第34章

But no, Andrii was not the man to go alive into captivity.Yet he was not to be seen among the slaughtered Cossacks.Taras pondered deeply and went past his men without hearing that some one had for some time been calling him by name."Who wants me?" he said, finally arousing himself from his reflections.Before him stood the Jew, Yankel."Lord colonel! lord colonel!" said the Jew in a hasty and broken voice, as though desirous of revealing something not utterly useless, "I have been in the city, lord colonel!"Taras looked at the Jew, and wondered how he had succeeded in getting into the city."What enemy took you there?""I will tell you at once," said Yankel."As soon as I heard the uproar this morning, when the Cossacks began to fire, I seized my caftan and, without stopping to put it on, ran at the top of my speed, thrusting my arms in on the way, because I wanted to know as soon as possible the cause of the noise and why the Cossacks were firing at dawn.I ran to the very gate of the city, at the moment when the last of the army was passing through.I looked, and in command of the rearguard was Cornet Galyandovitch.He is a man well known to me; he has owed me a hundred ducats these three years past.I ran after him, as though to claim the debt of him, and so entered the city with them.""You entered the city, and wanted him to settle the debt!" said Bulba;"and he did not order you to be hung like a dog on the spot?""By heavens, he did want to hang me," replied the Jew; "his servants had already seized me and thrown a rope about my neck.But I besought the noble lord, and said that I would wait for the money as long as his lordship liked, and promised to lend him more if he would only help me to collect my debts from the other nobles; for I can tell my lord that the noble cornet had not a ducat in his pocket, although he has farms and estates and four castles and steppe-land that extends clear to Schklof; but he has not a penny, any more than a Cossack.If the Breslau Jews had not equipped him, he would never have gone on this campaign.That was the reason he did not go to the Diet.""What did you do in the city? Did you see any of our people?""Certainly, there are many of them there: Itzok, Rachum, Samuel, Khaivalkh, Evrei the pawnbroker--""May they die, the dogs!" shouted Taras in a rage."Why do you name your Jewish tribe to me? I ask you about our Zaporozhtzi.""I saw none of our Zaporozhtzi; I saw only Lord Andrii.""You saw Andrii!" shouted Bulba."What is he doing? Where did you see him? In a dungeon? in a pit? dishonoured? bound?""Who would dare to bind Lord Andrii? now he is so grand a knight.Ihardly recognised him.Gold on his shoulders and his belt, gold everywhere about him; as the sun shines in spring, when every bird twitters and sings in the orchard, so he shines, all gold.And his horse, which the Waiwode himself gave him, is the very best; that horse alone is worth two hundred ducats."Bulba was petrified."Why has he put on foreign garments?""He put them on because they were finer.And he rides about, and the others ride about, and he teaches them, and they teach him; like the very grandest Polish noble.""Who forced him to do this?"

"I should not say that he had been forced.Does not my lord know that he went over to them of his own free will?""Who went over?"

"Lord Andrii."

"Went where?"

"Went over to their side; he is now a thorough foreigner.""You lie, you hog's ear!"

"How is it possible that I should lie? Am I a fool, that I should lie?

Would I lie at the risk of my head? Do not I know that Jews are hung like dogs if they lie to nobles?""Then it means, according to you, he has betrayed his native land and his faith?""I do not say that he has betrayed anything; I merely said that he had gone over to the other side.""You lie, you imp of a Jew! Such a deed was never known in a Christian land.You are making a mistake, dog!""May the grass grow upon the threshold of my house if I am mistaken!

May every one spit upon the grave of my father, my mother, my father's father, and my mother's father, if I am mistaken! If my lord wished Ican even tell him why he went over to them."

"Why?"

"The Waiwode has a beautiful daughter.Holy Father! what a beauty!"Here the Jew tried his utmost to express beauty by extending his hands, screwing up his eyes, and twisting his mouth to one side as though tasting something on trial.

"Well, what of that?"

"He did it all for her, he went there for her sake.When a man is in love, then all things are the same to him; like the sole of a shoe which you can bend in any direction if you soak it in water."Bulba reflected deeply.He remembered the power of weak woman--how she had ruined many a strong man, and that this was the weak point in Andrii's nature--and stood for some time in one spot, as though rooted there."Listen, my lord, I will tell my lord all," said the Jew."As soon as I heard the uproar, and saw them going through the city gate, I seized a string of pearls, in case of any emergency.For there are beauties and noble-women there; 'and if there are beauties and noble-women,' I said to myself, 'they will buy pearls, even if they have nothing to eat.' And, as soon as ever the cornet's servants had set me at liberty, I hastened to the Waiwode's residence to sell my pearls.I asked all manner of questions of the lady's Tatar maid; the wedding is to take place immediately, as soon as they have driven off the Zaporozhtzi.Lord Andrii has promised to drive off the Zaporovians.""And you did not kill him on the spot, you devil's brat?" shouted Bulba.

"Why should I kill him? He went over of his own free will.What is his crime? He liked it better there, so he went there.""And you saw him face to face?"

"Face to face, by heavens! such a magnificent warrior! more splendid than all the rest.God bless him, he knew me, and when I approached him he said at once--""What did he say?"