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swayed from side to side like a drunken man, until finally all became
dark and he sank to the ground unconscious.
When he recovered his senses, Gavryl was nowhere to be seen, but all
around him was as light as day. Strange sounds proceeded from the
direction of his house, and turning his face that way he saw that his
barns were on fire. The rear parts of both were already destroyed,
and the flames were leaping toward the front. Fire, smoke, and bits of
burning straw were being rapidly whirled by the high wind over to where
his house stood, and he expected every moment to see it burst into
flames.
"
What is this, brother?" Ivan cried out, as he beat his thighs with his
hands. "I should have stopped to snatch the bunch of burning straw, and,
throwing it on the ground, should have extinguished it with my feet!"
Ivan tried to cry out and arouse his people, but his lips refused to
utter a word. He next tried to run, but he could not move his feet, and
his legs seemed to twist themselves around each other. After several
attempts he succeeded in taking one or two steps, when he again began to
stagger and gasp for breath. It was some moments before he made another
attempt to move, but after considerable exertion he finally reached
the barn, the rear of which was by this time entirely consumed; and
the corner of his house had already caught fire. Dense volumes of smoke
began to pour out of the room, which made it difficult to approach.
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