The Daughter of the Commandant Read online

  "Let us see," said he, "if you will be able to keep your word; poetshave as much need of an audience as Ivan Kouzmitch has need of his'_petit verre_' before dinner. And who is this Masha to whom you declareyour tender sentiments and your ardent flame? Surely it must be MaryaIvanofna?"

  "That does not concern you," replied I, frowning; "I don't ask for youradvice nor your suppositions."

  "Oh! oh! a vain poet and a discreet lover," continued Chvabrine,irritating me more and more. "Listen to a little friendly advice: if youwish to succeed, I advise you not to stick at songs."

  "What do you mean, sir?" I exclaimed; "explain yourself if you please."

  "With pleasure," rejoined he. "I mean that if you want to be well withMasha Mironoff, you need only make her a present of a pair of earringsinstead of your languishing verses."

  My blood boiled.

  "Why have you such an opinion of her?" I asked him, restraining withdifficulty my indignation.

  "Because," replied he, with a satanic smile, "because I know byexperience her views and habits."

  "You lie, you rascal!" I shouted at him, in fury. "You are a shamelessliar."

  Chvabrine's face changed.

  "This I cannot overlook," he said; "you shall give me satisfaction."

  "Certainly, whenever you like," replied I, joyfully; for at that momentI was ready to tear him in pieces.

  I rushed at once to Iwan Ignatiitch, whom I found with a needle in hishand. In obedience to the order of the Commandant's wife, he wasthreading mushrooms to be dried for the winter.

  "Ah! Petr' Andrejitch," said he, when he saw me; "you are welcome. Onwhat errand does heaven send you, if I may presume to ask?"

  I told him in a few words that I had quarrelled with Alexey Ivanytch,and that I begged him, Iwan Ignatiitch, to be my second. Iwan Ignatiitchheard me till I had done with great attention, opening wide his singleeye.

  "You deign to tell me," said he, "that you wish to kill Alexey Ivanytch,and that I am to be witness? Is not that what you mean, if I may presumeto ask you?"

  "Exactly."

  "But, good heavens, Petr' Andrejitch, what folly have you got in yourhead? You and Alexey Ivanytch have insulted one another; well, a fineaffair! You needn't wear an insult hung round your neck. He has saidsilly things to you, give him some impertinence; he in return will giveyou a blow, give him in return a box on the ear; he another, youanother, and then you part. And presently we oblige you to make peace.Whereas now--is it a good thing to kill your neighbour, if I may presumeto ask you? Even if it were _you_ who should kill _him_! May heaven bewith him, for I do not love him. But if it be he who is to run youthrough, you will have made a nice business of it. Who will pay for thebroken pots, allow me to ask?"

  The arguments of the prudent officer did not deter me. My resolutionremained firm.

  "As you like," said Iwan Ignatiitch, "do as you please; but what goodshould I do as witness? People fight; what is there extraordinary inthat, allow me to ask? Thank heaven I have seen the Swedes and theTurks at close quarters, and I have seen a little of everything."

  I endeavoured to explain to him as best I could the duty of a second,but I found Iwan Ignatiitch quite unmanageable.

  "Do as you like," said he; "if I meddled in the matter, it would be togo and tell Ivan Kouzmitch, according to the rules of the service, thata criminal deed is being plotted in the fort, in opposition to theinterests of the crown, and remark to the Commandant how advisable itwould be that he should think of taking the necessary measures."

  I was frightened, and I begged Iwan Ignatiitch not to say anything tothe Commandant. With great difficulty I managed to quiet him, and atlast made him promise to hold his tongue, when I left him in peace.

  As usual I passed the evening at the Commandant's. I tried to appearlively and unconcerned in order not to awaken any suspicions, and avoidany too curious questions. But I confess I had none of the coolness ofwhich people boast who have found themselves in the same position. Allthat evening I felt inclined to be soft-hearted and sentimental.

  Marya Ivanofna pleased me more than usual. The thought that perhaps Iwas seeing her for the last time gave her, in my eyes, a touching grace.

