ed. At the end of a minute, they were transformed
into a dull murmur. Then, the voices of men and sea were more
distinct. The dinner hour had come.

* * * * *

When the longshoremen, leaving their work, were dispersed in noisy
groups over the wharf, buying food from the open-air merchants, and
settling themselves on the pavement, in shady corners, to eat, Grichka
Tchelkache, an old jail-bird, appeared among them. He was game often
hunted by the police, and the entire quay knew him for a hard drinker
and a clever, daring thief. He was bare-headed and bare-footed, and
wore a worn pair of velvet trousers and a percale blouse torn at the
neck, showing his sharp and angular bones covered with brown skin. His
touseled black hair, streaked with gray, and his sharp visage,
resembling a bird of prey's, all rumpled, indicated that he had just
awakened. From his moustache hung a straw, another clung to his
unshaved cheek, while behind his ear was a fresh linden leaf. Tall,
bony, a little bent, he walked slowly over the stones, and, turning his
hooked nose from side to side, cast piercing glances about him,
appearing to be seeking someone among the 'longshoremen. His long,
thick, brown moustache trembled like a cat's, and his hands, behind his
back, rubbed each other, pressing closely together their twisted and
knotty fingers. Even here, among hundreds of his own kind, he
attracted attention by his resemblance to a sparrow-hawk of the
steppes, by his rapacious leanness, his easy stride, outwardly calm but
alert and watchful as the flight of the bird that he recalled.

When he reached a group of tatterdemalions, seated in the shade of some
baskets of charcoal, a broad-shouldered and stupid looking boy rose to
meet him. His face was streaked with red and his neck was scratched;
he bore the traces of a recent fight. He walked along beside
Tchelkache, and said under his breath:

"The custom-house officers can't find two boxes of goods. They are
looking for them. You understand, Grichka?"

"What of it?" asked Tchelkache, measuring him calmly with his eyes.

"What of it? They are looking, that's all."

"Have they inquired for me to help them in their search?"

Tchelkache gazed at the warehouses with a meaning smile.

"Go to the devil!"

The other turned on his heel.

"Hey! Wait!--Who has fixed you up in that fashion? Your face is all
bruised--Have you seen Michka around here?"