The Bridge on the Drina - PDFDrive.com Page 8

  The people craned their necks and stood on tiptoe to see the man who had

  hatchedtheplotanddestroyedthebuildingwork.Theywereallastonishedatthe

  poor miserable appearance of the man they had imagined to be quite different.

  Naturally, none of them knew why he hopped in so droll a manner and took

  abruptlittlesteps,andnoneofthemcouldseetheburnsfromthechainswhich

  crossedhischestlikegreatbelts,forhisshirtandcloakhidthem.Thereforehe

  seemed to all those there too wretched and too insignificant to have done the

  deedwhichnowbroughthimtoexecution.Onlythelongwhitestakegaveasort

  ofgruesomegrandeurtothesceneandkepteveryone'seyesfixedonit.

  Whentheyreachedthespotonthebankwheretheexcavationworkbegan,the

  manfromPlevljedismountedandwithasortofsolemnandtheatricalairgave

  thereinstoagroom,thendisappearedwiththeothersinthesteepmuddytrack

  whichleddowntothewater'sedge.Alittlelaterthepeoplesawthemagainas

  they appeared in the same order on the staging, climbing upwards slowly and

  carefully.Onthenarrowpassagesmadeofplanksandbeamstheguardsclosely

  surrounded Radisav and kept him very near them lest he should leap into the

  river. They dragged their way along slowly and climbed even higher till they

  reachedthetop.There,highabovethewater,wasaboardedspaceaboutthesize

  ofasmallroom.Onit,asonaraisedstage,theytooktheirplaces,Radisav,the

  manfromPlevljeandthethreegipsies,withtherestoftheguardspostedaround

  themonthestaging.

  The people watching moved uneasily and shifted about. Only a hundred paces

  separated them from those planks, so that they could see every man and every

  movement, but could not hear words or distinguish details. The people and the

  workmen on the left bank were about three times farther away, and moved

  aroundasmuchastheycouldandmadeeveryefforttotrytoseeandhearbetter.

  But they could hear nothing and what they could see seemed at first only too

  ordinaryanduninterestingandattheendsoterriblethattheyturnedtheirheads

  awayandmanyquicklywenthome,regrettingthattheyhadevercome.

  When they ordered Radisav to lie down, he hesitated a moment and then,

  looking past the gipsies and guards as if they were not there, came close up to

  the man from Plevlje and said almost confidentially as if speaking to a friend,

  softlyandheavily:

  'Listen,bythisworldandthenext,doyourbesttopiercemewellsothatImay

  notsufferlikeadog.'

  ThemanfromPlevljestartedandshoutedathim,asifdefendinghimselffrom

  thattoointimateapproach:

  'March,Vlach!YouwhoaresogreataheroastodestroytheSultan'sworknow

  begfor mercy likea woman. Itwill be as ithas been orderedand as youhave

  deserved.'

  Radisavbenthisheadstilllowerandthegipsiescameupandbegantostripoff

  hiscloakandhisshirt.Onhischestthewoundsfromthechainsstoodout,red

  andswollen.Withoutanotherwordthepeasantlaydownashehadbeenordered,

  facedownward.Thegipsiesapproachedandthefirstboundhishandsbehindhis

  back;thentheyattachedacordtoeachofhislegs,aroundtheankles.Thenthey

  pulled outwards and to the side, stretching his legs wide apart. Meanwhile

  Merdjanplacedthestakeontwosmallwoodenchockssothatitpointedbetween

  the peasant's legs. Then he took from his belt a short broad knife, knelt beside

  the stretched-out man and leant over him to cut away the cloth of his trousers

  and to widen the opening through which the stake would enter his body. This

  most terrible part of the bloody task was, luckily, invisible to the onlookers.

