“Even Solomon could not pour out of the empty.”
“Because he did not take lessons from thee. My dear friend, no one is listening to us, so I may say that all thy life thou hast been doing nothing else.”
“Then thou art sure that I will pay thee?”
“I am.”
“Thou art right; I wanted of thee a favor to which I have no claim. But even I feel wearied at last of all this,—to take something here and thrust it in there; to live eternally in such a whirl passes human power in the long run. I am sailing, as it were, into the harbor. In two months I shall be on a new footing, but meanwhile I am using the last of my steam; ’tis not in thy way to oblige me; the position is difficult. There is a small forest in Kremen; I will cut that and pay, since there is no other way.”
“What forests are there in Kremen? Old Plavitski shaved off everything that could be taken.”
“There is a large oak grove behind the house, toward Nedzyalkov.”
“True, there is.”
“I know that thou and Bigiel take up such affairs. Buy that forest; it will spare me the search for a purchaser, and he and thou can come out of the business with profit.”
“I will discuss it with Bigiel.”