Love dreams. Konstantin Mikhailovich Simonov, living and dead Before the evening pass, another meeting took place

(16) How come there are no documents?

(22) Yes, Baranov sighed.






(40) The Red Army soldier, at first stammering, and then more and more confidently, trying not to forget anything, began to tell how three days ago, having arrived from the army, they spent the night at the headquarters of the division, how in the morning the colonel went to the headquarters, and all around immediately began

(1) Before the evening halt, another meeting took place, unlike all the others. (2) A sergeant came from a side patrol moving through the thicket itself, bringing with him two armed men. (3) One of them was a short Red Army soldier, in a shabby leather jacket over a tunic and with a rifle on his shoulder. (4) Another tall, handsome man of about forty, with an aquiline nose and noble gray hair visible from under the cap, giving significance to his youthful, clean, wrinkle-free face; he was wearing good riding breeches and chrome boots, a brand new PPSh, with a round disk, hung on his shoulder, but the cap on his head was dirty, greasy, and the Red Army tunic that did not converge around the neck and was short in the sleeves was just as dirty and greasy. .
(5) Comrade brigade commander, approaching Serpilin together with these two people, looking sideways at them and holding his rifle at the ready, said the sergeant, may I report? (6) He brought the detainees. (7) Detained and brought under escort, because they do not explain themselves, and also by their appearance. (8) They didn’t disarm because they refused, and we didn’t want to unnecessarily open fire in the forest.
(9) Deputy chief of the operational department of the army headquarters, Colonel Baranov, abruptly, throwing his hand to the cap and stretching out in front of Serpilin and Shmakov, who was standing next to him, said angrily, with a touch of resentment, the man with the machine gun.
(10) Serpilin! he exclaimed, spreading his arms, and it was difficult to understand whether this was a gesture of utter astonishment, or whether he wanted to embrace Serpilin.
(11) Yes, I am brigade commander Serpilin, - Serpilin, the commander of the division entrusted to me, said in an unexpectedly dry, tinny voice, but I still don’t see who you are. (12) Your documents!
(13) Serpilin, I'm Baranov, are you crazy?
(14) For the third time, I ask you to present your documents, Serpilin said in the same tinny voice.
(15) I have no documents, Baranov said after a long pause.
(16) How come there are no documents?
(17) It so happened, I accidentally lost ... (18) I left it in that tunic when I changed it to this ... Red Army one. (19) Baranov moved his fingers along his greasy, not tall, tight tunic.
(20) Left the documents in that tunic? (21) Do you also have colonel's insignia on that tunic?
(22) Yes, Baranov sighed.
(23) And why should I believe you that you are the deputy chief of the operational department of the army, Colonel Baranov?
(24) But you know me, you and I served together at the academy! muttered Baranov already quite lost.
(25) Suppose that is so, - without softening at all, Serpilin said with the same tin harshness unusual for Sintsov, but if you hadn’t met me, who could confirm your identity, rank and position?
(26) Here he is, Baranov pointed to a Red Army soldier standing next to him in a leather jacket. (27) This is my driver.
(28) Do you have documents, comrade soldier? Serpilin turned to the Red Army soldier without looking at Baranov.
(29) Yes ... the Red Army soldier hesitated for a second, not immediately deciding how to turn to Serpilin, yes, Comrade General! (30) He opened his leather jacket, took out a Red Army book wrapped in a rag from the pocket of his tunic and held it out.
(31) So, Serpilin read aloud. (32) `Red Army soldier Pyotr Ilyich Zolotarev, military unit 2214`. (33) Clear. (34) And he gave the book to the Red Army soldier.
(35) Tell me, Comrade Zolotarev, can you confirm the identity, rank and position of this person, with whom you were detained? and he, still not turning to Baranov, pointed his finger at him.
(36) That's right, Comrade General, it's really Colonel Baranov, I'm his driver.
(37) So you certify that this is your commander?
(38) That's right, Comrade General.
(39) Under what circumstances did you end up here? he asked after a pause.
(40) The Red Army soldier, at first stammering, and then more and more confidently, trying not to forget anything, began to tell how three days ago, having arrived from the army, they spent the night at the headquarters of the division, how in the morning the colonel went to the headquarters, and all around immediately began

Lesson topic. Descriptive words in the main sentence. Soldier's move.

The purpose of the lesson: to form language knowledge and skills; develop oral and written speech; culture of speech; replenish vocabulary; moral education.

