Steamhissedandpanted。Atintervalstheengine-roombelljarreduponthecar。Atintervals，also，thetiller-chainsslidtoandfrowithadull，rattlingsound。Yet，owingtothesomnolentstillnesssettledupontheriver，thesesoundsescaped，failedtocatchone’sattention。
　　Throughthedrynessofthesummerthewaterwaslow。
　　Periodically，inthesteamer’sbow，adeckhandlikeaking，amanwithalean，，yellow，black-avisedfaceandapairoflanguishingeyes，threwoverboardapolishedlogasintonesofmeltingmelancholyhechanted:
　　“Se-em，se-em，shest！“
　　[“Seven，seven，six！“thedepthofwater，reckonedinsazheniorfathoms]
　　Itwasasthoughhewerewailing:
　　“Seyem，seyem，ayest-NISHEVO“
　　[Letuseat，letuseat，buttoeatthereis——nothing]
　　Meanwhile，thesteamerkeptturningherstearlet-like[Thestearletisafishofthesalmonspecies]prowdeliberatelyandalternatelytowardseitherbankasthebargeyawedbehindher，andthegreyhawserkepttauteningandquivering，andsendingoutshowersofgoldandsilversparkles。Everandanon，too，thecaptainonthebridgekeptshouting，hoarselythroughaspeaking-trumpet:
　　“About，there！“
　　Underthestemofthebargeawaveranwhich，dividedintoapairofwhitewings，serpentinedawaytowardseitherbank。
　　Inthemeadoweddistancepeatseemedtobebeingburnt，andovertheblackforesttherehadgatheredanopalescentcloudofsmokewhichalsosuffusedtheneighbouringmarshes。
　　Totheright，thebankoftherivertoweredupintolofty，precipitous，clayeyslopesintersectedwithravineswhereinaspensandbirchesfoundshelter。
　　Everythingashorehadaboutitarestful，sultry，desertedlook。
　　Eveninthedullblue，torridskytherewasnoughtsaveawhite-hotsun。
　　Inendlessvistaweremeadowsstuddedwithtrees——treessleepinginlonelyisolation，and，inplaces，surmountedwitheitherthecrossofaruralchurchwhichlookedlikeadaystarorthesailsofawindmill；whilefurtherbackfromthebankslaythetissueclothsofripeningcrops，with，hereandthere，ahumanhabitation。
　　Throughout，thescenewasindistinct。Everythinginitwascalm，touchinglysimple，intimate，intelligible，gratefultothesoul。
　　Somuchsothatasonecontemplatedtheslowly-varyingvistaspresentedbytheloftierbank，theimmutablestretchesofmeadowland，andthegreen，timbereddance-ringswheretheforestapproachedtheriver，togazeatitselfinthewaterymirror，andrecedeagainintothepeacefuldistance；asonegazedatallthisonecouldnotbutreflectthatnowhereelsecouldaspotmoresimply，morekindly，morebeautifulbefound，thanthesepeacefulshoresofthegreatriver。
　　Yetalreadyafewshrubsbytheriver’smarginwerebeginningtodisplayyellowleaves，thoughthelandscapeasawholewassmilingthedoubtful，meditativesmileofayoungbridewho，abouttobearherfirstchild，isfeelingatoncenervousanddelightedattheprospect。
　　Thehourwaspastnoon，andthethird-classpassengers，languidwithfatigueinducedbytheheat，wereengagedindrinkingeitherteaorbeer。Seatedmostlyonthebulwarksofthesteamer，theysilentlyscannedthebanks，whilethedeckquivered，crockeryclatteredatthebuffet，andthedeckhandinthebowssighedsoporifically:
　　Six！Six！Six-and-a-half！
　　Fromtheengine-roomagrimystokeremerged。Rollingalong，andscrapinghisbarefeetaudiblyagainstthedeck，heapproachedtheboatswain’scabin，wherethesaidboatswain，afair-haired，fair-beardedmanfromKostromawasstandinginthedoorway。Theseniorofficialcontractedhisruggedeyesquizzically，andinquired:
　　“Whitherinsuchahurry？“
　　“TopickabonewithMitka。“
　　“Good！“
