He wished to avoid Tomsk, now occupied by the Tartar troops.
Nevertheless, he must reach some town, or at least a post-house, where he could procure a horse.

A horse once found, he would throw himself out of the beaten track, and not again take to the Irkutsk road until in the neighborhood of Krasnoiarsk.

From that place, if he were quick, he hoped to find the way still open, and he intended to go through the Lake Baikal provinces in a southeasterly direction.
Michael began by going eastward.

By following the course of the Obi two versts further, he reached a picturesque little town lying on a small hill.

A few churches, with Byzantine cupolas colored green and gold, stood up against the gray sky.