Lesson type: combined.

visibility: table "Complex sentence", portrait of the writer, cards.

DURING THE CLASSES.

Organizing time.

Greetings; checking the readiness of students for the lesson; filling out the journal and marking the missing;

Country News…

Survey and repetition of the material covered.

Checking written assignments and replacing notebooks;

Questions and answers on part 1 of an excerpt from the novel "The Living and the Dead".

Who is Fedor Fedorovich Serpilin?

What has he been doing all his life?

Why was he arrested?

Why did he return to Moscow?

What did he want to prove?

What was Serpilin afraid of?

What losses did Serpilin's regiment suffer?

Were the forces of the enemy and Serpilin's regiment equal?

Repetition of the rules: adventitious modus operandi.

How many commas should be in a sentence?

Russia has white birch trees,

cedars, forgetting how old they are,

The mountains, gray from eternal winds,

Rivers, which have no name.

Summary of the survey.

The first days of the 1941 war were especially difficult, because the command was not clear. The armies (soldiers) were assigned one task: to fight to the death! Because of this, most were surrounded. And only the selfless dedication of people could lead our people to further victory.

New topic ( continuation ).

Annotated reading of the 2nd part of an excerpt from the novel, pp. 126 – 129.

At the end of the fifth and beginning of the sixth chapter, K. Simonov continues to talk about Serpilin. Serpilin comes to the conclusion that it is pointless to remain in the same position. The remnants of the regiment can be destroyed by German aircraft without loss to themselves. He understands that the remnants of the former division were surrounded. Serpilin firmly believes that it is necessary to save the survivors

soldier, break out of encirclement. He expresses his opinion to the seriously wounded division commander Zaichikov.

The dying divisional commander writes an order to appoint Serpilin instead of himself and agrees to leave the encirclement.

At the beginning of the sixth chapter, the author shows how the remnants of the Serpilin division (when leaving the encirclement) are joined by many scattered military units that do not know the situation and are left without commanders. Serpilin takes responsibility for his own and other soldiers. But one of the next few days, Serpilin has a meeting with a man whom he

knew before the war, and now I saw him as a coward. This man Baranov is the deputy chief of staff. He chickened out, left a part at a difficult moment. Changed the officer's tunic for a soldier's tunic, burned it in

car with your documents. Serpilin, in a conversation with Baranov, makes it clear that he considers his behavior unworthy of the title of Soviet commander. Serpilin takes the cowardice of the headquarters worker hard, but accepts the cruel

solution: demote the former colonel to the ranks.

We see the act of another commander as directly opposite, who led his soldiers from the very border near Brest, died while fulfilling his commanding duty, instilling courage and fearlessness in the soldiers by personal example.

...Before the evening halt, there was another meeting, unlike all the others...

– I have no documents,” said Baranov after a long pause.

– And why should I believe you that you are the deputy chief of the operational department of the army, Colonel Baranov?

– Now I'll tell you everything...,” began Baranov. But Serpilin... interrupted him:

– Until I ask you. Speak ... - he again turned to the Red Army soldier.

The Red Army soldier, at first stammering, and then more confidently, trying not to forget anything, began to tell how they arrived from the army three days ago, spent the night at the army headquarters, ... and the bombing began all around ....

– ... Comrade Colonel took off his tunic and cap and put on my cap and tunic, said that now I would have to leave on foot

environment, and told me to douse the car with gasoline and set it on fire. But only I, - the driver stammered, - but only, Comrade General, did not know that Comrade Colonel had forgotten the documents there, in his tunic, I would, of course, remind you if I knew ... . the driver left. There was a heavy silence.

– Why did you have to ask him in front of me? You could have asked me without compromising the Red Army.

– I compromised him in front of a Red Army soldier! ... It was not I who compromised you in front of the Red Army, but you, with your shameful behavior, compromised the command staff of the army in front of the Red Army.

...After everything that happened, I would rather trust your driver to command you than you them! Serpilin said... Given the power given to us here with the commissar, you have been demoted to the rank and file until we go out to our own. And there you explain your actions, and we - our arbitrariness ... .

Having bypassed the location of the detachment, checked the patrols and sent reconnaissance to the highway, Serpilin, in anticipation of her return, decided to rest ....

... Serpilin was awakened by the word "tool"... .

– What is the tool? German?

– Our. And with him five fighters.

