fingers twisted convulsively.

"Of course, not all at a stroke did I arrive at this conclusion; I did
so but gradually. The person who finally confirmed me in my opinion was
a friar of Baku, a sage of pre-eminent wisdom, through his saying to
me: 'With nothing at all ought a man to fetter his soul. Neither with
bond-service, nor with property, nor with womankind, nor with any other
concession to the temptations of this world ought he to constrain its
action. Rather ought he to live alone, and to love none but Christ.
Only this is true. Only this will be for ever lasting.'

"And," added Kalinin with animation and inflated cheeks and flushed,
suppressed enthusiasm, "many lands and many peoples have I seen, and
always have I found (particularly in Russia) that many folk already
have reached an understanding of themselves, and, consequently, refused
any longer to render obeisance to absurdities. 'Shun evil, and you will
evolve good.' That is what the friar said to me as a parting
word--though long before our encounter had I grasped the meaning of the
axiom. And that axiom I myself have since passed on to other folk, as I
hope to do yet many times in the future."

At this point the speaker's tone reverted to one of querulous anxiety.

"Look how low the sun has sunk!" he exclaimed.

True enough, that luminary, large and round, was declining
into--rather, towards--the sea, while suspended between him and the
water were low, dark, white-topped cumuli.

"Soon nightfall will be overtaking us," continued Kalinin as he fumbled
in his kaftan. "And in these parts jackals howl when darkness is come."

In particular did I notice three clouds that looked like Turks in white
turbans and robes of a dusky red colour. And as these cloud Turks bent
their heads together in private converse, suddenly there swelled up on
the back of one of the figures a hump, while on the turban of a second
there sprouted forth a pale pink feather which, becoming detached from
its base, went floating upwards towards the zenith and the now rayless,
despondent, moonlike sun. Lastly the third Turk stooped forward over
the sea to screen his companions, and as he did so, developed a huge
red nose which comically seemed to dip towards, and sniff at, the
waters.

"Sometimes," continued Kalinin's even voice through the crackling and
hissing of the wood fire, "a man who is old and blind may cobble a shoe
better than cleverer men than he, can order their whole l