“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。