Page:Tolstoy - Tales from Tolstoi.djvu/207

Rh and there stood Gabriel, every part of him was visible. Ivan threw himself on Gabriel like a hawk upon a lark.

"I'll wring his neck, he shall not escape me now," thought he.

And the lame man himself now plainly heard steps, turned round, and seeing no way of escape, crouched up against the barn like a hare.

"Thou shalt not escape," screeched Ivan, and fell upon him.

Just as he would have seized him by the collar, Gabriel twisted himself loose from his grasp, and caught Ivan by the lappet of his coat; the lappet gave way, and Ivan fell to the ground. Ivan leaped to his feet: "Stop thief," he cried, and ran after him.

By the time he had got up, however, Gabriel was already in his own courtyard, but here Ivan had already caught him up, and was about to clutch hold of him, when suddenly something crashed down on his head just as if he had been struck by a stone in the dark. Gabriel had caught up an oak chump from his courtyard, and, when Ivan rushed towards him, struck him with all his might on the head. Ivan staggered dizzily, sparks flew up before his eyes, and down he went. When he came to himself Gabriel was no longer there, it was as light as day all about him, and from the direction of his own courtyard there was a humming and a whirring as of an engine at work. Ivan turned him round and saw that the back barn was all aflame, and the flames had also caught the side barn, and the fire and the smoke and chips of burning straw were driving with the smoke towards the hut. 157