Briggs: From afar Denisov and Petya observe Tikhon Shcherbaty at work.
Pevear and Volokhonsky: Denisov and Petya spy on a village where the French are camped. Tikhon Shcherbaty.
Translaton:
V.
The rain passed, only fell fog and drops of water from the branches of the woods. Denisov, the esaul and Petya silently rode behind the man in the cap, who easily moved, stepping by the roots and the wet leaves with their own inverted feet in bast shoes, leading to the edge of the forest.
Coming to the drag out, the peasant paused, looked around and directed to the thinned wall of the woods. In much of the oak, still not throwing off leaves, he stopped and mysteriously beckoned to himself with his hand.
Denisov and Petya pulled up to him. From these places, at which had stopped the peasant, were visible the French. Now behind the forest was going downwards the half-hillock spring field. To the right, across the steep ravine, could be seen a small village and master's house with collapsed roofs. In this village and at the lordly house, and by all the hillock, in the garden, at the wells and pond and throughout the road at the mountain from the bridge to the village, at not more than 200 fathoms distances were seen in the hesitant fog a crowd of people. Was heard their clearly not-Russian shouting at issued at the mountain horses in carts and appeals to each other.
— The captives are given here, — quietly said Denisov, not lowering his eyes from the French.
The Cossack tore from his horse, stripped off the boy and together with him came up to Denisov. Denisov, pointing at the French, asked what were these troops. The boy, shoving his chilled hands in his pockets and holding up his eyebrows, scared watched Denisov and, despite the visible wish to say all that he knew, was confused in his answers and only confirmed that what was asked by Denisov. Denisov, frowning, turned away from him and, turning to the esaul, informed him of his considerations.
Petya, in fast movements turning his head, looked around at the drummer, then at Denisov, then at the esaul, then at the French in the village and at the road, trying not to let pass something important.
— Will come, will not come Dolohov, need to take it!.. Ah? — said Denisov, funnily flashing his eyes.
— The place is comfortable, — said the esaul.
— Send the infantry to the bottom — swamps, — continued Denisov: — they crawl up to the garden; you will come with the Cossacks from there, — Denisov pointed out at the forest behind the village; — but I from here, with my own hussars. and by the shot...
— The hollow cannot be, — it will be a quagmire, — said the esaul. — The horses will get bogged down, we need to travel farther...
At that time as they in an undertone said in such a way, down, at the hollow from the pond, clicked one shot, another, turned white smoke and was heard friendly, as if merry shouts of a hundred voices of French, formerly at the half-mountain. In the first moment Denisov and the esaul served backwards. They were so close that to them it seemed that they were the cause of these shots and screams. Yet the shots and shouting was not related to them. At the bottom, by the swamps, ran a person in something red. Obviously by him fired and at him shouted the French.
— Because this is our Tihon, — said the esaul.
— He! It is he!
— What a rogue, — said Denisov.
— He will leave! — with a squinted eye said the esaul.
The person, who they called Tihon, running up to the river, bullied at it so that spray flew and, hiding in an instant, got out on all fours, all black from the water, and ran farther. The French, fleeing behind him, stopped.
— Well, dexterity, — said the esaul.
— What a beast! — with that same expression of annoyance spoke Denisov. — And what did he do before?
— This is whom? — asked Petya.
— This is our intelligence. I sent him to take a tongue.
— Ah, yes, — said Petya with the first words of Denisov, nodding his head, as if he got all, although he resolutely did not get one word.
—————
Tihon Shcherbaty was one of the most necessary people in the party. He was a peasant from Pokrovsky under Gzhatyu. When, at the beginning of their action, Denisov came to Pokrovsky and, as always, calling on the headman, asked about what they knew about the French, the headman responded, as answered all headmen, as would be defending that they knew nothing, not knowing what to know. Yet when Denisov explained to them that his objective was to beat the French and when he asked whether or not the French wandered by him, that headman said that myraders had been exactly, but that in their village only one Tishka Shcherbaty was occupied by this business. Denisov told to call to himself Tihon and, praising him for his activity, said to the headman a few words about the allegiance of the tsar and homeland and hatred to the French, who must watch the sons of the fatherland.
