All the while he had not seen me, nor yet Falbofsky, so that he did not yet understand how matters stood.
‘If it is a matter of ransom,’ he panted, and then paused open-mouthed, for his eyes fell upon me. His hand stole towards his sword hilt, but they had deprived him of the weapon. Then he recognised Falbofsky.
‘Oh, is it so then?’ he said. ‘What is the meaning of this outrage, Falbofsky? Have you and your crew turned highway robbers?’
‘Bind his wrists behind his back,’ said Falbofsky, ignoring Mazeppa’s words. His men obeyed, Mazeppa resisting, but uselessly.
‘Now,’ continued Falbofsky, ‘strip him; leave him not a vestige of his garments; strip the horse also of his saddle and cloth. Take one of the ropes you have brought and tie the fool tightly to the horse’s back. Lay him along, so, and pass the rope round the middle of both. Now remove the bridle, and let them go. Lord, what a thin poor creature thou art, Mazeppa! The folks in the villages will mistake thy lean naked body for a pine-stem!’
Mazeppa was too dazed to reply, he seemed bereft of speech. The men had meanwhile slipped the bridle from his horse’s neck. One of them gave a shout to startle the animal, and another, snatching a stick, smote it violently upon the quarters. Away dashed the frightened creature.
For a moment or two the fleeting hoof-steps were audible as it dashed, mad with surprise and terror, through the forest: a wild curse or shriek from the throat of Mazeppa came back faintly from the distance, then horse and man had disappeared from sight and sound.
Now came my turn.
‘Strip him, too,’ said Falbofsky, ‘and leave him gagged in the road.’
If looks could kill, mine would, I think, have slain my enemy at that moment, but he avoided my gaze and took no further notice of me. He mounted a horse which was brought him from a distance, where it had remained in hiding, and rode away.