but I hadn't the faintest idea what to say. Should I ask her where she had learnt to swim so well? No, that would sound silly. My mind was a blank. It was even hard to cough. But as if anxious to help me out, the girl spoke first:
'And it's not very good to run into the sea like that all of a sudden either. The water's still cold, and you're overheated. You'll catch a chill.'
'Oh, come...' I murmured.
'Yes, you will. I've been living at the seaside for a long time. You've only just arrived, there's a lot you don't know yet. You ought to listen to people who know better.'
'What makes you think I've only just arrived?'
'Nothing. I know you have.'
'That's queer, how do you know?' And seizing the chance of prolonging the conversation, I went on: 'Well, you're quite wrong, as it happens. I've been living here a long time, in Matrosskaya Settlement.'
'You can't fool me. I know all about you.'
'Well, what do you know?'
'That you've just come here.'
'Who's been telling you that?'
'A magpie told me. The bird with a tail, you know.' '.: 'There aren't any magpies here. Magpies live in woods; here it's all sea and steppe.'
'Well, a cormorant then... Stop beating about the bush. I'm your neighbour and I saw you cleaning your teeth by the well only yesterday evening. Besides, Maria Trofimovna told us that she had some new lodgers, very nice young men.'
'You don't mean to tell me you know Maria Trofimovna!' I exclaimed. It was the first thing that came into my head.
'But of course! We've been buying goat's milk off her for the last two years or more. Daddy has trouble with his lungs and the doctor makes him drink goat's milk.'
'Goat's milk does a lot of good,' I declared. 'A friend of mine, Sasha Bobir, who's living with me now, was a real consumptive. His mother made him drink a mixture the doctor made up of goat's milk and melted fat... '
'Did he get better?'
'Strong as a horse. Only grinds his teeth a bit when he's asleep.'
The girl laughed and, after a pause, asked: 'Why did you come here?'
'To work.'
'But where?'
'At the Lieutenant Schmidt Works.'
'And what are you doing there, if it's not a secret?'
'Working in the shops. 'I'm in the foundry, for instance, and my pals are working in other shops—Maremukha in the joiners' shop, and Bobir in...'
'Technicians, 'I suppose?' the girl interrupted me.
'Why technicians? Workers!'
'Workers? Just ordinary workers?'
'Yes. What's so surprising about it?'
'Oh, nothing. I was just asking... And afterwards you'll be going to the institute, will you? I suppose you haven't been working long enough yet to qualify for entry?'
Now I could see quite plainly that the girl thought we were the sons of profiteers or something.
'Come to another town, to make up their working record,' she must be thinking. I should have been offended at the mere suggestion, but keeping my feelings to myself, I said stolidly:
'We'll see about that later on, when we've done some work. It's too early to make plans yet.'
'You must have the worst time of the lot, in the foundry?'
'Why? Nothing unusual about it.'
'It's the most unhealthy shop in the whole works. There's always that stinging smoke. And it smells of sulphur. The roof is so low!'
'They're going to make the roof higher soon. The supports have been put up outside already.'
'But when will that be? I'm very sorry for you.'
'How do you come to know all about the foundry?'
'Daddy took me round once. To show me how iron was made. H had to shampoo my hair for ages afterwards, to get the dust out.'
'Fancy them letting you in. . . No outsiders are admitted to the works usually.'
'They let me in,' the girl said carelessly. 'And I'm not an outsider anyway. My father is chief engineer there. You must have seen him about.'
'I haven't yet,' I admitted. 'It's only our first day.'
'Oh yes, I forgot.. . What's your name?'
'Vasil.'
'Well, let's introduce ourselves. My name is Angelika. My friends call me Lika.' 'Good,' I grunted.
'Oh, but how strange you are!' the girl burst out laughing. 'A real crusty character! What do you mean 'good'? When people are introduced, they shake hands. Now then?'
'Why am I crusty? Talking to each other's the same as being introduced, if you ask me. But it's up to you, if you want to!' And I awkwardly offered Lika my wet hand.
She pressed it with her slim fingers, and just at that moment I heard Sasha's indignant voice behind
me:
'Blow you, Vasil! We've been calling you and calling you, Petka even climbed out on the roof, and you... '
II jerked my hand away, as if it had been scalded.
Before us stood Sasha and Petka. They seemed to have been running. Sasha gazed in astonishment, now at me, now at Lika.
Our neighbour, without a trace of confusion, surveyed my friends.
'Come and have dinner!' Petka blurted out.
'These are your friends, are they, Vasil?' Lika asked. 'Why don't you introduce us?'
'Get to know each other, chaps...' I mumbled, utterly embarrassed. 'This is ... this is...'
Taking matters into her own hands, our neighbour got up from the bench and, stepping towards my friends, said:
'Angelika!'
That took them properly by surprise. Petka clutched the girl's right hand, Bobir, her left, and both pronounced their names.
'So you are Bobir!' Angelika said curiously, looking the subdued Sasha straight in the eye. 'It's you who grinds his teeth at night, is it?'
Nothing could have wounded Sasha more. He stared at me indignantly. What scorn and reproach were in that glance! It sounded as if H had been telling tales to this girl about Sasha in order to shame him and raise myself in her eyes. But I had never intended to humiliate my friend. It had just slipped out...
Conversation between the four of us was obviously a failure, so we left Angelika on the beach and walked home.
'Look at that... indualist!' Sasha exclaimed, tripping up again over that difficult word. 'There were we shouting ourselves hoarse, and what was he doing—holding hands with his beautiful damsel beside the Azov waves! And only yesterday he made all that fuss just because I offered to mind her clothes. . .'
Should I tell them how it had really happened? They would never believe me. No matter how I tried, they would never believe me! And I decided to say nothing.
THE CABMAN TELLS HIS STORY
