第60章
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  AsIdidso,therearosefromtheground-levelananimatedclodofearthintheshapeofasturdyindividual。Unwashedandunshaven,hehadhangingonhisframeanopencanvasshirt,greywithdust,andbaggybluebreeches。

  “Goodevening,“Isaidtothefellow。

  “Iwishyouthesame,“hereplied。“Whitherareyoubound?“

  “Firstofall,whatisthenameofthisriver?“

  “Whatisitsname?Why,itistheSagaidak,ofcourse。“

  Ontheman’slarge,roundheadtherewasashockofbristling,grizzledcurls,whilependenttothemoustachebelowitwereendslikethoseofthemoustacheofaChinaman。Also,ashissmalleyesscannedmewithanairofimpudentdistrust,Icoulddetectthattheywereengagedincountingtheholesanddamsinmyraiment。Onlyafteralongintervaldidhedrawadeepbreathasfromhispocketheproducedaclaypipewithacanemouthpiece,and,knittinghisbrowsattentively,felltopeeringintothepipe’sblackbowl。Thenhesaid:

  “Haveyoumatches?“

  Irepliedintheaffirmative。

  “Andsometobacco?“

  Forawhilehecontinuedtocontemplatethesunwherethatluminaryhungsuspendedaboveacloud-bankbeforefinallydeclining。Thenheremarked:

  “Givemeapinchofthetobacco。Asformatches,Ihavesome。“

  Sobothofuslitup;afterwhichherestedhiselbowsuponthebalustradeofthebridge,leantbackagainstthecentralstanchions,andforsometimecontinuedmerelytoemitandinhalebluecoilsofsmoke。Thenhisnosewrinkled,andheexpectorated。

  “Muscovitetobaccoisit?“heinquired。

  “No——Roman,Italian。“

  “Oh!“Andasthewrinklesofhisnosestraightenedthemselvesagainheadded:“Thenofcourseitisgoodtobacco。“

  Toenteradwellinginadvanceofone’shostisabreachofdecorum;wherefore,IfoundmyselfforcedtoremainstandingwhereIwasuntilmyinterlocutor’staleofquestionsastomypreciseidentity,myexactplaceoforigin,mytruedestination,andmyrealreasonsfortravellingshouldtardilywinitswaytoafinish。Greatlytheprocessvexedme,forIwaseager,rather,tolearnwhatthesteppesettlementmighthaveinstoreformydelectation。

  “Work?“thefellowdrawledthroughhisteeth。“Ohno,thereisnoworktobegothere。Howcouldtherebeatthisseasonoftheyear?“

  Turningaside,hespatintotherivulet。

  Onthefurtherbankofthelatter,agoosewasstruttingimportantlyattheheadofastringofround,fluffy,yellowgoslings,whilstdrivingthebroodweretwolittlegirls——theoneachildbutlittlelargerthanthegooseitself,dressedinaredfrock,andarmedwithaswitch;andtheotheroneayoungsterabsolutelyofasizewiththebird,paleoffeature,plumpofbody,bowedofleg,andgraveofexpression。

  “Ufim!“cameatthismomentinthestridentvoiceofawomanunseen,butincensed;uponwhichmycompanionbestoweduponmeasidelongnod,andmutteredwithanairofappreciation:

  “THERE’Slungsforyou!“

  Whereafter,hefelltotwitchingthetoesofachafedandblackenedfoot,andtogazingattheirnails。Hisnextquestionwas:

  “Areyou,maybe,ascholar?“

  “Whydoyouask?“

  “Because,ifyouare,youmightliketoreadtheBookoveracorpse。“

  Andsoproud,apparently,washeoftheproposalthatafaintsmilecrossedhisflaccidcountenance。

  “Yousee,itwouldbework,“headdedwithhisbrowneyesveiled,“whilst,inaddition,youwouldbepaidtenkopecksforyourtrouble,andallowedtokeeptheshroud。“

  “Andshouldalsobegivensomesupper,Isuppose?“

  “Yes——andshouldalsobegivensomesupper。“

  “Whereisthecorpselying?“

  “Inmyownhut。Shallwegothere?“

  Offweset。Enrouteweheardoncemoreastridentshoutof:

  “Ufi-i-im!“

  Asweproceeded,shadowsoftreesglidedalongthesoftroadtomeetus,whilebehindaclumpofbushesonthefurtherbankoftherivuletsomechildrenwereshoutingattheirplay。Thus,whatwiththechildren’svoices,andthepurlingofthewater,andthenoiseofsomeoneplaningapieceofwood,theairseemedfulloftremulous,suspendedsound。Meanwhile,myhostsaidtomewithadrawl:

  “Oncewedidhaveareaderhere。Anoldwomanshewas,aregularoldwitchwhoatlasthadtoberemovedtothetownforamputationofthefeet。Theymightwellhavecutoffhertonguetoowhilsttheywereaboutit,since,thoughusefulenough,shecouldrailindeed!“

  Presentlyablackpuppy,acreatureofaboutthesizeofatoad,cameambling,three-leggedfashion,underourfeet。Uponthatitstiffeneditstail,growled,andsnuffedtheairwithitstinypinknose。

  Nexttherepoppedupfromsomewhereoranotherabarefootedyoungwoman。Clappingherhands,shebawled:

  “Here,youUfim,howIhavebeencallingforyou,andcallingforyou!“

  “Eh?Well,Ineverheardyou。“

  “Wherewereyou,then?“

  Bywayofreply,myconductorsilentlypointedinmydirectionwiththestemofhispipe。Thenheledmeintotheforecourtofthehutnexttotheonewhencetheyoungwomanhadissued,whilstsheproceededtoprojectfreshvolleysofabuse,andfreshexpressionsofaccentuatednon-amiability。

  Inthelittledoorwayofthedwellingnexttohers,wefoundseatedtwooldwomen。Oneofthemwasasrotundanddishevelledasabattered,leathernball,andtheotheronewasawomanbonyandcrookedofback,swarthyofskin,andirritableoffeature。

  Atthewomen’sfeetlay,lollingoutarag-liketongue,ashaggydogwhich,redandpatheticofeye,couldboastofaframenearlyaslargeasasheep’s。

  Firstofall,Ufimrelatedindetailhowhehadfalleninwithmyself。ThenhestatedthepurposeforwhichheconceiveditwaspossiblethatImightproveuseful。Andallthetimethathewasspeaking,twopairsofeyescontemplatedhiminsilence;

  until,onthecompletionofhisrecital,oneoftheoldwomengaveajerktoathin,darkneck,andtheotherolddameinvitedmetotakeaseatwhilstshepreparedsomesupper。

  Amidthetangledherbageoftheforecourt,aspotovergrownwithmallowandbrambleshoots,therewasstandingacartwhich,lackingwheels,haditsaxle-pointsdarkwithmildew。Presentlyaherdofcattlewasdrivenpastthehut,andoverthehamletthereseemedtoarise,drift,andfloat,aperfectwaveofsound。

  Also,aseveningdescended,Icouldseeanever-increasingnumberofgreyshadowscomecreepingforthfromtheforecourt’srecesses,andoverlayinganddarkeningtheturf。

  “Onedayallofusmustdie,“remarkedUfim,withempressementashetappedthebowlofhispipeagainstawall。

  Thenextmomentthebarefooted,red-cheekedyoungwomanshowedherselfatthegate,andaskedintonesratherlessvehementthanrecently:

  “Areyoucoming,orareyounot?“

  “Presently,“repliedUfim。“Onethingatatime。“

  ForsupperIwasgivenahunchofbreadandabowlofmilk;

  whereuponthedogrose,laiditsaged,slobberingmuzzleuponmyknee,andgazedintomyfacewithitsdimeyesasthoughitweresaying,“MayItoohaveabite?“

  Next,likeaneventidebreezeamongwitheredherbage,therefloatedacrosstheforecourtthehoarsevoiceofthecrook-backedoldwoman。

  “Letuspray,“shesaid。“OhGod,takeawayfromusallsorrow,andreceivethereforerequitementintwofoldmeasure!“

  Assherecitedtheprayerwithamienasdarkasfate,thesupplicantrolledherlongneckfromsidetoside,andnoddedherophidian-shapedheadinaccordancewithasortofregular,lethargicrhythm。NextIheardsinktoearth,atmyfeet,somesenilewordsutteredinasortofsingsong。

  “Somefolkneedworkjustasmuchastheywish,andothersneeddonoworkatall。YetOURfolkhavetoworkbeyondtheirstrength,andtoworkwithoutanyrecompenseforthetoilwhichtheyundergo。“

  Uponthisthesmalleroftheoldcroneswhispered:

  “ButtheMotherofGodwillrecompensethem。Sherecompenseseveryone。“

  Thenadeadsilencefell——aweightysilence,asilenceseeminglyfraughtwithmattersofimport,andinspiringinoneanassurancethatpresentlytherewouldbebroughtforthimpressivereflections——therewouldreachtheearwordsofmark。

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