第3章

Yes，shewastojourneyinthecompanyoftheMotherofGod。Sonomoreonthepointrequiredtobesaid。 Glancingagainatthetiny，inchoatefaceunderthebushes，hereyesdiffusedraysofwarmandkindlylightas，lickingherlips，she，withaslowmovement，smoothedthebreastofthelittleone。 ThenIarrangedsticksforafire，andalsoadjustedstonestosupportthekettle。 “SoonIwillhaveteareadyforyou，“Iremarked。 “AndthankfulindeedIshallbe，“sheresponded，“formybreastsaredriedup。“ “Whyhaveyourcompanionsdesertedyou？“Isaidnext。 “Theyhavenotdesertedme。ItwasIthatleftthemofmyownaccord。HowcouldIhaveexposedmyselfintheirpresence？“ Andwithaglanceatmesheraisedahandtoherfaceas，spittingagoutofblood，shesmiledasortofbashfulsmile。 “Thisisyourfirstchild，Itakeit？“ “Itis。Andwhoareyou？“ “Aman。“ “Yes，aman，ofcourse；but，areyouaMARRIEDman？“ “No，Ihaveneverbeenabletomarry。“ “Thatcannotbetrue。“ “Whynot？“ Withloweredeyesshesatawhileinthought。 “Because，ifso，howdoyoucometoknowsomuchaboutwomen’saffairs？“ ThistimeIDIDlie，forIreplied: “Becausetheyhavebeenmystudy。Infact，Iamamedicalstudent。“ “Ah！Ourpriest’ssonalsowasastudent，butastudentfortheChurch。“ “Verywell。ThenyouknowwhatIam。NowIwillgoandfetchsomewater。“ Uponthissheinclinedherheadtowardsherlittlesonandlistenedforamomenttohisbreathing。Thenshesaidwithaglancetowardsthesea: “Itooshouldliketohaveawash，butIdonotknowwhatthewaterislike。Whatisit？Brackishorsalt？“ “No；quitegoodwater——fitforyoutowashin。“ “Isitreally？“ “Yes，really。Moreover，itiswarmerthanthewaterofthestreamshereabouts，whichisascoldasice。“ “Ah！Well，youknowbest。“ Hereashaggy-earedpony，allskinandbone，wasseenapproachingusatafoot’space。Trembling，anddroopingitshead，itscannedus，asitdrewlevel，witharoundblackeye，andsnorted。Uponthat，itsriderpushedbackaraggedfurcap，glancedwarilyinourdirection，andagainsankhishead。 “Thefolkofthesepartsareuglytolookat，“softlycommentedthewomanfromOrlov。 ThenIdepartedinquestofwater。AfterIhadwashedmyfaceandhandsIfilledthekettlefromastreambrightandlivelyasquicksilver(astreampresenting，astheautumnleavestossedintheeddieswhichwentleapingandsingingoverthestones，atrulyenchantingspectacle)，and，returning，andpeepingthroughthebushes，perceivedthewomantobecrawlingonhandsandkneesoverthestones，andanxiouslypeeringabout，asthoughinsearchofsomething。 “Whatisit？“Iinquired，andthereupon，turninggreyinthefacewithconfusionshehastenedtoconcealsomearticleunderherperson，althoughIhadalreadyguessedthenatureofthearticle。 “Giveittome，“wasmyonlyremark。“Iwillgoandburyit。“ “Howso？For，asamatteroffact，itoughttobeburiedunderthefloorinfrontofsomestove。“ “ArewetobuildastoveHERE？Builditinfiveminutes？“I retorted。 “Ah，Iwasjesting。Butreally，Iwouldrathernothaveitburiedhere，lestsomewildbeastshouldcomeanddevourit…… Yetitoughttobecommittedonlytotheearth。“ Thatsaid，she，withavertedeyes，handedmeamoistandheavybundle；andasshedidsoshesaidunderherbreath，withanairofconfusion: “IbegofyouforChrist’ssaketoburyitaswell，asdeeply，asyoucan。OutofpityformysondoasIbidyou。“ Ididasshehadrequested；and，justasthetaskhadbeencompleted，Iperceivedherreturningfromthemarginoftheseawithunsteadygait，andanarmstretchedoutbeforeher，andapetticoatsoakedtothemiddlewiththeseawater。Yetallherfacewasalightwithinwardfire，andasIhelpedhertoregainthespotwhereIhadpreparedsomesticksIcouldnothelpreflectingwithsomeastonishment: “Howstrongindeedsheis！“ Next，aswedrankamixtureofteaandhoney，sheinquired: “Haveyounowceasedtobeastudent？“ “Yes。“ “Andwhyso？Throughtoomuchdrink？“ “Evenso，goodmother。“ “Dearme！Well，yourfaceisfamiliartome。Yes，IrememberthatInoticedyouinSukhumwhenonceyouwerearguingwiththebarraquesuperintendentoverthequestionofrations。AsIdidsothethoughtoccurredtome:’Surelythatboldyoungfellowmusthavegoneandspenthismeansondrink？Yes，thatishowitmustbe。’“ Then，asfromherswollenlipsshelickedadropofhoney，sheagainbentherblueeyesinthedirectionofthebushunderwhichtheslumbering，newly-arrivedOrlovianwascouched。 “Howwillhelive？“thoughtfullyshesaidwithasigh——thenadded: “Youhavehelpedme，andIthankyou。Yes，mythanksareyours，thoughIcannottellwhetherornotyourassistancewillhavehelpedHIM。“ And，drinkingtherestofhertea，sheateamorselofbread，thenmadethesignofthecross。Andsubsequently，asIwasputtingupmythings，shecontinuedtorockherselftoandfro，togivelittlestartsandcries，andtogazethoughtfullyatthegroundwitheyeswhichhadnowregainedtheiroriginalcolour。Atlastsherosetoherfeet。 “Youarenotgoingyet？“Iqueriedprotestingly。 “Yes，Imust。“ “But——“ “TheBlessedVirginwillgowithme。Sopleasehandmeoverthechild。“ “No，Iwillcarryhim。“ And，afteracontestforthehonour，sheyielded，andwewalkedawaysidebyside。 “IonlywishIwerealittlesteadieronmyfeet，“sheremarkedwithanapologeticsmileasshelaidahanduponmyshoulder，Meanwhile，thenewcitizenofRussia，thelittlehumanbeingofanunknownfuture，wassnoringsoundlyinmyarmsastheseaplashedandmurmured，andthrewoffitswhiteshavings，andthebusheswhisperedtogether，andthesun(nowarrivedatthemeridian)shonebrightlyuponusall。 Incalmcontentitwasthatwewalked；savethatnowandthenthemotherwouldhalt，drawadeepbreath，raiseherhead，scantheseaandtheforestandthehills，andpeerintoherson’sface。Andasshedidso，eventhemistbegottenoftearsofsufferingcouldnotdimthewonderfulbrilliancyandclearnessofhereyes。Forwiththesombrefireofinexhaustiblelovewerethoseeyesaflame。 Once，asshehalted，sheexclaimed: “0God，0MotherofGod，howgooditallis！WouldthatforeverIcouldwalkthus，yes，walkandwalkuntotheveryendoftheworld！AllthatIshouldneedwouldbethatthou，myson，mydarlingson，shouldst，borneuponthymother’sbreast，growandwaxstrong！“ Andtheseamurmuredandmurmured。