{"id":404,"date":"2026-06-22T20:37:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T20:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mancide.net\/blog\/?p=404"},"modified":"2026-06-22T20:37:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T20:37:50","slug":"a-marvellous-underground-journey-chapter-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mancide.net\/blog\/2026\/06\/22\/a-marvellous-underground-journey-chapter-3\/","title":{"rendered":"A Marvellous Underground Journey: Chapter 3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
IVAN MORE AND MORE TROUBLESOME.\u2014BULGER WATCHES HIM CLOSELY.\u2014HIS COWARDLY ATTACK UPON ME.\u2014MY FAITHFUL BULGER TO THE RESCUE.\u2014A DRIVER WORTH HAVING.\u2014HOW I WAS CARRIED TO A PLACE OF SAFETY.\u2014IN THE HANDS OF OLD YULIANA.\u2014THE GIANTS\u2019 WELL.


When we halted for the night it was only by threatening the man with severe punishment upon my return to Ilitch that I could bring him to rub
his horses dry and feed and water them properly; but I stood over him until he had done his work thoroughly, for I knew that no such horses
could be had for love or money in that country, and if they should go lame from standing with wet coats in the chill night air, it might mean a week\u2019s delay.

Scarcely had I thrown myself on the hard mattress which the tavern-keeper called the best bed in the house, when I was aroused by loud and boisterous talking in the next room. Ivan was drinking and
quarrelling with the villagers. I strode into the room with the arrows of indignation shooting from my eyes, and the faithful Bulger close at my heels.

The moment Ivan set eyes upon us he shrank away, half in earnest and half in jest, and called out,\u2014

\u201cHey, look at the _mazuntchick_! [Little Dandy!] How smart he looks! He frightens me! See his eyes, how they shine in the dark! Look at the little demon on four legs beside him! Save me, brothers! Save me\u2014he will throw me down into the Giants\u2019 Well! Marianka will never see me again! Never! Save me, brothers!\u201d

\u201cPeace, fellow,\u201d I called out sternly. \u201cHow darest thou exercise thy dull wit on thy master? Get thee to bed at once, or I\u2019ll have thee whipped by the village constable for thy drunkenness.\u201d

Ivan clambered up upon the top of the bake oven, and stretched himself out on a sheepskin; then turning to the tavern-keeper, I forbade him under any pretext whatever to give my servant any more liquor to drink.
\u201c_Akh, Vasha prevoskhoditelstvo_ [Ah, your  excellency!]\u201d exclaimed the tavern-keeper with a gesture of disgust, \u201cthe fools never know when they
have had enough. It matters not what the tavern-keeper may say to them. They tell us not to spoil our own trade. _Akh!_ [Ah!] they don\u2019t know when to stop. They have throats as deep as the \u2018Giants\u2019 Well!\u2019\u201d

\u201cThe Giants\u2019 Well! The Giants\u2019 Well!\u201d I murmured to myself, as I again threw myself down upon the bag of hay which did service as a mattress for those who could afford to pay for it. It\u2019s strange how those words seem to be in every peasant\u2019s mouth, but I thought no more about it at that time. Sleep got the better of me, and with my usual good-night to the elder baron and the gracious baroness, my mother, I dropped off into sweet forgetfulness.

It is a good thing that I had the power of falling asleep almost at will, for with my restless brain ever throbbing and pulsating with its own over-abundance of strength, ever tapping at the thin panels of bone which covered it, like an imprisoned inventor pounding on his cell door and pleading to be let out into the daylight with his plans and schemes,
I should simply have become a lunatic.

As it was, with the mere power of thought I ordered sweet slumber to come to my rescue, and so obedient was this good angel of mine, that all I had to do was simply to set the time when I wished to awaken, and the thing was done to the very minute.

As for Bulger, I never pretended to lay down any rules for him. He made it a practice of catching forty winks when he was persuaded that no danger of any kind threatened me, and even then, I am half inclined to believe that, like an anxious mother over her babe, he never quite closed both eyes at once.

Though entirely sobered by daybreak, yet Ivan went about the task of harnessing up with such an ill grace that I was obliged to reprove him several times before we had left the tavern yard. He was like a vicious but cowardly animal that quails before a strong and steady eye, but watches its opportunity to spring upon you when your back is turned.

I not only called Bulger\u2019s attention to the fellow\u2019s actions, and warned him to be very watchful, but I also took the precaution to examine the priming of the brace of Spanish pistols which I carried thrust into my belt.

We had scarcely pulled out into the highway when a low growl from Bulger aroused me from a fit of meditation; and this growl was followed by such
an anxious whine from my four-footed brother, as he raised his speaking eyes to me, that I glanced hastily from one side of the road to the other.

Lo and behold! the treacherous Ivan was deliberately engaged in an attempt to overturn the tarantass and to get rid of his enforced task of transporting us any farther on our journey.

