第505章

第505章inthemiddleofthisnewstorypierrewassummonedtothegovernor.

hewentintocountrastoptchin’sstudy.rastoptchin，frowning，passedhishandacrosshisforeheadandeyesaspierreentered.ashortmanwassayingsomething，butassoonaspierrewalkedinhestopped，andwentout.

“ah！greetingstoyou，valiantwarrior，”saidrastoptchinassoonastheothermanhadlefttheroom.“wehavebeenhearingaboutyourprouesses！butthat’snotthepoint.moncher，entrenous，areyouamason？”saidcountrastoptchininaseveretone，thatestedthatitwasacrimetobeso，butthatheintendedtopardonit.pierredidnotspeak.“moncher，jesuisbieninformé；butiknowthattherearemasonsandmasons，andihopeyoudon’tbelongtothoseamongthemwho，bywayofregeneratingthehumanrace，aretryingtoruinrussia.”

“yes，iamamason，”answeredpierre.

“wellthen，lookhere，mydearboy.youarenotunaware，idaresay，ofthefactthatsperanskyandmagnitskyhavebeensent—totheirproperplace—andthesamehasbeendonewithklutcharyovandtheotherswho，undertheguiseofbuildingupthetempleofsolomon，havebeentryingtodestroythetempleoftheirfatherland.youmaytakeitforgrantedtherearegoodreasonsforit，andthaticouldnothavebanishedthedirectorofthepost-officehereifhehadnotbeenadangerousperson.now，ithasreachedmyearsthatyousenthimyourcarriagetogetoutofthetown，andthatyouhaveeventakenchargeofhispapers.ilikeyou，andwishyounoharm，andasyouarehalfmyage，iadviseyou，asafathermight，tobreakoffallconnectionwithpeopleofthatsort，andtogetawayfromhereyourselfasquicklyasyoucan.”

“butwhatwasklutcharyov’scrime？”askedpierre

“that’smybusiness；andit’snotyourstoquestionme，”criedrastoptchin.

“ifheisaccusedofhavingcirculatednapoleon’sproclamation，thechargehasnotbeenproved，”saidpierre，notlookingatrastoptchin.“andvereshtchagin…”

“nousyvoilà，”rastoptchinsuddenlybrokein，scowlingandshoutinglouderthanever.“vereshtchaginisatraitorandadeceiver，whowillreceivethepunishmenthedeserves，”hesaid，withthevindictivenesswithwhichpeoplespeakattherecollectionofanaffront.“butididnotsendforyoutocriticisemyactions，butinordertogiveyouadviceoracommand，ifyouwillhaveitso.ibegyoutobreakoffallconnectionwithklutcharyovandhisset，andtoleavethetown.andi’llknockthenonsenseoutofthem，whereverimayfindit.”and，probablybecomingconsciousthathewastakingaheatedtonewithbezuhov，whowasasyetguiltyofnooffence，headded，takingpierre’shandcordially：“weareontheeveofapublicdisaster，andihaven’ttimetosaycivilthingstoeveryonewhohasbusinesswithme.myheadisattimesinaperfectwhirl.well，whatareyougoingtodo，youpersonally？”

“oh，nothing，”answeredpierre，withhiseyesstilldowncast，andnochangeintheexpressionofhisdreamyface

thecountfrowned.

“unconseild’ami，moncher.decamp，andassoonasmaybe，that’smyadvice.abonentendeur，salut！good-bye，mydearboy.oh，bytheway，”hecalledafterhimatthedoor，“isittruethecountesshasfallenintotheclutchesoftheholyfathersofthesocietyofjesus？”

pierremadenoanswer.hewalkedoutfromrastoptchin’sroom，scowlingandwrathfulashehadneverbeenseenbefore.

bythetimehereachedhomeitwasgettingdark.eightpersonsofdifferentkindswerewaitingonhimthatevening.asecretaryofacommittee，thecolonelofhisbattalionofmilitia，hissteward，hisbailiff，andotherpersonswithpetitions.allofthemhadbusinessmatterswithpierre，whichhehadtosettle.hehadnounderstandingoftheirquestions，norinterestinthem，andansweredthemwiththesoleobjectofgettingridofthesepeople.atlasthewasleftalone，andhebrokeopenandreadhiswife’sletter.

“they—thesoldiersonthebattery，princeandreykilled…theoldman.…simplicityissubmissiontogod’swill.onehastosuffer…thesignificanceofthewhole…onemustharnessalltogether…mywifeisgoingtobemarried.…onemustforgetandunderstand…”and，withoutundressing，hethrewhimselfonhisbedandatoncefellasleep.

whenhewakedupnextmorninghisstewardcameintoannouncethatapoliceofficialwasbelow，sentexpresslybycountrastoptchintofindoutwhethercountbezuhovhadgone，orwasgoingaway.

adozendifferentpeoplewerewaitinginthedrawing-roomtoseepierreonbusiness.pierredressedinhaste，andinsteadofgoingdowntoseethem，herandownthebackstaircaseandoutbythebackentrytothegates.

fromthatmomenttilltheoccupationofmoscowwasover，nooneofbezuhov’shouseholdsawhimagain，norcoulddiscoverhiswhereabouts，inspiteofeveryefforttotrackhimdown.