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THE STEEL FLEA
—you shall answer to me for all of them. And you," says he to the Cossacks of the Suite, "whip up, there! Don't dawdle! See that you get me to the Emperor in Petrograd the day after tomorrow."
The artisans merely ventured to say to him, on behalf of their comrade: "How can you take him from us thus without a tugament?[1] He will not be able to come back."
But Platoff, in place of answer, showed them his fist,—such a horrible fist,—dark red and all slashed, seemingly grown together here and there—and menacing them, he said: "Here's his tugament for you!"
And to the Cossacks he said: "Whip up, my lads!"
Cossacks, coachman, and horses all began to work simultaneously, and bore
- ↑ Document—that is to say, passport; the usual peasant word is "document."
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