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"O my yagers!" cried Rykov, "the whole company cut to pieces! My

company! And all the fault of that Plut! He was the chief in

command; he will have to answer for it to the Tsar. But,

gentlemen, take those pennies for yourselves; I have my captain's

pay, such as it is-enough for my punch and for a pipe of tobacco.

But I like you, gentlemen, because with you I eat, drink, and am

merry-with you I can have a friendly talk, and thus my life

passes. So I will protect you, and when the inquiry comes up, on

my word of honour, I will testify in your favour. We will say

that we came here on a visit, had a drink, danced, got a trifle

tipsy, and that Plut accidentally gave the word to fire; then

came a battle, and the battalion somehow melted away. If you

gentlemen will only grease the inquiry with gold it will come out

all right.