The Shot

This double story-within-a-story is presented by Ivan Petrovich Belkin, a gregarious but even-tempered army officer who committed to paper much of what others had told him before his untimely death. The first of his tales, which was related to him by Lieutenant-Colonel I. L. P., takes place among the garrison stationed in the village of N--. At the outset, so the story goes, all present in the garrison are awed and mystified by one Silvio; generous without any thought of recompense, he has retired at an early age from the hussars and exists on an uncertain income. ...