Page:Anna Karenina.djvu/217

 "Where are the gratings for the calves?"

"I ordered them to be put in place. You can't do anything with such people," replied the overseer, waving his hands.

"Not such people, but such an overseer!" said Levin, getting still more angry. "Well, what do I keep you for?" he shouted; but, recollecting that shouts did not do any good, he stopped in the middle of his remark and only sighed. "Well, can you get the seed in yet?" he asked, after a silence.

"Back of Turkino we might to-morrow, or the day after."

"And the clover?"

"I sent Vasili and Mishka to sow it, but I don't know whether they succeeded; it's muddy."

"On how many acres?"

"Sixteen acres."

"Why not the whole?" cried Levin.

He was still more indignant because they had sowed only sixteen acres instead of fifty-four: he knew by his own experience, as well as by theory, the need of sowing the clover-seed as early as possible, almost in the snow, and Levin never could get this done.

"Not enough people. What can you do with these men? The three hired men did not come; and then Semyon .... "

"Well, you would better have taken them away from the straw."

"Yes; I did that very thing."

"Where are all the people?"

"There are five at the compote [he meant to say compost]; four are moving the oats, so that they should not spoil, Konstantin Dmitritch."

Levin knew very well that these words, "So that they should not spoil," meant that his English oats saved for seed were already ruined. Again they had not done what he had ordered.

"Yes! But did I not tell you during Lent to put in the ventilating-chimneys?" he cried.