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reover, thick outer slippers covered the finer inner ones. He wore a lofty hat of white lamb's-wool.

The red-bearded Tatar came in and there was some conversation, and apparently a dispute began. He lent his elbows on the gate, fingered his hanger, and glanced furtively at Zhilin like a hungry wolf. But the swarthy man — he was a quick, lively fellow, who seemed to move upon springs — came straight up to Zhilin, sat down on his heels, grinned, showing all his teeth, patted him on the shoulder, and began to jabber something in a peculiar way of his own, blinking his eyes, clicking with his tongue, and saying repeatedly:

"Korosho urus! Korosho urus!"[1]

Zhilin did not understand a word of it, and all he said was:

"I am thirsty, give me a drink of water!"

The swarthy man laughed. "Korosho urus!" he said again — 'babbling away in his own peculiar manner.

Zhilin tried to make them understand by a pantomime with his hands and lips that he wanted something to drink.

The swarthy man understood at last, went out and called :

"Dina! Dina!"

A very thin, slender girl, about thirteen years of age, with a face very like the swarthy man's, then appeared. Plainly she was the swarthy man's daughter. She also had black sparklin

  1. I.e. — "Khorosho russ" = fine Russian man