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.'"
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