Page:The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire.djvu/333

Rh a great deal over their transactions, and thus conversed without arousing suspicion.

"Things went on in this way for some months, and the good conduct of the apparently reformed criminal won him the favor of the police-master to whom he was required to report. His time of reporting was extended to once a week, and later to once a month. This gave him the chance of escaping.

"By a judicious use of his money he secured the silence of his employer and obtained a paderojnia of the second class. The day after



to the police he went to fish in the Angara, the river that flows past Irkutsk and has a very swift current. As soon as he was missed his employer led the search in the direction of the river. The coat, basket, and fishing-rod of the unfortunate man lay on the bank; it was easy to see that he had been standing on a stone at the edge of the water, and the