  Theycouldonlyseetheboundbodyshudderattheshortandunexpectedprick

  oftheknife,thenhalfriseasifitweregoingtostandup,onlytofallbackagain

  atonce,strikingdullyagainsttheplanks.Assoonashehadfinished,thegipsy

  leaptup,tookthewoodenmalletandwithslowmeasuredblowsbegantostrike

  the lower blunt end of the stake. Between each two blows he would stop for a

  momentandlookfirstatthebodyinwhichthestakewaspenetratingandthenat

  the two gipsies, reminding them to pull slowly and evenly. The body of the

  peasant,spreadeagled,writhedconvulsively;ateachblowofthemallethisspine

  twistedandbent,butthecordspulledatitandkeptitstraight.Thesilencefrom

  bothbanksoftheriverwassuchthatnotonlyeveryblowbutevenitsechofrom

  somewhere along the steep bank could be clearly heard. Those nearest could hear how the man beat with his forehead against the planks and, even more,

  another and unusual sound, that was neither a scream, nor a wail, nor a groan,

  noranythinghuman;thatstretchedandtwistedbodyemittedasortofcreaking

  andcrackinglikeafencethatisbreakingdownoratreethatisbeingfelled.At

  everysecondblowthegipsywentovertothestretched-outbodyandleantover

  it to see whether the stake was going in the right direction and when he had

  satisfied himself that it had not touched any of the more important internal

  organs,hereturnedandwentonwithhiswork.

  Fromthebanksallthiscouldscarcelybeheardandstilllessseen,butallstood

  theretrembling,theirfacesblanchedandtheirfingerschilledwithcold.

  For a moment the hammering ceased. Merdjan now saw that close to the right

  shouldermusclestheskinwasstretchedandswollen.Hewentforwardquickly

  andcuttheswollenplacewithtwocrossedcuts.Palebloodflowedout,atfirst

  slowlythenfasterandfaster.Twoorthreemoreblows,lightandcareful,andthe

  iron-shod point of the stake began to break through at the place where he had

  cut. He struck a few more times until the point of the stake reached level with

  therightear.Themanwasimpaledonthestakeasalambonthespit,onlythat

  the tip did not come through the mouth but in the back and had not seriously

  damaged the intestines, the heart or the lungs. Then Merdjan threw down the

  mallet and came nearer. He looked at the unmoving body, avoiding the blood

  which poured out of the places where the stake had entered and had come out

  againandwasgatheringinlittlepoolsontheplanks.Thetwogipsiesturnedthe

  stiffened body on its back and began to bind the legs to the foot of the stake.

  Meanwhile Merdjan looked to see if the man were still alive and carefully

  examinedthefacethathadsuddenlybecomeswollen,widerandlarger.Theeyes

  were wide open and restless, but the eyelids were unmoving, the mouth was

  wideopenbutthetwolipsstiffandcontractedandbetweenthemtheclenched

  teeth shone white. Since the man could no longer control some of his facial

  muscles the face looked like a mask. Bu
t the heart beat heavily and the lungs

  workedwithshort,quickenedbreath.Thetwogipsiesbegantolifthimuplikea

  sheeponaspit.Merdjanshoutedtothemtotakecareandnotshakethebody;he

  himself went to help them. Then they embedded the lower, thicker end of the

  stakebetweentwobeamsandfixedittherewithhugenailsandthenbehind,at

  thesameheight,buttressedthewholethingwithashortstrutwhichwasnailed

  bothtothestakeandtoabeamonthestaging.

  Whenthattoohadbeendone,thegipsiesclimbeddownandjoinedtheguards,

  andonthatopenspace,raisedafulleightfeetupright,stiffandbaretothewaist, themanonthestakeremainedalone.Fromadistanceitcouldonlybeguessed

  that the stake to which his legs had been bound at the ankles passed right

  throughhisbody.Sothatthepeoplesawhimasastatue,highupintheaironthe

  veryedge,ofthestaging,highabovetheriver.

  Amurmurandawaveofmovementpassedthroughtheonlookersonthebanks.

