[Bubnoff roars with laughter.]
NATASHA. Wait . . . well, little father?
LUKA. The man wouldn’t believe it. . . . “It must exist,” he said, “look carefully. Otherwise,” he says, “your books and maps are of no use if there’s no land of righteousness.” The learned man was offended. “My plans,” he said, “are correct. But there exists no land of righteousness anywhere.” Well, then the other man got angry. He’d lived and lived and suffered and suffered, and had believed all the time in the existence of this land—and now, according to the plans, it didn’t exist at all. He felt robbed! And he said to the learned man: “Ah—you scum of the earth! You’re not a learned man at all—but just a damned cheat!”—and he gave him a good wallop in the eye—then another one . . . [After a moment’s silence] And then he went home and hanged himself!
[All are silent. Luka, smiling, looks at Pepel and Natasha.]
PEPEL [low-voiced] To hell with this story—it isn’t very cheerful . . .
NATASHA. He couldn’t stand the disappointment . . .
BUBNOFF [sullen] Ah—it’s nothing but a fairy-tale . . .
PEPEL. Well—there is the righteous land for you—doesn’t exist, it seems . . .
NATASHA. I’m sorry for that man . . .