Part Two: Chapter 15

by Leo Tolstoy

　　The place fixed on for the stand-shooting was not far above astream in a little aspen copse. On reaching the copse, Levin gotout of the trap and led Oblonsky to a corner of a mossy, swampyglade, already quite free from snow. He went back himself to adouble birch tree on the other side, and leaning his gun on thefork of a dead lower branch, he took off his full overcoat,fastened his belt again, and worked his arms to see if they werefree.

　　Gray old Laska, who had followed them, sat down warily oppositehim and pricked up her ears. The sun was setting behind a thickforest, and in the glow of sunset the birch trees, dotted aboutin the aspen copse, stood out clearly with their hanging twigs,and their buds swollen almost to bursting.

　　From the thickest parts of the copse, where the snow stillremained, came the faint sound of narrow winding threads of waterrunning away. Tiny birds twittered, and now and then flutteredfrom tree to tree.

　　In the pauses of complete stillness there came the rustle of lastyear's leaves, stirred by the thawing of the earth and the growthof the grass.

　　"Imagine! One can hear and see the grass growing!" Levin saidto himself, noticing a wet, slate-colored aspen leaf movingbeside a blade of young grass. He stood, listened, and gazedsometimes down at the wet mossy ground, sometimes at Laskalistening all alert, sometimes at the sea of bare tree tops thatstretched on the slope below him, sometimes at the darkening sky,covered with white streaks of cloud.

　　A hawk flew high over a forest far away with slow sweep of itswings; another flew with exactly the same motion in the samedirection and vanished. The birds twittered more and more loudlyand busily in the thicket. An owl hooted not far off, and Laska,starting, stepped cautiously a few steps forward, and putting herhead on one side, began to listen intently. Beyond the streamwas heard the cuckoo. Twice she uttered her usual cuckoo call,and then gave a hoarse, hurried call and broke down.

　　"Imagine! the cuckoo already!" said Stepan Arkadyevitch, comingout from behind a bush.

　　"Yes, In hear it," answered Levin, reluctantly breaking thestillness with his voice, which sounded disagreeable to himself."Now it's coming!"

　　Stepan Arkadyevitch's figure again went behind the bush, andLevin saw nothing but the bright flash of a match, followed bythe red glow and blue smoke of a cigarette.

　　"Tchk! tchk!" came the snapping sound of Stepan Arkadyevitchcocking his gun.

　　"What's that cry?" asked Oblonsky, drawing Levin's attention toa prolonged cry, as though a colt were whinnying in a high voice,in play.

　　"Oh, don't you know it? That's the hare. But enough talking!Listen, it's flying!" almost shrieked Levin, cocking his gun.

　　They heard a shrill whistle in the distance, and in the exacttime, so well known to the sportsman, two seconds later--another, a third, and after the third whistle the hoarse,guttural cry could be heard.

　　Levin looked about him to right and to left, and there, justfacing him against the dusky blue sky above the confused mass oftender shoots of the aspens, he saw the flying bird. It wasflying straight towards him; the guttural cry, like the eventearing of some strong stuff, sounded close to his ear; the longbeak and neck of the bird could be seen, and at the veryinstant when Levin was taking aim, behind the bush where Oblonskystood, there was a flash of red lightning: the bird dropped likean arrow, and darted upwards again. Again came the red flash andthe sound of a blow, and fluttering its wings as though trying tokeep up in the air, the bird halted, stopped still and instant,and fell with a heavy splash on the slushy ground.

　　"Can I have missed it?" shouted Stepan Arkadyevitch, who couldnot see for the smoke.

　　"Here it is!" said Levin, pointing to Laska, who with one earraised, wagging the end of her shaggy tail, came slowly back asthough she would prolong the pleasure, and as it were smiling,brought the dead bird to her master. "Well, I'm glad you weresuccessful," said Levin, who, at the same time, had a sense ofenvy that he had not succeeded in shooting the snipe.

　　"It was a bad shot from the right barrel," responded StepanArkadyevitch, loading his gun. "Sh...it's flying!"

　　The shrill whistles rapidly following one another were heardagain. Two snipe, playing and chasing one another, and onlywhistling, not crying, flew straight at the very heads of thesportsmen. There was the report of four shots, and like swallowsthe snipe turned swift somersaults in the air and vanished fromsight.

　　The stand-shooting was capital. Stepan Arkadyevitch shot twomore birds and Levin two, of which one was not found. It beganto get dark. Venus, bright and silvery, shone with her softlight low down in the west behind the birch trees, and high up inthe east twinkled the red lights of Arcturus. Over his headLevin made out the stars of the Great Bear and lost them again.The snipe had ceased flying; but Levin resolved to stay a littlelonger, till Venus, which he saw below a branch if birch, shouldbe above it, and the stars of the Great Bear should be perfectlyplain. Venus had risen above the branch, and the ear of theGreat Bear with its shaft was now all plainly visible against thedark blue sky, yet still he waited.

　　"Isn't it time to go home?" said Stepan Arkadyevitch.

　　It was quite still now in the copse, and not a bird was stirring.

　　"Let's stay a little while," answered Levin.

　　"As you like."

　　They were standing now about fifteen paces from one another.

　　"Stiva!" said Levin unexpectedly; "how is it you don't tell mewhether your sister-in-law's married yet, or when she's going tobe?"

　　Levin felt so resolute and serene that no answer, he fancied,could affect him. But he had never dreamed of what StepanArkadyevitch replied.

　　"She's never thought of being married, and isn't thinking of it;but she's very ill, and the doctors have sent her abroad.They're positively afraid she may not live."

　　"What!" cried Levin. "Very ill? What is wrong with her? Howhas she...?"

　　While they were saying this, Laska, with ears pricked up, waslooking upwards at the sky, and reproachfully at them.

　　"They have chosen a time to talk," she was thinking. "It's onthe wing.... Here it is, yes, it is. They'll miss it," thoughtLaska.

　　But at that very instant both suddenly heard a shrill whistlewhich, as it were, smote on their ears, and both suddenly seizedtheir guns and two flashes gleamed, and two gangs sounded at thevery same instant. The snipe flying high above instantly foldedits wings and fell into a thicket, bending down the delicateshoots.

　　"Splendid! Together!" cried Levin, and he ran with Laska into thethicket to look for the snipe.

　　"Oh, yes, what was it that was unpleasant?" he wondered. "Yes,Kitty's ill.... Well, it can't be helped; I'm very sorry," hethought.

　　"She's found it! Isn't she a clever thing?" he said, taking thewarm bird from Laska's mouth and packing it into the almost fullgame bag. "I've got it, Stiva!" he shouted.