hunter notes

Chapter 17 Baijing Grassland (1)
It was a fine July day, such as can only be expected when the weather is stable.The sky has been bright since dawn, and the morning glow does not burn like fire, but spreads a soft blush.The sun—not venomous like in hot summer, not dark red like before the storm, but clear, clear, bright and lovely—peacefully emerged from under a long narrow cloud, emitting a refreshing radiance, Soaked in lavender clouds.The slender fringes above the scattered white clouds shone like little serpents, a splendor like refined silver... But suddenly flickering rays of light came in and out--and joyously, majesticly, and momentarily rose that majestic glow body.At noon there are often many round, tall clouds with soft white edges, golden-gray.Distributed like islands in a boundless boiling river, surrounded by tributaries of pure blue and exceedingly clear, these clouds remain in place, almost motionless; The clouds were so close together that the blue sky was hidden between them, and they themselves were blue like the sky, for they too were saturated with light and heat.The color of the sky is misty and lavender, unchanged throughout the day, and the surroundings are the same, no place is gloomy, no place is brewing thunderstorms, only some places occasionally hang light blue bands, This is the drizzling rain.In the evening, these clouds were gone, and only the last clouds, erratic and black like smoke, turned into rose-colored blobs against the setting sun.Where the sun quietly set as it rose, the bright red radiance briefly illuminated the gradually darkening earth, and the Taibai star quietly flickered on it like a newly lit candle.During these days, all colors are softened, clear but not gaudy; everything has a touching affinity.On these days it was sometimes very hot, and sometimes it was muggy on the slopes of the fields.But the wind scatters the accumulated heat, drives it away, and the whirlwinds—a sure sign of steady weather—form tall white columns that move along the roads and across the plowed fields.In the dry and clean air, smelling of wormwood, harvested rye, and buckwheat, there was not even a hint of humidity felt an hour before dark.This kind of weather is what farmers look forward to when harvesting wheat... On such a day, I once went to Chirun County, Tula Province to hunt grouse.I found and shot down a lot of game, and the full hunting bag was mercilessly heavy on my shoulders, but I waited until the sunset disappeared, and the cold shadows began to condense and spread in the bright sky even though it was no longer illuminated by the sunset. When I was in the air, I decided to go home.I hastened my pace through a long thicket and up a hill, only to find that it was not the familiar plain I had expected, with an oak forest to the right and a low white church in the distance, but A completely different place that I have never been to.There is a narrow valley extending under my feet, and a dense poplar forest stands straight opposite.I stopped in bewilderment, and looked back... "Ah!" I thought, "I've completely gone the wrong way, too far to the right." Surprised by the mistake, I hurried down the hill.An unpleasant, stagnant damp soon surrounded me, as if I had stepped into a cellar.The thick tall grass on the bottom of the valley was all wet and formed a flat expanse of whiteness.It's kind of scary to walk here.I hurried to the other side, turned left, and walked along the aspen grove.Bats began to fly over the resting treetops of the poplar grove, circling and trembling mysteriously in the evening sky; in. "Well, I'll just get to the other end," I thought, "and I'll be on my way in no time, and I've walked a mile in vain!"

At last I came to the end of the wood, but there was no road there, and large areas of low, unmowed bushes lay before me, and behind them a desolate field could be seen in the distance.I stopped again. "Why is there such a strange thing?...Where did I go?" I recalled how I chose my route during the day, and what places I walked..."Ha! This is the Balashin bush!" At last I exclaimed, "That's right! There should be the New Jayev Grove over there... How did I come to this place? I have traveled so far? Strange! Now I have to go to the right again."

