THE BURIAT'S CHILD.
After three days' rest the Russian's feet were so much better that he
said he should be able to make a start the next morning. Godfrey,
however, would not listen to the proposal.
"We are getting on all right," he said. "I am not much of a shot, but at
any rate I am able to bag enough birds to keep us going, and though I
have only succeeded in shooting one fish as yet, it was a good big one
and was a real help to us. It is no use going on till your feet get
really hard, for you would only be laming yourself again. It will be
quite time enough to talk about making a start in three days' time."
The next morning Godfrey was roughly awakened by a violent kick.
Starting up he saw a group of six Buriats standing round them. Three of
them had guns, which were pointed at the prisoners, the others were
armed with spears. Resistance was evidently useless; their guns had been
removed to a distance and the knives taken from their belts before they
were roused. Godfrey held out his hands to show that he surrendered, and
addressed the usual Russian salutation to them. The men were short,
square-built figures, with large skulls, low foreheads, flat noses, and
long eyes like those of the Chinese. Their cheek-bones were high and
wide apart, the complexion a yellow-brown, and the hair jet black and
worn in a platted tail down the back. They made signs to their prisoners
to accompany them. Alexis pulled on his boots. Two of the men with guns
stood guard over them while the others examined the stores, and were
evidently highly pleased with the two brightly polished knives.
"Rather an abrupt termination to our journey, Godfrey."
"Painfully so. I was almost afraid everything was going on too well with
us, Alexis. It began to look so easy that one could not understand why
there should not be hundreds of prisoners every year make their way
across."
"I should not have minded so much," Alexis said, "if we had not got such
a satisfactory kit together. We had everything we really wanted for a
journey across Asia."
"Except food and water, Alexis."
"Well, yes, those are important items certainly, and if we had
difficulty about it here in a decent sort of country, what might be
expected on farther? Well, we have had our outing; I only hope they
won't give us up at Irkutsk. I suppose it depends where their
grazing-grounds are. There are another two months of summer; I wish we
could have had our fling till then."
Half a mile along the valley they came upon a tent, evidently belonging
to the men who had taken them. They talked a good deal among themselves
as they approached it, but went straight on without making a stop.
"I expect they are taking us down to some chief or other, if they call
them chiefs," Alexis said. "I expect they came out to hunt for horses or
cattle that have strayed."
Seven or eight miles farther the valley opened on to a plain, and a
short distance in front of them, on the stream, stood ten tents, one of
which was considerably larger than the others. Great flocks of sheep
grazed on the plain, and at a distance they could see numbers of cattle,
while some horses with their saddles on were hobbled near the tents.
"I think we are lucky, Godfrey. The owner of all this must be a rich
man, and can hardly covet the roubles he would get for giving us up.
Besides, he is sure to talk Russian."
As they came up to the huts they saw that their occupants were all
gathered, talking excitedly in front of a large tent. One of the men ran
on and then returned; the news he gave was evidently bad. He talked
excitedly, pointing to his own leg about half-way between the knee and
the ankle. The men broke into exclamations of regret.
"I wonder what is the matter, Alexis; something has happened. I should
think that someone must have met with an accident."
"Without wishing ill to anyone, Godfrey, I sincerely wish it may be so,
then I might be able to win their good-will."
Little attention was paid to the party when they joined the group, all
were too busy in discussing some event or other. Three or four minutes
later a man came to the door of the tent and waved his hand, and gave
some order. His dress was a handsome one. The little crowd fell back,
but one of the men who had brought the captives in went up and spoke to
him. He again waved his hand impatiently, and was turning to enter the
tent when Alexis cried loudly: "I am a doctor, if anyone has been hurt I
may be of service to him."
The man stepped hastily forward. "Do you say you are a doctor?"
"I am."
"Come in then," he said abruptly, and entered the tent.
"I will call you if you can be of any use," Alexis said to Godfrey as he
followed him.
The tent was a large one. Some handsome Koord carpets covered the
ground. Facing the door was another opening leading into a small tent
serving as the women's apartment.
There were several piles of sheep-skins round the tent, and by one of
these three women were standing. Two of these were richly dressed in
gowns of handsome striped materials. They wore head-dresses of silver
work with beads of malachite and mother-of-pearl, and had heavy silver
ornaments hanging on their breasts. Their hair fell down their backs in
two thick braids. The other woman was evidently of inferior rank. All
were leaning over a pile of skins covered with costly furs, on which a
boy of seven or eight years old was lying. His father, for such the man
evidently was, said something in his own language, and the women turned
eagerly to Alexis.
