The Bridge on the Drina - PDFDrive.com Page 49

  station where they answered with their lives for the peace, order and regular

  communicationoftheline,whileotherswerenotfarfromthebridge,inasmall

  wooden shed at the far end of the square where on market days the municipal

  scaleswerekeptandwherethelocal octroi waspaid.Theretoothehostageshad

  toanswerwiththeirlives,shouldanyonedestroyordamagethebridge.

  Pavlewassittingthereonacaféchair.Withhandsonkneesandbowedhead,he

  lookedtheperfectpictureofamanwho,exhaustedaftersomegreateffort,had

  sat down for a moment's rest, but he had been sitting there motionless in the

  samepositionforseveralhours.Atthedoortwosoldiers,reservists,satonapile

  ofemptysacks.Thedoorswereshutandtheshedwasdarkandoppressivelyhot.

  When a shell from Panos or Goleš whistled overhead, Pavle swallowed and

  listened to hear where it fell. He knew that the bridge had been mined and

  thought of that continually, asking himself whether one such shell could ignite

  the explosives should it penetrate to the charge. At every change of guard he

  listenedtothenon-commissionedofficergivinginstructionstothesoldiers:'At

  theleastattempttodamagethebridge,oratanysuspicioussignthatsuchathing

  is being prepared, this man must be killed at once.' Pavle had got used to

  listening to these words calmly as if they did not refer to him. The shells and shrapnel,whichoccasionallyexplodedsoneartheshedthatgravelandpiecesof

  metalstrucktheplanks,disturbedhimmore.Butwhattormentedhimmostofall

  werehislong,hisendlessandunbearable,thoughts.

  Hekeptthinkingwhatwastohappentohim,tohishouseandhisproperty.The

  more he thought, the more everything seemed like a bad dream. In what other

  waycouldallthathadhappenedtohiminthelastfewdaysbeexplained?The

  gendarmeshadtakenawayhistwosons,students,onthefirstday.Hiswifehad

  remained at home, alone with her daughters. The great warehouse at Osojnica

  had been burnt down before his eyes. His serfs from the nearby villages had

  probablybeenkilledordispersed.Allhiscreditsoverthewholedistrict—lost!

  His shop, the most beautiful shop in the whole town, only a few paces from

  wherehewasnow,hadbeenshutandwouldprobablybepillaged,orsetonfire

  by the shells. He himself was sitting in the semi-darkness of this shed,

  responsiblewithhislifeforsomethingthatinno way dependedonhim;forthe

  fateofthatbridge.

  His thoughts whirled in his head; tumultuous and disordered as never before,

  theycrossedandmingledandwereextinguished.Whatsortofconnectionhadhe

  with that bridge, he who all his life had paid no attention to anything save his workandhisfamily?Itwasnothewhohadminedit,norhadhebombardedit.

  Not even when he had been an apprentice and unmarried, had he ever sat on

  the kapia and wasted his time in singing and idle jokes, like so many Višegrad youths.Allhislifepassedbeforehiseyes,withmanydetailswhichhehadlong

  agoforgotten.

  He remembered how he had come from the Sanjak as a fourteen-year-old boy,

  hungryandinshabbypeasantsandals.HehadstruckabargainwitholdPeterto

  servehimforonesuitofclothes,hisfoodandtwopairsofsandalsannually.He

  hadlookedafterthechildren,helpedintheshop,drawnwaterandgroomedthe

  horses. He had slept under the stairs in a dark, narrow cupboard without

  windowswherehecouldnotevenliedownatfulllength.Hehadenduredthis

  hardlifeand,whenhewaseighteen,hadgoneintotheshop'onsalary'.Hisplace

  hadbeentakenbyanothervillageboyfromtheSanjak.Intheshophehadgotto

  know and understand the great idea of thrift, and had felt the fierce and

  wonderfulpassioninthegreatpowerthatthriftgave.Forfiveyearshehadslept

  inalittleroombehindtheshop.Infiveyearshehadneveroncelitafireorgone

  tosleepwithacandlebesidehim.Hehadbeentwenty-threewhenPeterhimself

  hadarrangedamarriageforhimwithagoodandwell-to-dogirlfromČajniče.

