Sanine

"Ah!" he groaned, and sank helplessly forward on his hands, dropping

the whip, while his cap fell off. He saw nothing, he heard nothing,

being only conscious of the horrible disgrace, and of a dull burning

pain in his eye.

"Oh! God!" screamed Sina Karsavina, holding her head with both hands,

and shutting her eyes tightly.

Horrified and disgusted at the sight of Sarudine crouching there on all

fours, Yourii, followed by Schafroff, rushed at Sanine. Volochine,

losing his pince-nez as he Stumbled over a bush, ran away as fast as

he could across the damp grass, so that his spotless trousers instantly

became black up to the knees.

Tanaroff ground his teeth with fury, and also dashed forward, but

Ivanoff caught him by the shoulders and pulled him back. "That's all

right!" said Sanine scornfully. "Let him come." He stood with legs

apart, breathing hard, and big drops of sweat were on his brow.

Sarudine slowly staggered to his feet. Faint, incoherent words escaped

from his quivering, swollen lips, vague words of menace that to Sanine

sounded singularly ridiculous. The whole left side of Sarudine's face

had instantly became swollen. His eye was no longer visible; blood was

flowing from his nose and mouth, his lips twitched, and his whole body

shook as if in the grip of a fever. Of the smart, handsome officer

nothing remained. That awful blow had robbed him of all that was human;

it had left only something piteous, terrifying, disfigured. He made no

attempt to go away nor to defend himself. His teeth rattled, and, while

he spat blood, he mechanically brushed the sand from his knees. Then,

reeling forward, he fell down again.

"Oh! how horrible! How horrible!" exclaimed Sina Karsavina, hurrying

away from the spot.

"Come along!" said Sanine to Ivanoff, looking upwards to avoid so

revolting a sight.

"Come along, Soloveitchik."

But Soloveitchik did not stir. Wide-eyed he stared at Sarudine, at the

blood, and the dirty sand on the snow-white tunic, trembling all the

while, as his lips moved feebly.

Ivanoff angrily pulled him along, but Soloveitchik shook him off with

surprising vehemence, and he then clung to the trunk of a tree, as if

he wished to resist being dragged away by main force.

"Oh! why, why, did you do that?" he whimpered.

"What a blackguardly thing to do!" shouted Yourii in Sanine's face.

"Yes, blackguardly!" rejoined Sanine, with a scornful smile. "Would it

have been better, do you suppose, to have let him hit me?"