house, and picked up in his coarse hands anything that caught his eye: their best crockery from the cupboard, old Jozef s suits, the pictures of Andrej's dead mother, and then finally Andrej's own sister.
Moreover, the longer they lived together in that house, and the nearer the front came, the less restrained grew Nikolash's talk. He ranted at the Czechs in the same breath as the Germans, calling them a miserable pack that couldn't be trusted, who didn't deserve to be liberated by the victorious Russian army. Andrej suppressed his anger. In the course of months he had become more and more convinced by Nikolash's views, and now there was no Czech in the country who desired the downfall of the Germans more fervently than Andrej. In contrast to the others, who out of patriotism became partisans, Andrej developed from a partisan into a patriot. But recently he had begun to show a shrewd independent judgment which the Russian was coming to find very tiresome. He tried to water down Andrej's newly aroused national consciousness with Marxist doctrines; but Andrej showed that in two and a half years he had absorbed practically nothing of Nikolash's views on the dictatorship of the working class. "Dictatorship sounds bad," he declared on one occasion. "We Czechs are against every dictatorship, whether it comes from the Germans or the workers. What d'you think we're fighting for?"
"You'll never be anything but a stupid yokel," Nikolash said furiously. "None of you can see beyond the dung heap in front of your own house. You people simply can't be made to listen to reason, you have to be taught a lesson first."
"What exactly do you mean by you people'?" Andrej asked, but Nikolash gave no reply. And ever since that day Andrej's suspicion had grown.
It was the day they had captured the general, when they sat together for a while celebrating with loot champagne at Zepac's house, that Nikolash said the long-awaited words: "The day after tomorrow our friends will be coming!"
His words were a bombshell. The two men sprang up, and Nikolash enjoyed their surprise, his leathery face wrinkled up into a broad grin. "I heard it an hour ago," he said cheerfully. "Why are you getting so excited? Didn't I tell you a month back that it wouldn't be long now?"
"Of course you did," muttered Andrej. He fell back on his chair, looking rather stunned. "What will happen to us then?" he asked after a pause.
Nikolash was rolling himself a cigarette. "You can do what you like," he answered in an indifferent voice. "In case you feel like coming with me, I'm going to Dobsina. We're starting again there. I'd be glad if a few of you came along."
"And the prisoners?" asked Andrej.
"You'll hand them over when the first of our people come."
"I thought you would be doing that."
"I've changed my mind. We don't know how far our divisions will advance. In case they reach Dobsina, I'll have to be there before them; otherwise the whole organization will go up in smoke. I can't even count on Pushkin now, he's got too much on his mind." Pushkin was the head of the entire organization.
"Then we might have taken the general to the others straight away," said Andrej.
"No, he's worth far too much to me," said Nikolash. "You don't catch a general every day. If he's given company, he might start getting ideas." He lowered his voice so that only Andrej could hear. "We'll take him up tomorrow."
"To the mountain?"
"Yes. And you'd better call your people together tomorrow. I've got to know who's coming with me to Dobsina. I can count on you, I suppose?"
Andrej frowned. Going to Dobsina was something he couldn't decide about on the spur of the moment. "I'll think it over," he said evasively.
Nikolash picked up a bottle, and drained it. "Best thing about the Germans, their champagne," he said, wiping his mouth. "When we get to Berlin, we won't drink anything but champagne. Let's go."
Nikolash stamped off into the darkness, and Andrej noted with satisfaction that snow was
Moreover, the longer they lived together in that house, and the nearer the front came, the less restrained grew Nikolash's talk. He ranted at the Czechs in the same breath as the Germans, calling them a miserable pack that couldn't be trusted, who didn't deserve to be liberated by the victorious Russian army. Andrej suppressed his anger. In the course of months he had become more and more convinced by Nikolash's views, and now there was no Czech in the country who desired the downfall of the Germans more fervently than Andrej. In contrast to the others, who out of patriotism became partisans, Andrej developed from a partisan into a patriot. But recently he had begun to show a shrewd independent judgment which the Russian was coming to find very tiresome. He tried to water down Andrej's newly aroused national consciousness with Marxist doctrines; but Andrej showed that in two and a half years he had absorbed practically nothing of Nikolash's views on the dictatorship of the working class. "Dictatorship sounds bad," he declared on one occasion. "We Czechs are against every dictatorship, whether it comes from the Germans or the workers. What d'you think we're fighting for?"
"You'll never be anything but a stupid yokel," Nikolash said furiously. "None of you can see beyond the dung heap in front of your own house. You people simply can't be made to listen to reason, you have to be taught a lesson first."
"What exactly do you mean by you people'?" Andrej asked, but Nikolash gave no reply. And ever since that day Andrej's suspicion had grown.
It was the day they had captured the general, when they sat together for a while celebrating with loot champagne at Zepac's house, that Nikolash said the long-awaited words: "The day after tomorrow our friends will be coming!"
His words were a bombshell. The two men sprang up, and Nikolash enjoyed their surprise, his leathery face wrinkled up into a broad grin. "I heard it an hour ago," he said cheerfully. "Why are you getting so excited? Didn't I tell you a month back that it wouldn't be long now?"
"Of course you did," muttered Andrej. He fell back on his chair, looking rather stunned. "What will happen to us then?" he asked after a pause.
Nikolash was rolling himself a cigarette. "You can do what you like," he answered in an indifferent voice. "In case you feel like coming with me, I'm going to Dobsina. We're starting again there. I'd be glad if a few of you came along."
"And the prisoners?" asked Andrej.
"You'll hand them over when the first of our people come."
"I thought you would be doing that."
"I've changed my mind. We don't know how far our divisions will advance. In case they reach Dobsina, I'll have to be there before them; otherwise the whole organization will go up in smoke. I can't even count on Pushkin now, he's got too much on his mind." Pushkin was the head of the entire organization.
"Then we might have taken the general to the others straight away," said Andrej.
"No, he's worth far too much to me," said Nikolash. "You don't catch a general every day. If he's given company, he might start getting ideas." He lowered his voice so that only Andrej could hear. "We'll take him up tomorrow."
"To the mountain?"
"Yes. And you'd better call your people together tomorrow. I've got to know who's coming with me to Dobsina. I can count on you, I suppose?"
Andrej frowned. Going to Dobsina was something he couldn't decide about on the spur of the moment. "I'll think it over," he said evasively.
Nikolash picked up a bottle, and drained it. "Best thing about the Germans, their champagne," he said, wiping his mouth. "When we get to Berlin, we won't drink anything but champagne. Let's go."
Nikolash stamped off into the darkness, and Andrej noted with satisfaction that snow was
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