第16章

“Come，whytellstories？Yakov！“laughedSavka。“Thereisnoneedforlying；thegentlemanknowswhyyouhavecome！Sitdown；youshallhavesupperwithus。“

Agafyalookedsidewaysatmeandsatdownirresolutely。

“Ithoughtyouweren’tcomingthisevening，“Savkasaid，afteraprolongedsilence。“Whysitlikethat？Eat！OrshallIgiveyouadropofvodka？“

“Whatanidea！“laughedAgafya；“doyouthinkyouhavegotholdofadrunkard？“

“Oh，drinkitup。Yourheartwillfeelwarmer。

There！“

SavkagaveAgafyathecrookedglass。Sheslowlydrankthevodka，atenothingwithit，butdrewadeepbreathwhenshehadfinished。

“You’vebroughtsomething，“saidSavka，untyingthebundleandthrowingacondescending，jestingshadeintohisvoice。“Womencannevercomewithoutbringingsomething。Ah，pieandpotatoes。

Theylivewell，“hesighed，turningtome。“Theyaretheonlyonesinthewholevillagewhohavegotpotatoesleftfromthewinter！“

InthedarknessIdidnotseeAgafya’sface，butfromthemovementofhershouldersandheaditseemedtomethatshecouldnottakehereyesoffSavka’sface。Toavoidbeingthethirdpersonatthistryst，Idecidedtogoforawalkandgotup。Butatthatmomentanightingaleinthewoodsuddenlyutteredtwolowcontraltonotes。Halfaminutelateritgaveatinyhightrillandthen，havingthustrieditsvoice，begansinging。Savkajumpedupandlistened。

“It’sthesameoneasyesterday，“hesaid。“Waitaminute。“

And，gettingup，hewentnoiselesslytothewood。

“Why，whatdoyouwantwithit？“Ishoutedoutafterhim，“Stop！“

Savkashookhishandasmuchastosay，“Don’tshout，“andvanishedintothedarkness。Savkawasanexcellentsportsmanandfishermanwhenheliked，buthistalentsinthisdirectionwereascompletelythrownawayashisstrength。Hewastooslothfultodothingsintheroutineway，andventedhispassionforsportinuselesstricks。Forinstance，hewouldcatchnightingalesonlywithhishands，wouldshootpikewithafowlingpiece，hewouldspendwholehoursbytherivertryingtocatchlittlefishwithabighook。

Leftalonewithme，Agafyacoughedandpassedherhandseveraltimesoverherforehead。Shebegantofeelalittledrunkfromthevodka。

“Howareyougettingon，Agasha？“Iaskedher，afteralongsilence，whenitbegantobeawkwardtoremainmuteanylonger。

“Verywell，thankGod。Don’ttellanyone，sir，willyou？“

sheaddedsuddenlyinawhisper。

“That’sallright，“Ireassuredher。“Buthowrecklessyouare，Agasha！WhatifYakovfindsout？“

“Hewon’tfindout。“

Butwhatifhedoes？“

“NoIshallbeathomebeforeheis。Heisonthelinenow，andhewillcomebackwhenthemailtrainbringshim，andfromhereIcanhearwhenthetrain’scoming。“

AgafyaoncemorepassedherhandoverherforeheadandlookedawayinthedirectioninwhichSavkahadvanished。Thenightingalewassinging。Somenightbirdflewlowdownclosetothegroundand，noticingus，wasstartled，fluttereditswingsandflewacrosstotheothersideoftheriver。

Soonthenightingalewassilent，butSavkadidnotcomeback。

Agafyagotup，tookafewstepsuneasily，andsatdownagain。

“Whatishedoing？“shecouldnotrefrainfromsaying。“Thetrain’snotcominginto-morrow！Ishallhavetogoawaydirectly。“

“Savka，“Ishouted。“Savka。“

Iwasnotansweredevenbyanecho。Agafyamoveduneasilyandsatdownagain。

“It’stimeIwasgoing，“shesaidinanagitatedvoice。“Thetrainwillbeheredirectly！Iknowwhenthetrainscomein。“

Thepoorwomanwasnotmistaken。Beforeaquarterofanhourhadpassedasoundwasheardinthedistance。

Agafyakepthereyesfixedonthecopseforalongtimeandmovedherhandsimpatiently。

“Why，wherecanhebe？“shesaid，laughingnervously。“Wherehasthedevilcarriedhim？Iamgoing！Ireallymustbegoing。“

Meanwhilethenoisewasgrowingmoreandmoredistinct。Bynowonecoulddistinguishtherumbleofthewheelsfromtheheavygaspsoftheengine。Thenweheardthewhistle，thetraincrossedthebridgewithahollowrumbleanotherminuteandallwasstill。

