Letters of Anton Chekhov (Tchekhov) - Penn State University

Anton Chekhov“No, sir,” someone answers from the dark.“Climb up and look.”A dark figure appears on the bridge and leisurely climbs up. In aminute we hear:“Yes, sir.”I look to the left where the lights of the lighthouse are supposedto be, borrow the captain’s glasses, but see nothing …. Half an hourpasses, then an hour. The mast sways regularly, the devils creak, thewind makes dashes at my cap …. It is not pitch dark, but one feelsuneasy.Suddenly the captain dashes off somewhere to the rear of the ship,crying, “You devil’s doll!”“To the left,” he shouts anxiously at the top of his voice. “To theleft! … To the right! A-va-va-a!”Incomprehensible words of command are heard. The steamerstarts, the devils give a creak …. “A-va-va!” shouts the captain; atthe bows a bell is rung, on the black deck there are sounds of running,knocking, cries of anxiety …. The Dir starts once more, puffspainfully, and apparently tries to move backwards.“What is it?” I ask, and feel something like a faint terror. There isno answer.“He’d like a collision, the devil’s doll!” I hear the captain’s harshshout. “To the left!”Red lights appear in front, and suddenly among the uproar isheard the whistling, not of the Dir, but of some other steamer ….Now I understand it: there is going to be a collision! The Dir puffs,trembles, and does not move, as though waiting for a signal to godown …. But just when I think all is lost, the red lights appear onthe left of us, and the dark silhouette of a steamer can be discerned…. A long black body sails past us, guiltily blinks its red eyes, andgives a guilty whistle ….“Oof! What steamer is it?” I ask the captain.The captain looks at the silhouette through his glasses and replies:“It is the Tweedie.”After a pause we begin to talk of the Vesta, which collided withtwo steamers and went down. Under the influence of this conversationthe sea, the night and the wind begin to seem hideous, created87