CHAPTER XIII THE CZAR'S COURIER
ALL the members of the council simultaneously started forward. A courierfrom the Czar arrived in Irkutsk! Had these officers for a momentconsidered the improbability of this fact, they would certainly not havecredited what they heard.
The Grand Duke advanced quickly to his aide-de-camp. "This courier!" heexclaimed.
A man entered. He appeared exhausted with fatigue. He wore the dressof a Siberian peasant, worn into tatters, and exhibiting severalshot-holes. A Muscovite cap was on his head. His face was disfiguredby a recently-healed scar. The man had evidently had a long and painfuljourney; his shoes being in a state which showed that he had beenobliged to make part of it on foot.
"His Highness the Grand Duke?" he asked.
The Grand Duke went up to him. "You are a courier from the Czar?" heasked.
"Yes, your Highness."
"You come?"
"From Moscow."
"You left Moscow?"
"On the 15th of July."
"Your name?"
"Michael Strogoff."
It was Ivan Ogareff. He had taken the designation of the man whom hebelieved that he had rendered powerless. Neither the Grand Dukenor anyone knew him in Irkutsk, and he had not even to disguise hisfeatures. As he was in a position to prove his pretended identity,no one could have any reason for doubting him. He came, therefore,sustained by his iron will, to hasten by treason and assassination thegreat object of the invasion.
After Ogareff had replied, the Grand Duke signed to all his officersto withdraw. He and the false Michael Strogoff remained alone in thesaloon.
The Grand Duke looked at Ivan Ogareff for some moments with extremeattention. Then he said, "On the 15th of July you were at Moscow?"
"Yes, your Highness; and on the night of the 14th I saw His Majesty theCzar at the New Palace."
"Have you a letter from the Czar?"
"Here it is."
And Ivan Ogareff handed to the Grand Duke the Imperial letter, crumpledto almost microscopic size.
"Was the letter given you in this state?"
"No, your Highness, but I was obliged to tear the envelope, the betterto hide it from the Emir's soldiers."
"Were you taken prisoner by the Tartars?"
"Yes, your Highness, I was their prisoner for several days," answeredOgareff. "That is the reason that, having left Moscow on the 15th ofJuly, as the date of that letter shows, I only reached Irkutsk on the 2dof October, after traveling seventy-nine days."
The Grand Duke took the letter. He unfolded it and recognized the Czar'ssignature, preceded by the decisive formula, written by his brother'shand. There was no possible doubt of the authenticity of this letter,nor of the identity of the courier. Though Ogareff's countenance had atfirst inspired the Grand Duke with some distrust, he let nothing of itappear, and it soon vanished.
The Grand Duke remained for a few minutes without speaking. He read theletter slowly, so as to take in its meaning fully. "Michael Strogoff, doyou know the contents of this letter?" he asked.
"Yes, your Highness. I might have been obliged to destroy it, to preventits falling into the hands of the Tartars, and should such have been thecase, I wished to be able to bring the contents of it to your Highness."
"You know that this letter enjoins us all to die, rather than give upthe town?"
"I know it."
"You know also that it informs me of the movements of the troops whichhave combined to stop the invasion?"
"Yes, your Highness, but the movements have failed."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that Ichim, Omsk, Tomsk, to speak only of the more importanttowns of the two Siberias, have been successively occupied by thesoldiers of Feofar-Khan."
"But there has been fighting? Have not our Cossacks met the Tartars?"
"Several times, your Highness."
"And they were repulsed?"
"They were not in sufficient force to oppose the enemy."
"Where did the encounters take place?"
"At Kolyvan, at Tomsk." Until now, Ogareff had only spoken the truth,but, in the hope of troubling the defenders of Irkutsk by exaggeratingthe defeats, he added, "And a third time before Krasnoiarsk."
"And what of this last engagement?" asked the Grand Duke, through whosecompressed lips the words could scarcely pass.
"It was more than an engagement, your Highness," answered Ogareff; "itwas a battle."
"A battle?"
"Twenty thousand Russians, from the frontier provinces and thegovernment of Tobolsk, engaged with a hundred and fifty thousandTartars, and, notwithstanding their courage, were overwhelmed."
"You lie!" exclaimed the Grand Duke, endeavoring in vain to curb hispassion.
"I speak the truth, your Highness," replied Ivan Ogareff coldly. "Iwas present at the battle of Krasnoiarsk, and it was there I was madeprisoner!"
The Grand Duke grew calmer, and by a significant gesture he gave Ogareffto understand that he did not doubt his veracity. "What day did thisbattle of Krasnoiarsk take place?" he asked.
"On the 2d of September."
"And now all the Tartar troops are concentrated here?"
"All."
"And you estimate them?"
"At about four hundred thousand men."
