On the floor of this chamber the Governor pointed out a large battery
of accumulators, and asked what they were for. Lermontoff explained
the purposes of the battery, meanwhile examining it thoroughly, and
finding that many of the cells had been all but ruined in transit,
through the falling away of the composition in the grids. Something
like half of the accumulators, however, were intact and workable;
these he uncoupled and brought into the dynamo room, where he showed
the Governor the process of charging. He saw in the store room a box
containing incandescent lamps, coils of silk-covered wire and other
material that made his eyes glisten with delight. He spoke in German.
"If you will give me a coil of this wire, one or two of the lamps, and
an accumulator, or indeed half a dozen of them, I will trouble you no
more for candles."
The Governor did not reply at the moment, but a short time after asked
Lermontoff in Russian how long it would be before the accumulators
were charged. Lermontoff stated the time, and the Governor told the
gaoler to bring the prisoner from the cell at that hour, and so
dismissed his instructor.
One feature of this interview which pleased Lermontoff was that
however much the Governor became absorbed in these lessons, he never
allowed himself to remain alone with his prisoner. It was evident that
in his cooler moments the Governor had instructed the gaoler and his
assistant to keep ever at the heels of the Prince and always on the
alert.
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