and their hair is thick and soft like the fur of a fox. Sometimes they kept up a steady gallop from one station to another, and did not seem to suffer by the speed. Frequently they travelled ten miles an hour, and when we were going down hill they did better than that. The way to go from one hill to another is to dash down the slope and across the level at full gallop, and thus obtain an impetus for mounting the next. Many of the hollows have corduroy bridges over the little streams that flow through them, and when we crossed these bridges at full gallop the tarantasse or telega received a very lively shaking."
Turning to Doctor Bronson, Mr. Hegeman suggested that the former should tell the youths about the search in Siberia for Sir John Franklin and his crew.
The Doctor smiled as he recalled the story, which he gave with a preliminary explanation:
"The Russians apply the term 'equipage' to any kind of vehicle, whether on wheels or runners. The same word is used in Russian as in French to denote the crew of a ship.
"A few years after the disappearance of Sir John Franklin, the English Admiralty requested the Russian Government to ascertain if any traces of that officer and his party had been found on the coast of Siberia. A general order was sent to all officials in Siberia to make inquiries about the 'English Captain John Franklin and his equipage.' In due time came reports that nothing could be found, except in a single instance, where a petty official wrote as follows:
"'I have made the proper inquiries. I can learn nothing about the English captain, John Franklin, but in one of my villages there is an old sleigh that no one claims, and perhaps it is his equipage.'"
"To return to the road," said Mr. Hegeman, when the laugh created by the story had subsided. "We carried one, and sometimes two bells on the yoke of our shaft-horse, to indicate that we were travelling by post; every humbler vehicle was required to give us not only half but the whole of the road—at any rate, it was expected to do so. Sometimes we had it, and sometimes we did not; if the drivers of the approaching vehicles were awake they usually turned out, but very often they were asleep, and then-horses had their own way. When this happened, our driver brought his whip-lash heavily across the sleeper as he passed him. The driver of a post-carriage has the right to thrash a common driver who does not get out of his way, and rarely lets the opportunity pass."
Fred suggested that in this way he probably obtained some revenge for the kicks and cuffs he received from his superiors. The rest of the party