  Some lowered their eyes and others went quickly home without turning their

  heads.Butthemajoritylookeddumblyatthishumanlikeness,upthereinspace,

  unnaturallystiffandupright.Fearchilledtheirentrailsandtheirlegsthreatened

  togivewaybeneaththem,buttheywerestillunabletomoveawayortaketheir

  eyesfromthesight.AndamidthatterrifiedcrowdmadIlinkathreadedherway,

  lookingeveryoneintheeyesandtryingtoreadtheirglancestofindfromthem

  wherehersacrificedandburiedchildrenwere.

  ThenthemanfromPlevlje,Merdjanandapairofguardswentuptotheimpaled

  manandbegantoexaminehimmoreclosely.Onlyathintrickleofbloodflowed

  downthestake.Hewasaliveandconscious.Hisribsroseandfell,theveinsin

  his neck pulsed and his eyes kept turning slowly but unceasingly. Through the

  clenchedteethcamealongdrawn-outgroaninginwhichafewwordscouldwith

  difficultybedistinguished.

  'Turks, Turks, . . .' moaned the man on the stake, 'Turks on the bridge .. . may youdielikedogs...likedogs.'

  The gipsies picked up their tools and then, with the man from Plevlje, came

  downfromthestagingtothebank.Thepeoplemadewayforthemandbeganto

  disperse.Onlythechildrenonthehighblocksofstoneandthebaretreeswaited

  alittlelonger,notknowingifthisweretheendorwhethertherewouldbemore,

  to see what would happen next with that strange man who hovered over the

  watersasifsuddenlyfrozeninthemidstofaleap.

  The man from Plevlje approached Abidaga and reported that everything had

  beencarriedoutcorrectlyandsatisfactorily,thatthecriminalwasstillaliveand

  thatitseemedthathewouldgoonlivingsincehisinternalorganshadnotbeen

  damaged.Abidagadidnotreplybutonlygaveasignwithhishandtobringhis

  horseandbegantosaygoodbyetoTosunEffendiandMastroAntonio.Everyone

  began to disperse. Through the marketplace the town-crier could be heard

  announcingthatthesentencehadbeencarriedoutandthatthesameoraworse

  punishmentawaitedanyonewhowoulddothelikeinfuture.

  ThemanfromPlevljeremainedinperplexityonthelevelspacewhichhadnow

  suddenly emptied. His servant held his horse and the guards waited for orders.

  Hefeltthatheoughttosaysomethingbutwasnotabletobecauseofthewaveof

  feelingthatonlynowbegantorisewithinhimandchokehim.Onlynowdidhe

  become conscious of all that he had forgotten since he had been too busy

  carrying out the sentence. He remembered Abidaga's threat that it would have

  been he who would have been placed upon the stake had he not succeeded in

  catchingthecriminal.Hehadescapedthathorror,butonlybyahairandonlyat

  thelastmoment.Butthingshadturnedoutotherwise.Thesightofthatman,who

  washanging,boundandstillalive,overtheriverfilledhimwithterrorandalso

  withasortofpainfuljoythatsuchafatehadnotbeenhisandthathisbodywas

  stillundamaged,wasfreeandabletomove.Atthatthoughtburningpainsshot

  through his chest and spread into his legs and arms and forced him to move

  about,tosmileandtospeak,justtoprovetohimselfthathewashealthy,thathe

  couldmovefreely,couldspeakandlaughaloud,couldevensingifhesowished,

  and not merely mutter useless curses from a stake, awaiting death as the only

  happiness which could still be his. His hands and arms moved of their own

  volition,hislipsopenedandfromthemflowedunwittinglyastrangledlaughand

  acopiousflowofwords:

  'Ha, ha, ha, Radisav, thou mountain vila, why so stiff?... Why not go on and underminethebridge?...Whywritheandgroan?Sing, vilal Dance, vilal'

  Astonished and bewildered, the guards watched their leader dance with

  outstretched arms, heard him sing and choke with laughter and with strange

  words,sawthewhitefoamoozingmoreandmorefromthecornersofhislips.

  Andhisbayhorse,infear,castsidelongglancesathim.

