Part VI
While the Bashkirs were disputing, a man in a large fox-fur cap appeared on the scene. They all became silent and rose to their feet. The interpreter said, “This is our Chief himself.”
Pahom immediately fetched the best dressing-gown and five pounds of tea, and offered these to the Chief. The Chief accepted them, and seated himself in the place of honour. The Bashkirs at once began telling him something. The Chief listened for a while, then made a sign with his head for them to be silent, and addressing himself to Pahom, said in Russian:
“Well, let it be so. Choose whatever piece of land you like; we have plenty of it.”
“How can I take as much as I like?” thought Pahom. “I must get a deed to make it secure, or else they may say, ‘It is yours,’ and afterwards may take it away again.”
“Thank you for your kind words,” he said aloud. “You have much land, and I only want a little. But I should like to be sure which bit is mine. Could it not be measured and made over to me? Life and death are in God’s hands. You good people give it to me, but your children might wish to take it away again.”
“You are quite right,” said the Chief. “We will make it over to you.”
“I heard that a dealer had been here,” continued Pahom, “and that you gave him a little land, too, and signed title-deeds to that effect. I should like to have it done in the same way.”
The Chief understood.
“Yes,” replied he, “that can be done quite easily. We have a scribe, and we will go to town with you and have the deed properly sealed.”
“And what will be the price?” asked Pahom.
“Our price is always the same: one thousand roubles a day.”
Pahom did not understand.
“A day? What measure is that? How many acres would that be?”
“We do not know how to reckon it out,” said the Chief. “We sell it by the day. As much as you can go round on your feet in a day is yours, and the price is one thousand roubles a day.”
Pahom was surprised.
“But in a day you can get round a large tract of land,” he said.
The Chief laughed.
“It will all be yours!” said he. “But there is one condition: If you don’t return on the same day to the spot whence you started, your money is lost.”
“But how am I to mark the way that I have gone?”
“Why, we shall go to any spot you like, and stay there. You must start from that spot and make your round, taking a spade with you. Wherever you think necessary, make a mark. At every turning, dig a hole and pile up the turf; then afterwards we will go round with a plough from hole to hole. You may make as large a circuit as you please, but before the sun sets you must return to the place you started from. All the land you cover will be yours.”
Pahom was delighted. It-was decided to start early next morning. They talked a while, and after drinking some more kumiss and eating some more mutton, they had tea again, and then the night came on. They gave Pahom a feather-bed to sleep on, and the Bashkirs dispersed for the night, promising to assemble the next morning at daybreak and ride out before sunrise to the appointed spot.
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— Owl Eyes Editors
The impact of dramatic irony, which was introduced at the beginning of the story when the devil declared his intention to ensnare Pahom, is in full effect here. Though Part VI ends with a tone of excitement and delight, the readers’ knowledge of Pahom’s grim situation creates apprehension while also inviting close attention to detail as the plot nears its climax.
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— Owl Eyes Editors
Pahom’s spade, which is an instrument predominantly used for digging, becomes another important symbol by the end of the story. While kumiss represents life’s simple pleasures, the spade represents Pahom’s greed. Further, because Pahom’s spade is used to perform manual labor, its symbolism underscores the ties between labor and capitalism—an economic system that relies on private ownership, which Pahom has been chasing throughout the story, in order to operate effectively.
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— Owl Eyes Editors
A “scribe” is a person who writes, often for the purpose of copying manuscripts or documenting official proceedings. Here, the Bashkirs employ a scribe to conduct their business in writing.
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— Owl Eyes Editors
A “deed” is a signed document representing the legal transfer of property, such as land or a building, from one party to the other. Therefore, it is an integral component in the legal process of obtaining and enforcing an individual’s ownership of private property. Pahom worries that the Bashkirs may accept his payment for the land but reclaim it later on, so he wishes to legally protect his purchase with a deed.
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— Owl Eyes Editors
The verb “to dispute” means to disagree with or to engage in an argument with others. The Bashkirs are arguing over whether or not to involve their chief in their negotiations with Pahom. Though the translation by L. and A. Maud does not make it clear why the Bashkirs are divided about whether to consult the Chief, it is possible that several of them are acting from a place of their own greed—that is, they dispute one another because some of them want to speed the process of Pahom’s purchase.