's time it would not be
pleasant to bathe. However, people had their whims, and he mused on the
scheme of the universe which ordained that certain people should have
whims, and that others should humour those whims whether they liked it
or not. Many people--many of his fellow-workers--talked of the day
when the universal levelling would take place and when all men could be
equal. Petrushka did not much believe in the advent of that day; he was
not quite sure whether he ardently desired it; in any case, he was very
happy as he was.

At that moment he heard two sharp short sounds, less musical than a pipe
and not so loud or harsh as a scream. He looked up. A kingfisher had
flown across the oily water. Petrushka shouted; and the kingfisher
skimmed over the water once more and disappeared in the trees on the
other side of the river. Petrushka rolled and lit another cigarette.
Presently he heard the two sharp sounds once more, and the kingfisher
darted again across the water: a bit of fish was in its beak. It
disappeared into the bank of the river on the same side on which
Petrushka was sitting, only lower down.

"Its nest must be there," thought Petrushka, and he remembered that
he had heard it said that no one had ever been able to carry off a
kingfisher's nest intact. Why should he not be the first person to do
so? He was skilful with his fingers, his touch was sure and light. It
was evidently a carpenter's job, and few carpenters had the leisure or
opportunity to look for kingfishers' nests. What a rare present it would
be for Tatiana--a whole kingfisher's nest with every bone in it intact.

He walked stealthily through the bushes down the bank of the river,
making as little noise as possible. He thought he had marked the
spot where the kingfisher had dived into the bank. As he walked, the
undergrowth grew thicker and the path darker, for he had reached the
wood, on the outskirts and end of which was the spot where he had
made the steps. He walked on and on without thinking, oblivious of
his surroundings, until he suddenly realised that he had gone too far.
Moreover, he must have been walking for some time, for it was getting
dark, or was it a thunder-shower? The air, too, was unbearably sultry;
he stopped and wiped his forehead with a big print handkerchief. It was
impossible to reach the bank from the place where he now stood, as he
was separated from it by a wide ditch of stagnant water. He therefore
retraced his f