  Chvabrine came in. I took him aside and told him about my interview withIwan Ignatiitch.

  "Why any seconds?" he said to me, dryly. "We shall do very well withoutthem."

  We decided to fight on the morrow behind the haystacks, at six o'clockin the morning.

  Seeing us talking in such a friendly manner, Iwan Ignatiitch, full ofjoy, nearly betrayed us.

  "You should have done that long ago," he said to me, with a face ofsatisfaction. "Better a hollow peace than an open quarrel."

  "What is that you say, Iwan Ignatiitch?" said the Commandant's wife, whowas playing patience in a corner. "I did not exactly catch what yousaid."

  Iwan Ignatiitch, who saw my face darken, recollected his promise, becameconfused, and did not know what to say. Chvabrine came to the rescue.

  "Iwan Ignatiitch," said he, "approves of the compact we have made."

  "And with whom, my little father, did you quarrel?"

  "Why, with Petr' Andrejitch, to be sure, and we even got to high words."

  "What for?"

  "About a mere trifle, over a little song."

  "Fine thing to quarrel over--a little song! How did it happen?"

  "Thus. Petr' Andrejitch lately composed a song, and he began singing itto me this morning. So I--I struck up mine, 'Captain's daughter, don'tgo abroad at dead of night!' As we did not sing in the same key, Petr'Andrejitch became angry. But afterwards he reflected that 'every one isfree to sing what he pleases,' and that's all."

  Chvabrine's insolence made me furious, but no one else, except myself,understood his coarse allusions. Nobody, at least, took up the subject.From poetry the conversation passed to poets in general, and theCommandant made the remark that they were all rakes and confirmeddrunkards; he advised me as a friend to give up poetry as a thingopposed to the service, and leading to no good.

  Chvabrine's presence was to me unbearable. I hastened to take leave ofthe Commandant and his family. After coming home I looked at my sword; Itried its point, and I went to bed after ordering Saveliitch to wake meon the morrow at six o'clock.

  On the following day, at the appointed hour, I was already behind thehaystacks, waiting for my foeman. It was not long before he appeared.

  "We may be surprised," he said to me; "we must make haste."

  We laid aside our uniforms, and in our waistcoats we drew our swordsfrom the scabbard.

  At this moment Iwan Ignatiitch, followed by five pensioners, came outfrom behind a heap of hay. He gave us an order to go at once before theCommandant. We sulkily obeyed. The soldiers surrounded us, and wefollowed Iwan Ignatiitch who brought us along in triumph, walking witha military step, with majestic gravity.

  We entered the Commandant's house. Iwan Ignatiitch threw the door wideopen, and exclaimed, emphatically--

  "They are taken!"

  Vassilissa Igorofna ran to meet us.

  "What does all this mean? Plotting assassination in our very fort! IvanKouzmitch, put them under arrest at once. Petr' Andrejitch, AlexeyIvanytch, give up your swords, give them up--give them up. Palashka,take away the swords to the garret. Petr' Andrejitch, I did not expectthis of you; aren't you ashamed of yourself? As to Alexey Ivanytch, it'sdifferent; he was transferred from the Guard for sending a soul into theother world. He does not believe in our Lord! But do you wish to dolikewise?"

  Ivan Kouzmitch approved of all his wife said, repeating--

  "Look there, now, Vassilissa Igorofna is quite right--duels areformally forbidden by martial law."

  Palashka had taken away our swords, and had carried them to the garret.I could not help laughing. Chvabrine looked grave.

  "In spite of all the respect I have for you," he said, coolly, to theCommandant's wife, "I cannot help remarking that you are giving yourselfuseless trouble by trying us at your tribunal. Leave
this cure do IvanKouzmitch--it is his business."

  "What! what! my little father!" retorted the Commandant's wife, "are nothusband and wife the same flesh and spirit? Ivan Kouzmitch, are youtrifling? Lock them up separately, and keep them on broad and water tillthis ridiculous idea goes out of their heads. And Father Garasim shallmake them do penance that they may ask pardon of heaven and of men."