"You are a Russian doctor!" one of the women exclaimed joyfully.
"I am, lady," he said. "I graduated at St. Petersburg."
"Can you do anything for my son?" she asked. "Half an hour ago he went
up incautiously behind a young horse that had been driven in from the
herd only yesterday and it kicked him. See, it is terrible," and she
burst into tears.
Alexis went forward and lifted a wet cloth that had been placed on the
leg. A slight exclamation broke from his lips as he did so. The bone was
evidently completely smashed, and one of the splintered ends projected
through the skin.
"He must die," the mother sobbed, "nothing can save him."
The father did not speak, but looked inquiringly at Alexis. The latter
made a sign to him to move to the other side of the tent.
"Well," the Buriat asked, "must he die?"
"There is no reason for his dying," Alexis said, "but there is no
possibility of saving his leg, it must be amputated."
"What would be the use of living without a leg?" the Buriat exclaimed.
"A great deal of use," Alexis said quietly. "There are hundreds, aye
thousands, of men in Russia who have lost a leg, some from an accident
like this, or from a waggon going over them, some from a wound in
battle. In some cases the leg is taken off much above the knee, but even
then they are able to get about and enjoy their lives; but when it is
below the knee, like this, they are able to do everything just the same
as if they had both feet. They can walk and ride, and, in fact, do
everything like others; besides, for such men there are people at St.
Petersburg who make feet of cork, and when these are on, with a boot and
trousers, or with a high boot, no one could tell that the wearer had not
two feet. I have met men who had lost a leg, and they walked so well
that I did not know till I was told that they had not two legs."
"I will speak to his mother," the Buriat said, and returning to the
women he spoke to them in their own language. At first they appeared
shocked and even terrified at the idea, but as he went on, evidently
repeating what Alexis had told him, the expression of their faces
changed. The Buriat called Alexis across.
"You cannot hesitate, lady," he said, "when your child's life is at
stake. No Russian mother would do so for a moment. It may seem to you
dreadful that he should have but one foot, but in a little time, even
with so rough a limb as I could make for him, he would be running about
and playing again, and, as I have been telling his father, he can obtain
from St. Petersburg a foot so perfect that when wearing a high boot no
one would suspect the misfortune that has happened to him."
"Can he not be cured without that?"
"No, lady. If it had been a simple fracture his leg might be bandaged up
so that it would heal in time, but, as you can see for yourself, the
bone is all splintered and broken, and unless something is done
mortification will set in, and in a few days he will cease to live."
"But are you sure that he will live if you do it?"
"I am sure, lady, that the operation will not kill him. I believe that
he will live, but that is in the hands of God. You see him now, the
shock has prostrated him. He has but little life in him, and if he dies
he will die from that and not from the taking off of his foot. But I do
not think he will die, he is young and hardy, and on my faith as a
Russian gentleman I believe that he will live."
"It shall be tried," the Buriat said abruptly. "God has doubtless sent
you here at this moment. Why otherwise should a doctor be brought to my
door when this has happened? Do as you will."
Alexis felt the boy's pulse. "I must wait," he said, "until he has
recovered somewhat from the shock. Give him some warm milk with a
spoonful, not more, of vodka in it. Your men have taken the knives that
I and my friend carried; they were specially made for this, and we shall
need them. Do not fear as to the operation, it is the most simple in
surgery. Let him have the milk at once. Let him remain quiet upon his
back, and do not let him attempt to move his leg. Do not tell him about
this, it would frighten and agitate him. If I had medicines that we use
in our hospitals I could send him to sleep so that he would know nothing
about it, and when he woke up would be ignorant that his foot had been
removed; but as there is none of it within a hundred miles of us we must
manage it as we best can. Please tell your men to release my friend, I
shall need his assistance."
After bidding the woman heat some milk at once the Buriat went out and
ordered Godfrey's guards to release him at once, and to restore to them
their knives and all their other possessions. Alexis informed Godfrey of
what had taken place, and what he proposed to do.
