CHAPTER X.A NIGHT AMBUSH.
Contrary to his expectations, Boris found that his position in theregiment after the _fracas_ described in the foregoing chapter wasin no respect more unpleasant than it had been before; indeed, itappeared to him that his fellow-officers now treated him with greaterconsideration. No reference whatever was made to the death of Zouboff,or indeed to any circumstance in connection with the fight at therestaurant. In those days the taking of life was little thought of,and if an officer chose to brawl with others of his regiment, and losehis life in the struggle, that was considered his own look-out, andso much the worse for him. As for punishing those at whose hands hemet his death, no one thought of such a thing. Hence matters in theregiment remained very much as they were before; the officers takingcare, however, to keep a discreet tongue in the presence of Boris, andto maintain outwardly an appearance of respect for that dangerouslyformidable young man. As for his late opponents, these glared at himwhenever they met on parade or elsewhere, and exchanged no word withtheir late antagonist; but Boris was not anxious to enter into friendlyintercourse with men whom he had, as he considered, actually convictedof treason to the Tsar, and he was glad enough of their coldnesstowards him. Platonof, having no recollection of the circumstances ofthat fatal afternoon, was not without a feeling of gratified surprise,when informed of his indiscretion and its results, that he had beenpermitted to depart alive and in peace, and was inclined to makefriendly advances towards the magnanimous young man who had neither dughim between the ribs with a sword thrust--as he undoubtedly might havedone--nor delivered him alive and guilty into the hands of an enragedTsar. But Boris showed no disposition to respond to his advances, andtreated him with the same disregard which he showed towards the rest ofthe party of avowed traitors to his master.
Meanwhile the Tsar had not as yet acceded to the urgent request ofBoris that the regiment might be sent out of the capital. Peter wasunwilling to make any concession to a feeling of unworthy anxiety forhis personal safety; but, at the same time, he now only awaited anopportunity to banish the regiment upon some plausible pretext, forreflection had quite convinced him that the presence of disaffectedStreltsi in Moscow was a needless standing danger to the peace of therealm.
The opportunity he sought came in the course of a few months. It becamenecessary to send troops into the south of Russia in preparation forthe contemplated siege of Azof, a fortress of the Mohammedans, andone of the last still held in the country by the once all-conqueringMussulman hosts. The Streltsi of Boris's regiment were ordered toproceed to the Ukraine, where they were to hold themselves at thedisposal of the Cossack chieftain or hetman Mazeppa, who had begged ofthe Tsar some support in order to enable him to maintain and strengthenhis lately-acquired position at the head of the warlike tribes he hadbeen called to govern. Peter at all times showed the most loyal regardfor this Mazeppa, who was destined in after years to ill repay him forhis generosity; and it was in his desire to accede to the Cossacksrequest for temporary assistance, and at the same time to push on hispreparations for the intended Azof campaign, that the Tsar now foundan excellent opportunity for ridding Moscow of a dangerous element bydespatching this disaffected body of men far away from the seat ofgovernment and out of the reach of any ill-advised interference ontheir part.
The order for their departure--exile, as they termed it--was receivedwith a storm of rage and indignation by all ranks in the regiment. Themen had never before been called upon to leave Moscow for prolongedservice, though many others of the Streltsi regiments had not beenso fortunate. Many of them were married men with large families, andwere engaged in various profitable trades and professions, without theexercise of which, they declared, they would be unable to support thosedependent upon them. Besides this, each man and officer had a thousandties and interests which bound him to the capital, and would bear itill to have these suddenly torn away and himself cast adrift intounknown places and among strange people, and submitted to dangers anddiscomforts to which he had not been trained, and which he feared toencounter.
All sorts of reasons for the Tsar's sudden _ookaz_, or edict, weresuggested and considered by men and officers. Had he discoveredthe disaffection of the regiment? If so, how? The affair of Borisand Platonof and his party had not become generally known, at theurgent request of Platonof, who was naturally anxious that his tipsyindiscretion should not be spoken of. Those who were acquainted withthe details of the affair, however, had no doubt whatever of the causewhich had brought the displeasure of the Tsar upon the regiment:Boris had revealed the whole story. But in that case why had theTsar's vengeance not been--as the vengeance of Peter was wont tobe--immediate and terrible? Why, in other words, were not Platonof andhis three friends dangling aloft far above the heads of the crowd, uponimprovised gibbets, as a warning to the treasonable and the conspiring?Probably, these men concluded, because the Tsar was somewhat afraid ofthe Streltsi, and was therefore unwilling to risk giving provocationwhich might lead to a sudden rising.
Anyhow, it was not the fault of Boris that worse things had nothappened than this sufficiently annoying ookaz from the Tsar; and ifopportunity arose during the three days remaining to the regimentin Moscow, Boris should be made to regret his position as spy andtale-bearer-in-ordinary to the Tsar. So vowed Platonof and his friends,and with them a few other choice spirits who were acquainted withthe state of affairs, and were not averse to a little night work atstreet corners, provided the dangerous element was eliminated as far aspossible!
"Boris, my trusty one, eater of bears and render of wolves," said theTsar, on the second evening after the issue of the ookaz dismissing theStreltsi from Moscow, "I feel inclined for an evening out. What say youto a visit to Lefort and a taste of his French wine, and perhaps a gameor two at cards, to-night? If Lefort is asleep, so much the better;we'll pull him out of bed, and bid him send for Gordon and the rest,and we can order supper while he's dressing."
