Page:Taras Bulba. A Tale of the Cossacks. 1916.djvu/286

280 that Taras's raids were more than ordinary expeditions for plunder; and that same Pototzky was given five regiments, and ordered to capture Taras, without fail.

Six days did the kazáks retreat along the country lanes, before the pursuit; their horses barely endured this excessive flight, but they saved the kazáks. But this time Pototzky was equal to the task intrusted to him ; unwearily he followed them, and reached the bank of the Dnyeper, where Taras had taken possession of a ruined and abandoned castle, for the purpose of resting.

On the very brink of the Dnyeper, it could be seen, with its shattered ramparts and the ruined remains of its walls. The summit of the cliff was strewn with rubbish and broken bricks, ready at any moment to detach themselves and fly to the bottom. The Royal Hetman, Pototzky, surrounded it on the two sides which faced the plain. Four days did the kazáks fight and struggle, defending themselves with bricks and stones. But their provisions and their strength became exhausted, and Taras resolved to cut his way through the ranks. And the kazáks would have cut their way out, and their swift steeds might again have served them faithfully, had not Taras halted suddenly in the very midst of their flight, and shouted: "Halt! my pipe has dropped with its tobacco: I