Charnyetski finished the letter. For a time he twisted his beard with his whole hand; at last he called out with a jingling, indistinct voice,—
“Come this way, officer!”
“At command of your worthiness!”
“Tell me the truth,” said Charnyetski, with emphasis, “for this narrative is so artfully put together that I am unable to get at the affair. But—tell me the truth, do not color it—is the army dispersed?”
“Not dispersed at all, your grace.”
“How many days are needed to assemble it?”
Here Zagloba whispered to Pan Yan: “He wants to come at him from the left hand as it were.”
But Kharlamp answered without hesitation,—
“Since the army is not dispersed, it does not need to be assembled. It is true that when I was leaving, about five hundred horse of the general militia could not be found, were not among the fallen; but that is a common thing, and the army does not suffer from that; the hetman has even moved after the king in good order.”
“You have lost no cannon?”