The rhetorician went on one side, lay on the ground, and groped for a
path; but his hands encountered only fox-holes. All around lay a huge
steppe over which no one seemed to have passed. The wanderers made
several efforts to get forward, but the landscape grew wilder and more
inhospitable.
The philosopher tried to shout, but his voice was lost in vacancy, no
one answered; only, some moments later, they heard a faint groaning
sound, like the whimpering of a wolf.
"Curse it all! What shall we do?" said the philosopher.
"Why, just stop here, and spend the night in the open air," answered the
theologian. So saying, he felt in his pocket, brought out his timber and
steel, and lit his pipe.
But the philosopher could not agree with this proposal; he was not
accustomed to sleep till he had first eaten five pounds of bread and
five of dripping, and so he now felt an intolerable emptiness in his
stomach. Besides, in spite of his cheerful temperament, he was a little
afraid of the wolves.
"No, Khalava," he said, "that won't do. To lie down like a dog and
without any supper! Let us try once more; perhaps we shall find a house,
and the consolation of having a glass of brandy to drink before going to
sleep."
At the word "brandy," the theologian spat on one side and said, "Yes, of
course, we cannot remain all night in the open air."
The students went on and on, and to their great joy they heard the
barking of dogs in the distance. After listening a while to see from
which direction the barking came, they went on their way with new
courage, and soon espied a light.
"A village, by heavens, a village!" exclaimed the philosopher.
His supposition proved correct; they soon saw two or three houses built
round a court-yard. Lights glimmered in the windows, and before the
fence stood a number of trees. The students looked through the crevices
of the gates and saw a court-yard in which stood a large number of
roving tradesmen's carts. In the sky there were now fewer clouds, and
here and there a star was visible.
"See, brother!" one of them said, "we must now cry 'halt!' Cost what it
may, we must find entrance and a night's lodging."