“I’llwaitoneminutemore，“saidAgafya，sittingdownresolutely。“Sobeit，I’llwait。

AtlastSavkaappearedinthedarkness。Hewalkednoiselesslyonthecrumblingearthofthekitchengardensandhummedsomethingsoftlytohimself。

“Here’sabitofluck；whatdoyousaytothatnow？“hesaidgaily。“AssoonasIgotuptothebushandbegantakingaimwithmyhanditleftoffsinging！Ah，thebalddog！Iwaitedandwaitedtoseewhenitwouldbeginagain，butIhadtogiveitup。“

SavkafloppedclumsilydowntothegroundbesideAgafyaand，tokeephisbalance，clutchedatherwaistwithbothhands。

“Whydoyoulookcross，asthoughyourauntwereyourmother？“heasked。

Withallhissoft-heartednessandgood-nature，Savkadespisedwomen。Hebehavedcarelessly，condescendinglywiththem，andevenstoopedtoscornfullaughteroftheirfeelingsforhimself。Godknows，perhapsthiscareless，contemptuousmannerwasoneofthecausesofhisirresistibleattractionforthevillageDulcineas。

Hewashandsomeandwell-built；inhiseyestherewasalwaysasoftfriendliness，evenwhenhewaslookingatthewomenhesodespised，butthefascinationwasnottobeexplainedbymerelyexternalqualities。Apartfromhishappyexteriorandoriginalmanner，onemustsupposethatthetouchingpositionofSavkaasanacknowledgedfailureandanunhappyexilefromhisownhuttothekitchengardensalsohadaninfluenceuponthewomen。

“Tellthegentlemanwhatyouhavecomeherefor！“Savkawenton，stillholdingAgafyabythewaist。“Come，tellhim，yougoodmarriedwoman！Ho-ho！Shallwehaveanotherdropofvodka，friendAgasha？“

Igotupand，threadingmywaybetweentheplots，Iwalkedthelengthofthekitchengarden。Thedarkbedslookedlikeflattened-outgraves。Theysmeltofdugearthandthetenderdampnessofplantsbeginningtobecoveredwithdew。Aredlightwasstillgleamingontheleft。Itwinkedgeniallyandseemedtosmile。

Iheardahappylaugh。ItwasAgafyalaughing。

“Andthetrain？“Ithought。“Thetrainhascomeinlongago。“

Waitingalittlelonger，Iwentbacktotheshanty。Savkawassittingmotionless，hislegscrossedlikeaTurk，andwassoftly，scarcelyaudiblyhummingasongconsistingofwordsofonesyllablesomethinglike:“Outonyou，fieonyouIandyou。“Agafya，intoxicatedbythevodka，bySavka’sscornfulcaresses，andbythestiflingwarmthofthenight，waslyingontheearthbesidehim，pressingherfaceconvulsivelytohisknees。Shewassocarriedawaybyherfeelingsthatshedidnotevennoticemyarrival。

“Agasha，thetrainhasbeeninalongtime，“Isaid。

“It’stime——it’stimeyouweregone，“Savka，tossinghishead，tookupmythought。“Whatareyousprawlingherefor？Youshamelesshussy！“

Agafyastarted，tookherheadfromhisknees，glancedatme，andsankdownbesidehimagain。

“Yououghttohavegonelongago，“Isaid。

Agafyaturnedroundandgotupononeknee。Shewasunhappy。Forhalfaminuteherwholefigure，asfarasI

coulddistinguishitthroughthedarkness，expressedconflictandhesitation。Therewasaninstantwhen，seemingtocometoherself，shedrewherselfuptogetuponherfeet，butthensomeinvincibleandimplacableforceseemedtopushherwholebody，andshesankdownbesideSavkaagain。

“Botherhim！“shesaid，withawild，gutturallaugh，andrecklessdetermination，impotence，andpaincouldbeheardinthatlaugh。

Istrolledquietlyawaytothecopse，andfromtheredowntotheriver，whereourfishinglineswereset。Theriverslept。Somesoft，fluffy-petalledfloweronatallstalktouchedmycheektenderlylikeachildwhowantstoletoneknowit’sawake。TopassthetimeIfeltforoneofthelinesandpulledatit。Ityieldedeasilyandhunglimply——nothinghadbeencaught。

Thefurtherbankandthevillagecouldnotbeseen。Alightgleamedinonehut，butsoonwentout。Ifeltmywayalongthebank，foundahollowplacewhichIhadnoticedinthedaylight，andsatdowninitasinanarm-chair。Isattherealongtime……Isawthestarsbegintogrowmistyandlosetheirbrightness；acoolbreathpassedovertheearthlikeafaintsighandtouchedtheleavesoftheslumberingosiers。

“A-ga-fya！“ahollowvoicecalledfromthevillage。“Agafya！“