The Spy: The Story of a Superfluous ManGorky, Maksim
History
The Spy: The Story of a Superfluous Man
Gorky, Maksim
Russia -- History -- Revolution, 1905-1907 -- Fiction; Russian fiction -- Translations into English; Spy stories
Yevsey reeled from weakness in his legs. He walked to the platform, from
which he saw a dark heap of people. With bent backs, swinging their arms
and legs, groaning with the strain of excitement, uttering tired hoarse
articulations, they stirred busily on the street, like large shaggy
worms, as they dragged over the stones the body of the fair-haired
youth, already crushed and torn. They kicked at it, tramped on its face
and chest, pulled its hair, its legs and arms, and simultaneously tore
him in different directions. Half bare, covered with blood, it flapped
against the stones, soft as dough, with each blow losing more and more
semblance of a human figure. These people worked over him industriously.
The little lean muzhik trying to crush his skull, stepped on it with one
foot, and sang out:
"Aha! Our time has come, too."
The work was accomplished. One after the other they left the middle of
the street for the pavement. A pockmarked fellow wiped his hands on his
short sheepskin overcoat, and asked with the air of a manager, or
superintendent:
"Who took his pistol?"
Now the voices sounded weary, reluctant. But on the pavement a laugh was
heard coming from a small group of people standing next to the
lamp-post. An offended voice was discussing hotly:
"You lie! I was the first. The second he fell I gave him one on the jaw
with my boot."
"Cabman Mikhailov pounced on him first, then I."
"Mikhailov got a bullet in his leg."
"If it didn't hit the bone, it's all right."
These people after tasting blood had apparently grown bolder. They
looked around on all sides with unsatiated eyes, with greed, and assured
expectation.
In the middle of the street lay a formless dark heap, from which blood
was oozing into the hollows between the stones.
"That's the way--" Yevsey thought, looking at the red designs on the
paving. In the dark red mist trembling before his eyes appeared the
hairy face of Melnikov. His voice was tired and muffled.
"There, they've killed him!"
"Yes, how quickly!"
"They killed another one this morning."
"What for?"
"He was speaking. He was standing on the curb addressing the people.
Chasin fired into his stomach."
"What for?" Yevsey repeated.
"Those speakers are deceivers--a spurious manifesto--there's no such
thing--all a bluff!"
"Sasha thought that all out," said Yevsey quietly, with conviction.
Melnikov shook his head, and looked at his large hands.
"Somebody always deceives," he mumbled in a drunken voice.
He entered the car, and raised Zarubin lightly, placing him on the bench
face up.
"He's dead. There's where it hit him--"
Yevsey sought the scar on Zarubin's face that the blow of the bottle had
left. He did not find it. Now over the right eye was a little red hole
from which Klimkov could not tear his eyes. It absorbed his entire
attention, and aroused sharp pity for Yakov.
"Have you a pistol?" asked Melnikov.
"No."
"There, take Yakov's."
"I don't want to. I don't need it."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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