The girls didn't ask me anything. They seemed to have seen everything with their own eyes and were now digesting it. It was unclear whether they were judging me for my behavior or not. Had I done the right thing, or was there a way to avoid the casualties? But I didn't want to be the first to initiate this difficult conversation.
I moved north in silence, the others following behind me just as silently. Even when I ordered them to ford the Vorya River, swollen by the rains, at the confluence of the Torgosha tributary, using a rope, none of the girls even uttered a peep. The water was chest-high; the shortest girls couldn't even reach the bottom, but we managed to get through, even though we were soaking wet. And again, when, after this difficult crossing, I ordered them to continue onward
