The bright disk of the sun, gleaming through the milk-white mist, had
now got well up; the purple-gray horizon gradually widened: but, though
the view became more extended, still it was sharply defined by the
delusive white wall of the fog.
In front of us, on the other side of the forest, could be seen a
good-sized field. Over the field there spread from all sides the smoke,
here black, here milk-white, here purple; and strange forms swept
through the white folds of the mist. Far in the distance, from time to
time, groups of mounted Tatars showed themselves; and the occasional
reports from our rifles, guns, and cannon were heard.
"This isn't any thing at all of an action--mere boys' play," said the
good Captain Khlopof.
The commander of the ninth company of cavalry,[12] who was with us as
escort, rode up to our cannon, and pointing to three mounted Tatars who
were just then riding under cover of the forest, more than six hundred
_sazhens_ from us, asked me to give them a shot or a shell. His request
was an illustration of the love universal among all infantry officers
for artillery practice.
"You see," said he, with a kindly and convincing smile, laying his hand
on my shoulder, "where those two big trees are, right in front of us:
one is on a white horse, and dressed in a black Circassian coat; and
directly behind him are two more. Do you see? If you please, we must"
...
"And there are three others riding along under the lee of the forest,"
interrupted Antónof, who was distinguished for his sharp eyes, and had
now joined us with the pipe that he had been smoking concealed behind
his back. "The front one has just taken his carbine from its case. It's
easy to see, your Excellency."
"Ha! he fired then, fellows. See the white puff of smoke," said
Velenchúk to a group of soldiers a little back of us.
"He must be aiming at us, the blackguard!" replied some one else.
"See, those fellows only come out a little way from the forest. We see
the place: we want to aim a cannon at it," suggested a third. "If we
could only _blant_ a _krenade_ into the midst of 'em, it would scatter
'em." ...
"And what makes you think you could shoot to such a _tistance,_ dear
man?" asked Chikin.
"Only five hundred or five hundred and twenty _sazhens--_--it can't
be less than that," said Maksímof coolly, as though he were speaking
to himself; but it was evident that he, like the others, was terribly
anxious to bring the guns into play. "If the howitzer is aimed up at
an angle of forty-five degrees, then it will be possible to reach that
spot; that is perfectly possible."
"You know, now, that if you aim at that group, it would infallibly hit
some one. There, there! as they are riding along now, please hurry
up and order the gun to be fired," continued the cavalry commander,
beseeching me.
"Will you give the order to limber the gun?" asked Antónof suddenly, in
a jerky base voice, with a slight touch of surliness in his manner.
I confess that I myself felt a strong desire for this, and I commanded
the second cannon to be unlimbered.
The words had hardly left _my_ mouth ere the bomb was powdered and
rammed home; and Antónof, clinging to the gun-cheek, and leaning his
two fat fingers on the carriage, was already getting the gun into
position.
"Little ... little more to the left--now a little to the right--now,
now the least bit more--there, that's right," said he with a proud
face, turning from the gun.
The infantry officer, myself, and Maksímof, in turn sighted along the
gun, and all gave expression to various opinions.
"By God! it will miss," said Velenchúk, clicking with his tongue,
although he could only see over Antónof's shoulder, and therefore had
no basis for such a surmise.
"By-y-y God! it will miss: it will hit that tree right in front,
fellows."
"Two!" I commanded.
The men about the gun scattered. Antónof ran to one side, so as to
follow the flight of the ball. There was a flash and a ring of brass.
At the same instant we were enveloped in gunpowder smoke; and after
the startling report, was heard the metallic, whizzing sound of the
ball rushing off quicker than lightning, amid the universal silence and
dying away in the distance.
Just a little behind the group of horsemen a white puff of smoke
appeared; the Tatars scattered in all directions, and then the sound of
a crash came to us.
"Capitally done!" "Ah! they take to their heels;" "See! the devils
don't like it," were types of the exclamations and jests heard among
the ranks of the artillery and infantry.
"If you had aimed a trifle lower, you'd have hit right in the midst of
him," remarked Velenchúk. "I said it would strike the tree: it did; it
took the one at the right."
[Footnote 12: _jägers._]