Serpilin looked at the gunners, wondering if what he had just heard might be true. And the longer he looked at them, the clearer it became to him that this incredible story is the real truth, and what the Germans write in their leaflets about their victory is only a plausible lie and nothing more.

Five blackened faces, touched by hunger, five pairs of tired, overworked hands, five worn-out, dirty gymnasts whipped with branches, five German machine guns taken in battle and a cannon, the last cannon of the division, not in the sky, but on the ground, not by a miracle, but by a soldier’s hands dragged here from the border, for more than four hundred miles ... . No, you're lying, gentlemen, fascists, it won't be your way!

Serpilin went up to the grave and, pulling off his cap, looked silently at the ground for a long time, as if trying to see ... the face of a man who, with battles, brought from Brest to this Zadneprovsky forest all that was left of his division: five fighters and a cannon with the last projectile.

Serpilin had never seen this man, but it seemed to him that he knew very well what kind of person he was. The one for which the soldiers go into fire and water, the one whose dead body, sacrificing life, is taken out of the battle, the one whose orders are carried out even after death. The way you have to be to get this gun and these people out. But even these people, whom he brought out, were worth their commander. He was like that because he went with them... .

vocabulary work.

- in vain - biderek, peydasyz

- misunderstanding -ýalňyşlyk

- dive - hujum etmek

- halt - rest - dynç almak üçin duralga

- stutter - dili tutulma

- to disgrace - to disgrace - masgaralamak

- verst - a little more than 1 km

Explain phraseology:into fire and water - go for everything without hesitation, sacrificing everything.

Find in the text examples of the heroism of soldiers and commanders in the first days of the war, on assignment 16, p. 129.

Fixing the topic.

1). Questions and answers on the 2nd part of the passage.

What is this part of the novel "The Living and the Dead" about?

How did the fate of the protagonist Fyodor Serpilin develop before the war and at the beginning of the war?

In what circumstances is the regiment and division under his command?

What commander was F. Serpilin?

2). To evaluate the act of Baranov and the behavior of F. Serpilin, on assignment 15, p. 129.

Homework.

one). Write off, underline unions, on task 18, p. 130. (written)

1. We must live in such a way that every day seems new.

2. Cranes screamed sadly, as if they were calling with them.

3. In the morning the weather began to deteriorate, as if late autumn had come.

4. It's easy to work when your work is appreciated.

5. Fighters are built so that there are fewer losses from fire.

6. The offensive proceeded as planned at the headquarters.

2). Text retelling.

Generalization and systematization of the lesson, grading students. Reflection.

What was unexpected for each of you in the lesson? What things have you looked at in a new way?

We are not going to Golgotha, dear comrade,” said Serpilin, “but we are at war. If it is easier for you to have the fascists put you against the wall than to pluck the commissar stars with your own hand, this means that you have a conscience. But this alone is not enough for us. We do not want to stand against the wall, but put the Nazis against the wall. And you can't do it without a weapon. So here it is! Get in line and I expect you to be the first to get your hands on a weapon in combat.

When the embarrassed senior political instructor walked a few steps away, Serpilin called out to him and, unhooking one of the two lemon grenades hanging from his belt, held it out in his palm.

Take it to get started!

Sintsov, who as adjutant wrote down names, ranks, and unit numbers in a notebook, silently rejoiced at the reserve of patience and calmness with which Serpilin spoke to people.

It is impossible to penetrate a person's soul, but during these days it seemed to Sintsov more than once that Serpilin himself did not experience the fear of death. It probably wasn't, but it looked like it.

At the same time, Serpilin did not pretend that he did not understand how people were afraid, how they could run, get confused, throw down their weapons. On the contrary, he made them feel that he understood this, but at the same time persistently instilled in them the thought that the fear they experienced and the defeat they experienced were all in the past. That it was so, but it will not be so anymore, that they lost their weapons, but they can acquire them again. Perhaps that is why people did not leave Serpilin depressed, even when he spoke coolly to them. He rightly did not remove the blame from them, but he did not shift all the blame only on their shoulders. People felt it and wanted to prove that he was right.

