108
PARTISAN REVIEW
reached our ears; a rasping of foot-steps on the hard snow, far
away, on the white plain; coarse laughs that seemed to congeal,
made to sound very near owing to the purity of the rarefied f reez–
ing air; the noise of shooting re-echoing fitfully, like a ricocheting
ball; then, very far away,
a
lullaby as old as creation itself, sung
in the soft tones of a drunk man. "You shall look like a bogatyr,
and you shall have the soul of a kozak ..."was the burden.
"Mikhail Kolenko has been found!"
Like a tornado a man crossed the threshold. The others inter–
rupted their guzzling, mouths full, elbows raised, glasses touching
their lips.
"What's that? ..." said the leader. "What's that? ..."
His voice was almost caressing. Gently he stroked his chin.
The fresh arrival quickly added:
"He was hiding in a peasant's cellar, but Matejko can't be
found. Perhaps he too is hiding in somebody's cellar."
"Bring Kolenko! And find me the other bastard!"
The fellow spun round and dissolved in Marianka's glacial
darkness. The leader went back to his drink, taking gentle sips,
puffing out his cheeks before swallowing, slyly watching the four
of us and his companions, a grin on his fleshy lips. With the back
of his hand he continued to stroke his stubbly beard and now and
then he belched sonorously, with relish. Steps soon grated on the
frozen earth and two men appeared, escorting Mikhail Kolenko.
His arms were tied behind him.
Though the candle light was very faint, Kolenko's frightened
eyes blinked as he looked around him. When he recognized the
leader, I saw him grow pale and his long giant arms made an
effort towards freedom. Someone punched him in the back and he
landed up against the table with a thud. At that identical moment,
the leader's revolvered hand struck his face, and from the top of
his forehead to his chin the revolver butt slashed open the pris–
oner's face. The blood streamed and its jet blinded the man. He
yelled. He bounced backwards, but welcoming arms pushed him
forward. He wept like a birched child.
"Ah, so you are back again ..." said the leader. "You wanted
to sneak away, you traitor. ... Ah, you wanted to sneak away...."
He spoke in the honied tone of a man enquiring after your
