5
The Promised Land
stockings, in a pair of voluminous cotton trousers and a long thigh
length tunic made of white flax gathered at the waist with a leather
belt and a waistcoat of mink fur. Attached in a sheath to the belt was
a knife. Covering everything was a long bearskin double breasted coat
dyed grey on the smooth outside. The coat had epaulettes with his
badges of rank emblazoned upon them secured with brass buttons.
The greatcoat had a central slash at the back to accommodate the
rump of a horse, and knee length boots with the fur turned inwards,
heavily heeled in thick tanned and seasoned cowhide, a rowelled spur
on the back of each one and soled with hobnailed thick leather.
On his head he wore a knitted wool-lined and stuffed sheepskin
hat with a soft brim which was sometimes turned up forming a thick
headband but on this occasion it was pulled down against the cold at
the sides and back. His face and neck was muffled in a long flaxen
scarf and he wore snow goggles carved from flat bone with a few slits
cut out of it in front of each eye. His sabre hung down on two leather
straps from an outer belt and the front of his saddle had a pair of
holsters containing loaded pistols under buckled leather flaps, one on
either side. He had heard of the heavy hunting pike which they had
used in centuries past to kill boar but he preferred his straight shafted
ash lance with its deadly long sharp blade. As far as he was concerned
it was easier to pull out after the kill. He took out his map, unfolded
it and raised his goggles. He knew he was somewhere near the border
between Russian Lithuania and Poland. The town he had skirted he
realised was Sejny or Seinei in Lithuanian. To the north-west of that
he noticed was Smolany or Smalenai. The borders were always changing, it was an old map.
The names were shown in several languages.
With his lance held in travelling fashion at a shallow angle, so that
it wouldn't snag, attached to the horses harness, with his shoulder
length greasy black hair and his filthy beard and moustaches he made
a formidable figure, a one man, single-minded professional fighting
and hunting machine. He was slowly but surely overhauling his prey.
Tomorrow, he estimated, all being well, he would catch up with it.