A
keen-eyed commander and a kind-hearted master was he, may his lot be
in Paradise among the godly men of the Gentile tribes. Yes, if he
was an eagle, we were his chicks; if he was a lion, we were his
whelps! This is what he used to say: "In time of need, you have no
better soldier than the Jew. But then you must know how to use him.
Do not give him too many instructions, and do not try to explain it
all to him from beginning to end. If you instruct him too much, he
will be afraid to do any scheming on his own hook, and you will be
the loser. Just give him your order, and tell him what the order is
for. Then you may be sure he will get it for you, even if he should
have to go to hell for it!" This is what Colonel Pavel Akimovich
used to say of us.
Now, once I decided to find out Anna's secret, I thought it all out
beforehand, as a Cantonist should; and I hit upon a plan.
That was at the beginning of spring. One day Khlopov left on a
journey to the neighboring villages to collect the taxes. He had to
stay away some time. The whole of that day Anna kept worrying me as
usual.
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