Of an impulse he went over to the two women. They put down their pails and watched him approach: a visitor from Mars.
I wonder if you could help me, he said, saluting them. Im trying to find Marfa Nikolaevnas.
They looked at him rather oddly. Then one of them gathered herself.
The tailors is over there, she said, pointing.
Thank you.
He looked down at the pails. The water in them was yellowish. And, now he came to look at it, everything was yellowish. The mud was yellowish, his boots were yellowish, the broken ice on the stream was yellowish, a duck clambered out and waddled towards him and that, too, damn it, was yellowish on its underfeathers.
This water is not fit for drinking, he said sternly.
The women shrugged.
Its all the water there is, Your Honour, said one of them.
You should go up beyond the yard, he said.
Its much further, said one of the women quietly.
You should think of your children!
Lev Petrovich should think of our children, said one of the women bitterly.
Lev Petrovich?
He owns the yard.
Someone should speak to him.
Marfa Nikolaevna did, said the woman, and see where it got her!
I will speak to him.
Thank you, Your Honour, said the other woman. That may help.
It wont help, said the first woman dismissively. Hell just take it out on us. Thank you, Your Honour, she said to Dmitri. Its kindly meant, I know, but sometimes its best to leave things alone.
Well, Ill see and this Marfa Nikolaevna, you say, went to see him?
Yes, Your Honour.
And got nowhere?
She speaks too bitter, said the second woman.
The other woman turned on her.
Not this time. She spoke real civil. Agafa Sirkova was listening at the door and she said she couldnt get over how polite she was. Not that it made any difference. He threw her out just the same.
Her reputation went before her, said the second woman. That was the trouble.
It would have been the same whoever had gone.
Well, thats very true, and thats why its best to leave these things alone, as you yourself were saying to this gentleman only just now.
But Marfa Nikolaevna, I gather, was not one to leave things alone? said Dmitri.
The first woman gave a little laugh.
You could say that, she said. Yes, you could certainly say that! She was a bit of a firebrand. She wasnt one of us, Your Honour. She came from the steppes. Those Tatars, they light up at anything.
Well, said Dmitri, all this is not really my concern. I am hoping she might be able to help me on something else. The tailors, you say?
As he left, he was aware again that they were looking at him rather oddly.
The snow on this side of the stream, between the houses, had become a sea of mud, through which his boots squelched noisily. Great, discoloured puddles lay everywhere. Half in one of them, half out, he could see a rat lying on its back, its body still and contorted, its feet in the air, the underside of its belly tinged with yellow. The fumes from the tannery made him cough and reach for his handkerchief. This was definitely not the place for a young woman like Anna Semeonova; nor, frankly, was it much of a place for a promising young Examining Magistrate.
Dmitri pushed open the door and went in. The room was full of women sewing. It was so dark that he was amazed that any of them could see.
Im looking for Marfa Nikolaevna, he said.
A man in a skull cap came forward.
Marfa Nikolaevna? he said, with a worried expression on his face. But, Barin, she is no longer here.
No longer here?
She hasnt been here for, oh, over three weeks now. Not since they came and took her away.
Where is she now? said Dmitri harshly.
Her case came up yesterday, said the tailor, in the District Court at Kursk.
3
The following morning, Anna Semeonova had still not been found.
Its bad, said Peter Ivanovich. First, because shes a nice girl. Ive known her since she was six. At that time she looked like a dumpling and everyone was afraid she was going to take after her father. Recently, though, she has thinned out and is becoming a beauty like her mother. Second, because her father blames us. Thirdly, because so does everyone else.
Dmitri was always irritated by the Presiding Judges pedantic habit of enumerating his points.
She did, after all, disappear from the Court House, he pointed out.
I know; very inconsiderate of her, said Peter Ivanovich. Why couldnt she have disappeared from her home? We would still have been blamed, but we wouldnt have looked quite as stupid. And now Im afraid they will send someone down from St Petersburg.
To take charge of the case?
