Jules Verne

“ Should you ever be discovered, your very life would be at stake!”
“I know that, friend, just as I know the dangers that would threaten you and yours if ever the police came to know that you have aided my return on Russian soil!”
“As to that, my folks and myself are out of consideration in this matter.”
“Not at all, my dear Cascabel, and I shall never forget what all of you have done for me!”
“That is all right and square, Mr. Sergius; we did not come here to exchange protestations of friendship. Come! We must have an understanding about what you mean to do at Perm.” ”

“ Not one obstacle will there be!” replied Cascabel. “You will cross the frontier without the shadow of a difficulty! Our papers are in due form, you belong to my troupe, and who would ever dream that Count Narkine is one of my artists?” ”

“ Sergius, being comprised among the artists of the troupe, would succeed in entering the territory of the Russian empire without arousing the suspicions of the police.
Why should a deplorable misadventure have compromised a plan that seemed so easy of execution? Why were Ortik and Kirschef there, determined to mar its success? Why were they on the eve of bringing the Fair Rambler through one of the most dangerous passes of the Ural, where they would surely fall in with whole bands of malefactors? ”

“ Ortik loudly stated that the pass he had indicated, a pass named the Petchora, was one of the most practicable along the whole chain. He knew it for having gone through it when Kirschef and he were on their way from Arkhangel to the Baltic Sea, going to the relief of the Seraski.
While Mr. Sergius and Ortik were engaged on this subject, Cornelia, Napoleona, and Kayette were busy with the supper. An appetizing quarter of a deer was roasting before a fire that had been lit under the trees, and a rice pudding was acquiring its due golden-brown tint in a tin laid on a heap of live coals. ”

“ Napoleona, greatly frightened, could not be kept from crying aloud. The fear of the wolf, so intense among children, was, in her case, but too fully justified in the present instance. Kayette, who was cool and composed, in vain endeavored to calm her little friend. Nor did Mrs. Cascabel herself, it must be confessed, feel very sanguine on the issue of this veritable battle.
As a matter of fact, should the assault continue much longer, the situation would become more and more dangerous. How could the Fair Rambler withstand the efforts of these numberless wolves? ”

“ Did not every shot hit its mark in this mass of assailants? Unfortunately the wolves were far more numerous than the bullets; their numbers kept on increasing while the firearms would soon be reduced to silence. What would be done then? Wait for daylight? And what if the light of day did not put the wolves to flight?
It was then that Mr. Cascabel, brandishing his revolver, so soon fated to be useless, cried out:
“I have an idea!”
“An idea?” inquired Mr. Sergius.
“Yes, and a good one! The only thing is to capture one or two of those devils.”
“How will you do that?” asked Cornelia. ”

“ Sergius was a Russian, and he drew Cascabel's attention to the fact.
The latter begged of him to observe that if there was a Russian among them, there was likewise an American in the person of Clovy, and an Indian in the person of Kayette. He was never concerned with the nationality of his artists; the all-important question with him was their talents. And he immediately added that the said artists would be but too happy if His Worship the Mayor,—this sounded better on Cæser Cascabel's lips than gorodintschy,—His Worship the Mayor would kindly permit them to perform in his presence! ”

“ On the 28th of June, over two hundred miles from the Obi, the Fair Rambler entered the little village of Verniky. Here a peremptory demand for the papers was followed by their immediate production, to the complete satisfaction of the authorities. Then the wagon resumed its course toward the chain of the Ural, two peaks of which, the Telpoes and the Nintchour, rose over yonder horizon to a height of from four to five thousand feet.
No great speed was made; yet there was no time to be lost, so as to be in Perm for the best part of the fair. ”

“ Sergius.
“They are coming down upon us! There alone can we defend ourselves!”
“What about the reindeer?” remarked John.
“We can do nothing to save them!”
And sure enough, it was now too late. Already some of the animals, had been devoured, whilst the others had broken their fetters and run away into the depths of the wood.
On Mr. Sergius's order, all retired inside the Fair Rambler with the two dogs, and the front door was closed.
It was high time! In the glimmer of the twilight the wolves could be seen bounding against the vehicle and leaping up to the height of the windows. ”

“ Just then Cornelia, Kayette, and Napoleona appeared at the door of the Fair Rambler.
“Well, father?” inquired the little girl.
“It's nothing, only wolves having a little stroll by moonlight! Stay where you are, and just hand us our guns to keep them at a safe distance.”
Immediately guns and revolvers were cocked.
“Call back the dogs!” said Mr. Sergius.
Wagram and Marengo, who had ventured toward the edge of the wood, came back at John's bidding, a prey tea terror which it was hard to control. ”

“ Who knows if it will not grant to each of us the wish of his own heart? Let us now see to the present, that is the essential point! What I can say to you with certainty—but pray breathe not a word of it to any one—is, that in the event of my being compelled to leave Russia, I should be very happy to retire to France, and there wait until some political event might, perchance, alter my position. ”

“ When bedtime came, as the temperature had risen still higher, Mr. Sergius, Cæsar Cascabel and his two sons, Clovy and the two sailors said they would sleep out in the clearing under shelter of the trees. It would, besides, be easier for them to watch over the Fair Rambler.
Cornelia, Kayette, and Napoleona alone sought the comfort of their little couches indoors. ”

“ On the 3d of July, the troupe encamped in a clearing encircled with birch trees, pines, and larch trees, overtopped by the alpine-like crests of the Ural.
It was on the following day that they were to venture into one of the passes of the chain under the guidance of Ortik and Kirschef, and they foresaw if not serious fatigues at least very uphill work, in more senses than one, until the highest level of the gorge had been attained.
As this part of the frontier, usually frequented by smugglers and deserters, was not very safe, they would do well to keep continually on the defensive ”