Elena enjoyed the objects that resembled toys. There were many things there that one could play with, and thus indulge in a jumble of magic reflections of time and space. The sisters had seen so much that it seemed as if an age had passed, but actually they had spent only two hours here. It is impossible to measure time. One hour is an age, another is an instant; but humanity makes no distinction, levels the hours down to an average. “What, only two hours!” exclaimed Elena. “How long we’ve spent here. It’s time to go home for dinner.” “Do you mind being a little late?” asked Trirodov. “How can we?” said Elena. Elisaveta explained: “The hour of dinner is strictly kept in our house.” “I’ll have a cart ready for you.” The sisters thanked him. But they must start at once. They both suddenly felt sad and tired. They bade their host good-bye and left him. The boy in white went before them in the garden and showed them the way. No sooner had they again entered the underground passage than they saw a soft couch, and a fatigue so poignant suddenly overcame them that they could not advance another step. “Let’s sit down,” said Elena. “Yes,” replied Elisaveta, “I too am tired. How strange! What a weariness!” The sisters sat down. Elisaveta said quietly: “The light that falls upon us here from an unknown source is not a living light, and it is terrifying--but the stern face of the monster, burning yet not consuming itself, is even more terrifying.” “The lovely sun,” said Elena. “It will become extinguished,” said Elisaveta, “extinguished--this unrighteous luminary, and in the depth of subterranean passages, freed from the scorching Dragon and from cold that kills, men will erect a new life full of wisdom.” Elena whispered: “When the earth grows cold, men will die.” “The earth will not die,” answered Elisaveta no less quietly. The sisters fell into a sleep. They did not sleep long, and when both awakened quite suddenly, everything that had just happened seemed like a dream. They made haste. “We must hurry home,” said Elena in an anxious voice. They ran quickly. The door of the underground passage was open. Just outside the door, in the road, stood a cart. Kirsha sat in it and held the reins. The sisters seated themselves. Elisaveta took the reins. Kirsha spoke a word now and then. They said little on the way, in odd, disjointed words. Arrived at their destination, they got out of the cart. They were in a half-somnolent state. Kirsha was off before they realized that they had not thanked him. When they looked for him they could only see a cloud of dust and hear the clatter of hoofs and the rattle of wheels on the cobblestones. CHAPTER IV