Behind a clump of fir trees the sleigh was waiting, and beside it a man on a horse.
The two friends entered the sleigh, and adjusted the furs about them, and Litvinoff took the reins.
'Good speed,' said Zabrousky; 'a safe journey, and a good deliverance.'
'Good-bye,' Litvinoff said. 'Don't stay here a moment. It may cost you your life.'
In another instant the horseman had turned and left them, and the jingling of the harness and the noise of the fleet hoofs were the only sounds that broke the dense night silence as the sleigh sped forward.
'Have you any idea what the time is?' said Litvinoff, when they had travelled smoothly over three or four miles of snow. 'It's too cold to get watches out, and too dark to see them if we did.'
'It must be past two,' said Percival. 'It must have been past midnight when you came in. I wonder what time those devils will reach the empty nest.'
'The later the better for us, and the servants will mix things a bit by telling them that I've not been home. At this rate we shall reach Eckovitch's place about four. We can stretch our legs there while he rubs the horses down a bit.'
'Will that be safe? Is he to be trusted?'