He thought awhile, therefore, and meditated; all at once he struck his head with his fist,--
«I am a fool!» muttered he. «I›ll take the fellow on a rope, and make him lead me to the highway.»
Barely had he uttered the last word when he shuddered, «To the highway? But that prince will be there, and pursuit. To lose fifteen horses!» said the old fox to himself, with as much sorrow as if he had cared for the beasts from their colthood. «It must be that our fortune is ended. We must stay in the cabin till Pan Kmita recovers,--stay with consent of the owners or without their consent; and what will come later, that is work for the colonel›s head.»
Thus meditating, he returned to the cabin. The watchful soldiers were standing at the door, and though they saw a lantern shining in the dark from