Before the evening halt there was another meeting, unlike all the others. A sergeant came from a side patrol moving through the very thicket of the forest, bringing with him two armed men. One of them was a short Red Army soldier, wearing a shabby leather jacket over his tunic and with a rifle on his shoulder. The other is a tall, handsome man of about forty, with an aquiline nose and a noble gray hair visible from under his cap, giving significance to his youthful, clean, wrinkle-free face; he was wearing good riding breeches and chrome boots, a brand new PPSh, with a round disk, hung on his shoulder, but the cap on his head was dirty, greasy, and the Red Army tunic that did not converge around the neck and was short in the sleeves was just as dirty and greasy. .

Comrade brigade commander,” the sergeant said, approaching Serpilin together with these two people, looking askance at them and holding his rifle at the ready, “permit me to report? He brought the detainees. Detained and brought under escort, because they do not explain themselves, as well as by their appearance. They didn’t disarm because they refused, and we didn’t want to unnecessarily open fire in the forest.

Colonel Baranov, deputy chief of the operational department of the army headquarters, - abruptly, throwing his hand to the cap and stretching out in front of Serpilin and Shmakov, who was standing next to him, angrily, with a touch of resentment, said the man with the machine gun.

We apologize, - having heard this and, in turn, putting his hand to the cap, said the sergeant who brought the detainees.

What are you apologizing for? Serpilin turned to him. - They did the right thing by detaining me, and it was right that they brought me to me. So proceed in the future. You can go. I'll ask for your documents, - releasing the sergeant, he turned to the detainee, without naming him by rank.

His lips twitched, and he smiled bewilderedly. It seemed to Sintsov that this man must have known Serpilin, but only now recognized him and was struck by the meeting.

So it was. The man who called himself Colonel Baranov and really bore this name and rank and was in the position that he called when he was brought to Serpilin was so far from thinking that in front of him here, in the forest, in military uniform, surrounded by other commanders , it may turn out to be Serpilin, who for the first minute only noted to himself that the tall brigade commander with a German machine gun on his shoulder very much reminds him of someone.

Serpilin! he exclaimed, spreading his arms, and it was difficult to understand whether this was a gesture of utter astonishment, or whether he wanted to embrace Serpilin.

Yes, I am brigade commander Serpilin,” Serpilin said in an unexpectedly dry, tinny voice, “the commander of the division entrusted to me, but I don’t see who you are yet. Your documents!

Serpilin, I'm Baranov, are you out of your mind?

For the third time, I ask you to show your documents,” Serpilin said in the same tinny voice.

I have no documents, - Baranov said after a long pause.

How come there are no documents?

It so happened, I accidentally lost ... I left it in that tunic when I changed it for this ... Red Army one. - Baranov moved his fingers along his greasy, tight tunic.

Left the documents in that tunic? Do you also have colonel's insignia on that tunic?

Yes, Baranov sighed.

And why should I believe you that you are the deputy chief of the operational department of the army, Colonel Baranov?

But you know me, we served together at the academy! Baranov muttered already completely lost.

Let's suppose that's the case,” Serpilin said without softening, still with the same tinny harshness unusual for Sintsov, “but if you didn't meet me, who could confirm your identity, rank and position?

Here he is, - Baranov pointed to a Red Army soldier in a leather jacket standing next to him. - This is my driver.

Do you have documents, comrade fighter? Serpilin turned to the Red Army soldier without looking at Baranov.

Shmakov looked at him enviously and, taking off his spectacles, began rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger: his eyes ached from insomnia, it seemed that daylight pricked them even through his closed eyelids, but sleep would not come and go.

Over the past three days, Shmakov saw so many dead peers of his murdered son that paternal grief, driven by willpower into the very depths of the soul, came out of these depths and grew into a feeling that no longer applied only to his son, but also to those others who died. before his eyes, and even to those whose death he did not see, but only knew about it. This feeling grew and grew and finally became so great that it turned from grief into anger. And this anger now choked Shmakov. He sat and thought about the fascists, who everywhere, on all the roads of the war, were now trampling to death thousands and thousands of the same age of October as his son, one after another, life after life. Now he hated these Germans as he had once hated the whites. He did not know a greater measure of hatred, and, probably, it did not exist in nature.

Even yesterday he needed an effort on himself to give the order to shoot the German pilot. But today, after the heartbreaking scenes of the crossing, when the fascists, like butchers, cut water from machine guns around the heads of drowning, wounded, but still not finished off people, something turned over in his soul, until this last minute it still did not want to completely turn over, and he made an ill-considered oath to himself not to spare these murderers anywhere, under any circumstances, neither in the war, nor after the war - never!

