Knock, Knock, Knock and Other Stories Read online

lying on the floor. The man stirredin his sleep with a faint grunt; Naum roused him.

  "What's there? What do you want?" Fyodor began.

  "What are you bawling for, hold your tongue!" Naum articulated in awhisper. "How you sleep, you damned fellows! Have you heard nothing?"

  "Nothing," answered the man.... "What is it?"

  "Where are the others sleeping?"

  "Where they were told to sleep.... Why, is there anything ..."

  "Hold your tongue--come with me."

  Naum stealthily opened the door and went out into the yard. It wasvery dark outside.... The roofed-in parts and the posts could only bedistinguished because they were a still deeper black in the midst ofthe black darkness.

  "Shouldn't we light a lantern?" said Fyodor in a low voice.

  But Naum waved his hand and held his breath.... At first he could hearnothing but those nocturnal sounds which can almost always be heard inan inhabited place: a horse was munching oats, a pig grunted faintlyin its sleep, a man was snoring somewhere; but all at once his eardetected a suspicious sound coming from the very end of the yard, nearthe fence.

  Someone seemed to be stirring there, and breathing or blowing. Naumlooked over his shoulder towards Fyodor and cautiously descending thesteps went towards the sound.... Once or twice he stopped, listenedand stole on further.... Suddenly he started.... Ten paces from him,in the thick darkness there came the flash of a bright light: it was aglowing ember and close to it there was visible for an instant thefront part of a face with lips thrust out.... Quickly and silently,like a cat at a mouse, Naum darted to the fire.... Hurriedly rising upfrom the ground a long body rushed to meet him and, nearly knockinghim off his feet, almost eluded his grasp; but Naum hung on to it withall his strength.

  "Fyodor! Andrey! Petrushka!" he shouted at the top of his voice. "Makehaste! here! here! I've caught a thief trying to set fire to theplace...."

  The man whom he had caught fought and struggled violently ... but Naumdid not let him go. Fyodor at once ran to his assistance.

  "A lantern! Make haste, a lantern! Run for a lantern, wake theothers!" Naum shouted to him. "I can manage him alone for a time--I amsitting on him.... Make haste! And bring a belt to tie his hands."

  Fyodor ran into the house.... The man whom Naum was holding suddenlyleft off struggling.

  "So it seems wife and money and home are not enough for you, you wantto ruin me, too," he said in a choking voice.

  Naum recognised Akim's voice.

  "So that's you, my friend," he brought out; "very good, you wait abit."

  "Let me go," said Akim, "aren't you satisfied?"

  "I'll show you before the judge to-morrow whether I am satisfied," andNaum tightened his grip of Akim.

  The labourers ran up with two lanterns and cords. "Tie his arms," Naumordered sharply. The men caught hold of Akim, stood him up and twistedhis arms behind his back.... One of them began abusing him, butrecognising the former owner of the inn lapsed into silence and onlyexchanged glances with the others.

  "Do you see, do you see!" Naum kept repeating, meanwhile throwing thelight of the lantern on the ground, "there are hot embers in the pot;look, there's a regular log alight here! We must find out where he gotthis pot ... here, he has broken up twigs, too," and Naum carefullystamped out the fire with his foot. "Search him, Fyodor," he added,"see if he hasn't got something else on him."

  Fyodor rummaged Akim's pockets and felt him all over while the old manstood motionless, with his head drooping on his breast as though hewere dead.

  "Here's a knife," said Fyodor, taking an old kitchen knife out of thefront of Akim's coat.

  "Aha, my fine gentleman, so that's what you were after," cried Naum."Lads, you are witnesses ... here he wanted to murder me and set fireto the house.... Lock him up for the night in the cellar, he can't getout of that.... I'll keep watch all night myself and to-morrow as soonas it is light we will take him to the police captain ... and you arewitnesses, do you hear!"

  Akim was thrust into the cellar and the door was slammed.... Naum settwo men to watch it and did not go to bed himself.

