“That day I didn’t utter one single word. Only towards evening I said to her: ‘Akoulka, I’m going to kill you now.’ I didn’t close an eye the whole night. I went into the little room leading to ours and drank kwass. At daybreak I went into the house again. ‘Akoulka, get ready and come into the fields.’ I had arranged to go there before; my wife knew it. “‘You are right,’ said she. ‘It’s quite time to begin reaping. I’ve heard that our labourer is ill and doesn’t work a bit.’ “I put to the cart without saying a word. As you go out of the town there’s a forest fifteen versts in length. At the end of it is our field. When we had gone about three versts through the wood I stopped the horse. “‘Come, get up, Akoulka; your end is come.’ “She looked at me all in a fright, and got up without a word. “‘You’ve tormented me enough. Say your prayers.’ “I seized her by the hair--she had long, thick tresses--I rolled them round my arm. I held her between my knees; took out my knife; threw her head back, and cut her throat. She screamed; the blood spurted out. Then I threw away my knife. I pressed her with all my might in my arms. I put her on the ground and embraced her, yelling with all my might. She screamed; I yelled; she struggled and struggled. The blood--her blood--splashed my face, my hands. It was stronger than I was--stronger. Then I took fright. I left her--left my horse and began to run; ran back to the house. “I went in the back way, and hid myself in the old ramshackle bath-house, which we never used now. I lay myself down under the seat, and remained hid till the dead of the night.” “And Akoulka?” “She got up to come back to the house; they found her later, a hundred steps from the place.” “So you hadn’t finished her?” “No.” Chichkoff stopped a while. “Yes,” said Tchérévine, “there’s a vein; if you don’t cut it at the first the man will go on struggling; the blood may flow fast enough, but he won’t die.” “But she was dead all the same. They found her in the evening, and she was cold. They told the police, and hunted me up. They found me in the night in the old bath. “And there you have it. I’ve been four years here already,” added he, after a pause. “Yes, if you don’t beat ’em you make no way at all,” said Tchérévine sententiously, taking out his snuff-box once more. He took his pinches very slowly, with long pauses. “For all that, my lad, you behaved like a fool. Why, I myself--I came upon my wife with a lover. I made her come into the shed, and then I doubled up a halter and said to her: “‘To whom did you swear to be faithful?--to whom did you swear it in church? Tell me that?’ “And then I gave it her with my halter--beat her and beat her for an hour and a half; till at last she was quite spent, and cried out: “‘I’ll wash your feet and drink the water afterwards.’ “Her name was Crodotia.” FOOTNOTES: [5] Daubing the door of a house, where a young girl lives, is done to show that she is dishonoured.