第9章

Intheeveningtheengineersentfiveroublesforthedamage，andthetwohorses，theponyandthebull-calf，withoutbeingfedorgivenwater，returnedhome，theirheadshangingwithaguiltyairasthoughtheywereconvictedcriminals。

OngettingthefiveroublestheLytchkovs，fatherandson，thevillageelderandVolodka，puntedovertheriverinaboatandwenttoahamletontheothersidewheretherewasatavern，andtherehadalongcarousal。TheirsingingandtheshoutingoftheyoungerLytchkovcouldbeheardfromthevillage。Theirwomenwereuneasyanddidnotsleepallnight。Rodiondidnotsleepeither。

“It’sabadbusiness，“hesaid，sighingandturningfromsidetoside。“Thegentlemanwillbeangry，andthentherewillbetrouble。Theyhaveinsultedthegentleman。Oh，they’veinsultedhim。It’sabadbusiness。“

Ithappenedthatthepeasants，Rodionamongstthem，wentintotheirforesttodividetheclearingsformowing，andastheywerereturninghometheyweremetbytheengineer。Hewaswearingaredcottonshirtandhighboots；asetterdogwithitslongtonguehangingout，followedbehindhim。

“Good-day，brothers，“hesaid。

Thepeasantsstoppedandtookofftheirhats。

“Ihavelongwantedtohaveatalkwithyou，friends，“hewenton。“Thisiswhatitis。Eversincetheearlyspringyourcattlehavebeeninmycopseandgardeneveryday。Everythingistrampleddown；thepigshaverootedupthemeadow，areruiningeverythinginthekitchengarden，andalltheundergrowthinthecopseisdestroyed。Thereisnogettingonwithyourherdsmen；

oneasksthemcivilly，andtheyarerude。DamageisdoneonmyestateeverydayandIdonothing——Idon’tfineyouormakeacomplaint；meanwhileyouimpoundedmyhorsesandmybullcalfandexactedfiveroubles。Wasthatright？Isthatneighbourly？“hewenton，andhisfacewassosoftandpersuasive，andhisexpressionwasnotforbidding。“Isthatthewaydecentpeoplebehave？Aweekagooneofyourpeoplecutdowntwooaksaplingsinmycopse。YouhaveduguptheroadtoEresnevo，andnowIhavetogotwomilesround。Whydoyouinjuremeateverystep？WhatharmhaveIdoneyou？ForGod’ssake，tellme！MywifeandIdoourutmosttolivewithyouinpeaceandharmony；wehelpthepeasantsaswecan。Mywifeisakind，warm-heartedwoman；sheneverrefusesyouhelp。Thatisherdream——tobeofusetoyouandyourchildren。Yourewarduswithevilforourgood。Youareunjust，myfriends。Thinkofthat。Iaskyouearnestlytothinkitover。Wetreatyouhumanely；repayusinthesamecoin。“

Heturnedandwentaway。Thepeasantsstoodalittlelonger，putontheircapsandwalkedaway。Rodion，whoalwaysunderstoodeverythingthatwassaidtohiminsomepeculiarwayofhisown，heavedasighandsaid:

“Wemustpay。’Repayincoin，myfriends’hesaid。“

Theywalkedtothevillageinsilence。OnreachinghomeRodionsaidhisprayer，tookoffhisboots，andsatdownonthebenchbesidehiswife。Stepanidaandhealwayssatsidebysidewhentheywereathome，andalwayswalkedsidebysideinthestreet；

theyateandtheydrankandtheysleptalwaystogether，andtheoldertheygrewthemoretheylovedoneanother。Itwashotandcrowdedintheirhut，andtherewerechildreneverywhere——onthefloors，inthewindows，onthestove。InspiteofheradvancedyearsStepanidawasstillbearingchildren，andnow，lookingatthecrowdofchildren，itwashardtodistinguishwhichwereRodion’sandwhichwereVolodka’s。Volodka’swife，Lukerya，aplainyoungwomanwithprominenteyesandanoselikethebeakofabird，waskneadingdoughinatub；Volodkawassittingonthestovewithhislegshanging。

“OntheroadnearNikita’sbuckwheattheengineerwithhisdogRodionbegan，afterarest，scratchinghisribsandhiselbow。“’Youmustpay，’sayshe’coin，’sayshe。

Coinornocoin，weshallhavetocollecttenkopecksfromeveryhut。We’veoffendedthegentlemanverymuch。Iamsorryforhim。

“We’velivedwithoutabridge，“saidVolodka，notlookingatanyone，“andwedon’twantone。“

“Whatnext；thebridgeisagovernmentbusiness。“

“Wedon’twantit。“

“Youropinionisnotasked。Whatisittoyou？“

“’Youropinionisnotasked，’“Volodkamimickedhim。“Wedon’twanttodriveanywhere；whatdowewantwithabridge？Ifwehaveto，wecancrossbytheboat。“

Someonefromtheyardoutsideknockedatthewindowsoviolentlythatitseemedtoshakethewholehut。

“IsVolodkaathome？“heheardthevoiceoftheyoungerLytchkov。

“Volodka，comeout，comealong。“

Volodkajumpeddownoffthestoveandbeganlookingforhiscap。

“Don’tgo，Volodka，“saidRodiondiffidently。“Don’tgowiththem，son。Youarefoolish，likealittlechild；theywillteachyounogood；don’tgo！“

“Don’tgo，son，“saidStepanida，andsheblinkedasthoughabouttoshedtears。“Ibettheyarecallingyoutothetavern。“

“’Tothetavern，’“Volodkamimicked。

“You’llcomebackdrunkagain，youcurrishHerod，“saidLukerya，lookingathimangrily。“Goalong，goalong，andmayyouburnupwithvodka，youtaillessSatan！“

