244 A SUMMER ON THE YENESEI 



Prokopcliuk at Golchika, was incomparably more com- 

 fortable than the balagan at Och Marino. On a shelf 

 stood a couple of tins of condensed milk and cocoa, 

 which betokened a certain amount of luxury. Presently 

 our hostess took us into the inner room, which was 

 larger than the first, and well furnished. A heap of 

 furs lay on the floor. She turned them back, and 

 underneath was the prettiest sight — five little naked 

 children, warm and rosy with sleep, nestled together, for 

 all the world like a litter of kittens, with their fists 

 crumpled into their eyes. The proud mother pulled the 

 youngest out of bed in order to exhibit him, where- 

 upon he opened his sloe-black eyes and yelled lustily, 

 until she gave him back to his eldest sister, aged six, who 

 cuddled him up and stifled his wails with the coverlet. 



As soon as the samovar was singing, we hastened to 

 prepare supper, with the help of the Antonoff" girls. 

 They had brought bread and a pot of fresh caviare, and 

 as we had tea, sugar, sausage, and cheese, we soon had 

 a good supper on the table. We sat down, a party of 

 twelve, to eat it with much merriment, in spite of 

 the usual shortage of cups and saucers. On all 

 these excursions we found that although we seemed 

 to have provided ourselves amply, yet somehow in 

 the end there were more thirsty throats than there 

 were cups to supply them. After supper Joseph 

 Gerasimvitch declared that he meant to walk on 

 to the fishing station and see his cousin, Nicolai. 

 Micha offered to go too, and, to our secret relief, 

 Simeon Prokopchuk said that he would accompany 

 them. We none of us liked our host, whose notion of 