Dmitri wasnt sure that he liked this. It was his case; and thus far in his career he had not been assigned so many that he could afford to be blasé. This was, actually, if you included the ridiculous affair of the old woman and the cow, only his second case. And were they now going to take even that from him?
We must resist, he said sternly.
Peter Ivanovich looked at him pityingly.
Tell me how you get on, he said, as Examining Magistrate in Siberia. Let me talk to you as a father, Dmitri Alexandrovich: obstruct, but do not resist. That is the first rule of bureaucracy. Besides, he said, they wont take over the case. They will leave you in charge. So that you can be blamed if things go wrong. That is the second rule of bureaucracy: make sure that responsibility always lies elsewhere.
The advice of a master, thought Dmitri. Peter Ivanovich was wrong, however. The first rule of bureaucracy was surely to keep your mouth shut; which Dmitri was grimly trying to do.
The answer is, of course, continued Peter Ivanovich, to solve the case yourself before they get here. How are you getting on, incidentally?
He listened to Dmitris account of yesterdays inquiries.
Interesting, he commented. Who would have thought it? A girl like Anna Semeonova getting herself mixed up with such people!
Im not sure how far she is mixed up with such people, said Dmitri. Thats one of the things I wanted to ask Marfa Nikolaevna.
Ask her, by all means, said Peter Ivanovich generously, although I doubt if it will help you much.
I would if I could, said Dmitri, frowning. But theres been a bit of a mix-up.
Another one? said Peter Ivanovich. Oh dear! These people! What is it this time?
They cant trace her.
Come, come! said Peter Ivanovich. She was in court the day before yesterday, wasnt she? And surely she was not acquitted?
Oh, no. She was sentenced, all right. Its what happened afterwards thats not clear.
Its as clear as daylight, said Peter Ivanovich. She was a political prisoner, wasnt she? Then she would have been sent back to prison to await transportation.
They cant trace her.
Come, come! said Peter Ivanovich. She was in court the day before yesterday, wasnt she? And surely she was not acquitted?
Oh, no. She was sentenced, all right. Its what happened afterwards thats not clear.
Its as clear as daylight, said Peter Ivanovich. She was a political prisoner, wasnt she? Then she would have been sent back to prison to await transportation.
So one would have thought. But the prison denies readmitting her. And theres a complication. Some of the prisoners that day were sent directly to join the Siberian convoy.
Well, perhaps thats what happened to her, then, said Peter Ivanovich patiently.
Theyve checked the lists, said Dmitri, and they cant find her.
Theyve made a mistake. Its always happening. A clerical error. Either there or at the prison. Get them to check it again!
I have. Theres no record in either place of a person of that name.
There must be! She must be either in the one place or in the other. Either in prison or in the convoy. She cant be still in the Court House, can she?
Well, no.
I mean, youve searched the place thoroughly, havent you? For that other girl?
Novikov has searched the place, said Dmitri, learning fast. Thoroughly, he says.
Well, then!
So she must be either in the prison or with the convoy. Unless
Yes?
Shes disappeared. Like the other one, said Dmitri with emphasis.
Oh, my God! said Peter Ivanovich, clapping his hands to his head.
If this woman has indeed disappeared, said Peter Ivanovich coldly, I hold you responsible.
Me, Your Honour?
The Chief of Police reeled back.
Youre responsible for security arrangements, arent you?
Only in the Court House, Your Excellency! Only in the Court House!
But thats where shes disappeared from.
Ah, but did she, Your Honour? said Novikov, recovering quickly. Did she? Perhaps she escaped as the carts were going back to the prison
Shes not on the carts list, said Dmitri.
Or from the convoy
Shes not on their list, either.
She must be! She must be!
What are these lists? asked Peter Ivanovich.
