that two persons had come in—Simeon and some strange man, the latter without a hat and wearing felt shoes.
Approaching her husband, Matreona instantly detected the smell of vodki. "Well," she thought, "it is just as I expected. He has been drinking on the way home." Her surprise increased when she noticed that his kaftan had disappeared, and that only her jacket was visible, while no parcels were to be seen in his arms. This fact, coupled with his silent and confused manner of entering the house, aroused the gravest fears within her breast. Matreona's heart misgave her, and she broke down completely. She believed that Simeon had lost his money drinking with some bad man, and had afterward brought the creature to his home. Matreona followed them into the room, and she saw that the man was a stranger in those parts, and that he was young and very thin. She saw also that he was dressed in their kaftan, but that no shirt was visible under it, and that the man was
