Jack Archer: A Tale of the Crimea Read online

  CHAPTER XIII.

  A NOMINAL IMPRISONMENT

  The evening passed pleasantly. There was some music, and the threegirls and their mother sang together, and Jack (who had learntpart-singing at home, for his family were very musical, and everynight were accustomed to sing glees and catches) also, at theirrequest, joined in, taking the part which their brother, when at home,had been accustomed to fill.

  In the course of the evening the boys explained that they had saidnothing to the commandant about their having picked up a littleRussian, as they had thought that it was better to allow him to remainin ignorance of it, as they had had some idea of making their escape.

  "Why, you foolish boys," Paulina said, "where would you escape to?However, perhaps it is as well that you said nothing about it, for heonly sent you here because he thought it would annoy mamma; and if hehad thought you had known any Russian, he might have lodged yousomewhere else."

  "We don't want to escape now, you know," Jack said in his brokenRussian. "We are much more comfortable here than we should be in thecold before Sebastopol."

  The next few days passed pleasantly; sometimes the countess was notpresent, and then the girls would devote themselves to improving theboys' Russian.

  Sometimes two sledges would come to the door, and two of the girlsaccompanied the boys on their drive. On the fourth evening, CountSmerskoff called, and a cloud fell upon the atmosphere.

  The countess received him ceremoniously, and maintained theconversation in frigid tones. The girls scarcely opened their lips,and the midshipmen sat apart, as silent as if they understood no wordof what was passing.

  "I am sorry, countess," the commandant said, "that I was obliged toquarter these two English boys upon you, but every house in the townis full of sick and wounded; and as they were given over to me asofficers, though they look to me more like ship-boys, I could not putthem in prison with the twenty or thirty soldiers whom we captured atthe victory on the heights above Inkerman."

  "It is my duty to receive them," the countess said very coldly, "andit therefore matters little whether it is pleasant or otherwise.Fortunately one of them speaks a few words of French, and my daughterscan therefore communicate with them. So you have twenty or thirtyEnglish prisoners in the jail? Where are all the rest; for, of course,in such a great victory, we must have taken, some thousands ofprisoners?"

  The count glanced angrily at her.

  "They have, no doubt, been sent to Odessa and other places," he said."You do not doubt, countess, surely, that a great victory was gainedby the soldiers of his Majesty?"

  "Doubt," the countess said, in a tone of slight surprise. "Have I notread the official bulletins describing the victory? Only we poorwomen, of course, are altogether ignorant of war, and cannotunderstand how it is that, when they are always beaten, these enemiesof the Czar are still in front of Sebastopol."

  "It may be," said the count, "that the Archdukes are only waitinguntil all the reinforcements arrive to drive them into the sea, orcapture them to the last man."

  "No doubt it is that," said the countess blandly, "but from the numberof sick and wounded who arrive here, to say nothing of those taken toOdessa and the other towns among which, as you say, the prisoners aredistributed, it is to be wished that the reinforcements may soon beup, so as to bring the fighting to an end."

  "The enemy are suffering much more than we are," the governor said,"and before the spring comes we may find that there are none left toconquer. If the soldiers of the Czar, accustomed to the climate asthey are, feel the cold, although they have warm barracks to sleep in,what must be the case with the enemy on the bleak heights? I hear thatthe English newspapers are full of accounts of the terrible sufferingsof their troops. They are dying like sheep."

  "Poor creatures!" the countess said gravely. "They are ourfellow-beings, you know, Count Smerskoff, although they are ourenemies, and one cannot but feel some pity for them."

  "I feel no pity for the dogs," the count said fiercely. "How dare theyset foot on the soil of Holy Russia?"

  "Hating them as you do," the countess said, "it must be annoying foryou indeed, count, to occupy even so exalted a position as that ofgovernor of this town, instead of fighting against the English andFrench."

  The count muttered something between his teeth, which was certainlynot a blessing. Then turning to Katinka, he changed the subject byasking her if she would favor him with some music.

  Without a word, the girl seated herself at the piano and played. Whenshe had finished the piece, she began another without stopping, andcontinued steadily for an hour. The countess leaned back in her chair,as if she considered that conversation would be out of place while herdaughter was playing.

