“My spirits fell when I saw this, for my heart told me that it meant something bad was coming.  ‘Keep away, evil; come, good,’ I whispered, and crossed myself in silence.  I glanced at Takusch and saw that the poor child had changed color.  Then her innocent soul also felt that something evil was near!  Sarkis and Mairam, however, remained in merry mood and thought of nothing of that sort.  But if you believe not a thousand times that something is to come, it comes just the same!  Mairam took her napkin and wiped off her dress and Takusch poured her a fresh cup.  ‘There will come a guest with a sweet tongue,’ said Sarkis, smiling.  ’Mairam, go and put another dress on.  You will certainly be ashamed if anyone comes.’

“‘Who can come to-day, so late?’ said Mairam, smiling; ’and, beside, the dress will dry quickly.’

“Scarcely had she spoken when the garden door opened with a rush and a gentleman entered the enclosure.  He had hardly stepped into the garden when he began to blab with his goat’s voice like a windmill.

“’Good-evening.  How are you?  You are drinking tea?  That is very fine for you.  What magnificent air you have here!  Good-evening, Mr. Sarkis.  Good-evening, Mrs. Mairam, Good-evening, Hripsime.  What are you doing?  I like to drink tea in the open air.  What a beautiful garden you have.  Dare I taste these cherries?  Well—­they are not bad; no, indeed, they are splendid cherries.  If you will give me a napkin full of these cherries I will carry them home to my wife.  And what magnificent apricots!  Mr. Sarkis, do you know what!  Sell me your house.  No, I will say something better to you.  Come to my store—­you know where it is—­yonder in the new two-storied house.  Yes, yes, come over there and we will sit down pleasantly by the desk and gossip about Moscow happenings.’

“We were as if turned to stone.  There are in the world many kinds of madmen, chatterboxes, and braggarts, but such a creature as this I saw for the first time in my life, and do you know who it was?  Hemorrhoid Jack.

“Have you heard of him?  Have you seen this hostage of God?  Hripsime asked.

“No, I do not know him,” I said.

“What! and you live in our city?  Is there anyone who does not know the scoundrel?  Go to the brokers, and they will tell you many he has thrown out of house and home by fraud and hunted out of the city.  Have you ever seen how a bird-catcher lures the birds into his net—­how he whistles to them?  That’s the way this John gets the people into his traps.  To-day he will act as if altogether stupid.  To-morrow he is suddenly shrewd, and understands the business well.  Then he is simple again and a pure lamb.  Now he is avaricious, now generous.  And so he goes on.  Yes, he slips around among the people like a fox with his tail wagging, and when he picks out his victim, he fastens his teeth in his neck and the poor beggar is lost.  He gets him in his debt and never lets him get his breath between interest payments, or he robs him almost of his last shirt and lets him run.  But see how I run away from my story!