Accordingly we walked faster, Nicholas leading me by tracks well known to him and the rest of the count's household.
At last he stopped and, pointing to a giant tree, exclaimed, "There is the Eagle's Nest! Near the top you will find a snug sitting-place formed by the branches, which will give you a splendid view of the highroad."
He took off the wallet, strapped it on my back, and waited to see me climb the tree.
I had done little climbing for years, and the unusual exercise made my muscles ache; but I had not altogether lost my old skill, and gradually mounted to the spot which Nicholas had described. Perhaps it was a trifle less comfortable than his memory pictured, but in one matter at any rate he had been right--there was a splendid view of the route the Russians must take if they were trying to prevent Görgei from crossing the Theiss.
I removed the wallet, and fastened it carefully to one of the branches; then I took out the notebook which Count Kemeny had provided, and waited.
An hour passed uneventfully, and then in the west there rose up a cloud of dust, which swept towards me at a rapid pace.
It was a body of cavalry--Cossack irregulars, by the look of them--mounted on shaggy, little horses and armed with long lances.
I caught a glimpse as they dashed up, a fuller one as they passed beneath me; then the sand-cloud swept on to the east, and the van of the Russian army vanished in the distance.
Those rough, uncouth riders formed the head of a procession that occupied all the day in filing past.
It was a splendid spectacle, but my eyes grew tired of gazing at it.