Knock, Knock, Knock and Other Stories Read online

pine away and lookdepressed.

  However that may have been, Naum began to be frequently seen in Akim'syard. At first he came again with the same merchant and three monthslater arrived alone, with wares of his own; then the report spreadthat he had settled in one of the neighbouring district towns, andfrom that time forward not a week passed without his appearing on thehigh road with his strong, painted cart drawn by two sleek horseswhich he drove himself. There was no particular friendship betweenAkim and him, nor was there any hostility noticed between them; Akimdid not take much notice of him and only thought of him as a sharpyoung fellow who was rapidly making his way in the world. He did notsuspect Avdotya's real feelings and went on believing in her asbefore.

  Two years passed like this.

  One summer day it happened that Lizaveta Prohorovna--who had somehowsuddenly grown yellow and wrinkled during those two years in spite ofall sorts of unguents, rouge and powder--about two o'clock in theafternoon went out with her lap dog and her folding parasol for astroll before dinner in her neat little German garden. With a faintrustle of her starched petticoats, she walked with tiny steps alongthe sandy path between two rows of erect, stiffly tied-up dahlias,when she was suddenly overtaken by our old acquaintance Kirillovna,who announced respectfully that a merchant desired to speak to her onimportant business. Kirillovna was still high in her mistress's favour(in reality it was she who managed Madame Kuntse's estate) and she hadsome time before obtained permission to wear a white cap, which gavestill more acerbity to the sharp features of her swarthy face.

  "A merchant?" said her mistress; "what does he want?"

  "I don't know what he wants," answered Kirillovna in an insinuatingvoice, "only I think he wants to buy something from you."

  Lizaveta Prohorovna went back into the drawing-room, sat down in herusual seat--an armchair with a canopy over it, upon which a climbingplant twined gracefully--and gave orders that the merchant should besummoned.

  Naum appeared, bowed, and stood still by the door.

  "I hear that you want to buy something of me," said LizavetaProhorovna, and thought to herself, "What a handsome man this merchantis."

  "Just so, madam."

  "What is it?"

  "Would you be willing to sell your inn?"

  "What inn?"

  "Why, the one on the high road not far from here."

  "But that inn is not mine, it is Akim's."

  "Not yours? Why, it stands on your land."

  "Yes, the land is mine ... bought in my name; but the inn is his."

  "To be sure. But wouldn't you be willing to sell it to me?"

  "How could I sell it to you?"

  "Well, I would give you a good price for it."

  Lizaveta Prohorovna was silent for a space.

  "It is really very queer what you are saying," she said. "And whatwould you give?" she added. "I don't ask that for myself but forAkim."

  "For all the buildings and the appurtenances, together with the landthat goes with it, of course, I would give two thousand roubles."

  "Two thousand roubles! That is not enough," replied LizavetaProhorovna.

  "It's a good price."

  "But have you spoken to Akim?"

  "What should I speak to him for? The inn is yours, so here I amtalking to you about it."

  "But I have told you.... It really is astonishing that you don'tunderstand me."

  "Not understand, madam? But I do understand."

  Lizaveta Prohorovna looked at Naum and Naum looked at LizavetaProhorovna.

  "Well, then," he began, "what do you propose?"

  "I propose ..." Lizaveta Prohorovna moved in her chair. "In the firstplace I tell you that two thousand is too little and in the second..."

  "I'll add another hundred, then."

  Lizaveta Prohorovna got up.

  "I see that you are talking quite off the point. I have told youalready that I cannot sell that inn--am not going to sell it. Icannot ... that is, I will not."

  Naum smiled and said nothing for a space.

  "Well, as you please, madam," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I begto take leave." He bowed and took hold of the door handle.

  Lizaveta Prohorovna turned round to him.

  "You need not go away yet, however," she said, with hardly perceptibleagitation. She rang the bell and Kirillovna came in from the study."Kirillovna, tell them to give this gentleman some tea. I will see youagain," she added, with a slight inclination of her head.

  Naum bowed again and went out with Kirillovna. Lizaveta Prohorovnawalked up and down the room once or twice and rang the bell again.This time a page appeared. She told him to fetch Kirillovna. A fewmoments later Kirillovna came in with a faint creak of her newgoatskin shoes.

  "Have you heard," Lizaveta Prohorovna began with a forced laugh, "whatthis merchant has been proposing to me? He is a queer fellow, really!"

  "No, I haven't heard. What is it, madam?" and Kirillovna faintlyscrewed up her black Kalmuck eyes.

  "He wants to buy Akim's inn."

  "Well, why not?"

  "But how could he? What about Akim? I gave it to Akim."

  "Upon my word, madam, what are you saying? Isn't the inn yours? Don'twe all belong to you? And isn't all our property yours, ourmistress's?"

  "Good gracious, Kirillovna, what are you saying?" Lizaveta Prohorovnapulled out a batiste handkerchief and nervously blew her nose. "Akimbought the inn with his own money."

  "His own money? But where did he get the money? Wasn't it through yourkindness? He has had the use of the land all this time as it is. Itwas all through your gracious permission. And do you suppose, madam,that he would have no money left? Why, he is richer than you are, uponmy word, he is!"

  "That's all true, of course, but still I can't do it.... How could Isell the inn?"

  "And why not sell it," Kirillovna went on, "since a purchaser hasluckily turned up? May I ask, madam, how much he offers you?"

  "More than two thousand roubles," said Lizaveta Prohorovna softly.

  "He will give more, madam, if he offers two thousand straight off. Andyou will arrange things with Akim afterwards; take a little off hisyearly duty or something. He will be thankful, too."

  "Of course, I must remit part of his duty. But no, Kirillovna, how canI sell it?" and Lizaveta Prohorovna walked up and down the room. "No,that's out of the question, that won't do ... no, please don't speakof it again ... or I shall be angry."

  But in spite of her agitated mistress's warning, Kirillovna didcontinue speaking of it and half an hour later she went back to Naum,whom she had left in the butler's pantry at the samovar.

  "What have you to tell me, good madam?" said Naum, jauntily turninghis tea-cup wrong side upwards in the saucer.

  "What I have to tell you is that you are to go in to the mistress; shewants you."

  "Certainly," said Naum, and he got up and followed Kirillovna into thedrawing-room.

  The door closed behind them.... When the door opened again and Naumwalked out backwards, bowing, the matter was settled: Akim's innbelonged to him. He had bought it for 2800 paper roubles. It wasarranged that the legal formalities should take place as quickly aspossible and that till then the matter should not be made public.Lizaveta Prohorovna received a deposit of a hundred roubles and twohundred went to Kirillovna for her assistance. "It has not cost memuch," thought Naum as he got into his coat, "it was a lucky chance."

  While the transaction we have described was going forward in themistress's house, Akim was sitting at home alone on the bench by thewindow, stroking his beard with a discontented expression. We havesaid already that he did not suspect his wife's feeling for Naum,although kind friends had more than once hinted to him that it wastime he opened his eyes; it is true that he had noticed himself thatof late his wife had become rather difficult, but we all know that thefemale sex is capricious and changeable. Even when it really didstrike him that things were not going well in his house, he merelydismissed the thought with a wave of his hand; he did not like theidea of a
squabble; his good nature had not lessened with years andindolence was asserting itself, too. But on that day he was very muchout of humour; the day before he had overheard quite by chance in thestreet a conversation between their servant and a neighbouring peasantwoman.

  The peasant woman asked the servant why she had not come to see her onthe holiday the day before. "I was expecting you," she said.

  "I did set off," replied the servant, "but as ill-luck would have it,I ran into the mistress ... botheration take her."

  "Ran into