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Then he imagined how, after the attack, Bogdanich would come up

to him as he lay wounded and would magnanimously extend the hand

of reconciliation.

The high-shouldered figure of Zherkov, familiar to the Pavlograds

as he had but recently left their regiment, rode up to the

colonel. After his dismissal from headquarters Zherkov had not

remained in the regiment, saying he was not such a fool as to

slave at the front when he could get more rewards by doing

nothing on the staff, and had succeeded in attaching himself as

an orderly officer to Prince Bagration. He now came to his former

chief with an order from the commander of the rear guard.

"Colonel," he said, addressing Rostov's enemy with an air of

gloomy gravity and glancing round at his comrades, "there is an

order to stop and fire the bridge."

"An order to who?" asked the colonel morosely.