MASLOVA MAKES NEW FRIENDS.
The gang of prisoners to which Maslova belonged had walked about three thousand three hundred miles. She and the other prisoners condemned for criminal offences had travelled by rail and by steamboats as far as the town of Perm. It was only here that Nekhludoff succeeded in obtaining a permission for her to continue the journey with the political prisoners, as Vera Doukhova, who was among the latter, advised him to do. The journey up to Perm had been very trying to Maslova both morally and physically. Physically, because of the overcrowding, the dirt, and the disgusting vermin, which gave her no peace; morally, because of the equally disgusting men. The men, like the vermin, though they changed at each halting-place, were everywhere alike importunate; they swarmed round her, giving her no rest. Among the women prisoners and the men prisoners, the jailers and the convoy soldiers, the habit of a kind of cynical debauch was so firmly established that unless a female prisoner was willing to utilise her position as a woman she had to be constantly on the watch. To be continually in a state of fear and strife was very trying. And Maslova was specially exposed to attacks, her appearance being attractive and her past known to every one. The decided resistance with which she now met the importunity of all the men seemed offensive to them, and awakened another feeling, that of ill-will towards her. But her position was made a little easier by her intimacy with Theodosia, and Theodosia's husband, who, having heard of the molestations his wife was subject to, had in Nijni been arrested at his own desire in order to be able to protect her, and was now travelling with the gang as a prisoner. Maslova's position became much more bearable when she was allowed to join the political prisoners, who were provided with better accomodations, better food, and were treated less rudely, but besides all this Maslova's condition was much improved because among the political prisoners she was no longer molested by the men, and could live without being reminded of that past which she was so anxious to forget. But the chief advantage of the change lay in the fact that she made the acquaintance of several persons who exercised a decided and most beneficial influence on her character. Maslova was allowed to stop with the political prisoners at all the halting-places, but being a strong and healthy woman she was obliged to march with the criminal convicts. In this way she walked all the way from Tomsk. Two political prisoners also marched with the gang, Mary Pavlovna Schetinina, the girl with the hazel eyes who had attracted Nekhludoff's attention when he had been to visit Doukhova in prison, and one Simonson, who was on his way to the Takoutsk district, the dishevelled dark young fellow with deep-lying eyes, whom Nekhludoff had also noticed during that visit. Mary Pavlovna was walking because she had given her place on the cart to one of the criminals, a woman expecting to be confined, and Simonson because he did not dare to avail himself of a class privilege.
These three always started early in the morning before the rest of the political prisoners, who followed later on in the carts.
They were ready to start in this way just outside a large town, where a new convoy officer had taken charge of the gang.
It was early on a dull September morning. It kept raining and snowing alternately, and the cold wind blew in sudden gusts. The whole gang of prisoners, consisting of four hundred men and fifty women, was already assembled in the court of the halting station. Some of them were crowding round the chief of the convoy, who was giving to specially appointed prisoners money for two days' keep to distribute among the rest, while others were purchasing food from women who had been let into the courtyard. One could hear the voices of the prisoners counting their money and making their purchases, and the shrill voices of the women with the food.
Simonson, in his rubber jacket and rubber overshoes fastened with a string over his worsted stockings (he was a vegetarian and would not wear the skin of slaughtered animals), was also in the courtyard waiting for the gang to start. He stood by the porch and jotted down in his notebook a thought that had occurred to him. This was what he wrote: "If a bacteria watched and examined a human nail it would pronounce it inorganic matter, and thus we, examining our globe and watching its crust, pronounce it to be inorganic. This is incorrect."
Katusha and Mary Pavlovna, both wearing top-boots and with shawls tied round their heads, came out of the building into the courtyard where the women sat sheltered from the wind by the northern wall of the court, and vied with one another, offering their goods, hot meat pie, fish, vermicelli, buckwheat porridge, liver, beef, eggs, milk. One had even a roast pig to offer.
Having bought some eggs, bread, fish, and some rusks, Maslova was putting them into her bag, while Mary Pavlovna was paying the women, when a movement arose among the convicts. All were silent and took their places. The officer came out and began giving the last orders before starting. Everything was done in the usual manner. The prisoners were counted, the chains on their legs examined, and those who were to march in couples linked together with manacles. But suddenly the angry, authoritative voice of the officer shouting something was heard, also the sound of a blow and the crying of a child. All was silent for a moment and then came a hollow murmur from the crowd. Maslova and Mary Pavlovna advanced towards the spot whence the noise proceeded.
