Jack rode forward with Hassan on his left, Batoor on his right, and Hendry the bugler a few yards behind. He crossed the line of border posts and trotted on with his eye on the group of horsemen who rode in advance of the Russian army.
“I think that"s General Skobelev in front,” Jack murmured as the horsemen approached.
The bearded man on the white horse came a little closer, with his escort of Cossacks eyeing Jack. One officer had his hand on the hilt of his shashka, and Jack wondered if he had led the Cossacks who had pursued him into Afghanistan a few days previously.
“General Skobelev, I believe?” Jack spoke in halting Russian as he strove to remember what he had learned of the language in the Crimea.
The bearded man looked at Jack"s insignia of rank. He nodded slowly as his Cossac
