"Indeed?... Where did you get your conceit from?"
"The girls in the village always told me that I was not half a bad-looking fellow...."
"What do the girls know about it?... You ought to have asked me."
"And arn't you a girl?"
She looked at him hard; an insulting smile was on his lips. Then she became serious, and said to him with anger in her voice—
"I was so once, before I had a child."
"Better said than done!" said Jakoff, bursting out laughing.
"Fool!" replied Malva curtly.
She walked away from him.
Jakoff, who felt nervous, remained silent.