第38章

“Andparticularlyshouldawomansofacethings；foruponhereverythingdepends。Foronething，lethertaketoherself，inplaceofhermother，ahusbandorasweetheart。Yes，trythat，andsee。Andthough，atfirst，yourhusbandmayfindfaultwithyou，hewillafterwardstaketoboastingtoothermuzhiksthathehasawifewhocandoeverything，andremaineverasbrightandlovingasthemonthofMay。Neverdoesshegivein；neverWOULD shegivein——no，notifyouweretocutoffherhead！“ “Indeed？“ “Yes。Andseeifthatwillnotcometobeyouropinionasmuchasmine。“ Again，tomyannoyance，thedialogueisinterrupted——thistimebythesoundofuncertainfootstepsinthestreetwithout。Thusthenextwordsofthewomen’sconversationescapeme。ThenIhear: “Haveyoueverread’TheVisionoftheMotherofGod’？“ “N-no，Ihavenot。“ “Thenyouhadbetterasksomeolderwomanthanmyselftotellyouaboutit，foritisagoodbooktobecomeacquaintedwith。 Canyouread？“ “No，Icannot。Buttellme，yourself，whatthevisionwas？“ “Listen，andIwilldoso。“ FromoutsidethewindowKonev’svoicesoftlyinquires: “Isthatourlotinthere？Yes？ThankGod，then，forIhadnearlylostmywayafterstirringupalotofdogs，andbeingforcedtousemyfistsuponthem。Here，you！Catchhold！“ Withwhich，handingmealargewatermelon，heclambersthroughthewindowwithagreatclatteringanddisturbance。 “Ihavemanagedalsotogeeagoodsupplyofbread，“hecontinues。“PerhapsyoubelievethatIstoleit？Butno。Indeed，whyshouldonestealwhenonecanbeg-agameatwhichIamparticularlyanoldhand，seeingthatalways，onanyoccasion，I canmakeuptopeople？Ithappenedlikethis。WhenIwentoutI sawafireglowinginahut，andfolkseatedatsupper。Andsince，wherevermanypeoplearepresent，oneofthematleasthasakindheart，Iateanddrankmyfill，andthenmanagedtomakeoffwithprovenderforyouaswell。Hi，youwomen！“ Therefollowsnoanswer。 “Ibelievethosedaughtersofwhoresmustbeasleep，“hecomments。“Hi，women！“ “Whatisit？“drilyinquiresthewomanfromRiazan。 “Shouldyoulikeatasteofwater-melon？“ “Ishould，thankyou。“ Thereupon，Konevbeginstomakehiswaytowardsthevoice。 “Yes，bread，softwheatenbreadsuchasyou——“ Herethe，otherwomanwhinesinbeggarfashion: “AndgiveMEataste，too。“ “Oh，yes，Iwill。Butwherethedevilareyou？“ “Andatasteofmelonaswell？“ “Yes，certainly。Hullo！Whoisthis？“ FromthewomanfromRiazancomesacryofpain。 “Mindhowyoustep，wretch！“sheexclaims。 “Allright，butyouneedn’tmakesomuchnoiseaboutit。Youseehowdarkitis，andI——“ “Yououghttohavestruckamatch，then。“ “Ipossessbutaquarterofamatch，formatchesarenotover- plentiful，andevenifIdidcatchholdofyounogreatharmcanhavebeendone。Forinstance，whenyourhusbandusedtobeatyouhemusthavehurtyoufarworsethanI。Bytheway，DIDhebeatyou？“ “Whatbusinessisthatofyours？“ “None；only，Iamcurioustoknow。Surelyawomanlikeyou——“ “Seehere。Donotdaretotouchme，orI——“ “Oryouwhat？“ ThereensuesaprolongedaltercationamidwhichIcanhearepithetsofincreasingacerbityandopprobriumbeingapplied； untilthewomanfromRiazanexclaimshoarsely: “Oh，youcowardofaman，takethat！“ WhereuponfollowsascrimmageamidwhichIcandistinguishslappings，grosschucklesfromKonev，andamuffledcryfromtheyoungerwomanof: “Oh，donotsobehave，youwretch！“ Strikingamatch，Iapproachthespot，andpullKonevaway。Heisinnowayabashed，butmerelycooledinhisardouras，seatedontheflooratmyfeet，andpantingandexpectorating，hesaysreprovinglytothewoman: “Whenfolkwishmerelytohaveagamewithyou，yououghtnottoletyourselfloseyourtemper。Fie，fie！“ “Areyouhurt？