Steamhissedandpanted。Atintervalstheengine-roombelljarreduponthecar。Atintervals，also，thetiller-chainsslidtoandfrowithadull，rattlingsound。Yet，owingtothesomnolentstillnesssettledupontheriver，thesesoundsescaped，failedtocatchone’sattention。
Throughthedrynessofthesummerthewaterwaslow。
Periodically，inthesteamer’sbow，adeckhandlikeaking，amanwithalean，，yellow，black-avisedfaceandapairoflanguishingeyes，threwoverboardapolishedlogasintonesofmeltingmelancholyhechanted:
“Se-em，se-em，shest！“
[“Seven，seven，six！“thedepthofwater，reckonedinsazheniorfathoms]
Itwasasthoughhewerewailing:
“Seyem，seyem，ayest-NISHEVO“
[Letuseat，letuseat，buttoeatthereis——nothing]
Meanwhile，thesteamerkeptturningherstearlet-like[Thestearletisafishofthesalmonspecies]prowdeliberatelyandalternatelytowardseitherbankasthebargeyawedbehindher，andthegreyhawserkepttauteningandquivering，andsendingoutshowersofgoldandsilversparkles。Everandanon，too，thecaptainonthebridgekeptshouting，hoarselythroughaspeaking-trumpet:
“About，there！“
Underthestemofthebargeawaveranwhich，dividedintoapairofwhitewings，serpentinedawaytowardseitherbank。
Inthemeadoweddistancepeatseemedtobebeingburnt，andovertheblackforesttherehadgatheredanopalescentcloudofsmokewhichalsosuffusedtheneighbouringmarshes。
Totheright，thebankoftherivertoweredupintolofty，precipitous，clayeyslopesintersectedwithravineswhereinaspensandbirchesfoundshelter。
Everythingashorehadaboutitarestful，sultry，desertedlook。
Eveninthedullblue，torridskytherewasnoughtsaveawhite-hotsun。
Inendlessvistaweremeadowsstuddedwithtrees——treessleepinginlonelyisolation，and，inplaces，surmountedwitheitherthecrossofaruralchurchwhichlookedlikeadaystarorthesailsofawindmill；whilefurtherbackfromthebankslaythetissueclothsofripeningcrops，with，hereandthere，ahumanhabitation。
Throughout，thescenewasindistinct。Everythinginitwascalm，touchinglysimple，intimate，intelligible，gratefultothesoul。
Somuchsothatasonecontemplatedtheslowly-varyingvistaspresentedbytheloftierbank，theimmutablestretchesofmeadowland，andthegreen，timbereddance-ringswheretheforestapproachedtheriver，togazeatitselfinthewaterymirror，andrecedeagainintothepeacefuldistance；asonegazedatallthisonecouldnotbutreflectthatnowhereelsecouldaspotmoresimply，morekindly，morebeautifulbefound，thanthesepeacefulshoresofthegreatriver。
Yetalreadyafewshrubsbytheriver’smarginwerebeginningtodisplayyellowleaves，thoughthelandscapeasawholewassmilingthedoubtful，meditativesmileofayoungbridewho，abouttobearherfirstchild，isfeelingatoncenervousanddelightedattheprospect。
Thehourwaspastnoon，andthethird-classpassengers，languidwithfatigueinducedbytheheat，wereengagedindrinkingeitherteaorbeer。Seatedmostlyonthebulwarksofthesteamer，theysilentlyscannedthebanks，whilethedeckquivered，crockeryclatteredatthebuffet，andthedeckhandinthebowssighedsoporifically:
Six！Six！Six-and-a-half！
Fromtheengine-roomagrimystokeremerged。Rollingalong，andscrapinghisbarefeetaudiblyagainstthedeck，heapproachedtheboatswain’scabin，wherethesaidboatswain，afair-haired，fair-beardedmanfromKostromawasstandinginthedoorway。Theseniorofficialcontractedhisruggedeyesquizzically，andinquired:
“Whitherinsuchahurry？“
“TopickabonewithMitka。“
