第11章

Suddenlysomeonesaidwiththesubduedassuranceofapersonreadingaloudfromawrittendocument: “UnlessthepeasantsofKubarovokeepawatchupontheirtimberlands，thesunwillfirethemtomorrow，andthentheBirkins’ forestalsowillcatchalight。“ Foramomentthedisputedieddown。Then，asitwerecleavingthesilence，avoicesaidstutteringly: “Whocaresaboutthesignificanceoftheword’truth’？“ Andthewords——heavy，jumbled，andclumsy——filledmewithdespondentreflections。Thenagainthevoicesrose——thistimeinlouderandmorevenomousaccents，andwiththeirdinrecalledtome，bysomeaccident，thefoolishlines: ThegodsdidgivemenwaterTowashin，andtodrink； YetmanhasmadeitbutapoolInwhichhiswoestosink。 PresentlyImovedoutsideand，seatingmyselfonthestepsoftheveranda，felltocontemplatingthedull，blurredwindowsoftheArchpriest’shouseontheothersideofthesquare，andtowatchinghowblackshadowskeptflittingtoandfrobehindtheirpanesasthefaint，lugubriousnotesofaguitarmadethemselvesheard。Andahigh-pitched，irritablevoicekeptrepeatingatintervals:“Allowme。Pray，permitmetospeak，“andbeingansweredbyavoicewhichintermittentlyshotintothesilence，asintoabottomlesssack，thewords:“No，doyouwaitamoment，doyouwaitamoment。“ Surroundedbythedarkness，thehouseslookedstuntedlikegravestones，withalineofblacktreesabovetheirroofsthatloomedshadowyandcloud-like。Onlyinthefurthestcorneroftheexpansewasthelightofasolitarystreetlampbearingaresemblancetothediskofastationary，resplendentdandelion。 Overeverythingwasmelancholy。Farfrominvitingwasthegeneraloutlook。Somuchwasthisthecasethat，had，atthatmoment，anyonestolenuponmefrombehindthebushesanddealtmeasuddenblowonthehead，Ishouldmerelyhavesunktoearthwithoutattemptingtoseewhomyassailanthadbeen。 Often，inthosedays，wasIinthismood，foritclavetomeasfaithfullyasadog——neverdiditwhollyleaveme。 “ItwasformenlikeTHOSEthatthisfairearthofourswasbestoweduponus！“Ithoughttomyself。 Suddenly，withaclatter，someoneranoutofthedoorofthetavern，sliddownthesteps，fellheadlongattheirfoot，quicklyregainedhisequilibrium，anddisappearedinthedarknessafterexclaiminginathreateningvoice: “Oh，I’LLpayyouout！I’LLskinyou，youdamned……！“ Whereaftertwofiguresthatalsoappearedinthedoorwaysaidastheystoodtalkingtooneanother: “Youheardhimthreatentofiretheplace，didyounot？“ “Yes，Idid。Butwhyshouldhewanttofireit？“ “Becauseheisadangerousrascal。“ Presently，slingingmywalletuponmyback，Ipursuedmyonwardwayalongastreetthatwasfencedoneithersidewithatallpalisade。AsIproceeded，longgrasseskeptcatchingatmyfeetandrustlingdrily。Andsowarmwasthenightastorenderthepaymentofalodgingfeesuperfluous；andthemoresosinceintheneighbourhoodofthecemetery，whereanadvancedguardofyoungpineshadpushedforwardtothecemeterywallandlitteredthesandyground，withacarpetofred，drycones，thereweresleeping-placespreparedinadvance。 Suddenlyfromthedarknessthereemerged，torecoilagain，aman’stallfigure。 “Whoisthat？Whoisit？“askedthehoarse，nervousvoiceofGubinindissipationofthedeathlikestillness。 Whichsaid，heandIfellintostepwithoneanother。AsweproceededheinquiredwhenceIhadcome，andwhyIwasstillabroad。Whereafterheextendedtome，astoanoldacquaintance，theinvitation: “Willyoucomeandsleepatmyplace？Myhouseisnearhere，andasforwork，Iwillfindyouajobtomorrow。Infact，asithappens，IamneedingamantohelpmecleanoutawellattheBirkins’place。Willthejobsuityou？Verywell，then。AlwaysI liketosettlethingsovernight，asitisatnightthatIcanbestseethroughpeople。“ The“house“turnedouttobenothingmorethananoldone-eyed，hunchbackedwashhouseorshantywhich，bulgingofwall，stoodwedgedagainsttheclayeyslopeofaravineasthoughitwouldfainburyitselfamidtheboughsoftheneighbouringarbutustreesandelders。 Withoutstrikingalight，Gubinflunghimselfuponsomemouldyhaythatlitteredathresholdasnarrowasthethresholdofadog-kennel，andsaidtomewithanairofauthorityashedidso: “Iwillsleepwithmyheadtowardsthedoor，fortheatmospherehereisatrifleconfined。“ And，trueenough，theplacereekedofelderberries，soap，burntstuff，anddecayedleaves。