Kulchoro, upon learning of Toltoy’s departure, mounted Taiyburul, donned the semetey akolpok, and, taking his syrnayzu, galloped to meet the groom. He waited a long time for the enemy to appear and finally, without dismounting, leaned on his spear and fell asleep.
Feeling Toltoy's approach, Taiyburul began to stomp his hooves on the ground and neigh, but Kulchoro still did not wake up. His sleep only ended when Taiyburul bit him. Awakening, Kulchoro first got angry at his horse, then looked around and saw a man the size of a mountain riding directly at him on a gray horse, clad in iron armor. It was Toltoy.
Taking his akkelte, Kulchoro shot at him, and Toltoy's heart stopped from fear.
Then, taking up his spear, Kulchoro, with a battle cry in honor of Manas, chased after him.
When Toltoy heard the word "Manas," it seemed to him that Manas, Almambet, Chubak, and all forty choro were chasing him. Overcome with fear, his heart stopped beating, and he fled, while Kulchoro pursued him.
Before this, Aychurek had taken good care of Taiyburul and had fattened him up so much that he could not run fast and began to wheeze.
Kulchoro, with a sly smile, began to shout at the fleeing Toltoy:
- Son-in-law, don’t run away, can grooms be as cowardly as you? Sister Aychurek sent me to meet you. Stop!
But Toltoy did not believe him. Catching up to him, Kulchoro struck him twice in the leg with his spear, but Toltoy did not flinch. When he aimed to strike him a third time, he let go of the reins, and Taiyburul, getting tangled in them, nearly fell to the ground.
Taking advantage of this, Toltoy ran away and thus escaped imminent death. In a daze, covered in blood, he finally reached his camp.
When Kulchoro saw that he had failed to capture Toltoy and the enemy had escaped, his conscience began to torment him. "Semetey gave me a horse, clothing, and weapons," he thought, "how will I now tell him that I let Toltoy slip away? With what eyes will I appear before him? Let me just bash my head until it bleeds, and then I will go and tell Semetey that I was wounded." Having decided this, he took a sword in his hands and was about to injure himself, but at that moment a thought occurred to him: "What if Semetey figures out that I hurt myself? Then I will get into even more trouble."
Not knowing what to do next, he rode home in a gloomy and depressed mood.
Meanwhile, Toltoy, panting and wheezing, caught his breath a little, called for Chinkodjo, and said to him:
- An unknown man, on a gray horse, with a battle cry in honor of Manas, attacked me and inflicted a wound. When I heard the shouts of "Manas, Manas!" it seemed to me that Manas, Almambet, Chubak, and all forty choro were pursuing me.
Chinkodjo was outraged:
- I thought you were brave, Toltoy, but you are just a fool and a coward. How could it happen that the long-dead Manas, Almambet, and Chubak appeared and chased you? The one chasing you was probably none other than the son of Almambet, Kulchoro. Oh, you despicable coward! You received a wound from a boy and now count the days of your life!
After this, Chinkodjo and Toltoy quarreled and exchanged many insulting words.
- I never asked you, - said Toltoy, - to take me a wife; you insisted and persuaded me, and now you have put both me and my people in danger.
- You are deceiving me, you scoundrel, saying that you are wounded, - Chinkodjo shouted at him, demanding to see his wound.
The wound turned out to be insignificant: Toltoy had a piece of flesh torn from one leg by the spear. Chinkodjo ordered that Toltoy be given medicine and have his wound bandaged.
Meanwhile, Semetey was filled with anxiety: "The boy has never been in battles before; where has he disappeared to, what has happened to him?" he thought, and unable to endure it, he went to search for Kulchoro. Soon he met him. Kulchoro, with his head sadly lowered, was sitting on Taiyburul, leaning on his spear.
Semetey was very happy to see him alive and healthy. Out of joy, he was breathless and called to him in a cheerful voice.
Kulchoro, seeing Semetey, quickly rode up to him and said:
- Father! In my youth, I made a foolish mistake: having easily wounded Toltoy, I let him slip away. If you want to take my head – here it is; if you want to shed my blood – here it is, - and saying this, he offered him his neck.
But Semetey calmed him:
- My dear boy! Why are you so upset? Don’t be sad! If you didn’t kill Toltoy today, you will kill him tomorrow.
Semetey. The Journey of Semetey for Aychurek. Part - 2
