“Why was that?”
He laughed peculiarly; his lips rose as those of a wicked dog do when he shows his teeth, and he answered only after a while.
“I wished to have those places in my power, and to secure the homeward road for your grace.”
“If the troops return from the steppes, there will be forces there then.”
“The troops will not come back so soon.”
“Whence do you know that?”
“They cannot, because first they must learn clearly what Doroshenko is doing; that will occupy about three or four weeks.”
“If that is the case you did well to leave those men.”
They rode a while in silence. Azya looked from time to time at the rosy face of Basia, half concealed by the raised collar of her mantle and her cap, and after every glance he closed his eyes, as if wishing to fix that charming picture more firmly in his mind.
“You ought to talk with Eva,” said Basia, renewing the conversation. “You talk altogether too little with her; she knows not what to think. You will stand before the face of Pan Novoveski soon; alarm even seizes me. You and she should take counsel together, and settle how you are to begin.”