clamoured.
"No, no, stay," shouted Vassily. "Take him home.... Take him home!"
"Take him home," Trankvillitatin himself chimed in.
"We will bring him to. We can see better there," Vassily went on....(I have liked him from that day.) "Lads, haven't you a sack? If not wemust take him by his head and his feet...."
"Stay! Here's a sack! Lay him on it! Catch hold! Start! That's fine.As though he were driving in a chaise."
A few minutes later David, borne in triumph on the sack, crossed thethreshold of our house again.
XX
He was undressed and put to bed. He began to give signs of life whilein the street, moaned, moved his hands.... Indoors he came to himselfcompletely. But as soon as all anxiety for his life was over and therewas no reason to worry about him, indignation got the upper handagain: everyone shunned him, as though he were a leper.
"May God chastise him! May God chastise him!" my aunt shrieked, to beheard all over the house. "Get rid of him, somehow, PorfiryPetrovitch, or he will do some mischief beyond all bearing."
"Upon my word, he is a viper; he is possessed with a devil,"Trankvillitatin chimed in.
"The wickedness, the wickedness!" cackled my aunt, going close to thedoor of our room so that David might be sure to hear her. "First ofall he stole the watch and then flung it into the water ... as thoughto say, no one should get it...."
Everyone, everyone was indignant.
"David," I asked him as soon as we were left alone, "what did you doit for?"
"So you are after that, too," he answered in a voice that was stillweak; his lips were blue and he looked as though he were swollen allover. "What did I do?"
"But what did you jump into the water for?"
"Jump! I lost my balance on the parapet, that was all. If I had knownhow to swim I should have jumped on purpose. I shall certainly learn.But the watch now--ah...."
But at that moment my father walked with a majestic step into ourroom.
"You, my fine fellow," he said, addressing me, "I shall certainlywhip, you need have no doubt about that, though you are too big to lieon the bench now."
Then he went up to the bed on which David was lying. "In Siberia," hebegan in an impressive and dignified tone, "in Siberia, sir, in penalservitude, in the mines, there are people living and dying who areless guilty, less criminal than you. Are you a suicide or simply athief or altogether a fool? Be so kind as to tell me just that!"
"I am not a suicide and I am not a thief," answered David, "but thetruth's the truth: there are good men in Siberia, better than you orI ... who should know that, if not you?"
My father gave a subdued gasp, drew back a step, looked intently atDavid, spat on the floor and, slowly crossing himself, walked away.
"Don't you like that?" David called after him and put his tongue out.Then he tried to get up but could not.
"I must have hurt myself somehow," he said, gasping and frowning. "Iremember the water dashed me against a post."
"Did you see Raissa?" he added suddenly.
"No. I did not.... Stay, stay, stay! Now I remember, wasn't it shestanding on the bank by the bridge? ... Yes ... yes ... a darkdress ... a yellow kerchief on her head, yes it must have beenRaissa."
"Well, and afterwards.... Did you see her?"
"Afterwards ... I don't know, I had no thought to spare for her....You jumped in ..."
David was suddenly roused. "Alyosha, darling, go to her at once, tellher I am all right, that there's nothing the matter with me. TomorrowI shall be with them. Go as quickly as you can, brother, for my sake!"
David held out both hands to me.... His red hair, by now dry, stuck upin amusing tufts.... But the softened expression of his face seemedthe more genuine for that. I took my cap and went out of the house,trying to avoid meeting my father and reminding him of his promise.
XXI
"Yes, indeed," I reflected as I walked towards the Latkins', "how wasit that I did not notice Raissa? What became of her? She must haveseen...."
And all at once I remembered that the very moment of David's fall, aterrible piercing shriek had rung in my ears.
"Was not that Raissa? But how was it I did not see her afterwards?"