“thewomaninquiresquietly。 “Whatdoyousuppose？Youhavecutmylip，butthatistheworstdamage。“ “ThenifyoucomehereagainIwilllaythewholeofyourfaceopen。“ “Vixen！Whatbumpkinishstupidity！“ Konevturnstomyself。 “Andasforyou，yougocatchingatthefirstthingyoufind，andhavetornmycoat。“ “Thendonotinsultpeople。“ “INSULTpeople，fool？TheideaofanyoneinsultingawomanlikeTHAT！“ Whereafter，withameanchuckle，thefellowgoesontodiscourseupontheeasewithwhichpeasantwomenerr，andupontheirloveofdeceivingtheirhusbands。 “Theimpudentrascal！“commentsthewomanfromPenzasleepily。 Afterawhiletheyoungfellowspringstohisfeet，andgrateshisteeth。Then，reseatinghimself，andclutchingathishead，hesaysgloomily: “Iintendtoleaveheretomorrow，andgohome。IdonotcareWHATbecomesofme。“ Withwhichhesubsidesontothefloorasthoughexhausted。 “Theblockhead！“isKonev’sremark。 Amidthedarknessablackshaperises。Itdoessoassoundlesslyasafishinapond，glidestothedoor，anddisappears。 “Thatwasshe，“remarksKonev。“Whatastrongwoman！However，ifyouhadnotpulledmeaway，Ishouldhavegotthebetterofher。 ByGodIshould！“ “Thenfollowher，andmakeanotherattempt。“ “No，“afteramoment’sreflectionherejoins。“Outthereshemightgetholdofastick，orabrick，orsomesuchthing。 However，I’LLgetevenwithher。Asamatteroffact，youwastedyourtimeinstoppingme，forshedetestsmeliketheverydevil。“ Andherenewshiswearisomeboastingsofhisconquests；untilsuddenly，hestopsasthoughhehasswallowedhistongue。 Allbecomesquiet；everythingseemstohavecometoahalt，andtobepressingcloseinsleeptothemotionlessearth。Itoogrowdrowsy，andhaveavisionamidwhichmymindreturnstothedonationswhichIhavereceivedthatday，andseesthemswellandmultiplyandincreaseinweightuntilIfeeltheirbulkpressinguponmelikeatumulusofthesteppes。Next，thecopperynotesofabelljarinmyears，and，struckatrandomintervals，gofloatingawayintothedarkness。 Itisthehourofmidnight。 Soon，scattereddropsofrainbegintopatterdownuponthedrythatchofthehutandthedustinthestreetoutside，whileacricketcontinueschirpingasthoughitwerehurriedlyrelatingatale。Also，Ihearfilteringforthintothedarknessasoftlygulped，eagerwhispering。 “Think，“saysoneofthevoices，“whatitmustmeantohavetogotrampingaboutwithoutwork，oronlywithworkforanothertodo！“ Theyoungfellowwhohasbeensosoundlythrashedrepliesinadullvoice: “Iknownothingofyou。“ “Moresoftly，moresoftly！“urgesthewoman。 “Whatisityouwant？“ “IwantNOTHING。ItismerelythatIamsorryforyouasamanyetyoungandstrong。Yousee——well，Ihavenotlivedwithmyeyesshut。ThatiswhyIsay，comewithme。“ “Butcomewhither？“ “Tothecoast，whereIknowtheretobebeautifulplotsoflandfortheasking。Youyourselfcanseehowgoodthelandhereaboutis。Well，therelandbetterstillistobeobtained。“ “Liar！“ “Moresoftly，moresoftly！“againurgesthewoman。“Moreover，Iamnotbad-looking，andcanmanagethingswell，anddoanysortofwork。HenceyouandImightlivequitepeacefullyandhappily，andcome，eventually，tohaveaplaceofourown。Yes，andI couldbearandrearyouachild。OnlyseehowfitIam。Onlyfeelthisbreastofmine。“ Theyoungfellowsnorts，andIbegintofindthesituationoppressive，andtolongtoletthecoupleknowthatIamnotasleep。Curiosity，however，preventsme，andIcontinuelisteningtothestrange，arrestingdialogue。 “Waitalittle，“whispersthewomanwithagasp。“Donotplaywithme，forIamnotthatsortofwoman。Yes，ImeanwhatIsay。 Letbe！“ Rudely，roughlytheyoungfellowreplies: