Twenty-six and One, and Other Stories — John Shaqi
Twenty-six and One, and Other StoriesGorky, Maksim
General
Twenty-six and One, and Other Stories
Gorky, Maksim
Russia -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Short stories, Russian -- Translations into English
The rain fell. Slight at first, it soon came down thickly, heavily and
came from the sky in slender streams. They crossed, forming a net that
soon shut off the distance on land and water. For a long time there
was nothing to be seen but the rain and this long body lying on the
sand beside the sea . . . But suddenly, behold Gavrilo coming from out
the rain, running; he flew like a bird. He went up to Tchelkache, fell
upon his knees before him, and tried to turn him over. His hand sank
into a sticky liquid, warm and red. He trembled and drew back, pale
and distracted.
"Get up, brother!" he whispered amid the noise of the falling rain into
the ear of Tchelkache.
Tchelkache came to himself and, repulsing Gavrilo, said in a hoarse
voice:
"Go away!"
"Forgive me, brother: I was tempted by the devil . . ." continued
Gavrilo, trembling and kissing Tchelkache's hand.
"Go, go away!" growled the other.
"Absolve my sin! Friend . . . forgive me!"
"Go, go to the devil!" suddenly cried out Tchelkache, sitting up on the
sand. His face was pale, threatening; his clouded eyes closed as
though he were very sleepy . . . "What do you want, now? You've
finished your business . . . go! Off with you!"
He tried to kick Gavrilo, prostrated by grief, but failed, and would
have fallen if Gavrilo hadn't supported him with his shoulders.
Tchelkache's face was now on a level with Gavrilo's. Both were pale,
wretched and terrifying.
"Fie!"
Tchelkache spat in the wide opened eyes of his employe.
The other humbly wiped them with his sleeve, and murmured:
"Do what you will . . . I'll not say one word. Pardon me, in the name
of Heaven!"
"Fool, you don't even know how to steal!" cried Tchelkache,
contemptuously. He tore his shirt under his waistcoat and, gritting
his teeth in silence, began to bandage his head.
"Have you taken the money?" he asked, at last.
"I haven't taken it, brother; I don't want it! It brings bad luck!"
Tchelkache thrust his hand into his waistcoat pocket, withdrew the
package of bills, put one of them in his pocket and threw all the rest
at Gavrilo.
"Take that and be off!"
"I cannot take it . . . I cannot! Forgive me!"
"Take it, I tell you!" roared Tchelkache, rolling his eyes frightfully.
"Pardon me! When you have forgiven me I'll take it," timidly said
Gavrilo, falling on the wet sand at Tchelkache's feet.
"You lie, fool, you'll take it at once!" said Tchelkache, confidently,
and raising his head, by a painful effort, he thrust the money before
his face. "Take it, take it! You haven't worked for nothing! Don't
be ashamed of having failed to assassinate a man! No one will claim
anyone like me. You'll be thanked, on the contrary, when it's learned
what you've done. There, take it! No one'll know what you've done and
yet it deserves some reward! Here it is!"
Gavrilo saw that Tchelkache was laughing, and he felt relieved. He
held the money tightly in his hand.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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