The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-04-26
Continued from Page 81

the light of the smoking night lamps
saddles, swords, rifles, uniforms,
shoulder straps all thrown together
in great disorder. 1t smelled of horse
sweat.
Get up, Samuel"
The snow storm was raging outside
the storm which told Olga the story
of little Grandchild snowflake. It
must, indeed, have been a witch's
spell. 1t was almost impossible to
move about that night. The wind
swept down from the roofs, made
somersaults, whirled in fury, blew
from the devastated fields. The snow
was heaving like a sea-wave Instead
of walking one was almost forced to
crawl thru the snowy dimness, the
shrieking, grooming, bowling whirl-
wind, the white obscurity, the white
deadly song. And on this night three
people were lowering about the house
of Audrey Varalsky on the Sibirna
Mountain. Tanatar left his house,
and felt at once as if the white witch
the snowstorm had sunk her icy
hands into his neck. Tanatar drew
his head in and his birdlike face with
its aquiline nose stuck out prominent.
ly. And again it seemed that the man,
like some beast, was ready for leap.
Up to his waist in the snow Tanatar
ploughed thru it, crossing side
streets, turning corners, until he fin
ally reached the invisible house of
the Veralskys. Nothing could be seen
two steps ahead. The storm was
sweeping down from the mountains
and the steppes, flying at the houses
with strident cry. Some one came
right upon him.
The tempest almost drowned the
words:
who is there?"
1.-THE Commander of the Cavalry
Divisions this Doctor Fedoroff?"
Tanatar shrunk still further into him
self, and Fedoroff did not know
whether the cry that followed was
the voice of Tanatar, the bowling of
the tempest, or the work of his own
feverish brain.
He is watching Olga Veralskaya.
Olga is mine, l won't give her up.
Look out for Tanatar-Doctor! He
will kill you"
They separated, but met again,
frightened, and having met, noticed
a third person. It was white woman
leaning against fence And when
they had passed her, Tanatar bent
over Fedoroff and whispered in his
ear:
"That is my wife. My wife, Green
sickness. She follows me everywhere;
she knows everything but is silent,
always silent. Bloodless. Doctor
Fedoroff, Vassia, what an empty ex-
istencei Vassia, there is nothing
worth living for. am no better than
beast, uncultured, ignorant. And
my wife, always silent, but knowing
everything. She says that we must
love man; we must love the worst ex-
amples of man-even Ivan Petrovitch
Bekesh. We have forgotten man"
They crossed two side-streets, and
met Bekesh. Ivan Petrovitch was
standing near curbstone on which
he had hurriedly placed a package.
Having recognized them as friends,
he shouted gaily:
"You certainly frightened me. !
have ruined myself to buy some
bread for Christmas. / am carrying
it in the dark so that nobody will
take it away from me-"
"In this snow-storm everybody
came to the house of Iakov Kamynin
the writer. The guests drank tea out
of soup plates, peeled potatoes with
an old sword, sent for vodka, and
chemin de fer amid the shrieking OF
the storm, the clatter Of plates, and
outbursts of laughter. All thru the
night and the following day, the
writer Iakov Kamynin and the voy.
enospetz Tanatar remained standing
at the old round table; they could