20
The Way of the Cross
—They've put the horses in by twos. How smartly they trot! It's evident they've been well fed. Not like ours.
The villagers are, above all, practical.
The peasants and their wives have bought up the fugitives' cattle.
Ask the peasant women who guard the flocks—the women do this work now:
—Have you bought any cows from the fugitives?
Every one of them will answer:
—Why not? There goes one of their cows, there's another, there's another.
They're not willing to talk about the price they paid.
—How much did we give? They were dear. Thirty roubles.
But their neighbours, who have not bought cows for themselves, will tell you:
—It's impossible for her to pay such a price! She ought to say outright that she practically got them for nothing.
