First Street-Sweeper:
Ah! so it is. That’s him. Elan Chol.
The Drunkard:
Elan Chol? Then I’d rather move on.
First Street-Sweeper:
What for?
The Drunkard:
It upsets me to see him. I met him several times last night. And when he’s about, I’d always rather clear off. It upsets me. He’s like a ghost. He stands there like a bad omen.
First Street-Sweeper:
That’s what they say about him. But he’s a man, and maybe better than others.
The Drunkard:
My good fellow, that’s just it. We don’t know yet whether he is a man at all. He’s more like a spirit. And he’s got a curse upon him. He brings bad luck.
Second Street-Sweeper:
That’s the tale the people tell
The Drunkard:
Well, why is it the people don’t like seeing such queer things? Why don’t they like to see, let’s say, a black stone sweating dew that isn’t from the clouds or from the earth? Or, when it gets dark all of a sudden and the birds move across the sky and you feel that there’s a meaning behind it
