“Of course!”
“And now?”
“Well, what can I say? She is an orphan now, and of course would be delighted. She is her own mistress—but where is he?”
“Oh! of course the ship was wrecked,” said Father Peter.
“And in our wilderness, what could we learn about it? Uncle, you might go and make some inquiries of naval people, because, you see, not only the command was lost, but all the count’s riches.… Somewhere, you would be sure to learn something.”
“Who sent your friend this diary?”
“God alone knows. The post brought it; Irisha received it. On the roll was only ‘Rakitin,’ and the address; and in the note, written in French, it was merely said that the manuscript had been found by some fishermen in a bottle on the sea-shore. Irena is now the only survivor of Rakitin … and so of course she received it.”
The priest, without saying anything either to his niece or her friend, began most energetically to make inquiries in all directions, but his efforts were fruitless.
The only information he gained at the Marine Department was that the frigate, The Northern Eagle, which was laden with the rich collections of Count Orloff, had been driven along into the Atlantic Ocean—it had been seen for some time beyond Gibraltar, near the African coast, not far off from Tangiers—and that in all probability it had been shipwrecked and sunk not far from the Azores or the Canaries. Of the fate of Lieutenant Konsov nothing could be gathered; it was not even known for a surety whether he was on the frigate or not, as the whole of the crew had perished. The commander of the squadron, and Admiral Greig, were both now in Moscow, and there remained no one else to apply to. There had been some rumours in foreign newspapers that a disabled ship had been seen somewhere about on the ocean, but with no crew on board, as far as could be noticed; it was being driven by the storm in the direction of the Azores or Madeira. The violence of the storm had effectually prevented any efforts being made to rescue it.
“Poor young girl!” thought the priest, looking at Rakitina; “so clever, so modest, so rich, and so young. They would have been a couple, if God had only spared him! No, he must be dead. Had he been alive, he would have sent some token to his native land, to his fellow officers, to his relations.”