Their hearts beat when, on passing over a rise, they saw the blue water stretching out far before them, and they again debated the possibility of seizing a boat.

But the sight of two gun-boats steaming slowly along the shore convinced them that the attempt would be an extremely dangerous one.
Odessa is not a fortress, and the boys consequently entered it unquestioned.

The town was crowded with wounded and sick soldiers, and their appearance attracted no attention whatever.

In the principal streets the lads saw many names of English firms over offices, and the majority of the shops appeared to be kept by Frenchmen and Germans.
They walked down to the wharves and saw how great must have been the trade carried on before the war.

Now all traffic and business was at an end.
The great foreign merchants interested in the corn trade had all left, and many of the shops were closed.
The harbor was deserted, save that a score or two of brigs employed in the coasting-trade, in the Black Sea lay moored by the wharves with hatches battened down and deserted decks.