Elsewhere, Tarolin suddenly stopped and said, "All right, we're turning back now. Let's go see whether we can find anything new where we stopped earlier."
"Squad leader, if we suddenly turn back, we probably won't find anything, will we?" Makarić asked.
Tarolin rebuked him, "Don't talk back at a time like this. Just do as I say."
The small squad then hurried back at full speed.
"Stop!" Tarolin suddenly ordered. "Don't disturb the scene."
Sharp-eyed, Tarolin immediately noticed changes where they had stopped earlier. To prevent his soldiers from destroying the traces, he had the unit remain around the perimeter.
"Someone passed through here just now, and most likely a Serbian scout," Tarolin said with great certainty.
Makarić asked, "Squad leader, how do you know?"
Tarolin pointed to the grass on the ground. "Look. Hasn't the grass here been bent over?"
"Couldn't we have stepped on it ourselves?" Makarić said. "After all, we walk this mountain path every day, and there aren't any different footprints on the ground."
Tarolin shook his head. "That only shows you aren't observant enough. Look carefully at the direction in which this patch of grass was bent. These stalks were clearly flattened sideways by someone's shoes. We patrol lengthwise, so the traces left behind are obviously different."
"And here—there's a fallen leaf that looks very out of place." As he spoke, Tarolin picked up a leaf from the ground.
He placed the leaf on his palm and said, "This leaf is clearly still fresh. Even its stem is green, and there's sap here. It was obviously brought here by something external. Did any of you break off leaves here earlier?"
Everyone shook their heads. "No."
"Exactly!" Tarolin continued. "We didn't leave this leaf here, so someone else most likely brought it here."
"Keep looking. The