y being brought to him. This was a Polish
sergeant of Poniatowski's corps, who explained in Polish that he had
come over because he had been slighted in the service: that he ought
long ago to have been made an officer, that he was braver than any of
them, and so he had left them and wished to pay them out. He said that
Murat was spending the night less than a mile from where they were,
and that if they would let him have a convoy of a hundred men he would
capture him alive. Count Orlov-Denisov consulted his fellow officers.

The offer was too tempting to be refused. Everyone volunteered to go and
everybody advised making the attempt. After much disputing and arguing,
Major-General Grekov with two Cossack regiments decided to go with the
Polish sergeant.

"Now, remember," said Count Orlov-Denisov to the sergeant at parting,
"if you have been lying I'll have you hanged like a dog; but if it's
true you shall have a hundred gold pieces!"

Without replying, the sergeant, with a resolute air, mounted and rode
away with Grekov whose men had quickly assembled. They disappeared into
the forest, and Count Orlov-Denisov, having seen Grekov off, returned,
shivering from the freshness of the early dawn and excited by what he
had undertaken on his own responsibility, and began looking at the enemy
camp, now just visible in the deceptive light of dawn and the dying
campfires. Our columns ought to have begun to appear on an open
declivity to his right. He looked in that direction, but though the
columns would have been visible quite far off, they were not to be seen.
It seemed to the count that things were beginning to stir in the French
camp, and his keen-sighted adjutant confirmed this.

"Oh, it is really too late," said Count Orlov, looking at the camp.

As often happens when someone we have trusted is no longer before
our eyes, it suddenly seemed quite clear and obvious to him that the
sergeant was an impostor, that he had lied, and that the whole Russian
attack would be ruined by the absence of those two regiments, which
he would lead away heaven only knew where. How could one capture a
commander in chief from among such a mass of troops!

"I am sure that rascal was lying," said the count.

"They can still be called back," said one of his suite, who like Count
Orlov felt distrustful of the adventure when he looked at the enemy's
camp.

"Eh? Really... what do you think? Should we let them go on or not?"

"Will you have th