At first all was silence, even as it was at the Roman
ruins, but suddenly I heard close to my very ear a
coarse bargeman’s laugh, and with a moan something
dropped into the water and a gurgling sound followed....
I looked round: no one was anywhere to be seen,
but from the bank the echo came bounding back, and
at once from all sides rose a deafening din. There
was a medley of everything in this chaos of sound:
shouting and whining, furious abuse and laughter,
laughter above everything; the plash of oars and the
cleaving of hatchets, a crash as of the smashing of
doors and chests, the grating of rigging and wheels,
and the neighing of horses, and the clang of the alarm
bell and the clink of chains, the roar and crackle
of fire, drunken songs and quick, gnashing chatter,
weeping inconsolable, plaintive despairing prayers,
and shouts of command, the dying gasp and the reckless
whistle, the guffaw and the thud of the dance....
’Kill them! Hang them! Drown them!
rip them up! bravo! bravo! don’t spare them!’
could be heard distinctly; I could even hear the hurried
breathing of men panting. And meanwhile all around,
as far as the eye could reach, nothing could be seen,
nothing was changed; the river rolled by mysteriously,
almost sullenly, the very bank seemed more deserted
and desolate—and that was all.
I turned to Alice, but she put her finger to her lips....
‘Stepan Timofeitch! Stepan Timofeitch is
coming!’ was shouted noisily all round; ‘he
is coming, our father, our ataman, our bread-giver!’
As before I saw nothing but it seemed to me as though
a huge body were moving straight at me.... ‘Frolka!
where art thou, dog?’ thundered an awful voice.
’Set fire to every corner at once—and
to the hatchet with them, the white-handed scoundrels!’
I felt the hot breath of the flame close by, and tasted
the bitter savour of the smoke; and at the same instant
something warm like blood spurted over my face and
hands.... A savage roar of laughter broke out
all round....
I lost consciousness, and when I came to myself, Alice
and I were gliding along beside the familiar bushes
that bordered my wood, straight towards the old oak....
‘Do you see the little path?’ Alice said
to me, ’where the moon shines dimly and where
are two birch-trees overhanging? Will you go there?’
But I felt so shattered and exhausted that I could
only say in reply: ‘Home! home!’
‘You are at home,’ replied Alice.
I was in fact standing at the very door of my house—alone.
Alice had vanished. The yard-dog was about to
approach, he scanned me suspiciously—and
with a bark ran away.
With difficulty I dragged myself up to my bed and
fell asleep without undressing.
XVII
All the following morning my head ached, and I could
scarcely move my legs; but I cared little for my bodily
discomfort; I was devoured by regret, overwhelmed
with vexation.
