Under the yoke, p.40
Under the Yoke, page 40
Kandoff, an Avram, a Rada ! Ah ! how that girl has
poisoned the last few hours of my life — ^how I seek death !
how gladly I'd welcome it ! How proudly and gladly I
would have died, convinced that at least one honest tear
could be shed over my unknown grave ! But to die when
everything in this world is dead to you, when you see your
two great idols in the mire, your beloved ideals trampled
on — ^Love and Revolution ! Ah ! how hard and hopeless
it is to die now ! And yet how desirous, how indispensable
it is for hapless wretches like me !
"
The mountain wind whistled shrilly down the slumbering
valley. A dull and ominous rustling arose from the thickets
MORNING 236
around, which the darkness made still more weird. All the
peaks, valleys, and hills around, all Nature, seemed to be
sobbing in terror. The stars twinkled hastily and uneasily
in the sky. But for the hooting of the owls, no sign of life
was audible. From time to time the insurgents would
wake up and peer into the night, only to fall asleep again,
and see in dreams the ghostly phantoms of terror, while the
wind imprinted its icy-cold kisses on their brows.
Only one human form seemed still awake on the trenches.
This man, this insurgent, paced up and down without
stopping — quietly, regularly, mechanically. He seemed
completely absorbed in his thoughts, and to be moving quite
unconsciously. One would have taken him for a sentinel,
but the guards were in front, at some distance from the fort.
Hours passed on, and the solitary walker still kept on his
pace unaltered. From time to time his figure became invisible
against the dark background of the opposite rocks,
then it shone out again in the bright starlight. The second
cockcrow sounded at Klissoura . This seemed to awake him.
He started, and remained for some minutes motionless,
turning towards Klissoura : then he made an almost imperceptible
sign without moving from his place. Suddenly
a tiny flame flashed before him and was at once extinguished :
it was accompanied by a loud snap, which was not repeated.
It was clearly the flash of some flintlock weapon, which
had failed to ignite the charge. The man had fired at something.
But at what ? The slight flash and noise attracted
no attention from the sleeping insurgents, numbed with
cold. Meanwhile, the ringing note of the cocks of KUssoura
penetrated the night air and filled the lonely mountains
with its cheerful sound, the forerunner of dawn, of the
golden sun, of life, and the renewed festival of spring.
CHAPTER XVII : MORNING
In spite of his agitation of mind, Ognianoff at length fell
asleep and slept soundly for two hours. Such slumber,
they say, is enjoyed by the condemned the night before
their execution. At dawn he woke, and scanned the horizon
carefully. Nature was awaking : the morning star stiU
stone in the bluish-grey heavens, which were getting
brighter and brighter towards the east : there a red, fiery
glow rested on the summits of the mountains, like the glare
236 UNDER THE YOKE
of some distant fire. Dark mists still overhung the steep
precipices of the Ribaritsa, but its crown of snow was
growing rosy under the reflection of the eastern dawn.
Only the Bogdan was still wrapped in mist and wore a cold
and forbidding look. But slowly the mist dispersed, the
light became brighter and more powerful, and the green
hills, forests, and valleys around smiled joyously beneath
the blue heaven of that spring mom. Here and there the
morning nightingale's note could be heard in the glades.
Ognianoff rose, glanced at the sleeping garrison, wrapped
in furs and cloaks, and proceeded in the direction of Zli
Dol. He was going to confer with the Council of War.
Soon he was lost to sight in the valley through which his
path lay.
It was now broad dayhght, and the sun had fairly risen.
The insurgents in the fort were now all afoot and beginning
to work at new trenches, under the supervision of
the decurions. They seemed bolder now. Marchefi had
whispered to them that Ognianoff had reconnoitred as far
as Tekkie, and that he knew positively that Bela Cherkva
would rise that day. This news shghtly restored their
courage. The lads were more at their ease now, their
faces seemed even cheerful, and some went so far as to
sing songs. The humour which is indigenous to the soil
was not slow to appear. Jests were made at the expense of
the four Klissouriots who had been sentenced to fire at the
gipsy on the " previous day.
