THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER. 153 



It was to no purpose Asamat importuned him to ac- 

 cept his proposal, and wept, and raved, and swore ; 

 Kasbitch lost patience at last. 



" Go along, silly boy ! " he said. " You ride my 

 horse ! With the first three steps he would fling you 

 off, and break your neck on the stones." 



" Me ! " screamed Asamat, in a fury, and the boy's 

 dagger clashed on the coat of mail. But a vigorous 

 hand shook him off, and dashed him with such violence 

 against the boarded wall that it rocked with the blow. 

 Here's a pretty piece of work ! thought I ; so I hur- 

 ried to the stall, bridled our horses, and led them to 

 the backdoor. In two minutes there was a tremen- 

 dous row in the house. What happened there was 

 briefly this : Asamat rushed in, with his helmet torn, 

 crying out that Kasbitch wanted to murder him. All 

 present sprang up, seized their weapons, and the brawl 

 began. All were shouting, blows, and firing ; but 

 Kasbitch was already in the saddle, and broke, like an 

 incarnate devil, through the throng, brandishing his 

 shashka. Petchorin wanted to see how it would end, 

 but he took my advice, and we rode straight home. 



L. And how did it fare with Kasbitch ? 



M. The usual luck of these fellows ; he got clear 

 off whether wounded or not, Heaven only knows ! 

 They have as many lives as cats, these robbers. I 

 saw one of them, for instance, in battle, pierced like a 

 sieve with bayonet holes, yet still laving about him 

 8* 



