MichaelStrogoffreturnedondeck，andeagerforanynewswhichmightbearonhisjourney，hemingledinthegroupsofpassengers，thoughwithouttakinganypartintheconversation。
Shouldhebyanychancebequestioned，andobligedtoreply，hewouldannouncehimselfasthemerchantNicholasKorpanoff，goingbacktothefrontier，forhedidnotwishittobesuspectedthataspecialpermissionauthorizedhimtotraveltoSiberia。
Theforeignersinthesteamercouldevidentlyspeakofnothingbuttheoccurrencesoftheday，oftheorderanditsconsequences。
Thesepoorpeople，scarcelyrecoveredfromthefatigueofajourneyacrossCentralAsia，foundthemselvesobligedtoreturn，andiftheydidnotgiveloudventtotheirangeranddespair，itwasbecausetheydarednot。Fear，mingledwithrespect，restrainedthem。
Itwaspossiblethatinspectorsofpolice，chargedwithwatchingthepassengers，hadsecretlyembarkedonboardtheCaucasus，anditwasjustaswelltokeepsilence；expulsion，afterall，wasagooddealpreferabletoimprisonmentinafortress。
Thereforethemenwereeithersilent，orspokewithsomuchcautionthatitwasscarcelypossibletogetanyusefulinformation。
MichaelStrogoffthuscouldlearnnothinghere；butifmouthswereoftenshutathisapproach——fortheydidnotknowhim——
hisearsweresoonstruckbythesoundofonevoice，whichcaredlittlewhetheritwasheardornot。
ThemanwiththeheartyvoicespokeRussian，butwithaFrenchaccent；
andanotherspeakeransweredhimmorereservedly。“What，“saidthefirst，“areyouonboardthisboat，too，mydearfellow；
youwhomImetattheimperialfeteinMoscow，andjustcaughtaglimpseofatNijni-Novgorod？“
“Yes，it’sI，“answeredtheseconddrily。
“Really，Ididn’texpecttobesocloselyfollowed。“
“Iamnotfollowingyousir；Iamprecedingyou。“
“Precede！precede！Letusmarchabreast，keepingstep，liketwosoldiersonparade，andforthetime，atleast，letusagree，ifyouwill，thatoneshallnotpasstheother。“
“Onthecontrary，Ishallpassyou。“
“Weshallseethat，whenweareattheseatofwar；
buttillthen，why，letusbetravelingcompanions。
Later，weshallhavebothtimeandoccasiontoberivals。“
“Enemies。“
“Enemies，ifyoulike。Thereisaprecisioninyourwords，mydearfellow，particularlyagreeabletome。Onemayalwaysknowwhatonehastolookfor，withyou。“
“Whatistheharm？“
“Noharmatall。So，inmyturn，Iwillaskyourpermissiontostateourrespectivesituations。“
“Stateaway。“
“YouaregoingtoPerm——likeme？“
“Likeyou。“
“AndprobablyyouwillgofromPermtoEkaterenburg，sincethatisthebestandsafestroutebywhichtocrosstheUralMountains？“
“Probably。“
“Oncepastthefrontier，weshallbeinSiberia，thatistosayinthemidstoftheinvasion。“
“Weshallbethere。“
“Well！then，andonlythen，willbethetimetosay，Eachforhimself，andGodfor——“
“Forme。“
“Foryou，allbyyourself！Verywell！Butsincewehaveaweekofneutraldaysbeforeus，andsinceitisverycertainthatnewswillnotshowerdownuponusontheway，letusbefriendsuntilwebecomerivalsagain。“
“Enemies。“
“Yes；that’sright，enemies。Buttillthen，letusacttogether，andnottryandruineachother。Allthesame，IpromiseyoutokeeptomyselfallthatIcansee——“
“AndI，allthatIcanhear。“
“Isthatagreed？“
“Itisagreed。“
“Yourhand？“
“Hereitis。“Andthehandofthefirstspeaker，thatistosay，fivewide-openfingers，vigorouslyshookthetwofingerscoollyextendedbytheother。
“Bythebye，“saidthefirst，“Iwasablethismorningtotelegraphtheverywordsoftheordertomycousinatseventeenminutespastten。“
“AndIsentittotheDailyTelegraphatthirteenminutespastten。“
“Bravo，Mr。Blount！“
“Verygood，M。Jolivet。“
“Iwilltryandmatchthat！“