Fancy not being able to hit Mehmed at five paces ! and
having to fire a second time : poor fellow, his sins are
upon you now. The one minute you lengthened his life by
was like a hundred years of torture. All his sins are
forgiven him now," said one.
" Confound you," said another,
"
you've made a martyr
of him. Now he's in Paradise with Mohammed."
"
It's not true," said a third.
" Dicho and Stamen the
Crow threw them in the ditch there — I saw him myself — and
now he's with the frogs."
T"hey all laughed. So near, and not a single bullet in him !
"
cried another ;
" why I could have spit on him at that distance."
"I'd bet anything you never aimed at him !
"
"
Of course not — my grandmother could have hit him at
that distance."
THE FIGHT 287
" We did aim at him," said one of the four.
"
Well, you aimed pretty badly then."
"
Just as I was firing, I winked, and "
More laughter followed.
" What are those fellows beckoning for ?
"
said some one,
turning to the east.
They all looked in that direction.
The outposts were giving the conventional signal that
they had seen the enemy. At the same time two men
hastened from thence to the Zli Dol battery, to report to
the Council of War what they had seen.
Just as these reached the fort in question, two bands of
mounted Turks, each about twenty strong, came in sight
from the direction of Rahmanlari. One band was following
the path, the other took to the thicket. The insurgents
gazed anxiously to see if any fresh forces appeared behind
these, but nothing could be seen.
At once two detachments of infantry more numerous
than the Turks hurried down from the forts to meet the
enemy. The larger detachment came from Zli Dol.
" Who's their leader ?
" asked the insurgents of each
other, looking curiously at the commander, who was very
like a Turk.
"
Why, Ognianoff, can't you see ?
"
said several all at
once.
The Turks stopped when they saw the Bulgarians
advancing, and retreated.
"
They've taken to their heels," said some one " joyfully.
We'll fight 'em to-day."
'*
It seems to me they'll have trouble with Bela Cherkva
yet," declared another.
And the fort was busy with activity and cheerful conversation.
CHAPTER XVIII : THE FIGHT
Noon came and went. The sun was now at its highest.
The men in Ognianoff's battery had finished their dinner
and were hurriedly putting away in their knapsacks the
scraps that remained. Anxiety was depicted on their
haggard, dusty faces, unwashed for the last week, discouragement
was again visible there : a slight success in the
morning had given them a little confidence, but only for a
238 UNDER THE YOKE
moment. They knew that if the decisive struggle did not
take place that day, it would inevitably be on the next.
They felt that the storm was gathering over them with
terrible rapidity. And from time to time they cast uneasy
glances towards the east upon the bare heights, whence the
distant outposts appeared.
The sun was very hot. On the right-hand side of the
battery, which had been marked out and prepared on the
previous night, Ognianoff was busily engaged with several
insurgents who were rapidly throwing up another trench.
A reinforcement of ten men had been sent to the fort on the
previous day and the trenches required to be " enlarged.
Teacher," said a peasant, fifty years of age, who came
up just then.
Ognianoff turned round.
" What is it, Father Marin ?
"
The peasant from Verigovo gave him a paper, roughly
folded in four.
*' There's a letter come for you !
"
" Who brought it ?
" asked Boicho before opening it.
" Ivan Kill-the-Bear. He was looking for you here last
night, but he couldn't find you, so he gave it to me to give
you when you came back."
*' Did he say who it was from ?
"
" From the schoolmistress." •
Ognianoff felt a pang at his heart, as if a serpent had
stung him there. He crushed the letter convulsively with
the intention of throwing it away ; but it occurred to him
that this would be noticed, and he placed it in the pocket
of his tunic. He returned to his work hurriedly and
feverishly to deaden the feeling of torture which the sight
of the letter had caused him.
" What does this Rada want of me, at this moment, too ?
Can't I be left alone, to see the struggle, to meet death at
last, so that all may be over !
"
Just then something unusual had evidently occurred.
All the insurgents flocked to the edge of the fort and gazed
towards the east.
Ognianoff raised his head and glanced in that direction.