Lefort, one of Peter's prime favourites, as he well deserved to bewhen his services to Russia and the Tsar are taken into consideration,was the third of the trio selected by the monarch as his constantcompanions and advisers, the remaining members of this trinity offavour being Menshikoff and Patrick Gordon, once a Scotsman, andrelated to some of the best and oldest Scottish families, now anaturalized Russian and the ablest of Peter's generals, as well as hismost faithful and honoured servant. Menshikoff had not as yet come intoprominence; but Gordon and Lefort--the latter a Russianized foreigneras Gordon was--were already the chosen advisers and friends of theTsar, both men after his own heart--capable, brave, hard workers, readyat an instant's notice either to drink and fool with their master, tocommand his armies or direct his fleets, to wrestle with him and engagein any kind of athletic competition, to build boats with him, to makelove with him, or, in a word, share with the Tsar in any and everyoccupation or duty which Peter might call upon them to perform.
It was no uncommon event for the young monarch to suddenly descend thusupon his friends at any hour of the day or night, and General (Patrick)Gordon has left it on record that occasionally these visits were madeat the dinner-hour, upon short notice, and sometimes with a retinue ofa hundred companions. Thus it was necessary for the friends of the Tsarto keep in the house a constant stock of wine for the consumption ofPeter and his following, which might consist of one or two persons, or,as I have said, of a hundred men.
"We will go incognito," Peter added. "Muffle yourself in this cloak,and I will do the same; it is better not to be seen. I love to go amongmy people in the streets and hear what they say about me."
Nothing loath, Boris took the Tsar's spare cloak, which was much toobig for him in spite of his seventy odd inches of bone and muscle,and followed his master from the Kremlin. Through the streets of theold city went the tall pair, pausing here and there in the darkercorners in order to listen to the conversation of the townsfolk as theypassed. This was a favourite pastime of Peter's, who loved to gather atfirst-hand the opinions and wishes of his poorer subje
cts, with whom hewas ever the popular hero as well as the beloved sovereign, and fromwhose lips there was therefore little risk of hearing anything abouthimself which would sound unpleasant in his ears. On this occasion heheard little of interest. A few remarks were made about the impendingdeparture of the Streltsi, which the people appeared to regret butlittle. Presently, however, two young Streltsi officers came walkingdown the street talking confidentially. Peter and Boris withdrew deeperinto the shadow and listened.
"Consequently," said one, "there's no doubt whatever about it--we haveto thank him and him only for the ookaz."
"What! do you suppose he told the Tsar about what that fool Platonofsaid, and all that?" said the second officer, who apparently had justbeen informed by his companion of the encounter between Boris and hisassailants.
"Undoubtedly he did, confound him!" said the first; "and that's why weare all off the day after to-morrow."
"Well, why don't we get hold of the spying rascal and"--the officermade a gesture as of a knife at his throat. The other laughed.
"That's just what's going on now, I hope," he said; "for Zaitzoff anda few others have sworn to have him before we go. They watched alllast night; and to-night they are keeping guard at the corner of theUspensky, where he goes for his supper. I hope they kill him--hatefulspy!"
Peter almost danced with delight as the footsteps of the men died awayin the distance. "Bear-eater, my son, we are in luck!" he whisperedexcitedly. "Come along quickly. Got your sword?"
Boris rattled his weapon for answer, but he looked grave andpreoccupied. "Go home, your Majesty, I entreat you," he said; "don'trun into needless danger. I can settle accounts with these men alone."
For a moment the Tsar looked as black as thunder. "_What!_" he cried;"go home, and miss the play? Don't be a fool, man. Am I to be afraidof my own officers? No, my Bear-eater. You may cut and run from an oldbear if you like, but not I from a Streletz, or any number of Streltsi.Come on!" The Tsar ended with one of his loud laughs, and dragged afterhim poor Boris, whose cheek was red by reason of Peter's allusion tohis escapade with the bear.
Through the wretchedly lighted streets they sped until they reached theUspensky, where, in the distance, they soon espied a group of figuresstanding at the corner as though awaiting an arrival.
The two tall men, shrouded in their mantles as they were, approachedclose up to the group of officers before they were recognized.
"It's the Tsar!" some one whispered at length. "Round the corner all,and away--quick!"
Off went the party, scudding down the road like a pack of frightenedsheep; but the Tsar's loud voice of authority soon recalled them. Theycrept back in a huddled, scared group.
"Good evening, Zaitzoff," said Peter. "How are you, Shurin? What,Ulanof, is that you? Good evening, gentlemen all. You are waiting forthe pleasure of seeing my friend Boris Ivanitch, I believe. Well, herehe is."
No one spoke a word. The Tsar laughed. "Is it not so? Zaitzoff, speak!"
"It is true, your Majesty," said Zaitzoff at length. "We came to meetthe gentleman you name, with whom we have a quarrel."
"Oh, indeed!" said the Tsar, in affected surprise; "what, all of you?Do you _all_ desire to quarrel with my friend? It is most flattering,upon my word, gentlemen. And do you still wish to quarrel with BorisIvanitch, now he is here? Positively I was under the impression that Iobserved you all racing down the road there, as though anxious to getout of his way!"
"Our quarrel is a private one, your Majesty," said Ulanof; "and if yourMajesty will withdraw, we shall proceed with it."
"What!--withdraw? I, his second? No, my good Ulanof, that isimpossible; the quarrel must proceed. Boris Ivanitch is here to giveyou every satisfaction, and I shall act as his second. Now then,gentlemen, who is to lay on first? One would suppose that you hadcontemplated a combined assault in the--ha! ha!--in the dark, were wenot acquainted with the strictly honourable traditions of the Streltsiofficers. Come, Zaitzoff, you seem to be the leader of the party;you shall have the first opportunity of depriving the rest of theirprey.--Come, Boris, draw!"