包括玛丝洛娃在内的那批犯人,走了将近五千俄里路.在到彼尔姆①以前,玛丝洛娃一直同刑事犯一起坐火车,乘轮船.到了彼尔姆,聂赫留朵夫才算向有关方面疏通好,把玛丝洛娃调到政治犯队伍中.这个主意是同行的薇拉给他出的.
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①西伯利亚西部城市.
在到达彼尔姆以前,玛丝洛娃在肉一体上和一精一神上都感到十分痛苦.肉一体上痛苦,是由于拥挤,肮脏以及虱子等小虫的一�}一扰.一精一神上痛苦,是由于跟虫子一样讨厌的男人--虽然每到一站都换一批,但都同样死乞白赖,纠缠不清,使人不得安宁.在女犯人同男犯人,男看守,男押解人员之间一�H一乱成风,因此一个女犯人,尤其是年轻的,要是不愿牺牲自己做女人的贞洁,就得时刻小心戒备.经常处于这种恐惧和挣扎中,那是很痛苦的.玛丝洛娃由于相貌迷人和尽人皆知的身世,特别容易受到这一类袭击.现在她对纠缠她的男人一律严加抗拒,这样使他们觉得受了侮辱,他们就会恼羞成怒.这种状况在她同费多霞和塔拉斯接近后有所改善.塔拉斯知道妻子受到男人的进攻后,就自愿加入犯人队伍来保护她,因此从下城起他就以犯人身分同他们一起赶路.
玛丝洛娃调到政治犯队伍后,她的处境各方面都有所改善.且不说政治犯的膳宿比较好,受到的待遇不那么粗一暴,玛丝洛娃自从加入政治犯队伍后,不再受男人迫害,日子过得比较太平,没有人再提起她现在极想忘却的往事.不过,这次调动的最大好处是她认识了几个人,这几个人对她起了极好的影响,决定了她的前途.
玛丝洛娃获准在旅途中跟政治犯同住,但她身一体健康,赶路还得跟刑事犯一起.她从托木斯克①起就一直这样步行.跟她一起步行的还有两名政治犯:一名是谢基尼娜,也就是聂赫留朵夫到狱里探望薇拉时,惊奇地看到的那个生有羔羊般眼睛的美丽姑一娘一;另一名是流放到雅库茨克省②的名叫西蒙松的男犯,他肤色浅黑,头发蓬松,眼睛在前额下凹得很深,聂赫留朵夫那次探监也见到过他.谢基尼娜所以步行,因为把座位让给一个怀孕的女刑事犯坐了.至于西蒙松步行,那是因为他觉得享受阶级特权③是不合理的.这三人同其他政治犯不同,大清早就跟刑事犯一起上路.其他政治犯坐大车,要晚一点出发.在到达大城市前,这种方式一直维持到最后一个旅站.到了大城市,就会有新的押解官来接班.
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①西伯利亚东北部城市.
②在西伯利亚中部.
③指俄国民粹派因出身贵族,享有坐车赶路的特权.
这是一个一�一雨连绵的九月早晨.天忽而落雪,忽而下雨,寒风阵阵.这批犯人总共有四百名男的和近五十名女的,都集合在旅站院子里,其中一部分围着把两天伙食费发给犯人头的押解官,一部分在向放进院子里的女贩购买食物.犯人纷纷数钱买食物,女贩们尖声说话,一片喧闹.
玛丝洛娃和谢基尼娜都穿着高统皮靴和羊皮袄,扎着头巾,从旅站房间出来,向女贩们走去.女贩都坐在北面墙脚背风的地方,嘈杂地叫卖各种东西:新鲜面包,馅饼,鱼,面条,麦粥,牛肝,牛肉,鸡蛋,牛一奶一等等.有个女贩甚至带了一头烤一乳一猪来卖.
西蒙松穿一件橡胶短上衣,脚穿羊一毛一袜,外套胶鞋,用带子扎紧(他是个素食者,不穿戴皮革制品).他也来到院子里,等待出发.他站在台阶旁,在笔记本里记着刚想到的话:
"要是细菌能观察和研究人的指甲,它准会认为指甲是无机物.同样,我们观察地球外壳,也会认为地球是无机物.这是不正确的."
玛丝洛娃同女贩讲好价钱,买了几个鸡蛋,一串面包圈,几条鱼和几个新鲜小麦面包,放进袋子里;谢基尼娜在同女贩算帐,付钱.这时犯人们不再说话,纷纷站好队.押解官走出来,在出发前对犯人作最后一次训话.
一切都照规定办理:清点人数,检查镣铐,把犯人排成双行,一对对用手铐锁在一起.但突然响起军官的怒斥声,打人的响声和孩子的哭声.人群里顿时静了下来,接着发出低低的埋怨声.玛丝洛娃和谢基尼娜向喧闹的地方走去.