第70章

第70章“ishouldn’thaveexpectedthisofyou,”saidthestaff-captainseriouslyandseverely.“youwon’tapologise,but,mygoodsir,it’snotonlyhim,butalltheregiment,allofus,thatyou’veactedwronglyby;you’retoblameallround.lookhere;ifyou’donlythoughtitover,andtakenadvicehowtodealwiththematter,butyoumustgoandblurtitallstraightoutbeforetheofficers.whatwasthecoloneltodothen？ishetobringtheofficerupfortrialanddisgracethewholeregiment？onaccountofonescoundrelisthewholeregimenttobeputtoshame？isthatthethingforhimtodo,toyourthinking？itisnottoourthinking.andbogdanitchdidtherightthing.hetoldyouthatyouweretellinganuntruth.it’sunpleasant,butwhatcouldhedo？youbroughtitonyourself.andnowwhentheytrytosmooththethingover,you’resohighandmighty,youwon’tapologise,andwanttohavethewholestoryout.you’rehuffyatbeingputonduty,butwhatisitforyoutoapologisetoanoldandhonourableofficer！whateverbogdanitchmaybe,anywayhe’sanhonourableandgallantoldcolonel;you’reoffendedatthat,butdisgracingtheregiment’snothingtoyou.”thestaff-captain’svoicebegantoquaver.“you,sir,havebeennexttonotimeintheregiment;you’rehereto-day,andto-morrowyou’llbepassedonsomewhereasanadjutant;youdon’tcareastrawforpeoplesaying：‘therearethievesamongthepavlogradofficers！’butwedocare！don’twe,denisov？dowecare？”

denisovstilldidnotspeakorstir;hisgleamingblackeyesglancednowandthenatrostov.

“yourprideisdeartoyou,youdon’twanttoapologise,”continuedthestaff-captain,“butweoldfellows,aswegrewupintheregimentand,pleasegod,wehopetodieinit,it’sthehonouroftheregimentisdeartous,andbogdanitchknowsthat.ah,isn’titdeartous！butthisisn’tright;it’snotright！youmaytakeoffenceornot;butialwaysspeaktheplaintruth.it’snotright！”

andthestaff-captaingotupandturnedawayfromrostov.

“that’sthetruth,damnit！”shouteddenisov,jumpingup.“come,rostov,come！”

rostov,turningcrimsonandwhiteagain,lookedfirstatoneofficerandthenattheother.

“no,gentlemen,no…youmustn’tthink…iquiteunderstand,you’rewronginthinkingthatofme…i…forme…forthehonouroftheregimenti’d…butwhytalk？i’llprovethatinactionandformethehonouroftheflag…well,nevermind,it’strue,i’mtoblame！”…thereweretearsinhiseyes.“i’mwrong,wrongallround！well,whatmoredoyouwant？”…

“come,that’sright,count,”criedthestaff-captain,turningroundandclappinghimontheshoulderwithhisbighand.

“itellyou,”shouteddenisov,“he’sacapitalfellow.”

‘that’sbetter,count,”repeatedthecaptain,beginningtoaddresshimbyhistitleasthoughinacknowledgmentofhisconfession.“goandapologise,yourexcellency.”

“gentlemen,i’lldoanything,nooneshallhearawordfromme,”rostovprotestedinanimploringvoice,“butican’tapologise,bygod,ican’t,saywhatyouwill！howcaniapologise,likealittleboyingpardon！”

denisovlaughed.

“it’llbetheworseforyou,ifyoudon’t.bogdanitchdoesn’tforgetthings;he’llmakeyoupayforyourobstinacy,”saidkirsten.

“bygod,it’snotobstinacy！ican’tdescribethefeelingitgivesme.ican’tdoit.”

“well,asyoulike,”saidthestaff-captain.“whathasthescoundreldonewithhimself？”heaskeddenisov.

“hehasreportedhimselfill;to-morrowtheorder’sgivenforhimtobestruckoff,”saiddenisov.

“itisanillness,there’snootherwayofexplainingit,”saidthestaff-captain.

“whetherit’sillnessorwhetherit’snot,he’dbetternotcrossmypath—i’dkillhim,”denisovshoutedbloodthirstily.

zherkovwalkedintotheroom.

“howdoyoucomehere？”theofficerscriedtothenewcomeratonce.

“tothefront,gentlemen.mackhassurrenderedwithhiswholearmy.”

“nonsense！”

“i’veseenhimmyself.”

“what？seenmackalive,withallhisarmsandlegs？”

“tothefront！tothefront！givehimabottleforsuchnews.howdidyoucomehere？”

“i’vebeendismissedbacktotheregimentagainonaccountofthatdevil,mack.theaustriangeneralcomplainedofme.icongratulatedhimonmack’sarrival.…whatisit,rostov,youlookasifyou’djustcomeoutofahotbath？”

“we’vebeeninsuchamesstheselasttwodays,oldboy.”

theregimentaladjutantcameinandconfirmedthenewsbroughtbyzherkov.theywereunderorderstoadvancenextday.

“tothefront,gentlemen！”

“well,thankgod！we’vebeenstickingheretoolong.”