Nikita made no answer. He sat him down on the sledge with his back to the wind, pulled off his boots and shook the snow out of them, and, gathering a handful of straw, proceeded carefully to stuff it into a hole inside his left boot.
Vasily Andreicb remained silent, as if resolving now to leave everything to Nikita. After having set his boots to rights and put them on again, Nikita thrust his legs into the sledge again, put on his gloves, seized the reins, and carefully guided the horse alongside the chasm. But they had not gone one hundred steps further when the horse again stopped short. There was another chasm in front of it.
Nikita again got out, and again began groping his way about amidst the snow. He was away a pretty long time. At last he reappeared on the opposite side.
"Vasily Andreich, art thou alive?" he cried.
"Here I am!" Vasily Andreich shouted back. "What is it?"
"I can make out nothing, it is so dark and the place is full of big holes. We must go again against the wind."
Again they went on for a little while, again Nikita got out and tumbled about the snow, again he took his seat in the sledge; again he tumbled about, and at last, thoroughly blown, stopped by the side of the sledge.
"Well, what's the matter? " asked Vasily Andreich.
"What's the matter! why I'm at my wits' end, and the horse seems to be so too, for he also has stopped short."
44