It must be that now, when he was thinking about this, an expression so unusual appeared on his usually calm face of a naturally kind, middle-aged, intelligent man that he suddenly heard Serpilin's voice:

– Sergey Nikolaevich! What happened to you? What happened?

Serpilin was lying on the grass, his eyes wide open, looking at him.

– Absolutely nothing. Shmakov put on his glasses, and his face assumed its usual expression.

– And if nothing, then tell me what time it is: isn't it time? It’s too lazy to move your limbs in vain,” Serpilin grinned.

Shmakov looked at his watch and said that seven minutes remained before the end of the halt.

– Then I sleep. Serpilin closed his eyes.

After an hour's rest, which Serpilin, despite the fatigue of the people, did not allow to drag out even for a minute, we moved on, gradually turning to the southeast.

Before the evening halt, another three dozen people wandering through the forest joined the detachment. No one else from their division was caught. All thirty people met after the first halt were from the neighboring division, which was stationed south along the left bank of the Dnieper. All of these were people from different regiments, battalions and rear units, and although among them were three lieutenants and one senior political instructor, no one had any idea where the division headquarters was, or even in what direction he was retreating. However, according to fragmentary and often contradictory stories, it was still possible to present a general picture of the catastrophe.

Judging by the names of the places from which the encirclement came, by the time of the German breakthrough, the division was stretched in a chain for almost thirty kilometers along the front. In addition, she did not have time or failed to properly strengthen herself. The Germans bombed it for twenty hours in a row, and then, throwing several landings in the rear of the division and disrupting control and communications, at the same time, under the cover of aviation, they began crossing the Dnieper at once in three places. Parts of the division were crushed, in places they ran, in places they fought fiercely, but this could no longer change the general course of affairs.

The men from this division walked in small groups, twos and threes. Some were armed, others were unarmed. Serpilin, after talking with them, put everyone in line, mixing with his own fighters. He put the unarmed into service without weapons, saying that they themselves would have to get it in battle, it was not stored for them.

Serpilin spoke coolly to people, but not offensively. Only to the senior political commissar, who justified himself by saying that he was marching, although without weapons, but in full uniform and with a party card in his pocket, Serpilin biliously objected that a communist at the front should keep weapons on a par with his party card.

– We are not going to Golgotha, dear comrade,” said Serpilin, “but we are at war. If it is easier for you to have the fascists put you against the wall than to pluck the commissar stars with your own hand, this means that you have a conscience. But this alone is not enough for us. We do not want to stand against the wall, but put the Nazis against the wall. And you can't do it without a weapon. So here it is! Get in line and I expect you to be the first to get your hands on a weapon in combat.

When the embarrassed senior political instructor walked a few steps away, Serpilin called out to him and, unhooking one of the two lemon grenades hanging from his belt, held it out in his palm.

– Take it to get started!

Sintsov, who as adjutant wrote down names, ranks, and unit numbers in a notebook, silently rejoiced at the reserve of patience and calmness with which Serpilin spoke to people.

It is impossible to penetrate a person's soul, but during these days it seemed to Sintsov more than once that Serpilin himself did not experience the fear of death. It probably wasn't, but it looked like it.

At the same time, Serpilin did not pretend that he did not understand how people were afraid, how they could run, get confused, throw down their weapons. On the contrary, he made them feel that he understood this, but at the same time he persistently instilled in them the thought that the fear they experienced and the defeat experienced were all in the past. That it was so, but it will not be so anymore, that they lost their weapons, but they can acquire them again. Perhaps that is why people did not leave Serpilin depressed, even when he spoke coolly to them. He rightly did not remove the blame from them, but he did not shift all the blame only on their shoulders. People felt it and wanted to prove that he was right.

Before the evening halt there was another meeting, unlike all the others. A sergeant came from a side patrol moving through the very thicket of the forest, bringing with him two armed men. One of them was a short Red Army soldier, wearing a shabby leather jacket over his tunic and with a rifle on his shoulder. The other was a tall, handsome man of about forty, with an aquiline nose and a noble gray hair visible from under his cap, giving significance to his youthful, clean, wrinkle-free face; he was wearing good riding breeches and chrome boots, a brand new PPSh, with a round disk, hung on his shoulder, but the cap on his head was dirty, greasy, and the Red Army tunic that did not converge around the neck and was short in the sleeves was just as dirty and greasy. .

