Short Fiction - Vladimir Korolenko (easy books to read in english txt) 📗

moving the fingers in a certain manner, in order to make the sign of the cross, and abstaining from the use of tobacco, are not essential⁠ ⁠…’⁠—‘You are right,’ I replied; ‘still, some forms are needed, to remind a man of his duties.’

“Thus we talked as we drove leisurely along. We came to a small stream in the woods, which we had to cross. It was a shallow stream, and, during the dry season, all one had to do was to give the ferryboat a push and it would touch the opposite shore; there was no need of a ferryman. The children, waking, opened their eyes, and saw that it was nighttime. The soughing of the forest, the starlit sky overhead, the moon rising before daybreak,⁠ ⁠… all this was a novel sight for them,⁠ ⁠… of course, they didn’t know much about such things!

“When we drove into the woods, I was fairly startled, and my heart almost stopped beating, for what did I see but a figure on horseback ahead of us! I could not see distinctly, but I thought I recognized Bezrúky’s gray horse, and I could hear the clatter of his hoofs. My heart sank within me. ‘What is going to happen now?’ I thought. ‘Why did the old man come out here?’ Now, it had seemed to me like a foreboding of evil when he reminded me of my oath, just before we started.⁠ ⁠… Until that evening I had thought a good deal of the old man, although I must confess I always stood in awe of him; but now I began to be really afraid of him⁠—the very thought of his face made me shiver.

“As I sat there, without moving, my mind seemed paralyzed and I could scarcely hear a sound. The lady spoke now and then, but I was unable to answer her; at last she gave up trying to talk, and there she sat, the poor creature!⁠ ⁠…

“We had now entered an impenetrable forest. My spirits were gloomier than the night itself. I was half-unconscious, but the horses, familiar with the road, carried us along without my guidance, toward that selfsame stone. We reached it,⁠ ⁠… and there, just as I anticipated, stood the gray horse across the road, and the eyes of the old man bestriding him gleamed like two coals of fire, so help me God!⁠ ⁠… The reins fell from my hands, and my horses, coming up to the gray horse, stopped of their own accord.

“ ‘Feódor!’ said the old man, ‘get down!’ I jumped down from the box, and he himself dismounted, having placed his horse directly in front of the troika, which stood perfectly still, as if bewitched; I too seemed to be under a spell. He came up to me, and said something; then, taking me by the hand, he led me to the carriage, and I discovered that I was holding an axe!⁠ ⁠… I yielded to him,⁠ ⁠… for I had not the courage to resist, villain that he was. ‘Sin, and you will repent afterwards.⁠ ⁠…’ What else he said I know not. We went up to the carriage. He stood beside me. ‘First strike the woman on the head!’ I looked into the carriage. There sat the lady, like a wounded dove, shielding her children, and gazing at me with all her eyes. My heart quivered.⁠ ⁠… The children were awake; they looked like birdlings. I cannot tell whether they understood what was going on, or not.⁠ ⁠…

“Her gaze seemed to rouse me as from a dream. Lifting the axe, I turned my eyes away.⁠ ⁠… But my heart was swelling with rage.⁠ ⁠… I looked at Bezrúky, who quailed beneath my glance.⁠ ⁠… Then my wrath grew more furious. I knew that I was about to do a horrible deed; but I had no pity. Once more I looked at the old man, whose green eyes flashed restlessly.⁠ ⁠… He was frightened, and that made him wriggle like a snake. I raised my arm and struck out,⁠ ⁠… and, before he could groan, I stretched him prostrate at my feet, and then I stamped upon him as he lay there dead,⁠ ⁠… for I was like nothing but an infuriated beast, the Lord have mercy on me!”

The driver breathed heavily.

“And what happened then?” I inquired, seeing him thoughtful and silent.

“What did you say?” he replied; “you want to know what happened next? Well, as I said, I was stamping on him as he lay there dead, when, behold! I saw Iván Zakhárof galloping towards us, with a rifle in his hand. I turned just as he reached us,⁠ ⁠… and I should have certainly finished him, as I did Bezrúky, only, I am thankful to say, he had the sense to turn back. Just as soon as his eye lighted on me, he turned his horse, dealing him heavy blows with the rifle. The horse actually howled like a human being, and flew like a bird.

“When, at last, I came to my senses, it seemed to me that I could not look anyone in the eye.⁠ ⁠… I mounted the box and gave the horses the lash,⁠ ⁠… but they refused to start,⁠ ⁠… and then I saw that the gray horse was still barring the way. I had forgotten that he had been trained to do that. I made the sign of the cross, as it came to my mind that I might have to kill that cursed horse also. I went up to him, but he remained motionless except for the movement of his ears. I pulled him by the rein, but he would not stir. ‘You had better get out of the carriage, madam,’ I said, ‘for the horses might become frightened and run, because of this horse, which persists in standing right in front of them.’ Obedient as a child, the lady got out, and the children followed, clinging to their mother. The place itself was dark and gloomy; that alone frightened them, and then to see me in trouble with these devils.

“I backed my troika, took up the axe