第611章

第611章likealloldpeople,kutuzovsleptlittleatnight.heoftendroppedintosuddennapsduringthedaytime,butatnighthelayonhisbedwithoutundressing,andgenerallynotasleepbutthinking.

hewaslyinglikethatnowonhisbedstead,hishuge,heavy,misshapenheadleaningonhisfathand.hewasthinkingwithhisoneeyewideopen,gazingintothedarkness.

sincebennigsen,whowasincorrespondencewiththetsarandhadmoreweightthanalltherestofthestaff,hadavoidedhim,kutuzovwasmoreateasesofarasnotbeingcompelledtoleadhissoldiersintouselessoffensiveoperations.thelessonoftarutinoandthedaybeforethebattle,amemorythatrankledinkutuzov’smind,must,hethought,haveitseffectonthemtoo.

“theyoughttounderstandthatwecanbutlosebytakingtheoffensive.timeandpatience,thesearemychampions！”thoughtkutuzov.heknewtheapplemustnotbepickedwhileitwasgreen.itwillfallofitselfwhenripe,butifyoupickitgreen,youspoiltheappleandthetreeandsetyourteethonedge.likeanexperiencedhunter,heknewthebeastwaswounded,woundedasonlythewholeforceofrussiacouldwoundit;butwhethertodeathornot,wasaquestionnotyetsolved.nowfromthesendingoflauristonandbertemy,andfromthereportsbroughtbytheirregulars,kutuzovwasalmostsurethatthewoundwasadeadlyone.butmoreproofwaswanted;hemustwait.

“theywanttorunandlookhowtheyhavewoundedhim.waitabit,youwillsee.alwaysman？uvres,attacks,”hethought.“whatfor？anythingtodistinguishthemselves.asthoughtherewereanyfuninfighting.theyarelikechildrenfromwhomyoucannevergetasensibleviewofthingsbecausetheyallwanttoshowhowwelltheycanfight.butthat’snotthepointnow.andwhatskilfulman？uvresallthesefellowspropose！theythinkthatwhentheyhavethoughtoftwoorthreecontingencies（herecalledthegeneralplanfrompetersburg）thattheyhavethoughtofallofthem.andthereisnolimittothem！”