“Itwillbedifficult。“
“Icantry，however。“
Sosaying，theFrenchcorrespondentfamiliarlysalutedtheEnglishman，whobowedstiffly。Thegovernor’sproclamationdidnotconcernthesetwonews-hunters，astheywereneitherRussiansnorforeignersofAsiaticorigin。However，beingurgedbythesameinstinct，theyhadleftNijni-Novgorodtogether。
Itwasnaturalthattheyshouldtakethesamemeansoftransport，andthattheyshouldfollowthesameroutetotheSiberiansteppes。
Travelingcompanions，whetherenemiesorfriends，theyhadaweektopasstogetherbefore“thehuntwouldbeopen。“
Andthensuccesstothemostexpert！AlcideJolivethadmadethefirstadvances，andHarryBlounthadacceptedthemthoughhehaddonesocoldly。
ThatverydayatdinnertheFrenchmanopenaseverandeventooloquacious，theEnglishmanstillsilentandgrave，wereseenhobnobbingatthesametable，drinkinggenuineCliquot，atsixroublesthebottle，madefromthefreshsapofthebirch-treesofthecountry。
Onhearingthemchattingawaytogether，MichaelStrogoffsaidtohimself:
“ThoseareinquisitiveandindiscreetfellowswhomIshallprobablymeetagainontheway。Itwillbeprudentformetokeepthematadistance。“
TheyoungLivoniandidnotcometodinner。Shewasasleepinhercabin，andMichaeldidnotliketoawakenher。ItwaseveningbeforeshereappearedonthedeckoftheCaucasus。Thelongtwilightimpartedacoolnesstotheatmosphereeagerlyenjoyedbythepassengersafterthestiflingheatoftheday。Astheeveningadvanced，thegreaternumbernevereventhoughtofgoingintothesaloon。
Stretchedonthebenches，theyinhaledwithdelighttheslightbreezecausedbythespeedofthesteamer。Atthistimeofyear，andunderthislatitude，theskyscarcelydarkenedbetweensunsetanddawn，andleftthesteersmanlightenoughtoguidehissteameramongthenumerousvesselsgoingupordowntheVolga。
Betweenelevenandtwo，however，themoonbeingnew，itwasalmostdark。
Nearlyallthepassengerswerethenasleeponthedeck，andthesilencewasdisturbedonlybythenoiseofthepaddlesstrikingthewateratregularintervals。AnxietykeptMichaelStrogoffawake。
Hewalkedupanddown，butalwaysinthesternofthesteamer。
Once，however，hehappenedtopasstheengine-room。Hethenfoundhimselfinthepartreservedforsecondandthird-classpassengers。
There，everyonewaslyingasleep，notonlyonthebenches，butalsoonthebales，packages，andeventhedeckitself。
Somecarewasnecessarynottotreadonthesleepers，whowerelyingabouteverywhere。Theywerechieflymujiks，accustomedtohardcouches，andquitesatisfiedwiththeplanksofthedeck。
Butnodoubttheywould，allthesame，havesoundlyabusedtheclumsyfellowwhorousedthemwithanaccidentalkick。
MichaelStrogofftookcare，therefore，nottodisturbanyone。
Bygoingthustotheendoftheboat，hehadnootherideabutthatofstrivingagainstsleepbyaratherlongerwalk。
Hereachedtheforwarddeck，andwasalreadyclimbingtheforecastleladder，whenheheardsomeonespeakingnearhim。
Hestopped。Thevoicesappearedtocomefromagroupofpassengersenvelopedincloaksandwraps。Itwasimpossibletorecognizetheminthedark，thoughitsometimeshappenedthat，whenthesteamer’schimneysentforthaplumeofruddyflames，thesparksseemedtofallamongstthegroupasthoughthousandsofspangleshadbeensuddenlyilluminated。
Michaelwasabouttostepuptheladder，whenafewwordsreachedhisear，utteredinthatstrangetonguewhichhehadheardduringthenightatthefair。Instinctivelyhestoppedtolisten。Protectedbytheshadowoftheforecastle，hecouldnotbeperceivedhimself。
Astoseeingthepassengerswhoweretalking，thatwasimpossible。
Hemustconfinehimselftolistening。
