The Daughter of the Commandant

"[...] So saying he took the glass, made the sign of the cross, and swallowed his brandy at one gulp, then, bowing to me, returned to his lair above the stove. I could not then understand a single word of the thieves' slang they employed. It was only later on that I understood that they were talking about the army of the Yaïk, which had only just been reduced to submission after the revolt of 1772.[24] Savéliitch listened to them talking with a very discontented manner, and cast suspicious glances, sometimes on the host and sometimes on[...]".