100 A SUMMER ON THE YENESEI 



have secured, made me refuse the offer, although Antonoff 

 guaranteed that young Prokopchuk was a trustworthy- 

 guide. We were still weighing the pros and cons of 

 the proposal, when Nill and one or two more ran in 

 to fetch Antonoff. It appeared that the red-haired 

 Protyvik, who had been celebrating the arrival of the 

 *' Alcohol King," had just insulted the wife of Michael 

 Prokopchuk. The latter immediately rushed out, and 

 fought Protyvik by the fishing station. When we 

 went outside shortly afterwards, it seemed as if every- 

 body in Golchika was raving. Along each horizon 

 staggered figures, shouting and singing, and the 

 balagans were as noisy as the chooms. Mr. Hall's late 

 host was sitting in the swamp outside his door, 

 blaspheming hideously, and struggling with some re- 

 straining friends who were nearly as drunk as himself. 

 Around him all his womenfolk, who were also the 

 worse of liquor, lamented hysterically. There were in 

 our medicine chest some patent capsules, one of which 

 was guaranteed to sober the most obstreperous 

 drunkard or maniac, if it was broken under his nose. 

 It seemed to be a good opportunity to test them, so 

 Mr. Hall fetched a couple and, so to speak, stalked his 

 raging host. Disgusting as the scene was, I could not 

 help laughing, for the little capsule seemed such an 

 inadequate weapon with which to quell the struggling 

 Protyvik. But before the experiment could be tried, 

 three stalwart friends seized the subject, and bore him 

 away to recover his senses in bed. Meanwhile, his 

 wife and several female acquaintances, who were in 

 little better state, were standing near and screaming 



