And he bent forward his body to listen to the words of temptation.
"It would seem you have not been successful on the land?" came the thick stern voice of Vassili.
Jakoff, astonished, glanced at him, and then took up his former attitude.
Half-drowned in the noise of the waves, the provoking words of the song were wafted in scattered fragments.
"Ah! how can I sleep alone,
All alone ... this night?..."
"How hot it is," said Vassili mournfully, rolling over on the sand. "The night has come, but it's still hot! Ah! cursed country."
"It's the sand ... which stores up the heat of the day," said Jakoff, walking slowly away.
"What's the matter?... I don't see where the joke is!" said his father severely.
"I?" said Jakoff simply. "What should I joke about?"
"That's just it; there is nothing to joke about."