第11章
Suddenlysomeonesaidwiththesubduedassuranceofapersonreadingaloudfromawrittendocument:
“UnlessthepeasantsofKubarovokeepawatchupontheirtimberlands，thesunwillfirethemtomorrow，andthentheBirkins’
forestalsowillcatchalight。“
Foramomentthedisputedieddown。Then，asitwerecleavingthesilence，avoicesaidstutteringly:
“Whocaresaboutthesignificanceoftheword’truth’？“
Andthewords——heavy，jumbled，andclumsy——filledmewithdespondentreflections。Thenagainthevoicesrose——thistimeinlouderandmorevenomousaccents，andwiththeirdinrecalledtome，bysomeaccident，thefoolishlines:
ThegodsdidgivemenwaterTowashin，andtodrink；
YetmanhasmadeitbutapoolInwhichhiswoestosink。
PresentlyImovedoutsideand，seatingmyselfonthestepsoftheveranda，felltocontemplatingthedull，blurredwindowsoftheArchpriest’shouseontheothersideofthesquare，andtowatchinghowblackshadowskeptflittingtoandfrobehindtheirpanesasthefaint，lugubriousnotesofaguitarmadethemselvesheard。Andahigh-pitched，irritablevoicekeptrepeatingatintervals:“Allowme。Pray，permitmetospeak，“andbeingansweredbyavoicewhichintermittentlyshotintothesilence，asintoabottomlesssack，thewords:“No，doyouwaitamoment，doyouwaitamoment。“
Surroundedbythedarkness，thehouseslookedstuntedlikegravestones，withalineofblacktreesabovetheirroofsthatloomedshadowyandcloud-like。Onlyinthefurthestcorneroftheexpansewasthelightofasolitarystreetlampbearingaresemblancetothediskofastationary，resplendentdandelion。
Overeverythingwasmelancholy。Farfrominvitingwasthegeneraloutlook。Somuchwasthisthecasethat，had，atthatmoment，anyonestolenuponmefrombehindthebushesanddealtmeasuddenblowonthehead，Ishouldmerelyhavesunktoearthwithoutattemptingtoseewhomyassailanthadbeen。
Often，inthosedays，wasIinthismood，foritclavetomeasfaithfullyasadog——neverdiditwhollyleaveme。
“ItwasformenlikeTHOSEthatthisfairearthofourswasbestoweduponus！“Ithoughttomyself。
Suddenly，withaclatter，someoneranoutofthedoorofthetavern，sliddownthesteps，fellheadlongattheirfoot，quicklyregainedhisequilibrium，anddisappearedinthedarknessafterexclaiminginathreateningvoice:
“Oh，I’LLpayyouout！I’LLskinyou，youdamned……！“
Whereaftertwofiguresthatalsoappearedinthedoorwaysaidastheystoodtalkingtooneanother:
“Youheardhimthreatentofiretheplace，didyounot？“
“Yes，Idid。Butwhyshouldhewanttofireit？“
“Becauseheisadangerousrascal。“
Presently，slingingmywalletuponmyback，Ipursuedmyonwardwayalongastreetthatwasfencedoneithersidewithatallpalisade。AsIproceeded，longgrasseskeptcatchingatmyfeetandrustlingdrily。Andsowarmwasthenightastorenderthepaymentofalodgingfeesuperfluous；andthemoresosinceintheneighbourhoodofthecemetery，whereanadvancedguardofyoungpineshadpushedforwardtothecemeterywallandlitteredthesandyground，withacarpetofred，drycones，thereweresleeping-placespreparedinadvance。
Suddenlyfromthedarknessthereemerged，torecoilagain，aman’stallfigure。
“Whoisthat？Whoisit？“askedthehoarse，nervousvoiceofGubinindissipationofthedeathlikestillness。
Whichsaid，heandIfellintostepwithoneanother。AsweproceededheinquiredwhenceIhadcome，andwhyIwasstillabroad。Whereafterheextendedtome，astoanoldacquaintance，theinvitation:
“Willyoucomeandsleepatmyplace？Myhouseisnearhere，andasforwork，Iwillfindyouajobtomorrow。Infact，asithappens，IamneedingamantohelpmecleanoutawellattheBirkins’place。Willthejobsuityou？Verywell，then。AlwaysI
liketosettlethingsovernight，asitisatnightthatIcanbestseethroughpeople。“
The“house“turnedouttobenothingmorethananoldone-eyed，hunchbackedwashhouseorshantywhich，bulgingofwall，stoodwedgedagainsttheclayeyslopeofaravineasthoughitwouldfainburyitselfamidtheboughsoftheneighbouringarbutustreesandelders。
Withoutstrikingalight，Gubinflunghimselfuponsomemouldyhaythatlitteredathresholdasnarrowasthethresholdofadog-kennel，andsaidtomewithanairofauthorityashedidso:
“Iwillsleepwithmyheadtowardsthedoor，fortheatmospherehereisatrifleconfined。“
