Before landing, a Te Deum of thanksgiving, for having reached Vladivostock in safety, was sung on the deck. On the red-carpeted pier a roar of cheering went up as we passed. The faces all seemed familiar. I hastened to distribute greetings and nods among a number of the crowd. The daughter of the agent of the Volunteer Fleet presented me with an enormous bouquet, tied with a broad pink ribbon, bearing the inscription, “Welcome!”
We walked to the military club, where apartments were prepared for us. To-morrow we leave for Khabarovsk. At night the town and the ships in the harbour were beautifully illuminated.
August 1st.—We left Vladivostock by an express train on a moonless night. Two rows of Chinese coolies, each holding a Japanese lantern over his head, lined our way from the military club to the railway station. Many officers and engineers accompanied us as far as Iman, where we shall take the boat to Khabarovsk.
August 2nd.—The rain is falling all the time, transforming the roads into liquid mud. We met with an accident this morning. The last car of our train ran off the track, and we had to stop in the middle of a field, and it was two hours before we could continue our journey. Everybody had to descend. Chinese coolies, who were working on the railway line, brought a long narrow plank on which we crossed to the other side of the road, balancing like dancers on the cord. Two engineers supported me, picking their way among the rain-pools. At last all was repaired, and our train set forward piano-pianissimo; it could beat the world’s record for its slowness, it simply crawled, and we arrived at Iman only at nightfall, and took the boat to Khabarovsk.
August 3rd.—At six o’clock in the evening we moored at Khabarovsk. Our arrival was announced as usual by cannon-shots. I saw a crowd of friendly faces on the quay, and shook hands all around. Khabarovsk looked very bright. Troops lined all the way to our house.
CHAPTER CIII
KHABAROVSK
Our life went on much as usual. I have just come back, and the longing for St. Petersburg overcame me already. The weather is horrid. The rain beats against the window-panes. Pressing my face against the glass, I looked at the Amour, black and tempestuous, and my nerves began to give way. Oh, I do want to go back to Russia so badly!
There has been a great inundation at Nikolaievsk, caused by the diluvian rains which had filled the Amour to overflowing. The streets were transformed into torrents, and many houses are completely ruined by the flood. The corn in the fields, the wood for fuel—all has been carried away by the water.
Tigers have appeared in the neighbourhood of Khabarovsk. They come at night, travelling long distances from inland to drink; their roar is heard some miles around. Quite recently a man-eating tiger had devoured a soldier who was washing his linen on the banks of the Amour. Only his head and a few bones were found. A hunt has been organised, and several tigers were shot near Khabarovsk.