Chapter VII: Strange Tutor of Russian

"And the surgeon wishes me to teach you the Russian language, does he?" asked old Batavsky, reclining on his miserable couch.

"Yes, sir, if you will be so good," replied Barnwell, politely.

"So good!"

"That is what he said, sir."

"You are English, eh?"

"I speak nothing but English, although I am an American."

"Oh, an American, eh? You must be the only American in Siberia."

"I certainly hope so, sir."

"And so do I; but he wants to have you learn it so as to become a more useful slave. How long have you been here?"

"I came with the last consignment."

"Are you a Nihilist?" asked the old man, after a moment's silence, during which he looked at him sharply.

"No, sir; but I think the Russian police authorities will drive me to being one."

The old man rose quickly to a sitting position.

"What were you sent here for?"

"I was sent here by the treachery of one who has since been executed."

"Who was it?"

"Prince Mastowix."

"Mastowix!" exclaimed Batavsky, and this time he tottered to his feet.

He was trembling violently, and his eyes, before half closed, were now wide open and glaring at Barnwell strangely.

"Prince Mastowix, did you say?"

"Yes, sir; the governor of the Bastile."

"Executed, did you say?"

"Yes, sir."

"Heaven be praised!" cried the old man, falling heavily upon his couch.

Barnwell watched him in surprise for two or three minutes, and then he spoke:

"Did you know him, sir?"

"Know him! Do my thirty-five years of exile, slavery, despair, know him? Yes, it was his treachery that consigned me here, and he was rewarded by Alexander with a title for his work. Oh, do I know him? And he is dead? Tell me all about it--he was executed--stay a moment. What is your name?" he asked excitedly.

"William Barnwell, sir."

"Good; now tell me all about it."

"It is a long story, sir."

"Give me every word of it, boy--every word!"

He seemed indeed like a maniac now, and under some circumstances Barnwell would have been afraid of him.

But it seemed the news he had brought had given him a favorable footing in the old man's estimation.

So he began with the story, first with his meeting Zobriskie on the steamer, and so on until he was landed in Siberia.

Batavsky listened with the utmost attention, and at points showed much excitement, trembling violently and scarcely able to restrain himself.

"And the villain Mastowix had become a Nihilist?" said he.

"It would seem so, sir."

"Then he did it to betray the society, provided he could not rise higher with it."

"Very likely, sir."

"Oh, I know him well! Oh, he was a very fiend! But he is dead?"

"Yes."

"Oh, my son, this barren waste, those deep-down mines yonder have been peopled by his victims. Aye, the very wolves have gnawed the bones of his victims until they have come to know him as a benefactor, I'll dare be sworn. But he is dead--he has been executed! Thank Heaven!" and with another wild laugh he sank upon his couch and buried his face in the straw.

Barnwell stood gazing at him with awe and wonder.

"What a terrible history must be his," he thought, as he regarded him.

It was some moments before the old man regained sufficient composure to command himself.

Barnwell could say nothing, and so he waited for the old man to resume.

Presently, with a sigh, he roused himself and sat upright on his couch.

"How is it with you, sir?"

"I--I hardly know, my son," he replied, after a pause, during which he looked earnestly at him. "I am supposed to-that is, the surgeon has been so good as to ask me to teach you the Russian language. You have been outraged."

"Yes, sir; but not to the extent that you have been," said Barnwell, taking his hand.

"My son, I like you," said he, returning the pressure of his hand. "There is something about you that fills a long vacant place in my heart. I will do all I can to teach you the Russian language, but at the same time, if I find you apt, I will teach you even more than that, for there is much more to be learned, my son."

"And I hope I may be found worthy, for I will admit that I like you much more than words can express. I was told something of the time you have slaved here, and also that you were now insane, but it does not seem so."

The old man was silent a moment.

"Well, my son, I will not say but you have been rightly informed, for there are times when I do not know myself, and it may be that I am then insane. But what would you or any man be, suffering all I have suffered?"

"It is a wonder that you are alive, my dear sir," said Barnwell.

"I wonder at it myself, but I have clung to life for the sake of revenge--for the hope I had of one day escaping from this frozen place and killing the villain whose treachery consigned me here. And now you come and tell me that other means have taken away my revenge! I--I feel a great change creeping over me. Yes, yes--but I will do all I can to teach you the Russian language."

"But, from what I have told you, you can understand that I have not long to remain here, and probably but little use for the language."

