第59章

“Ipresumewearegoingtopassthenighthere？“Kalininatlengthqueried。 “No，formyintentionis，rather，tocontinuemyjourney。“ “Thenletusmakeanimmediatestart。“ “Butmydirectionwillnotbethesameasyours，Ithink？“ Previouslytothis，Kalininhadsquatteddownuponhishaunches，andtakensomebreadandafewpearsfromhiswallet；butnow，onhearingmydecision，hereplacedtheviandsinhisreceptacle，snapped——tothelidofitwithanairofvexation——andasked: “Whydidyoucomewithmeatall？“ “BecauseIwantedtohaveatalkwithyou——Ihadfoundyouaninterestingcharacter。“ “Yes。AtleastIamTHAT；manylikemedonotexist。“ “Pardonme；Ihavemetseveral。“ “Perhapsyouhave。“Afterwhichutterance，doubtfullydrawled，thespeakeraddedmorestickstothefire。 Eventidewasfallingwithtardylanguor，but，asyet，thesun，thoughbecomeagigantic，dull，redlentilinappearance，wasnothidden，andthewaveswerestillpowerlesstobesprinklehisdownwardroadoffire。Presently，however，hesubsidedintoacloudbank；whereupondarknessfloodedtheearthlikewaterpouredfromanemptybasin，andthegreatkindlystarsshoneforth，andthenocturnalprofundity，envelopingtheworld，seemedtosoftenitevenasahumanheartmayberenderedgentle。 “Good-bye！“IsaidasIpressedmycompanion’ssmall，yieldinghand:whereuponhelookedmeintheeyesinhisopen，boyishway，andreplied: “IwishIweregoingwithyou！“ “Well，comewithmeasfarasGudaout。“ “Yes，Iwill。“ SowesetforthoncemoretotraversethelandwhichI，soalientoitsinhabitants，yetsoatonewithallthatitcontained，lovedsodearly，andofwhichIyearnedtofertilisethelifeinreturnforthevitalitywithwhichithadfilledmyownexistence。 Fordaily，thethreadswithwhichmyheartwasboundtotheworldatlargeweregrowingmorenumerous；dailymyheartwasstoringupsomethingwhichhadatitsrootasenseofloveforlife，ofinterestinmyfellow-man。 Andthatevening，asweproceededonourway，theseawassingingitsvespertinalhymn，therockswererumblingasthewatercaressedthem，andonthefurthermostedgeofthedarkvoidtherewerefloatingdimwhitepatcheswherethesunset’sglowhadnotyetfaded——thoughalreadystarswereglowinginthezenith。 Meanwhileeveryslumberingtreetopwasaquiver，andasI steppedacrossthescatteredrain-pools，theirwatergurgleddreamily，timidlyundermyfeet。 Yes，thatnightIwasatorchuntomyself，forinmybreastaredflamewassmoulderinglikealivingbeacon，andleadingmetolongthatsomefrightened，belatedwayfarershould，asitwere，sightmylittlespeckofradiancyamidthedarkness。 OneeveningIwassaunteringalongasoft，grey，dustytrackbetweentwobreast-highwallsofgrain。Sonarrowwasthetrackthathereandtheretar-besmearedcarswerelying——tangled，broken，andcrushed——intherutsofthecartway。 Fieldmicesqueakedasaheavycarfirstswayed——thenbentforwardstowardsthesun-bakedearth。Anumberofmartinsandswallowswereflittinginthesky，andconstitutingasignoftheimmediateproximityofdwellingsandariver；thoughforthemoment，asmyeyesrovedovertheseaofgold，theyencounterednaughtbeyondabelfryrisingtoheavenlikeaship’smast，andsometreeswhichfromafarlookedlikethedarksailsofaship。 Yes，therewasnothingelsetobeseensavethebrocaded，undulatingsteppewheregentlyitslopedawaysouth-westwards。 Andaswastheearth’soutwardappearance，sowasthatofthesky——equallypeaceful。 Invariably，thesteppemakesonefeellikeaflyonaplatter。 Invariably，itinclinesonetobelieve，whenthecentreoftheexpanseisreached，thattheearthlieswithinthecompassofthesky，withthesunembracingit，andthestarshemmingitaboutas，half-blinded，theystareatthesun’sbeauty。 