When he found that the battle was lost he attempted to fly. He was,
however, pursued and taken, and was then brought back to the camp of
Genghis Khan, where he was put to death. The conqueror undoubtedly
justified this act of cruelty toward his helpless prisoner on the plea
that, like Yemuka, he was not an open and honorable foe, but a rebel
and traitor, and, consequently, that the act of putting him to death
was the execution of a criminal, and not the murder of a prisoner.

But, although Boyrak himself was thus taken and slain, Kushluk and
Tukta Bey succeeded in making their escape. They fled to the northward
and westward, scarcely knowing, it would seem, where they were to go.
They at last found a place of refuge on the banks of the River Irtish.
This river rises not far from the centre of the Asiatic continent, and
flows northward into the Northern Ocean. The country through which it
flows lay to the northwestward of Genghis Khan's dominions, and beyond
the confines of it. Through this country Prince Kushluk and Tukta Bey
wandered on, accompanied by the small troop of followers that still
adhered to them, until they reached a certain fortress called Ardish,
where they determined to make a stand.

They were among friends here, for Ardish, it seems, was on the
confines of territory that belonged to Tukta Bey. The people of the
neighborhood immediately flocked to Tukta's standard, and thus the
fugitive khan soon found himself at the head of a considerable force.
This force was farther increased by the coming in of broken bands that
had made their escape from the battle at which Boyrak had been slain
at the same time with Tukta Bey, but had become separated from him in
their flight.

It would seem that, at first, Genghis Khan did not know what was
become of the fugitives. At any rate, it was not until the next year
that he attempted to pursue them. Then, hearing where they were and
what they were doing, he prepared an expedition to penetrate into the
country of the Irtish and attack them. It was in the dead of winter
when he arrived in the country. He had hurried on at that season of
the year in order to prevent Tukta Bey from having time to finish his
fortifications. Tukta Bey and those who were with him were amazed when
they heard that their enemy was coming at that season of the year. The
defenses which they were preparing for their fortress were not fully
completed, but they were at once convinced that they could