28 THROUGH RUSSIA ON A MUSTANG. 



animal found his way back to the last station. He 

 rode alone as far as Tomsk, from which point he has 

 been assisted by the police. His only sickness has 

 been a touch of influenza. He had experienced forty 

 degrees of frost (about fifty degrees below zero, Fahr.) 

 but thinks winter the best time to travel in Siberia \ 

 the roads are then hard and good, and the cold stimu- 

 lates the horse to travel. He has met with no adven' 

 tures beyond the blizzard. Wolves? — he hasn't seen 

 a wolf, and he has never fired his revolver. He has 

 promised to give me his notes and I'm going to write 

 a book about his journey." 



We turned from the versatile representative of the 

 Moscow Listok to the hero of the ride. "Sotniac," 

 said my companion, " Mr. Stevens wants to send word 

 about you to America. Tell us the motive of your 

 great journey. Is it to decide a bet ?" 



" No, no," replied Paishkoff, " only an Englishman 

 or an American would do such a thing for a bet. My 

 object is to prove the great powers of endurance 

 possessed by the horses of the Amoor." 



" How much will you take for youi horse when you 

 get to St. Petersburg ? " 



" Money again," returned the Cossack, reproachfully ; 

 " it would be a sin to exchange this horse for money, 

 after what he has done. All the money in America 

 wouldn't induce me to sell him. He will be taken 

 great care of for the rest of his life — pensioned off." 



"And you? — you, too, will be pensioned, I sup- 

 pose." 



" We shall know better about that at St. Peters- 

 burg." 



