第6章

“You’dbettermindyoudon’tgetintotroublewithsuchgoings-on，mygirl，“saidSofya。“DidyouhearhowMashenkawaskickedandlashedwiththereins？You’dbetterlookout，orthey’lltreatyouthesame。“

“Well，letthem！“

Varvaralaughedintoherkerchiefandwhispered:

“Ihavejustbeenwiththepriest’sson。“

“Nonsense！“

“Ihave！“

“It’sasin！“whisperedSofya。

“Well，letitbe。WhatdoIcare？Ifit’sasin，thenitisasin，butbetterbestruckdeadbythunderthanlivelikethis。

I’myoungandstrong，andI’veafilthycrookedhunchbackforahusband，worsethanDyudyahimself，cursehim！WhenIwasagirl，Ihadn’tbreadtoeat，orashoetomyfoot，andtogetawayfromthatwretchednessIwastemptedbyAlyoshka’smoney，andgotcaughtlikeafishinanet，andI’dratherhaveaviperformybedfellowthanthatscurvyAlyoshka。Andwhat’syourlife？Itmakesmesicktolookatit。YourFyodorsentyoupackingfromthefactoryandhe’stakenupwithanotherwoman。Theyhaverobbedyouofyourboyandmadeaslaveofhim。Youworklikeahorse，andneverhearakindword。I’dratherpineallmydaysanoldmaid，I’drathergethalfaroublefromthepriest’sson，I’dratherbegmybread，orthrowmyselfintothewell。

“It’sasin！“whisperedSofyaagain。

“Well，letitbe。“

Somewherebehindthechurchthesamethreevoices，twotenorsandabass，begansingingagainamournfulsong。Andagainthewordscouldnotbedistinguished。

“Theyarenotearlytobed，“Varvarasaid，laughing。

Andshebegantellinginawhisperofhermidnightwalkswiththepriest’sson，andofthestorieshehadtoldher，andofhiscomrades，andofthefunshehadwiththetravellerswhostayedinthehouse。Themournfulsongstirredalongingforlifeandfreedom。Sofyabegantolaugh；shethoughtitsinfulandterribleandsweettohearabout，andshefeltenviousandsorrythatshe，too，hadnotbeenasinnerwhenshewasyoungandpretty。

Inthechurchyardtheyheardtwelvestrokesbeatenonthewatchman’sboard。

“It’stimewewereasleep，“saidSofya，gettingup，“or，maybe，weshallcatchitfromDyudya。“

Theybothwentsoftlyintotheyard。

“IwentawaywithouthearingwhathewastellingaboutMashenka，“

saidVarvara，makingherselfabedunderthewindow。

“Shediedinprison，hesaid。Shepoisonedherhusband。“

VarvaralaydownbesideSofyaawhile，andsaidsoftly:

“I’dmakeawaywithmyAlyoshkaandneverregretit。“

“Youtalknonsense；Godforgiveyou。“

WhenSofyawasjustdroppingasleep，Varvara，comingclose，whisperedinherear:

“LetusgetridofDyudyaandAlyoshka！“

Sofyastartedandsaidnothing。Thensheopenedhereyesandgazedalongwhilesteadilyatthesky。

“Peoplewouldfindout，“shesaid。

“No，theywouldn’t。Dyudya’sanoldman，it’stimehediddie；

andthey’dsayAlyoshkadiedofdrink。“

“I’mafraidGodwouldchastiseus。“

“Well，letHim。

Bothlayawakethinkinginsilence。

“It’scold，“saidSofya，beginningtoshiverallover。“Itwillsoonbemorning。Areyouasleep？“

“No。Don’tyoumindwhatIsay，dear，“whisperedVarvara；

“Igetsomadwiththedamnedbrutes，Idon’tknowwhatIdosay。

Gotosleep，oritwillbedaylightdirectly。Gotosleep。“

Bothwerequietandsoontheyfellasleep。

Earlierthanallwoketheoldwoman。ShewakedupSofyaandtheywenttogetherintothecowshedtomilkthecows。ThehunchbackAlyoshkacameinhopelesslydrunkwithouthisconcertina；hisbreastandkneeshadbeeninthedustandstraw——hemusthavefallendownintheroad。Staggering，hewentintothecowshed，andwithoutundressingherolledintoasledgeandbegantosnoreatonce。Whenfirstthecrossesonthechurchandthenthewindowswereflashinginthelightoftherisingsun，andshadowsstretchedacrosstheyardoverthedewygrassfromthetreesandthetopofthewell，MatveySavitchjumpedupandbeganhurryingabout:

“Kuzka！getup！“heshouted。“It’stimetoputinthehorses！

Looksharp！“

Thebustleofmorningwasbeginning。AyoungJewessinabrowngownwithflouncesledahorseintotheyardtodrink。Thepulleyofthewellcreakedplaintively，thebucketknockedasitwentdown。

Kuzka，sleepy，tired，coveredwithdew，satupinthecart，lazilyputtingonhislittleovercoat，andlisteningtothedripofthewaterfromthebucketintothewellasheshiveredwiththecold。

“Auntie！“shoutedMatveySavitchtoSofya，“tellmyladtohurryupandtoharnessthehorses！“

AndDyudyaatthesameinstantshoutedfromthewindow:

“Sofya，takeafarthingfromtheJewessforthehorse’sdrink！

They’realwaysinhere，themangycreatures！

Inthestreetsheepwererunningupanddown，baaing；thepeasantwomenwereshoutingattheshepherd，whileheplayedhispipes，crackedhiswhip，oransweredtheminathicksleepybass。Threesheepstrayedintotheyard，andnotfindingthegateagain，pushedatthefence。

Varvarawaswakedbythenoise，andbundlingherbeddingupinherarms，shewentintothehouse。

“Youmightatleastdrivethesheepout！“theoldwomanbawledafterher，“mylady！“

“Idaresay！AsifIweregoingtoslaveforyouHerods！“

mutteredVarvara，goingintothehouse。

Dyudyacameoutofthehousewithhisaccountsinhishands，satdownonthestep，andbeganreckoninghowmuchthetravellerowedhimforthenight’slodging，oats，andwateringhishorses。

“Youchargeprettyheavilyfortheoats，mygoodman，“saidMatveySavitch。

“Ifit’stoomuch，don’ttakethem。There’snocompulsion，merchant。“

Whenthetravellerswerereadytostart，theyweredetainedforaminute。Kuzkahadlosthiscap。

“Littleswine，wheredidyouputit？“MatveySavitchroaredangrily。“Whereisit？“

Kuzka’sfacewasworkingwithterror；heranupanddownnearthecart，andnotfindingitthere，rantothegateandthentotheshed。TheoldwomanandSofyahelpedhimlook。

“I’llpullyourearsoff！“yelledMatveySavitch。“Dirtybrat！“

Thecapwasfoundatthebottomofthecart。

Kuzkabrushedthehayoffitwithhissleeve，putiton，andtimidlyhecrawledintothecart，stillwithanexpressionofterroronhisfaceasthoughhewereafraidofablowfrombehind。

MatveySavitchcrossedhimself。Thedrivergaveatugatthereinsandthecartrolledoutoftheyard。

ITwasthreeo’clockinthenight。Thepostman，readytosetoff，inhiscapandhiscoat，witharustyswordinhishand，wasstandingnearthedoor，waitingforthedrivertofinishputtingthemailbagsintothecartwhichhadjustbeenbroughtroundwiththreehorses。Thesleepypostmastersatathistable，whichwaslikeacounter；hewasfillingupaformandsaying:

“Mynephew，thestudent，wantstogotothestationatonce。Solookhere，Ignatyev，lethimgetintothemailcartandtakehimwithyoutothestation:thoughitisagainsttheregulationstotakepeoplewiththemail，what’sonetodo？It’sbetterforhimtodrivewithyoufreethanformetohirehorsesforhim。“

“Ready！“theyheardashoutfromtheyard。

“Well，gothen，andGodbewithyou，“saidthepostmaster。“Whichdriverisgoing？“

“SemyonGlazov。“

“Come，signthereceipt。“

Thepostmansignedthereceiptandwentout。Attheentranceofthepost-officetherewasthedarkoutlineofacartandthreehorses。Thehorseswerestandingstillexceptthatoneofthetracehorseskeptuneasilyshiftingfromonelegtotheotherandtossingitshead，makingthebellclangfromtimetotime。Thecartwiththemailbagslookedlikeapatchofdarkness。Twosilhouettesweremovinglazilybesideit:thestudentwithaportmanteauinhishandandadriver。Thelatterwassmokingashortpipe；thelightofthepipemovedaboutinthedarkness，dyingawayandflaringupagain；foraninstantitlightedupabitofasleeve，thenashaggymoustacheandbigcopper-rednose，thenstern-looking，overhangingeyebrows。Thepostmanpresseddownthemailbagswithhishands，laidhisswordonthemandjumpedintothecart。Thestudentclamberedirresolutelyinafterhim，andaccidentallytouchinghimwithhiselbow，saidtimidlyandpolitely:“Ibegyourpardon。“