\u201cWretch!\u201d I cried, springing up and laying my hand on his shoulder. \u201cI perceive very plainly what thou hast in mind, but I warn thee most solemnly that if thou makest another attempt to overturn thy wagon, I\u2019ll
slay thee where thou sittest.\u201d

For only answer and with a lightning-like quickness he struck a back-hand blow at me with the loaded end of his whipstock.

It took me full in the right temple, and sent me to the bottom of the tarantass like a piece of lead.

For an instant the terrible blow robbed me of my senses, but then I saw that the cowardly villain had turned in his seat and had swung the heavy handled whip aloft with intent to despatch me with a second and a surer blow.

Poor fool! he reckoned without his host; for with a shriek of rage, Bulger leaped at his throat like a stone from a catapult, and struck his teeth deep into the fellow\u2019s flesh.

He roared with agony and attempted to shake off this unexpected foe, but in vain.

By this time I had come to a full realizing sense of the terrible danger Bulger and I were both in, for Ivan had dropped his whip and was reaching for his sheath-knife.

But he never gripped it, for a well-aimed shot from one of my pistols struck him in the forearm, for I had no wish to take the man\u2019s life, and broke it.

The shock and the pain so paralyzed him that he fell over against the dashboard half in a faint, and then rolled completely out of the wagon, dragging Bulger with him. The horses now began to rear and plunge. I saw no more. There was a noise as of the roar of angry waters in my ears, and then the light of life went out of my eyes entirely. I had swooned dead away.

It seemed to me hours that I lay there on my back in the bottom of the tarantass with my head hanging over the side, but of course it was only minutes. I was aroused by a prickling sensation in my left cheek, and as I slowly came to myself I discovered that it proceeded from the gravel thrown up against it by one of the front wheels of the tarantass, for the horses were galloping along at the top of their speed, and there on the driver\u2019s seat sat my faithful Bulger, the reins in his teeth, bracing himself so as to keep them taut over the horses\u2019 backs; and as I sat up and pressed my hand against my poor hurt head, the whole truth broke upon me:\u2014

The moment Ivan had struck the ground Bulger had released his hold upon the fellow\u2019s throat, and ere he had had a chance to revive had leaped up into the driver\u2019s seat, and, catching up the reins in his teeth, had drawn them taut and thus put an end to the rearing and plunging of the frightened beasts and started them on their way, leaving the enraged
Ivan brandishing his knife and uttering imprecations upon mine and Bulger\u2019s heads as he saw his horses and wagon disappear in the distance. Now was it that a mad shouting assailed my ears and I caught a glimpse
of half a dozen peasants who, seeing this, as they thought, empty tarantass come nearer and nearer with its galloping horses, had abandoned their work and rushed out to intercept it.

Judge of their amazement, dear friends, as their eyes fell upon the calm and skilful driver bracing himself on the front seat, and with oft repeated backward tosses of his head urging those horses to bear his
beloved master farther and farther away from the treacherous Ivan\u2019s sheath-knife.

As the peasants seized the animals by the heads and brought them to a standstill, I staggered to my feet, and threw my arms around my dear Bulger. He was more than pleased with what he had done, and licked my
bruised brow with many a piteous moan.

\u201cSt. Nicholas, save us!\u201d cried one of the peasants, devoutly making the sign of the cross; \u201cbut if I should live long enough to fill the Giants\u2019 Well with pebbles, I never would expect to see the like of this again.\u201d

\u201cThe Giants\u2019 Well, the Giants\u2019 Well!\u201d I murmured to myself as I followed one of the peasants to his cot, standing a little back from the highway, for I stood sore in need of rest after the terrible experience I had just had. The blow of Ivan\u2019s whip-handle had jarred my brain, and I was skilled enough in surgery to know that the hurt called for immediate attention. As good luck would have it, I found beneath the peasant\u2019s roof one of those old women, half witches perhaps, who have recipes for everything and who know an herb for every ailment. After she had examined the cut made by the loaded whip-handle, she muttered out,\u2014

\u201cIt is not as broad as the mountain, nor as deep as the Giants\u2019 Well, but it\u2019s bad enough, little master.\u201d

\u201cThe Giants\u2019 Well again,\u201d thought I, as I laid me down on the best bed they could make up for me. \u201cI wonder where it may be, that Giants\u2019 Well, and how deep it is, and who drinks the water that is drawn from it?\u201d<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
IVAN MORE AND MORE TROUBLESOME.\u2014BULGER WATCHES HIM CLOSELY.\u2014HIS COWARDLY ATTACK UPON ME.\u2014MY FAITHFUL BULGER TO THE RESCUE.\u2014A DRIVER WORTH HAVING.\u2014HOW I WAS CARRIED TO A PLACE OF SAFETY.\u2014IN THE HANDS OF OLD YULIANA.\u2014THE GIANTS\u2019 WELL.When we halted for the night it was only by threatening the man with severe punishment upon my return to Ilitch […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mancide.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mancide.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mancide.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mancide.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mancide.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=404"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mancide.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":405,"href":"https:\/\/mancide.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404\/revisions\/405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mancide.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mancide.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mancide.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}