And it seemed to me it was my fault to some extent. Who, I
thought, had anything in common with Zhidovka if not myself? Or was
it Khlopov?--
Here the old man was interrupted by the neighing of the horses.
The forward horse seemed to be getting proud of the comparative
freedom he enjoyed, and bit his neighbor, only to remind him of it.
The latter, unable to turn around in the harness, resented the
insult by kicking. But then the driver plied the whip, and there
was peace again.
"Would you take the trouble to dismount? Just walk up that hill: it
will do you good to warm yourselves up a little after sitting so
long in one place."
That was the driver's suggestion; and as no one refuses obedience to
drivers on the road, we dismounted.
VII
The next day--resumed the old man--the situation became a little
clearer to me. Marusya told me that according to the gossip of the
village her mother was a converted Jewess. She, Marusya, was not so
sure of it. Her father would call her mother a Jewess once in a
while, but that happened only when he was drunk.
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