"The operation would be a very easy one if we had chloroform and proper
implements. Unfortunately there is no chance of their having such a
thing as a fine saw, and how in the world I am to make a clean cut
through the bone I do not know. The knife that you carry is just the
right thing for the job; but how about a saw? If we could have
chloroformed him, we could, after making the cuts through the flesh,
have put the leg on a log of wood and have cut clean through the bone
with a chopper. It would not be a good plan, for it would probably
splinter the bone, but it might have been tried, but without chloroform
it is not to be thought of."
Godfrey thought for a moment. "The knives are of a very good steel,
Alexis?"
"Oh yes, of the very best steel!"
"Is it hard steel like that of a razor?"
"Yes, very much the same."
"Then I should think it could be managed. I know the least thing will
notch a razor. Now I should think if we took the large knife, and with
my pocket-knife or with the edge of a hard stone notch the edge
carefully all the way down, it would make a very good saw."
"I should think it might do anyhow, Godfrey, and the idea is a very good
one. Well, let us set about it at once. I can get a piece of fresh bone
to try on; no doubt they kill a sheep here every day."
They set to work and in ten minutes had notched the blade of the knife
all the way down. Alexis had, as he expected, no trouble in obtaining a
freshly-picked bone, and they found that the knife sawed through it very
cleanly. Then Alexis went in to see the boy again. Before, he had been
lying with his eyes half-closed, without a vestige of colour in his
cheeks; the warm milk had done its work almost instantaneously, and he
was perfectly conscious and there was a slight colour in his cheeks. His
pulse had recovered strength wonderfully. Alexis nodded approvingly to
the Buriat. He drew him outside the tent.
"If I were you," he said, "I would send away all the people from the
other huts. If the poor child screams they may get excited and rush in,
and it is better that everything should be perfectly quiet. I should
send away also the ladies, unless of course his mother particularly
wishes to be with him; but it will be trying for her, and I own that I
would rather not have anyone in the tent but you and my friend."
The Buriat went inside; he returned in two or three minutes. "My wife
will stay; my sister and the attendant will go." Then he called to the
men who were standing at the doors of their huts:
"The doctor says there must be silence for some time; he is going to do
something and he wishes that all shall retire to a distance until I wave
my hand for them to return. Will there be anything you want?" he asked
Alexis.
"A large jug of warm water," he said, "a bowl, and some soft rag--that
is all. By the time that is ready I shall be. You will have to hold his
leg, Godfrey," he went on as the Buriat returned to his tent. "You must
hold it just under the knee as firmly as possible, so as to prevent the
slightest movement. But I am going to try to mesmerize him. I have seen
it done with perfect success, and at any rate it is worth trying. In the
weak state he is in I ought to be able to succeed without difficulty.
Now I want a couple of small flat stones with rounded edges, a strip of
soft skin, and a bit of stick three or four inches long and as thick as
your finger, to make a tourniquet with."
By the time that these were ready a perfect stillness reigned in the
camp. The whole of the natives had gone away to a distance of over a
quarter of a mile, and were sitting in a group watching the tents, and,
Godfrey had no doubt, debating hotly as to the folly of allowing a
stranger to have anything to do with the son of their employer. He now
followed Alexis into the tent, where all was in readiness. The child's
head was slightly raised by a skin folded and placed under it. His
mother knelt beside him.
"What do you wish me to do?" the Buriat asked.
"I wish you to stand beside him and aid his mother to hold him should he
struggle, and I may need you to dip the rag into the warm water, squeeze
it out, and give it me."
"Of course he will struggle," the Buriat said; "we men can bear pain,
but a child cannot."
"I am going to try to put him to sleep," Alexis replied; "a sleep so
sound that he will not wake with the pain. I do not say that I shall be
able to, but I will try."
The Buriat looked at Alexis as if he doubted his sanity. That a Russian
doctor should be able to take off the child's leg was within his
comprehension. He had once seen a man in the street of Irkutsk with only
one arm, but that anyone could make a child sleep so soundly that he
would not wake under such an operation seemed to him beyond the bounds
of possibility.
"Tell the child that I am going to do him good," Alexis said to the
mother, "and that he is to look at my eyes steadily." He placed himself
at the side of the couch and gazed down steadily at the child; then he
began to make passes slowly down his face. For three or four minutes the
black eyes looked into his unwinkingly, then the lids closed a little.
