Page:Ossendowski - The Shadow of the Gloomy East.djvu/60

 CHAPTER IV

VERY neighbourhood in Russia has its own legend of treasures hidden under the ground. And there is nothing strange about this. Many a time in the history of the country whirlwinds of war swept the land and the people hid their treasures in the bosom of mother earth. It is comprehensible therefore that a great many of these riches have remained underground. There were, besides, other reasons, of which the legends have a great deal to say.

Many external signs indicate the spots where the treasures are hidden: the crossing of three roads, old trees planted by the way, heaps of moss-covered stones thrown up by human hands, the ruins of ancient fortified castles, palaces, and tombs, steep, broken rocks on the banks of rivers and lakes, solitary islets on the seas, or tufts of trees full of lapwings' or cranes' nests.

Any peasant who knows these sure spots could dig them out of the bottom of the earth, but the whole difficulty and danger of such an enterprise lies in the fact that each treasure is guarded by a monster, a penitent soul, or some evil "dark force." One must