The Bridge on the Drina - PDFDrive.com Page 21

  epidemic or other misfortune they found themselves working together, each

  among men of their own faith. Otherwise, whenever they met at Mejdan or

  Okolište,theygreetedoneanotherandaskedafteroneanother'shealth,aspriest

  and hodja never did elsewhere. Then Pop Nikola would often point with his

  pipestematthetownbesidetheriverandsayhalfinjest:

  'Allthatbreathesorcreepsorspeakswithhumanvoicedownthereiseitheryour

  ormyresponsibility.'

  'Itisso,neighbour,'MulaIbrahimwouldstutterinreply,'indeedtheyare.'

  (And so the townsmen who could always find time to mock at everyone and

  everythingwouldsayofmenwholivedinfriendship:'Theyareascloseasthe

  priestandthe hodja'; andthissayingbecameaproverbwiththem.)

  Thesetwonowunderstoodoneanotherperfectlythoughtheydidnotexchangea

  word. Pop Nikola knew how hard it was for Mula Ibrahim and Mula Ibrahim

  knewthatitwasnoteasyforthepriest.

  Theylookedatoneanotherastheyhaddonesomanytimesbeforeintheirlives

  and on so many different occasions, as two men who had on their souls that

  doubleburdenofthetown,theoneforthosewhocrossedthemselves,theother

  forthosewhoboweddowninthemosque.

  AtthatmomentthesoundoftrottingwasheardandaTurkishgendarmehurried

  up on a scraggy pony. Scared and out of breath, he shouted at them from a distancelikeatown-crier.

  'Hereheis;theoneonthewhitehorse!'

  Thepolicechieftooarrived,alwayscalm,alwaysamiable,alwayssilent.

  DustrosefromalongtheOkolišteroad.

  Thesemen,bornandbroughtupinthisremotedistrictofTurkey,therotten-ripe

  Turkey of the nineteenth century, had naturally never had the chance of seeing

  the real, powerful and well-organized army of a great power. All that they had

  beenabletoseetillthenhadbeentheincomplete,badlyfed,badlyclothedand

  badly paid units of the Sultan's askers or, which was even worse, the Bosnian irregulars,the bashibazouks, recruitedbyforce,undisciplinedandfanatic.Now

  for the first time there appeared before them the real 'power and force' of an

  Empire,victorious,glisteningandsureofitself.Suchanarmydazzledthemand

  checkedthewordsintheirthroats.Atthefirstsightofthesaddleryandthetunic-

  buttons another world could be sensed behind these hussars and jaegers in

  paradekit.Theirastonishmentwasgreatandtheimpressionprofound.

  Firstrodetwotrumpetersontwofatbays,thenadetachmentofhussarsonblack

  horses.Thehorseswerewellgroomedandmovedlikegirlswithshorttidysteps.

  The hussars, all young and fresh, with waxed moustaches, in red shakos and

  yellowfroggedtunics,seemedrestedandvigorousasiftheyhadjustcomeout

  ofbarracks.Behindthemrodeagroupofsixofficersledbyacolonel.Alleyes

  werefixedonhim.Hishorsewaslargerthantheothers,aflea-bittengreywitha

  very long and curved neck. A little behind the officers came the infantry

  detachment, jaegers, in green uniforms, with a panache of feathers on their

  leathercapsandwhitebandsacrosstheirchests.Theyshutouteverythingsave

  themselvesandseemedlikeamovingforest.

  The trumpeters and hussars rode past the priest and the police chief, halted on

  themarketplace,anddrewupalongthesides.

  Themenonthe kapia, paleandshaken,stoodinthecentreofthebridgefacing

  theofficers.Oneoftheyoungerofficersspurredhishorseuptothecoloneland

  saidsomethingtohim.Allsloweddown.Afewpacesinfrontofthe'notables'

  thecolonelsuddenlyhaltedanddismounted,asdidtheofficersbehindhimasif

  by order. The soldiers whose duty it was to hold the horses hurried up and led

  themafewpacesback.

