That is why our hero had been so uneasy all the morning; if he had been
looking out over the desert so persistently, it was because he had been
warned of Ki-Tsang's plans by the last Mongol who had joined the train
at Tchertchen! Under any circumstances we had now nothing to fear from
Ki-Tsang. The manager of the company had done justice on the
bandit--speedy justice, I admit. But we are in the midst of the deserts
of Mongolia, where there are no juries as yet, which is a good thing
for the Mongols.
"Well," said I to the major, "I hope you have abandoned your suspicions
with regard to my lord Faruskiar?"
"To a certain extent, Monsieur Bombarnac!" Only to a certain extent?
Evidently Major Noltitz is difficult to please.
But let us hasten on and count our victims. On our side there are three
dead, including the Chinese officer, and more than twelve wounded, four
of them seriously, the rest slightly, so that they can continue their
journey to Pekin. Popof escaped without a scratch, Caterna with a
slight graze which his wife insists on bathing.
The major has the wounded brought into the cars and does the best for
them under the circumstances.
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