Short Fiction Aleksandr Kuprin (free novel reading sites TXT) đ
- Author: Aleksandr Kuprin
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But no one for a long time had so deeply interested him, even to agitation, as this hoarse, tippling infantry captain. For a whole day Schavinsky did not let him go. As he sat by his side in the cab and watched him surreptitiously, Schavinsky resolved:
âNo, I canât be mistaken;â âthis yellow, squinting face with the cheekbones, these eternal bobs and bows, and the incessant hand washing; above all this strained, nervous, uneasy familiarity.â ââ ⊠But if itâs all true, and Captain Ribnikov is really a Japanese spy, then what extraordinary presence of mind the man must have to play with this magnificent audacity, this diabolically true caricature of a broken-down officer in broad daylight in a hostile capital. What awful sensations he must have, balanced every second of the day on the very edge of certain death!â
Here was something completely inexplicable to Schavinskyâ âa fascinating, mad, cool audacityâ âperhaps the very noblest kind of patriotic devotion. An acute curiosity, together with a reverent fear, drew the journalistâs mind more and more strongly towards the soul of this amazing captain.
But sometimes he pulled himself up mentally: âSuppose Iâve forced myself to believe in a ridiculous preconceived idea? Suppose Iâve just let myself be fooled by a disreputable captain in my inquisitive eagerness to read menâs souls? Surely there are any number of yellow Mongol faces in the Ural or among the Oremburg Cossacks.â Still more intently he looked into every motion and expression of the captainâs face, listened intently to every sound of his voice.
Ribnikov did not miss a single soldier who gave him a salute as he passed. He put his hand to the peak of his cap with a peculiarly prolonged and exaggerated care. Whenever they drove past a church he invariably raised his hat and crossed himself punctiliously with a broad sweep of his arm, and as he did it he gave an almost imperceptible side-glance to his companionâ âis he noticing or not?
Once Schavinsky could hold out no longer, and said: âBut youâre pious, though, Captain.â
Ribnikov threw out his hands, hunched his shoulders up funnily, and said in his hoarse voice: âCanât be helped, old man. Iâve got the habit of it at the Front. The man who fights learns to pray, you know. Itâs a splendid Russian proverb. You learn to say your prayers out there, whether you like it or not. You go into the firing line. The bullets are whirring, terriblyâ âshrapnel, bombsâ ââ ⊠those cursed Japanese shells.â ââ ⊠But it canât be helpedâ âduty, your oath, and off you go! And you say to yourself: âOur Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy Will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.â ââ âŠâââ
And he said the whole prayer to the end, carefully shaping out each sound.
âSpy!â Schavinsky decided.
But he would not leave his suspicion halfway. For hours on end he went on watching and goading the captain. In a private room of a restaurant at dinner he bent right over the table and looked into Ribnikovâs very pupils.
âListen, Captain. No one can hear us now.â ââ ⊠Whatâs the strongest oath I can give you that no one will ever hear of our conversation?â ââ ⊠Iâm convinced, absolutely and beyond all doubt, that youâre a Japanese.â
Ribnikov banged himself on the chest again.
âI am Captâ ââ
âNo, no. Letâs have done with these tricks. You canât hide your face, however clever you are. The line of your cheekbones, the cut of your eyes, your peculiar head, the colour of your skin, the stiff, straggling growth on your faceâ âeverything points beyond all shadow of doubt to you belonging to the yellow race. But youâre safe. I shanât tell on you, whatever offers they make me, however they threaten me for silence. I shanât do you any harm, if itâs only because Iâm full of admiration for your amazing courage. I say moreâ âIâm full of reverence, terror if you like. Iâm a writerâ âthatâs a man of fancy and imagination. I canât even imagine how itâs possible for a man to make up his mind to it: to come thousands of miles from your country to a
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