Staff-Captain Kraut was a light-complexioned,handsome, dashing officer, with a heavy, reddish moustache, andside-whiskers; he spoke Russian capitally, but too elegantly andcorrectly for a Russian. In the service and in his life, he had beenthe same as in his language; he served very well, was a capitalcomrade, and the most faithful of men in money matters; but simplyas a man something was lacking in him, precisely because everythingabout him was so excellent. Like all Russian-Germans, by a strangecontradiction with the ideal German, he was "praktisch" to the highestdegree.
"Here he is, our hero makes his appearance!" said the captain, asKraut, flourishing his arms and jingling his spurs, entered the room."Which will you have, Friedrich Krestyanitch, tea or vodka?"
"I have already ordered my tea to be served," he answered, "but I maytake a little drop of vodka also, for the refreshing of the soul.Very glad to make your acquaintance; I beg that you will love us, andlend us your favor," he said to Volodya, who rose and bowed to him."Staff-Captain Kraut.... The gun-sergeant on the bastion informed methat you arrived last night."
"Much obliged for your bed; I passed the night in it."
"I hope you found it comfortable? One of the legs is broken; but no onecan stand on ceremony--in time of siege--you must prop it up."
"Well, now, did you have a fortunate time on your watch?" askedDyadenko.
"Yes, all right; only Skvortzoff was hit, and we mended one of thegun-carriages last night. The cheek was smashed to atoms."
He rose from his seat, and began to walk up and down; it was plain thathe was wholly under the influence of that agreeable sensation which aman experiences who has just escaped a danger.
"Well, Dmitri Gavrilitch," he said, tapping the captain on the knee,"how are you getting on, my dear fellow? How about your promotion?--noword yet?"
"Nothing yet."
"No, and there will be nothing," interpolated Dyadenko: "I proved thatto you before."
"Why won't there?"
"Because the story was not properly written down."
"Oh, you quarrelsome fellow, you quarrelsome fellow!" said Kraut,smiling gayly; "a regular obstinate Little Russian! Now, just toprovoke you, he'll turn out your lieutenant."
"No, he won't."
"Vlang! fetch me my pipe, and fill it," said he, turning to the yunker,who at once hastened up obligingly with the pipe.
Kraut made them all lively; he told about the bombardment, he inquiredwhat had been going on in his absence, and entered into conversationwith every one.
XVIII.
"Well, how are things? Have you already got settled among us?" Krautasked Volodya.... "Excuse me, what is your name and patronymic? that'sthe custom with us in the artillery, you know. Have you got hold of asaddle-horse?"
"No," said Volodya; "I do not know what to do. I told the captain thatI had no horse, and no money, either, until I get some for forage andtravelling expenses. I want to ask the battery commander for a horse inthe meantime, but I am afraid that he will refuse me."
"Apollon Sergieitch, do you mean?" he produced with his lips a soundindicative of the strongest doubt, and glanced at the captain; "notlikely."
"What's that? If he does refuse, there'll be no harm done," said thecaptain. "There are horses, to tell the truth, which are not needed,but still one might try; I will inquire to-day."
"What! Don't you know him?" Dyadenko interpolated. "He might refuseanything, but there is no reason for refusing this. Do you want to beton it?..."
"Well, of course, everybody knows already that you always contradict."
"I contradict because I know. He is niggardly about other things, buthe will give the horse because it is no advantage to him to refuse."
"No advantage, indeed, when it costs him eight rubles here for oats!"said Kraut. "Is there no advantage in not keeping an extra horse?"
"Ask Skvoretz yourself, Vladimir Semyonitch!" said Vlang, returningwith Kraut's pipe. "It's a capital horse."
"The one you tumbled into the ditch with, on the festival of the fortymartyrs, in March? Hey! Vlang?" remarked the staff-captain.
"No, and why should you say that it costs eight rubles for oats,"pursued Dyadenko, "when his own inquiries show him that it is ten and ahalf; of course, he has no object in it."