  Assoonashisfoottouchedtheground,thecolonelseemedanotherman.Hewas asmall,undistinguished,overtired,unpleasantandaggressiveman,behavingas

  if he alone had fought for all of them. Only now could it be seen that he was

  simply dressed, dishevelled and ungroomed, in contrast to his pale-faced

  smartly-uniformed officers. He was the image of a man who drives himself

  mercilessly,whocontinuallyovertaxeshimself.Hisfacewasflushed,hisbeard

  untrimmed,hiseyestroubledandanxious,histallhelmetalittleononesideand

  his crumpled uniform seemingly too big for his body. He was wearing cavalry

  boots of soft unpolished leather. Walking with legs apart like a horseman he

  camecloser,swinginghisriding-crop.Oneoftheofficersspoketohim,pointing

  outthemenrangedbeforehim.Thecolonellookedatthemshortlyandsharply,

  the angry glance of a man continually occupied with difficult duties and great

  dangers. It was at once evident that he did not know how to look in any other

  way.

  At that moment Pop Nikola began to speak in a calm deep voice. The colonel

  lookedupandfixedhisgazeonthefaceofthebigmanintheblackcloak.That

  broadserenemaskofabiblicalpatriarchheldhisattentionforamoment.Itmay

  bethathedidnotunderstand,orthathepretendednottolistento,whattheold

  manwassaying,butthatfacecouldnotgounnoticed.PopNikolaspokefluently

  andnaturally,addressinghimselfmoretotheyoungofficerwhowastotranslate

  hiswordsthantothecolonelhimself.Inthenameofallthefaithsherepresent,

  he assured the colonel that they, and their people, were willing to submit

  themselvestothecomingauthoritiesandwoulddoallthatwasintheirpowerto

  maintainpeaceandorderasthenewauthoritiesdemanded.Theyaskedthearmy

  to protect them and their families and make a peaceful life and honest toil

  possibleforthem.

  PopNikolaspokeshortlyandendedabruptly.Thenervouscoloneldidnothave

  anyexcusetolosepatience.Butallthesamehedidnotwaitfortheendofthe

  youngofficer'stranslation.Brandishinghisriding-crop,heinterruptedhimina

  harshandunevenvoice:

  'Good, good! All those who behave themselves will be protected. Peace and

  ordermustbemaintainedeverywhere.Itmustbe,whethertheylikeitornot.'

  Then, shaking his head, he moved onward without a glance or a greeting. The

  'notables' moved aside. The colonel passed them, followed by the officers and

  the orderlies with the horses. None of them paid the least attention to the

  'notables'whoremainedaloneonthe kapia.

  Allofthemweredisillusioned.Forthedaybefore,andallthroughtheprevious night, in which not one of them had slept much, each had asked himself a

  hundred times what that moment would be like when they had to welcome the

  commandant of the Imperial Army on the kapia. They had imagined him in

  every sort of way, each according to his nature and intelligence, and had been

  ready for the worst. Some of them had already seen themselves carried away

>   immediatelytoexileinfarawayAustria,neveragaintoseetheirhomesortheir

  town. Others remembered the stories about Hairuddin who at one time used to

  cutoffheadsonthisvery kapia. Theyhadimaginedineverypossibleway,save

  thatinwhichithadactuallyhappened,themeetingwiththatsmallbutcurtand

  bad-temperedofficertowhomwarwaslife,whodidnotthinkofhimselforpay

  anyheedtoothers,butsawallmenandalllandsonlyasasubjectoranoccasion

  for war and conflict, and who behaved as if he were waging war on his own

  accountandinhisownname.

  Sotheystood,lookingatoneanotherinuncertainty.Eachoftheirlooksseemed

  tosaydumbly:'Wehavegotoutofthisalive.Havewereallygonethroughthe

  worst?Whatisstillinstoreforusandwhatmustbedone?'

