In a few minutes my servant returned with a still more joyous countenance than before. The inspector would not send any horses, and no one could be found in the town who was inclined to let his animals out on hire.
There was nothing to be done but to search myself. Nazar had evidently made up his mind to sleep at Orsk. However, I had made up mine to continue the journey.
Leaving the inn, I hailed a passing sleigh, the driver appearing to me to have a more intelligent expression than his fellows. Getting into the vehicle, I inquired if he knew of any one who had horses to hire.
“Yes,” was the answer. One of his relatives had some; but the house to which I was driven was shut up, and no one was at home. I began to despair, and think that I should have as much difficulty in obtaining horses at Orsk as I had in procuring a servant at Orenburg.
I now determined to try what gold, or rather silver, would do, and said to the driver, “If you will take me to any one who has horses for hire, I will give you a ruble for yourself.”
“A whole ruble!” cried the man, with a broad grin of delight; and, jumping off his seat, he ran to a little knot of Tartars, one of whom was bargaining with the others for a basket of frozen fish, and began to ply them with questions. In a minute he returned, “Let us go,” he said; and with a “Burr” (the sound which is used by the Russians to urge on their horses) and a loud crack with his lash, he drove rapidly in another direction.
I had arrived at the outskirts of the town, and we stopped before a dirty-looking wooden cottage.
A tall man, dressed in a long coat reaching to his heels, bright yellow trousers, which were stuffed into a pair of red leather boots, while an enormous black sheep-skin cap covered his head, came out and asked my business. I said that I wanted three horses to go to the next stage, and asked him what he would drive me there for, the regular postal tariff being about two rubles.
“One of noble birth,” replied the fellow, “the roads are bad, but my horses will gallop the whole way. They are excellent horses; all the people in the town look at them and envy me. They say, how fat they are! look, how round! The governor has not got any horses like mine in his stable. I spoil them; I cherish them; and they gallop like the wind. The people look, wonder, and admire. Come and see the dear little animals.”
“I have no doubt about it. They are excellent horses,” I replied; “but what will you take me for?”