第27章

“Ido，“Ireplied。“Yes，Ido。“ “Good！“ Thebellofthemonasterystrucktwohastybeats——thenbecamesilent，sothatonlythesadechoofitsvoiceremainedreverberatingoverthecemetery。Oncemoremyinterlocutordrewouthiscigarette-case，silentlyofferedittomyself，andlightedandpuffedindustriouslyatanothercigarette。Ashedidsohishands，assmallandbrownastheclawsofabird，shookalittle，andhishead，bentdown，lookedlikeanEasteregginplush。 Stillsmoking，helookedmeintheeyeswithaself-diffidentfrown，andmuttered: “Onlythroughthelabourofmandoestheearthattaindevelopment。Andonlybyfamiliarisinghimselfwith，andremembering，thepastcanmanobtainsupportinhisworkonearth。“ Inspeaking，theLieutenantloweredhisarm；whereuponontohiswristthereslippedthebroadgoldenbraceletadornedwithamedallion，andtheregazedatmethencetheminiatureofafair-hairedwoman:andsincethehandbelowitwasfreckled，anditsflexiblefingerswereswollenoutofshape，andhadlosttheirsymmetry，thewoman’sfine-drawnfacelookedthemorefulloflife，and，clearlypickedout，couldbeseentobesmilingasweetandslightlyimperioussmile。 “Yourwifeoryourdaughter？“Iqueried。 “MyGod！MyGod！“was，withasubduedsigh，theonlyresponsevouchsafed。ThentheLieutenantraisedhisarm，andthebraceletslidbacktoitsrestingplaceunderhiscuff。 Overthetownthecolumnsofcurlingsmokeweregrowingredder，andtheclatteringwindowsblushingtoatintofpinkthatrecalledtomymemorythelividcheeksofVirubov’s“niece，“ofthewomaninwhom，likeheruncle，therewasnothingthatcouldprovokeoneto“takeliberties。“ Next，therescaledthecemeterywallandstealthilystretchedthemselvesontheground，sothattheylookednotunlikethefar-flungshadowsofthecemetery’scrosses，afileofdark，tatteredfiguresofbeggars，whileonthefurthersideoftheslowlydarkeninggreeneryacantordrawledinsluggish，carelessaccents: “E-e-ternalme-e——“ “Eternalmemoryofwhat？“exclaimedLieutenantKhorvatwithanangryshrugofhisshoulders。“Suppose，inhisday，amanhasbeenthebestcucumber-salterormushroom-picklerinagiventown。Orsupposehehasbeenthebestcobblerthere，orthatoncehesaidsomethingwhichthestreetwhereinhedweltcanstillremember。WouldnotTHATmanbeamanwhoserecordshouldbepreserved，andmadeaccessibletomyrecollection？“ AndagaintheLieutenant’sfacewreatheditselfinsolidringsofpungenttobaccosmoke。 Blowingsoftlyforamoment，thewindbentthelongstemsofgrassinthedirectionofthedecliningsun，anddiedaway。Allthatremainedaudibleamidthestillnesswasthepeevishvoicesofwomensaying: “Totheleft，Isay。“ “Oh，whatistobedone，Tanechka？“ Expellingafreshcloudoftobaccosmokeincylindricalform，theoldmanmuttered: “Itwouldseemthatthosewomenhaveforgottentheprecisespotwheretheirrelativeorfriendhappenstolieburied。“ Asahawkflewoverthesun-reddenedbelfry-cross，thebird’sshadowglidedoveramemorialstonenearthespotwhereweweresitting，glancedoffthecornerofthestone，andappearedanewbeyondit。Andinthewatchingofthisshadow，Isomehowfoundapleasantdiversion。 WentontheLieutenant: “Isaythatagraveyardoughttoevincethevictoryoflife，thetriumphofintellectandoflabour，ratherthanthepowerofdeath。However，imaginehowthingswouldworkoutundermyscheme。UnderittherecordofwhichIhavespokenwouldconstituteahistoryofatown’slifewhich，ifanything，wouldincreasemen’srespectfortheirfellows。Yes，suchahistoryasTHATiswhatacemeteryoughttobe。Otherwisetheplaceisuseless。Similarlywillthepastproveuselessifitcangiveusnothing。Yetissuchahistoryevercompiled？Ifitis，howcanonesaythateventsarebroughtaboutby，forsooth，’servantsofGod’？“ Pointingtothetombswithagestureasthoughhewereswimming，hepausedforamomentortwo。 “Youareagoodman，“Isaid，“andamanwhomusthavelivedagoodandinterestinglife。“ Hedidnotlookatme，butansweredquietlyandthoughtfully: “Atleastamanoughttobehisfellows’friend，seeingthattothemheisbeholdenforeverythingthathepossessesandforeverythingthathecontains。