“Your health!” said Lukáshka, taking from his mother’s hands a cup
filled to the brim with _chikhir_ and carefully raising it to his bowed
head.
“A bad business!” said Nazárka. “You heard how Daddy Burlák said, ‘Have
you stolen many horses?’ He seems to know!”
“A regular wizard!” Lukáshka replied shortly. “But what of it!” he
added, tossing his head. “They are across the river by now. Go and find
them!”
“Still it’s a bad lookout.”
“What’s a bad lookout? Go and take some _chikhir_ to him tomorrow and
nothing will come of it. Now let’s make merry. Drink!” shouted
Lukáshka, just in the tone in which old Eróshka uttered the word.
“We’ll go out into the street and make merry with the girls. You go and
get some honey; or no, I’ll send our dumb wench. We’ll make merry till
morning.”
Nazárka smiled.
“Are we stopping here long?” he asked.
“Till we’ve had a bit of fun. Run and get some vodka. Here’s the
money.”
Nazárka ran off obediently to get the vodka from Yámka’s.
Daddy Eróshka and Ergushóv, like birds of prey, scenting where the
merry-making was going on, tumbled into the hut one after the other,
both tipsy.
“Bring us another half-pail,” shouted Lukáshka to his mother, by way of
reply to their greeting.
“Now then, tell us where did you steal them, you devil?” shouted
Eróshka. “Fine fellow, I’m fond of you!”
“Fond indeed...” answered Lukáshka laughing, “carrying sweets from
cadets to lasses! Eh, you old...”
“That’s not true, not true! ... Oh, Mark,” and the old man burst out
laughing. “And how that devil begged me. ‘Go,’ he said, ‘and arrange
it.’ He offered me a gun! But no. I’d have managed it, but I feel for
you. Now tell us where have you been?” And the old man began speaking
in Tartar.
Lukáshka answered him promptly.
Ergushóv, who did not know much Tartar, only occasionally put in a word
in Russian: “What I say is he’s driven away the horses. I know it for a
fact,” he chimed in.
“Giréy and I went together.” (His speaking of Giréy Khan as “Giréy”
was, to the Cossack mind, evidence of his boldness.) “Just beyond the
river he kept bragging that he knew the whole of the steppe and would
lead the way straight, but we rode on and the night was dark, and my
Giréy lost his way and began wandering in a circle without getting
anywhere: couldn’t find the village, and there we were. We must have
gone too much to the right. I believe we wandered about well-nigh till
midnight. Then, thank goodness, we heard dogs howling.”
“Fools!” said Daddy Eróshka. “There now, we too used to lose our way in
the steppe. (Who the devil can follow it?) But I used to ride up a
hillock and start howling like the wolves, like this!” He placed his
hands before his mouth, and howled like a pack of wolves, all on one
note. “The dogs would answer at once ... Well, go on—so you found
them?”
“We soon led them away! Nazárka was nearly caught by some Nogáy women,
he was!”
“Caught indeed,” Nazárka, who had just come back, said in an injured
tone.
“We rode off again, and again Giréy lost his way and almost landed us
among the sand-drifts. We thought we were just getting to the Térek but
we were riding away from it all the time!”
“You should have steered by the stars,” said Daddy Eróshka.
“That’s what I say,” interjected Ergushóv.
“Yes, steer when all is black; I tried and tried all about... and at
last I put the bridle on one of the mares and let my own horse go
free—thinking he’ll lead us out, and what do you think! he just gave a
snort or two with his nose to the ground, galloped ahead, and led us
straight to our village. Thank goodness! It was getting quite light. We
barely had time to hide them in the forest. Nagím came across the river
and took them away.”
Ergushóv shook his head. “It’s just what I said. Smart. Did you get
much for them?”
“It’s all here,” said Lukáshka, slapping his pocket.
Just then his mother came into the room, and Lukáshka did not finish
what he was saying.
“Drink!” he shouted.
“We too, Gírich and I, rode out late one night...” began Eróshka.
“Oh bother, we’ll never hear the end of you!” said Lukáshka. “I am
going.” And having emptied his cup and tightened the strap of his belt
he went out.