Another exaggeration of Ogareff's in the estimate of the Tartar army,with the same object as before.
"And I must not expect any help from the West provinces?" asked theGrand Duke.
"None, your Highness, at any rate before the end of the winter."
"Well, hear this, Michael Strogoff. Though I must expect no help eitherfrom the East or from the West, even were these barbarians six hundredthousand strong, I will never give up Irkutsk!"
Ogareff's evil eye slightly contracted. The traitor thought to himselfthat the brother of the Czar did not reckon the result of treason.
The Grand Duke, who was of a nervous temperament, had great difficultyin keeping calm whilst hearing this disastrous news. He walked to andfro in the room, under the gaze of Ogareff, who eyed him as a victimreserved for vengeance. He stopped at the windows, he looked forth atthe fires in the Tartar camp, he listened to the noise of the ice-blocksdrifting down the Angara.
A quarter of an hour passed without his putting any more questions. Thentaking up the letter, he re-read a passage and said, "You know that inthis letter I am warned of a traitor, of whom I must beware?"
"Yes, your Highness."
"He will try to enter Irkutsk in disguise; gain my confidence, andbetray the town to the Tartars."
"I know all that, your Highness, and I know also that Ivan Ogareff hassworn to revenge himself personally on the Czar's brother."
"Why?"
"It is said that the officer in question was condemned by the Grand Duketo a humiliating degradation."
"Yes, I remember. But it is a proof that the villain, who couldafterwards serve against his country and head an invasion of barbarians,deserved it."
"His Majesty the Czar," said Ogareff, "was particularly anxious that youshould be warned of the criminal projects of Ivan Ogareff against yourperson."
"Yes; of that the letter informs me."
"And His Majesty himself spoke to me of it, telling me I was above allthings to beware of the traitor."
"Did you meet with him?"
"Yes, your Highness, after the battle of Krasnoiarsk. If he had onlyguessed that I was the bearer of a letter addressed to your Highness, inwhich his plans were revealed, I should not have got off so easily."
"No; you would have been lost!" replied the Grand Duke. "And how did youmanage to escape?"
"By throwing myself into the Irtych."
"And how did you enter Irkutsk?"
"Under cover of a sortie, which was made this evening to repulse aTartar detachment. I mingled with the defenders of the town, made myselfknown, and was immediately conducted before your Highness."
"Good, Michael Strogoff," answered the Grand Duke. "You have showncourage
and zeal in your difficult mission. I will not forget you. Haveyou any favor to ask?"
"None; unless it is to be allowed to fight at the side of yourHighness," replied Ogareff.
"So be it, Strogoff. I attach you from to-day to my person, and youshall be lodged in the palace."
"And if according to his intention, Ivan Ogareff should present himselfto your Highness under a false name?"
"We will unmask him, thanks to you, who know him, and I will make himdie under the knout. Go!"
Ogareff gave a military salute, not forgetting that he was a captain ofthe couriers of the Czar, and retired.
Ogareff had so far played his unworthy part with success. The GrandDuke's entire confidence had been accorded him. He could now betray itwhenever it suited him. He would inhabit the very palace. He would bein the secret of all the operations for the defense of the town. He thusheld the situation in his hand, as it were. No one in Irkutsk knew him,no one could snatch off his mask. He resolved therefore to set to workwithout delay.
Indeed, time pressed. The town must be captured before the arrival ofthe Russians from the North and East, and that was only a question of afew days. The Tartars once masters of Irkutsk, it would not be easyto take it again from them. At any rate, even if they were obliged toabandon it later, they would not do so before they had utterly destroyedit, and before the head of the Grand Duke had rolled at the feet ofFeofar-Khan.
Ivan Ogareff, having every facility for seeing, observing, and acting,occupied himself the next day with visiting the ramparts. He waseverywhere received with cordial congratulations from officers,soldiers, and citizens. To them this courier from the Czar was a linkwhich connected them with the empire.
Ogareff recounted, with an assurance which never failed, numerousfictitious events of his journey. Then, with the cunning for which hewas noted, without dwelling too much on it at first, he spoke of thegravity of the situation, exaggerating the success of the Tartars andthe numbers of the barbarian forces, as he had when speaking tothe Grand Duke. According to him, the expected succors would beinsufficient, if ever they arrived at all, and it was to be feared thata battle fought under the walls of Irkutsk would be as fatal as thebattles of Kolyvan, Tomsk, and Krasnoiarsk.
Ogareff was not too free in these insinuations. He wished to allowthem to sink gradually into the minds of the defenders of Irkutsk.He pretended only to answer with reluctance when much pressed withquestions. He always added that they must fight to the last man, andblow up the town rather than yield!
