[The Cossacks by Leo Tolstoy]@TWC D-Link book
The Cossacks

CHAPTER XVIII
2/17

'Others are having their breakfast and you are asleep! Lyam! Here!' he called to his dog.
'Is your gun ready ?' he shouted, as loud as if a whole crowd were in the hut.
'Well, it's true I'm guilty, but it can't be helped! The powder, Vanyusha, and the wads!' said Olenin.
'A fine!' shouted the old man.
'Du tay voulay vou ?' asked Vanyusha, grinning.
'You're not one of us--your gabble is not like our speech, you devil!' the old man shouted at Vanyusha, showing the stumps of his teeth.
'A first offence must be forgiven,' said Olenin playfully, drawing on his high boots.
'The first offence shall be forgiven,' answered Eroshka, 'but if you oversleep another time you'll be fined a pail of chikhir.

When it gets warmer you won't find the deer.' 'And even if we do find him he is wiser than we are,' said Olenin, repeating the words spoken by the old man the evening before, 'and you can't deceive him!' 'Yes, laugh away! You kill one first, and then you may talk.

Now then, hurry up! Look, there's the master himself coming to see you,' added Eroshka, looking out of the window.

'Just see how he's got himself up.
He's put on a new coat so that you should see that he's an officer.

Ah, these people, these people!' Sure enough Vanyusha came in and announced that the master of the house wished to see Olenin.
'L'arjan!' he remarked profoundly, to forewarn his master of the meaning of this visitation.


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