There he would be within eighty miles of Tomsk.

He would then be guided by circumstances, and very probably he would decide to go around Tomsk, which, if the news were true, was occupied by Feofar-Khan.
But if the small towns of Ikoulskoe and Karguinsk, which he passed on the next day, were comparatively quiet, owing to their position in the Baraba, was it not to be dreaded that, upon the right banks of the Obi, Michael Strogoff would have much more to fear from man?
It was probable.
However, should it become necessary, he would not hesitate to abandon the beaten path to Irkutsk.

To journey then across the steppe he would, no doubt, run the risk of finding himself without supplies.

There would be, in fact, no longer a well-marked road.

Still, there must be no hesitation.
Finally, towards half past three in the afternoon, Michael Strogoff left the last depressions of the Baraba, and the dry and hard soil of Siberia rang out once more beneath his horse's hoofs.
He had left Moscow on the 15th of July.