第62章

第62章“isay,fedeshou…didhesayanythingastowhenthebattlesaregoingtobegin？youstoodnearer.theydidsaybonapartehimselfwasinbrunovo.”

“bonaparte！whatnonsensethefellowtalks！whatwon’tyouknownext！nowit’stheprussianthat’srevolting.theaustrian,doyousee,ispacifyinghim.whenhe’squiet,thenthewarwillbeginwithbonaparte.andhetalksofbonaparte’sbeinginbrunovo！it’splainthefellow’safool.you’dbetterkeepyourearsopen.”

“thosedevilsofquartermasters！…thefifthcompany’sturnedintothevillagebynow,andthey’recookingtheirporridge,andwe’renotthereyet.”

“giveusabiscuit,oldman.”

“anddidyougivemeoyesterday？allright,mylad.well,well,godbewithyou.”

“theymighthavemadeahalt,orwe’llhavetodoanotherfourmileswithnothingtoeat.”

“isay,itwasfinehowthosegermansgaveuscarriages.onedrovealong,somethinglike.”

“buthere,lads,thefolksareregularlystrippedbare.thereitwasallpolesofsomesort,allundertherussiancrown,butnowwe’vecometotheregulargermans,myboy.”

“singerstothefront,”thecaptaincalled.andfromthedifferentranksabouttwentymenadvancedtothefront.thedrummer,whowastheirleader,turnedroundfacingthechorusandwavinghisarm,struckupasoldier’ssong,beginning：“thesunwasscarcelydawning,”andendingwiththewords：“so,lads,we’llmarchtoglorywithfatherkamensky.”…thissonghadbeencomposedinturkey,andnowwassunginaustria,theonlychangebeingthesubstitutionofthewords“fatherkutuzov”for“fatherkamensky.”

jerkingoutthelastwordsinsoldierlyfashionandwavinghisarms,asthoughhewereflingingsomethingontheground,thedrummer,alean,handsomesoldierofforty,lookedsternlyatthesoldier-chorusandfrowned.then,havingsatisfiedhimselfthatalleyeswerefixeduponhim,hegesticulated,asthoughhewerecarefullyliftingsomeunseenpreciousobjectoverhisheadinbothhands,holdingittheresomeseconds,andallatoncewithadesperatemovementflingingitaway.

“ah,thethresholdofmycottage,

mynewcottage.”

heretwentyvoicescaughtuptherefrain,andthecastanetplayer,inspiteoftheweightofhisweaponandknapsack,boundednimblyforward,andwalkedbackwardsfacingthecompany,shakinghisshoulders,andseemingtomenacesomeonewiththecastanets.thesoldierssteppedoutintimetothesong,swingingtheirarmsandunconsciouslyfallingintostep.behindthecompanycamethesoundofwheels,therumbleofsprings,andthetrampofhorses.kutuzovandhissuiteweregoingbacktothetown.thecommander-in-chiefmadeasignforthesoldierstogoonfreely,andheandallhissuitelookedasthoughtheytookpleasureinthesoundofthesinging,andthespectacleofthedancingsoldierandthegaily,smartlymarchingmen.inthesecondrowfromtherightflank,besidewhichthecarriagepassed,theycouldnothelpnoticingtheblue-eyedsoldier,dolohov,whomarchedwithaspecialjauntinessandgraceintimetothesong,andlookedatthefacesofthepersonsdrivingbywithanexpressionthatseemedtopityeveryonewhowasnotatthatmomentmarchingintheranks.thecornetofhussars,theofficerofkutuzov’ssuite,whohadmimickedthegeneral,fellbackfromthecarriageandrodeuptodolohov.

thecornetofhussars,zherkov,hadatonetimebelongedtothefastsetinpetersburg,ofwhichdolohovhadbeentheleader.zherkovhadmetdolohovabroadasacommonsoldier,andhadnotseenfittorecognisehim.butnow,afterkutuzov’sconversationwiththedegradedofficer,headdressedhimwithallthecordialityofanoldfriend.

“friendofmyheart,howareyou？”hesaid,throughthesinging,makinghishorsekeeppacewiththemarchingsoldiers.

“howami？”dolohovansweredcoldly.“asyousee.”thelivelysonggaveapeculiarflavourtothetoneoffree-and-easygaiety,withwhichzherkovspoke,andthestudiedcoldnessofdolohov’sreplies.

“well,howdoyougetonwithyourofficers？”askedzherkov.

“allright;they’regoodfellows.howdidyoumanagetopokeyourselfontothestaff？”

“iwasattached;i’monduty.”

theyweresilent.

“mygaygoshawkitookwithme,

frommyrightsleeveisethimfree,”

saidthesong,arousinganinvoluntarysensationofcourageandcheerfulness.theirconversationwouldmostlikelyhavebeendifferent,iftheyhadnotbeentalkingwhilethesongwassinging.

“isittrue,theaustrianshavebeenbeaten？”askeddolohov.

“devilknows;theysayso.”

“i’mglad,”dolohovmadeabrief,sharpreply,aswasrequiredtofitinwiththetune.

“isay,comeroundtoussomeevening;we’llhaveagameoffaro,”saidzherkov.

“ismoneysoplentifulamongyou？”

“docome.”

“ican’t;i’veswornnotto.iwon’tdrinkorplaytilli’mpromoted.”

“well,butinthefirstaction…”

“thenweshallsee.”againtheypaused.

“youcome,ifyouwantanything;onecanalwaysbeofuseonthestaff.…”

dolohovgrinned.“don’ttroubleyourself.whatiwant,i’mnotgoingtoaskfor;itakeitformyself.”

“oh,well,ionly…”

“well,andionly.”

“good-bye.”

无一错一首一发一内一容一在一6一9一书一吧一看！

“good-bye.”

“andfarandfree

tohisowncountry.”

zherkovputspurstohishorse,whichthreetimespickedupitslegsexcitedly,notknowingwhichtostartfrom,thengallopedoffroundthecompany,andovertookthecarriage,keepingtimetootothesong.