XII

So, after all, they had not been mere sport, those years of

drilling, of exercising, of training to "stand up," to "lie down,"

to "run," etc., etc. . . .

It had been all for the sake of war, and it was to war that we were

going. My companion in exile, I mean my Barker, did not wish to

part from me. Ashamed though I am, I must yet call him "my true

friend." Human beings as a rule forget favors rendered. This is

the way God has made them. In very truth, it is only your soldier,

your fellow in exile, and your dog that are able to serve you and

love you at the risk of their own lives. I chased Barker away, but

he kept on following me. I struck him: he took the blows, and

licked my hands. I struck him over the legs with the stock of my

gun. He broke out in a whine, and ran after me, limping. Marusya

caught him and locked him up in the stable. I thought I had gotten

rid of him. But some hours later I saw him limping after me. Then

I realized that the dog was fated to share all the troubles of

campaign life with me. And my Barker became a highly respectable

dog. The first day he eyed everybody with a look of suspicion. The

bright buttons and the blue uniforms scared him; possibly because

buttons and uniforms went with stocks of guns like the one that had

given him the lame leg. By and by Barker picked me and Jacob out

from among the soldiers, and kept near us. They used to say in our

company that Barker was a particular friend of jews, and he knew a

Jew when he saw one. Very likely that was so. But then they never

knew how many slices of bread and meat Barker had gotten from Jewish

hands before he knew the difference.

Just about that time we got other new companions. One of them was a

certain Pole, Vassil Stefanovich Zagrubsky, blessed be his memory,

Jew-hater though he was.

The beginning of our acquaintance promised no good. That particular

Pole was poor but proud--a poor fellow with many wants. Then he was

a smoker, too. I also enjoyed a smoke when I had an extra copper in

my pocket. But Zagrubsky had a passion for smoking, and when he had

no tobacco of his own, he demanded it of others. That was his way:

he could not beg; he could only demand. Three of us shared one

tent: Zagrubsky, Serge, and myself. Serge was a soldier in

comfortable circumstances. He had taken some money with him from

home, and received a monthly allowance from his parents. He always

had excellent tobacco. Once, when he happened to open his tobacco

pouch to roll a cigarette, Zagrubsky took notice of it, and put

forth his hand to take some tobacco. That was his way: whenever he

saw a tobacco pouch open, he would try to help himself to some of

its contents. But Serge was one of those peasants whose ambition

extends beyond their class. He was painfully proud, prouder than

any of the nobles. Before entering the service he had made up his

mind to "rise." He wanted to become an officer, so that the

villagers would have to stand at attention before him, when he

returned home. Therefore he gave Zagrubsky a supercilious look of

contempt, and unceremoniously closed the pouch when the Pole wanted

to take some tobacco. I was sorry for the Pole, and offered him

some of my own tobacco. He did not fail to take it, but at the same

time I heard him sizzle out "Zhid" from between his tightly closed

lips. I looked at him in amazement: how on earth could he guess I

was a Jew, when I spoke my Russian with the right accent and

inflection, while his was lame, broken, and half mixed with Polish?

That was a riddle to me. But I had no time to puzzle it out, and I

forgot it on the spot.

We had long been occupying the same position, waiting for a merry

beginning. All that time seemed to us something like a preparation

for a holiday; but the long tiresome wait was disgusting. In the

meantime something extraordinary happened in our camp. Our camp was

surrounded by a cordon of sentries. At some distance from the

cordon was the camp of the purveyors, the merchants who supplied the

soldiers with all kinds of necessaries. Without a special permit no

purveyor could pass the line of sentries and enter the camp.

It happened that one of those purveyors excited the suspicion of

Jacob. Without really knowing why, Jacob came to consider him a

suspicious character. Even Barker, timid dog that he was, once

viciously attacked that particular man, as if to tear him to pieces.

And it was with great difficulty that Jacob saved him from Barker's

teeth. But from that time on Jacob began to watch the man closely.

That very day we were told that General Luders was going to visit

our camp. Jacob was doing sentry duty. Just then the suspicious

purveyor appeared suddenly, as if he had sprung out of the ground.

Jacob had his eye on him. Presently Jacob noticed that the fellow

was hiding behind a bank of earth; he saw him take out a pistol from

his pocket and aim it somewhere into space. That very moment

General Luders appeared on the grounds. Without thinking much,

Jacob aimed his gun at the purveyor and shot him dead. On

investigation, it turned out that the purveyor was a Pole, who had

smuggled himself into the camp in order to assassinate the General.

