Chapter IV

When Sasha came to his senses it seemed to him that he must have been dead for a long time. First of all, he had to think who he was; and this was not so easy as you may suppose, for he found himself lying in bed in a room he had never seen before. It was broad daylight, and the sun shone upon one of his hands, which was so white and thin that it did not seem to belong to him. Then he lifted it, and was amazed to find how little strength there was in his arm. But he brought it to his head at last--and there was another surprise. All his long silken hair was gone! He was so weak and bewildered that he groaned aloud, and the tears ran down his cheeks.

There was a noise in the room, and presently old Gregor, his grandfather, bent over him as he lay in bed.

"Grandfather," said the boy--and how feeble his voice sounded--"am I your Sasha still?"

The old man, crying for joy, dropped on his knees and uttered a short prayer. "Now you will get well!" he cried; "but you mustn't talk; the doctor said you were not to talk."

"But where am I, grandfather?" asked Sasha.

"In the palace! And the baron's own doctor comes every day to see you; and they allow me to stay here and nurse you--it will be a week to-morrow!"

"What's the matter--what has happened?"

"Don't talk, for the love of heaven!" said Gregor; "you saved the baron from being robbed and killed; and the principal robber struck your head and broke your arm; and the baron and the people came just at the right time; and one of them was shot, and the other two are in prison. O, my boy, remember the altar of the black god Perun; be obedient to me; shut your eyes and keep quiet!"

But Sasha could not shut his eyes. Little by little his memory came back, and a sense of what he had done filled his mind and made him happy. He felt a dull ache in his left arm, and found that it was so tightly bandaged he could not move it, as he lay quite still, while his grandfather sat and watched him with sparkling eyes. After a time the door opened and a strange gentleman came in; it was the doctor. The old man rose and conversed with him in whispers. Then Sasha found that a spoon was held to his lips; he mechanically swallowed something that had a strange, pleasant taste, and almost immediately fell asleep.

In a day or two he was strong enough to sit up in bed, and was allowed to talk. Then the baron and the baroness came with the lady who was their guest, to see him. They were all eager to learn the particulars of the occurrence, especially how Sasha had discovered the plot of the robbers. He began at the beginning, and had got as far as the latter's change of language on seeing him, when he stopped in great confusion, and looked at his grandfather.

Gregor neither spoke nor moved, but his eyes seemed to say plainly, "Tell everything."

Sasha then related the whole story to the end. The baroness came to the bedside, stooped down, kissed him, and said, "You have saved your lord!"

But the other lady, who had been watching him very closely and curiously, suddenly exclaimed:

"Why, it's the same nice-looking young serf that I saw before; and when I spoke of him in French he blushed. I was sure he understood me! Don't you understand me now, my boy?"

She asked the question in French, and Sasha answered in the same language, "Yes, madam."

The lady clapped her hands with delight; but the baron asked very sternly:

"Where did you learn so many languages?"

"From me!" answered Gregor, instantly. "The boy likes to know things, and I've always thought--saving your opinion, my lord--that when God gives anyone a strong wish for knowledge he means it to be answered. So I opened to him all there is in this foolish old head of mine while we were together in the forest; and it was such a pleasure for him to take that it came to be a pleasure for me to give. You understand, my lady?"

"Yes," said the baroness, "I understand that without Sasha's knowledge of German my husband would probably have been murdered."

"That's not so certain," replied the baron. "But some celebrated man has said, 'All's well that ends well.' The boy did his duty like a full-grown man, and I'll take care of him."

Therewith they went out of the room, and Sasha immediately asked in some anxiety, "Grandfather, you meant that I should tell?"

"Yes, my boy," said Gregor readily, "for the youngest robber has already confessed that they spoke in German, and thought themselves safe while you were passing. They are vagabonds from the borders of Poland, and knew a little of three or four tongues. It is all right, Sasha; the baron is satisfied, and means to help you. Your chance has come sooner than I expected. I must have a little time to think about it; my head is like a stiff joint, hard to bend when I want to use it. It's a piece of good luck to me that you can't get out of bed for a week to come!"

He laughed as he left the bedside and took his seat on the broad stone bench beside the fireplace. Sasha kept silent, for he knew that the old man's brain was hard at work. He tried to do a little thinking himself, but it made him feel weak and giddy; in fact, the blow upon his head would have killed a more delicate boy.

His strength came back so rapidly, however, that in a week he was able to walk about with his arm in a sling. He was still pale, and looked so strange in his short hair that on his first visit home his mother burst into tears on seeing him. Then Minka, Peter, Sergius, and Waska lifted up their voices and cried; and Ivan, who was at first angry with them, finally cried also, without knowing why he did it. All this made Sasha feel very uncomfortable, and he was on the point of saying, "I won't do it again!" when Old Gregor made silence in the house. He had looked through the window and seen some of the neighbours coming; so the whole family became cheerful again as rapidly as they could.

By this time Gregor had made up his mind. Sasha knew that he could not change it if he would, and he was therefore very glad to find how well his grandfather's notions agreed with his own. While he was waiting for the baron to speak again he was not losing time; for the strange lady who was visiting at the castle took quite a friendly interest in teaching him French and German, and giving him Russian books which were not too difficult to read. He was so eager to satisfy her that he really made astonishing progress.

When the robbers were tried before the judge he was called upon to give testimony against them. One of the three having been killed, the youngest one was not afraid to confess, and his story and Sasha's agreed perfectly. The boy described the unwillingness of the former to undertake the crime; even the baron said a word in his favour, and the judge at last sentenced him to be banished to Siberia for only ten years, while the older robber was sent there for life.

That evening the baron asked Sasha, "Would you like to be one of my house-servants, boy?"

Just as his grandfather had advised him, Sasha answered, "It is not for me to choose, my lord; but I think I can serve you much more to your profit if you will let me try to become a merchant."

"A merchant!" exclaimed the baron.

"Not all at once," said Sasha. "I could be of use now as a boy to help carry and sell things, because I can count, and speak a little in other tongues. I could make myself so useful to some merchant that he would give me a chance to learn the whole business in time. Then I should earn much money, and could pay you for the privilege."

The baron had often envied noblemen of his acquaintance, some of whose serfs were rich manufacturers or merchants, and paid them large annual sums for the privilege of living for themselves. Here seemed to be a chance for him to gain something in the same way. The boy spoke so confidently, and looked in his face with such straightforward eyes, that he felt obliged to consider the proposition seriously.

"How will you get to St. Petersburg?" he asked.

"When you go, my lord," said Sasha, "I could sit on the box at the coachman's feet. I will help him with the horses, and it shall cost you nothing. When I get there I know I shall find a place."

The baron then said, "You may go."