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The next two weeks sped by. There were visits to Marfa and the
children, plans to be made and discussed. And several times Kamov
called to report cheerfully that everything he had undertaken to do was
progressing splendidly.
According to him, the people of the valley were at first completely
overwhelmed by his news. “Have you heard? Turgen is going to marry the
poor widow Marfa.” The word spread like fire. What seemed to occasion
surprise was not that Marfa was marrying a Lamut, but that Turgen was
taking upon himself the burden of providing for her and the children.
Once that fact was accepted, everyone--men and women--had something
to say about the wedding. A real wedding, in their own small chapel,
with a service performed by Father Peter himself. And after the
ceremony--greatest marvel of all--there was to be a feast in the yurta
of the Bailiff Popov, with the doors open to rich and poor, young and
old. The people of the valley boiled with excitement and amazement.
“Just think of it, Father Peter himself will marry them! What a
blessing! The Father will travel sixty miles just for that! Such an
event does not occur every day.”
Gradually, in the eyes of the people, Turgen was becoming a highly
respected man, and Marfa a fortunate woman to get him for her husband.
She was younger than he, but that was considered no obstacle so long as
a man was strong and not bad looking. Moreover, Turgen was well-to-do.
The woman who got him, said the wives sagely, would not have to work
hard.
Public opinion was so strongly in Turgen’s favor that when someone
mentioned carelessly his friendship with the devil, the gossiper was
hissed into silence. “Keep your mouth shut,” bystanders ordered him.
“Would the priest have consented to give his blessing if what you say
were true? No. How is it possible that a sorcerer could cross the
threshold of a chapel? No and No. People were just talking nonsense.”
Only the shamanist failed to express an opinion. Those who tried to
seek him out and question him were put off by the woman Stepa who
announced with authority, “The great shamanist is ill and unable to
talk.” But she gave it as a fact that he had nothing against the
marriage.
This was enough to convince the shamanist’s ardent supporters that they
were free to approve Turgen’s action and attend the wedding. Their
approval was strengthened daily by rumors of important Yakuts who would
be among the guests. And outweighing all else was the fact that Kamov
would be best man. The merchant was held in such excellent regard that
any project he supported must surely be above suspicion.
“As long as Kamov is his friend, who dares to be Turgen’s enemy?” the
Yakuts asked of one another. And so the word was passed along and the
day of the wedding arrived.