— We do not thin the French, — said Tihon, apparently becoming frightened at these words of Denisov. — We only so, I mean, by hunting indulged with the guys. The Myraders exactly ten to two beat, but that we did not thin... — On the next day, when Denisov, completely forgetting about this peasant, got out from Pokrovsky, it was reported to him that Tihon stuck to the parties and requested for him to be left in it. Denisov told to leave him.
Tihon, first corrected with the black work of laying out bonfires, delivering water, stripping horses and so on, soon manifested as a big hunter with the ability for the partisan war. He at night went away to plunder and at any time brought with himself the dress and weapons of the French, but when he was ordered, brought captives. Denisov set aside Tihon from work and began to take him with himself in traveling and credited him in the Cossacks.
Tihon did not love to ride on horseback and always went by foot, never behind from the cavalry. His weapons were a formed blunderbuss, which he carried more for laughter, a spade and ax, which he controlled as a wolf controls teeth, equally easily choosing with them fleas from wool and snacking on thick bones. Tihon was equally right, with only a scope, splitting with an ax logs and, taking the ax behind the butt, extricating with it subtle pegs and cut out spoons. In the parties of Denisov Tihon occupied his special, exceptional place. When it was needed to do something especially difficult and nasty — unscrew a shoulder from a mud wagon, behind the tail pull out of the swamps a horse, rip it off, climb to the very middle of the French, to take in day 50 versts, — all pointed chuckling at Tihon.
— What he, damn it, has done, a hefty gelding, — was said about him.
One time a Frenchman, who was taken by Tihon, shot at him from a pistol and hit him in the flesh of the back. This wound, from which Tihon was treated only with vodka, internally and outwardly, was subject to the most fun jokes in all the detachment, and jokes, which willingly succumbed Tihon.
— What, brother, will you not be? Or twisted? — laughed the Cossacks at him, and Tihon purposely cowering and making faces, pretending that he was angry, with very funny curses scolded the French. This case had been for Tihon the impact only in that after his wounds he seldom brought captives.
Tihon was the most useful and brave person in the parties. No one more than him opened up the cases of attacks, no one more than him took and beat the French; and owing to this he was the jester of all the Cossacks and the hussars and himself willingly succumbed to this rank. Now Tihon was sent by Denisov, still at night, to Shamsheva so that to take a tongue. Yet, because of how he was not satisfied by one Frenchman, or because of how he overslept at night, he in the afternoon climbed in the bushes, in the very middle of the French and, as seen from the mountains Denisov, was opened to them.
Mentioned: the following day, every night
Locations: Shamshevo (often called village in the chapter)
Mentioned: French, Russian, Pokrovskoe (Pokrovsk in Maude, Mandelker, and Dunnigan), Gzhat
Pevear and Volokhonsky Notes: Still waiting on Dolokhov, Denisov, the Cossack captain, and Petya all ride around the French and question a prisoner. They see their scout, considered one of the most necessary men in the party, running and being shot at. Tolstoy spends some time on his back story and his different skills in the party.
Characters (characters who do not appear, but are mentioned are placed in italics. First appearances are in Bold. First mentions are underlined. Final appearance denoted by *):
Denisof
Esaul Lovaiski (just "Esaul")
Petya
The little drummer (also "prisoner")
Dolokhof
Tikhon Shcherbatui (also "our plastun". Also called "Tishka" in Dole. Bell, Maude, and Wiener do not use this variant name.)
Alexander ("tsar")
Abridged Versions: Line break after "positively not made out a word" in Wiener. Line break in the same place in Edmonds.
No break in Bell.
Gibian: Line break instead of chapter break
Fuller: See chapter 310.
Komroff: The chapter cuts off before the Tikhon section, followed by a line break.
Kropotkin: Chapter 3: Chapter is preserved.
Simmons: The prisoner and the Tikon section is removed. Line break instead of chapter break.
Additional Notes: Dole: "Plastun (plastoon), the name of a sharp-shooter who lies in ambush, a scout, among the Black-Sea Cossacks." Note also points out that Shcherbatui means gap-toothed.
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