WITH BRIGANDS 215

further pursuit would be useless. Many of my men did
not care about going farther, but all this part of the country
has been so harried for the last two or three years that we
thought it best to try altogether new ground. When we
have crossed the Bug we shall be beyond the forest, but
there are great swamps and morasses, and hills with patches
of wood; many streams take their rise there, all meeting
farther on and forming the Dnieper. We must keep north
of that river, for to the south the country is thinly populated,
and we should have difficulty in maintaining ourselves.”

Charlie made no comment, but he was glad to hear that
the band intended to keep to the north of the Dnieper, for
that river would have formed a serious obstacle to his mak-
ing his way to rejoin the Swedes. The next day they
reached the bank of the Bug, and following the river down,
came after an hour’s walking upon a great fire, round which
fifteen men were stretched. ‘These as the captain’s party
approached rose to their feet with a shout of welcome.

“That is better than I expected,” Ladislas said as they
came up to them. “Five-and-twenty is quite enough for
work here. In the forests one can do with more, but,
moving steadily on as we mean to do till we get pretty near
the eastern frontier, five-and-twenty isample. It is enough
when together to surprise a village, and it is not too many
travelling in twos and threes to attract attention. Things
always go on better too after a dispersal. Many who are
discontented or who want to command a band of their own
break off, and one starts fresh with just the men one likes
best to keep.”

“We had begun to give you up, captain,” one of the
men said as he joined the other party. ‘We have been
here six days.”

“We travelled but slowly at first, and it is only the last
two days we have really made fair journeys: but there
was no reason for any great haste. ‘The world is ali our

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