Whose bonfire is shining in the fog?

 

The slightly noticeable smoke spreading along the gorge was the first to be noticed by Sergeant Seyitov.

“Smoke, Comrade Lieutenant,” he said almost in a whisper.

- Where? I don’t see, ”the commander replied, adopting the manner of his subordinate.

- Yes, over there, over the fir trees.

Sakarov peered into the dark gray landscape.

- No, I don’t. It seemed to you.

- No, Comrade Lieutenant! - the border guard worried, - well, how are you…

“I order to defend the State Border of the Republic of Kazakhstan,” the Head of the frontier post dropped his hand from the visor of his green cap and carefully examined the entire frontier guard. Weapons and equipment were disassembled by the outfit, strapped to the saddles of the horses

Lieutenant Shukhrat Sakarov not so long ago arrived at the border unit, but in a short time he managed to visit all parts of this foothill outpost. There was no signaling system and the border service was not built according to the classical model. Border violators were searched for in the mountains, during patrols and searches. And today new information has arrived: somewhere in the mountains there are uninvited guests «from behind the cordon.» The gathering of the border guards was short-lived, and now a cavalcade of five horsemen went up, along a still wide path, past the striped barrier and the observation tower of the sentry outpost.

Next to the young officer there sat confidently in the saddles: the commander of the outpost communications sergeant Tanat Seitov, the leader of the service dog Vladimir Vinokurov, and the cavalryman Erik Nurzhanov. Together with the border guards, an experienced guard and livestock guide of the local farm Marat Nurpakov set off on a long journey. Shepherd Sarah, who had a dozen detained border trespassers in her standings, had great freedom, she ran merrily next to the horses, from time to time jumping into the arms of her counselor. Vladimir began to teach her this technique immediately after their arrival at the outpost. The lessons went for the future, and now one short command was enough and the lean beast was already comfortably settling on the horse’s withers

The horses, laden with equipment and supplies for several days, walked well over the rough terrain. The end of May, although it delighted people with an abundance of juicy greenery, still smacked of cold. This was also facilitated by a light rain, which charged an hour after the start of the expedition. In order not to get wet camouflage jackets, on the command of the lieutenant, the border guards threw on rubber raincoats of chemical protection, taken with them just for this need.

The trail wound through deciduous and coniferous forest, between hills covered with fresh grass. Several times they had to cross a stormy mountain river. The rain either calmed down or gathered with new strength, washing the cloaks and sides of the horses trembling with chills. And now several tens of kilometers of the way are already behind. After another crossing, a large clearing loomed ahead with several wooden log cabins on it. A small military detachment will be based here for several days. From here, the border guards will go further into the mountains on their «hunt» for border violators.

With the arrival of the soldiers at the post the rain, testing their endurance, subsided, the cool sun peeped out, and the yellow eyes of the dandelions began to open. Workaholic horses are already unsaddled. A green and azure border flag flew over the log house. Hay in one of the rooms of a log house has been turned over, sleeping bags have been laid. Tanat sets up the radio and transmits to the outpost information about the arrival of the group at the place of duty. At the same time, Erik and the guide are preparing a hot meal, the main one for any soldier. A short rest is ahead and in the evening there is a dash up the gorge to fulfill its main goal.

The approaching twilight interrupted the rest. Lieutenant Sakarov ordered two people to prepare for a new campaign with him: Sergeant Seitov and Private Vinokurov with a dog. Having crossed the mountain stream on two horses, all three dismounted, giving the reins to the cavalryman who remained on the «farm». At the appointed time or at the signal of the officer, he had to prepare everything for the return ferry.

Three men armed with machine guns and a dog hurried up the path. The rain, which had not tormented people for several hours, started again. The weather is not very comfortable for the border guards, but those, who are uninvited, walk round the local mountains and think the same. Now they are not hiding in the thickets and crevices.

The cold, along with rain streams, penetrates the collars of camouflage, spreads throughout the body, but with the gained pace of walking it almost disappears. And the rain, as if realizing its uselessness, dies down, leaving behind wet grass and slimy stones. The trail either expands to the size of a large road, or disappears altogether into stone deposits.

