he
were so minded. But on this Sunday morning he took the key from its
nail and put it in his pocket. Don't start; he did this, not between
six and seven, but shortly after eight o'clock. He wanted to see the
men bathing, unseen himself. And wherefore? Because he knew the
customs which prevail in coal-mines, and that when a pair are engaged,
it is customary to inscribe the name of the girl upon the man's naked
body. Where the miners have got this Indian and savage method is hard
to say. There is a certain tenderness in it, and tenderness is more
often found with the savage than the civilized man. The lovers tattoo
themselves with a needle, upon the arm or shoulder, and then rub in a
corrosive acid, either red or blue. Such a testimony is ineffaceable.
Sometimes some poetic temperament adds two hearts transfixed by an
arrow, or a couple of doves, or it may be the signs of the miner--the
mallet and the pick. It occasionally happens that the relations alter,
and the lover would gladly remove the name of the fickle one from his
album. This can be done by placing a blister over the name, and then
the writing vanishes, together with the skin; a new skin grows, and
upon this a new name can be written. It is a real palimpsest. Many are
not so discreet. They punctuate a fresh name under the old one, and
let the register increase, until sometimes there is not a vacant
place.

It did not give Ivan much trouble to find the man he sought. As soon
as the water removed the black soot from the bodies of the bathers, he
saw on the shoulder of one of them the name of Evila, the letters in
blue, two hearts in red. His rival was an intelligent, most
industrious laborer; he was called Peter Saffran, and his comrades had
added the nickname--the man-eater. To this misnomer Peter had never
taken any umbrage. He was a particularly quiet man, and when they
teased him he took no notice. He never complained of anything, and
never entered either the church or the tavern. Towards children he had
a particular antipathy. If one came near him he drove it away, ground
his teeth together, and threw anything he had in his hand at it. This
peculiarity was so well known that the mothers always cautioned the
little ones against the man-eater. For the rest, he was on good terms
with every one.

Ivan, having found what he wanted, left the pump-house and returned
home, placing himself before the door, so that he could see the people
as they went by presentl