antastically: the water about the boat black and thick, like oil--and
nothing else could be seen. The boy's heart trembled painfully and he
began to listen attentively. A scarcely audible, melancholy song reached
his ears--mournful and monotonous as a chant on the caravan the watchmen
called to one another; the steamer hissed angrily getting up steam.
And the black water of the river splashed sadly and quietly against the
sides of the vessels. Staring fixedly into the darkness, until his eyes
hurt, the boy discerned black piles and small lights dimly burning high
above them. He knew that those were barges, but this knowledge did
not calm him and his heart throbbed unevenly, and, in his imagination,
terrifying dark images arose.

"O-o-o," a drawling cry came from the distance and ended like a wail.

Someone crossed the deck and went up to the side of the steamer.

"O-o-o," was heard again, but nearer this time.

"Yefim!" some one called in a low voice on the deck. "Yefimka!"

"Well?"

"Devil! Get up! Take the boat-hook."

"O-o-o," someone moaned near by, and Foma, shuddering, stepped back from
the window.

The queer sound came nearer and nearer and grew in strength, sobbed and
died out in the darkness. While on the deck they whispered with alarm:

"Yefimka! Get up! A guest is floating!"

"Where?" came a hasty question, then bare feet began to patter about the
deck, a bustle was heard, and two boat-hooks slipped down past the boy's
face and almost noiselessly plunged into the water.

"A gue-e-est!" Some began to sob near by, and a quiet, but very queer
splash resounded.

The boy trembled with fright at this mournful cry, but he could not tear
his hands from the window nor his eyes from the water.

"Light the lantern. You can't see anything."

"Directly."

And then a spot of dim light fell over the water. Foma saw that the
water was rocking calmly, that a ripple was passing over it, as though
the water were afflicted, and trembled for pain.

"Look! Look!" they whispered on the deck with fright.

At the same time a big, terrible human face, with white teeth set
together, appeared on the spot of light. It floated and rocked in the
water, its teeth seemed to stare at Foma as though saying, with a smile:

"Eh, boy, boy, it is cold. Goodbye!"

The boat-hooks shook, were lifted in the air, were lowered again into
the water and carefully began to push something there.

"Shove him! Shove! Look out, he may b