once more
beginning to sway, tearing itself free, and floating away down the
river as another such floe glided into its place.

And ever more and more swiftly was the water rising, and washing away
soil from the bank, and spreading a thick sediment over the dark blue
surface of the river. And as it did so, there resounded in the air a
strange noise as of chewing and champing, a noise as though some huge
wild animal were masticating, and licking itself with its great long
tongue.

And still there continued to come from the town the melancholy,
distance-softened, sweet-toned song of the bells.

Presently, the brothers Diatlov appeared descending from the hill with
bottles in their hands, and sporting like a couple of joyous puppies,
while to intercept them there could be seen advancing along the bank of
the river a grey-coated police sergeant and two black-coated constables.

"Oh Lord!" groaned Ossip as he rubbed his knee.

As for the townsfolk, they had no love for the police, so hastened to
withdraw to a little distance, where they silently awaited the
officers' approach. Before long the sergeant, a little, withered sort
of a fellow with diminutive features and a sandy, stubby moustache,
called out in gruff, stern, hoarse, laboured accents:

"So here you are, you rascals!"

Ossip prised himself up from the ground with his elbow, and said
hurriedly:

"It was I that contrived the idea of the thing, your Excellency; but,
pray let me off in honour of the festival."

"What do you say, you--?" the sergeant began, but his bluster was lost
amid the swift flow of Ossip's further conciliatory words.

"We are folk of this town," Ossip continued, "who tonight found
ourselves stranded on the further bank, with nothing to buy bread with,
even though the day after tomorrow will be Christ's day, the day when
Christians like ourselves wish to clean themselves up a little, and to
go to church. So I said to my mates, 'Be off with you, my good fellows,
and may God send that no mishap befall you!' And for this
presumptuousness of mine I have been punished already, for, as you can
see, have as good as broken my leg."

"Yes," ejaculated the sergeant grimly. "But if you had been drowned,
what then?"

Ossip sighed wearily.

"What then, do you say, your Excellency? Why, then, nothing, with your
permission."

This led the officer to start railing at the culprit, while the crowd
listened as silently and attentively as though he