The higher the officer and the soldiers climbed the mountain, the more they came across traces of the past winter. Along the riverbed of the mountain stream, in several places, there are ice blockages mixed with torn-out trees. These are traces of avalanches that came down in winter. The snow has already packed and covered with a hard crust, on which a person can walk fearlessly. The width of the avalanche tongues reaches fifty - one hundred meters. Yes, and there are five meters to the murmuring water below.

“If it melts by the middle of summer,” Tanat said enthusiastically to his commander, “it will be fine”.

The border guards did not have time to be surprised at the creations of Nature. Overcoming fatigue, they hurried on to the clearing that stretched a few kilometers away. Already there, again caught by a little rain, in an old, splashed wagon, they were able to rest for a few minutes, until the heavenly moisture finally dried up.

Sergeant Seyitov was the first to notice the smoke from the fire. It was decided to check it out.

- Volodya, stay with the dog here, and we’ll go on, - ordered the officer.

An equipped hut was hiding in a dense spruce forest, a small fire crackled nearby. Seeing what they were looking for, the border guards lay down in the damp fallen needles. There were no people to be seen, but everything indicated their presence: both the fire itself and what was lying next to it that looked like a tarpaulin cloak.

“May they be the foresters?” - The sergeant wondered.

- What are they going to do here? - the officer rejected this thought. - Night, cold ... and no horses to be seen ... No, it can’t be.

- We will observe, - Sakarov decided to himself.

- It’s not worth climbing at random into the hut - suddenly there are a lot of people, and there are only two of us. He said to the sergeant aloud.

- Let’s get closer.

They got up on a crawl, after a few seconds they froze, burying themselves in the cold of a packed forest crust, seeing a man. He emerged from under the low spruce branches above the ground. «Who is he? What is he wearing? What’s with him?» But the lieutenant had no answer to these questions. Darkness and blurred silhouette. However, the stranger was clearly cautious: he listened, stood for a minute and went to the hut. The noise of a mountain stream concealed extraneous sounds. The unknown appeared several times from the hut and entered it again. It seemed that besides him there was no one else there.

 

 

Tanat, by the gestures of his commander, realized that he should crawl even closer to the hut. But it was difficult to do this - the refuge of the border trespassers was behind the water stream. Yes, it was still not the same river that was making noise a few kilometers below, near the log cabins of the post. Dozens of streams from the mountains have not yet flowed into it; the remains of avalanches have not yet filled with melt water. But it was still an obstacle. It could be overcome by jumping from stone to stone, but in this situation it should not have been done. The sergeant crawled to the very water and felt drops of cold spray on his face. Seconds of confusion ... and a decision was made. The soldier, securing his machine gun on his back, crawled straight over the slippery stones, continuously watching everything that was happening on the other side. Hands, feet, body were burned by icy water. Several moments passed in the struggle against a strong, dragging stream. And now he is already at the object of observation, close to the hut, but his whole body trembles from the cold under the soaked uniforms. Water squelches even in boots, it’s good that he didn’t have to go yet, otherwise the chomping sound would certainly give him away to uninvited guests. Shukhrat Sakarov watched his subordinate with tension, but closed his eyes for only one moment. And now the soldier is gone. «Where did he go? - the frightened thought came into his mind, - Did he fall into the water? But there was no splash. There was no noise. Calmness came when he finally saw his sprawled wet figure and understood the maneuver of his subordinate. “ Well done, Tanat,” - the officer noted to himself, and no doubt followed, holding his weapon.

And now, a few meters away there are two wet people. It’ s very cold. But the time to warm up and act has not yet come.

An unfamiliar speech was heard from the hut - not Russian or Kazakh. «They are talking, so there is not one,» Shukhrat realized. «How many of them are there? Two? Three? More?» An old acquaintance left the hut several more times. Now it became clear that it was a Chinese. Apparently, not everyone has gathered yet. These guys were waiting for someone else. It means that it is time to act: to capture these, and then those who are on the way. At some point, Sakarov almost revealed himself - he got up to throw forward, but at the same moment an observer came out. They were separated by several meters. The lieutenant instinctively recoiled back, crunching a branch, but this did not alarm the Chinese, he only «glanced» in that direction and climbed under the spruce roof.

 After waiting a minute or two, Sakarov showed the sergeant with gestures how to act. Seyitov walked around the fire on one side, the lieutenant - on the other. On command, they with machine guns at the ready, at the same time rushed to the hut.