“Good！“
Withawaveofhisblackhandthestokerresumedhisway，whiletheboatswain，yawning，felltocastinghiseyesabouthim。Onalockernearthecompanionoftheengine-roomasmallmaninabuffpea-jacket，anewcap，andapairofbootsonwhichtherewereclotsofdriedmud，wasseated。
Throughlackofdiversiontheboatswainbegantofeelinclinedtohectorsomebody，socriedsternlytothemaninquestion:
“Hithere，chawbacon！“
Themanonthelockerturnedabout——turnednervously，andmuchasabullockturns。Thatistosay，heturnedwithhiswholebody。
“WhyhaveyougoneandputyourselfTHERE？“inquiredtheboatswain。“ThoughthereisanoticetotellyouNOTtositthere，itistherethatyoumustgoandsit！Can’tyouread？“
Rising，thepassengerinspectednotthenotice，butthelocker。
Thenhereplied:
“Read？Yes，ICANread。“
“Thenwhysittherewhereyououghtn’tto？“
“Icannotseeanynotice。“
“Well，it’shotthereanyway，andthesmellofoilcomesupfromtheengines……Whencehaveyoucome？“
“FromKashira。“
“Longfromhome？“
“Threeweeks，about。“
“Anyrainatyourplace？“
“No。Butwhy？“
“Howcomeyourbootsaresomuddy？“
Thepassengerloweredhishead，extendedcautiouslyfirstonefoot，andthentheother，scrutinisedthemboth，andreplied:
“Yousee，theyarenotmyboots。“
Witharoaroflaughterthatcausedhisbrilliantbeardtoprojectfromhischin，theboatswainretorted:
“Ithinkyoumustdrinkabit。“
Thepassengersaidnothingmore，butretreatedquietly，andwithshortstrides，tothestem。Fromthefactthatthesleevesofhispea-jacketreachedfarbelowhiswrists，itwasclearthatthegarmenthadoriginatedfromtheshouldersofanotherman。
Asfortheboatswain，onnotingthecircumspectionanddiffidencewithwhichthepassengerwalked，hefrowned，suckedathisbeard，approachedasailorwhowasengagedinvigorouslyscrubbingthebrassonthedoorofthecaptain’scabinwithanakedpalm，andsaidinanundertone:
“Didyouhappentonoticethegaitofthatlittlemanthereinthelightpea-jacketanddirtyboots？“
“Idid。“
“Thenseehere。Dokeepaneyeuponhim。“
“Butwhy？Isheabadlot？“
“Somethinglikeit，Ithink。“
“Iwillthen。“
Atatablenearthehatchwayofthefirst-classcabin，afatmaningreywasdrinkingbeer。Alreadyhehadreachedastateofmoderatefuddlement，forhiseyeswereprotrudingsightlesslyandstaringunwinkinglyattheoppositewall。Meanwhile，anumberofflieswereswarminginthestickypuddlesonthetable，orelsecrawlingoverhisgreyishbeardandthebrick-redskinofhismotionlessfeatures。
Theboatswainwinkedinhisdirection，andremarked:
“Half-seasover，HEis。“
“’Tishisway，“apockmarked，eyebrow-lesssailorresponded。
Herethedrunkenmansneezed:withtheresultthatacloudofflieswereblownoverthetable。Lookingatthem，andsighingashiscompanionhaddone，theboatswainthoughtfullyobserved:
“Why，heregularlysneezesflies，eh？“
Theresting-placewhichImyselfhadselectedwasastackoffirewoodoverthestokeholeshoot；andasIlayuponitIcouldseethehillsgraduallydarkeningthewaterwithamourningveilascalmlytheyadvancedtomeetthesteamer；whileinthemeadows，alastlingeringglowofthesunset’sradiancewasreddeningthestemsofthebirches，andmakingthenewlymendedroofofahutlookasthoughitwerecasedinredfustian——
communicatingtoeverythingelseinthevicinityasemblanceoffloatingamidfire——andeffacingalloutline，andcausingthesceneasawholetodissolveintostreaksofredandorangeandblue，savewhere，onahillabovethehut，ablackgroveoffirsstoodthrownintotense，keen，andclear-cutrelief。