I turned to the right, across the bushes.At this time, the night is approaching and thickening like a haze. It seems that darkness rises from everywhere at the same time with the night air, and even pours down from a high place.I saw a rough, weedy path; and I followed it, looking ahead.Everything around was quickly surrounded by darkness and became silent, except for the occasional quail crowing.A little night bird stretched out its soft wings and flew low and silently. It almost touched me and fled to the side in panic.I walked out of the bushes and walked along the field.Now it was difficult for me to distinguish things in the distance, and the fields around me were hazy and white, and its sullen darkness rose in huge clumps, drawing closer and closer.There was a dull sound of footsteps in the heavy air.The pale sky was blue again—but this time it was the blue of night.The stars are twinkling in the sky.What I first thought was a grove turned out to be a dark, round hill. "Where the hell am I?" I repeated aloud, stopping for the third time to look incredulously at my brindle spaniel, Chanka, the most intelligent of all quadrupeds.But the clever fellow just wagged his tail and blinked his tired eyes listlessly, but gave me no useful advice.I felt ashamed of it, and I pushed forward, as if I suddenly understood where I should go.I rounded the hills and came into a shallow hollow that had been plowed all around.A strange feeling immediately took over my whole body.This depression is shaped like a pot with sloping edges.Below the hollow rose some large white stones--they seemed to have crawled into the place for a secret meeting--and it was so still and desolate in it, and the sky hung over it so flat and desolate, that my Heart thickened.A small beast squealed weakly and sadly among the stones.I flew and ran up the hill.Until now, I have never lost hope of finding my way back, but now, convinced at last that I am so lost, I will never try to identify the places around me that are almost completely immersed in obscurity, only with the help of the stars. , I kept walking at a leisurely pace... I dragged my legs with difficulty, and walked like this for about half an hour.I don't think I've ever been in such a desolate place: no fire, no sound.From one level hillside to another, the plains endlessly followed each other, and the bushes seemed to rise suddenly from the ground in front of my nose.I kept walking, already thinking of camping somewhere until dawn, when suddenly I came upon a terrible abyss.

I hurriedly withdrew my stepped foot, and through the slightly transparent hazy color of the night, I saw a large plain at a very low place below.A wide semicircle of river ran forward, round the plain; the cold reflection of the river water flickered dimly at times, indicating the river's passage.The hill on which I stood dipped like an almost vertical cliff; its huge outline rose blackly out of the vast void, directly below me, in the corner formed by the cliff and the plain, in the motionless On the other side of the river like a black mirror, under the steep slope of the small hill, there are two fires glowing red and smoking.There were a few people squirming around the fire, and the shadows swayed, and sometimes the front half of a small curly head was clearly reflected... I finally saw clearly where I was standing.This prairie is the famous Baijing prairie near us... But it is definitely impossible to go home, especially at night, when my legs are tired and weak.I decided to go to the fire, and join what I thought were the cattle traders until daybreak.I got there smoothly, but before my hand let go of the last branch I was clinging to, suddenly two tall, shaggy white dogs rushed towards me barking ferociously.A child's bright voice came from around the fire, and two or three boys rose quickly from the ground.I responded to their shouts of questioning.They came running to me, and quickly called back the two dogs, who were especially astonished at my sudden presence, and I went up to them.

I mistook the man sitting by the fire for a cattle dealer.They were just farm boys in a nearby village who were keeping watch over the horses.In our country horses are usually taken out into the fields at night to graze in the heat of summer, because flies and gadflies make them restless during the day.Driving the horses out before sunset and back again at dawn is a fun thing for farm children.They don't wear hats, wear old short leather jackets, ride on the liveliest nanny horses, shouting happily, galloping with dancing, bouncing high and laughing loudly.Slight dust rose up in the form of yellow pillars and circled along the road; the sound of neat horse hooves came from a distance, and the horses pricked up their ears and ran; leading a galloping brown-yellow horse with shaggy hair, the horse raised its tail , constantly shifting pace, with burdock seeds in his tangled mane.