– Comrade brigade commander,” the sergeant said, approaching Serpilin together with these two people, looking askance at them and holding his rifle at the ready, “permit me to report? He brought the detainees. Detained and brought under escort, because they do not explain themselves, as well as by their appearance. They didn’t disarm because they refused, and we didn’t want to unnecessarily open fire in the forest.

– Colonel Baranov, deputy chief of the operational department of the army headquarters, - abruptly, throwing his hand to the cap and stretching out in front of Serpilin and Shmakov, who was standing next to him, angrily, with a touch of resentment, said the man with the machine gun.

– We apologize, - having heard this and, in turn, putting his hand to the cap, said the sergeant who had brought the detainees.

– What are you apologizing for? Serpilin turned to him. “They did the right thing by detaining me, and they did the right thing by bringing me to me. So proceed in the future. You can go. I’ll ask for your documents,” releasing the sergeant, he turned to the detainee, without naming him by rank.

His lips twitched, and he smiled bewilderedly. It seemed to Sintsov that this man must have known Serpilin, but only now recognized him and was struck by the meeting.

So it was. The man who called himself Colonel Baranov and really bore this name and rank and was in the position that he called when he was brought to Serpilin was so far from thinking that in front of him here, in the forest, in military uniform, surrounded by other commanders , it may turn out to be Serpilin, who for the first minute only noted to himself that the tall brigade commander with a German machine gun on his shoulder very much reminds him of someone.

– Serpilin! he exclaimed, spreading his arms, and it was difficult to understand whether this was a gesture of utter astonishment, or whether he wanted to embrace Serpilin.

– Yes, I am brigade commander Serpilin,” Serpilin said in an unexpectedly dry, tinny voice, “the commander of the division entrusted to me, but I still don’t see who you are. Your documents!

– Serpilin, I'm Baranov, are you out of your mind?

– For the third time, I ask you to show your documents,” Serpilin said in the same tinny voice.

– I have no documents,” said Baranov after a long pause.

– How come there are no documents?

– It so happened, I accidentally lost ... I left it in that tunic when I changed it for this ... Red Army one. - Baranov moved his fingers along his greasy, tight tunic.

– Left the documents in that tunic? Do you also have colonel's insignia on that tunic?

– Yes, Baranov sighed.

– And why should I believe you that you are the deputy chief of the operational department of the army, Colonel Baranov?

– But you know me, we served together at the academy! Baranov muttered already completely lost.

– Let's suppose that's the case,” Serpilin said without softening, still with the same tinny harshness unusual for Sintsov, “but if you didn't meet me, who could confirm your identity, rank and position?

– Here he is,” Baranov pointed to a Red Army soldier in a leather jacket standing next to him. - This is my driver.

– Do you have documents, comrade fighter? Serpilin turned to the Red Army soldier without looking at Baranov.

– There is ... - the Red Army soldier hesitated for a second, not immediately deciding how to address Serpilin, - there is, Comrade General! He opened his leather jacket, took out a Red Army book wrapped in a rag from the pocket of his tunic, and held it out.

– Yes,” Serpilin read aloud. - "Red Army soldier Zolotarev Petr Ilyich, military unit 2214." It's clear. And he gave the book to the Red Army soldier. - Tell me, Comrade Zolotarev, can you confirm the identity, rank and position of this person, with whom you were detained? - And he, still not turning to Baranov, pointed at him with his finger.

– That's right, Comrade General, it's really Colonel Baranov, I'm his driver.

– So you certify that this is your commander?

– That's right, Comrade General.

– Stop mocking, Serpilin! Baranov shouted nervously.

But Serpilin did not even glance in his direction.

– It's good that at least you can verify the identity of your commander, otherwise, not even the hour, you could have shot him. There are no documents, no insignia, a tunic from someone else's shoulder, boots and breeches of commanders ... - Serpilin's voice became harder and harder with each phrase. Under what circumstances did you come here? he asked after a pause.

– Now I'll tell you everything ... - began Baranov.

But Serpilin, this time half-turning, interrupted him:

– Until I ask you. Speak ... - he again turned to the Red Army soldier.

