18
Chapter 3
The Quarry - 1813
"Later in the day we came upon a bundle of rags which had been
discarded and which were lying close up against a fallen log.
As we approached it, a huge grey shape which had been nosing and
pawing at the bundle turned towards us with its lips drawn back in a
snarl with its ears cocked forward and its tail upright. The Cossack
immediately spurred his horse into action and grasped his lance. As
he did so the wolf, startled, jumped away growling and flattening its
ears, and made off into the undergrowth.
The Cossack came back and rejoined me as I got down to examine
the bundle. I saw on closer inspection that it wasn't just old rags but
a man and he was frozen solid. Upon closer examination his clothwrapped hands
were just visible tucked under his cloak where he must
have been trying to keep them warm, and his eyes, what I could see
of them, were open. What amazed me was the almost complete absence of
a beard. He was barely more than a lad but a smart one no