  Shehadbeenamerchant'sdaughterandnowbothofthemsavedtogether.Then

  camethetimeoftheoccupationandwithitliveliertrade,easiergainandlower

  expenses. He made good use of the profits and avoided the expenses. Thus he

  was able to get a shop and began to make money. At that time it was not

  difficult. Many then made money easily and lost it even more easily. But what

  wasmadewashardtokeep.Hehadkepthisandeverydaymademore.When

  these last years came and with them unrest and 'polities', he, though already

  advanced in years, had tried to understand the new times, to stand up to them

  and adapt himself to them, and to go through them without harm and without

  shame. He had been Vice-President of the Municipality, President of the

  Religious Community, President of the Serbian Choral Society 'Concord',

  main,shareholder of the Serbian Bank and member of the executive committee

  ofthelocalAgriculturalBank.Hehadtriedhisbest,accordingtotherulesofthe

  marketplace, to make his way wisely and honestly between the contrary

  influences which increased daily, without allowing his own interests to suffer,

  without being regarded with suspicion by the authorities or brought to shame

  beforehisownpeople.Intheeyesofthetownsmenhepassedforaninimitable

  exampleofindustry,commonsenseandcircumspection.

  Thus,formorethanahalfofanormalhumanexistencehehadworked,saved,

  worried and made money. He had taken care not to hurt a fly, been civil to all

  andlookedonlystraightaheadofhim,keepingsilentandmakingmoneyinhis

  ownway.Andherewaswhereithadledhim;tositbetweentwosoldierslikethe

  lowestofbrigandsandwaituntilsomeshellorinfernalmachineshoulddamage

  the bridge and, for that reason, to have his throat cut or be shot. He began to think (and that pained him most of all) that he had worked and worried and

  illusedhimselfallinvain,thathehadchosenthewrongpathandthathissons

  and all the other 'youngsters' had been right, and that times had come without

  measuresorcalculationsorwhichhadsomesortofnewmeasuresanddifferent

  calculations;inanycasehisowncalculationshadbeenshowntobeinaccurate

  andhismeasuresshort.

  'That'sthewayofit,'saidPavletohimself,'that'stheway;everyoneteachesyou

  and urges you to work and to save, the Church, the authorities and your own

  commonsense.Youlistenandliveprudently,infactyoudonotliveatall,but

  workandsaveandareburdenedwithcares;andsoyourwholelifepasses.Then,

  allofasudden,thewholethingturnsupsidedown;timescomewhentheworld

  mocks at reason, when the Church shuts its doors and is silent, when authority

  becomesmerebrut
eforce,whentheywhohavemadetheirmoneyhonestlyand

  with the sweat of their brows lose both their time and their money, and the violentwinthegame.Noonerecognizesyoureffortsandthereisnoonetohelp

  oradviseyouhowtokeepwhatyouhaveearnedandsaved.Canthisbe?Surely

  thiscannotbe?'Pavleaskedhimselfcontinually,andwithoutfindinganyanswer

  went back to the point whence his thought had started—the loss of all that he

  possessed.

  Tryashemighttothinkofsomethingelse,hecouldnotsucceed.Histhoughts

  returned continually to the point where they had started. Time crept by with

  mortal slowness. It seemed to him that the bridge over which he had crossed

  thousandsoftimesbuthadneverreallylookedat,nowlaywithallitsweighton

  hisshoulderslikesomeinexplicableandfatefulburden,likeanightmarebutina

  sleepfromwhichtherewasnoawakening.

  ThereforePavlewentonsittingthere,huddledonhischairwithbowedheadand

  shoulders. He felt the sweat oozing from every pore under his thick starched

  shirt, collar and cuffs. It fell in streams from under his fez. He did not wipe it awaybutletitstreamdownhisfaceandfallinheavydropstothefloorandit

  seemedtohimthatitwashislifethatwasdrainingawayandwasleavinghim.

