War and Peace by Leo Nikoleyevich Tolstoy Read Free Book Online Page B

all who knew them, including Anatole himself, respected him more than they did Anatole. Dolokhov could play all games and nearly always won. However much he drank, he never lost his clearheadedness. Both Kuragin and Dolokhov were at that time notorious among the rakes and scapegraces of Petersburg.
    The bottle of rum was brought. The window frame which prevented anyone from sitting on the outer sill was being forced out by two footmen, who were evidently flurried and intimidated by the directions and shouts of the gentlemen around.
    Anatole with his swaggering air strode up to the window. He wanted to smash something. Pushing away the footmen he tugged at the frame, but could not move it. He smashed a pane.
    "You have a try, Hercules," said he, turning to Pierre.
    Pierre seized the crossbeam, tugged, and wrenched the oak frame out with a crash.
    "Take it right out, or they'll think I'm holding on," said Dolokhov.
    "Is the Englishman bragging?… Eh? Is it all right?" said Anatole.
    "First–rate," said Pierre, looking at Dolokhov, who with a bottle of rum in his hand was approaching the window, from which the light of the sky, the dawn merging with the afterglow of sunset, was visible.
    Dolokhov, the bottle of rum still in his hand, jumped onto the window sill. "Listen!" cried he, standing there and addressing those in the room. All were silent.
    "I bet fifty imperials"—he spoke French that the Englishman might understand him, but he did, not speak it very well—"I bet fifty imperials… or do you wish to make it a hundred?" added he, addressing the Englishman.
    "No, fifty," replied the latter.
    "All right. Fifty imperials… that I will drink a whole bottle of rum without taking it from my mouth, sitting outside the window on this spot" (he stooped and pointed to the sloping ledge outside the window) "and without holding on to anything. Is that right?"
    "Quite right," said the Englishman.
    Anatole turned to the Englishman and taking him by one of the buttons of his coat and looking down at him—the Englishman was short—began repeating the terms of the wager to him in English.
    "Wait!" cried Dolokhov, hammering with the bottle on the window sill to attract attention. "Wait a bit, Kuragin. Listen! If anyone else does the same, I will pay him a hundred imperials. Do you understand?"
    The Englishman nodded, but gave no indication whether he intended to accept this challenge or not. Anatole did not release him, and though he kept nodding to show that he understood, Anatole went on translating Dolokhov's words into English. A thin young lad, an hussar of the Life Guards, who had been losing that evening, climbed on the window sill, leaned over, and looked down.
    "Oh! Oh! Oh!" he muttered, looking down from the window at the stones of the pavement.
    "Shut up!" cried Dolokhov, pushing him away from the window. The lad jumped awkwardly back into the room, tripping over his spurs.
    Placing the bottle on the window sill where he could reach it easily, Dolokhov climbed carefully and slowly through the window and lowered his legs. Pressing against both sides of the window, he adjusted himself on his seat, lowered his hands, moved a little to the right and then to the left, and took up the bottle. Anatole brought two candles and placed them on the window sill, though it was already quite light. Dolokhov's back in his white shirt, and his curly head, were lit up from both sides. Everyone crowded to the window, the Englishman in front. Pierre stood smiling but silent. One man, older than the others present, suddenly pushed forward with a scared and angry look and wanted to seize hold of Dolokhov's shirt.
    "I say, this is folly! He'll be killed," said this more sensible man.
    Anatole stopped him.
    "Don't touch him! You'll startle him and then he'll be killed. Eh?… What then?… Eh?"
    Dolokhov turned round and, again holding on with both hands, arranged himself on his seat.
    "If anyone comes meddling again," said he, emitting the words