Thefirstwordsexchangedwereofnoimportance——tohimatleast——buttheyallowedhimtorecognizethevoicesofthemanandwomanwhomhehadheardatNijni-Novgorod。This，ofcourse，madehimredoublehisattention。
Itwas，indeed，notatallimpossiblethatthesesameTsiganes，nowbanished，shouldbeonboardtheCaucasus。
Anditwaswellforhimthathelistened，forhedistinctlyheardthisquestionandanswermadeintheTartaridiom:
“ItissaidthatacourierhassetoutfromMoscowforIrkutsk。“
“Itissosaid，Sangarre；buteitherthiscourierwillarrivetoolate，orhewillnotarriveatall。“
MichaelStrogoffstartedinvoluntarilyatthisreply，whichconcernedhimsodirectly。Hetriedtoseeifthemanandwomanwhohadjustspokenwerereallythosewhomhesuspected，buthecouldnotsucceed。
InafewmomentsMichaelStrogoffhadregainedthesternofthevesselwithouthavingbeenperceived，and，takingaseatbyhimself，heburiedhisfaceinhishands。Itmighthavebeensupposedthathewasasleep。
Hewasnotasleep，however，anddidnoteventhinkofsleeping。
Hewasreflecting，notwithoutalivelyapprehension:
“Whoisitknowsofmydeparture，andwhocanhaveanyinterestinknowingit？“
CHAPTERVIIIGOINGUPTHEKAMA
THEnextday，the18thofJuly，attwentyminutestoseveninthemorning，theCaucasusreachedtheKasanquay，sevenverstsfromthetown。
KasanissituatedattheconfluenceoftheVolgaandKasanka。Itisanimportantchieftownofthegovernment，andaGreekarchbishopric，aswellastheseatofauniversity。
ThevariedpopulationpreservesanAsiaticcharacter。
Althoughthetownwassofarfromthelanding-place，alargecrowdwascollectedonthequay。Theyhadcomefornews。
ThegovernoroftheprovincehadpublishedanorderidenticalwiththatofNijni-Novgorod。PoliceofficersandafewCossackskeptorderamongthecrowd，andclearedthewaybothforthepassengerswhoweredisembarkingandalsoforthosewhowereembarkingonboardtheCaucasus，minutelyexaminingbothclassesoftravelers。
TheoneweretheAsiaticswhowerebeingexpelled；theother，mujiksstoppingatKasan。
MichaelStrogoffunconcernedlywatchedthebustlewhichoccursatallquaysonthearrivalofasteamvessel。TheCaucasuswouldstayforanhourtorenewherfuel。Michaeldidnoteventhinkoflanding。
HewasunwillingtoleavetheyoungLivoniangirlaloneonboard，asshehadnotyetreappearedondeck。
Thetwojournalistshadrisenatdawn，asallgoodhuntsmenshoulddo。
Theywentonshoreandmingledwiththecrowd，eachkeepingtohisownpeculiarmodeofproceeding；HarryBlount，sketchingdifferenttypes，ornotingsomeobservation；AlcideJolivetcontentinghimselfwithaskingquestions，confidinginhismemory，whichneverfailedhim。
Therewasareportalongallthefrontierthattheinsurrectionandinvasionhadreachedconsiderableproportions。CommunicationbetweenSiberiaandtheempirewasalreadyextremelydifficult。
AllthisMichaelStrogoffheardfromthenewarrivals。
Thisinformationcouldnotbutcausehimgreatuneasiness，andincreasehiswishofbeingbeyondtheUralMountains，soastojudgeforhimselfofthetruthoftheserumors，andenablehimtoguardagainstanypossiblecontingency。
HewasthinkingofseekingmoredirectintelligencefromsomenativeofKasan，whenhisattentionwassuddenlydiverted。
AmongthepassengerswhowereleavingtheCaucasus，MichaelrecognizedthetroopofTsiganeswho，thedaybefore，hadappearedintheNijni-Novgorodfair。There，onthedeckofthesteamboatweretheoldBohemianandthewoman。
Withthem，andnodoubtundertheirdirection，landedabouttwentydancersandsingers，fromfifteentotwentyyearsofage，wrappedinoldcloaks，whichcoveredtheirspangleddresses。