Knock, Knock, Knock and Other Stories

collectingsubscriptions for the benefit of the people of Kasimov. The town hasbeen burnt to ashes with all its churches. And I am told they takeanything, not only bread and money, but all sorts of things. Shall wesend the watch there?"

  "Yes! yes!" I answered. "A splendid idea. But I thought that sinceyour friends are in want...."

  "No, no; to the committee; the Latkins will manage without it. To thecommittee."

  "Well, if it is to be the committee, let it be. Only, I imagine, wemust write something to the governor."

  David glanced at me. "Do you think so?"

  "Yes, of course; there is no need to write much. But just a fewwords."

  "For instance?"

  "For instance ... begin like this: 'Being' ... or better: 'Movedby' ..."

  "'Moved by' ... very good."

  "Then we must say: 'herewith our mite' ..."

  "'Mite' ... that's good, too. Well, take your pen, sit down and write,fire away!"

  "First I must make a rough copy," I observed.

  "All right, a rough copy, only write, write.... And meanwhile I willclean it with some whitening."

  I took a sheet of paper, mended a pen, but before I had time to writeat the top of the sheet "To His Excellency, the illustrious Prince"(our governer was at that time Prince X), I stopped, struck by theextraordinary uproar ... which had suddenly arisen in the house. Davidnoticed the hubbub, too, and he, too, stopped, holding the watch inhis left hand and a rag with whitening in his right. We looked at eachother. What was that shrill cry. It was my aunt shrieking ... andthat? It was my father's voice, hoarse with anger. "The watch! thewatch!" bawled someone, surely Trankvillitatin. We heard the thud offeet, the creak of the floor, a regular rabble running ... movingstraight upon us. I was numb with terror and David was as white aschalk, but he looked proud as an eagle. "Vassily, the scoundrel, hasbetrayed us," he whispered through his teeth. The door was flung wideopen, and my father in his dressing gown and without his cravat, myaunt in her dressing jacket, Trankvillitatin, Vassily, Yushka, anotherboy, and the cook, Agapit--all burst into the room.

  "Scoundrels!" shouted my father, gasping for breath.... "At last wehave found you out!" And seeing the watch in David's hands: "Give ithere!" yelled my father, "give me the watch!"

  But David, without uttering a word, dashed to the open window andleapt out of it into the yard and then off into the street.

  Accustomed to imitate my paragon in everything, I jumped out, too, andran after David....

  "Catch them! Hold them!" we heard a medley of frantic shouts behindus.

  But we were already racing along the street bareheaded, David inadvance and I a few paces behind him, and behind us the clatter anduproar of pursuit.

  XIX

  Many years have passed since the date of these events; I havereflected over them more than once--and to this day I can no moreunderstand the cause of the fury that took possession of my father(who had so lately been so sick of the watch that he had forbidden itto be mentioned in his hearing) than I can David's rage at its havingbeen stolen by Vassily! One is tempted to imagine that there was somemysterious power connected with it. Vassily had not betrayed us asDavid assumed--he was not capable of it: he had been too muchscared--it was simply that one of our maids had seen the watch in hishands and had promptly informed our aunt. The fat was in the fire!

  And so we darted down the street, keeping to the very middle of it.The passers-by who met us stopped or stepped aside in amazement. Iremember a retired major craned out of the window of his flat--and,crimson in the face, his bulky person almost overbalancing, hallooedfuriously. Shouts of "Stop! hold them" still resounded behind us.

  David ran flourishing the watch over his head and from time to timeleaping into the air; I jumped, too, whenever he did.

  "Where?" I shouted to David, seeing that he was turning into a sidestreet--and I turned after him.

  "To the Oka!" he shouted. "To throw it into the water, into the river.To the devil!"

  "Stop! stop!" they shouted behind.

