"On the loft too?"
"How could he crawl on the loft when he was bound?"
"You fool! If he hadn't unbound himself, he would be here. Look on the loft! Strike a light!"
Sparks flashed again. The news flew in a moment among all the guards. They began to crowd to the stable with the haste usual on sudden occasions; hurried steps were heard, hurried questions and still more hurried answers. Advices crossed one another like swords in battle.
"To the loft! to the loft!"
"But watch outside!"
"Don't wake the ataman; if you do, there will be terror."
"The ladder is gone!"
"Bring another!"
"There is none anywhere."