Presentlythesun’shuge，rosy-reddiskimpingedupontheblueshadowsofthehorizonbeforepreparingtosinkintoasnow-whitecloud-bank；andasitdidsoitbathedtheearsofgrainaroundmeinradianceandcausedthecornflowerstoseemthedarkerbycomparison；andthestillness，theheraldofnight，toaccentuatemorethanevertheburdenoftheearth’ssong。 Fanwisethenspreadtheruddybeamsoverthefirmament；and，insodoing，theycastuponmybreastashaftoflightlikeMoses’ rod，andawokethereinafloodofcalm，butardent，sentimentswhichsetmelongingtoembracealltheeveningworld，andtopourintoitseargreat，eloquent，andneverpreviouslyvoiced，utterances。 Now，too，thefirmamentbegantospangleitselfwithstars；andsincetheearthisequallyastar，andispeopledwithhumankind，Ifoundmyselflongingtotraverseeveryroadthroughouttheuniverse，andtobehold，dispassionately，allthejoysandsorrowsoflife，andtojoinmyfellowsindrinkinghoneymixedwithgall。 Yetalsotherewasuponmeafeelingofhunger，fornotsincethemorninghadmywalletcontainedamorseloffood。Whichcircumstancehinderedtheprocessofthought，andintermittentlyvexedmewiththereflectionthat，richthoughistheearth，andmuchthencethoughhumanityhaswonbylabour，amanmayyetbeforcedtowalkhungry…… Suddenlythetrackswervedtotheright，andasthewallsofgrainopenedoutbeforeme，therelayrevealedasteppevalley，with，flowingatitsbottom，abluerivulet，andspanningtherivulet，anewly-constructedbridgewhich，withitsreflectioninthewater，lookedasyellowasthoughfashionedofrope。Onthefurthersideoftherivuletsomesevenwhitehutslaypressedagainstasmalldeclivitythatwascrownedwithacattle-fold，andamidthesilver-greytrunksofsometallblackpoplarswhoseshadows，wheretheyfelluponthehamlet，seemedassoftasdownaknee-halteredhorse，wasstumpingwithswishingtail。Andthoughtheair，redolentofsmokeandtarandhempensilage，wasfilledwiththesoundsofpoultrycacklingandababycryingduringtheprocessofbeingputtobed，thehubbubinnowayservedtodispeltheillusionthateverythinginthevalleywasbutpartofasketchexecutedbyanartistichand，andcastinsofttintswhichthesunhadsincecaused，insomemeasure，tofade。 Inthecentreofthesemi-circleofhutstherestoodabrick- kiln，andnexttoit，ahigh，narrowredchapelwhichresembledaone-eyedwatchman。AndasIstoodgazingatthesceneingeneral，acranestoopedwithafaintandraucouscry，andawomanwhohadcomeouttodrawwaterlookedasthough，assheraisedbarearmstostretchherselfupwards——cloud-like，andwhite-robedfromheadtofoot——shewereabouttofloatawayaltogether。 Also，nearthebrick-kilntherelayapatchofblackmudintheglistening，crumpled-velvetbluesubstanceofwhichtwourchinsoffiveandthreewere，breechless，andnakedfromthewaistupwards，kneadingyellowfeetamidasilenceasabsorbedasthoughtheironedesireinlifehadbeentoimpregnatethemudwiththeredradianceofthesun。Andsomuchdidthislaudabletaskinterestme，andengagemysympathyandattention，thatI stoppedtowatchthestrappingyoungsters，seeingthateveninmirethesunhasarightfulplace，forthereasonthatthedeeperthesunlight’spenetrationofthesoil，thebetterdoesthatsoilbecome，andthegreaterthebenefittothepeopledwellingonitssurface。 Viewedfromabove，thescenelay，asitwere，inthepalmofone’shand。True，bynomannerofmeanscouldsuchlowlyfarmcotsprovidemewithajob，butatleastshouldI，forthatevening，beabletoenjoytheluxuryofachatwiththecots’ kindlyinhabitants。Hence，with，inmymind，abaseandmischievousinclinationtoretailtothoseinhabitantstalesofthemarvellouskindofwhichIknewthemtostandwellnighasmuchinneedasofbread，Iresumedmyway，andapproachedthebridge。