It was to be hoped that a storm would not burst whilst they were among the mountains, for there it would be terrible.

Being accustomed to read atmospheric signs, Michael Strogoff knew that a struggle of the elements was approaching.
The night passed without incident.

Notwithstanding the jolting of the tarantass, Nadia was able to sleep for some hours.

The hood was partly raised so as to give as much air as there was in the stifling atmosphere.
Michael kept awake all night, mistrusting the iemschiks, who are apt to sleep at their posts.

Not an hour was lost at the relays, not an hour on the road.
The next day, the 20th of July, at about eight o'clock in the morning, they caught the first glimpse of the Ural Mountains in the east.