The outposts were making signals of distress. Several guns
were fired, a sign that the enemy was advancing in force.
Soon they began to retreat rapidly from their posts,
crying :
THE FIGHT 239
"
They're coming — crowds of them !
"
The fort was thrown into a state of confusion. The
garrison flocked hither and thither, " panic-stricken. To your posts, I command you," cried Ognianoff,
seizing his Martini from the heap where all the guns lay
piled.
At this order the insurgents started and each returned to
his place in the trenches.
At critical moments the courage and presence of mind
of one man act like magic on the mass : any one who
wishes may then command them.
Several men from the outposts arrived just then, wearied
out by their rapid flight. Ognianoff met them.
" What did you see ?
"
he asked.
*' Turks — a terrible horde advancing — there must be a
thousand of them. The road's black with bashi-bozouks."
Ognianoff made a sign to them to be silent.
*' Hold hard !
" he cried, seeing that several of the
garrison had again left the trenches.
"
Crowds, crowds of them !
" muttered several, as they
raised their heads over the rampart. " To your places — every one to his arm !
" commanded
Boicho authoritatively. They all returned to their posts.
*' Here they come !
"
In truth far away on the main pass where it emerges on
the summit of the mountain the head of a thick column
could be seen : its length increased every moment — it
resembled a gigantic caterpillar. This was Tossoun Bey's
horde. The nearer it approached the more numerous and
redoubtable it appeared. The Turks were marching four
abreast : twenty small flags and three great banners, white,
red, green and other colours, waved over the column. It
soon filled the whole road from the Tower to Bela Voda —
a distance of a mile and a half.
Confusion again prevailed in the ranks of the garrison.
No one could be induced to remain at his post. All looked
despairingly at the advancing enemy.
Only Ognianoff's fierce glance restrained them a little.
The black column continued its march along the road,
till it reached the fountain, about gunshot distance from
the fort.
Then from the garrison from Zli Dol several guns were
fired : and a volley was discharged also from Ognianoff's
240 UNDER THE YOKE
fort, at his command. A cloud of smoke covered the
trenches, and the mountains echoed with the report.
Several men in the front ranks of the column were seen
to fall.
At that moment OgnianofiP caught sight of the ^heads of
three men stealthily making for the path towards the Stara
Reka brook. These were insurgents deserting the fort
under cover of the smoke and general confusion. Ognianofi
instinctively recognised in the fugitives his neighbours of
the previous evening who had planned their flight aloud.
He leapt to the verge of the rock down the side of which
they were descending. The fugitives were climbing down
one after another by a steep rocky path hollowed out by the
winter torrents.
" Back — back to your places, or I'll fire," he cried, pointing
his gun at them.
The fugitives turned round and remained fixed to the
ground as if petrified. They had left their guns behind
them. In one of them Ognianoff recognised Deacon
Vikenti, shaved and in peasant dress. The lad blushed to
the eyes for very shame ; it was his voice that Ognianoff
had tried in vain to recollect the night before.
The fugitives turned back mechanically. " Father Marin, take these cowards and put them to work
in the trenches. If one of them attempts to escape, blow his
brains out," and Ognianoff returned hurriedly to his " post.
Why, you ^Tetched cowards, you might have fired off
your guns at least before trying to cut it," grumbled Father
Marin, as he led them to the trenches with his gun pointed
at them.
The commander's vigorous action calmed the remainder
of the insurgents. They repressed all tokens of fear, but
for a few minutes only. Their lips were tightly clenched,
and the panic would soon become general.
The Turks had not yet fired off a single gun. The fall
of their comrades occasioned by the first volley from the
fort had for a moment thrown confusion into their ranks.
They carried the wounded into the rose-gardens close by
and retreated hurriedly. This first success emboldened the
insurgents, who kept up an energetic fire upon the enemy.
The whole mountain seemed to tremble under the uninterrupted
firing. White puffs of smoke hung over the various
peaks and showed where the forts were. The fire was kept
THE FIGHT 241
up even when the Turks had retreated out of range. Far
away behind the horde could be seen a knot of horsemen.
