Page:Siberia and the Exile System Vol 1.djvu/140

This page has been validated.
118
SIBERIA

the priest mingling with the high-pitched rattle of chains, the chaffering of peddlers, and the shouting of orders to soldiers on the roof of the cage produced a most strange and incongruous

INSIDE THE WOMEN'S CAGE, CONVICT BARGE.

effect. Finally, the service ended, the priest took off his vestments, wished the commanding officer of the convoy a pleasant voyage, and returned to the city, while Mr. Frost and I walked back and forth on the landing-stage studying the faces of the prisoners. With few exceptions the latter