Page:Taras Bulba. A Tale of the Cossacks. 1916.djvu/194

188 fashion, and had been carried drunk into captivity, and how the Tatárs had learned in what spot the treasures of the Army were buried,—he said nothing. The kazák was extremely tired; he was all swollen, and his face was burned and scorched by the wind; he fell down at once, and a deep sleep overpowered him.

In such cases it was customary for the Koshevói to pursue the brigands on the instant, endeavouring to overtake them on the road; for, the prisoners might find themselves promptly in the bazaars of Asia Minor, in Smyrna, or the Island of Crete, and God knows in what places the scalp-locked heads of Zaporozhtzi might not be seen. This was the reason of the kazáks assembling. They all stood, to a man, with their caps on; for they were not come together at the word of command of their ruling atamán, but to take counsel together as equals with equals. "Let the old men first advise!" rose a shout from the crowd. "Let the Koshevói give his opinion!" said others.

And the Koshevói, doffing his cap, not as commander, but as a comrade among comrades, thanked all the kazáks for the honour, and said: "There are among us many old men, and those who are wiser in counsel; but since you have deemed me worthy, this is my advice: not to lose any time, comrades, but to pursue the Tatárs, for