Alexis continued his efforts, the lids drooped more and more until they
closed completely. He continued the motions of his hand for another
minute or two, then stooping he lifted an eyelid; the eye was turned
upwards, so that the iris was no longer visible.
"Thank God, he has gone off!" he said. "Now for the tourniquet. That is
right; twist gradually now, Godfrey, and place the stone on the main
artery. Now," he said to the Buriat, "hold this stick firm with one hand
and place the other on his chest to prevent his moving. Do you lay your
arm across him," this to the mother; "that is right. Kneel with your
face against his. Now, Godfrey, grasp the leg just below the knee and
hold it firmly."
Godfrey did so, and then shut his eyes as he saw the doctor about to use
the knife, expecting to hear a piercing scream from the child. There was
no sound, however, and in a very few seconds he heard Alexis utter a low
exclamation of satisfaction. He looked now; the flesh was already cut
through and no cry had escaped the child. Another moment the foot and
the lower portion of the leg came away at the point where the bone was
crushed; then Alexis pushed the flesh upwards so as to expose another
inch of the shin-bone, and then took the saw and cut through it. Some
strands of silk lay close to his hand; with a long needle he took up the
ends of the arteries and tied them with the silk; then he took hold of
the stick of the tourniquet and loosened it a little. The result was
satisfactory; the arteries were securely tied. Then he tightened it
again and gave it to the Buriat to hold, wiped the wound with the damp
rag, drew down the flesh over the end of the bone, brought up the flap
of flesh from behind, and with a few stitches sewed it in its place.
"It is all done," he said, rising to his feet. Then he passed his hand
several times across the child's forehead. "Tell him softly, when he
opens his eyes," he said to the mother, "that he will soon be well now,
and that he must go to sleep." He continued the passes for some time,
occasionally lifting the eyelid. "He is coming round now," he said at
last. A few more passes and the child drowsily opened its eyes. His
mother spoke to him softly, and with a faint smile he closed them again.
Alexis stood quietly for another minute or two. "He is asleep now," he
said to the Buriat; "you need hold him no longer."
The tears were running down the man's cheeks; he seized one of the hands
of Alexis and pressed it to his lips, while the mother, sobbing with
joy, did the same to the other. To them it seemed almost a miracle.
"Have some milk kept warm," Alexis said, "and give it to him when he
awakes. Do not tell him anything about his foot having been taken off.
Keep a blanket lying over him so that he will not see it It is well that
he should not be agitated, but tell him that he must lie perfectly quiet
and not move his leg, as it would hurt him if he did so. Now, chief, it
would be as well if you called the others back and told your servant to
get some breakfast, for my friend and I have had nothing to eat since
your men woke us this morning."
The Buriat went outside the tent and waved a blanket, and the others
came running in at the signal.
"Tell them not to make a noise," Alexis said; "the longer the child
sleeps quietly the better."
The Buriats uttered exclamations of the most profound astonishment when
the chief told them that the Russian doctor had taken off the leg of the
child without his feeling the slightest pain, and that there was every
hope of his speedily recovering, whereupon they looked at Alexis with a
feeling of respect amounting to awe. A sheep was at once killed,
skinned, cut up, and placed in a great cooking pot over a fire; but long
before this was done two great bowls of hot milk were brought out by the
Buriat to Alexis and Godfrey, to enable them to hold on until the meal
was prepared. At his order the men at once set about erecting a tent for
them close to his own, and as soon as this was up, piles of soft skins
were brought in.
"That has been a lucky stroke indeed, Godfrey," Alexis said as they took
possession of their new abode.
"It has indeed, Alexis. Nothing could have been more providential. We
are in clover as long as we choose to stop here. Do you think the child
will recover?"
"I think there is every hope of his doing so. These natives are as hard
as nails. I don't suppose the child has ever had a day's illness in his
life, and in this pure dry air there is little fear of the wound doing
badly. The next thing to do is to make him a pair of crutches to get
about with till he can bear to have a wooden stump on. The only nuisance
is that we shall be delayed. As a doctor, I cannot very well leave my
patient till he is fairly on the road towards recovery."
"Certainly not," Godfrey agreed. "Well, I daresay we shall put away the
time pleasantly enough here."
