CHAPTER IV

Very late, the evening of the same day, when the work-people at the fisheries had finished their supper, Malva, tired and dreamy, had seated herself on a broken, upturned boat, and was watching the sea, over which twilight¹ was gradually falling. Out yonder a fire was burning, and Malva knew that it was Vassili who had lit it Half hidden and solitary² in the sombre distance, the flame flashed up every now and then, and then died down as if crushed. And Malva felt sad as she watched this red spot, abandoned in the waste of waters, and palpitating feebly amidst the ceaseless and incomprehensible murmur³ of the waves.

"Why do you stay there?" said Sereja's voice behind her.

"What's that to you?" she replied dryly, without moving.

"I am curious."

He watched her silently, and took out a cigarette, lit it, and sat astride the boat Then as he realized that Malva was not inclined to talk to him, he added in a friendly voice—

"What a queer sort of woman you are! At one moment you run away from everybody, and the next moment you throw yourself at every one's head."

"At yours, perhaps?" said Malva carelessly. "Not at mine, but at Jakoff's."

"Are you jealous?"

"Hm! Shall we talk to each other straight?" She was seated sideways to him; he could not see her face, as she interjected in a curt⁴ tone— "Talk away!"

"Have you quarrelled with Vassili? tell me?"

"I am sure I don't know...." she replied, after a moment's silence. "Why do you want to know?"

"Just out of curiosity."

"I am angry with him."

"Why?"

"He beat me."

"Is it possible?... He?... And you allowed him to do it?... Well!... Well!..."

Sereja could not get over it He tried to catch sight of Malva's face, and made a mocking grimace⁵.

"If I had liked I could have prevented him! she replied angrily.

"How's that?"

"I wouldn't defend myself!"

"You care for him then as much as that; that old grey cat?" said Sereja, puffing⁶ out a mouthful of smoke. "Here's a nice business! And I, who thought you were worth more than that!"

"I don't care for any of you!" she replied in a voice that had recovered its indifference⁷, and brushing the smoke away with her hand.

"You are lying, I bet anything."

"Why should I lie?" she asked.

And by the ring in her voice Sereja recognized that she had no reason to lie.

"But if you don't care for him, why did you allow him to beat you?"

"How do I know?... Leave me alone!"

"It's a queer go!" said Sereja, shaking his head. And they were both silent Night came on. The slow-moving clouds threw dark shadows over the sea. The waves moaned.

Vassili's fire at the end of the cape⁸ had died down, but Malva continued to look out in that direction. Sereja watched the girl attentively⁹.

"Listen!" he said, "do you know what you want?"

"If only I could know!" she replied in a low voice, with a deep-drawn sigh.

"You don't know?... That's a bad job," said Sereja positively¹⁰. "I, I always know!"

And with a shade of sadness, he added—

"Only it's so rarely that I want anything...." "And I, I am always wanting something," said Malva. "I want ... what ... I don't know.... Sometimes I would like to jump into a boat, and go out to sea, far, far out. And at other times I should like to turn all you men into tops, who would spin and spin in front of me. I should watch them, and I should laugh. Sometimes I pity everybody, and especially myself; sometimes I want to kill everybody, and then do for myself some horrible death. And then I am bored, and then I want to laugh, and men are all a lot of sticks."

"They are rotten wood," Sereja agreed softly. "I was right when I said to myself—'you are neither cat, nor fish, nor bird ... but you have something of all of them in you. You are not like other women."

"Thank God!" sighed Malva.

To their left, behind a chain of sandy hills, the moon rose, flooding them with its silvery light. Large and soft it rose slowly in the blue sky, and the sparkling light of the stars paled, and was lost in its mellow¹¹, dreamy light.

"You think too much.... That's what's the matter!" said Sereja in a convinced tone of voice, tossing away his cigarette. "And when one thinks, one becomes disgusted with life.... One must be always moving, always in the midst of people ... who must be made to feel that one is really alive. One must knock life about, or it will become mouldy. Move about in life, here and there, as long as you are able, and then you won't be bored." Malva grew gay.

"It's perhaps true what you say. Sometimes I think that if one set fire one night to one of the huts ... that might make things lively!" "That's a capital idea!" cried the other one, tapping her on the shoulder. "Do you know what I would advise you ... we might have some fun together if you would like?"

"What is it?" asked Malva, interested.

"Have you warmed up Jakoff well?"

"He bums¹² like a clear fire," she said delighted.

"Is it possible? Set him on to his father. Wouldn't it be a queer sight?... They would go for each other like two bears ... Warm the old fellow up a little, and this other one still more ... and then we will set them on each other." Malva looked hard into his freckled¹³ face, as he smiled gaily¹⁴. Lighted up by the moon it seemed less ugly than by daylight It expressed neither hatred¹⁵ nor anything but good humour and vivacity¹⁶, in the expectation of a reply.

"Why do you hate them?" Malva asked suspiciously.

