"It is very strange, mon Monsieur Prince," said the staff officer.

(He remembered that in French there is some peculiar way of addressing a prince, but could not get it quite right.

) By this time they were all approaching Tushin's battery, and a ball struck the ground in front of them.

"What's that that has fallen?" asked the accountant with a naive smile.

"A French pancake," answered Zherkov.