Then they began to gossip in the regiment about Jacob's "rising."

General Luders patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Bravo,

officer!"

A few days later I met Jacob: he looked pale and worn out. His

smile was more like the frozen smile of the agony of death. I told

him I had dreamt he was drowning in a river of oil. Then he told me

confidentially that he had promised his superiors to renounce his

faith.

Well, in the long run, it appeared that there was much truth in

Jacob's idea, that a Jew in exile must not accept favors from

Gentiles. And the temptation to which Jacob had been exposed was

certainly much harder to stand than a thousand lashes, or even, for

that matter, the whole bitter life of a Cantonist. The pity of it!

A few days later Zagrubsky was appointed to serve Jacob. But when

Zagrubsky reported for duty, Jacob dismissed him. It was against

Jacob's nature to have others do for him what he could do himself.

Zagrubsky departed, hissing "Zhid" under his breath. It was the way

he had treated me. My patience was gone. I put myself in his way,

stopped him and asked him: "Now listen, you Pollack, how do you come

to find out so quickly who is a Jew, and who is not? As far as I

can see, you cannot speak Russian correctly yourself: why, then, do

you spy on others? I have not yet forgotten that it was on account

of my tobacco that you recognized I was a Zhid, too."

"O, that is all very simple," said he. "I never saw such

lickspittles as the Jews are. They are always ready to oblige

others with their favors and refuse honors due to themselves. That

is why the authorities favor them so much. Do you wish to know what

a Jew is? A Jew is a spendthrift, a liar, a whip-kisser, a sneak.

He likes to be trampled on much more than others like to trample on

him. He makes a slave of himself in order to be able to enslave

everybody else. I hate the Jews, especially those from whom I ever

get any favors."

Well, by this time I am ready almost to agree with many of the

Pole's assertions. The Jew is very lavish in his dealings with

Gentiles. He is subservient, and always ready to give up what is

his due. All that is a puzzle to the Gentiles, and every Jew who

has been brought up and educated among them knows that as well as I

do. Sometimes they have a queer explanation for it. A gentile who

has ever tasted of Jewish kindness and unselfishness will say to

himself, "Very likely the Jew feels that he owes me much more."

To be brief: Zagrubsky and I became very much attached to each

other. But we never tried to disguise our feelings. I knew he was

my enemy, and he knew that I was repaying him in kind, with open

enmity. That was just what Zagrubsky liked. We loved our mutual

cordial hatred. When one feels like giving vent to his feelings,

like hating, cursing, or detesting somebody or something, one's

enemy becomes dearer than a hundred friends.

Then there came a certain day, and that day brought us closer

together for a moment, closer than we should ever be again. It

happened at night . . . . cursed be that night! swallowed up the

following day! . . . .

We soldiers had long become tired of our drill and our manoeuvres;

we got tired of "attacking" under the feint of a "retreat," and of

"retreating" under the feint of an "attack." We were disgusted with

standing in line and discharging our guns into the air, without ever

seeing the enemy. In our days a soldier hated feints and

make-believes. "Get at your enemy and crush his head, or lie down

yourself a crushed 'cadaver'"--that was our way of fighting, and

that was the way we won victories. As our general used to say: "The

bullet is a blind fool, but the bayonet is the real thing."

At last, at last, we heard the quick, nervous notes of the bugle,

and the hurried beats of the drum, the same we used to hear year in,

year out. But till that moment it was all "make-believe" drill. It

was like what we mean by the passage in the Passover Haggodah: "Any

one who is in need may come, and partake of the Passah-lamb. . . ."

Till that moment we used to attack the air with our bayonets and

pierce space right and left, "as if" the enemy had been before us,

ready for our steel. We were accustomed to pierce and to vanquish

the air and spirits, and that is all. At the same time there was

something wonderful, sweet, and terrible in those blasts of the

bugle, something that was the very secret of soldiery, something

that went right into our souls when we returned home from our drill.

. . .

But on that day it was not drill any more, and not make-believe any

more, no! Before us was the real enemy, looking into our very eyes

and thirsting for our blood.

