第27章

“Ido，“Ireplied。“Yes，Ido。“

“Good！“

Thebellofthemonasterystrucktwohastybeats——thenbecamesilent，sothatonlythesadechoofitsvoiceremainedreverberatingoverthecemetery。Oncemoremyinterlocutordrewouthiscigarette-case，silentlyofferedittomyself，andlightedandpuffedindustriouslyatanothercigarette。Ashedidsohishands，assmallandbrownastheclawsofabird，shookalittle，andhishead，bentdown，lookedlikeanEasteregginplush。

Stillsmoking，helookedmeintheeyeswithaself-diffidentfrown，andmuttered:

“Onlythroughthelabourofmandoestheearthattaindevelopment。Andonlybyfamiliarisinghimselfwith，andremembering，thepastcanmanobtainsupportinhisworkonearth。“

Inspeaking，theLieutenantloweredhisarm；whereuponontohiswristthereslippedthebroadgoldenbraceletadornedwithamedallion，andtheregazedatmethencetheminiatureofafair-hairedwoman:andsincethehandbelowitwasfreckled，anditsflexiblefingerswereswollenoutofshape，andhadlosttheirsymmetry，thewoman’sfine-drawnfacelookedthemorefulloflife，and，clearlypickedout，couldbeseentobesmilingasweetandslightlyimperioussmile。

“Yourwifeoryourdaughter？“Iqueried。

“MyGod！MyGod！“was，withasubduedsigh，theonlyresponsevouchsafed。ThentheLieutenantraisedhisarm，andthebraceletslidbacktoitsrestingplaceunderhiscuff。

Overthetownthecolumnsofcurlingsmokeweregrowingredder，andtheclatteringwindowsblushingtoatintofpinkthatrecalledtomymemorythelividcheeksofVirubov’s“niece，“ofthewomaninwhom，likeheruncle，therewasnothingthatcouldprovokeoneto“takeliberties。“

Next，therescaledthecemeterywallandstealthilystretchedthemselvesontheground，sothattheylookednotunlikethefar-flungshadowsofthecemetery’scrosses，afileofdark，tatteredfiguresofbeggars，whileonthefurthersideoftheslowlydarkeninggreeneryacantordrawledinsluggish，carelessaccents:

“E-e-ternalme-e——“

“Eternalmemoryofwhat？“exclaimedLieutenantKhorvatwithanangryshrugofhisshoulders。“Suppose，inhisday，amanhasbeenthebestcucumber-salterormushroom-picklerinagiventown。Orsupposehehasbeenthebestcobblerthere，orthatoncehesaidsomethingwhichthestreetwhereinhedweltcanstillremember。WouldnotTHATmanbeamanwhoserecordshouldbepreserved，andmadeaccessibletomyrecollection？“

AndagaintheLieutenant’sfacewreatheditselfinsolidringsofpungenttobaccosmoke。

Blowingsoftlyforamoment，thewindbentthelongstemsofgrassinthedirectionofthedecliningsun，anddiedaway。Allthatremainedaudibleamidthestillnesswasthepeevishvoicesofwomensaying:

“Totheleft，Isay。“

“Oh，whatistobedone，Tanechka？“

Expellingafreshcloud

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