Imyselfhavelived——“ Here，withacontractionofhisbrows，hefelltogazingabouthim，asthoughhewereseekingthenecessaryword；until，seemingtofailtofindit，hecontinuedgravely: “Menneedtobebroughtclosertogether，untillifeshallhavebecomebetteradjusted。Neverforgetthosewhoaredeparted，foranythingandeverythinginthelifeofa’servantofGod’ mayproveinstructiveandofprofoundsignificance。“ Onthewhitesidesofthememorial-stones，thesettingsunwascastingwarmluridreflections，untilthestoneworklookedasthoughithadbeensplashedwithhotblood。Moreover，everythingaroundusseemedcuriouslytohaveswelledandgrownlargerandsofterandlesscoldofoutline；thewholescene，thoughasmotionlessasever，appearedtohavetakenonasortofbright-redhumidity，anddepositedthathumidityinpurple，scintillating，quiveringdewontheturf’svariousspikesandtufts。Gradually，also，theshadowsweredeepeningandlengthening，whileonthefurthersideofthecemeterywallacowlowedatintervals，inagrossanddrunkenfashion，andapartyoffowlscackledwhatseemedtobecursesinresponse，andasawgratedandscreeched。 SuddenlytheLieutenantburstintoapealofsubduedlaughter，andcontinuedtodosountilhisshouldersshook。Atlengthhesaidthroughtheparoxysms，as，givingmeapush，hecockedhishatboyishly: “Imustconfessthat，that——thattheviewwhichIfirsttookofyouwasratheratragicone。Yousee，whenIsawamanlyingproneonthegrassIsaidtomyself:’H’m！Whatisthat？’NextI sawayoungfellowroamingaboutthecemeterywithafrownsettledonhisface，andhisbreechesbulging；andagainIsaidtomyself——“ “Abookislyinginmybreechespocket，“Iinterposed。 “Ah！ThenIunderstand。Yes，Imadeamistake，butavery，welcomeone。However，asIsay，whenIfirstsawyou，Isaidtomyself:’Thereisamanlyingnearthattomb。Perhapshehasabullet，awound，inhistemple？’And，asyouknow——“ Hestoppedtowinkatmewithanotheroutburstofsoft，good-humouredlaughter。Thenhecontinued。 “Nevertheless，theschemeofwhichIhavetoldyoucannotreallybecalledascheme，sinceitismerelyafancyofmyown。YetI SHOULDliketoseelifelivedinbetterfashion。“ Hesighedandpaused，forevidentlyhewasbecominglostinthought。 “Unfortunately，“hecontinuedatlast，“thelatterisadesirewhichIhaveconceivedtoolate。IfonlyIhaddonesofifteenyearsago，whenIwasfillingthepostofInspectoroftheprisonatUsman——“ Hisleftarmstretcheditselfout，andoncemorethereslidontohiswristthebracelet。Foramomenthetoucheditsgoldwitharapid，butcareful，delicate，movement——thenherestoredthetrinkettoitsretreat，rosesuddenly，lookedabouthimforasecondortwowithafrown，andsaidindry，brisktonesashegavehisiron-greymoustacheanenergetictwist: “NowImustbegoing。“ ForawhileIaccompaniedhimonhisway，forIhadakeendesiretohearhimsaysomethingmoreinthatpleasant，powerfulbassofhis；butthoughhesteppedpastthegravestoneswithstridesascarefulandregularasthoseofasoldieronparade，hefailedagaintobreaksilence。 Justaswepassedthechapelofthemonasterytherefloatedforthintothefaireveningstillness，fromthebars，ofawindow，whileyetnotreallystirringthatstillness，ahumofgruff，lazy，peevishejaculations。Apparentlytheywereutteredbytwopersonswhowereengagedinadispute，sinceoneofthemmuttered: “Whathaveyoudone？Whathaveyoudone？“ Andtheotherrespondedcarelessly: “Holdyourtongue，now！Prayholdyourtongue！“ ONARIVERSTEAMER Thewateroftheriverwassmooth，anddullsilveroftint。 Also，sobarelyperceptiblewasthecurrentthatitseemedtobealmoststagnantunderthemistofthenoontideheat，andonlybythechangesintheaspectofthebankscouldonerealisehowquietlyandevenlytheriverwascarryingonitssurfacetheoldyellow-hulledsteamerwiththewhite-rimmedfunnel，andalsotheclumsybargewhichwasbeingtowedinherwake。 Dreamilydidthefloatsofthepaddle-wheelsslapthewater。 Undertheplanksofthedecktheenginestoiledwithoutceasing。