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Gont cocked his carbine and bent over the lock; his faithful

comrades sheltered him with their cloaks. He aimed, not at the

rib, but at the head of Thaddeus; he shot and hit the centre of

his hat, close to his mark. Thaddeus whirled about, then

Sprinkler rushed on Rykov, and after him the gentry, crying

"Treason!" Though Thaddeus shielded him, Rykov barely managed to

retreat and find refuge in the centre of his ranks.