“Butwhenareyougoing？“Savelypatteredaway。“That’swhatthepostisfor——togetthereingoodtime，doyouhear？I’lltakeyou。“
Thepostmanopenedhiseyes。Warmedandrelaxedbyhisfirstsweetsleep，andnotyetquiteawake，hesawasthroughamistthewhiteneckandtheimmovable，alluringeyesofthesexton’swife。Heclosedhiseyesandsmiledasthoughhehadbeendreamingitall。
“Come，howcanyougoinsuchweather！“heheardasoftfemininevoice；“yououghttohaveasoundsleepanditwoulddoyougood！“
“Andwhataboutthepost？“saidSavelyanxiously。“Who’sgoingtotakethepost？Areyougoingtotakeit，pray，you？
Thepostmanopenedhiseyesagain，lookedattheplayofthedimplesonRaissa’sface，rememberedwherehewas，andunderstoodSavely。Thethoughtthathehadtogooutintothecolddarknesssentachillshudderalldownhim，andhewinced。