"I? Vassili is a good sort of fellow for a peasant. But Jakoff is not worth anything. Generally speaking, you see, I don't like peasants; they are all knaves¹⁷. They know how to pretend to be unfortunate, get bread and everything given to them. And all the time they have a municipality which looks after them. They have land and cattle. I was coachman to a municipal doctor—and I saw something of those peasants then! Then for a long time I was a tramp. When I got to a village and asked for bread—'Oh! Oh! Who are you? what are you doing? show your passport!...' I was beaten more than once; sometimes they took me for a horse-thief; sometimes without any reason they put me in prison.... They groan¹⁸ and pretend that they can't live, although they have land of their own. And I, what could I do against them?"

"Are you not a peasant?"

"I am citizen," replied Sereja with pride. "A citizen of the town of Ouglitch."

"And I of Pavlitcha," said Malva dreamily.

"I have no one to protect me. But those devils of peasants, they can live well. They have a municipality and everything."

"What is a municipality?" asked Malva.

"A municipality? Devil take me if I know!... It's something made for peasants; it's their council.... Don't let's talk any more of that. Let's talk of our own business. Will you arrange this matter, tell me? No harm will come of it. They will just knock each other about a little.... I will help you.... Vassili beat you, did he?... Then let his son give you back the blows that you have received."

"Why not?" said Malva, smiling. "It wouldn't be a bad thing."

"Just think a little, isn't it amusing to see how people knock each other about because of you? You just wag your tongue once or twice, and it's done."

Sereja for some time went on exposing to her in a flattering light, and with much enthusiasm the charms of the part which he proposed she should play. He was both joking and serious, and was himself carried away.

"Ah! if only I were a beautiful woman! How I would turn the world topsy-turvy!" he cried at the end of their talk.

Then he took his head into his hands, pressed it, closed his eyes and was silent.

The moon was high when they separated After they had left, the beauty of the night intensified¹⁹. There remained but the boundless²⁰, marvellous sea, flecked by the silver of the moon; and the star-sown sky. The little sand-hills, the bushy willows²¹, and the two long rows of huts like two enormous coffins²², appeared quite insignificant²³ in the face of the sea, and of the stars, which twinkled coldly as they contemplated²⁴ it.

1 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

2 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

3 murmur   

n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言

参考例句：

• They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
• There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

4 curt   

adj.简短的，草率的

参考例句：

• He gave me an extremely curt answer.他对我作了极为草率的答复。
• He rapped out a series of curt commands.他大声发出了一连串简短的命令。

5 grimace   

v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭

参考例句：

• The boy stole a look at his father with grimace.那男孩扮着鬼脸偷看了他父亲一眼。
• Thomas made a grimace after he had tasted the wine.托马斯尝了那葡萄酒后做了个鬼脸。

6 puffing   

v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He was puffing hard when he jumped on to the bus. 他跳上公共汽车时喘息不已。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe. 父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

8 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

9 attentively   

adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神

参考例句：

• She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时，她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着，把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

11 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

12 bums   

n. 游荡者，流浪汉，懒鬼，闹饮，屁股 adj. 没有价值的，不灵光的，不合理的 vt. 令人失望，乞讨 vi. 混日子，以乞讨为生

参考例句：

• The other guys are considered'sick" or "bums". 其他的人则被看成是“病态”或“废物”。
• You'll never amount to anything, you good-for-nothing bums! 这班没出息的东西，一辈子也不会成器。

13 freckled   

adj.雀斑；斑点；晒斑；（使）生雀斑v.雀斑，斑点( freckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her face was freckled all over. 她的脸长满雀斑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Her freckled skin glowed with health again. 她长有雀斑的皮肤又泛出了健康的红光。 来自辞典例句

14 gaily   

adv.欢乐地，高兴地

参考例句：

• The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
• She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。

15 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

16 vivacity   

n.快活，活泼，精神充沛

参考例句：

• Her charm resides in her vivacity.她的魅力存在于她的活泼。
• He was charmed by her vivacity and high spirits.她的活泼与兴高采烈的情绪把他迷住了。

17 knaves   

n.恶棍，无赖( knave的名词复数 )；（纸牌中的）杰克

参考例句：

• Give knaves an inch and they will take a yard. 我一日三餐都吃得很丰盛。 来自互联网
• Knaves and robbers can obtain only what was before possessed by others. 流氓、窃贼只能攫取原先由别人占有的财富。 来自互联网

18 groan   

vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音

参考例句：

• The wounded man uttered a groan.那个受伤的人发出呻吟。
• The people groan under the burden of taxes.人民在重税下痛苦呻吟。

19 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 boundless   

adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的

参考例句：

• The boundless woods were sleeping in the deep repose of nature.无边无际的森林在大自然静寂的怀抱中酣睡着。
• His gratitude and devotion to the Party was boundless.他对党无限感激、无限忠诚。

21 willows   

n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木

参考例句：

• The willows along the river bank look very beautiful. 河岸边的柳树很美。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Willows are planted on both sides of the streets. 街道两侧种着柳树。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

22 coffins   

n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 )；使某人早亡[死，完蛋，垮台等]之物

参考例句：

• The shop was close and hot, and the atmosphere seemed tainted with the smell of coffins. 店堂里相当闷热，空气仿佛被棺木的味儿污染了。 来自辞典例句
• Donate some coffins to the temple, equal to the number of deaths. 到寺庙里，捐赠棺材盒给这些死者吧。 来自电影对白

23 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

24 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。