least two hundred and twenty-five rubles' worth left on each desyatin.
Fifty-six desyatiins means fifty-six hundreds, and fifty-six hundreds,
and fifty-six tens, and another fifty-six tens, and then fifty-six
fives. . . .' He saw that it came out to more than twelve thousand
rubles, but could not reckon it up exactly without a counting-frame.
'But I won't give ten thousand, anyhow. I'll give about eight thousand
with a deduction on account of the glades. I'll grease the surveyor's
palm--give him a hundred rubles, or a hundred and fifty, and he'll
reckon that there are some five desyatins of glade to be deducted. And
he'll let it go for eight thousand. Three thousand cash down. That'll
move him, no fear!' he thought, and he pressed his pocket-book with his
forearm.

'God only knows how we missed the turning. The forest ought to be there,
and a watchman's hut, and dogs barking. But the damned things don't
bark when they're wanted.' He turned his collar down from his ear and
listened, but as before only the whistling of the wind could be heard,
the flapping and fluttering of the kerchief tied to the shafts, and the
pelting of the snow against the woodwork of the sledge. He again covered
up his ear.

'If I had known I would have stayed the night. Well, no matter, we'll
get there to-morrow. It's only one day lost. And the others won't travel
in such weather.' Then he remembered that on the 9th he had to receive
payment from the butcher for his oxen. 'He meant to come himself, but
he won't find me, and my wife won't know how to receive the money. She
doesn't know the right way of doing things,' he thought, recalling
how at their party the day before she had not known how to treat the
police-officer who was their guest. 'Of course she's only a woman! Where
could she have seen anything? In my father's time what was our house