第46章

“HadInotbetterconsiderWHYitismylot，andsoforth？Why，damnit，thecausesaremany。Foronething，ifonehasneighbourswhoneitherlivenorseethingsasoneselfdoes，butareuncongenial，whatdoesonedo？Onejustleavesthem，andclearsout——moreespeciallyifonebeneitherapriestnoramagistrate。YetYOUsaythatIhadbetterconsiderwhythisismylot。DoyouthinkthatYOUaretheonlymanabletoconsiderthings，possessedofabrain？“

Andinanaccessoffurythespeakerreplacedhispipe，andsatfrowninginsilence。Vasilieyedhisinterlocutor’sfeaturesasthefirelightplayedreduponthem，and，finally，saidinanundertone:

“Yes，itisalwaysso。Wefailtogetonwithourneighbours，yetlackacharterofourown，so，havingnorootstoholdus，justfalltowandering，troublingotherfolk，andearningdislike！“

“Thedislikeofwhom？“grufflyqueriedtheex-soldier。

“Thedislikeofeveryone，asyouyourselfhavesaid！“

Inanswertheex-soldiermerelyemittedacloudofsmokewhichcompletelyconcealedhisform。YetVasili’svoicehadinitanagreeablenote，andwasflexibleandingratiating，whileenunciatingitswordsroundlyanddistinctly。

Amountainowl，oneofthosesplendidbrowncreatureswhichhavethecraftyphysiognomyofacat，andthesharpgreyearsofamouse，madetheforestechowithitsobtrusivecry。AbirdofthisspeciesIonceencounteredamongthedefile’scrags，andasthecreaturesailedovermyheaditstartledmewiththeglassyeyeswhich，asroundasbuttons，seemedtobelitfromwithinwithmenacingfire。Indeed，foramomentortwoIstoodhalf-

stupefiedwithterror，forIcouldnotconceivewhatthecreaturewas。

“Whencedidyougetthatsplendidpipe？“nextaskedVasiliasherolledhimselfacigarette。“SurelyitisapipeofoldGermanmake？“

“YouneednotfearthatIstoleit，“theex-soldierrespondedasheremoveditfromhislipsandregardeditproudly。“Itwasgivenmebyawoman。“

Towhich，withawhimsicalwink，headdedasigh。

“Tellmehowithappened，“saidVasilisoftly。Thenheflunguphisarms，andstretchedhimselfwithadespondentcryof:

“Ah，thesenightshere！NeveragainmayGodsendmesuchbadones！Trytosleepasonemay，oneneversucceeds。Fareasier，indeed，isittosleepduringthedaytime，providedthatonecanfindashadyspot。DuringsuchnightsIgoalmostmadwiththinking，andmyheartswellsandmurmurs。“

Theex-soldier，whohadlistenedwithmouthagapeandeyebrowsraisedevenhigherthanusual，respondedtothis:

“Itisthesamewithme。Ifonecouldonly——Whatdidyousay？“

Thislastwasaddressedtomyself，whohadbeenabouttoremark，“Thesamewithmealso，“butonseeingthepairexchangingastrangeglance(asthoughinvoluntarilytheyhadsurprisedoneanother)，hadleftthewordsunspoken。Mycompanionsthensetthemselvestoamutuallyeagerquestioningwithrespecttotheirrespectiveidentities，pastexperiences，placesoforigin，anddestinations，evenasthoughtheyhadbeentwokinsmenwho，meetingunexpectedly，haddiscoveredforthefirsttimetheirbondofrelationship。

Meanwhiletheblack，fringedboughsofthepinetreeshungstretchedovertheflamesoftheMolokans’fireasthoughtheywouldcatchsomeofthefire’sglowandwarmth，orseizeitaltogether，andputitou

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