on her face, and tea and sugar
were sent out to her. And Lipa, too, could not get used to it either,
and after her husband had gone away she did not sleep in her bed, but
lay down anywhere to sleep, in the kitchen or the barn, and every day
she scrubbed the floor or washed the clothes, and felt as though she
were hired by the day. And now, on coming back from the service, they
drank tea in the kitchen with the cook, then they went into the barn and
lay down on the ground between the sledge and the wall. It was dark here
and smelt of harness. The lights went out about the house, then they
could hear the deaf man shutting up the shop, the mowers settling
themselves about the yard to sleep. In the distance at the Hrymin
Juniors' they were playing on the expensive concertina.... Praskovya and
Lipa began to go to sleep.

And when they were awakened by somebody's steps it was bright moonlight;
at the entrance of the barn stood Aksinya with her bedding in her arms.

"Maybe it's a bit cooler here," she said; then she came in and lay down
almost in the doorway so that the moonlight fell full upon her.

She did not sleep, but breathed heavily, tossing from side to side
with the heat, throwing off almost all the bedclothes. And in the magic
moonlight what a beautiful, what a proud animal she was! A little time
passed, and then steps were heard again: the old father, white all over,
appeared in the doorway.

"Aksinya," he called, "are you here?"

"Well?" she responded angrily.

"I told you just now to throw the money into the well, have you done
so?"

"What next, throwing property into the water! I gave them to the
mowers...."

"Oh my God!" cried the old man, dumbfounded and alarmed. "Oh my God! you
wicked woman...."

He flung up his hands and went out, and he kept saying something as he
went away. And a little later Aksinya sat up and sighed heavily with
annoyance, then got up and, gathering up her bedclothes in her arms,
went out.

"Why did you marry me into this family, mother?" said Lipa.

"One has to be married, daughter. It was not us who ordained it."

And a feeling of inconsolable woe was ready to take possession of them.
But it seemed to them that someone was looking down from the height of
the heavens, out of the blue from where the stars were seeing everything
that was going on in Ukleevo, watching over them. And however great was
wickedness, still the night was calm and beautiful, and still in God's
worl