I told the kids I was lost and sat next to them.They asked me where I was from, and then there was a silence for a while to make room.We talked a little bit.I lay down under a gnawed young bush and began to look around.This scene is very strange: there is a round, reddish light circle dancing on the fire, as if it is blocked by the darkness and stays there; the flames are blazing, and from time to time emit rapid reflections to the outside of the light circle; the firelight The sharp tongue licked the bare willow branches, and suddenly disappeared; then, the sharp long black shadow suddenly invaded, reaching the place of the fire-darkness struggling with light.Sometimes—when the flames were weaker and the aperture narrowed, a bay-red horse's head with a curved white nose suddenly appeared in the approaching darkness, or a pure white horse's head, chewing quickly and long The grass looked at us vigilantly and hesitantly, then lowered his head again, and soon disappeared, only the sound of it continuing to chew and snort was heard.From a place of light it is difficult to see what is in the dark, so that everything near seems to be covered by a curtain close to black; but in the distance near the sky, the long shadows of hills and woods can be seen faintly. .The dark and pure sky reveals infinite mysterious splendor, majestic, lofty and infinitely looming before our eyes.Breathing in that particular, intoxicating fresh smell—the smell of a Russian summer night—feels a pleasurable constriction in the chest.There is almost no sound around... Only occasionally the sound of big fish swimming in the nearby river suddenly sounds, and the reeds on the bank are gently impacted by the waves, making a low rustling sound... Only the fire gently The ground is ringing loudly.

The children sat around the fire, and the two dogs who had decided to eat me sat here.They couldn't bear my presence all the time, squinted their eyes sleepily, stared sideways at the fire, and occasionally roared with extreme self-esteem; at first they roared, and then whined a little, as if they regretted that their wishes could not be realized.There were five children: Feja, Pavlusha, Ilyusha, Kostia and Vanya. (I have learned their names from their conversation, and I am now going to introduce them to the reader.) The first, the oldest, is Fei Jia, who appears to be about fourteen years old.He was a well-proportioned boy, handsome and somewhat petite, with curly flaxen hair, bright eyes, and a half-pleasant, half-casual smile.By all appearances, he belonged to a well-to-do family, and he had come to the fields not to live, but to entertain.He wore a calico shirt trimmed with yellow, a small new jacket that nearly slipped off his narrow shoulders, and a small comb hanging from a light blue belt.His low-cut boots were his own, not his father's.The second child, Pavlusha, had shaggy black hair, gray eyes, broad cheekbones, a pale and freckled face, a large mouth, but well built, and a large head, as they say, like a beer pot, The body is short and thick.The child is not at all beautiful - and there is nothing wrong with that! —but I still like him: his eyes are very bright and honest, and his voice is very loud.His attire was simple, plain linen shirt and patched trousers.The third person, Yiliuxia, has an ordinary appearance: a hooked nose, a long face, narrowed eyes, and a dull, slightly morbid melancholy on her face; her tightly closed lips never move, and her frown never moves Stretch - he seemed to keep squinting his eyes because he was afraid of fire.His yellow and almost white hair formed into pointed scrolls and protruded under the low felt hat, which he often pulled under his ears with both hands.He wore new straw sandals and foot-bindings, and a thick rope wrapped three times around his body fastened his neat black robes with precision.Both he and Pavlusha appeared to be under 14 years old.The fourth person, Kostya, was a child of about ten years old, whose quiet, sad eyes aroused my curiosity.His face was small, thin and freckled, with a pointed chin like a squirrel; his lips were recognizably small; but his large, dark, watery eyes gave a strange impression, as if they wanted to express something , but language (at least his language) cannot express it.He was short in stature, weak in constitution, and very poorly dressed.The last one, Vanya, I didn't see at first, lying on the ground, quietly huddled under a lumpy mat, only occasionally protruding his hazel, curly hair from under the mat.The child is no more than seven years old.

I just lay there under a bush and watched these children.Over a fire hung a little pot in which potatoes were boiling.Pavlusha watched over it, and was kneeling to stir it with a piece of wood in the boiling water.Feja was lying with his head resting on one elbow, with his coat open.Sitting next to Kostya, Yiluxia narrowed her eyes nervously.Kostya lowered her head slightly and looked somewhere in the distance.Vanya was motionless under his mat.I pretended to fall asleep.Little by little the children began to talk again.

At first they were chatting about leisure, about this, about that, about tomorrow's work, about horses; but suddenly Feiya turned to Ilyushya, and asked him, as if picking up the topic where it had been interrupted:
"Hey, so have you really seen the house god?" "No, I haven't, he can't see it," Yiluxia said in a hoarse and weak voice, which was exactly the same as the expression on his face. Couldn't be more fitting, "But I've heard it...and I've heard a lot of it alone."

(End of this chapter)