Chapter ThreeIt was cold outside, but not the biting ice-cold of Daghestan.
It was dark, but there was a faint light from the stars, which cast a luminous glow on the white snows above them.
As Lord Athelstan reached the little knot of his men who had already taken up their positions facing towards the mountains, he could see, as his eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, moving shadows.
They were circling beyond the lights of the camp and he knew at once that they were the wolves.
He had picked up, as he left his tent, two pepperbox pistols, muzzle-loading, each with six barrels.
They were the very latest weapons, which he had brought with him from England and he knew that Hawkins also had a pair. The other men were not so well provided and would have to reload their guns after each s