- Hands up! Everybody, lie down!

The forest «settlers» stared in amazement at the armed men. «What is it? Who is this? What do they say? What do they want?» But the barrels of the Kalashnikovs explained to them the essence of the answers. One of the offenders - and there were three of them in the hut - rushed to run, headlong through the branches. But the sergeant was on the lookout and after a deft step knocked him to the ground and twisted his arms behind his back with the rope he had stored earlier. Seeing such an outcome of the escape attempt, the other two detainers meekly allowed themselves to be tied up.

At the officer’s prearranged signal, Vinokurov and Sarah jumped out of the thickets. Now he was supposed to guard the detainees, and the rest of the outfit sat down to dry near a smoldering fire. Shukhrat even took off his boots and socks, stretching out his chilled feet to the warmth, but the «hunt» did not end there. Fifteen minutes later there was a crunch of branches and a man with a huge bag on his back came up to the hut. He had no idea that he was going into a trap and did not take any security measures.

The barefoot lieutenant jumped up from the ground and raised the barrel of his machine gun at the stranger. - Throw it!- he said softly. - Hands up!

The Chinese immediately understood what they wanted of him, immediately threw off the sack and raised his hands. So, the fourth intruder, with his hands tied, found his place next to his comrades.

After consulting with the soldiers, Sakarov decided to stay here until sunrise. Vinokurov, as the most combat-ready and dry, went up the slope and, together with the dog, went to guard...

Vladimir glanced at the «commander’s» watch - it showed three o’clock in the morning. Under his side, he felt the warmth of his four-legged friend and peered into the surrounding darkness with pain in his eyes, listened to the noise of the mountain stream, interrupting other sounds. Maybe that’s why he almost missed the moment of the appearance of the fifth attacker. And he, as if he felt something, caught something wrong near the camp. Armed with a massive stick, the Chinese rushed at the counselor. The noise was heard below - the still barefoot lieutenant with a submachine gun at the ready rushed to the aid of his soldier. But the violator, having already realized the inequality in forces in front of an armed border guard and a snarling dog, abandoned single combat and threw down his improvised weapon.

Until the morning, no one approached the cold fire. And as the dawn broke, the procession with sacks, in which there were deer horns, under the trunks of three Kalashnikovs, moved to the border post. They climbed the snowy ridges and scree and two hours later came to the crossing. After two shots into the air from the side of the log cabins, holding the rested horses in the bridle, the soldiers and the warrior who remained on the «farm» approached the river.

Judging by the disassembled belongings of the violators, there was another «cuckold» somewhere in the mountains. It was for him that Lieutenant Sakarov went to the next night. He took Private Vinokurov with Sara and Marat Nurpakov as his assistants. The rest of the soldiers guarded the «prisoners» held in one of the rooms of the log house, communicated by radio with the outpost, prepared food. In general, they sat, as they say, «on the farm.»

 After a meeting with a guide and some reflections, Sakarov decided to walk along another gorge. Frightened by the devastation of the parking lot, the Chinese must certainly be there. It was raining, but through the drops and the wind, the border guards caught the smell of smoke. Soon, its source was discovered - an almost extinguished fire. We combed the surroundings – but in vain

- Well, well, - said the commander, - we will wait for him here.

The border guard was not mistaken: a few hours later they saw the violator loaded with a sack. Just in case, they decided not to rush to the arrest. And suddenly, after all, he may be not alone. By dawn they decided not to wait any longer. The first word that the «cuckold» woke up from a push to the shoulder heard was sacramental.

- Get up! Hands up!

In the morning, all the servicemen and the warrior lined up at the flagpole with the border flag. Now each of the group, looking up at the fluttering banner, understood that it was not in vain that they had raised it. The border work is done and well done.

- What date is it today? - the lieutenant asked, smiling slightly.

“May, twenty-eighth,” Sergeant Seyitov replied.

- Well, I congratulate you, comrade fighters, on the old Day of the border guard. I will not give gifts. You made them yourselves. Not every border guard can boast of such a catch.

While the officer was talking to his soldiers, several horsemen appeared on the hill across the river.

- Comrade lieutenant, - Vinokurov pointed a finger at the approaching, - ours ... are going to help.

- That’s good, - the officer turned in the indicated direction, - take the detainees out ... let’s go home.