  IV

  Allthosewhohadbeenpresentattheexecutionofthesentence

  spread terrible reports through the town and the surrounding villages. An

  indescribablefeargrippedthetownsmenandtheworkers.Slowlyandgradually

  afullconsciousnessofwhathadhappenedintheirmidstinthecourseofashort

  November day came home to them. All conversation centred on the man who,

  highupthereonthescaffolding,wasstillaliveonthestake.Everyoneresolved

  not to speak of him; but what good was that when their thoughts turned

  continuallytohimandallglancescentredonthespot?

  ThepeasantscomingfromBanjacartingstoneintheirbullockcartsturnedtheir

  eyes away and curtly ordered their oxen to make haste. The workers at work

  alongthebanksandonthestagingcalledtooneanotherinhushedvoicesandas

  littleastheycould.Theoverseersthemselves,withtheirwoodenstavesintheir

  hands,weresubduedandlessbrutal.TheDalmatianstonemasonsclenchedtheir

  jaws,turnedtheirbacksonthebridgeandstruckangrilywiththeirchiselswhich

  intheuniversalstillnesssoundedlikeaflockofwoodpeckers.

  Twilightcamequicklyandtheworkershurriedtotheirhovelsinthewishtoget

  as far as possible from the staging. Before it was quite dark, Merdjan and a

  trusted servant of Abidaga once more climbed the staging and definitely

  confirmed that Radisav was even then, four hours after the sentence had been

  carriedout,aliveandconscious.Consumedwithfever,herolledhiseyesslowly

  and painfully, and when he saw the gipsy below him, he began to groan more

  loudly. In this groaning, which showed his life was ebbing, it was possible to

  distinguishonlyafewisolatedwords:

  'TheTurks...theTurks...thebridge!'

  Havingsatisfiedthemselves,theyreturnedtoAbidaga'shouseatBikavac,telling

  everyonewhomtheymetontheirwaythatthecriminalwasstillalive;andsin
ce

  he ground his teeth and spoke well and clearly from the stake there was every

  hopethathewouldliveuntil noon the next day. Abidaga too was satisfied and

  gaveordersthatMerdjanwastobepaidhispromisedreward.

  That night everything living in the town and about the bridge slept in fear. Or

  rather those who could slept but there were many to whom sleep would not

  come.

  ThenextdaywhichwasaMondaydawnedasunnyNovembermorning.There

  was not an eye in the whole town or about the building work that did not turn

  towards that intricate criss-cross of beams and planks over the waters, at the

  fartherendofwhich,uprightandapart,wasthemanonthestake.Manywho,on

  waking,hadthoughtthattheyhaddreamtallthathadtakenplacethedaybefore

  uponthebridge,nowroseandwithfixedeyeslookedatthecontinuanceofthis

  nightmarewhichremainedtherestarkinthesun.

  Amongsttheworkerstherewasstillthathushofthedaybefore,filledwithpity

  andbitterness.Inthetowntherewasstillthatwhisperingandanxiety.Merdjan

  and that same servant of Abidaga's climbed up the scaffolding once more and

  examined the condemned man; they spoke to each other, lifted their eyes and

  lookedupwardsintothefaceofthepeasantandthen,suddenly,Merdjanpulled

  at his trousers. From the way in which they made their way downwards to the

  bank and walked silently through the men at work, everyone realized that the

  peasanthadatlastdied.ThosewhowereSerbsfeltacertaineasingofthespirit,

  asataninvisiblevictory.

  Nowtheylookedmoreboldlyupatthescaffoldingandthemanwhohadbeen

  condemned. They felt as if fate, in their continual wrestling and measuring of

  forces with the Turks, had now inclined to their side. Death was the greatest

  trump in the game. Mouths till then contracted in fear now began to open.

  Muddy, wet, unshaven and pale, rolling great blocks of Banja stone with

  pinewoodlevers,theyhaltedforamomenttospitontheirpalmsandsaytoeach

  other in hushed voices: 'May God pardon him and have mercy upon him!' Ah,