Then, just for a moment I thought of myself, of my own flesh, which

was not made proof against the sharp steel. I remembered that I had

many an account to settle in this world; that I had started many a

thing and had not finished it; and that there was much more to

start. I thought of my own enemies, whom I had not harmed as yet.

I thought of my friends, to whom I had so far done no good. In

short, I thought I was just in the middle of my lifework, and that

the proper moment to die had not yet come. But all that came as a

mere flash. For in the line of battle my own self was dissolved, as

it were, and was lost, just like the selves of all who were there.

I became a new creature with new feelings and a new consciousness.

But the thing cannot be described: one has to be a soldier and stand

in the line of battle to feel it. You may say, if you like, that I

believe that the angel-protectors of warring nations descend from on

high, and in the hour of battle enter as new souls into the soldiers

of the line.

Then and there an end came also to the vicissitudes of my Barker. I

found him dead, stretched out at full length on a bank of earth,

which was the monument over the grave of the heroes of the first

day's fighting. In the morning they all went to battle in the full

flowering of strength and thirsty for victory, only to be dragged

down at night into that hole, to be buried there. Well, the earth

knows no distinction between one race and another; its worms feed

alike on Jew and Gentile. But there, in Heaven, they surely know

the difference between one soul and another, and each one is sent to

its appointed place.

I was told that Jacob was among those buried in the common grave.

Quite likely. I whispered a Kaddish over the grave, giving it the

benefit of the doubt.

Of course, I was not foolish enough to cry over the cadaver of a

dog; and yet it was a pity. After all, it was a living creature,

too; it had shared all kinds of things with me: exile, hunger,

rations, blows. And it had loved me, too. . . .

The next morning we were out again. In a moment line faced line,

man faced man, enemy faced enemy. It was a mutual murderous

attraction, a bloodthirsty love, a desire to embrace and to kill.

It was very much like the pull I felt towards Marusya.

. . . . Lightening. . . . shots. . . . thunder. . . . The talk of

the angel-protectors it is. . . . Snakes of fire flying upward,

spreading out . . . . shrapnel . . . . bombs a-bursting . . . .

soldiers standing . . . . reeling . . . . falling . . . . crushed,

or lapping their own blood. . . . Thinning lines . . . . breast to

breast. . . . Hellish howls over the field. . . .

Crashing comes the Russian music, drowning all that hellish chorus,

pouring vigor, might, and hope into the hearts of men. . . .

Alas, the music breaks off. . . . Where is the bugle? . . . . The

trumpet is silenced. . . . The trombone breaks off in the middle of

a note. . . . Only one horn is left. . . . Higher and higher rise

its ringing blasts, chanting, as it were, "Yea, thought I walk

through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for

Thou art with me!"

In mighty embrace men clasp one another. . . . Stabbing, being

stabbed . . . . killing, being killed. . . . .

I work away right and left, I expect my death-blow at every moment,

but I seem to be charmed: swords and bayonets surround me, but never

touch me. . . .

Yes, it was a critical moment; it could not last much longer; one

side had to give way.

But the Russians could not retreat, because in their very midst the

priest was standing, the ikon of the Virgin in one hand and the

crucifix in the other.

The soldiers looked at the images, got up new courage, and did

wonders.

Do you remember the Biblical story of the brazen serpent? That was

just like it.

Well, a bullet came flying, whistling, through the air, and the

priest fell. Then the ikon and the crucifix began to wobble this

way and that way, and fell down, too. The soldiers saw it, lost

heart, and wanted to run.

At that moment I felt as if I were made of three different men.

Just imagine: Samuel the individual, Samuel the soldier, and Samuel

the Jew.

Says Samuel the individual: "You have done well enough, and it is

all over for now. Run for dear life."

Says Samuel the soldier: "Shame on you, where is your bravery? The

regimental images are falling. Try, perhaps they may be saved yet."

Says Samuel the Jew: "Of course, save; for a Jew must ever do more

than is expected of him."

But Samuel the individual replies: "Do you remember how many lashes

you have suffered on account of these very images?"

Says Samuel the Jew again: "Do you know what these images are, and

to what race they belong?"

Many such thoughts flashed through my brain; but it was all in a

moment. And in a moment I was at the side of the priest. He was

alive; he was only wounded in his hand. I raised him to his feet,

put the images into his hands, lifted them up, and supported them.

"This way, Russians!"

I do not know who shouted these words. Perhaps I did; perhaps some

one else; perhaps it was from Heaven.

