82
The Way of the Cross
—Take the twelve roubles now. Take them now. To-morrow you'll be glad to sell at ten.
—By to-morrow she'll drop down dead if you go on!
—What! Fifteen roubles not good money? Did you say that? You?
—Ten roubles as they stand! From hand to hand! says a tall, dark peasant with a long beard, standing beside a cart to which are tied six horses, all skin and bone.
He says in a contemptuous tone:
—You see the horses. A red note for each. Altogether. Take them. It will mean money. Without money there's no doing anything.
I say to a fugitive:
—Don't you know that in Muchin yard, beyond the town, they're buying for the Government. There you would get a fairer price.
