"Well, have your will, but let me first go out of sight," said the woman, "for I am afraid of bloodshed."
A moment later the moujik rushed out of the hut to his wife, who stood and shivered without in the cold rain which was half snow.
"Masha!" he cried, "come and see; it is a woman!"
"Vzdor—it cannot be; it is a soldier; you have not struck?"
"Not yet—I was startled and held my hand; there is some mystery here, it is certainly a woman."
Masha entered the hut and stole softly towards the stove. Louise lay breathing peacefully, her bosom, half bared, rising and falling in the measured cadence of quiet slumber.
"Yes, it is a woman. You shall not strike, Mishka; there is certainly mystery here; probably it is some poor soul who strives to escape more safely by donning the uniform of a French soldier of which she has robbed a dead man by the way. She may be a Russian maiden who has sought her wounded lover upon the battlefield."
"My God, it may be as you say. We will let her lie. Who knows she may be rich and will reward us. Here is her wallet, I will see if it contains money."
The wallet contained a few silver pieces, which Mishka quickly transferred to his own pocket. Then he added wood to the stove and the pair ate their supper. Louise slept peacefully through it. Presently both man and woman lay down to sleep.
"The warning bell will soon wake us if we must clear out again," Mishka had said; "or shall one of us watch a while and afterwards the other?"