  Count Smerskoff sat quietly for a quarter of an hour. Then he began tofidget in his chair, but he stoically sat on until, when at the end ofan hour Katinka showed no signs whatever of leaving off, he rose, andceremoniously regretting that his duties prevented him from having thepleasure of hearing the conclusion of the charming little piece whichthe young countess was playing (for in Russia all children bear thetitle of their parents) he took his leave.

  When the door had closed behind him, and the sound of his footstepsalong the corridor ceased, the girls burst into a fit of laughter, inwhich the midshipmen joined heartily.

  "Well done, Katinka!" Olga said, clapping her hands. "That was asplendid idea of yours, and you have routed the governor completely.Oh, dear, how cross he did look, and how he fidgeted about as youplayed on and on without stopping! I thought I must have laughedout-right."

  "It was a clever thought," the countess said, "and yet the countcannot complain of want of courtesy. He is a disagreeable man, and abad man; but he is powerfully connected, and it will not do to offendhim. We have enemies enough, heaven knows."

  The boys at the time could not gather the drift of the conversation;but a month later, when their knowledge of the language had greatlyincreased, Olga, when driving in a sledge with Jack, enlightened himas to the position in which they stood.

  "Papa," she said, "is a Liberal, that is to say, he wants all sorts ofreform to be carried out. If he had his way, he would free the serfsand would have the affairs of the nation managed by a parliament, asyou do in England, instead of by the will of the Czar only. I don'tpretend to know anything about it myself, but papa has perhapsexpressed his opinions too openly, and some enemy has carried them tothe ears of the Czar. Nicholas is, you know, though it is treason tosay so, very autocratic and absolute. Papa was never in favor, becausemamma was a Pole, but these terrible opinions finished it. Papa wasforbidden to appear at court, and ordered to live upon his estates,and it is even possible," she said anxiously, "that this will not beall. You don't know Russia, or how dreadful it is to be looked upon asdisaffected here. Papa is so good and kind! His serfs all love him somuch, and every one says that no estates in Russia are better managed.But all this will avail nothing, and it is only because we havepowerful friends at court that worse things have not happened."

  "Unless you are very fond of gayety and society," Jack said, "I don'tthink it can matter much being sent away from St. Petersburg, when youhave such a nice place here."

  "Oh, no," the girl said. "It would not matter at all, only, you see,when any one gets into disgrace there is no saying what may happen. Anenemy misrepresents some speech, some evil report gets to the ears ofthe Czar, and the next day papa might be on his way to Siberia," shedropped her voice as she uttered the dreadful word, "and all hisestates confiscated."

  "What?" said Jack indignantly, "without any trial, or anything? Inever heard such a shame."

  The girl nodded.

  "It is dreadful," she said, "and now, to make matters worse, thatodious Count Smerkoff wants to marry Katinka. She will be rich, as shewill inherit large estates in Poland. Of course, papa and mamma won'tconsent, and Katinka hates him, but, you see, he has got lots ofpowerful relations at court. If it hadn't been for that, I hear thathe would have been dismissed from the army long sinc
e; and, worst ofall, he is governor here, and can send to headquarters any lyingreport he likes, and do papa dreadful harm."

  Jack did not understand anything like all that Olga said, but hegleaned enough to understand the drift of her conversation, and he andDick chatted over the matter very seriously that night.

  Both agreed that something ought to be done. What that something wasto be, neither could offer the remotest suggestion. They were so happyin the family now, were so kindly treated by the countess and herdaughters, that they felt their troubles to be their own, and theywould have done anything which could benefit them.

  "We must think it over, Jack," Dick said, as he turned into bed. "It'sawful to think of all these nice people being at the mercy of a brutelike that. The idea of his wanting to marry the pretty Katinka! Why,he's not good enough to black her boots. I wish we had him in themidshipmen's berth on board the 'Falcon'; we would teach him a thingor two."

  The lads had not availed themselves of the offer of riding-horses, asthey were neither of them accustomed to the exercise, and did not likethe thought of looking ridiculous. But they had eagerly accepted theoffer to have some wolf-shooting.

  One night, everything having been prepared, they took their seats in asledge drawn by two of the fastest horses in the stables of thecountess. A whole battery of guns was placed in the seat with them.The sledge was larger than that which they were accustomed to use, andheld four, besides the driver. Two woodmen--experienced hunters--tooktheir places on the seat facing the midshipmen. A portion of thecarcase of a horse, which had broken its leg and been shot theprevious day, was fastened behind the sledge.

