The steamer began to hiss angrily, and slackened its speed. The noise of the hissing of the steam deafened the pilgrim's words, and Foma saw only the movement of his lips.
"Get off!" a loud, angry shout was heard. "It's my place!""Yours?"
"Here you have yours!"
"I'll rap you on the jaw; then you'll find your place. What a lord!""Get away!"
An uproar ensued. The peasants who were listening to the pilgrim turned their heads toward the direction where the row was going on, and the pilgrim heaved a sigh and became silent. Near the machine a loud and lively dispute blazed up as though dry branches, thrown upon a dying bonfire, had caught the flame.
"I'll give it to you, devils! Get away, both of you.""Take them away to the captain."
"Ha! ha! ha! That's a fine settlement for you!""That was a good rap he gave him on the neck!""The sailors are a clever lot."
"Eight! nine!" shouted the man with the measuring pole.
"Yes, increase speed!" came the loud exclamation of the engineer.
Swaying because of the motion of the steamer, Foma stood leaning against the tarpaulin, and attentively listened to each and every sound about him. And everything was blended into one picture, which was familiar to him. Through fog and uncertainty, surrounded on all sides by gloom impenetrable to the eye, life of man is moving somewhere slowly and heavily. And men are grieved over their sins, they sigh heavily, and then fight for a warm place, and asking each other for the sake of possessing the place, they also receive blows from those who strive for order in life. They timidly search for a free road toward the goal.
"Nine! eight!"
The wailing cry is softly wafted over the vessel. "And the holy prayer of the pilgrim is deafened by the tumult of life. And there is no relief from sorrow, there is no joy for him who reflects on his fate."Foma felt like speaking to this pilgrim, in whose softly uttered words there rang sincere fear of God, and all manner of fear for men before His countenance. The kind, admonitive voice of the pilgrim possessed a peculiar power, which compelled Foma to listen to its deep tones.
"I'd like to ask him where he lives," thought Foma, fixedly scrutinizing the huge stooping figure. "And where have I seen him before? Or does he resemble some acquaintance of mine?"Suddenly it somehow struck Foma with particular vividness that the humble preacher before him was no other than the son of old Anany Shchurov. Stunned by this conjecture, he walked up to the pilgrim and seating himself by his side, inquired freely:
"Are you from Irgiz, father?"
The pilgrim raised his head, turned his face toward Foma slowly and heavily, scrutinized him and said in a calm and gentle voice:
"I was on the Irgiz, too."
"Are you a native of that place?"
"Are you now coming from there?"
"No, I am coming from Saint Stephen."
The conversation broke off. Foma lacked the courage to ask the pilgrim whether he was not Shchurov.
"We'll be late on account of the fog," said some one.
"How can we help being late!"
All were silent, looking at Foma. Young, handsome, neatly and richly dressed, he aroused the curiosity of the bystanders by his sudden appearance among them; he was conscious of this curiosity, he understood that they were all waiting for his words, that they wanted to understand why he had come to them, and all this confused and angered him.
"It seems to me that I've met you before somewhere, father," said he at length.
The pilgrim replied, without looking at him:
"Perhaps."
"I would like to speak to you," announced Foma, timidly, in a low voice.
"Well, then, speak."
"Come with me."
"Whither?"
"To my cabin."
The pilgrim looked into Foma's face, and, after a moment's silence, assented:
"Come."
On leaving, Foma felt the looks of the peasants on his back, and now he was pleased to know that they were interested in him.
In the cabin he asked gently:
"Would you perhaps eat something? Tell me. I will order it.""God forbid. What do you wish?"
This man, dirty and ragged, in a cassock turned red with age, and covered with patches, surveyed the cabin with a squeamish look, and when he seated himself on the plush-covered lounge, he turned the skirt of the cassock as though afraid to soil it by the plush.
"What is your name, father?" asked Foma, noticing the expression of squeamishness on the pilgrim's face.
"Miron."
"Not Mikhail?"
"Why Mikhail?" asked the pilgrim.
"There was in our town the son of a certain merchant Shchurov, he also went off to the Irgiz. And his name was Mikhail."Foma spoke and fixedly looked at Father Miron; but the latter was as calm as a deaf-mute--"I never met such a man. I don't remember, I never met him," said he, thoughtfully. "So you wished to inquire about him?""Yes."
"No, I never met Mikhail Shchurov. Well, pardon me for Christ's sake!" and rising from the lounge, the pilgrim bowed to Foma and went toward the door.
"But wait awhile, sit down, let's talk a little!" exclaimed Foma, rushing at him uneasily. The pilgrim looked at him searchingly and sank down on the lounge. From the distance came a dull sound, like a deep groan, and immediately after it the signal whistle of the steamer drawled out as in a frightened manner over Foma's and his guest's heads. From the distance came a more distant reply, and the whistle overhead again gave out abrupt, timorous sounds.
Foma opened the window. Through the fog, not far from their steamer, something was moving along with deep noise; specks of fantastic lights floated by, the fog was agitated and again sank into dead immobility.
"How terrible!" exclaimed Foma, shutting the window.
"What is there to be afraid of?" asked the pilgrim. "You see! It is neither day nor night, neither darkness nor light! We can see nothing, we are sailing we know not whither, we are straying on the river.""Have inward fire within you, have light within your soul, and you shall see everything," said the pilgrim, sternly and instructively.
