“We soon change. But, I say, you’re easily scared! Aye! How many times were you ready to die last night, eh? Tell me!”

“Well, but just think, it’s the first time I’ve ever been on such a job! I could have ruined my soul for life!”

“Well, would you go again? Eh?”

“Again? Well—that—how can I say? For what inducement? That’s the point!”

“Well, if it were for two rainbows?”

“Two hundred rubles, you mean? Well—I might.”

“But I say! What about your soul?”

“Oh, well—maybe one wouldn’t lose it!” Gavrila smiled. “One mightn’t—and it would make a man of one for life.”

Chelkash laughed good-humoredly.

“All right! That’s enough joking. Let’s row to land.”

And soon they were in the boat again, Chelkash at the rudder, Gavrila at the oars. Above them the sky was gray, with clouds stretched evenly across it. The muddy green sea played with their boat, tossing it noisily on the waves that sportively flung bright salt drops into it. Far ahead from the boat’s prow could be seen the yellow streak of the sandy shore, while from the stern there stretched away into the distance the free, gamboling sea, all furrowed over with racing flocks of billows, decked here and there with a narrow fringe of foam. Far away they could see numbers of vessels, rocking on the bosom of the sea, away on the left a whole forest of masts and the white masses of the houses of the town. From that direction there floated across the sea a dull resounding roar, that mingled with the splash of the waves into a full rich music. And over all was flung a delicate veil of ash-colored mist, that made things seem far from one another.

“Ah, there’ll be a pretty dance by evening!” said Chelkash, nodding his head at the sea.

“A storm?” queried Gavrila, vigorously plowing the waves with his oars. He was already wet through from head to foot with the splashing the wind blew on him from the sea.

“Aye, aye!” Chelkash assented.

Gavrila looked inquisitively at him.…

“Well, how much did they give you?” he asked, at last, seeing that Chelkash was not going to begin the conversation.

“Look!” said Chelkash, holding out to Gavrila something he had pulled out of his pocket.

Gavrila saw the vari-colored notes and everything danced in brilliant rainbow tints before his eyes.

“I say! Why, I thought you were bragging! That’s—how much?”

“Five hundred and forty!”

“Smart!” muttered Gavrila, with greedy eyes, watching the five hundred and forty rubles as they were put back again in Chelkash’s pocket. “Well, I never! What a lot of money!” and he sighed dejectedly.