He
was just a young, boyish fellow, with light flaxen hair and blue
eyes--evidently a new recruit from some country village.
"What do you mean--'killed you for'?" said Napoleonder. "I had to kill
you. When you went into the army, didn't you take an oath that you
would die?"
"I know what oath I took, Napoleonder, and I'm not making a fuss about
dying. But you--why did you kill me?"
"Why shouldn't I kill you," said Napoleonder, "when you were the
enemy,--that is, my foe,--come out to fight me on the field of
Borodino?"
"Cross yourself, Napoleonder!" said the young soldier. "How could I be
your foe, when there has never been any sort of quarrel between us?
Until you came into our country, and I was drafted into the army, I had
never even heard of you. And here you have killed me--and how many more
like me!"
"I killed," said Napoleonder, "because it was necessary for me to
conquer the world."
"But what have I got to do with your conquering the world?" replied the
soldier.
Pages:
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36