth!"

"Believe thee? Of course!" cried Ivan. "I know the man well enough, and
he is a walking lie. Is this his child? A nice girl, and, thank God,
not like her father in face!"

"I love her and would not part from her," said the woman, "but my
health has failed, and I can no longer work for our living. A married
sister would have me live with her, but she will not have Dunia, and I
know not what to do with her."

"But," said Ivan, "thou wouldst not send her back to her father,
surely?"

"And, besides," put in Kostia, "he is no longer at Glynoi-Liess, and we
know not where he is."

"Why not take her to her mother?" spoke up Sergey. "She is not so very
far off, only at Krasnoi-Puil with the Kierayoffs, Number 10 Black
Street."

The old skipper turned round in astonishment. "And pray, whence hast
thou learnt all this, Sergey?" said he.

"Ach, Batiuska," said Kostia, "all this happened while I was skipper.
We will tell thee about it presently."

"Good! Then now we can start. Do thou, good Matushka, take the girl to
her mother at Krasnoi-Puil, so shall all be well. And now, farewell!"

The rest of the voyage was through more civilised regions, and no
serious mishaps befell the "Swan." Once the raft was nearly run down by
a steamer. And on another occasion, while moored to the bank, she was
suddenly boarded for a moment by a runaway horse. But it only touched
its flying hoofs to the deck, and splashed wildly into the water on the
other side, and as the crew was in the cabin at supper, no one was hurt.

The remainder of the journey along the waterway was tedious and
uninteresting, and the little party of five was glad enough to reach
their destination—one of the larger cities—and to consign their raft to
its rightful owner. As soon as they had done this, they began to make
tracks for home, and left all together by the first cargo boat that was
going a few miles upstream.



CHAPTER XII

Homeward Bound

NOTHING of any moment happened to the raftsmen and their cook-boy till
they reached Krasnoi-Puil, where they had landed Olga Kapoostin. There
they would have a day to wait before a cargo boat called that would
take them up the stream.

So while the young men called on their friends, Ivan and Sergey went
exploring in search of Number 10, Black Street. And as they neared the
house, they saw, standing out in a small garden, and washing clothes
in a huge tub, Olga Kapoostin, looking very well and happy, while near
her, wringing out soapsuds over another tub, previous to rinsing in the
river, was a pretty girl of thirteen, her short flaxen hair curling all
over her little head like a boy's.

"Ach, Tiotia! Tiotia Olga!" cried Sergey, running and throwing his arms
round his Aunt's neck.

"And here, too, dear boy, is thy cousin Dunia," said Olga. "It is
thanks to thee, they tell me, that I have my girl again. Thou hast no
sister, Sergey, let Dunia be one to thee! For are not cousins next best
to sisters?"

Then while the children roamed away together, Olga told old Ivan her
story. And he vowed, in his righteous indignation, that when he reached
home, Abram Kapoostin should not go unpunished.

Just as they were parting, Olga said, "As thou goest up the river, kind
Ivan, alighting here and there, wilt thou, in thy goodness, ask those
whom thou dost meet, if they can tell thee where is my young brother
Appolon—Appolon Gorlieff? He was footman when last I heard of him, in
a nobleman's house on a big estate farther up the river. But I have no
news of him for a long time."

Sergey, near enough now to hear the name, listened intently. But, for
the sake of his promise to the chief of the robbers, he dare not ask a
question which might involve his telling the story of his visit to the
bandits' stronghold that night.

"I cannot but fear," said Olga, "that he may have got into bad company,
or been ill in hospital. I dread lest something untoward should have
befallen him."

"I will make all possible inquiry, and will let thee know," said Ivan.
"The footmen of the great houses are well known in the towns near, as
they are often sent thither on errands."

"The gentleman and lady whose servant he was," replied Olga, "are Count
Yevgen Orloffsky, and his wife, the lady Elena."

Here was another connecting-link in the chain of Sergey's strange story!

His hitherto uneventful life in the village had merged in a series of
experiences fitting into one another like those little boxes he had
often seen—a dozen in a set of graduated sizes, cleverly made by some
of the peasant toy-makers in villages not far from his home.

Before the returning crew of the "Swan" left Krasnoi-Puil, another
of their own rafts, on its way down the river, called there for
provisions, and brought astonishing news.

Abram Kapoostin had been caught breaking into a house some twenty
versts from Glynoi-Liess. And he and two others had been arrested and
sent in chains to one of the larger towns for trial.

"Matvey Philipitch told him," said Sergey, "that God would one
day hinder him in his wicked work, and see—it is turning out even
as he said! But oh, I am glad and thankful that he will not be in
Glynoi-Liess when I get there. The air will be purer for his absence.
But didst thou learn, Ivan, who my uncle's prison companions were?"

"One was a big, fine-looking fellow, they tell me," replied the
skipper; "he was more educated than most, and should have known better.
He was outdoor steward; a sort of under-manager on a large estate, and
instead of protecting his master's property, he robbed him and others
too."

"Without doubt my captain of the bandits!" said Sergey to himself. "I
only hope Appolon is not one of the three taken, or poor Tiotia Olga
will break her heart."

But he kept silence about these matters now, as he had done hitherto,
for one of the lessons the boy had learned was to hold his tongue.

When the returning crew of the "Swan" arrived at the big town where
Sergey had met Count Yevgen and his lady, the boy would have liked to
walk about and look round as he had done before. But the little steamer
was going on in an hour's time, so Ivan and the rest of the crew
contented themselves with talking to their acquaintances on the quay.

But Sergey, knowing nobody, was standing apart, when some one came up
behind and said—

"Canst thou tell me, boy, how soon this steamer leaves? I have to fetch
a box of goods from a store in the town, and I would know if there be
time to get it."

Sergey turned, the answer upon his lips, and found himself face to face
with a young man whose eyes and forehead and voice he remembered at
once. But this face was beardless; surely it had worn a beard once.

"Can it be thou, Appolon?" he said.

"And thou art the little Sergey!"

Then in a frightened whisper the young man added: "For God's sake,
betray me not! Since that night we both know of, I have repented and
have forsaken my evil ways. That night when I was witness of thy
courage, I said to myself, 'If God can give a mere child grace to
refuse to be wicked, He can surely give it also to a man, if that man
asks Him.'"

"And did the man ask Him?"

"He did, and was heard, and strength came. I left the company there and
then, and never returned."

Then, leaving the boy glad at heart, he went to get the box, and
returning, heard all about his sister, and promised to write to her.

From place to place, sometimes tramping for a dozen versts or more, at
others travelling by barge or cargo steamer, the crew went homeward,
and on arrival at Glynoi-Liess the whole party received the warmest of
welcomes.

And best of all was it to Sergey to be told by Matvey Philipitch and
his wife Christina that from that time they would be his parents, and
their home should be his.

And when he told them the story of his adventures during his life on
the raft, Matvey said, "Little son, many lessons, doubtless, hast
thou learnt in these last months, but methinks the greatest and most
precious of all are these: 'First—A thing is always possible if it be
duty;' and 'secondly—Out of evil God will surely bring good to all who
trust in Him.'"



Printed in Great Britain by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld.
London and Aylesbury.






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