Free The Cossacks by Leo Tolstoy Page A

reloaded his gun and watched the floating log. A little way down the river it stopped in the shallows, and something large floated out from behind it.
    “What did you shoot? Why won’t you tell us?” the Cossacks repeated.
    “I told you, a Chechen!” Lukashka said.
    “You’re pulling our leg! I bet your gun just went off!”
    “I killed a Chechen—that’s what the shot was!” Lukashka said, jumping to his feet, his voice shaking. “There was a man swimming across, and I killed him! Look over there!” He pointed to the shallows.
    “You’re lying!” Ergushov said, rubbing his eyes.
    “No, I’m not! Look over there! Look!” Lukashka said, grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him with such force that Ergushov gasped.
    Ergushov looked to where Lukashka was pointing. He saw the body in the water and immediately changed his tone. “Well, look at that! But, as God is my witness, I’m sure there’ll be others coming, too!” he said quietly and began loading his rifle. “That man you shot was a scout! The others must be close by—somewhere up that riverbank, as God is my witness!”
    Lukashka began unfastening his belt and slipped off his Circassian coat.
    “Where do you think you’re going?” Ergushov hissed. “If you so much as show yourself, you’ll be done for, as God is my witness! You’ve already shot that Chechen, it’s not like he’s going to get away now! Give me some powder—you have some? Nazarka, get back to the checkpoint as fast as you can, but don’t go along the riverbank, otherwise they’ll pick you off!”
    “Go back on my own?” Nazarka snapped angrily. “You go!”
    Lukashka, having removed his jacket, crawled toward the riverbank.
    “Don’t go in the water!” Ergushov said, priming the pan of his rifle with powder. “Can’t you see he’s not moving? It’s almost morning—let’s wait till our mounted patrol gets here! Go back to the checkpoint, Nazarka! Look at him, he’s frightened! There’s no need to be frightened, as God is my witness!”
    “Lukashka, hey, Lukashka!” Nazarka called out. “You didn’t say how you shot him!”
    Lukashka suddenly stopped, having changed his mind about going into the river.
    “Why don’t the two of you head back to the checkpoint! I’ll keep watch here! Tell the others to send the patrol; those Chechens might well be on this side of the river by now, we have to catch them!”
    “My point exactly! They’ll get away!” Ergushov said, getting up. “They have to be caught, that’s for sure! Stay here and don’t move! You’ll be done for if they see you! Keep your eyes peeled, do you hear?”
    “I know, I know,” Lukashka said. Examining his rifle again, he crouched back down behind the log. Ergushov and Nazarka crossed themselves and headed back to the checkpoint over the forest path, cutting their way through the brambles to avoid the riverbank.
    Lukashka sat alone, watching the shallows and listening for the Cossack patrol. It was a long way to the checkpoint, but he was plagued by impatience—he was worrying that the Chechens following the man he had killed might manage to escape. He was just as furious as he had been when the boar had gotten away the evening before. He kept glancing around, looking up and down the bank, expecting to see a man any moment. He had set up his rifle rest and was ready to shoot. That he might be the one who could be shot never crossed his mind.
9
    It was growing light. The Chechen’s body, bobbing gently in the shallows, was now clearly visible. There was a rustling in the reeds next toLukashka; he heard steps and saw the tops of the reeds moving. He cocked his rifle and whispered, “In the name of the Father and the Son,” but as the rifle catch clicked the footsteps fell silent.
    “Hey there, Cossacks! Don’t shoot old Uncle Eroshka!” a calm bass voice called, and the old man stepped out from the reeds.
    “By God, I almost killed you!” Lukashka said.
    “What did you