THE HORSE AND HIS EIDER. 167 



the whole livelong night. It was not till next morn- 

 ing he returned to the fort, and entreated our people 

 to tell him the name of the thief. The sentinel, who 

 had seen Asamat untie the horse and gallop away 

 with him, did not think it necessary to make any se- 

 cret of the matter. Kasbitch's eyes flashed fire at 

 that name, and, turning on his heel, he made straight 

 for the hamlet where Asamat's father lived. But he 

 did not find him there. He had gone from home for 

 six days ; and that was one of the helping circum- 

 stances of the plot, for otherwise Asamat could hardly 

 have carried off his sister. 



But when the father returned, there was neither 

 son nor daughter in the place. The thieving villain ! 

 he well knew he could never save his neck if he let 

 himself he caught. So from that hour he was never 

 seen again. Probably he joined some band of Abreks, 

 or had his hot head cooled for him beyond the Terek 

 or the Kuban. His route was in that direction. 

 The father soon afterwards paid the penalty of his 

 son's crime. Kasbitch never doubted but that Asa- 

 mat had stolen the horse with the privity and consent 

 of his father; at least so I conjecture. Accordingly 

 he lay in lurk one day, by the road, some two versts 

 from the hamlet. The old man was returning from 

 a fruitless search after his daughter ; his usdens 



