[synopsis of story]
Captain Pithulin is a Russian officer about 25 years old. A noble family from Petersburg. He has a pair of aristocratic hands, a pale and noble forehead and a dazzling white shirt, which can prove the habits of the upper class. He has been used to the luxurious life of the upper class since he was a child. Later, he got tired of this life and wanted to find a new one. He went to the Caucasus army for military service. Passing through the town of Taman on the coast of the Black Sea. He stayed with a smuggler. He learned from the blind boy who looked after the house that the owner of the house was a woman and she had a young daughter. As it happens, they all went out.
In the evening, because he couldn't sleep, Pitcairn saw the blind child walking towards the port with a package under his arm during the day. Pickering became curious and followed him secretly. He saw the blind child go to the seaside and stop. At this moment, another woman appeared. They looked out at the sea. From their conversation, we can see that they are anxiously waiting for a man named Yang Ke to return. They are worried about whether the ship is caught in the wind and waves or found by patrol boats. Soon, a ship appeared at sea. A brave sailor stepped off the boat. So they moved a lot of things from the boat.
The next day, the landlady and her daughter went home. My daughter is about eighteen years old, slim, with long light yellow hair, a straight nose and a slightly bronzed skin. In her squints, Pichelin saw "some wild and suspicious expressions". She is singing a strange song on the roof. Pichelin was attracted by her charm. He asked her what happened last night, and she pretended nothing had happened. Pichelin threatened her with a report, and she panicked. In the evening, this charming "female water demon" came to invite Pichelin to a boat by the sea. Pichelin went by appointment. She gently rowed the boat out to sea. When they hugged, she took off Pickering's pistol and let it fall into the sea. Then, she picked up Pickering to throw him into the sea, but Pickering was strong and threw her into the sea instead. It turned out that she took Pichlin's threat to her during the day as true and sought revenge on him. When Pitcairn rowed the boat back to the shore, he saw that it had docked from the middle of the sea. In the dark night, Pitcairn heard her say to the Yankee that "things are not good". They were all afraid that * * * would catch them, so they fled to the sea by boat together. When Pickering returned to his house, his wallet, saber and dagger were gone. But he did not report it as his first adventure in the Caucasus.
Burtigorsk is a mountain city in the Caucasus Mountains. There are hot springs here. People like to come here to take a bath and spend their summer vacation. Pickering met a student named Grunitzky here. This is a young man with "good figure, dark skin and black hair". He is fluent and gorgeous, and likes to talk a lot. He told Pichelin that the Duchess of Rigovsky and her daughter Mary had come from Moscow, and they had come to recuperate. He is pursuing this young lady named "Princess" himself.
Mary is very beautiful. "She looks so attractive that people who have never understood the secret of beauty will be amazed." She is always surrounded by a large group of admirers. But she is "as pure as a dove". She doesn't like socializing, but likes to talk about feelings and enthusiasm. Pitcairn made up his mind to take Mary away to relieve boredom. He asked Dr. Weiner, who frequented the Duchess's house, about Mary and seduced women with a set of methods he learned in high society. At first, he tried not to appear in front of Mary. Even, he pretended to be arrogant and rude. However, on other occasions, he talked too much, which puzzled others. Just then, a beautiful relative, Vera, came to the duchess's residence. This is the woman that Pichlin once loved. After being abandoned by Pichlin, she married a lame old aristocrat. Once, they met at the edge of Jing Quan, thus rekindling their previous enthusiasm. Villa invited Pitcairn to meet the Duchess's family. He agreed.
Mary didn't like Pitcairn at first, because he once snapped up a carpet from a businessman with her (in fact, it was a trick of Pitcairn, and he deliberately hurt her self-esteem). Later, Pitcairn chose a good opportunity to restore Mary's impression of him. It was at a dance, and a dragoon captain deliberately invited a drunken bearded old man to dance with Mary in retaliation for Mary's arrogant behavior towards her lover. His rude language and behavior almost made Mary faint. She wants to ask for help, but she doesn't know anyone nearby. At this moment, Pickering suddenly appeared. He pushed the drunk away and said that the young lady had promised to dance with him. Mary is very grateful. She told her mother about it. The Duchess thanked Pitcairn. From then on, Pickering went to the Duchess's house every day, and Vera thought he was going to see her.
In front of Mary, Peter Cain impressed her deeply by telling her about his adventures and adventures, and made her feel that he was an extraordinary person. At the same time, when he saw Grunitzky talking to Mary, he deliberately walked away and left them together, which made Mary feel that there was nothing "selfish" in Pitcairn. Mary doesn't love Grunitsky. When Pitcairn dodged for the second time, she lost her temper. However, what Pickering did was purely to conquer and play with her, not for love. He said, "Why should I be so stubborn to win the love of a young girl, but I don't want to seduce her and I will never get married." This is mostly because she is regarded as an invincible beauty by me. "At the same time, he thinks that a woman is like a little flower when she is young." When its beautiful fragrance is spreading to welcome the morning sunshine, she will pick it up, absorb its fragrance to the fullest, and then throw it on the road. "Pure Mary doesn't know Taolin, she was cheated.
