Page:Leo Tolstoi - Life Is Worth Living and Other Stories - tr. Adolphus Norraikow (1892).djvu/40

Rh table, saying, "Come here, my good man." He next proceeded to cut the loaf into slices, which they broke into their cups and started to eat.

Matreona was seated at one corner of the table, and, with her head resting on her hands, she gazed intently at the stranger. A feeling of pity took possession of her heart, and she felt that she liked him. Suddenly the man ceased to knit his brows, his face brightened, and, raising his eyes, he smiled upon Matreona.

At the conclusion of the meal, Simeon's wife proceeded to put everything away, and while doing so she said to the stranger:

"Who are you, anyway?"

"I am a stranger," he replied.

"But how did it happen that you found yourself alone on the road?"

"I cannot tell you."

"By whom were you robbed?"

"I have been punished by God."

"But you were lying naked, my husband says?"