  Ivan Kouzmitch did not know what to do. Marya Ivanofna was very pale.Little by little the storm sank. The Commandant's wife became more easyto deal with. She ordered us to make friends. Palashka brought us backour swords. We left the house apparently reconciled. Ivan Ignatiitchaccompanied us.

  "Weren't you ashamed," I said to him, angrily, "thus to denounce us tothe Commandant after giving me your solemn word not to do so?"

  "As God is holy," replied he, "I said nothing to Ivan Kouzmitch; it wasVassilissa Igorofna who wormed it all out of me. It was she who took allthe necessary measures unknown to the Commandant. As it is, heaven bepraised that it has all ended in this way."

  After this reply he returned to his quarters, and I remained alone withChvabrine.

  "Our affair can't end thus," I said to him.

  "Certainly not," rejoined Chvabrine. "You shall wash out your insolencein blood. But they will watch us; we must pretend to be friends for afew days. Good-bye."

  And we parted as if nothing had happened.

  Upon my return to the Commandant's, I sat down according to my custom byMarya Ivanofna; her father was not at home, and her mother was engagedwith household cares. We spoke in a low voice Marya Ivanofna reproachedme tenderly for the anxiety my quarrel with Chvabrine had occasionedher.

  "My heart failed me," said she, "when they came to tell us that you weregoing to draw swords on each other. How strange men are! For a wordforgotten the next week they are ready to cut each other's throats, andto sacrifice not only their life, but their honour, and the happiness ofthose who--But I am sure it was not you who began the quarrel; it wasAlexey Ivanytch who was the aggressor."

  "What makes you think so, Marya?"

  "Why, because--because he is so sneering. I do not like Alexey Ivanytch;I even dislike him. Yet, all the same, I should not have liked him todislike me; it would have made me very uneasy."

  "And what do you think, Marya Ivanofna, does he dislike you or no?"

  Marya Ivanofna looked disturbed, and grew very red.

  "I think," she said, at last, "I think he likes me."

  "Why?"

  "Because he proposed to me."

  "Proposed to you! When?"

  "Last year, two months before you came."

  "And you did not consent?"

  "As you see, Alexey Ivanytch is a man of wit, and of good family, to besure, well off, too; but only to think of being obliged to kiss himbefore everybody under the marriage crown! No, no; nothing in the worldwould induce me."

  The words of Marya Ivanofna enlightened me, and made many things clearto me. I understood now why Chvabrine so persistently followed her up.He had probably observed our mutual attraction, and was trying to detachus one from another.

  The words which had provoked our quarrel seemed to me the more infamouswhen, instead of a rude and coarse joke, I saw in them a premeditatedcalumny.

  The wish to punish the barefaced liar took more entire possession of me,and I awaited impatiently a favourable moment. I had not to wait long.On the morrow, just as I was busy composing an elegy, and I was bitingmy pen as I searched for a rhyme, Chvabrine tapped at my window. I laiddown the pen, and I took up my sword and left the house.

  "Why delay any longer?" said Chvabrine. "They are not watching us anymore. Let us go to the river-bank; there nobody will interrupt us."

  We started in silence, and after having gone down a rugged path wehalted at the water's edge and crossed swords.

  Chvabrine was a better swordsman than I was, but I was stronger andbolder, and M. Beaupre, who had, among other things, been a soldier, hadgiven me some lessons in fencing, by which I had profited.

  Chvabrine did not in the least expect to find in me such a dangerousfoeman. For a long while we could neither of us do the other any harm,but at last, noticing that Chvabrine was getting tired, I vigorouslyattacked him, and almost forced him backwards into the river.

  Suddenly I heard my own name called in a loud voice. I quickly turned myhead, and saw Saveliitch running towards me down the path. At thismoment I felt a sharp prick in the chest, under the right shoulder, andI fell senseless.