  A drive of an hour took them far into the heart of the forest,although the coachman drove much slower than usual, in order that thehorses might be perfectly fresh when required. Presently the woodmentold the driver that they had gone far enough, and the sledge wasturned, the horses facing homeward. The great lump of meat was thenunfastened from behind the sledge, and a rope some forty yards longattached to it, the other end being fastened to the sledge. The horseswere next moved forward until the rope was tight.

  They were then stopped, rugs were laid across their backs to keep themwarm, and the party awaited the result.

  The young moon was shining in the sky, and dark objects showed clearlyover the white snow for a considerable distance. Half an hour passedwithout a word being spoken, and without a sound breaking the silencethat reigned in the forest. Presently a low whimpering was heard, andthe boys fancied that they could see dark forms moving among thetrees. The horses became restless and excited, and it was as much asthe man standing at their heads could do to quiet them.

  The coachman sat looking back, whip in hand, ready for an instantstart.

  All at once a number of dark objects leaped from among the trees on tothe broad line of snow which marked the road.

  "Jump in, Ivan!" the coachman exclaimed. "Here they come. Keep a sharplook-out on both sides. We can leave those fellows behind standingstill. The only danger is from a fresh pack coming from ahead."

  The peasant leaped into the car, and in an instant the horses dashedoff at a speed which would have taken them far away from the wolveshad not their driver reined them in and quieted them with his voice.

  They soon steadied down into a long sweeping gallop, the coachman attimes looking back and regulating their speed so as to keep the baitgliding along just ahead of the wolves.

  The peasant now gave the signal to the midshipmen, who with their gunscocked were standing up with one knee on the seat to steadythemselves, ready to fire, and the two barrels at once rang out.

  One of the leading wolves, who was but a few yards from the bait,dropped and rolled over, while a sharp whimpering cry told thatanother was wounded.

  The boys had an idea that the wolves would stop to devour their fallencomrade, but the smell of the meat was, it appeared, more tempting,for without a pause they still came on. Again and again the ladsfired, the woodmen handing them spare guns and loading as fast as theydischarged them.

  Suddenly the driver gave an exclamation, and far ahead on the whiteroad, the boys, looking round, could see a dark mass. The peasant,with a stroke of his knife, cut the rope which held the bait.

  The coachman drove forward with increased speed for fifty yards or so,and then suddenly drew up the horses. The peasants in an instantleaped out, each with a rug in his hand, and running to the horses'heads, at once blindfolded the animals by wrapping these around them.Then the men jumped into the sledge again.

  A hundred and fifty yards behind, their late pursuers, in a mass, weregrowling, snarling, and fighting over the meat, but already many,finding themselves unable to obtain a share, had set off in pursuit ofthe prize ahead, which promised to be ample for all.

  To these, however, the peasants paid no attention, but each taking adouble-barrel gun, poured heavy charges of shot in above the bullets.Handing them to the boys, they performed the same operation to theother two guns, which they intended this time to use themselves.

  Standing on the seat, the men prepared to fire at the wolves directlyahead, signing to the boys to lean over, one on each side, andtake those on the flanks of the horses. All this was done in a veryfew seconds, as the sledge glided steadily along towards thefast-approaching foes. When these came within fifty yards, the horseswere sent forward at full gallop. In another second or two the fourbarrels of the woodmen poured their contents into the mass of wolves.The boys waited until the horses were fairly among them, and then theyfired.

  A hideous chorus of yells arose, and the horses at full speed dashedin upon the pack. Already a lane had been prepared for them, and,trampling over dead and dying, they rushed through. In spite of theexecution done by the heavy charges of the midshipmen's double-barrelguns, several wolves tried to spring into the sledge as it went past,and one of them succeeded in leaping upon one of the horses. Theanimal made a wild plunge, but in an instant one of the woodmen sprangto the ground, and buried his long knife in the beast; then, as thesledge swept on again, he caught at the side and clambered into thecar before the wolves, who had already turned in pursuit, could comeup to him.

  The guns were quickly loaded again, and another volley poured into thewolves. Then the coachman, knowing that one of the horses was hurt,and both nearly mad with fright, let them have their heads, and thesledge darted away at a pace which soon left the wolves far in therear. So rapid was the motion indeed, that the boys held on to thesides, expecting every moment that the sledge would be dashed againstthe trees which lined the road. The coachman, however, kept the horsesstraight, and, quieting them down, again brought them to a standstill,when the cloths were taken off their heads, and the journey to thechateau completed at a steady pace.

