THE JAIL
with him, he inspected the stables, the garden, the vineyard to see if there were any signs of recent digging. Then he examined the room and again asked about her. I told him how I had arrived and what had happened to her that morning. He had a look, asked a few questions, what else could I tell him? He went away, said that a search must be made. Let them search, they are sure to find her a creature of that sort would never do anything desperate. They searched on Sunday, on Monday,—nowhere a trace of her. We have an arched-in gulley, they dug up the arch to a distance of thirty yards—again nothing. They arrested me, I was to go to Vienna. Good, Vienna. But I shan't stand my trial, she's bound to turn up. And then, to the front, to the front. The devil has taken everything I have, what is left? To destroy people, just as I have been destroyed myself. The farm, the garden, the vineyard will never see me again. I don't care about them, I don't care about anything. I am a born soldier, and if I had not got mixed up with farming, I should not have had this experience. You know, gentlemen, what you read about the soldier in old histories. Wherever he comes, everything is his—rooms, food, drink, women. But not a wife. No, not a wife. All of them,—yes. ln Poland we came to a castle, some prince or other, the devil alone knows. Polakincki, there was only a steward in the castle. The Prince, he said, what do we care about your Prince, bring us food, bring us drink. We ate, we drank. And then we made black coffee. Ourselves,—why call that slave again? There was plenty of wood, the whole room was lined halfway up with shiny carved wood, we pulled it down and made our black coffee. We made it all night—"
At this the warder called him for cross-examination.
"You will see, gentlemen, that wretch of a woman has been found, and I shall say goodbye to you."
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