  The police chief and Pop Nikola were the first to come to themselves. They

  came to the conclusion that the 'notables' had done their duty and that nothing

  more was left for them to do but to go home and tell the people not to be

  frightened and run away, but to take good care what they did. The others,

  withoutbloodintheirfacesorthoughtsintheirheads,acceptedthisconclusion

  astheywouldhaveacceptedanyother,sincetheythemselveswereinnostateto

  cometoanyconclusion.

  The police chief, whom nothing could ruffle, went about his duties. The

  gendarme rolled up the long multicoloured carpet which had not been fated to

  receive the visit of the commandant, with Salko Hedo standing beside him as

  coldandunfeelingasFate.Meanwhilethe'notables'dispersedeachinhisown

  wayandeachinhisowndirection.Therabbihurriedoffwithtinystepsinorder

  togethomeassoonaspossibleandfeelagainthewarmthandprotectionofthe

  familycircleinwhichhismotherandhiswifelived.Theschoolmasterleftmore

  slowly, deep in thought. Now that everything had passed so unexpectedly well

  andeasily,thoughharshlyandunpleasantlyenough,itseemedtohimquiteclear

  thattherehadneverbeenanyrealreasonforpanicanditseemedtohimthathe

  had never in fact been afraid of anyone. He thought only what importance this

  eventshouldhaveinhischronicleandhowmuchspaceshouldbedevotedtoit.

  A score of lines should be enough. Perhaps even fifteen, or maybe less. The

  nearer he got to his house the more he reduced the number. With every line spared it seemed to him that he saw all around him diminished in importance

  whilehe,theschoolmaster,becamegreaterandmoreimportantinhisowneyes.

  Mula Ibrahim and Pop Nikola walked together as far as the slope leading to

  Mejdan. They both remained silent, astonished and discouraged at the

  appearance and bearing of the Imperial colonel. Both were hastening to get

  homeassoonaspossibleandforegatherwiththeirfamilies.Atthepointwhere

  their paths diverged, they stood and looked at one another for a moment in

  silence. Mula Ibrahim rolled his eyes and moved his lips as if continually

  chewingoversomewordthathewasunabletoutter.PopNikola,whohadonce

  morerecoveredhis smileofgolden sparkswhichencouraged bothhimselfand

  the hodja, utteredhisownandthe hodja's thought:

  'Abloodybusiness,thisarmy,MulaIbrahim!'

  'Youareright,ab-b-b-bloodybusiness,'stutteredMulaIbrahimraisinghisarms

  andsayingfarewellwithamovementofhishead.

  PopNikolawentbacktohishousebythechurch,slowlyandheavily.Hiswife

  whowaswaitingforhimaskednoquestions.Sheatoncetookoffhisboots,took

  hiscloakandremovedthehoodfromthethicksweatymassofredandgreyhair.

  Hesatdownonalowdivan.Onitswoodenarmaglassofwaterandalumpof

  sugarwerereadywaiting.Afterrefreshinghimselfandlightingacigarheclosed

  his eyes wearily. But in his inmost thoughts still flashed the image of that

  colonel,likeaflashoflightningthatdazzlesamanandfillshiswholefieldof

  vision so that nothing else may be seen and yet it is impossible to look away

  from it. The priest puffed his smoke far away from him with a sigh and then

  spokequietlyasiftohimself:

  'Astrangesortofbastard,onmygrandmother'ssoul!'

  Fromthetowncouldbeheardadrumandthenabugleofthe jaeger detachment,

  gayandpenetrating,anewandunusualmelody.

  XI

  Thusthegreatchangeinthelifeofthetownbesidethebridgetookplacewithout

  sacrifices other than the martyrdom of Alihodja. After a few days life went on

  again as before and seemed essentially unchanged. Even Alihodja himself

  plucked up his courage and opened his shop near the bridge like all the other

  traders,savethatnowheworehisturbanslightlytippedtotherightsothatthe

  scar on his wounded ear could not be seen. That 'leaden weight' which he had

  feltinhischestafterseeingtheredcrossonthearmoftheAustrianorderlyand

  readingthe'Imperialwords'hadnotactuallyvanished,butithadbecomequite

  smalllikethebeadofarosary,sothatitwaspossibletolivewithit.Norwashe

  theonlyonewhofeltsuchaweight.

