CHAPTER XXI.
ACROSS THE SNOW.
General Surgoff's head was turned toward where Boris and several Russianguards were struggling when Jack sprang upon his back like a cat. Thegeneral sent out a cry for help, but Jack cut it short as his handsclosed about his opponent's throat.
Still retaining his grasp with his left hand, Jack's right dropped tothe officer's belt. A revolver was quickly drawn and the lad stuffed itinto his pocket. Then he seized the second revolver, shoved the Russianofficer violently from him and dashed toward the sleighs.
There was a cry from behind and several rifles were brought to bear,but, even as Jack had expected, General Surgoff cried at the top of hisvoice:
"Take him alive! Death to the man who injures him!"
Jack shouted aloud as he continued to run toward the row of sleighs.Turning his head, he looked over his shoulder and saw that Boris too hadeluded the men with whom he had been struggling and was running afterhim.
"Come on, Boris!" he cried, but Boris needed no urging and his feetseemed to fly over the ground. For a man of his size his speed wasnothing short of remarkable.
Jack reached the row of sleighs well in advance of Boris. Of theseconveyances there were four in all. Jack slapped the horses attached tothree of the sleighs sharply and they dashed off. The fourth would havefollowed, but Jack leaped in, seized the reins and checked the animals.Then he waited calmly for Boris, who came rapidly toward him.
Jack still held one of General Surgoff's revolvers in his right hand,his left being sufficient to hold tight the reins. The lad saw one ofthe Russian guards stop in his tracks, throw his rifle to his shoulderand take aim at Boris.
Gripping the reins tighter with his left hand, the lad raised hisrevolver and fired quickly. The man who was aiming at Boris fell to theground. Panting loudly, Boris now reached the sleigh and jumped in.Immediately Jack fired his revolver over his horses' heads and shook thereins over their backs.
"Giddap!" he shouted.
It is extremely doubtful if the animals understood Jack, but the reinsslapping on their backs and the nearness of the revolver shot did thework. The animals dashed off with a jump.
Now from behind came the command Jack had been expecting. GeneralSurgoff, seeing his victims about to make their escape from beneath hisvery eyes, shouted:
"Shoot!"
A volley of rifle bullets flew overhead and all about them. But nonestruck home and the horses continued their mad dash. A second and athird volley came with no better result.
"The fools!" muttered Jack. "Why don't they shoot one of the horses."
Apparently the guards had not thought of that, for no bullet came nearthe flying animals. Stooping low in the sleigh, Jack and Boris heard thewhine of the bullets as they sped past. Several struck the back of thesleigh and were imbedded in the wooden seat.
But at last the flying horses drew the two fugitives out of range,whereupon Jack immediately checked their pace.
"No use wasting horseflesh unnecessarily," he said to Boris.
"Not a bit," was the rejoinder. "Say, that was a bit of quick work,wasn't it?"
"It was," agreed Jack.
"But what did you shoot at me for?" demanded the Russian.
"Shoot at you?" exclaimed Jack in surprise. "I didn't shoot at you."
"Why, you pointed your revolver right at me." "Oh, no I didn't," saidJack. "I was shooting over your head. One of the guards had drawn a beadon you with his rifle."
"And did you get him?"
"I did; else you wouldn't be here now."
"Thanks," said the big Russian. "I hope I am able to repay the debt someday."
"It was nothing," declared Jack. "Now, if we only knew where we weregoing, it would be all right."
"There is no place to go, so far as I know," said Boris. "All you wantedto do when you started, if you will remember, was to get away wherethere would be no more lashings. We are away now, so what more can youask?"
"You mean that we will just wander around until we die of cold orstarvation?" asked Jack.
"Exactly."
"Well, we won't," said Jack. "We'll go along with some definite objectin view. Now, which way would you take the railroad to be?"
Boris swung an arm in a southerly direction.
"Off there--some place," he said.
"Good; then we'll head that way," and Jack swung the horses in thedirection indicated.
"But there is no chance of reaching the railroad," protested Boris.
"There is always a chance," said Jack calmly. "Always a fighting chanceso long as one has breath in his body. It is better to be moving towarda definite objective than to lie idle and wait for death."