"Poor boy!" moaned the old man, shaking his bowed head sadly.

"Why do you so exclaim?"

"You hope to escape?"

"I do."

"Ah! do not lay that flattering unction to your immortal soul, my son."

"Why not? The governor assured me that he would present my case to the authorities."

"But he never will."

"What!"

"Or if he does it, will never be acted upon. Oh, how many have I known in the thirty-five years that I have toiled and suffered here, who held hopes just as bright, and whose unredeemed and unclaimed bones now whiten on Siberian snows! I do not wish to dishearten you, nor do I wish to buoy you up with false hopes."

"But my case is different, my dear sir."

"It may be, as one-half differs from another; but remember that once a name is obliterated and the owner of it is transported to Siberia, there is no power on earth to reclaim him."

"But I am an American, and no criminal,"

"True; but who is to find that out, and who bring it to the notice of those powerful enough to demand an investigation? No; when once a person is disposed of in Russia in this way, that closes his career."

"Do you really think so, sir?" asked Barnwell, feeling his heart sink within him.

"Have I not had evidence enough of it. The police are too busy at home to notice even the recommendations of the Governor of Siberia. The authorities send all here--they call none back under any circumstances."

"Is that so?"

"Yes; guilty or innocent."

"And you believe that I am destined to drag out my life here?"

"Yes, unless you escape."

"Escape?"

"Yes."

"Can it be done?"

"I don't know. It may have been done, although I could never do it. There have been several mysterious disappearances during my time here, but we could never learn whether they escaped or died, or were tortured to death."

"And would you have me abandon hope?"

"Yes, of pardon and reinstatement."

"Great Scott!" exclaimed Barnwell, bowing his head abjectly.

"I give you no false hopes. I would that I could be sure of your escape," he mused.

"Why?"

"That is, if I found you worthy."

"Of what?"

"Of the trust I would repose in some true heart," said the old man, sadly.

"You speak vaguely, sir."

"Well, I may be able to speak more plainly by and by. But in the meantime I will take particular pains to teach you the Russian language."

"I thank you, but mournfully, since you lead me to believe that my only use for it will be here in Siberia."

"I would not banish hope."

"Of what?"

"Of your ultimate escape from here."

"How?"

"That will be a future consideration."

"But do you believe there is a chance?"

"Yes. While the springs and muscles of youth are potent, there is always a chance--always a hope."

"I will dare anything; but I am a stranger here, and know not, how to move."

"Then possess your soul in peace for a while. You have not the strength of a lion, but you may have the cunning of a fox. Assume to be contented with your lot, and learn all you can of your surroundings. Learn well the road away from here. It may take years, as it has in my case, and you may never succeed, as I have not, but it behooves a brave man to be always ready to take advantage of circumstances. You have not been sent here as a dangerous criminal, and will not be so closely guarded as I have always been, the proof of which is that the governor assigns you here for hospital duty. But the proof that there is a very remote probability of your ever being recalled by the powers that consigned you here is this wish on the surgeon's part for you to learn the Russian language so as to become more useful here."

"I will not learn it," said Barnwell, with a sudden burst of indignation.

"Walt a moment. Will you take me for a guide?"

"With all my heart I will."

"Then do all in your power to learn the language, and at the same time to appear to be reconciled. More follows."

"I will obey you, sir."

"I see you are both brave and sensible. Force does not work here, save to oppress. Be cunning, be sly, and, after you have mastered the language and the situation, then there will be more hope for you. And, when you are strong enough, I will tell you the story of my life."

"Strong enough?"

"Yes; for it will take more than ordinary strength to stand it. But I feel a great change since meeting you. The ambition and rage for revenge has been toned down, and now a relapse may follow it."

"How?"

"This hope of revenge on Mastowix has buoyed me up during all these years; but now that I find that you have been the innocent cause of bringing retribution upon him, I feel that my life's object, my object for living, no longer exists, and a relapse from that high excitement is coming on, and I may die at any moment; but, thank goodness, perfectly sane."

"Oh, do not talk so, please. You are the only friend I have in all this vast expanse of human misery. Do not think of dying, I beg of you," said Barnwell, greatly excited.

"Goodness knows how long the time may be; but do not leave me, my son, do not leave me. I have a premonition of death, and that must not be until I have transferred a great secret into some worthy hands."

"And you still trust me?"

"I will. I feel that I can. Come and see me again to-morrow to--mind you--to take still further lessons in the Russian language."

"I will come."