Page:Korolenko - Makar's Dream and Other Stories.djvu/260

236 "Did you stop at the inn?"

"Yes."

"Did you drink any gorelka?"

"Bah, what's the use of talking to a fool? I did have some gorelka at the priest's, but all the same I have just seen with my own eyes the devil resting on the dam with the Jew in his claws."

"Where?"

"Right there, in the middle of the dam."

"And what happened next?"

"Well, and then——" the miller whistled and waved his hand in the air.

Gavrilo stared at the dam, scratched his topknot, and looked up at the sky.

"There's a marvel for you! What'll we do now? How can we get along without the Jew?"

"Why are you so anxious to have a Jew here, hey?" "It isn't only me. One can't—oh, don't argue about it, master, things wouldn't be the same without a Jew; one couldn't get along without one."

"Tut, tut! What a fool you are!"

"What are you scolding me for? I don't say I'm clever, but I know millet from buckwheat. I work in the mill, but I drink vodka at the tavern. Tell me, as you're so clever, who will be our inn-keeper now?"

"Who?"

"Yes, who?"