Sanine

They all laughed, and there were tears of mirth in Yourii's eyes, so

absurd did the little man seem with his tufted grey beard and his

sunken jaws.

The old fellow laughed, too, till his little eyes watered. "Very nearly

killed myself! He! He!"

In the darkness, and beyond the circle of light, one could hear

laughter, and the voices of girls whom shyness had kept at a distance.

A few feet away from the fire, and in quite a different place from

where Yourii imagined him to be seated, Sanine struck a match. In the

reddish flare of it Yourii saw his calm, friendly eyes, and beside him

a young face whose soft eyes beneath their dark brows looked up at

Sanine with simple joy.

Riasantzeff, as he winked to Kousma, said: "Grandfather, hadn't you better keep an eye on your granddaughter, eh?"

"What's the good!" replied Kousma, with a careless gesture. "Youth is

youth."

"He! He!" laughed the old man in his turn, as with his fingers he

plucked a red-hot coal from the fire.

Sanine's laugh was heard in the darkness. The girls may have felt

ashamed, for they had moved away, and their voices were scarcely

audible.

"It is time to go," said Riasantzeff, as he got up. "Thank you,

Kousma."

"Not at all," replied the other, as with his sleeve he brushed away the

black melon-pips that had stuck to his grey beard. He shook hands with

both of them, and Yourii again felt a certain repugnance to the touch

of his rough, bony hand. As they retreated from the fire, the gloom

seemed less intense. Above were the cold, glittering stars and the vast

dome of heaven, serenely fair. The group by the fire, the horses, and

the pile of melons all became blacker against the light.

Yourii tripped over a pumpkin and nearly fell.

"Look out!" said Sanine. "Good-bye!"

"Good-bye!" replied Yourii, looking round at the other's tall, dark

form, leaning against which he fancied that he saw another, the

graceful figure of a woman. Yourii's heart beat faster. He suddenly

thought of Sina Karsavina, and envied Sanine.

Once more the wheels of the droschky rattled, and once again the good

old horse snorted as it ran.

The fire faded in distance, as did the sound of voices and laughter.

Stillness reigned. Yourii slowly looked upwards to the sky with its

jewelled web of stars. As they reached the outskirts of the town,

lights flashed here and there, and dogs barked. Riasantzeff said to

Yourii: "Old Kousma's a philosopher, eh?"