Chapter VI
The male population of the village spend their time on militaryexpeditions and in the cordon--or 'at their posts', as the Cossackssay. Towards evening, that same Lukashka the Snatcher, about whom theold women had been talking, was standing on a watch-tower of theNizhni-Prototsk post situated on the very banks of the Terek. Leaningon the railing of the tower and screwing up his eyes, he looked now farinto the distance beyond the Terek, now down at his fellow Cossacks,and occasionally he addressed the latter. The sun was alreadyapproaching the snowy range that gleamed white above the fleecy clouds.The clouds undulating at the base of the mountains grew darker anddarker. The clearness of evening was noticeable in the air. A sense offreshness came from the woods, though round the post it was still hot.The voices of the talking Cossacks vibrated more sonorously thanbefore. The moving mass of the Terek's rapid brown waters contrastedmore vividly with its motionless banks. The waters were beginning tosubside and here and there the wet sands gleamed drab on the banks andin the shallows. The other side of the river, just opposite the cordon,was deserted; only an immense waste of low-growing reeds stretched faraway to the very foot of the mountains. On the low bank, a little toone side, could be seen the flat-roofed clay houses and thefunnel-shaped chimneys of a Chechen village. The sharp eyes of theCossack who stood on the watch-tower followed, through the eveningsmoke of the pro-Russian village, the tiny moving figures of theChechen women visible in the distance in their red and blue garments.
Although the Cossacks expected abreks to cross over and attack themfrom the Tartar side at any moment, especially as it was May when thewoods by the Terek are so dense that it is difficult to pass throughthem on foot and the river is shallow enough in places for a horsemanto ford it, and despite the fact that a couple of days before a Cossackhad arrived with a circular from the commander of the regimentannouncing that spies had reported the intention of a party of someeight men to cross the Terek, and ordering special vigilance--nospecial vigilance was being observed in the cordon. The Cossacks,unarmed and with their horses unsaddled just as if they were at home,spent their time some in fishing, some in drinking, and some inhunting. Only the horse of the man on duty was saddled, and with itsfeet hobbled was moving about by the brambles near the wood, and onlythe sentinel had his Circassian coat on and carried a gun and sword.The corporal, a tall thin Cossack with an exceptionally long back andsmall hands and feet, was sitting on the earth-bank of a hut with hisbeshmet unbuttoned. On his face was the lazy, bored expression of asuperior, and having shut his eyes he dropped his head upon the palmfirst of one hand and then of the other. An elderly Cossack with abroad greyish-black beard was lying in his shirt, girdled with a blackstrap, close to the river and gazing lazily at the waves of the Terekas they monotonously foamed and swirled. Others, also overcome by theheat and half naked, were rinsing clothes in the Terek, plaiting afishing line, or humming tunes as they lay on the hot sand of the riverbank. One Cossack, with a thin face much burnt by the sun, lay near thehut evidently dead drunk, by a wall which though it had been in shadowsome two hours previously was now exposed to the sun's fierce slantingrays.
Lukashka, who stood on the watch-tower, was a tall handsome lad abouttwenty years old and very like his mother. His face and whole build, inspite of the angularity of youth, indicated great strength, bothphysical and moral. Though he had only lately joined the Cossacks atthe front, it was evident from the expression of his face and the calmassurance of his attitude that he had already acquired the somewhatproud and warlike bearing peculiar to Cossacks and to men generally whocontinually carry arms, and that he felt he was a Cossack and fullyknew his own value. His ample Circassian coat was torn in some places,his cap was on the back of his head Chechen fashion, and his leggingshad slipped below his knees. His clothing was not rich, but he wore itwith that peculiar Cossack foppishness which consists in imitating theChechen brave. Everything on a real brave is ample, ragged, andneglected, only his weapons are costly. But these ragged clothes andthese weapons are belted and worn with a certain air and matched in acertain manner, neither of which can be acquired by everybody and whichat once strike the eye of a Cossack or a hillsman. Lukashka had thisresemblance to a brave. With his hands folded under his sword, and hiseyes nearly closed, he kept looking at the distant Tartar village.Taken separately his features were not beautiful, but anyone who sawhis stately carriage and his dark-browed intelligent face wouldinvoluntarily say, 'What a fine fellow!'
'Look at the women, what a lot of them are walking about in thevillage,' said he in a sharp voice, languidly showing his brilliantwhite teeth and not addressing anyone in particular.
Nazarka who was lying below immediately lifted his head and remarked:
'They must be going for water.'
'Supposing one scared them with a gun?' said Lukashka, laughing,'Wouldn't they be frightened?'
'It wouldn't reach.'