The Red Army soldier, at first stammering, and then more and more confidently, trying not to forget anything, began to tell how, three days ago, having arrived from the army, they spent the night at the headquarters of the division, how in the morning the colonel went to the headquarters, and the bombing immediately began all around, how soon one arrived from the rear, the driver said that German troops had landed there, and he, having heard this, pulled the car out just in case. And an hour later the colonel ran up, praised him that the car was already at the ready, jumped into it and ordered to quickly drive back to Chausy. When they drove onto the highway, there was already heavy shooting and smoke ahead, they turned onto a country road, drove along it, but again they heard shooting and saw German tanks at the crossroads. Then they turned onto a deaf forest road, drove off it straight into the forest, and the colonel ordered the car to be stopped.

Telling all this, the Red Army soldier sometimes looked askance at his colonel, as if looking for confirmation from him, and he stood silently, his head bowed low. It was the hardest part for him, and he knew it.

– I ordered to stop the car,” Serpilin repeated the last words of the Red Army soldier, “and what next?

– Then Comrade Colonel ordered me to take out my old tunic and cap from under the seat, I had just recently received a new uniform, and left my old tunic and cap with me - just in case if I was lying under the car. The comrade colonel took off his tunic and cap and put on my garrison cap and tunic, said that now I would have to leave the encirclement on foot, and ordered me to douse the car with gasoline and set it on fire. But only I,” the driver stammered, “but only I, Comrade General, didn’t know that Comrade Colonel had forgotten the documents there, in my tunic, I would, of course, remind him if I knew, otherwise everything together with the car and lit .

He felt guilty.

– You hear? Serpilin turned to Baranov. - Your fighter regrets that he did not remind you of your documents. There was mockery in his voice. “I wonder what would happen if he reminded you of them?” He turned back to the driver: “What happened next?”

– Thank you, Comrade Zolotarev,” said Serpilin. - Put him on the list, Sintsov. Catch up with the column and get in line. You will receive satisfaction at a halt.

The driver started to move, then stopped and looked inquiringly at his colonel, but he still stood with his eyes on the ground.

– Go! Serpilin said commandingly. - You are free.

Before the evening halt there was another meeting, unlike all the others. A sergeant came from a side patrol moving through the very thicket of the forest, bringing with him two armed men. One of them was a short Red Army soldier, wearing a shabby leather jacket over his tunic and with a rifle on his shoulder. The other is a tall, handsome man of about forty, with an aquiline nose and a noble gray hair visible from under his cap, giving significance to his youthful, clean, wrinkle-free face; he was wearing good riding breeches and chrome boots, a brand new PPSh, with a round disk, hung on his shoulder, but the cap on his head was dirty, greasy, and the Red Army tunic that did not converge around the neck and was short in the sleeves was just as dirty and greasy. .

Comrade brigade commander,” the sergeant said, approaching Serpilin together with these two people, looking askance at them and holding his rifle at the ready, “permit me to report? He brought the detainees. Detained and brought under escort, because they do not explain themselves, as well as by their appearance. They didn’t disarm because they refused, and we didn’t want to unnecessarily open fire in the forest.

Colonel Baranov, deputy chief of the operational department of the army headquarters, - abruptly, throwing his hand to the cap and stretching out in front of Serpilin and Shmakov, who was standing next to him, angrily, with a touch of resentment, said the man with the machine gun.

We apologize, - having heard this and, in turn, putting his hand to the cap, said the sergeant who brought the detainees.

What are you apologizing for? Serpilin turned to him. - They did the right thing by detaining me, and it was right that they brought me to me. So proceed in the future. You can go. I'll ask for your documents, - releasing the sergeant, he turned to the detainee, without naming him by rank.

His lips twitched, and he smiled bewilderedly. It seemed to Sintsov that this man must have known Serpilin, but only now recognized him and was struck by the meeting.

So it was. The man who called himself Colonel Baranov and really bore this name and rank and was in the position that he called when he was brought to Serpilin was so far from thinking that in front of him here, in the forest, in military uniform, surrounded by other commanders , it may turn out to be Serpilin, who for the first minute only noted to himself that the tall brigade commander with a German machine gun on his shoulder very much reminds him of someone.

Serpilin! he exclaimed, spreading his arms, and it was difficult to understand whether this was a gesture of utter astonishment, or whether he wanted to embrace Serpilin.

Yes, I am brigade commander Serpilin,” Serpilin said in an unexpectedly dry, tinny voice, “the commander of the division entrusted to me, but I don’t see who you are yet. Your documents!

Serpilin, I'm Baranov, are you out of your mind?

For the third time, I ask you to show your documents,” Serpilin said in the same tinny voice.

