Pagina 417 de 3800

The two Pavlograd squadrons, having crossed the bridge, retired

up the hill one after the other. Their colonel, Karl Bogdanich

Schubert, came up to Denisov's squadron and rode at a footpace

not far from Rostov, without taking any notice of him although

they were now meeting for the first time since their encounter

concerning Telyanin. Rostov, feeling that he was at the front and

in the power of a man toward whom he now admitted that he had

been to blame, did not lift his eyes from the colonel's athletic

back, his nape covered with light hair, and his red neck. It

seemed to Rostov that Bogdanich was only pretending not to notice

him, and that his whole aim now was to test the cadet's courage,

so he drew himself up and looked around him merrily; then it

seemed to him that Bogdanich rode so near in order to show him

his courage. Next he thought that his enemy would send the

squadron on a desperate attack just to punish him-Rostov.