第34章

Hereoneandallwereduetodisembark。

Iglancedtowardsthesternoncemore。Thedark-browedwomanwasbreakingoffmorselsfromawheatensconethatwaslyinginherlap，andsayingasshedidso:

“Presentlywewillhaveacupoftea，andthenkeeptogetherasfarasChristopol。“

Inresponsetheyoungfellowedgednearertoher，andthoughtfullyeyedthelargehandswhich，thoughinuredtohardwork，couldalsobeverygentle。

“Ihavebeentroddenupon，“hesaid。

“Troddenuponbywhom？“

“Byall。AndIamafraidofthem。“

“Whyso？“

“BecauseIam。“

Breathinguponamorselofthescone，thewomanofferedithimwiththequietwords:

“Youhavehadmuchtobear。Now，shallItellyoumyhistory，orshallwefirsthavetea？“

Onthebanktherewasnowtobeseenthefrontageofthegay，wealthysuburbofUslon，withitsbrightly-dressed，rainbow-tintedwomenandgirlstrippingthroughthestreets，andthewaterofitsfoamingriversparklinghotly，yetdimly，inthesunlight。

Itwasascenelikeascenebeheldinavision。

AWOMAN

Thewindisscuddingoverthesteppe，andbeatingupontherampartoftheCaucasianheightsuntiltheirbackboneseemstobebellyinglikeahugesail，andtheearthtobewhirlingandwhizzingthroughunfathomabledepthsofblue，andleavingbehinditarackofwind-torncloudswhich，astheirshadowsglideoverthesurfaceoftheland，seemevertobestrivingtokeepintouchwiththeonrushofthegale，and，failingtomaintaintheeffort，dissolvingintearsanddespondency。

Thetreestooarebendingintheattitudeofflight——theirboughsarebrandishingtheirfoliageasadogworriesafleece，andlitteringtheblacksoilwithleavesamongwhichrunsaconstantqueruloushissingandrustling。Also，storksareutteringtheirsnappingcry，sleekrookscawing，steppegrasshoppersmaintainingtheirtirelesschirp，sturdy，well-grownhusbandmenutteringshoutslikewordsofcommand，thethreshing-floorsoftherollingsteppediffusingarainofgoldenchaff，andeddyingwhirlwindscatchingupstraypoultryfeathers，dried-onionstrips，andleavesyellowedwiththeheat，tosendthemdancingagainoverthetrimsquareofthelittleCossackhamlet。

Similarlydoesthesunkeepappearinganddisappearingasthoughhewerepursuingthefugitiveearth，andeverandanonhaltingthroughwearinessbeforehisdeclineintothedark，shadowyvistawherethesnowcladpeaksofthewesternmountainsarerearingtheirheads，andfast-reddeningcloudsareremindingoneofthesurfaceofaploughedfield。

AttimesthosecloudsparttheirbulktorevealinblindingsplendourthesilverysaddleofMountElburz，andthecrystalfangsofotherpeaks——all，apparently，strivingtocatchanddetainthescuddingvapours。Andtosuchapointdoesonecometorealisetheearth’sflightthroughspacethatonecanscarcelydrawone’sbreathforthetension，therapture，ofthethoughtthatwiththerushofthatdearandbeautifulearthoneselfiskeepingpacetowards，andevertendingtowards，theregionwhere，behindtheeternal，snow-cladpeaks，thereliesaboundlessoceanofblue——anoceanbesidewhichtheremayliestretchedyetotherproudandmarvellouslands，avoidofazureamidwhichonemaycometodescryfar-distant，many-tintedspheresofplanetsasyetunknown，butsisters，all，tothisearthofours。

Meanwhilefromthesteppeslow，ponderou

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