  "That's sharp work," Jack said, when the wolves had been fairly leftin the rear. "They call that wolf-hunting. I call it being hunted bywolves. These are fine fellows; they were as cool as cucumbers."

  "I've nearly broken my shoulder," Dick grumbled, "The gun with thosetremendous charges kicked like a horse. Well, it's fine fun anyhow,but its rather too risky to be often repeated. If two or three ofthose fellows had got hold of the horses' heads, they would all havebeen upon us, and very short work they would have made of us if theyhad."

  "Ugh!" Jack said with a shudder. "What teeth they have! and whatmouths! It seemed like a sort of nightmare for a moment with thosegreat open mouths and shining teeth, as they leaped towards us, as werushed past. I hope I shan't dream about them."

  "No fear of that," Dick said laughing. "The countess said that somesupper should be ready for us when we got back. I feel tremendouslypeckish. After the night air, and plenty of hot tea and a goodtuck-in, we shall sleep without dreaming, I can venture to say."

  The countess and her daughters had gone to bed long before the returnof the sportsmen. At breakfast next morning the boys attempted torelate their adventures, but their vocabulary being whollyinsufficient, the coachman was sent for, and requested to give a fullaccount of the proceedi
ngs. This he did, and added on his own accountthat the little lords had been as cool and collected as if they hadbeen wolf-hunting all their lives.

  After breakfast, the letter-bag arrived, and the countess, havingopened her correspondence, said that her husband would return the nextday. Great as was the pleasure of the ladies, the boys hardly feltenthusiastic over the news; they were so jolly as they were, that theyfeared any change would be for the worse.

  Next day the count arrived, and the boys soon felt that they had nocause for apprehension. He greeted them with much cordiality, and toldthem that he had heard from the countess that he had to thank them forhaving made the time of his absence pass so cheerfully, and that shehad said she did not know how they would have got through the dulltime without them. The boys, after the manner of their kind, were badhands at compliment; but they managed to express in their best Russiantheir thanks for the extreme kindness which they had received.

  The days went on after the count's arrival much as they had donebefore, except that the boys now took to horse exercise, accompanyingtheir host as he rode round his estate, and visited the variousvillages upon it.

  The houses in these villages astonished the boys. Built of mud, of onestory only and flat-roofed, they each occupied a large extent ofground; for here whole families lived together. As the sons grew upand married, instead of going into separate houses, and setting uplife on their own account, they brought their wives home, as did theirchildren when their turn came also to marry, so that under one roofresided as many as four generations, counting some forty or fiftysouls altogether.

  Each village had its headman, who settled all disputes, but againstwhose decision, if it failed to give satisfaction, there was an appealto the master. The serfs worked, the count told the boys, without pay,but they had so many days in each month when they cultivated the landwhich was common to the village. They could, the count said, be sold,but in point of fact never were sold except with the land.

  "It's a bad system, and I wish that they were as free is your laborersare in England."

  "Of course our people cannot be sold," Jack said, "but after allthere's not so much difference in that respect, for if an estatechanges hands, they work for the new owner just as yours do."

  "Yes, but your laborers cannot be killed or even flogged by theirmasters with impunity."

  "No, I should think not," Jack exclaimed. "We should have a revolutionin no time, if masters were to try that sort of thing."

  "I fear that we shall have one too, some day," the count said, "unlessthe serfs are emancipated. The people are terribly ignorant, but evenamong them some sort of enlightenment is going on, and as they knowbetter they will refuse to live and to work as mere beasts of burden."

  "Will they be better off, sir, than before?" Dick Hawtry asked. "Ihave heard my father say that the negroes in the West Indian islandsare worse off than they were in the days when they were slaves. Theywill not work except just enough to procure themselves means ofliving, and they spend the rest of their lives lying about andsmoking."

  "It would no doubt be the same thing here," the count said, "for atime. The Russian peasant is naturally extremely ignorant andextremely fond of 'vodka.' Probably at first he would be far worse offthan at present. He would be content to earn enough to live and to getdrunk upon, and wide tracts of land would remain untilled. But it isof the future we must think; and who can doubt that in the future,Russia, with a free people and free institutions, with her immenseresources and enormous population, must become the grandest empire onearth?"