And，trueenough，theplacereekedofelderberries，soap，burntstuff，anddecayedleaves。IcouldnotconceivewhyIhadcometosuchaspot。
Thetwistedbranchesoftheneighbouringtreeshungmotionlessathwartthesky，andconcealedfromviewthegoldendustoftheMilkyWay，whileacrosstheOkaanowlkeptscreeching，andthestrange，arrestingremarksofmycompanionpeltedmelikeshowersofpeas。
“DonotbesurprisedthatIshouldliveinaremoteravine，“hesaid。“I，whosehandisagainsteveryman，canatleastfeellordofwhatIsurveyhere。“
Toodarkwasitformetoseemyhost’sface，butmymemoryrecalledhisbaldcranium，andtheyellowlightofthelampsfallinguponanoseaslongasawoodpecker’sbeak，apairofgreyandstubblycheeks，apairofthinlipscoveredbyabristlingmoustache，amouthsharp-cutaswithaknife，andfullofblack，evil-lookingstumps，apairofpointed，sensitive，mouse-likeears，andaclean-shavenchin。Thelastfeatureinnowayconsortedwithhisvisage，orwithhiswholeappearance；butatleastitrenderedhimworthyofremark，andenabledonetorealisethatonehadtodealwithneitherapeasantnorasoldiernoratradesman，butwithamanpeculiartohimself。
Also，hisframewaslanky，withlongarmsandlegs，andpointedkneesandelbows。Infact，solikeapieceofstringwashisbodythattotwistitroundandround，oreventotieitintoaknot，would，seemingly，havebeeneasyenough。
ForawhileIfoundhisspeechdifficulttofollow；wherefore，silentlyIgazedatthesky，wherethestarsappearedtobeplayingatfollow-my-leader。
“Areyouasleep？“atlengthheinquired。
“No，Iamnot。Whydoyoushaveyourbeard？“
“Whydoyouask？“
“Because，ifyouwillpardonme，Ithinkyourfacewouldlookbetterbearded。“
Withashortlaughheexclaimed:
“Bearded？Ah，sloven！Bearded，indeed！“
Towhichheaddedmoregravely:
“BothPetertheGreatandNicholasIwerewiserthanyou，fortheyordainedthatwhosoevershouldbebeardedshouldhavehisnoseslit，andbefinedahundredroubles。Didyoueverhearofthat？“
“No。“
“Andfromthesamesource，fromthebeard，arosealsotheGreatSchism。“
Hismannerofspeakingwastoorapidtobearticulate，and，inleavinghismouth，hiswordscausedhislipstobarestumpsandgumsamidwhichtheylosttheirway，becamedisintegrated，andissued，asitwere，inanincompletestate。
“Everyone，“hecontinued，“knowsthatlifeislivedmoreeasilywithabeardthanwithoutone，sincewithabeardliesaremoreeasilytold——theycanbetold，andthenhiddeninthemassesofhair。Henceweoughttogothroughlifewithourfacesnaked，sincesuchfacesrenderuntruthfulnessmoredifficult，andpreventtheirownersfromprevaricatingwithoutthefactbecomingplaintoall。“
“Butwhataboutwomen？“
“Whataboutwomen？Well，womencanalwayslietotheirhusbandssuccessfully，butnottoallthetown，toalltheworld，tofolkingeneral。Moreover，sinceawoman’srealbusinessinlifeisthesameasthatofthehen，torearyoung，whatcanitmatterifsheDOEScackleafewfalsehoods，providedthatshebeneitherapriestnoramayornoratchinovnik，anddoesnotpossessanyauthority，andcannotestablishlaws？Forthereallyimportantpointisthatthelawitselfshouldnotlie，buteverupholdtruthpureandsimple。Longhastheprevalentillegalitydisgustedme。“
Thedooroftheshantywasstandingopen，andamidtheouterdarkness，asinachurch，thetreeslookedlikepillars，andthewhitestemsofthebircheslikesilvercandelabratippedwithathousandlights，ordimly-seenchoristerswithfacesshowingpaleabovesacramentalvestmentsofblack。Allmysoulwasfullofasortofpainfulrestlessness。ItwasafeelingasthoughI
shouldlivetoriseandgoforthintothedarkness，andofferbattletotheterrorsofthenight；yetever，asmycompanion’storrentialspeechcaughtandheldmyattention，itdetainedmewhereIwas。
“Myfatherwasamanofnolittleoriginalityandcharacter，“hewenton。“Wherefore，noneofthetownsfolklikedhim。Bytheageoftwentyhehadrisentobeanalderman，yetnevertotheendcouldgetthebetteroffolk’sstubbornnessandstupidity，eventhoughhemadeithiscustomtotreatallandsundrytofoodanddrink，andtoreasonwiththem。No，notevenatthelastdidheattainhisdue。Peoplefearedhimbecauseherevolutionisedeverything，revolutioniseditdowntotheveryroots；thetruthbeingthathehadgraspedtheoneessentialfactthatlawandordermustbedriven，likenails，intothepeople’sveryvitals。“