At the end of the sessions the Clerk of the Court prepares a list of all those sentenced, said Dmitri. From it, an assistant clerk compiles two separate lists, one for the officer in charge of the prison carts, one for the officer in charge of the convoy. The prisoners are assembled in the yard and assigned to one set of carts or the other on the basis of the consolidated list. As they get to the carts their names are checked against those on the separate lists. Marfa Nikolaevnas name appears on the consolidated list, but not, so far as I can tell, and Ive asked both the Prison Administration and the Convoy Administration, on either of the separate lists.
They must have made a mistake, said Novikov.
Exactly what I said! said Peter Ivanovich.
I got them to check, said Dmitri.
Ah, yes, Your Honour, but it will be different if I ask them. Saving Your Honours presence, but they wont have bothered much for someone new like yourself. Let me have a word with them, Your Excellency, said Novikov, turning to Peter Ivanovich, and Ill soon sort this out.
Do so; and dont take too long about it, either. One cant have people disappearing from the Court House. Really, one begins to feel quite nervous!
Novikov returned, beaming, before the lawyers had finished their lunch.
There you are, sir, what did I tell you? Sorted it out in no time! A simple mistake, sir, as you supposed.
He put a piece of paper on the table before Peter Ivanovich and smoothed it flat.
There you are, Your Excellency! He pointed with a stubby forefinger. Thats what you want!
Peter Ivanovich adjusted his pince-nez.
Is it?
I know, sir. Youre having difficulty. And not just you alone, sir. Everyone else. Thats how the misunderstanding arose. No ones fault, sir, except for that fat clerk wholl be feeling the toe of my boot up his fundament if he doesnt take more pains next time.
Peter Ivanovich looked again.
I suppose youre right, he said doubtfully.
Not convinced, Your Excellency? Novikov chuckled. Well, that doesnt surprise me. In fact, its what I told myself. An old fox like His Excellency will want something more than that, I said. And quite right, too! So I did a bit of nosing around and, as luck would have it, who should I come upon but young Stenka. Come in, lad! he called out into the corridor.
A fresh-faced young soldier appeared hesitantly in the doorway.
Come in, lad. His Excellency wont bite you. Now, you come in and tell His Excellency what you told me.
The young soldier cleared his throat nervously.
I was on the carts, he began.
That very afternoon, interjected Novikov.
Yes, right, that afternoon. The womens cart, as it fell out. Well, I dont mind that, I mean, you never know what you might see, and youre not going to have any trouble, are you? I mean, not any real trouble. They say things, of course, youve got to put up with that, but I know how to handle that. I just say: You bloody shut up or youll taste the butt of my gun!
The cart, lad, the cart, put in Novikov hastily.
Yes, right, the cart. Well, there werent many of them that afternoon, not women, I mean. Only a few for us. So Ive got a bit of time, and I see this girl. A real Russian beauty, she is. Oh ho, I think, Ill bet youve got a nice pair of apples, and I give her a pinch as she goes by. Well, she jumps about half a verst. Whats your name my beauty? I say. She doesnt answer, so I go to the sergeant and I say: See that one there? Whats her name? What do you want to know for? he says. A taste comes before a feast, I say. Well, he says, theres not going to be much of a feast for you, my lad, because shes going straight on to the main convoy and youre going to be stopping here. Never mind that, I say. Whats her name? He looks at his list. Shumin, he says. Marfa Nikolaevna Shumin.
Shumin? said Peter Ivanovich. Youre sure about that?
Pretty sure, sir. But Im dead sure about the Marfa. My own sisters named Marfa, its a bit of a family name. Thats a good omen, I said to myself. Shes almost one of the family, like.
Novikov looked at Peter Ivanovich.
Satisfied, sir?
There seems no doubt about it, Peter Ivanovich conceded.
Thats what I thought, sir, once Id talked to Stenka. The name by itself, I said, wont be enough to convince Peter Ivanovich. But a witness, an honest witness well, thats a different matter!
Happy, now? said Peter Ivanovich, looking at Dmitri.
Not very. Something was troubling him. In what the guard had said. He dismissed it for the moment. This was the convoy, was it? he said to Stenka. The soldier nodded. That means shes halfway to Siberia by now. How am I going to question her?