In the casemate sat General N., the commander of the bastion, and six other officers, among whom was Praskukhin, discussing various details of the conflict. Seated in this comfortable apartment, with blue hangings, with a sofa, a bed, a table, covered with papers, a wall clock, and the holy pictures, before which burned a lamp, and gazing upon these signs of habitation, and at the arshinthick (twenty-eight inches) beams which formed the ceiling, and listening to the shots, which were deadened by the casemate, Kalugin positively could not understand how he had twice permitted himself to be overcome with such unpardonable weakness. He was angry with himself, and he longed for danger, in order that he might subject himself to another trial., "I am glad that you are here, captain," he said to a naval officer, in the cloak of staffofficer, with a large moustache and the cross of St. George, who entered the casemate at that moment, and asked the general to give him some men, that he might repair the two embrasures on his battery, which had been demolished. " The general ordered me to inquire," continued Kalugin, when the commander of the battery ceased to address the general, "whether your guns can fire grape-shot into the trenches."
" Only one of my guns will do that," replied the captain, gruffly.
" Let us go and see, all the same."
The captain frowned, and grunted angrily: —
" I have already passed the whole night there, and I came here to try and get a little rest," said he. " Cannot you go alone? My assistant. Lieutenant Kartz, is there, and he will show you everything."
The captain had now been for six months in command of this, one of the most dangerous of the batteries — and even when there were no casemates he had lived, without relief, in the bastion and among the sailors, from the beginning of the siege, and he bore a reputation among them for bravery. Therefore his refusal particularly struck and amazed Kalugin. " That's what reputation is worth! " he thought.
" Well, then, I will go alone, if you will permit it," he said, in a somewhat bantering tone to the captain, who, however, paid not the slightest heed to his words.
But Kalugin did not reflect that he had passed, in all, at different times, perhaps fifty hours on the bastion, while the captain had lived there for six months. Kalugin was actuated, moreover, by vanity, by a desire to shine, by the hope of reward, of reputation, and by the charm of risk; but the captain had ah'eady gone through all that: he had been vain at first, he had displayed valor, he had risked his life, he had hoped for fame and guerdon, and had even obtained them, but these actuating motives had already lost their power over him, and he regarded the matter in another light; he fulfilled his duty with punctuality, but understanding quite well how small were the chances for his life which were left him, after a six-months residence in the bastion, he no longer risked these casualties, except in case of stern necessity, so that the young lieutenant, who had entered the battery only a week previous, and who was now showing it to Kalugin, in company with whom he took turns in leaning out of the embrasure, or climbing out on the ramparts, seemed ten times as brave as the captain.
After inspecting the battery, Kalugin returned to the casemate, and ran against the general in the dark, as the latter was ascending to the watch-tower with his staff-officers.
" Captain Praskukhin! " said the general,
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*' please to go to the first lodgement and say to the second battery of the M regiment, which is at work there, that they are to abandon their work, to evacuate the place without making any noise, and to join their regiment, which is standing at the foot of the hill in reserve.... Do you understand? Lead them to their regiment yourself."
And Praskukhin set out for the lodgement on a run.
The firing was growing more infrequent.
X.
"Is this the second battalion of the Mregiment? " asked Praskiikhin, hastening up to the spot, and running against the soldiers who were carrying earth in sacks.
"Where is the commander.^ "
Mikhailoff, supposing that the inquiry was for the commander of the corps, crawled out of his pit, and, taking Praskukhin for the colonel, he stepped up* to him with his hand at his visor.
"The general has given orders... that you... are to be so good as to go... as quickly as possible... and, in particular, as quietly as possible, to the rear... not to the rear exactly, but to the reserve," said Praskukhin, glancing askance at the enemy's fires.