  Sobegantheneweraundertheoccupationwhichthepeople,unabletoprevent,

  consideredintheirheartstobetemporary.Whatdidnotpassacrossthebridgein

  those first few years after the occupation! Yellow military vehicles rumbled

  acrossitinlongconvoysbringingfood,clothingandfurniture,instrumentsand

  fittingshithertounheardof.

  At first only the army was to be seen. Soldiers sprang up, like water from the

  earth, behind every corner and every bush. The marketplace was full of them,

  but they were also in every part of the town. Every minute of the day some

  frightenedwomanwouldscream,havingunexpectedlycomeacrossasoldierin

  her courtyard or in the plum-orchard behind her house, in dark blue uniforms,

  tanned by two months of marching and fighting, glad that they were alive and

  eager for rest and enjoyment, they sauntered through the town and the country

  around. Few of the citizens went to the kapia for now it was always full of soldiers.Theywouldsitthere,singinginvariouslanguagesandbuyingfruitin

  theirblueleather-peakedcapswithayellowmetalcockadeonwhichwascutthe

  imperialinitialsFJI.

  But when autumn came the soldiers began to move away. Slowly and

  imperceptibly there seemed fewer and fewer of them. There remained only the

  gendarmedetachments.Theserequisitionedhousesandpreparedforalongstay.

  Atthesametimeofficialsbegantoarrive,civilservantswiththeirfamiliesand,

  afterthem,artisansandcraftsmenforallthosetradeswhichuptillthenhadnot

  existed in the town. Among them were Czechs, Poles, Croats, Hungarians and

  Austrians.

  Atfirstitseemedthattheyhadcomebychance,asifdrivenbythewind,andas

 
if they were coming for a short stay to live more or less the same life as had alwaysbeenlivedhere,asthoughthecivilauthoritiesweretoprolongforashort

  time the occupation begun by the army. But with every month that passed the

  numberofnewcomersincreased.However,whatmostastonishedthepeopleof

  the town and filled them with wonder and distrust was not so much their

  numbers as their immense and incomprehensible plans, their untiring industry

  andtheperseverancewithwhichtheyproceededtotherealizationofthoseplans.

  The newcomers were never at peace; and they allowed no one else to live in

  peace. It seemed that they were resolved with their impalpable yet ever more

  noticeableweboflaws,regulationsandorderstoembraceallformsoflife,men,

  beasts and things, and to change and alter everything, both the outward

  appearanceofthetownandthecustomsandhabitsofmenfromthecradletothe

  grave. All this they did quietly without many words, without force or

  provocation, so that a man had nothing to protest about. If they encountered

  resistance or lack of understanding, they at once stopped, discussed the matter

  somewhereoutofsightandthenchangedonlythemanneranddirectionoftheir

  work,stillcarryingoutwhateverwasintheirminds.Everytaskthattheybegan

  seemeduselessandevensilly.Theymeasuredoutthewasteland,numberedthe

  treesintheforest,inspectedlavatoriesanddrains,lookedattheteethofhorses

  andcows,askedabouttheillnessesofthepeople,notedthenumberandtypesof

  fruit-treesandofdifferentkindsofsheepandpoultry.(Itseemedthattheywere

  playing games, so incomprehensible, unreal and futile all these tasks of theirs

  appearedtothepeople.)Thenallthattheyhadcarriedoutwithsomuchcareand

  zealvanishedsomewhereorotherasifithadbeenlostwithouttraceorsound.

  Butafewmonthslater,sometimesevenayearlater,whenthewholethinghad

  beencompletelyforgottenbythepeople,therealsenseofthesemeasureswhich

  hadseemedsosenselesswassuddenlyrevealed.The mukhtars oftheindividual

  quarterswouldbesummonedtothe konak(theadministrativecentre)andtoldof