"Oh, yes. I should like to take some with me for the road,"
I answered, quietly.
"I say, lads! give these fellows some bread and a piece of bacon each.
If you can find something else, give it to them too."
"Are we to let them go, then?" asked Michael.
The other two shepherds looked up at the old man.
"What can they do here?"
"Did we not intend to take them either to the ataman or to the custom house?" asked Michael, in a disappointed tone.
Shakro stirred uneasily in his seat near the fire, and poked out his head inquiringly from beneath the overcoat. He was quite serene.
"What would they do at the ataman's? I should think there is nothing to do there just now. Perhaps later on they might like to go there?"
"But how about the boat?" insisted Michael.
"What about the boat?" inquired the old man again.
"Did you not say the boat was all right where it was?"