These false statements would have done more harm had it been possible;but the garrison and the population of Irkutsk were too patriotic to letthemselves be moved. Of all the soldiers and citizens shut up in thistown, isolated at the extremity of the Asiatic world, not one dreamed ofeven speaking of a capitulation. The contempt of the Russians for thesebarbarians was boundless.
No one suspected the odious part played by Ivan Ogareff; no one guessedthat the pretended courier of the Czar was a traitor. It occurred verynaturally that on his arrival in Irkutsk, a frequent intercourse wasestablished between Ogareff and one of the bravest defenders of thetown, Wassili Fedor. We know what anxiety this unhappy father suffered.If his daughter, Nadia Fedor, had left Russia on the date fixed by thelast letter he had received from Riga, what had become of her? Was shestill trying to cross the invaded provinces, or had she long since beentaken prisoner? The only alleviation to Wassili Fedor's anxiety waswhen he could obtain an opportunity of engaging in battle with theTartars--opportunities which came too seldom for his taste. The veryevening the pretended courier arrived, Wassili Fedor went tothe governor-general's palace and, acquainting Ogareff with thecircumstances under which his daughter must have left European Russia,told him all his uneasiness about her. Ogareff did not know Nadia,although he had met her at Ichim on the day she was there with MichaelStrogoff; but then, he had not paid more attention to her than to thetwo reporters, who at the same time were in the post-house; he thereforecould give Wassili Fedor no news of his daughter.
"But at what time," asked Ogareff, "must your daughter have left theRussian territory?"
"About the same time that you did," replied Fedor.
"I left Moscow on the 15th of July."
"Nadia must also have quitted Moscow at that time. Her letter told me soexpressly."
"She was in Moscow on the 15th of July?"
"Yes, certainly, by that date."
"Then it was impossible for her--But no, I am mistaken--I was confusingdates. Unfortunately, it is too probable that your daughter must havepassed the frontier, and you can only have one hope, that she stopped onlearning the news of the Tartar invasion!"
The father's head fell! He knew Nadia, and he knew too well thatnothing would have prevented her from setting out. Ivan Ogareff had justcommitted gratuitously an act of real cruelty. With a word he mighthave reassured Fedor. Although Nadia had passed the frontier undercircumstances with which we are acquainted, Fedor, by comparing the dateon which his daughter would have been at Nijni-Novgorod, and the date ofthe proclamation which forbade anyone to leave it, would no doubt haveconcluded thus: that Nadia had not been exposed to the dangers of theinvasion, and that she was still, in spite of herself, in the Europeanterritory of the Empire.
Ogareff obedient to his nature, a man who was never touched by thesufferings of others, might have said that word. He did not say it.Fedor retired with his heart broken. In that interview his last hope wascrushed.
During the two following days, the 3rd and 4th of October, the GrandDuke often spoke to the pretended Michael Strogoff, and made himrepeat all that he had heard in the Imperial Cabinet of the New Palace.Ogareff, prepared for all these questions, replied without the leasthesitation. He intentionally did not conceal that the Czar's governmenthad been utterly surprised by the invasion, that the insurrection hadbeen prepared in the greatest possible secrecy, that the Tartars werealready masters of the line of the Obi when the news reached Moscow, andlastly, that none of the necessary preparations were completed in theRussian provinces for sending into Siberia the troops requisite forrepulsing the invaders.
Ivan Ogareff, being entirely free in his movements, began to studyIrkutsk, the state of its fortifications, their weak points, so as toprofit subsequently by his observations, in the event of being preventedfrom consummating his act of treason. He examined particularly theBolchaia Gate, the one he wished to deliver up.
Twice in the evening he came upon the glacis of this gate. He walkedup and down, without fear of being discovered by the besiegers, whosenearest posts were at least a mile from the ramparts. He fancied that hewas recognized by no one, till he caught sight of a shadow gliding alongoutside the earthworks. Sangarre had come at the risk of her life forthe purpose of putting herself in communication with Ivan Ogareff.
For two days the besieged had enjoyed a tranquillity to whichthe Tartars had not accustomed them since the commencement of theinvestment. This was by Ogareff's orders. Feofar-Khan's lieutenantwished that all attempts to take the town by force should be suspended.He hoped the watchfulness of the besieged would relax. At any rate,several thousand Tartars were kept in readiness at the outposts, toattack the gate, deserted, as Ogareff anticipated that it would be, byits defenders, whenever he should summon the besiegers to the assault.
This he could not now delay in doing. All must be over by the timethat the Russian troops should come in sight of Irkutsk. Ogareff'sarrangements were made, and on this evening a note fell from the top ofthe earthworks into Sangarre's hands.
On the next day, that is to say during the hours of darkness from the5th to the 6th of October, at two o'clock in the morning, Ivan Ogareffhad resolved to deliver up Irkutsk.