amverygratefulforsuchsolicitudefordecentpeople’swelfare。
Butinanycase，whetheritisnastythereornice，fivehundredroublesIhaven’tgot。Ihaven’tpilferedgovernmentmoney。I
haven’texploitedthenatives，Ihaven’ttraffickedincontraband，Ihavefloggednoonetodeath，sojudgewhetherI
havetherighttotravelfirst-classandevenlesstoreckonmyselfoftheeducatedclass？Butyouwon’tcatchthemwithlogic。Onehastoresorttodeception。Iputonaworkman’scoatandhighboots，Iassumedadrunken，servilemugandwenttotheagents:’Giveusalittleticket，yourhonour，’saidI。
“Why，whatclassdoyoubelongto？“askedasailor。
“Clerical。Myfatherwasanhonestpriest，healwaystoldthegreatonesoftheworldthetruthtotheirfaces；andhehadagreatdealtoputupwithinconsequence。“
PavelIvanitchwasexhaustedwithtalkingandgaspedforbreath，butstillwenton:
“Yes，Ialwaystellpeoplethetruthtotheirfaces。Iamnotafraidofanyoneoranything。Thereisavastdifferencebetweenmeandallofyouinthatrespect。Youareindarkness，youareblind，crushed；youseenothingandwhatyoudoseeyoudon’tunderstand。Youaretoldthewindbreaksloosefromitschain，thatyouarebeasts，Petchenyegs，andyoubelieveit；theypunchyouintheneck，youkisstheirhands；someanimalinasable-linedcoatrobsyouandthentipsyoufifteenkopecksandyou:’Letmekissyourhand，sir。’Youarepariahs，pitifulpeople。Iamadifferentsort。Myeyesareopen，Iseeitallasclearlyasahawkoraneaglewhenitfloatsovertheearth，andIunderstanditall。Iamalivingprotest。Iseeirresponsibletyranny——Iprotest。Iseecantandhypocrisy——I
protest。Iseeswinetriumphant——Iprotest。AndIcannotbesuppressed，noSpanishInquisitioncanmakemeholdmytongue。
No。CutoutmytongueandIwouldprotestindumbshow；
shutmeupinacellar——Iwillshoutfromittobeheardhalfamileaway，orIwillstarvemyselftodeaththattheymayhaveanotherweightontheirblackconsciences。KillmeandIwillhauntthemwithmyghost。Allmyacquaintancessaytome:’Youareamostinsufferableperson，PavelIvanitch。’Iamproudofsuchareputation。IhaveservedthreeyearsinthefarEast，andIshallberememberedthereforahundredyears:Ihadrowswitheveryone。MyfriendswritetomefromRussia，’Don’tcomeback，’
buthereIamgoingbacktospitethemyes。ThatislifeasIunderstandit。Thatiswhatonecancalllife。“
Gusevwaslookingatthelittlewindowandwasnotlistening。A
boatwasswayingonthetransparent，soft，turquoisewaterallbathedinhot，dazzlingsunshine。InittherewerenakedChinamenholdingupcageswithcanariesandcallingout:
“Itsings，itsings！“
Anotherboatknockedagainstthefirst；thesteamcutterdartedby。AndthentherecameanotherboatwithafatChinamansittinginit，eatingricewithlittlesticks。
Languidlythewaterheaved，languidlythewhiteseagullsfloatedoverit。
“Ishouldliketogivethatfatfellowoneintheneck，“thoughtGusev，gazingatthestoutChinaman，withayawn。
Hedozedoff，anditseemedtohimthatallnaturewasdozing，too。Timeflewswiftlyby；imperceptiblythedaypassed，imperceptiblythedarknesscameon。Thesteamerwasnolongerstandingstill，butmovingonfurther。
Twodayspassed，PavelIvanitchlaydowninsteadofsittingup；
hiseyeswereclosed，hisnoseseemedtohavegrownsharper。
“PavelIvanitch，“Gusevcalledtohim。“Hey，PavelIvanitch。“
PavelIvanitchopenedhiseyesandmovedhislips。
“Areyoufeelingbad？“
“Noit’snothing“answeredPavelIvanitch，gasping。
“Nothing；onthecontrary——Iamratherbetter。YouseeI
canliedown。Iamalittleeasier。“
“Well，thankGodforthat，PavelIvanitch。“
“WhenIcomparemyselfwithyouIamsorryforyoupoorfellow。Mylungsareallright，itisonlyastomachcough。
