the soldiers.

Meanwhile the merchant remained in animated conversation with the
peasant band, and at length parted on the best possible terms with the
insurgents' leader, who, with true Slavonic politeness, acted the part
of landlord on the public road, and, cap in hand, accompanied the
travelers till within gunshot of the military on the bridge. The
principal got into the wagon, underwent the warlike ceremonial of
"Halt!" &c., on the part of the sentinels, and received the smiling
congratulations of the captain, while the lieutenant said satirically to
Anton, "You have had no cause to lament the want of your pocket
pistols."

"All the better," answered Anton; "it was a tame affair indeed. The poor
devils had stolen nothing but a small cask of rum."

An hour later, the travelers were sitting with the officers of both
regiments, in the little tavern parlor, over a bottle of old Tokay,
which the host had disinterred from the lowest depths of his cellar. Not
the least happy of the party was Anton. For the first time in his life
he had experienced one of the small perils of war, and was, on the
whole, pleased with the part he had played; and now he was sitting by a
young soldier, whom he was prepared to admire to the utmost, and had the
privilege of offering him his cigars, and discussing with him the day's
adventures.

"The boors pointed their guns at you at first," said the young nobleman,
carelessly curling his mustache; "you must have found that a bore."

"Not much of one," replied Anton, as coolly as he could. "For a moment I
felt startled as I saw the guns aimed at me, and behind them men with
scythes, pantomiming the cutting off of heads. It struck me
uncomfortably at first that all the muzzles should point so directly at
my face; afterward I had to work away at the wagon, and thought no more
about it; and when, on our return, each of our wagoners affirmed that
the guns had pointed at him and no one else, I came to the conclusion
that this many-sidedness must be part of the idiosyncrasy of guns--a
sort of optical unmannerliness that does not mean much."

"We should soon have cut you out if the peasants had been in earnest,"
replied the lieutenant, benevolently. "Your cigars are remarkably good."

Anton was rejoiced to hear it, and filled his neighbor's glass. And so
he entertained himself, and looked at his principal, who seemed to be
unusually inclined to converse with the gay gentlemen around him on all
s