"Just as though he would have nothing left! So when you get to bebattery commander, you won't let any horses go into the town?"
"When I get to be battery commander, my dear fellow, my horses will getfour measures of oats to eat, and I shall not accumulate an income,never fear!"
"If we live, we shall see," said the staff-captain; "and you will actjust so, and so will he when he commands a battery," he added, pointingat Volodya.
"Why do you think, Friedrich Krestyanitch, that he would turn it to hisprofit?" broke in Tchernovitzky. "Perhaps he has property of his own;then why should he turn it to profit?"
"No, sir, I ... excuse me, captain," said Volodya, reddening up to hisears, "that strikes me as insulting."
"Oh ho, ho! What a madcap he is!" said Kraut.
"That has nothing to do with it; I only think that if the money werenot mine, I should not take it."
"Now, I'll tell you something right here, young man," began thestaff-captain in a more serious tone, "you are to understand that whenyou command a battery, if you manage things well, that's sufficient;the commander of a battery does not meddle with provisioning thesoldiers; that is the way it has been from time immemorial in theartillery. If you are a bad manager, you will have nothing left. Now,these are the expenditures in conformity with your position: forshoeing your horse,--one (he closed one finger); for the apothecary,--two(he closed another finger); for office work,--three (he shut athird); for extra horses, which cost five hundred rubles, my dearfellow,--that's four; you must change the soldiers' collars, you willuse a great deal of coal, you must keep open table for your officers.If you are a battery-commander, you must live decently; you need acarriage, and a fur coat, and this thing and that thing, and a dozenmore ... but what's the use of enumerating them all!"
"But this is the principal thing, Vladimir Semyonitch," interpolatedthe captain, who had held his peace all this time; "imagine yourself tobe a man who, like myself, for instance, has served twenty years, firstfor two hundred, then for three hundred rubles pay; why should he notbe given at least a bit of bread, against his old age?"
"Eh! yes, there you have it!" spoke up the staff-captain again, "don'tbe in a hurry to pronounce judgment, but live on and serve your time."
Volodya was horribly ashamed and sorry for having spoken sothoughtlessly, and he muttered something and continued to listen insilence, when Dyadenko undertook, with the greatest zeal, to dispute itand to prove the contrary.
The dispute was interrupted by the arrival of the colonel's servant,who summoned them to dinner.
"Tell Apollon Sergieitch that he must give us some wine to-day," saidTchernovitzky, to the captain, as he buttoned up his uniform.--"Why ishe so stingy with it? He will be killed, and no one will get the goodof it."
"Tell him yourself."
"Not a bit of it. You are my superior officer. Rank must be regarded inall things."
XIX.
The table had been moved out from the wall, and spread with a soiledtable-cloth, in the same room in which Volodya had presented himself tothe colonel on the preceding evening. The battery commander now offeredhim his hand, and questioned him about Petersburg and his journey.
"Well, gentlemen, I beg the favor of a glass with any of you who drinkvodka. The ensigns do not drink," he added, with a smile.
On the whole, the battery commander did not appear nearly so sternto-day as he had on the preceding evening; on the contrary, he had theappearance of a kindly, hospitable host, and an elder comrade among theofficers. But, in spite of this, all the officers, from the old captaindown to Ensign Dyadenko, by their very manner of speaking and lookingthe commander straight in the eye, as they approached, one after theother, to drink their vodka, exhibited great respect for him.
The dinner consisted of a large wooden bowl of cabbage-soup, inwhich floated fat chunks of beef, and a huge quantity of pepper andlaurel-leaves, mustard, and Polish meat-balls in a cabbage leaf,turnover patties of chopped meat and dough, and with butter, whichwas not perfectly fresh. There were no napkins, the spoons were ofpewter and wood, there were only two glasses, and on the table stooda decanter of water with a broken neck; but the dinner was not dull;conversation never halted.
At first, their talk turned on the battle of Inkerman, in which thebattery had
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