With an inspired glance above the thousands of heads towards the point in the sky where the sun's disc was emerging even more clearly and gilding the crosses with thick red gold, the man waved his arm and shouted in a weak voice:
'Hurrah for the Ukrainian people!'
'Petlyura . . .
Petlyura ..."
'That's not Petlyura.
What are you talking about?'
'Why should Petlyura have to climb up on a fountain?'
'Petlyura's in Kharkov.'
'Petlyura's just gone to the palace for a banquet . . .'
'Nonsense, there aren't going to be any banquets.'
'Hurrah for the Ukrainian people!' the man repeated, at which a lock of fair hair flicked up and dangled over his forehead.
'Quiet!'
The man's voice grew louder and began to make itself heard clearly above the murmur of the crowd and the crunch of feet on snow, above the retreating clatter of the parade, above the distant beat of drums.
'Have you seen Petlyura?'
'Of course I have -just now.'
'Ah, you're lucky.
What's he like?'
'Black moustaches pointing upward like Kaiser Wilhelm, and wearing a helmet.
Look, there he is, look, look Maria Fyodorovna, look - riding on a horse . . .'
'What d'you mean by spreading rumors like that?
That's the chief of the City fire brigade.'
'Petlyura's in Belgium, madame.'
'Why should he go to Belgium?'
'To sign a treaty with the Allies . . .'
'No, no.
He's gone to the Duma with a mounted escort.'
'What for?'
'To take the oath . . .'
'Will he take an oath?'
'Why should he take an oath?
They are going to swear anoath to him.'
'Well, I'd rather die, (whisper) I won't swear . . .'
'No need for you.
They won't touch women.'
'They'll touch the Jews all right, that's for sure . . .'
'And the officers.
They'll rip their guts out.'
'And the landlords!
Down with 'em!'
'Quiet!'
With a strange look of agony and determination in his eyes the fair-haired orator pointed at the sun.
'Citizens, brothers, comrades!' he began. 'You heard the cossacks singing
"Our leaders are with us, with us like brothers".
Yes, they are with us!'
The speaker thumped his chest with his hat, which was adorned with a huge red ribbon. 'They are with us.
Because our leaders are men of the people, they were born among the people and will die with them.
They stood beside us freezing in the snow when we were besieging the City and now they've captured it - and the red flag is already flying over our towns and villages here in the Ukraine . . .'
'Hurrah!'
'What red flag?
What's he saying?