Half an hour later two horses were brought up, and these with their
saddles and bridles were presented by the Buriat to his guests, and were
picketed by their tent. The next three weeks passed pleasantly; they
rode, hunted, and shot. The little patient made rapid progress towards
recovery, and at the end of that time was able to get about on two
crutches Godfrey had made for him.
"It is better that you should make them, Godfrey, and also the wooden
leg when he is ready for it," Alexis had said. "It is just as well that
their gratitude should be divided a little, so I will hand that part of
the work over to you."
The Buriats were delighted indeed when they saw the child hopping about
the camp with his crutches, and their gratitude knew no bounds to their
guests. Alexis had made no secret to the Buriat of their intention of
trying to make their way to Pekin. He endeavoured in every way to
dissuade them from it.
"You will never find your way across the desert," he said, "and will die
for want of water. The people are wild and savage. They are ruled by
their lamas, and if they do not put you to death, which they would be
likely to do for what you have, they will certainly send you back to
Kiakhta and hand you over to the Russians there; and even if you got
through the desert the Chinese would seize you and send you back. It
would be madness to try. It would be better than that to go south and
make for Thibet, although even that would be a desperate expedition. The
tribes are wild and savage, the desert is terrible for those who do not
know it. You would never find the wells, and would perish miserably of
thirst even if you escaped being killed by the tribesmen. Still your
chances would be greater than they would be of reaching Pekin. But you
had far better make up your minds to live here. I will give you flocks
and herds. You should be as of my family, and you, Alexis, should marry
my sister, who is rich as well as pretty, for she owns a third of all
the flocks and herds you see."
Alexis warmly thanked the Buriat for the offer, but said they must take
time to consider it. "One might do worse," he said, laughing, to Godfrey
when they were alone. "The women are certainly a great deal
better-looking than the men, and the girl would be considered
fair-looking even in Russia. At any rate it would be vastly better being
a Buriat here than being inside that prison at Irkutsk."
"I agree with you there, Alexis; but it would be horrible being cut off
here from the world for life."
"But one is cut off in prison, Godfrey; and though I agreed to share
your attempt I have never been very hopeful about its success, and I am
still less hopeful now from what I hear of the difficulties ahead of us.
As I said when you first talked of it, there must be some frightful
difficulties here, or this would be the way by which convicts would
always try to escape, and yet we have never heard of one doing so."
"Yes, I begin to think myself I have made a mistake, Alexis, in choosing
this route instead of a northern one. Besides, we shall have winter upon
us in a very few weeks now, which would of course add tremendously to
our difficulties. But you are not seriously thinking of stopping here,
are you?"
"I don't know, Godfrey. You see you have got a home and friends waiting
for you if you do get away, I have nothing but exile. I do believe we
shall never succeed in getting out through China, and I think we
couldn't do better than stop here for a year or two. By the end of that
time we may succeed in establishing relations by means of this Buriat
with some of the tea merchants at Kiakhta, and getting one of them to
smuggle us through with a caravan; but, at any rate, if you still hold
to going I shall go too. I have no intention of deserting you, I can
assure you."
In another fortnight Godfrey had made a stump for the child. The hollow
was lined with sheepskin to take off the jar, and it strapped firmly on
to the limb. The wound was not quite sufficiently healed yet for the
child to use it regularly, but when on first trying it he walked across
the tent the joy of his father and mother knew no bounds.
They had only been waiting for this to make a move, for the pasture had
for some time been getting short, and on the following day the tents
were pulled down, and for three days they journeyed east, and then
finding a suitable spot again pitched their tents. They were now, as
the Buriat told them, only some thirty miles from Kiakhta. Godfrey and
Alexis had talked matters over during the journey. They agreed that the
season was now too late for them to think of attempting the journey
until the following spring, and had almost concluded that the attempt to
get through China should be altogether abandoned. Going north there were
the rigour of the climate and the enormous distances as obstacles, but
the passage would be chiefly by water. There was no danger from the
tribes they would have to pass through, no difficulties such as they
might meet with from the opposition of the Chinese, and they had pretty
well resolved to pass the winter with the Buriats and to make a start in
the spring.
Their host was greatly pleased when they informed him of their intention
at any rate to spend the winter with them, for he hoped that before the
spring Alexis would have made up his mind to accept his offer, and to
settle down as a member of the tribe.
