contempt. And we began to love Tanya still more, and, meet her in
the morning more cheerfully and kind-heartedly.

But one day the soldier came to us a little intoxicated, seated
himself and began to laugh, and when we asked him what he was
laughing at he explained: "Two had a fight on account of me. . . .
Lidka and Grushka. . . . How they disfigured each other! Ha, ha!
One grabbed the other by the hair, and knocked her to the ground in
the hallway, and sat on her. . . . Ha, ha, ha! They scratched each
other's faces. . . . It is laughable! And why cannot women fight
honestly? Why do they scratch? Eh?"

He sat on the bench, strong and clean and jovial; talking and
laughing all the time. We were silent. Somehow or other he seemed
repulsive to us this time.

"How lucky I am with women, Eh? It is very funny! Just a wink and I
have them!"

His white hands, covered with glossy hair, were lifted and thrown
back to his knees with a loud noise. And he stared at us with such a
pleasantly surprised look, as though he really could not understand
why he was so lucky in his affairs with women. His stout, red face
was radiant with happiness and self-satisfaction, and he kept on
licking his lips with relish.

Our baker scraped the shovel firmly and angrily against the hearth of
the oven and suddenly said, sarcastically:

"You need no great strength to fell little fir-trees, but try to