21
The Promised Land
'"Who knows?"' "he said." "Either they had a difference of opinion
or he left the shelter for some other reason of necessity and then made
the cardinal mistake of allowing himself to fall asleep."' "He told me
that this was one of the basic rules of survival in these conditions, not
to fall asleep outdoors in the cold, death often follows. This was what
he thought may have happened, in all balance of probability."
"By this time it was beginning to get dark and the Cossack said it
would be better if we made use of the shelter until morning rather
than setting up another one. So I was forced to spend the night with
this man who had been on the road for months. Not an experience I
would care to repeat in a hurry."
"He produced all this stuff from nowhere and before too long had
gathered pine cones, lit a fire with his tinder and boiled up some snow
in a little pot and we were drinking tea from little wooden cups and
chewing on dried meat. He was actually quite generous, even though
he slurped away at his tea and smacked his lips as he chewed, the slobber trickling down
into his already dirty beard"
'"Tovarich, I am captain Kyril Tymoshenko, one of Tsar Aleksander's
loyal Cossacks. What is your real name ?'"
"When I told him he seemed more amenable.
'"Ah, you're not named after a saint then."'
"'Well, I am named after a saint. My mother told me it means
earth-worker or farmer. It's similar to your Giorgi - who killed a
dragon,"' "I added with a smug look."
'"A fine reply Mister Jurgis, I see now that even though you are only
a farm worker you are not silly."'
"I think he was taken by my spirited response."
"The Cossack then asked me about my way of life and my family at
home and the farm and how we lived. Then after a pause he seemed
to make up his mind about something - about me maybe."
'"Listen!"' "he said," '"This Frenchman we're going after, I think he
could be more of a problem than I thought. I might need your help.
Where's that musket you found?"' I reached round and picked it up