Savely fidgeted under the quilt and looked round slowly. His wife was
sitting on the stool, and with her hands pressed against her cheeks was
gazing at the postman's face. Her face was immovable, like the face of
some one frightened and astonished.

"Well, what are you gaping at?" Savely whispered angrily.

"What is it to you? Lie down!" answered his wife without taking her eyes
off the flaxen head.

Savely angrily puffed all the air out of his chest and turned abruptly
to the wall. Three minutes later he turned over restlessly again, knelt
up on the bed, and with his hands on the pillow looked askance at his
wife. She was still sitting motionless, staring at the visitor. Her
cheeks were pale and her eyes were glowing with a strange fire. The
sexton cleared his throat, crawled on his stomach off the bed, and going
up to the postman, put a handkerchief over his face.

"What's that for?" asked his wife.

"To keep the light out of his eyes."

"Then put out the light!"

Savely looked distrustfully at his wife, put out his lips towards the
lamp, but at once thought better of it and clasped his hands.

"Isn't that devilish cunning?" he exclaimed. "Ah! Is there any creature
slyer than womenkind?"

"Ah, you long-skirted devil!" hissed his wife, frowning with vexation.
"You wait a bit!"

And settling herself more comfortably, she stared at the postman again.

It did not matter to her that his face was covered. She was not so much
interested in his face as in his whole appearance, in the novelty of
this man. His chest was broad and powerful, his hands were slender and
well formed, and his graceful, muscular legs were much comelier than
Savely's stumps. There could be no comparison, in fact.

"Though I am a long-skirted devil," Savely said after a brief interval,
"they've no business to sleep here.... It's government work; we shall
have to answer for keeping them. If you carry the letters, carry them,
you can't go to sleep.... Hey! you!" Savely shouted into the outer
room. "You, driver. What's your name? Shall I show you the way? Get up;
postmen mustn't sleep!"

And Savely, thoroughly roused, ran up to the postman and tugged him by
the sleeve.

"Hey, your honour, if you must go, go; and if you don't, it's not the
thing.... Sleeping won't do."

The postman jumped up, sat down, looked with blank eyes round the hut,
and lay down again.

"But when are you going?" Savely pattered away. "That's what the post is
for