A SUMMER ON THE YENESEI 241 



family. We were beginning to tire of the hut, but 



there were certain difficulties in the way of the 



excursion. The chief of these was the lack of a boat. 



The only one available was that of Prokopchuk, which 



was so large and heavy that it required two men to 



row it. Then someone suggested that Joseph Gerasim- 



vitch — the Giant, as we had nicknamed him — might be 



persuaded to go. The Giant was shyly amiable, but 



non-committal. The season was getting on — there was 



the firewood to be gathered in. Clearly further pressure 



was needed. Next day we called on Madame Antonoff 



and persuaded her to allow the two girls to come with 



us to Kazachye for the night. At the time the Giant 



made no remark when he heard that Nura Antonoff 



was to be one of the party, but on the following day, 



about noon, he arrived in the boat with his holiday 



shirt on and his curls well brushed. Evidently the 



business of the firewood was not so very pressing after 



all. We dared not ask whether he had obtained his 



father's leave to take the boat. 



Nura and Tania were waiting at the fish station. 



With them was poor, depressed Marusia Prokopchuk. 



She looked so forlorn, returning all alone to her 



drudgery in the kitchen, that we persuaded her to 



come too. And it was worth while to ofiend Gerasim 



Androvitch five times over just to see her eyes light 'up 



with pleasure at the invitation. But we were not to 



start yet. There was a favourable wind, and the Giant, 



like all Siberiaks, was nothing if not resourceful. He 



went down to the shore and returned presently, striding 



along like Polyphemus with a young tree-trunk over 

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