However, the victory was ours.

But I did not remain on my feet a long time; a bullet struck me, and

I fell. . . . .

What happened then, I cannot tell. All I know is that I dreamt

something very agreeable: I was a little boy again, hanging on to

my father's coat-tails, and standing beside him in the Klaus on a

Yom-Kippur even, during the most tearful prayers, and a mischievous

little boy began to play with me, pricking my leg with a needle

every now and then. . . .

When I came to my senses, I found myself in a sea of howls, groans,

and cries, which seemed to be issuing from the very depths of the

earth. For a moment I thought I was in purgatory, among the sinners

who undergo punishment. But pretty soon I recognized everything. I

turned my head, and saw Zagrubsky lying near me, wounded and

groaning. He looked at me, and there was love and hatred mixed in

that look. "Zhid," said he, with his last breath, and gave up the

ghost.

Rest in peace, thou beloved enemy of mine!

From behind I heard someone groaning and moaning; but the voice

sounded full and strong. I turned my head in the direction of the

voice, and I saw that Serge Ivanovich was lying on his side and

moaning. He looked around, stood up for a while, and lay down

again. This manoeuvre he repeated several times in succession. You

see, the rascal was scheming to his own advantage. He knew very

well that in the end he would have to fall down and groan for good.

So he thought it was much cheaper and wiser to do it of his own free

will, than to wait for something to throw him down. The scamp had

seen what I had done before I fell. A thought came to him. He

helped me to my feet, bandaged my wound, and said:

"Now listen, Samuel: you have certainly done a very great thing; but

it is worth nothing to you personally. Nay, worse: they might again

try to make you renounce your faith. So it is really a danger to

you. But, if you wish, just say that I have done it, and I shall

repay you handsomely for it. The priest will not know the

difference."

Well, it is this way: I always hated get-rich-quick schemes. I

never cared a rap for a penny I had not expected and was not ready

to earn. Take, for instance, what I did with the priest: Did I

ever expect any honors or profits out of it? Such possible honors

and profits I certainly did not like, and did not look for.

Besides, who could assure me that they would not try again to coax

me into renouncing my faith? Why, then, should I put myself into

such trouble? And I said to Serge:

"You want it badly, Serge, do you? You'd like to see yourself

promoted, to be an officer? Is that so? Very well, then. Make out

a paper assigning the house to Marusya."

"I promise faithfully."

"I believe no promises."

"What shall I do?"

"You have paper and pencil in your pocket?"

"Certainly!"

I turned around, supported myself on both my arms and one knee, and

made a sort of a rickety table of myself. And on my back Serge

wrote out his paper, and signed it. But all that was really

unnecessary. He would have kept his word anyway. For he was always

afraid I might blurt out the whole story. Not I, though. May I

never have anything in common with those who profit by falsehoods!

As to what happened later, I cannot tell you exactly. For I was

taken away, first to a temporary hospital, and then to a permanent

one. I fell into a fever and lost consciousness. I do not know how

many days or weeks passed by: I was in a different world all that

time. How can I describe it to you? Well, it was a world of chaos.

It was all jumbled together: father, mother, military service,

ikons, lashes, lambs slaughtered, Peter, bullets, etc., etc.

It was all in a jumble, all topsyturvy. And in the midst of that

chaos I felt as if I were a thing apart from myself. My head ached,

and yet it felt as if it did not belong to me. . . . Finally I

thought I felt mother bathing me; a delicious feeling of moisture

spread over my flesh, and my headache disappeared. Then I felt a

warm, soft hand pass over my forehead, cheeks, and neck. . . .

I opened my eyes, the first time since I lost consciousness, and I

exclaimed:

"Marusya!?"

"Yes, yes," said she, with a smile, while her eyes brimmed with

tears, "it is I." And behind her was another face:

"Anna?!"

"Rest, rest," said they, warningly. "Thanks to God, the crisis is

over."

I doubted, I thought it was all a dream. But it was no dream. It

was all very simple: Anna and Marusya had enlisted and were serving

as volunteer nurses at the military hospital, and I had known

nothing of it.

"Marusya," said I, "please tell me how do I happen to be here?"

Then she began to tell me how they brought me there, and took me

down from the wagon as insensible as a log. But she could not

finish her story; she began to choke with tears, and Anna finished

what Marusya wanted to tell me.