Officer Zhilin served in the Caucasus. A letter came from his mother, and he decided to go on vacation home. But on the way he and another Russian officer Kostylin were captured by the Tatars. This happened through the fault of Kostylin. He was supposed to cover Zhilin, but he saw the Tatars, got scared and ran away from them. Kostylin turned out to be a traitor. The Tatar, who captured Russian officers, sold them to another Tatar. The prisoners were shackled and kept in the same barn.
The Tatars forced officers to write letters to their relatives asking for a ransom. Kostylin obeyed, and Zhilin deliberately wrote another address, because he knew there was no one to buy it, the old mother, Zhilina, lived very poorly. Zhilin and Kostylin sat in the barn for a month. The master daughter Dina was attached to Zhilin. She secretly carried cakes and milk to him, and he made dolls for her. Zhilin began to wonder how he and Kostylin would escape from captivity. Soon he began to dig in the barn.
One night they fled. When they entered the forest, Kostylin began to lag behind and whine - his legs were rubbed with his boots. Because of Kostylin, they did not go far, they were noticed by a Tatar who was driving through the forest. He told the owners of the hostages, they took the dogs and quickly caught up with the captives. They were again put on shackles and they were not removed even at night. Instead of a barn, the hostages were planted in a pit of arshins of five depths. Zhilin still did not despair. I was wondering how to escape. Dean saved him. At night she brought a long stick, lowered it into the pit, and Zhilin climbed upstairs along it. But Kostylin remained, did not want to run away: he was frightened, and there was no strength.
Zhilin moved away from the village and tried to remove the block, but he did not succeed. Dina gave him cakes on the way, and cried, saying goodbye to Zhilin. He was kind to the girl, and she became very attached to him. Zhilin went farther and farther, although the block was very in the way. When the forces were over, he crawled, and crawled to the field, behind which were already his own, Russian. Zhilin was afraid that the Tatars would notice him when he crossed the field. Just thinking about it, looking: to the left, on a hill, tithes two from him, are three Tatars. They saw Zhilin and rushed to him. So his heart sank. Zhilin waved his hands, shouted what was his spirit: “Brothers! Help out! Brothers! ” Cossacks heard Zhilin and rushed across the Tatars. The Tatars were frightened, before reaching Zhilin they began to stop. So the Cossacks Zhilin saved. Zhilin told them about his adventures, and then said: “So I went home, got married! No, it’s clearly not my fate. ” Zhilin remained to serve in the Caucasus. And only a month later Kostylin was bought for five thousand. Barely brought alive.