Icanstandhell，letalonetheRedSea。BesidesItakeacriticalattitudetomyillnessandtothemedicinestheygivemeforit。Whileyouyouareindarkness。It’shardforyou，very，veryhard！“
Theshipwasnotrolling，itwascalm，butashotandstiflingasabath-house；itwasnotonlyhardtospeakbutevenhardtolisten。Gusevhuggedhisknees，laidhisheadonthemandthoughtofhishome。Goodheavens，whatareliefitwastothinkofsnowandcoldinthatstiflingheat！Youdriveinasledge，allatoncethehorsestakefrightatsomethingandbolt。
Regardlessoftheroad，theditches，theravines，theydashlikemadthings，rightthroughthevillage，overthepondbythepotteryworks，outacrosstheopenfields。“Holdon，“thepotteryhandsandthepeasantsshout，meetingthem。“Holdon。“Butwhy？
Letthekeen，coldwindbeatinone’sfaceandbiteone’shands；
letthelumpsofsnow，kickedupbythehorses’hoofs，fallonone’scap，onone’sback，downone’scollar，onone’schest；lettherunnersringonthesnow，andthetracesandthesledgebesmashed，deucetakethemoneandall！Andhowdelightfulwhenthesledgeupsetsandyougoflyingfulltiltintoadrift，facedownwardsinthesnow，andthenyougetupwhitealloverwithiciclesonyourmoustaches；nocap，nogloves，yourbeltundone。
Peoplelaugh，thedogsbark。
PavelIvanitchhalfopenedoneeye，lookedatGusevwithit，andaskedsoftly:
“Gusev，didyourcommandingofficersteal？“
“Whocantell，PavelIvanitch！Wecan’tsay，itdidn’treachus。“
Andafterthatalongtimepassedinsilence。Gusevbrooded，mutteredsomethingindelirium，andkeptdrinkingwater；itwashardforhimtotalkandhardtolisten，andhewasafraidofbeingtalkedto。Anhourpassed，asecond，athird；eveningcameon，thennight，buthedidnotnoticeit。Hestillsatdreamingofthefrost。
Therewasasoundasthoughsomeonecameintothehospital，andvoiceswereaudible，butafewminutespassedandallwasstillagain。
“TheKingdomofHeavenandeternalpeace，“saidthesoldierwithhisarminasling。“Hewasanuncomfortableman。“
“What？“askedGusev。“Who？“
“Heisdead，theyhavejustcarriedhimup。“
“Oh，well，“mutteredGusev，yawning，“theKingdomofHeavenbehis。“
“Whatdoyouthink？“thesoldierwithhisarminaslingaskedGusev。“WillhebeintheKingdomofHeavenornot？“
“Whoisityouaretalkingabout？“
“PavelIvanitch。“
“Hewillbehesufferedsolong。Andthereisanotherthing，hebelongedtotheclergy，andthepriestsalwayshavealotofrelations。Theirprayerswillsavehim。“
ThesoldierwiththeslingsatdownonahammocknearGusevandsaidinanundertone:
“Andyou，Gusev，arenotlongforthisworld。YouwillnevergettoRussia。“
“Didthedoctororhisassistantsayso？“askedGusev。
“Itisn’tthattheysaidso，butonecanseeit。Onecanseedirectlywhenaman’sgoingtodie。Youdon’teat，youdon’tdrink；it’sdreadfultoseehowthinyou’vegot。It’sconsumption，infact。Isayit，nottoupsetyou，butbecausemaybeyouwouldliketohavethesacramentandextremeunction。
Andifyouhaveanymoneyyouhadbettergiveittotheseniorofficer。“
“Ihaven’twrittenhome“Gusevsighed。“Ishalldieandtheywon’tknow。“
“They’llhearofit，“thesicksailorbroughtoutinabassvoice。“Whenyoudietheywillputitdowninthe_Gazette，_atOdessatheywillsendinareporttothecommandingofficerthereandhewillsendittotheparishorsomewhere。
Gusevbegantobeuneasyaftersuchaconversationandtofeelavagueyearning。Hedrankwater——itwasnotthat；hedraggedhimselftothewindowandbreathedthehot，moistair——itwasnotthat；hetriedtothinkofhome，ofthefrost——itwasnotthat。Atlastitseemedtohimoneminutelongerinthewardandhewouldcertainlyexpire。
“It’sstifling，mates“hesaid。“I’llgoondeck。Helpmeup，forChrist’ssake。“