  But we were already flying along the side street, already a whiff ofcool air was meeting us--and the river lay before us, and the steepmuddy descent to it, and the wooden bridge with a train of waggonsstretching across it, and a garrison soldier with a pike beside theflagstaff; soldiers used to carry pikes in those days. David reachedthe bridge and darted by the soldier who tried to give him a blow onthe legs with his pike and hit a passing calf. David instantly leapedon to the parapet; he uttered a joyful exclamation.... Somethingwhite, something blue gleamed in the air and shot into the water--itwas the silver watch with Vassily's blue bead chain flying into thewater.... But then something incredible happened. After the watchDavid's feet flew upwards--and head foremost, with his hands thrustout before him and the lapels of his jacket fluttering, he describedan arc in the air (as frightened frogs jump on hot days from a highbank into a pond) and instantly vanished behind the parapet of thebridge ... and then flop! and a tremendous splash below.

  What happened to me I am utterly unable to describe. I was some stepsfrom David when he leapt off the parapet ... but I don't even rememberwhether I cried out; I don't think that I was even frightened: I wasstunned, stupefied. I could not stir hand or foot. People were runningand hustling round me; some of them seemed to be people I knew. I hada sudden glimpse of Trofimitch, the soldier with the pike dashed offsomewhere, the horses and the waggons passed by quickly, tossing uptheir noses covered with string. Then everything was green before myeyes and someone gave me a violent shove on my head and all down myback ... I fell fainting.

  I remember that I came to myself afterwards and seeing that no one waspaying any attention to me went up to the parapet but not on the sidethat David had jumped. It seemed terrible to me to approach it, and asI began gazing into the dark blue muddy swollen river, I remember thatI noticed a boat moored to the bridge not far from the bank, andseveral people in the boat, and one of these, who was drenched allover and sparkling in the sun, bending over the edge of the boat waspulling something out of the water, something not very big, oblong, adark thing which at first I took to be a portmanteau or a basket; butwhen I looked more intently I saw that the thing was--David. Then inviolent excitement I shouted at the top of my voice and ran towardsthe boat, pushing my way through the people, but when I had run downto it I was overcome with timidity and began looking about me. Amongthe people who were crowding about it I recognised Trankvillitatin,the cook Agapit with a boot in his hand, Yushka, Vassily ... the wetand shining man held David's body under the arms, drew him out of theboat and laid him on his back on the mud of the bank. Both David'shands were raised to the level of his face as though he were trying tohide himself from strange eyes; he did not stir but lay as thoughstanding at attention, with his heels together and his stomach out.His face was greenish--his eyes were staring and water was drippingfrom his hair. The wet man who had pulled him out, a factory hand,judging by his clothes, began describing how he had done it, shiveringwith cold and continually throwing back his hair from his forehead ashe talked. He told his story in a very proper and painstaking way.

  "What do I see, friends? This young lad go flying from the bridge....Well! ... I ran down at once the way of the current for I knew he hadfallen into mid-stream and it would carry him under the bridge andthere ... talk of the devil! ... I looked: something like a fur cap wasfloating and it was his head. Well, quick as thought, I was in thewater and caught hold of him.... It didn't need much cleverness forthat!"

  Two or three words of approval were audible in the crowd.

  "You ought to have something to warm you now. Come along and we willhave a drink," said someone.

  But at this point all at once somebody pushed forward abruptly: it wasVassily.

  "What are you doing, good Christians?" he cried, tearfully. "We mustbring him to by rolling him; it's our young gentleman!"

  "Roll him, roll him," shouted the crowd, which was continuallygrowing.

  "Hang him up by the feet! it's the best way!"
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  "Lay him with his stomach on the barrel and roll him backwards andforwards.... Take him, lads."

  "Don't dare to touch him," put in the soldier with the pike. "He mustbe taken to the police station."

  "Low brute," Trofimitch's bass voice rang out.

  "But he is alive," I shouted at the top of my voice and almost withhorror. I had put my face near to his. "So that is what the drownedlook like," I thought, with a sinking heart.... And all at once I sawDavid's lips stir and a little water oozed from them....

  At once I was pushed back and dragged away; everyone rushed up to him.

  "Roll him, roll him," voices