The Enchanted Wanderer and Other Stories

Lieutenant Colonel Svinyin was in despair; he gave himself the only possible satisfaction by venting his wrath on Postnikov, whom he at once sent under arrest straight from there to the punishment cells, and then said a few sharp words to Miller, accusing him of “humaneering,” which was good for nothing in military service; but all that was not enough to set things straight. To find, if not a justification, then at least an excuse for such an act as a sentry’s abandoning his post, was impossible, and there remained only one way out: to conceal the whole affair from the sovereign …

But was it possible to conceal such an occurrence?

By the look of it, it appeared impossible, since the saving of the perishing man was not only known to all the guards, but was known to that detestable invalid officer as well, who by then, of course, had managed to bring it all to the knowledge of General Kokoshkin.

Where gallop off to now? Rush to whom? Seek help and protection from whom?

Svinyin wanted to gallop to the grand duke Mikhail Pavlovich⁵ and tell him everything candidly. Such maneuvers were current then. Let the grand duke, with his fiery character, get angry and shout at him, but his temper and habits were such that, the more harsh and even painfully offensive he was at first, the sooner he would become merciful afterwards and even intercede on his own. There had been not a few occasions like that, and sometimes they were sought out on purpose. “Names can never hurt,” and Svinyin wanted very much to bring the matter to that favorable state, but was it possible to gain access to the palace at night and disturb the grand duke? Yet if he waited until morning and appeared before Mikhail Pavlovich after Kokoshkin had come to the sovereign with his report, it would be too late. While Svinyin was fretting amidst such difficulties, he softened, and his mind began to perceive one more way out, which until then had been hidden in the mist.

IX

In the number of well-known military maneuvers there is one which holds that, at the moment when the greatest danger threatens from the walls of a besieged fortress, do not withdraw from it, but go straight up to its walls. Svinyin decided not to do any of the things that had first come into his head, but immediately to go straight to Kokoshkin.

Many horrific and preposterous things were said about the superintendent of police Kokoshkin at that time in Petersburg, but, among others, it was maintained that he possessed an astonishingly many-sided tact and with the aid of this tact was not only “able to make a mountain out of a molehill, but, with equal ease, was able to make a molehill out of a mountain.”

Kokoshkin was indeed very stern and forbidding and inspired great fear in everyone, but he sometimes indulged pranksters and good fun-lovers among the military, and there were many such pranksters then, and more than once they chanced to find in his person a powerful and zealous protector. Generally, he could do much and knew how to do it, if only he wanted to. Svinyin and Captain Miller both knew this about him. Miller also strengthened his battalion commander’s resolve to go immediately to Kokoshkin and trust in his magnanimity and “many-sided tact,” which would probably dictate to the general how to wriggle out of this vexing incident without provoking the sovereign’s wrath, which Kokoshkin, to his credit, always made great efforts to avoid.

Svinyin put on his overcoat, raised his eyes aloft, and, exclaiming “Lord, Lord!” several times, drove off to Kokoshkin.

It was now past four o’clock in the morning.

X

Superintendent of Police Kokoshkin was awakened, and it was announced to him that Svinyin had come on an important matter that would brook no delay.

The general immediately got up and came out to Svinyin in a house robe, rubbing his forehead, yawning, and shivering. Kokoshkin listened to everything that Svinyin told him with great attention, but calmly. During all these explanations and requests for leniency, he said only one thing:

“The soldier left his sentry box and saved a man?”

“That’s right,” replied Svinyin.

“And the sentry box?”

“Remained empty during that time.”

“Hm … I know it remained empty. Very glad it wasn’t stolen.”

At that Svinyin became even more convinced that everything was already known to him and that he had, of course, already decided how he was going to present it in his morning report to the sovereign, and that the decision was not to be changed. Otherwise such an event as a sentry’s abandoning his post in the palace guard should undoubtedly have caused much greater alarm in the energetic superintendent of police.