Having finished his inquiries and extorted from Daniel an opinionthat the hounds were fit (Daniel himself wished to go hunting),Nicholas ordered the horses to be saddled. But just as Daniel wasabout to go Natasha came in with rapid steps, not having done up herhair or finished dressing and with her old nurse's big shawl wrappedround her. Petya ran in at the same time.

　　"You are going?" asked Natasha. "I knew you would! Sonya said youwouldn't go, but I knew that today is the sort of day when youcouldn't help going."

　　"Yes, we are going," replied Nicholas reluctantly, for today, ashe intended to hunt seriously, he did not want to take Natasha andPetya. "We are going, but only wolf hunting: it would be dull foryou."

　　"You know it is my greatest pleasure," said Natasha. "It's not fair;you are going by yourself, are having the horses saddled and saidnothing to us about it."

　　"'No barrier bars a Russian's path'- we'll go!" shouted Petya.

　　"But you can't. Mamma said you mustn't," said Nicholas to Natasha.

　　"Yes, I'll go. I shall certainly go," said Natasha decisively."Daniel, tell them to saddle for us, and Michael must come with mydogs," she added to the huntsman.

　　It seemed to Daniel irksome and improper to be in a room at all, butto have anything to do with a young lady seemed to him impossible.He cast down his eyes and hurried out as if it were none of hisbusiness, careful as he went not to inflict any accidental injury onthe young lady.BK7|CH4

　　CHAPTER IV

　　The old count, who had always kept up an enormous huntingestablishment but had now handed it all completely over to his son'scare, being in very good spirits on this fifteenth of September,prepared to go out with the others.

　　In an hour's time the whole hunting party was at the porch.Nicholas, with a stern and serious air which showed that now was notime for attending to trifles, went past Natasha and Petya who weretrying to tell him something. He had a look at all the details ofthe hunt, sent a pack of hounds and huntsmen on ahead to find thequarry, mounted his chestnut Donets, and whistling to his own leash ofborzois, set off across the threshing ground to a field leading to theOtradnoe wood. The old count's horse, a sorrel gelding calledViflyanka, was led by the groom in attendance on him, while thecount himself was to drive in a small trap straight to a spot reservedfor him.