Before the little house in which Latkin lodged there stretched awaste-ground overgrown with nettles and surrounded by a broken hurdle.I had scarcely clambered over the hurdle (there was no gate anywhere)when the following sight met my eyes: Raissa, with her elbows on herknees and her chin propped on her clasped hands, was sitting on thelowest step in front of the house; she was looking fixedly straightbefore her; near her stood her little dumb sister with the utmostcomposure brandishing a little whip, while, facing the steps with hisback to me, old Latkin, in torn and shabby drawers and high feltboots, was trotting and prancing up and down, capering and jerking hiselbows. Hearing my footsteps he suddenly turned round and squattedon his heels--then at once, skipping up to me, began speakingvery rapidly in a trembling voice, incessantly repeating,"Tchoo--tchoo--tchoo!" I was dumbfoundered. I had not seen him for along time and should not, of course, have known him if I had met himanywhere else. That red, wrinkled, toothless face, those lustrelessround eyes and touzled grey hair, those jerks and capers, thatsenseless halting speech! What did it mean? What inhuman despair wastorturing this unhappy creature? What dance of death was this?
"Tchoo--tchoo," he muttered, wriggling incessantly. "See Vassilyevnahere came in tchoo--tchoo, just now.... Do you hear? With a trough onthe roof" (he slapped himself on the head with his hand), "and thereshe sits like a spade, and she is cross-eyed, cross-eyed, likeAndryushka; Vassilyevna is cross-eyed" (he probably meant to saydumb), "tchoo! My Vassilyevna is cross-eyed! They are both on the samecork now. You may wonder, good Christians! I have only these twolittle boats! Eh?"
Latkin was evidently conscious that he was not saying the right thingand made terrible efforts to explain to me what was the matter. Raissadid not seem to hear what her father was saying and the little sisterwent on lashing the whip.
"Good-bye, diamond-merchant, good-bye, good-bye," Latkin drawledseveral times in succession, making a low bow, seeming delighted athaving at last got hold of an intelligible word.
My head began to go round.
"What does it all mean?" I asked of an old woman who was looking outof the window of the little house.
"Well, my good gentleman," she answered in a sing-song voice, "theysay some man--the Lord only knows who--went and drowned himself andshe saw it. Well, it gave her a fright or something; when she camehome she seemed all right though; but when she sat down on thestep--here, she has been sitting ever since like an image, it's no goodtalking to her. I suppose she has lost her speech, too. Oh, dear! Oh,dear!"
"Good-bye, good-bye," Latkin kept repeating, still with the same bow.
I went up to Raissa and stood directly facing her.
"Raissa, dear, what's the matter with you?"
She made no answer, she seemed not to notice me. Her face had notgrown pale, had not changed--but had turned somehow stony and therewas a look in it as though she were just falling asleep.
"She is cross-eyed, cross-eyed," Latkin muttered in my ear.
I took Raissa by the hand. "David is alive," I cried, more loudly thanbefore. "Alive and well; David's alive, do you understand? He waspulled out of the water; he is at home now and told me to say that hewill come to you to-morrow; he is alive!" As it were with effortRaissa turned her eyes on me; she blinked several times, opening themwider and wider, then leaned her head on one side and flushed slightlyall over while her lips parted ... she slowly drew in a deep breath,winced as though in pain and with fearful effort articulated:
"Da ... Dav ... a ... alive," got up impulsively and rushed away.
"Where are you going?" I exclaimed. But with a faint laugh she ranstaggering across the waste-ground....
I, of course, followed her, while behind me a wail rose up in unisonfrom the old man and the child.... Raissa darted straight to ourhouse.
"Here's a day!" I thought, trying not to lose sight of the black dressthat was fluttering before me. "Well!"
XXII
Passing Vassily, my aunt, and even Trankvillitatin, Raissa ran intothe room where David was lying and threw herself on his neck. "Oh ...oh ... Da ... vidushka," her voice rang out from under her loosecurls, "oh!"
Flinging wide his arms David embraced her and nestled his head againsther.
"Forgive me, my heart," I heard his voice saying.
And both seemed swooning with joy.
"But why did you go home, Raissa, why didn't you stay?" I said toher.... She still kept her
Knock, Knock, Knock and Other Stories Page 33