“Youholdyourtongue，“shoutedVolodka。

“They’vemarriedmetoafool，they’veruinedme，alucklessorphan，youred-headeddrunkard“wailedLukerya，wipingherfacewithahandcoveredwithdough。“IwishIhadneverseteyesonyou。“

Volodkagaveherablowontheearandwentoff。

ElenaIvanovnaandherlittledaughtervisitedthevillageonfoot。Theywereoutforawalk。ItwasaSunday，andthepeasantwomenandgirlswerewalkingupanddownthestreetintheirbrightly-coloureddresses。RodionandStepanida，sittingsidebysideattheirdoor，bowedandsmiledtoElenaIvanovnaandherlittledaughterastoacquaintances。Fromthewindowsmorethanadozenchildrenstaredatthem；theirfacesexpressedamazementandcuriosity，andtheycouldbeheardwhispering:

“TheKutcherovladyhascome！TheKutcherovlady！“

“Good-morning，“saidElenaIvanovna，andshestopped；shepaused，andthenasked:“Well，howareyougettingon？“

“Wegetalongallright，thankGod，“answeredRodion，speakingrapidly。“Tobesurewegetalong。“

“Thelifewelead！“smiledStepanida。“Youcanseeourpovertyyourself，dearlady！Thefamilyisfourteensoulsinall，andonlytwobread-winners。Wearesupposedtobeblacksmiths，butwhentheybringusahorsetoshoewehavenocoal，nothingtobuyitwith。Weareworriedtodeath，lady，“shewenton，andlaughed。“Oh，oh，weareworriedtodeath。“

ElenaIvanovnasatdownattheentranceand，puttingherarmroundherlittlegirl，ponderedsomething，andjudgingfromthelittlegirl’sexpression，melancholythoughtswerestrayingthroughhermind，too；asshebroodedsheplayedwiththesumptuouslaceontheparasolshehadtakenoutofhermother’shands。

“Poverty，“saidRodion，“agreatdealofanxiety——youseenoendtoit。Here，Godsendsnorainourlifeisnoteasy，thereisnodenyingit。“

“Youhaveahardtimeinthislife，“saidElenaIvanovna，“butintheotherworldyouwillbehappy。“

Rodiondidnotunderstandher，andsimplycoughedintohisclenchedhandbywayofreply。Stepanidasaid:

“Dearlady，therichmenwillbeallrightinthenextworld，too。Therichputupcandles，payforservices；therichgivetobeggars，butwhatcanthepoormando？Hehasnotimetomakethesignofthecross。Heisthebeggarofbeggarshimself；howcanhethinkofhissoul？Andmanysinscomefrompoverty；fromtroublewesnarlatoneanotherlikedogs，wehaven’tagoodwordtosaytooneanother，andallsortsofthingshappen，dearlady——Godforbid！Itseemswehavenoluckinthisworldnorthenext。Alltheluckhasfallentotherich。“

Shespokegaily；shewasevidentlyusedtotalkingofherhardlife。AndRodionsmiled，too；hewaspleasedthathisoldwomanwassoclever，soreadyofspeech。

“Itisonlyonthesurfacethattherichseemtobehappy，“saidElenaIvanovna。“Everymanhashissorrow。HeremyhusbandandI

donotlivepoorly，wehavemeans，butarewehappy？Iamyoung，butIhavehadfourchildren；mychildrenarealwaysbeingill。I

amill，too，andconstantlybeingdoctored。“

“Andwhatisyourillness？“askedRodion。

“Awoman’scomplaint。Igetnosleep；acontinualheadachegivesmenopeace。HereIamsittingandtalking，butmyheadisbad，I

amweakallover，andIshouldpreferthehardestlabourtosuchacondition。Mysoul，too，istroubled；Iamincontinualfearformychildren，myhusband。Everyfamilyhasitsowntroubleofsomesort；wehaveours。Iamnotofnoblebirth。Mygrandfatherwasasimplepeasant，myfatherwasatradesmaninMoscow；hewasaplain，uneducatedman，too，whilemyhusband’sparentswerewealthyanddistinguished。Theydidnotwanthimtomarryme，buthedisobeyedthem，quarrelledwiththem，andtheyhavenotforgivenustothisday。Thatworriesmyhusband；ittroubleshimandkeepshiminconstantagitation；heloveshismother，lovesherdearly。SoIamuneasy，too，mysoulisinpain。“

Peasants，menandwomen，werebynowstandingroundRodion’shutandlistening。Kozovcameup，too，andstoodtwitchinghislong，narrowbeard。TheLytchkovs，fatherandson，drewnear。

“Andsaywhatyoulike，onecannotbehappyandsatisfiedifonedoesnotfeelinone’sproperplace。“ElenaIvanovnawenton。

“Eachofyouhashisstripofland，eachofyouworksandknowswhatheisworkingfor；myhusbandbuildsbridges——inshort，everyonehashisplace，whileI，Isimplywalkabout。Ihavenotmybittowork。Idon’twork，andfeelasthoughIwereanoutsider。Iamsayingallthisthatyoumaynotjudgefromoutwardappearances；ifamanisexpensivelydressedandhasmeansitdoesnotprovethatheissatisfiedwithhislife。“

Shegotuptogoawayandtookherdaughterbythehand。

“Ilikeyourplacehereverymuch，“shesaid，andsmiled，andfromthatfaint，diffidentsmileonecouldtellhowunwellshereallywas，howyoungandhowpretty；shehadapale，thinnishfacewithdarkeyebrowsandfairhair。Andthelittlegirlwasjustsuchanotherashermother:thin，fair，andslender。Therewasafragranceofscentaboutthem。