"Well, I guess you are right there," said Boris. "But after we reach therailroad--if we do reach it--then what? If we are picked up we willprobably be sent right back where we came from."
"We won't cross that bridge until we come to it," returned Jack quietly."Our first consideration is to reach the railroad."
"If we could be so fortunate as to strike a road," said Boris, "we mighthave a chance; but to go driving through the snow like this, blindly, wehave no hope of getting there."
"Do you suppose these horses have been over the road often enough topick it out themselves?" asked Jack.
"I don't know; you might try them."
Jack gave the animals their head. Immediately they slowed down, and thenthe off horse began to pull toward the right. After some resistance theother followed him.
"He's going some place," said Jack hopefully.
"And we are going along," replied Boris with a grim attempt at humor.
Half a mile ahead, having pulled the sleigh over steep piles of driftedsnow, the horses again headed southward. The going was much easier. Theground ahead now showed signs of recent travel.
"By Jove! They have picked the trail," declared Jack.
"So they have," said Boris. "Do you know, I am beginning to have hopesthat we shall reach the railroad."
"Of course we shall," said Jack confidently. "It may be hard work, butwe shall reach there."
"And then?" demanded Boris.
Again Jack shrugged his shoulders.
"Who knows?" he muttered and gave his undivided attention to the roadthat stretched out ahead.
All day they drove slowly along, for they did not wish to tire thehorses more than was necessary. It was bitterly cold, but the twotravelers had been fortunate enough to find heavy rugs in the sleigh,and these kept them quite comfortable. Also Jack had come upon one pairof gloves. These had to do for both, so the one kept his ungloved handsbeneath the robes while the other did the driving.
It grew dusk.
Jack, glancing back down the road, saw a moving object coming afterthem. It looked like a dog and the lad called Boris' attention to theform loping along behind them, apparently content to remain at the samerelative distance.
Boris took one look at the following form and cried out:
"A wolf!"
"Wolf!" cried Jack. "I thought it was a dog. Oh, well, no matter. We cancertainly take care of a lone wolf."
"So we can," said Boris dryly. "The trouble is that by an hour afterdark it won't be a lone wolf. There will be wolves by the score upon ourtrack."
"But can't we outrun them?" asked Jack fearfully.
"We might, if our horses were fresh. But you must remember we havetraveled all day."
"Then we shall have to fight," declared Jack quietly.
"Of course," said Boris briefly. "But with our hands we can do little."
Jack produced Surgoff's revolvers and passed one of them to Boris.
"These will help a little," he said.
"A little, but not much," said Boris with a shake of his head. "A fewwolves shot down and there will still be more."
He glanced over his shoulder again.
"Look!" he exclaimed. "There is another!"
Jack looked back and his heart beat mo
re fast as he saw that the firstloping gray figure had been joined by a second and that they cameforward rapidly.
"There will be more of them directly," said Boris calmly.
"Well, we have wasted time enough," declared Jack at this point. "Beforethe pack assembles, I believe it would be well for us to whip up and putas much distance between us and the wolves as possible."
"We won't be able to put much," said Boris pessimistically. "The fasterwe go the faster they will go, until the pack has closed in, and thenthey will come to the attack."
"Can you shoot?" asked Jack suddenly.
"Like a flash," was the reply. "I can hit anything that can be hit.Why?"
"Then you do the shooting and I'll do the driving," said Jack. "Here,you take both these guns. Give me the reins and the whip."
The exchange was made, and Jack touched the backs of the horses lightlywith the whip.
"If we were only near to a human habitation of some kind," he mutteredto Boris.
"Well, we may and we may not be," was the reply. "But these fellows willfollow us right to the edge of the city. It's been a hard winter andthey are hungry. Hear them howl?"
It was a blood-curdling sound that Jack heard then. It sent a shiverdown his spine.
"It's the call of the pack," said Boris briefly. "They'll be down on usin a moment. See, in the darkness back there now there are fully ascore."
For answer Jack got up to his feet and the long whip whistled throughthe air and over the horses' necks. But the animals, too, had caught thescent of the wolves, and they needed no urging. They dashed forward. Andat that moment Boris, glancing back, shouted:
"Here they come!"