JК
Sharpes Siege :: Корнуэлл Бернард
Страница: 89 из 223There were French soldiers grown old in war who wouldhave hesitated to take on Green Jackets, so should a seaman hang because of optimism? Besides, and though Sharpe knew this was not a reasonable objection, he found it hard to think of men who spoke his own language as enemies. Sharpe fought Frenchmen.
Yet the law was the law, and in the morning Sharpe’s orders would take him far from this fort, and far from Cornelius Killick who would, abandoned to Bampfylde’s mercies, hang. That, Sharpe decided, was certain and so, unable to offer any reassurance, he poured wine instead. He wished Harper would hurry with the damned soup.
Cornelius Killick, understanding all of Sharpe’s doubts from the troubled look on the Rifleman’s bandaged face, spoke a single word. “Listen.”
Sharpe looked into Killick’s eyes, but the American said nothing more. “Well?” Sharpe frowned.
Killick smiled. “You hear nothing. No wind, Major. There’s not a breath of wind out there, nothing but frost and mist.”
“So?”
“So we have a saying back home, Major,” the American was staring only at Sharpe, “that if you hang a sailorman in still airs, his soul can’t go to hell. So it lingers on earth to take another life as revenge.” The American pointed at Sharpe. “Maybe your life, Major?”
Killick could have said nothing more helpful to his cause. His words made Sharpe think of Jane, shivering in the cold sweat of her fever, and he thought, with sudden self-pity, that if she could not be saved then he would rather catch the fever and die with her than be in this cold, ice-slicked fort where the mist writhed silent about the stones.
Killick, watching the hard face that was slashed by a casual scar, saw a shudder go through the Rifleman. He sensed that Docherty was about to speak and, rather than have their situation jeopardized by Irish hostility, he kicked his lieutenant to silence. Killick, who had spoken lightly enough before, knew that his words had struck a seam of feeling and he pressed his advantage with a gentle voice. “There’s no peace for a man who hangs a sailorman in a calm.”
Their eyes met. Sharpe wondered whether the American’s words were true. Sharpe told himself it was nonsense, a superstition as baseless as any soldier’s talisman, yet the thought was irresistibly lodged. Sharpe had been cursed years before, his name buried on a stone, and his first wife had died within hours of that curse. He frowned. “The deserters must hang. That’s the law.”
No one spoke. Harper waited for the soup to seethe and Frederickson leaned against the door.
Yet the law was the law, and in the morning Sharpe’s orders would take him far from this fort, and far from Cornelius Killick who would, abandoned to Bampfylde’s mercies, hang. That, Sharpe decided, was certain and so, unable to offer any reassurance, he poured wine instead. He wished Harper would hurry with the damned soup.
Cornelius Killick, understanding all of Sharpe’s doubts from the troubled look on the Rifleman’s bandaged face, spoke a single word. “Listen.”
Sharpe looked into Killick’s eyes, but the American said nothing more. “Well?” Sharpe frowned.
Killick smiled. “You hear nothing. No wind, Major. There’s not a breath of wind out there, nothing but frost and mist.”
“So?”
“So we have a saying back home, Major,” the American was staring only at Sharpe, “that if you hang a sailorman in still airs, his soul can’t go to hell. So it lingers on earth to take another life as revenge.” The American pointed at Sharpe. “Maybe your life, Major?”
Killick could have said nothing more helpful to his cause. His words made Sharpe think of Jane, shivering in the cold sweat of her fever, and he thought, with sudden self-pity, that if she could not be saved then he would rather catch the fever and die with her than be in this cold, ice-slicked fort where the mist writhed silent about the stones.
Killick, watching the hard face that was slashed by a casual scar, saw a shudder go through the Rifleman. He sensed that Docherty was about to speak and, rather than have their situation jeopardized by Irish hostility, he kicked his lieutenant to silence. Killick, who had spoken lightly enough before, knew that his words had struck a seam of feeling and he pressed his advantage with a gentle voice. “There’s no peace for a man who hangs a sailorman in a calm.”
Their eyes met. Sharpe wondered whether the American’s words were true. Sharpe told himself it was nonsense, a superstition as baseless as any soldier’s talisman, yet the thought was irresistibly lodged. Sharpe had been cursed years before, his name buried on a stone, and his first wife had died within hours of that curse. He frowned. “The deserters must hang. That’s the law.”
No one spoke. Harper waited for the soup to seethe and Frederickson leaned against the door.