creatures that once were men-第43章
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paths of life lonely and astray; and the fellow…travelers they
meet on the way are aliens to them; unable to understand them。
Life is a heavy burden for these lonely souls。 Helplessly they
drift hither and thither。 They are like the good seed; wafted
in the air; and dropping but rarely onto fruitful soil。
Daylight had broken。 The sea far away shone with rosy gold。
〃I am sleepy;〃 said Shakro。
We halted。 He lay down in a trench; which the fierce gusts of
wind had dug out in the dry sand; near the shore。 He wrapped
himself; head and all; in the overcoat; and was soon sound
asleep。 I sat beside him; gazing dreamily over the sea。
It was living its vast life; full of mighty movement。
The flocks of waves broke noisily on the shore and rippled
over the sand; that faintly hissed as it soaked up the water。
The foremost waves; crested with white foam; flung themselves
with a loud boom on the shore; and retreated; driven back to
meet the waves that were pushing forward to support them。
Intermingling in the foam and spray; they rolled once more
toward the shore; and beat upon it; struggling to enlarge the
bounds of their realm。 From the horizon to the shore; across
the whole expanse of waters; these supple; mighty waves rose
up; moving; ever moving; in a compact mass; bound together by
the oneness of their aim。
217 MY FELLOW…TRAVELLER
The sun shone more and more brightly on the crests of the
breakers; which; in the distance on the horizon; looked blood…
red。 Not a drop went astray in the titanic heavings of the
watery mass; impelled; it seemed; by some conscious aim; which
it would soon attain by its vast rhythmic blows。 Enchanting
was the bold beauty of the foremost waves; as they dashed
stubbornly upon the silent shore; and fine it was to see the
whole sea; calm and united; the mighty sea; pressing on and
ever on。 The sea glittered now with all the colors of the
rainbow; and seemed to take a proud; conscious delight in its
own power and beauty。
A large steamer glided quietly round a point of land; cleaving
the waters。 Swaying majestically over the troubled sea; it
dashed aside the threatening crests of the waves。 At any other
time this splendid; strong; flashing steamer would have set me
thinking of the creative genius of man; who could thus enslave
the elements。 But now; beside me lay an untamed element in the
shape of a man。
CHAPTER IX。
We were tramping now through the district of Terek。 Shakro
was indescribably ragged and dishevelled。 He was surly as the
devil; though he had plenty of food now; for it was easy to
find work in these parts。 He himself was not good at any kind
of work。
218 MY FELLOW…TRAVELLER
Once he got a small job on a thrashing machine; his duty was
to push aside the straw; as it left the machine; but after
working half a day he left off; as the palms of his hands were
blistered and sore。 Another time he started off with me and
some other workmen to root up trees; but he grazed his neck
with a mattock。
We got on with our journey very slowly; we worked two days;
and walked on the third day。 Shakro ate all he could get hold
of; and his gluttony prevented me from saving enough money to
buy him new clothes。 His ragged clothes were patched in the
most fantastic way with pieces of various colors and sizes。 I
tried to persuade him to keep away from the beer houses in the
villages; and to give up drinking his favorite wines; but he
paid no heed to my words。
With great difficulty I had; unknown to him; saved up five
roubles; to buy him some new clothes。 One day; when we were
stopping in some village; he stole the money from my knapsack;
and came in the evening; in a tipsy state; to the garden where
I was working。 He brought with him a fat country wench; who
greeted me with the following words: 〃Good…day; you damned
heretic!〃
Astonished at this epithet; I asked her why she called me a
heretic。 She answered boldly: 〃Because you forbid a young
man to love women; you devil。 How can you forbid what is
allowed by law? Damn you; you devil!〃
Shakro stood beside her; nodding his head approvingly。 He was
very tipsy; and he rocked backward and forward unsteadily on
his legs。 His lower lip drooped helplessly。 His dim eyes
stared at me with vacant obstinacy。
219 MY FELLOW…TRAVELLER
〃Come; what are you looking at us for? Give him his money?〃
shouted the undaunted woman。
〃What money?〃 I exclaimed; astonished。
〃Give it back at once; or I'll take you before the ataman!
Return the hundred and fifty roubles; which you borrowed from
him in Odessa!〃
What was I to do? The drunken creature might really go and
complain to the Ataman; the Atamans were always very severe
on any kind of tramp; and he might arrest us。 Heaven only
knew what trouble my arrest might inflict; not only on myself;
but on Shakro! There was nothing for it but to try and outwit
the woman; which was not; of course; a difficult matter。
She was pacified after she had disposed of three bottles of
vodka。 She sank heavily to the ground; on a bed of melons;
and fell asleep。 Then I put Shakro to sleep also。
Early next morning we turned our backs on the village; leaving
the woman sound asleep among the melons。
After his bout of drunkenness; Shakro; looking far from well;
and with a swollen; blotchy face; walked slowly along; every
now and then spitting on one side; and sighing deeply。 I tried
to begin a conversation with him; but he did not respond。 He
shook his unkempt head; as does a tired horse。
It was a hot day; the air was full of heavy vapors; rising from
the damp soil; where the thick; lush grass grew abundantly
almost as high as our heads。 Around us; on all sides;
stretched a motionless sea of velvety green grass。
220 MY FELLOW…TRAVELLER
The hot air was steeped in strong sappy perfumes; which made
one's head swim。
To shorten our way; we took a narrow path; where numbers of
small red snakes glided about; coiling up under our feet。 On
the horizon to our right; were ranges of cloudy summits
flashing silvery in the sun。 It was the mountain chain of the
Daguestan Hills。
The stillness that reigned made one feel drowsy; and plunged
one into a sort of dreamy state。 Dark; heavy clouds; rolling
up behind us; swept slowly across the heavens。 They gathered
at our backs; and the sky there grew dark; while in front of
us it still showed clear; except for a few fleecy cloudlets;
racing merrily across the open。 But the gathering clouds grew
darker and swifter。 In the distance could be heard the rattle
of thunder; and its angry rumbling came every moment nearer。
Large drops of rain fell; pattering on the grass; with a sound
like the clang of metal。 There was no place where we could
take shelter。 It had grown dark。 The patter of the rain on
the grass was louder still; but it lad a frightened; timid
sound。 There was a clap of thunder; and the clouds shuddered
in a blue flash of lightning。 Again it was dark and the
silvery chain of distant mountains was lost in the gloom。 The
rain now was falling in torrents; and one after another peals
of thunder rumbled menacingly and incessantly over the vast
steppe。 The grass; beaten down by the wind and rain; lay flat
on the ground; rustling faintly。 Everything seemed quivering
and troubled。 Flashes of blinding lightning tore the storm
clouds asunder。
221 MY FELLOW…TRAVELLER
The silvery; cold chain of the distant
mountains sprang up in the blue flash and gleamed with blue
light。 When the lightning died away; the mountains vanished;
as though flung back into an abyss of darkness。 The air was
filled with rumblings and vibrations; with s