  Meanwhile, Yefrem's wife having convinced herself that her uninvitedguest had gone, set about her cooking though it was hardlydaylight.... It was a holiday. She squatted down before the stove toget a hot ember and saw that someone had scraped out the hot ashesbefore her; then she wanted her knife and searched for it in vain;then of her four cooking pots one was missing. Yefrem's wife had thereputation of being a woman with brains, and justly so. She stood andpondered, then went to the lumber room, to her husband. It was noteasy to wake him--and still more difficult to explain to him why hewas being awakened.... To all that she said to him Yefrem made thesame answer.

  "He's gone away--well, God bless him.... What business is it of mine?He's taken our knife and our pot--well, God bless him, what has it todo with me?"

  At last, however, he got up and after listening attentively to hiswife came to the conclusion that it was a bad business, that somethingmust be done.

  "Yes," his wife repeated, "it is a bad business; maybe he will bedoing mischief in his despair.... I saw last night that he was notasleep but was just lying on the stove; it would be as well for you togo and see, Yefrem Alexandritch."

  "I tell you what, Ulyana Fyodorovna," Yefrem began, "I'll go myself tothe inn now, and you be so kind, mother, as to give me just a drop tosober me."

  Ulyana hesitated.

  "Well," she decided at last, "I'll give you the vodka, YefremAlexandritch; but mind now, none of your pranks."

  "Don't you worry, Ulyana Fyodorovna."

  And fortifying himself with a glass, Yefrem made his way to the inn.

  It was only just getting light when he rode up to the inn but, alreadya cart and a horse were standing at the gate and one of Naum'slabourers was sitting on the box holding the reins.

  "Where are you off to?" asked Yefrem.

  "To the town," the man answered reluctantly.

  "What for?"

  The man simply shrugged his shoulders and did not answer. Yefremjumped off his horse and went into the house. In the entry he cameupon Naum, fully dressed and with his cap on.

  "I congratulate the new owner on his new abode," said Yefrem, who knewhim. "Where are you off to so early?"

  "Yes, you have something to congratulate me on," Naum answered grimly."On the very first day the house has almost been burnt down."

  Yefrem started. "How so?"

  "Oh, a kind soul turned up who tried to set fire to it. Luckily Icaught him in the act; now I am taking him to the town."

  "Was it Akim, I wonder?" Yefrem asked slowly.

  "How did you know? Akim. He came at night with a burning log in a potand got into the yard and was setting fire to it ... all my men arewitnesses. Would you like to see him? It's time for us to take him, bythe way."

  "My good Naum Ivanitch," Yefrem began, "let him go, don't ruin the oldman altogether. Don't take that sin upon your soul, Naum Ivanitch.Only think--the man was in despair--he didn't know what he was doing."

  "Give over that nonsense," Naum cut him short. "What! Am I likely tolet him go! Why, he'd set fire to the house to-morrow if I did."

  "He wouldn't, Naum Ivanitch, believe me. Believe me you will be easieryourself for it--you know there will be questions asked, a trial--youcan see that for yourself."

  "Well, what if there is a trial? I have no reason to be afraid of it."

  "My good Naum Ivanitch, one must be afraid of a trial."

  "Oh, that's enough. I see you are drunk already, and to-day a saint'sday, too!"

  Yefrem all at once, quite unexpectedly, burst into tears.

  "I am drunk but I am speaking the truth," he muttered. "And for thesake of the holiday you ought to forgive him."

  "Well, come along, you sniveller."

  And Naum went out on to the steps.

  "Forgive him, for Avdotya Arefyevna's sake," said Yefrem following himon to the steps.

  Naum went to the cellar and flung th
e door wide open. With timidcuriosity Yefrem craned his neck from behind Naum and with difficultymade out the figure of Akim in the corner of the cellar. The oncewell-to-do innkeeper, respected all over the neighbourhood, wassitting on straw with his hands tied behind him like a criminal.Hearing a noise he raised his head.... It seemed as though he hadgrown fearfully thin in those last few days, especially during theprevious night--his sunken eyes could hardly be seen under his high,waxen-yellow forehead, his parched lips looked dark ... his whole facewas changed and wore a strange