　　Withawaveofhisblackhandthestokerresumedhisway，whiletheboatswain，yawning，felltocastinghiseyesabouthim。Onalockernearthecompanionoftheengine-roomasmallmaninabuffpea-jacket，anewcap，andapairofbootsonwhichtherewereclotsofdriedmud，wasseated。
　　Throughlackofdiversiontheboatswainbegantofeelinclinedtohectorsomebody，socriedsternlytothemaninquestion:
　　“Hithere，chawbacon！“
　　Themanonthelockerturnedabout——turnednervously，andmuchasabullockturns。Thatistosay，heturnedwithhiswholebody。
　　“WhyhaveyougoneandputyourselfTHERE？“inquiredtheboatswain。“ThoughthereisanoticetotellyouNOTtositthere，itistherethatyoumustgoandsit！Can’tyouread？“
　　Rising，thepassengerinspectednotthenotice，butthelocker。
　　Thenhereplied:
　　“Read？Yes，ICANread。“
　　“Thenwhysittherewhereyououghtn’tto？“
　　“Icannotseeanynotice。“
　　“Well，it’shotthereanyway，andthesmellofoilcomesupfromtheengines……Whencehaveyoucome？“
　　“FromKashira。“
　　“Longfromhome？“
　　“Threeweeks，about。“
　　“Anyrainatyourplace？“
　　“No。Butwhy？“
　　“Howcomeyourbootsaresomuddy？“
　　Thepassengerloweredhishead，extendedcautiouslyfirstonefoot，andthentheother，scrutinisedthemboth，andreplied:
　　“Yousee，theyarenotmyboots。“
　　Witharoaroflaughterthatcausedhisbrilliantbeardtoprojectfromhischin，theboatswainretorted:
　　“Ithinkyoumustdrinkabit。“
　　Thepassengersaidnothingmore，butretreatedquietly，andwithshortstrides，tothestem。Fromthefactthatthesleevesofhispea-jacketreachedfarbelowhiswrists，itwasclearthatthegarmenthadoriginatedfromtheshouldersofanotherman。
　　Asfortheboatswain，onnotingthecircumspectionanddiffidencewithwhichthepassengerwalked，hefrowned，suckedathisbeard，approachedasailorwhowasengagedinvigorouslyscrubbingthebrassonthedoorofthecaptain’scabinwithanakedpalm，andsaidinanundertone:
　　“Didyouhappentonoticethegaitofthatlittlemanthereinthelightpea-jacketanddirtyboots？“
　　“Idid。“
　　“Thenseehere。Dokeepaneyeuponhim。“
　　“Butwhy？Isheabadlot？“
　　“Somethinglikeit，Ithink。“
　　“Iwillthen。“
　　Atatablenearthehatchwayofthefirst-classcabin，afatmaningreywasdrinkingbeer。Alreadyhehadreachedastateofmoderatefuddlement，forhiseyeswereprotrudingsightlesslyandstaringunwinkinglyattheoppositewall。Meanwhile，anumberofflieswereswarminginthestickypuddlesonthetable，orelsecrawlingoverhisgreyishbeardandthebrick-redskinofhismotionlessfeatures。
　　Theboatswainwinkedinhisdirection，andremarked:
　　“Half-seasover，HEis。“
　　“’Tishisway，“apockmarked，eyebrow-lesssailorresponded。
　　Herethedrunkenmansneezed:withtheresultthatacloudofflieswereblownoverthetable。Lookingatthem，andsighingashiscompanionhaddone，theboatswainthoughtfullyobserved:
　　“Why，heregularlysneezesflies，eh？“
　　Theresting-placewhichImyselfhadselectedwasastackoffirewoodoverthestokeholeshoot；andasIlayuponitIcouldseethehillsgraduallydarkeningthewaterwithamourningveilascalmlytheyadvancedtomeetthesteamer；whileinthemeadows，alastlingeringglowofthesunset’sradiancewasreddeningthestemsofthebirches，andmakingthenewlymendedroofofahutlookasthoughitwerecasedinredfustian——
　　communicatingtoeverythingelseinthevicinityasemblanceoffloatingamidfire——andeffacingalloutline，andcausingthesceneasawholetodissolveintostreaksofredandorangeandblue，savewhere，onahillabovethehut，ablackgroveoffirsstoodthrownintotense，keen，andclear-cutrelief。