But--and this surprised me--the behavior of my lord Faruskiar seemed very strange.

He insisted in the most pressing manner that not a moment should be lost.

He spoke to Popof, to the driver, to the stoker, and for the first time I discovered that he spoke Russian remarkably well.
There was no room for discussion.

We were all agreed on the necessity of a retrograde movement.
Only the German baron protested.

More delays! A waste of time for the sake of a mandarin--and a dead mandarin! He had to walk about and bear it.