And suppose he had made up his mind to start through the storm to find Wassmuss with their aid, what could have prevented him?
He might betray us to Wassmuss as the price of his own forgiveness.

So we took the hostages with us, and when we found a place between some rocks where they could have shelter we drove them in there, setting four troopers to guard them.

Thus Tugendheim was kept in ignorance of their whereabouts, and with no guides to help him play us false.
As for the Greek doctor, we took him with us, too, for we were likely to need his services that night, and in truth we did.
We started the instant the storm began--twenty minutes or more before it settled down to rage in earnest.

That enabled us to march about two-thirds of the way toward the Turkish camp and to deploy into proper formation before the hail came and made it impossible to hear even a shout.

Hitherto the rain had screened us splendidly, although it drenched us to the skin, and the noise of rain and wind prevented the noise we made from giving the alarm; but when the hail began I could not hear my own foot-fall.