Once, they went to see the crater with tourists. Pichelin deliberately told Mary, "I want to love the whole world-but no one knows me", which aroused Mary's sympathy for him. When she came back, she told Vera about her affection for Pitcairn (she didn't know Vera was Pitcairn's lover), which made Vera very sad.
Grunitzky was promoted to the rank of officer. He went to see Mary in his new uniform, hoping that she would be surprised. However, she is cold. When he realized that Pitcairn had taken away her love, he was encouraged by other officers and offered to fight Pitcairn. The conditions of the duel are very harsh, and both sides stand on the top of the cliff and shoot, only six steps away. As long as one side is slightly injured, it will fall from the top of the cliff into the valley and die. When drawing lots, Grunitzky draws first and then shoots. He could have killed Pichlin, but as soon as he started, he couldn't bear to kill his friend. He fired a blank shot. It was Pitcairn's turn to shoot, and he wanted Grunitzky to ask for his forgiveness. Grunitsky is unwilling to bear such humiliation. Pickering shot him off a cliff.
Because of the duel, Pichlin was exiled to the remote Fort N. Before he left, he said goodbye to the Duchess. His wife told him that her daughter was ill for him and asked him to marry Mary. But he refused. Mary is as white as marble. She said to Pitcairn, "I hate you!" " "Pichelin bowed respectfully and left.
Fort N is located on the talaka River. The head of the fortress is a veteran in his fifties, Captain Maxim Mark simic. He has lived in the Caucasus for a long time, and he is kind and compassionate. In Maxim's eyes, Pichelin is an excellent and eccentric person. Near the fortress, there lived a toast. The toast has two daughters and a son. The boy is only fifteen years old and his name is Asamat. He often rides to the fortress. He has a bad temper, and when he is provoked, he goes to look for his dagger.
On one occasion, the eldest daughter of the toast got married and invited the officers of the fortress to dinner. At the wedding reception, the host's youngest daughter Bella sang a poem for Pitcairn. She is a beautiful girl, "slim, with black eyes like a mountain antelope, which can shine through people's hearts." This young mountain woman deeply attracted Pichelin's attention.
Also attending the wedding was a local mountaineer named Kabic, who also loved Bella. He has a good horse, which is ridden by the son of the toast. Ashamat asked Kabiki to give him the horse. He was willing to pay any price, even stealing his sister Bella, but Kabiki refused to exchange the horse. So, they fought and caused a riot.
The officers returned to the fortress. Maxim told Pichelin the cause of the dispute. Pichelin is considering a bad idea. When Ashamat visited the fortress again, Pichilin praised Kabic's horse, which made the little Tatar itch and couldn't hold it any longer. Pichelin offered him that he could help him get the horse. On condition that he rescue his sister. Asamat agreed. That night, when they went out to bake bread, they got Bella. The next day, Kabic went to the fortress to sell sheep, and Pichelin helped the toast's son ride Kabic's horse.
Bella has been crying since she was robbed. Pichlin comforted her in various ways. Finally, she stopped crying because she loved him, too. Kabikicho thinks Asamat stole his horse with the permission of the toast. He ambushed the road and killed the toast. Soon, Pickering's feelings for Bella cooled down. He thinks that "the love of a savage woman is not much better than that of a lady in the upper class." Bella also saw his alienation from himself. She said to Maxim, "If he doesn't love me, then send me home." Maxim takes care of her like a daughter, comforts her and walks with her. In this way, Bella was seen by Kabic. Once, when Pickering and Maxim were out hunting wild boar, Kabic went to the fortress and robbed Bella. Pichelin and Maxim followed. On the verge of catching up, Kabiki brutally stabbed Bella to death with a short knife and threw her off the horse. Maxim shot and wounded Kabiki, but finally escaped.
Life in the fortress is dull and monotonous, and the officers have nothing to do. On one occasion, Pickering went to Cossack village to play cards with officers. They talked about fate and destiny. Pichelin saw "signs of death" from Captain ulrich's pale face, and he decided to die within this day. Ulrich didn't believe it, so he made a bet with Pitcairn. Ulrich deliberately shot himself in the head with a pistol, but the gun didn't go off. The lieutenant won the bet. However, when he came home, he was hacked to death by a drunk. The drunk lives in a house at the end of the village, and people are afraid to catch him. Pickering wants to try his fate. He climbed into the drunk's room, and the drunk shot him, but missed. He caught the drunk. From then on, he believed in fate more and became a fatalist.
After moving from Fort N, Pichelin has been to Georgia for some time. Later, he planned to travel to Persia. Once, on a trip, Maxim met him. At this time, great changes have taken place in Pichelin. He lost his old enthusiasm and became very depressed. "Walking is lazy. When he moved his body to a small stool, his straight torso bent like there was no bone on his back, and his posture showed some kind of neurasthenia. " Maxim never saw him again. Later, Pickering came back from Perth and died in obscurity.