  Thetwosoldiers,middle-agedHungarianpeasants,remainedsilentandatebread

  and ham sprinkled with paprika; they ate slowly, cutting off with a small

  penknife first a piece of bread and then a slice of ham as if they were in their ownfields.Thentheytookamouthfulofwinefromanarmycanteenandlittheir

  shortpipes.Puffingaway,oneofthemsaidsoftly:

  'Eh,Ihaveneverseenamansweatsomuch.'

  Thentheywentonsmokingincompletesilence.

  But it was not only Pavle who sweated such bloody sweat and lost himself in

  thatsleepfromwhichthereisnoawakening.Inthosesummerdays,onthatlittle

  pieceofearthbetweentheDrinaandthedryfrontier,inthetown,inthevillages,

  on the roads and in the forests, everywhere men sought death, their own or

  others',andatthesametimefledfromitanddefendedthemselvesfromitbyall

  themeansintheirpower.Thatstrangehumangamewhichiscalledwarbecame

  more and more intense and submitted to its authority living creatures and

  materialthings.

  Notfarfromthatmunicipalshedadetachmentofanunusualarmywasresting.

  The men were in white uniforms with white tropical helmets on their heads.

  TheywereGermans,theso-calledSkadardetachment.Beforethewartheyhad

  been sent to Skadar (Scutari in Albania) where they were to maintain law and order together with detachments from other nations, as part of an international

  army.Whenwarbrokeout,theyhadreceivedorderstoleaveSkadarandplace

  themselves at the disposal of the nearest Austrian Army command on the

  Serbianfrontier.Theyhadcometheeveningbeforeandwerenowrestinginthe

  hollow which separated the square from the marketplace. There, in a sheltered

  corner, they awaited the order to attack. There were about 120 of them. Their

  captain,aplumpreddishmanwhosufferedfromtheheat,hadjustbeencursing

  atthegendarmeriesergeantDaniloRepac,cursinghimasonlyaseniorofficerof

  the German army can curse, noisily, pedantically and without any sort of

  consideration. The captain was complaining that his soldiers were dying of

  thirst, that they had not even the most necessary supplies, since all the shops

  nearby,whichwereprobablyfullofeverything,wereshutdespitetheorderthat

  allshopsweretoremainopen.

  'Whatareyouherefor?Areyougendarmesordolls?MustIdieherewithallmy

  men?OrmustIbreakopentheshopslikearobber?Findtheownersatonceand

  make them sell us provisions and something worth drinking! At once! Do you

  understandwhatthatmeans?Atonce!'

  Ateverywordthecaptaingrewmoreandmoreflushed.Inhiswhiteuniform,his

  close-shavenheadredasapoppy,heseemedtoburnwithangerlikeatorch.

  SergeantRepac,astounded,onlyblinkedandwentonrepeating:

  'Iunderstand,sir.Atonce.Iunderstand.Atonce!'

  Then,passingsuddenlyfromhiscatalepticstiffnesstofrenziedaction,heturned

  andhurriedfromthemarketplace.Itseemedasifthesergeant,approachingtoo

  closetothatcaptainflamingwithanger,hadhimselfbeentouchedbythatflame,

  whichmadehimrun,curse,threatenandbeatallroundhim.

  ThefirstlivingbeingwhomhemetinthecourseofhismadrushwasAlihodja,

  who had just come down from his house to cast an eye on his shop. Looking

  closely at the once familiar ' wachtmeister' Repac, now completely changed,

  rushing towards him, the astonished hodja asked himself whether this savage

  and maddened man was really the same 'wachtmeister' whom he had watched

  for years, calm, dignified and humane, passing in front of his shop. Now this

  sombre and infuriated Repac looked at him with new eyes which no longer

  recognized anyone and saw only their own fear. The sergeant at once began to

  shout, repeating what only a short time ago he had heard from the German

  captain.

