Part Six: Chapter 10

by Leo Tolstoy

　　Vassenka drove the horses so smartly that they reached the marshtoo early, while it was still hot.

　　As they drew near this more important marsh, the chief aim oftheir expedition, Levin could not help considering how he couldget rid of Vassenka and be free in his movements. StepanArkadyevitch evidently had the same desire, and on his face Levinsaw the look of anxiety always present in a true sportsman whenbeginning shooting, together with a certain good-humored slynesspeculiar to him.

　　"How shall we go? It's a splendid marsh, I see, and there arehawks," said Stepan Arkadyevitch, pointing to two great birdshovering over the reeds. "Where there are hawks, there is sureto be game."

　　"Now, gentlemen," said Levin, pulling up his boots and examiningthe lock of his gun with rather a gloomy expression, "do you seethose reeds?" He pointed to an oasis of blackish green in thehuge half-mown wet meadow that stretched along the right bank ofthe river. "The marsh begins here, straight in front of us, doyou see--where it is greener? From here it runs to the rightwhere the horses are; there are breeding places there, andgrouse, and all round those reeds as far as that alder, and rightup to the mill. Over there, do you see, where the pools are?That's the best place. There I once shot seventeen snipe.We'll separate with the dogs and go in different directions, andthen meet over there at the mill."

　　"Well, which shall go to left and which to right?" asked StepanArkadyevitch. "It's wider to the right; you two go that way andI'll take the left," he said with apparent carelessness.

　　"Capital! we'll make the bigger bag! Yes, come along, comealong!" Vassenka exclaimed.

　　Levin could do nothing but agree, and they divided.

　　As soon as they entered the marsh, the two dogs began huntingabout together and made towards the green, slime-covered pool.Levin knew Laska's method, wary and indefinite; he knew the placetoo and expected a whole covey of snipe.

　　"Veslovsky, beside me, walk beside me!" he said in a faint voiceto his companion splashing in the water behind him. Levin couldnot help feeling an interest in the direction his gun waspointed, after that casual shot near the Kolpensky marsh.

　　"Oh, I won't get in your way, don't trouble about me."

　　But Levin could not help troubling, and recalled Kitty's words atparting: "Mind you don't shoot one another." The dogs camenearer and nearer, passed each other, each pursuing its ownscent. The expectation of snipe was so intense that to Levin thesquelching sound of his own heel, as he drew it up out of themire, seemed to be the call of a snipe, and he clutched andpressed the lock of his gun.

　　"Bang! bang!" sounded almost in his ear. Vassenka had fired at aflock of ducks which was hovering over the marsh and flying atthat moment towards the sportsmen, far out of range. BeforeLevin had time to look round, there was the whir of one snipe,another, a third, and some eight more rose one after another.

　　Stepan Arkadyevitch hit one at the very moment when it wasbeginning its zigzag movements, and the snipe fell in a heap intothe mud. Oblonsky aimed deliberately at another, still flyinglow in the reeds, and together with the report of the shot, thatsnipe too fell, and it could be seen fluttering out where thesedge had been cut, its unhurt wing showing white beneath.

　　Levin was not so lucky: he aimed at his first bird too low, andmissed; he aimed at it again, just as it was rising, but at thatinstant another snipe flew up at his very feet, distracting himso that he missed again.

　　While they were loading their guns, another snipe rose, andVeslovsky, who had had time to load again, sent two charges ofsmall-shot into the water. Stepan Arkadyevitch picked up hissnipe, and with sparkling eyes looked at Levin.

　　"Well, now let us separate," said Stepan Arkadyevitch, andlimping on his left foot, holding his gun in readiness andwhistling to his dog, he walked off in one direction. Levin andVeslovsky walked in the other.

　　It always happened with Levin that when his first shots were afailure he got hot and out of temper, and shot badly the wholeday. So it was that day. The snipe showed themselves innumbers. They kept flying up from just under the dogs, fromunder the sportsmen's legs, and Levin might have retrieved hisill luck. But the more he shot, the more he felt disgraced inthe eyes of Veslovsky, who kept popping away merrily andindiscriminately, killing nothing, and not in the slightestabashed by his ill success. Levin, in feverish haste, could notrestrain himself, got more and more out of temper, and ended byshooting almost without a hope of hitting. Laska, indeed, seemedto understand this. She began looking more languidly, and gazedback at the sportsmen, as it were, with perplexity or reproach inher eyes. Shots followed shots in rapid succession. The smokeof the powder hung about the sportsmen, while in the great roomynet of the game bag there were only three light little snipe.And of these one had been killed by Veslovsky alone, and one byboth of them together. Meanwhile from the other side of themarsh came the sound of Stepan Arkadyevitch's shots, notfrequent, but, as Levin fancied, well-directed, for almost aftereach they heard "Krak, Krak, apporte!"

