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Page 9
The companions waved their hands to Stepan in despair. He picked up
Mumu, and flung her promptly outside the door, just at Gerasim's feet,
and half an hour later a profound stillness led in the house, and the
old lady sat on her sofa looking blacker than a thundercloud.
What trifles, if you think of it, will sometimes disturb any one!
Till evening the lady was out of humor; she did not talk to any one, did
not play cards, and passed a bad night. She fancied the eau-de-Cologne
they gave her was not the same as she usually had, and that her pillow
smelt of soap, and she made the wardrobe-maid smell all the bed linen--
in fact she was very upset and cross altogether. Next morning she
ordered Gavrila to be summoned an hour earlier than usual.
"Tell me, please," she began, directly the latter, not without some
inward trepidation, crossed the threshold of her boudoir, "what dog was
that barking all night in our yard? It wouldn't let me sleep!"
"A dog, 'm . . . what dog, 'm . . . may be, the dumb man's dog, 'm," he
brought out in a rather unsteady voice.
"I don't know whether it was the dumb man's or whose, but it wouldn't
let me sleep. And I wonder what we have such a lot of dogs for! I wish
to know. We have a yard dog, haven't we?"
"Oh yes, 'm, we have, 'm. Wolf, 'm."
"Well, why more? what do we want more dogs for? It's simply introducing
disorder. There's no one in control in the house--that's what it is. And
what does the dumb man want with a dog? Who gave him leave to keep dogs
in my yard? Yesterday I went to the window, and there it was lying in
the flower-garden; it had dragged in nastiness it was gnawing, and my
roses are planted there . . ."
The lady ceased.
"Let her be gone from to-day . . . do you hear?"
"Yes, 'm."
"To-day. Now go. I will send for you later for the report."
Gavrila went away.
As he went through the drawing-room, the steward, by way of maintaining
order, moved a bell from one table to another; he stealthily blew his
duck-like nose in the hall, and went into the outer-hall. In the outer-
hall, on a locker, was Stepan asleep in the attitude of a slain warrior
in a battalion picture, his bare legs thrust out below the coat which
served him for a blanket. The steward gave him a shove, and whispered
some instructions to him, to which Stepan responded with something
between a yawn and a laugh. The steward went away, and Stepan got up,
put on his coat and his boots, went out and stood on the steps. Five
minutes had not passed before Gerasim made his appearance with a huge
bundle of hewn logs on his back, accompanied by the inseparable Mumu.
(The lady had given orders that her bedroom and boudoir should be heated
at times even in the summer.) Gerasim turned sideways before the door,
shoved it open with his shoulder, and staggered into the house with his
load. Mumu, as usual, stayed behind to wait for him. Then Stepan,
seizing his chance, suddenly pounced on her, like a kite on a chicken,
held her down to the ground, gathered her up in his arms, and without
even putting on his cap, ran out of the yard with her, got into the
first fly he met, and galloped off to a market-place. There he soon
found a purchaser, to whom he sold her for a shilling, on condition that
he would keep her for at least a week tied up; then he returned at once.
But before he got home, he got off the fly, and going right round the
yard, jumped over the fence into the yard from a back street. He was
afraid to go in at the gate for fear of meeting Gerasim.
His anxiety was unnecessary, however; Gerasim was no longer in the yard.
On coming out of the house he had at once missed Mumu. He never
remembered her failing to wait for his return, and began running up and
down, looking for her, and calling her in his own way. . . . He rushed up
to his garret, up to the hay-loft, ran out into the street, this way and
that. . . . She was lost! He turned to the other serfs, with the most
despairing signs, questioned them about her, pointing to her height from
the ground, describing her with his hands. . . . Some of them really did
not know what had become of Mumu, and merely shook their heads; others did
know, and smiled to him for all response; while the steward assumed an
important air, and began scolding the coachmen. Then Gerasim ran right
away out of the yard.
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