He was still asleep--she
put her burning arms about him and drew his head to her deep bosom,
whispering to him softly:
"A child ... it is the child...."
Little by little, the night lifted and in through the windows came
the daylight. The elk ceased his bellowing The room filled with
glancing morning shadows. Makar approached, sniffed, and laid his
paws on the bed. Demid seized his collar with his free hand and
patting him fondly said:
"That is right, Makar Ivanych--you know, don't you?" Then turning to
Marina, he added: "What do you think, Marinka? Doesn't he know?
Doesn't the old bear know, Marinka?"
Makar licked Demid's hand, and laid his head knowingly on his
forepaws. The night had gone; rays of lilac-coloured light illumined
the snow and entered the house. Round, red, and distant rose the sun.
Below the hill lay the blue, ice-bound river, and away beyond it
stretched the ribbed outline of the vast, marshy Siberian forest.
Demid did not enter it that day, nor on many of the following days.
VIII
The winter descended.
The snow lay in deep layers, blue by day and night, lilac in the
brief intervals of sunrise and sunset. The pale, powerless sun seemed
far away and strange during the three short hours that it showed over
the horizon. The rest of the time it was night. The northern lights
flashed like quivering arrows across the sky, in their sublime and
awful majesty.
Pages:
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77