The day after the Buriats pitched their fresh camp one of the men
reported that he had seen a large bear at the edge of a forest two miles
from the huts. Alexis and Godfrey at once took their guns, borrowed a
couple of long spears and two hunting knives, and started for the wood,
the native going with them to show them the exact spot where he had seen
the bear. There was a good deal of undergrowth about, and they thought
it probable that the animal was not far off. The Buriat had brought a
dog with him, and the animal at once began sniffing the ground. His
master encouraged it, and presently it started, sniffing the ground as
it went. It had gone but a few hundred yards when it stopped before a
thick clump of bushes and began growling furiously. They had a short
consultation, and then the two friends took up their post one at each
corner of the bushes, while the Buriat went round to the rear of the
clump with his dog and began beating the bushes with his stick, while
the dog barked and yelped. A minute later a bear broke out of the bushes
within four yards of Alexis.
The Russian levelled his gun. Godfrey heard a report far louder than
usual, and something flew close to his head. A moment later he saw
Alexis struck to the ground by the bear. Godfrey rushed up, and fired
when within two paces of the animal, which with a fierce growl turned
upon him. He sprang aside and plunged his spear deep into its side. The
bear struck at the handle and broke it in two, and then rose on its
hind-legs. Godfrey drew his knife and awaited its rush, but it stood
stationary for half a minute, swayed to and fro, and then fell on its
side. Godfrey leaned over it and plunged his knife in deep behind its
shoulders, pressing it until the blade disappeared. Then feeling certain
it was dead he ran to Alexis, who lay motionless on the ground. By the
side of him lay the stock of the gun and a portion of the barrel; it had
exploded, completely shattering the Russian's left hand. But this was
not his only or even his most serious injury. The bear had struck him on
the side of the head, almost tearing off a portion of the scalp and ear.
The Buriat had by this time come round, and Godfrey bade him run to the
camp at the top of his speed to fetch assistance. Feeling in his
friend's pocket he drew out the bandage which Alexis always carried, and
wrapped up as well as he could his shattered hand, of which the thumb
and two first fingers were altogether missing; the wound on the head
was, he felt, altogether beyond him. In less than half an hour the chief
Buriat and four of his men dashed up on horseback. They had brought with
them two poles and a hide to form a litter. The chief was deeply
concerned when he saw how serious were the Russian's injuries. No time
was lost in lashing the hides to the poles. Alexis was lifted and laid
upon the litter, and two of the Buriats took the poles while the others
led back the horses. As soon as he arrived in camp Godfrey bathed the
wounds with warm water, and poured some spirits between the lips of the
wounded man, but he gave no signs of consciousness.
"I am afraid," he said to the Buriat, who was looking on anxiously,
"that his skull is injured or there is concussion of the brain. The only
thing that I can see will be for him to be carried at once to Kiakhta.
There is sure to be a hospital there and doctors."
"That would be best," the Buriat said; "but I will take a house there,
and my wife and sister shall nurse him."
"That will be better than going into the hospital," Godfrey agreed, "for
two reasons. In the first, because Alexis would certainly get more
careful nursing among his friends than in a hospital, and he might then
avoid, if he survives his injuries, being again imprisoned."
No time was lost. Four Buriats took the poles, Godfrey walked beside the
litter, and the Buriat, his wife and sister, mounted and rode off to
have everything ready for them when they arrived at Troitzkosavsk, the
suburb of Kiakhta. It was late before they reached it. The Buriat met
them half a mile outside the town, and at once conducted them to a house
that he had hired from a friend established there. As soon as Alexis was
laid upon a couch Godfrey and the Buriat went out and ascertained where
one of the surgeons of the military hospital lived. On reaching the
house they were shown by the Cossack who acted as the doctor's servant
to his room.
"A friend of mine has been badly injured by a bear," the Buriat said; "I
wish you to come and see him at once. He is in a house I have taken near
this. I will be responsible for all charges."
The doctor looked keenly at Godfrey and then said, "I will come. You are
not a Buriat?" he said to Godfrey as they started.
"I am not, doctor; though I have been living with them for some time."
"And the man who is ill, is he a Buriat?"
"No, sir; he is a Russian, and a member of your own profession."
"He is clever," the Buriat said. "He saved the life of my child by
taking off his leg, and he is running about again now. He is as a
brother to me, and I would gladly give a thousand cattle rather than
that he should die."
