resist
the slightest command. He accepted the commission, although he knew very
well that the dogs would be poisoned. He consoled himself with the
reflection, however, that nobody had told him so beforehand.

"But look here, gentlemen, you don't want to do his honour, the squire,
any harm?" he inquired of Ivan, with a foolishly smiling face.

"No, old 'un, no."

"Nor the young squire either?"

"No, nor him either, not for all the world."

"Nor the heyduke? He is my godson, you know."

"No, nor him either, old 'un, but do look sharp."

"You only want to find out whether there is poison in the castle or not,
don't you?"

"Yes, yes. Devil take the fellow! Be off, or I'll knock some of your
teeth down your throat."

And the poor Leather-bell scuttled off.

"And now bring Mekipiros hither!"

They dragged the poor half-idiotic creature into the room. His thick,
bristly hair hung right over his eyes. He was grinning and evidently in
a good humour. But he could speak no longer, of course, since he had
lost his tongue; whatever they said to him he could only reply:
"Hamamama!"

This with him was the expression of happiness and contentment, both
question and answer.

"Mekipiros! come hither and drink," cried Ivan, holding to his mouth a
straw-covered pitcher full of spirit, which he to whom it was offered
did not remove from his lips till it was quite empty. Then he returned
it to Ivan with a joyful "Hamamama!"

"Look now, blockhead! You can climb up a rope anywhere, can't you?"

"Hamamamama!"

"All right, I'm not deaf! You can scale the roof of a house by means of
a rope then?"

The hideous monster rubbed his hands with joy at the proposal.

"And then you will drag me up after you by means of the same rope, do
you understand?"

The dwarfish abortion rushed with a howl of joy at Ivan, caught the
fellow round the knee, raised him high in the air, and leapt up and down
with him, by way of showing that he was as light as a bag of feathers,
till Ivan, by dint of shouting and pummelling, contrived to free himself
from the creature's grasp.

"The fellow has the strength of an ox," said he to Thomas Bodza,
seizing the thick-set creature by the hair, and lugging him hither and
thither, which appeared to infinitely delight the speechless monster.
Whenever he succeeded in getting hold of one of Ivan's hands he covered
it with kisses, whereupon the other, with an air of disgust, kept
rubbing them on the tails of