5
The gloomy, inhospitable night overtook the fugitives in a rocky ravine, which was overgrown with crooked pine trees and gradually tapered as it climbed the gentle slope.
Not so brisk now, Ivan was climbing mossy stones, stopping from time to time to wait for the girl, who was stubbornly plodding on despite her exhaustion. He thought that it would be better for them to get out of that bleak ravine. The terrain had to be smoother and the darkness that was filling the hollow like a murky fog had to be thinner on higher ground. Unfortunately, Ivan was also running out of energy and no longer had the will for such a move. And then, he was very anxious to put as much distance as he could between himself and the town and make the best of that fortuitously rainy evening, which had hidden thei
