The Doll - Bolesaw Prus [75]
We fell silent and the somewhat straggling ranks drew up. The sky was clear, only here and there was a motionless white cloud: not a leaf was stirring in the undergrowth as we passed, not a single startled lark was heard over the fields of new grass. Only the heavy tread of the battalion was audible, the swift breathing of the men, sometimes the clank of rifles jarring or the penetrating voice of the major as, riding ahead, he shouted to the officers. And there to our left, a herd of cannons was roaring, and a rain of bullets falling. A man who has not heard such a storm out of a clear sky, brother Katz, knows nothing about music!…Do you remember how strange we felt just then? It wasn’t fear, but something more like grief and also curiosity…
The battalion’s flanks were getting further away from us; finally, the right-hand flank disappeared over a hilltop, while the left-hand one dived into a broad ravine a few hundred feet away from us, where their bayonets gleamed from time to time. The hussars and cannons had disappeared somewhere, as had the reserve battalion trailing along behind, so our battalion was alone, ascending one hill only to be confronted by another. Now and then, from the front, rear or side, a courier would fly past, with a dispatch or order for the major. It was really quite remarkable that he did not get confused with so many orders!
It was already nearly nine when we came out upon the last of the hills, which was covered with thick undergrowth. A new order was given: they began to disperse the platoons one alongside the other. When we came to the hilltop, they ordered us to crouch, lower our rifles, then kneel.
Katz, do you remember Kratochwil, who was kneeling beside us, as he poked his head up between two young pines and whispered: ‘Look there!’ From the top of our hill, to the south, as far as the horizon, stretched a valley and over it, like a river, lay a column of white smoke, several hundred feet wide and perhaps a mile long.
‘That’s riflemen,’ said an old corporal. On both sides of this strange river were to be seen several black and some dozen white clouds, boiling up on the earth. ‘Those are batteries, and villages burning,’ the corporal explained.
By looking more closely, it was possible to discern square blotches here and there on either side of this long ribbon of smoke: they were dark on the left, white on the right. They looked like great hedgehogs with gleaming bristles: ‘These are our regiments—those the Austrians…’ said the corporal, and added, ‘Even headquarters won’t have a better view.’
The ceaseless clatter of rifle firing reached us from this long river of smoke, and the thunder of cannons roared from those white clouds. ‘Ooooh!…’ Katz exclaimed, ‘so this is a battle, is it? Is this what I was supposed to be afraid of?’
‘Just you wait,’ the corporal muttered.
‘Rifles at the ready…’ was heard along the ranks. Kneeling, we began to get out our bullets and warm them up. The clatter of steel ramrods and rifles being cocked was heard…We tipped powder into our pans and again there was silence.
Opposite us and perhaps a kilometre away were two hills, with a highroad winding between them. I noticed that some white blotches had appeared against this green background, which soon formed into a white line and then into a white smudge. At the same time, soldiers dressed in blue emerged from the ravine a few hundred feet to our left, and quickly formed into a blue column. At this moment a cannon was heard to the right of us, and a grey puff of smoke appeared over the white Austrian unit. A few minutes pause followed, then another shot and another little cloud over the Austrians. Half a minute later, another shot and the cloud again…‘Herr Gott!’ the old