No other words were spoken until they arrived at the house. The surgeon
stooped over Alexis, lifted one of his eyelids, and felt his pulse.
"Concussion of the brain," he said; "a serious case. Bring me rags and
hot water." He bathed the wound for some time and then carefully
examined it. "There is a fracture of the skull," he said to Godfrey,
"and I fancy there is a piece of bone pressing on the brain. Put wet
cloths round his head for the present; I will go and fetch my colleague,
and I will send down some ice from the hospital. His hand is bandaged
up, what is the matter with that?"
"His gun burst, doctor, and has mangled his hand dreadfully. That was
how it was the bear got at him and struck him."
The surgeon removed the bandages and examined it. "Keep it bathed with
warm water until I return," he said.
Half an hour later he came back with the other surgeon, a man older than
himself, both carrying cases of instruments. The wound on the head was
again examined. They then proceeded to operate, and in a few minutes
removed a portion of splintered bone. Then the flap of skin was
carefully replaced in its position, and a few stitches put in to hold
it. The hand was then attended to.
"No, I don't think it need come off," the senior surgeon said; "we may
save the third and little fingers. At any rate we will try; if it does
not do we can take the whole off afterwards."
The operation was performed, then ordering the ice that had just been
brought to be applied to the head, the surgeons left.
"We will look in again early in the morning," one of them said to
Godfrey, "and then we will have a chat with you."
The women took it by turns to watch, and Godfrey, worn out by the
excitement of the day, slept until morning. Alexis was restless, moving
uneasily and muttering to himself. His eyes were open, but he took no
notice of what was going on around him. The surgeon they had first seen
came alone.
"He is better," he said to the Buriat, "but he is very far from being
out of danger yet. It will be a long illness, but I hope that we may be
able to bring him round. I will send him some medicine presently. Keep
cloths with cold water and ice to his head." He beckoned to Godfrey to
follow him out of the room.
"I don't want to ask any questions," he said, "about my patient. I have
been called in by this Buriat to see a friend of his, and it does not
concern me who or what he may be; but it is different with you. As a
Russian officer I cannot be seeing you daily without reporting that I
have met a person who scarcely appears to be what he seems. It is
painful to me to be obliged to say so. I do not give advice any way. I
only say that if you do not wish to be asked questions, it would be best
for you to leave here after nightfall; until then, I shall not consider
it necessary to make any report. I shall be back again once or twice
to-day; you had better think the matter over."
Godfrey had been thinking the matter over as he walked beside the
litter, and had already arrived at a decision. It was evident that many
weeks, if not months, must elapse before Alexis would be fit to sustain
the hardships that would attend an attempt to escape, and he thought it
probable that more than ever he would be inclined to throw in his lot
with the wandering Buriats; he had therefore only himself to think
about. He had foreseen that he would not be able to stop at Kiakhta
without being exposed to being questioned, and that there remained
therefore only the option of living with the Buriats during the winter
or of giving himself up. The former plan would be the most advantageous
in the event of his trying to reach Pekin; but the difficulties in that
direction appeared to him so great that he shrank from the thought of
facing them, especially as he should now be alone, and he preferred the
idea of trying to escape by the north.
In this case a further sojourn among the Buriats would be useless; in a
Russian prison he would be able to pick up many valuable hints from the
men with whom he would work, and might find someone ready to make the
attempt with him. The difficulties of escape from prison did not seem
very great, and would, he thought, be even less at one of the penal
settlements than if confined in an ordinary jail. When, however, the
doctor spoke to him, Godfrey only thanked him, and said he would speak
with him again when he next called. The Buriat saw that he was looking
serious when he returned to the room.
"What did he say to you?" he asked. "Did he threaten to report you?"
"He spoke very kindly," Godfrey replied. "But he said that it would be
his duty to do so if I remained here."
The Buriat shook his head. "I was thinking of that yesterday, and was
afraid for you. Out on the plains there would have been none to question
you; but here in the town a stranger is noticed at once, for every
resident is known. You must make off at once. You can take my horse, we
will watch over your friend. Once in my tents you will be safe."
Godfrey thanked him warmly, but told him that he had not quite decided
as to what he should do, but would let him know later on. Then, as he
could do nothing for Alexis, he threw himself down on a pile of skins,
and thought the matter over in every light.