IcouldnotconceivewhyIhadcometosuchaspot。 Thetwistedbranchesoftheneighbouringtreeshungmotionlessathwartthesky，andconcealedfromviewthegoldendustoftheMilkyWay，whileacrosstheOkaanowlkeptscreeching，andthestrange，arrestingremarksofmycompanionpeltedmelikeshowersofpeas。 “DonotbesurprisedthatIshouldliveinaremoteravine，“hesaid。“I，whosehandisagainsteveryman，canatleastfeellordofwhatIsurveyhere。“ Toodarkwasitformetoseemyhost’sface，butmymemoryrecalledhisbaldcranium，andtheyellowlightofthelampsfallinguponanoseaslongasawoodpecker’sbeak，apairofgreyandstubblycheeks，apairofthinlipscoveredbyabristlingmoustache，amouthsharp-cutaswithaknife，andfullofblack，evil-lookingstumps，apairofpointed，sensitive，mouse-likeears，andaclean-shavenchin。Thelastfeatureinnowayconsortedwithhisvisage，orwithhiswholeappearance；butatleastitrenderedhimworthyofremark，andenabledonetorealisethatonehadtodealwithneitherapeasantnorasoldiernoratradesman，butwithamanpeculiartohimself。 Also，hisframewaslanky，withlongarmsandlegs，andpointedkneesandelbows。Infact，solikeapieceofstringwashisbodythattotwistitroundandround，oreventotieitintoaknot，would，seemingly，havebeeneasyenough。 ForawhileIfoundhisspeechdifficulttofollow；wherefore，silentlyIgazedatthesky，wherethestarsappearedtobeplayingatfollow-my-leader。 “Areyouasleep？“atlengthheinquired。 “No，Iamnot。Whydoyoushaveyourbeard？“ “Whydoyouask？“ “Because，ifyouwillpardonme，Ithinkyourfacewouldlookbetterbearded。“ Withashortlaughheexclaimed: “Bearded？Ah，sloven！Bearded，indeed！“ Towhichheaddedmoregravely: “BothPetertheGreatandNicholasIwerewiserthanyou，fortheyordainedthatwhosoevershouldbebeardedshouldhavehisnoseslit，andbefinedahundredroubles。Didyoueverhearofthat？“ “No。“ “Andfromthesamesource，fromthebeard，arosealsotheGreatSchism。“ Hismannerofspeakingwastoorapidtobearticulate，and，inleavinghismouth，hiswordscausedhislipstobarestumpsandgumsamidwhichtheylosttheirway，becamedisintegrated，andissued，asitwere，inanincompletestate。 “Everyone，“hecontinued，“knowsthatlifeislivedmoreeasilywithabeardthanwithoutone，sincewithabeardliesaremoreeasilytold——theycanbetold，andthenhiddeninthemassesofhair。Henceweoughttogothroughlifewithourfacesnaked，sincesuchfacesrenderuntruthfulnessmoredifficult，andpreventtheirownersfromprevaricatingwithoutthefactbecomingplaintoall。“ “Butwhataboutwomen？“ “Whataboutwomen？Well，womencanalwayslietotheirhusbandssuccessfully，butnottoallthetown，toalltheworld，tofolkingeneral。Moreover，sinceawoman’srealbusinessinlifeisthesameasthatofthehen，torearyoung，whatcanitmatterifsheDOEScackleafewfalsehoods，providedthatshebeneitherapriestnoramayornoratchinovnik，anddoesnotpossessanyauthority，andcannotestablishlaws？Forthereallyimportantpointisthatthelawitselfshouldnotlie，buteverupholdtruthpureandsimple。Longhastheprevalentillegalitydisgustedme。“ Thedooroftheshantywasstandingopen，andamidtheouterdarkness，asinachurch，thetreeslookedlikepillars，andthewhitestemsofthebircheslikesilvercandelabratippedwithathousandlights，ordimly-seenchoristerswithfacesshowingpaleabovesacramentalvestmentsofblack。Allmysoulwasfullofasortofpainfulrestlessness。ItwasafeelingasthoughI shouldlivetoriseandgoforthintothedarkness，andofferbattletotheterrorsofthenight；yetever，asmycompanion’storrentialspeechcaughtandheldmyattention，itdetainedmewhereIwas。 “Myfatherwasamanofnolittleoriginalityandcharacter，“hewenton。“Wherefore，noneofthetownsfolklikedhim。Bytheageoftwentyhehadrisentobeanalderman，yetnevertotheendcouldgetthebetteroffolk’sstubbornnessandstupidity，eventhoughhemadeithiscustomtotreatallandsundrytofoodanddrink，andtoreasonwiththem。No，notevenatthelastdidheattainhisdue。Peoplefearedhimbecauseherevolutionisedeverything，revolutioniseditdowntotheveryroots；thetruthbeingthathehadgraspedtheoneessentialfactthatlawandordermustbedriven，likenails，intothepeople’sveryvitals。“