“Awfully inquisitive people; but the woman speaks better than he does, and I notice that since February 19, 5 their language has altered a little, and⁠ ⁠… and what business is it of mine whether I’m going to Spasov or not? Besides, I’ll pay them, so why do they pester me.”

“If you are going to Spasov, you must take the steamer,” the peasant persisted.

“That’s true indeed,” the woman put in with animation, “for if you drive along the bank it’s twenty-five miles out of the way.”

“Thirty-five.”