Immediately we saddled them, packed the third beast with our tent and food and rode off at once to take leave of Gay.
In his house we found the whole war council.

Two or three colonists and several Cossacks had galloped from the mountains and announced that the Red detachment was approaching Khathyl but would remain for the night in the forest, where they were building campfires.

In fact, through the house windows we could see the glare of the fires.

It seemed very strange that the enemy should await the morning there in the forest when they were right on the village they wished to capture.
An armed Cossack entered the room and announced that two armed men from the detachment were approaching.

All the men in the room pricked up their ears.