'What! Mine would carry beyond. Just wait a bit, and when their feastcomes round I'll go and visit Girey Khan and drink buza there,' saidLukashka, angrily swishing away the mosquitoes which attachedthemselves to him.
A rustling in the thicket drew the Cossack's attention. A pied mongrelhalf-setter, searching for a scent and violently wagging its scantilyfurred tail, came running to the cordon. Lukashka recognized the dog asone belonging to his neighbour, Uncle Eroshka, a hunter, and saw,following it through the thicket, the approaching figure of the hunterhimself.
Uncle Eroshka was a gigantic Cossack with a broad, snow-white beard andsuch broad shoulders and chest that in the wood, where there was no oneto compare him with, he did not look particularly tall, so wellproportioned were his powerful limbs. He wore a tattered coat and, overthe bands with which his legs were swathed, sandals made of undresseddeer's hide tied on with strings; while on his head he had a roughlittle white cap. He carried over one shoulder a screen to hide behindwhen shooting pheasants, and a bag containing a hen for luring hawks,and a small falcon; over the other shoulder, attached by a strap, was awild cat he had killed; and stuck in his belt behind were some littlebags containing bullets, gunpowder, and bread, a horse's tail to swishaway the mosquitoes, a large dagger in a torn scabbard smeared with oldbloodstains, and two dead pheasants. Having glanced at the cordon hestopped.
'Hy, Lyam!' he called to the dog in such a ringing bass that it awokean echo far away in the wood; and throwing over his shoulder his biggun, of the kind the Cossacks call a 'flint', he raised his cap.
'Had a good day, good people, eh?' he said, addressing the Cossacks inthe same strong and cheerful voice, quite without effort, but as loudlyas if he were shouting to someone on the other bank of the river.
'Yes, yes. Uncle!' answered from all sides the voices of the youngCossacks.
'What have you seen? Tell us!' shouted Uncle Eroshka, wiping the sweatfrom his broad red face with the sleeve of his coat.
'Ah, there's a vulture living in the plane tree here, Uncle. As soon asnight comes he begins hovering round,' said Nazarka, winking andjerking his shoulder and leg.
'Come, come!' said the old man incredulously.
'Really, Uncle! You must keep watch,' replied Nazarka with a laugh.
The other Cossacks began laughing.
The wag had not seen any vulture at all, but it had long been thecustom of the young Cossacks in the cordon to tease and mislead UncleEroshka every time he came to them.
'Eh, you fool, always lying!' exclaimed Lukashka from the tower toNazarka.
Nazarka was immediately silenced.
'It must be watched. I'll watch,' answered the old man to the greatdelight of all the Cossacks. 'But have you seen any boars?'
'Watching for boars, are you?' said the corporal, bending forward andscratching his back with both hands, very pleased at the chance of somedistraction. 'It's abreks one has to hunt here and not boars! You'venot heard anything, Uncle, have you?' he added, needlessly screwing uphis eyes and showing his close-set white teeth.
'Abreks,' said the old man. 'No, I
haven't. I say, have you anychikhir? Let me have a drink, there's a good man. I'm really quite doneup. When the time comes I'll bring you some fresh meat, I really will.Give me a drink!' he added.
'Well, and are you going to watch?' inquired the corporal, as though hehad not heard what the other said.
'I did mean to watch tonight,' replied Uncle Eroshka. 'Maybe, withGod's help, I shall kill something for the holiday. Then you shall havea share, you shall indeed!'
'Uncle! Hallo, Uncle!' called out Lukashka sharply from above,attracting everybody's attention. All the Cossacks looked up at him.'Just go to the upper water-course, there's a fine herd of boars there.I'm not inventing, really! The other day one of our Cossacks shot onethere. I'm telling you the truth,' added he, readjusting the musket athis back and in a tone that showed he was not joking.
'Ah! Lukashka the Snatcher is here!' said the old man, looking up.'Where has he been shooting?'
'Haven't you seen? I suppose you're too young!' said Lukashka. 'Closeby the ditch,' he went on seriously with a shake of the head. 'We werejust going along the ditch when all at once we heard somethingcrackling, but my gun was in its case. Elias fired suddenly ... ButI'll show you the place, it's not far. You just wait a bit. I knowevery one of their footpaths ... Daddy Mosev,' said he, turningresolutely and almost commandingly to the corporal, 'it's time torelieve guard!' and holding aloft his gun he began to descend from thewatch-tower without waiting for the order.
'Come down!' said the corporal, after Lukashka had started, and glancedround. 'Is it your turn, Gurka? Then go ... True enough your Lukashkahas become very skilful,' he went on, addressing the old man. 'He keepsgoing about just like you, he doesn't stay at home. The other day hekilled a boar.'
The Cossacks: A Tale of 1852 Page 6