"No," said he, "the day of repentance is past and gone; they will not
give me grace. I must go on as I have begun. Who knows? It may be.
Grischka Otrepieff certainly became Tzar at Moscow."
"But do you know his end? He was cast out of a window, he was massacred,
burnt, and his ashes blown abroad at the cannon's mouth, to the four
winds of heaven."
The Tartar began to hum a plaintive song; Saveliitch, fast asleep,
oscillated from one side to the other. Our "_kibitka_" was passing
quickly over the wintry road. All at once I saw a little village I knew
well, with a palisade and a belfry, on the rugged bank of the Yaik. A
quarter of an hour afterwards we were entering Fort Belogorsk.
CHAPTER XII.
THE ORPHAN.
The "_kibitka"_ stopped before the door of the Commandant's house. The
inhabitants had recognized the little bell of Pugatchef's team, and had
assembled in a crowd. Chvabrine came to meet the usurper; he was dressed
as a Cossack, and had allowed his beard to grow.
The traitor helped Pugatchef to get out of the carriage, expressing by
obsequious words his zeal and joy.
Seeing me he became uneasy, but soon recovered himself.
"You are one of us," said he; "it should have been long ago.
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