　　This excited Levin still more. The snipe were floatingcontinually in the air over the reeds. Their whirring wingsclose to the earth, and their harsh cries high in the air, couldbe heard on all sides; the snipe that had risen first and flownup into the air, settled again before the sportsmen. Instead oftwo hawks there were now dozens of them hovering with shrillcries over the marsh.

　　After walking through the larger half of the marsh, Levin andVeslovsky reached the place where the peasants' mowing-grass wasdivided into long strips reaching to the reeds, marked off in oneplace by the trampled grass, in another by a path mown throughit. Half of these strips had already been mown.

　　Though there was not so much hope of finding birds in the uncutpart as the cut part, Levin had promised Stepan Arkadyevitch tomeet him, and so he walked on with his companion through the cutand uncut patches.

　　"Hi, sportsmen!" shouted one of a group of peasants, sitting onan unharnessed cart; "come and have some lunch with us! Have adrop of wine!"

　　Levin looked round.

　　"Come along, it's all right!" shouted a good-humored-lookingbearded peasant with a red face, showing his white teeth in agrin, and holding up a greenish bottle that flashed in thesunlight.

　　"Qu'est-ce qu'ils disent?" asked Veslovsky.

　　"They invite you to have some vodka. Most likely they've beendividing the meadow into lots. I should have some," said Levin,not without some guile, hoping Veslovsky would be tempted by thevodka, and would go away to them.

　　"Why do they offer it?"

　　"Oh, they're merry-making. Really, you should join them. Youwould be interested."

　　"Allons, c'est curieux."

　　"You go, you go, you'll find the way to the mill!" cried Levin,and looking round he perceived with satisfaction that Veslovsky,bent and stumbling with weariness, holding his gun out at arm'slength, was making his way out of the marsh towards thepeasants.

　　"You come too!" the peasants shouted to Levin. "Never fear! Youtaste our cake!"

　　Levin felt a strong inclination to drink a little vodka and toeat some bread. He was exhausted, and felt it a great effort todrag his staggering legs out of the mire, and for a minute hehesitated. But Laska was setting. And immediately all hisweariness vanished, and he walked lightly through the swamptowards the dog. A snipe flew up at his feet; he fired andkilled it. Laska still pointed.--"Fetch it!" Another bird flewup close to the dog. Levin fired. But it was an unlucky day forhim; he missed it, and when he went to look for the one he hadshot, he could not find that either. He wandered all about thereeds, but Laska did not believe he had shot it, and when he senther to find it, she pretended to hunt for it, but did not really.And in the absence of Vassenka, on whom Levin threw the blame ofhis failure, things went no better. There were plenty of snipestill, but Levin made one miss after another.

　　The slanting rays of the sun were still hot; his clothes, soakedthrough with perspiration, stuck to his body; his left boot fullof water weighed heavily on his leg and squeaked at every step;the sweat rain in drops down his powder-grimed face, his mouthwas full of the bitter taste, his nose of the smell of powder andstagnant water, his ears were ringing with the incessant whir ofthe snipe; he could not touch the stock of his gun, it was sohot; his heart beat with short, rapid throbs; his hands shookwith excitement, and his weary legs stumbled and staggered overthe hillocks and in the swamp, but still he walked on and stillhe shot. At last, after a disgraceful miss, he flung his gun andhis hat on the ground.

　　"No, I must control myself," he said to himself. Picking up hisgun and his hat, he called Laska, and went out of the swamp.When he got on to dry ground he sat down, pulled off his boot andemptied it, then walked to the marsh, drank some stagnant-tastingwater, moistened his burning hot gun, and washed his face andhands. Feeling refreshed, he went back to the spot where a snipehad settled, firmly resolved to keep cool.

　　He tried to be calm, but it was the same again. His fingerpressed the cock before he had taken a good aim at the bird. Itgot worse and worse.

　　He had only five birds in his game-bag when he walked out of themarsh towards the alders where he was to rejoin StepanArkadyevitch.

　　Before he caught sight of Stepan Arkadyevitch he saw his dog.Krak darted out from behind the twisted root of an alder, blackall over with the stinking mire of the marsh, and with the air ofa conqueror sniffed at Laska. Behind Krak there came into viewin the shade of the alder tree the shapely figure of StepanArkadyevitch. He came to meet him, red and perspiring, withunbuttoned neckband, still limping in the same way.

　　"Well? You have been popping away!" he said, smilinggood-humoredly.

　　"How have you got on?" queried Levin. But there was no need toask, for he had already seen the full game bag.

　　"Oh, pretty fair."

　　He had fourteen birds.

　　"A splendid marsh! I've no doubt Veslovsky got in your way.It's awkward too, shooting with one dog," said StepanArkadyevitch, to soften his triumph.