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Red Shmul had many opportunities for studying his strange employer. Every three or four months the young man appeared upon the frontier, bringing with him batches of “Gois,” who wanted to go out of the country, or to come in. There were, moreover, books to be smuggled from abroad—a very advantageous trade, since books were paid for better than tobacco or silk. David had many connections all along the frontier, but Red Shmul was proud of being his favourite agent.

What all this meant; who the strange people were with whom David was connected; what they wanted—Red Shmul could not make up his mind about. Prompted by his Jewish curiosity, he tried to read some of the revolutionary pamphlets he had to smuggle through. With his imperfect knowledge of Russian, he could not profit much by them, and did not care to investigate further. Since so clever a fellow as David took part in it, there must be some profit to be made out of it: how else could David pay so punctually and so well those whom he employed? As the importation of these books was prohibited, like that of various other goods, it must be some high-class smuggling business, for the use of gentlemen, of which he understood little. It did not concern him to know, however, provided he was paid well. He had his own business to mind.

The whistling of the locomotive in the distance announced the arrival of the St Petersburg train.

There they are, thought Shmul, whilst, with an obsequious smile, he was serving a police-officer with a measure of brandy.

Shmul’s tavern stood rather far from the station. Most of the passengers sought refreshment in nearer and better places, but some stragglers reached him. Accordingly he had to make preparations to receive his guests. He wiped the two rustic oak tables which stood on either side of the room. Then he inspected the small assortment of spirits ready for use, filling some of the glasses from the long row of bottles standing against the walls, and placed himself in waiting behind the counter.

The tavern began to fill. Several peasant fanners of the village entered the room, loudly discussing the news of the market, from which they had just returned. Two gendarmes, just relieved from guard at the station, came in for a drink,