  'God in heaven, I ought to hang all of you! Weren't you ordered to keep your

  shopsopen?Foryoursake,Ihavehadto...'

  Andbeforetheastonished hodja wasabletoutteraword,heslappedhimhard

  ontherightcheeksothathisturbanslidfromhisrighteartohisleft.

  Then the sergeant rushed frenziedly on to open other shops. The hodja set his turban straight, let down his door-shutter and sat on it, almost out of his mind

  from astonishment. Around the shop crowded a swarm of strange-looking

  soldiers in white uniforms such as he had never seen before. It seemed to

  the hodja asifheweredreaming.Butinthesetimeswhenslapsfellfromheaven

  henolongerfeltreallyastonishedatanything.

  Sothewholemonthpassed,inpreliminarybombardmentofthebridgeandinthe

  firingfromthesurroundinghills,insufferingandviolenceofeverykind,andin

  theexpectationofworsemisfortunes.Inthefirstdaysthegreaternumberofthe

  citizenshadalreadyleftthetownwhichnowlaybetweentwofires.Bytheend

  ofSeptemberthecompleteevacuationofthetownbegan.Eventhelastofficials

  were withdrawn, by night along the road which led over the bridge, for the

  railwaylinehadalreadybeencut.Thenthearmywaswithdrawnlittlebylittle

  from the right bank of the Drina. There remained only a small number of

  defence squads, a few engineers' units and some gendarme patrols, until the

  orderscameforthemtootoretire.

  Thebridgeremainedasifundersentenceofdeath,butnonethelessstillwhole

  anduntouched,betweenthetwowarringsides.

  XXIV

  Duringthenighttheskycloudedoverasifitwereautumn;thecloudsclungto

  the
tops of the mountains and lingered in the valleys between them. The

  Austrians had taken advantage of the darkness of the night to effect the

  withdrawalofeventhelastdetachments.Alreadybeforedawntheywereallnot

  onlyontherightbankoftheDrinabutontheheightsbehindtheLiještechain,

  outofsightandoutofrangeoftheSerbianguns.

  Atdaybreaktherewasafine,almostautumnal,rain.Inthatrainthelastpatrols

  visitedhousesandshopsinthevicinityofthebridgetoseeiftherewereanyone

  still in them. Everything was as if dead; the officers' mess, Lotte's hotel, the

  ruinedbarracksandthosethreeorfourshopsattheentrancetothemarketplace.

  But in front of Alihodja's shop they came upon the hodja who had just come downfromhishouseandletdownhisdoor-shutter.Thegendarmes,whoknew

  the hodja asaneccentric,warnedhimmostseriouslytoshuthisshopatonceand

  leavethemarketplace,foranylongerstayinthevicinityofthebridgewasmost

  'dangerous to life' and strictly forbidden. The hodja looked at them as if they weredrunkanddidnotknowwhattheyweresaying.Hewantedtoreplythatlife

  hadbeendangerousforalongtimepastandthateveryonewasmoreorlessdead

  alreadyandonlywaitinghisturntobeburied,buthethoughtbetterofit,taught

  by the bad experience of the last few days, and merely told them calmly and

  naturally that he had only come to take something from the shop and would

  returnhomeatonce.Thegendarmes,whowereevidentlyinahurry,warnedhim

  oncemorethatheshouldmoveawayassoonaspossible,andwentonacrossthe

  square to the bridge. Alihodja watched them marching away, their footfalls

  inaudibleinthedustwhichthemorningrainhadturnedtoathick,dampcarpet.

  He was still watching them as they crossed the bridge, half concealed by the

  stoneparapet,sothattheycouldseeonlytheirheadsandshouldersandthelong

  bayonets on their rifles. The first rays of sunlight struck on the heights of the ButkovoRocks.

  All their orders were like this, severe, important and yet basically senseless,

  thought Alihodja, and smiled to himself like a child who has outwitted his