I have no documents, - Baranov said after a long pause.

How come there are no documents?

It so happened, I accidentally lost ... I left it in that tunic when I changed it for this ... Red Army one. - Baranov moved his fingers along his greasy, tight tunic.

Left the documents in that tunic? Do you also have colonel's insignia on that tunic?

Yes, Baranov sighed.

And why should I believe you that you are the deputy chief of the operational department of the army, Colonel Baranov?

But you know me, we served together at the academy! Baranov muttered already completely lost.

Let's suppose that's the case,” Serpilin said without softening, still with the same tinny harshness unusual for Sintsov, “but if you didn't meet me, who could confirm your identity, rank and position?

Here he is, - Baranov pointed to a Red Army soldier in a leather jacket standing next to him. - This is my driver.

Do you have documents, comrade fighter? Serpilin turned to the Red Army soldier without looking at Baranov.

There is ... - the Red Army soldier hesitated for a second, not immediately deciding how to address Serpilin, - there is, Comrade General! He opened his leather jacket, took out a Red Army book wrapped in a rag from the pocket of his tunic, and held it out.

Yes,” Serpilin read aloud. - "Red Army soldier Zolotarev Petr Ilyich, military unit 2214." It's clear. - And he gave the book to the Red Army soldier. - Tell me, Comrade Zolotarev, can you confirm the identity, rank and position of this person, with whom you were detained? - And he, still not turning to Baranov, pointed at him with his finger.

That's right, Comrade General, it's really Colonel Baranov, I'm his driver.

So you certify that this is your commander?

That's right, Comrade General.

Stop mocking, Serpilin! shouted Baranov nervously.

But Serpilin did not even glance in his direction.

It's good that at least you can verify the identity of your commander, otherwise, not even the hour, you could have shot him. There are no documents, no insignia, a tunic from someone else's shoulder, boots and breeches of commanders ... - Serpilin's voice became harder and harder with each phrase. - Under what circumstances did you come here? he asked after a pause.

Now I'll tell you everything ... - began Baranov.

But Serpilin, this time half-turning, interrupted him:

Until I ask you. Speak ... - he again turned to the Red Army soldier.

The Red Army soldier, at first stammering, and then more and more confidently, trying not to forget anything, began to tell how, three days ago, having arrived from the army, they spent the night at the headquarters of the division, how in the morning the colonel went to the headquarters, and the bombing immediately began all around, how soon one arrived from the rear, the driver said that German troops had landed there, and he, having heard this, pulled the car out just in case. And an hour later the colonel ran up, praised him that the car was already at the ready, jumped into it and ordered to quickly drive back to Chausy. When they drove onto the highway, there was already heavy shooting and smoke ahead, they turned onto a country road, drove along it, but again they heard shooting and saw German tanks at the crossroads. Then they turned onto a deaf forest road, drove off it straight into the forest, and the colonel ordered the car to be stopped.

Telling all this, the Red Army soldier sometimes looked askance at his colonel, as if looking for confirmation from him, and he stood silently, his head bowed low. It was the hardest part for him, and he knew it.

He ordered to stop the car, - Serpilin repeated the last words of the Red Army soldier, - and what's next?

Then Comrade Colonel ordered me to take out my old tunic and cap from under the seat, I had just recently received a new outfit, and left my old tunic and cap with me - just in case, if I lie under the car. The comrade colonel took off his tunic and cap and put on my garrison cap and tunic, said that now I would have to leave the encirclement on foot, and ordered me to douse the car with gasoline and set it on fire. But only I, - the driver faltered, - but only I, Comrade General, did not know that Comrade Colonel had forgotten the documents there, in my tunic, I would, of course, remind you if I knew, otherwise I lit everything together with the car .

He felt guilty.

You hear? Serpilin turned to Baranov. - Your fighter regrets that he did not remind you of your documents. There was mockery in his voice. - I wonder what would happen if he reminded you of them? - He turned back to the driver: - What happened next?

Thank you, Comrade Zolotarev,” said Serpilin. - Put him on the list, Sintsov. Catch up with the column and get in line. You will receive satisfaction at a halt.

The driver started to move, then stopped and looked inquiringly at his colonel, but he still stood with his eyes on the ground.

Go! Serpilin said commandingly. - You are free.

The driver left. There was a heavy silence.

Why did you have to ask him in front of me? They could ask me without compromising the Red Army.