A Bad Business (Chekhov)
Short summary
A foggy March night in a graveyard. A watchman on duty heard someone walking and challenged the stranger, who claimed to be a lost pilgrim trying to reach Mitrievsky Mill. The watchman reluctantly agreed to guide him to the cemetery gate.
After reaching the gate, the stranger revealed he wasn't a pilgrim at all, but Gubaryev, a locksmith who had supposedly hanged himself. He threatened the watchman and held him captive.
The watchman's knees give way under him. In his terror he shuts his eyes, and trembling all over huddles close to the wall. He would like to call out, but he knows his cries would not reach any living thing.
After hearing a whistle, the stranger released the watchman and fled. The terrified watchman ran back through the cemetery and noticed a light in the church. Looking through a broken window, he saw evidence of theft - vestments scattered about, an overturned cupboard, and footprints near the altar. The stranger had been part of a group robbing the church. Soon the alarm bell rang over the churchyard.
Detailed summary
Division into sections is editorial.
An unexpected encounter in the dark graveyard
On a foggy March night, a watchman patrolled a graveyard, surrounded by darkness so complete that he could barely see ahead of him. The wind howled through the trees as he heard footsteps approaching along the avenue. Despite repeatedly calling out, he received no immediate answer, though he thought he detected whispering and laughter.
A March night, cloudy and foggy, envelopes the earth, and it seems to the watchman that the earth, the sky, and he himself with his thoughts are all merged together into something vast and impenetrably black.
Finally, an old man's voice answered, claiming to be a traveler who had lost his way. The watchman, attempting to hide his fear with anger, accused the stranger of prowling around the graveyard at night. The stranger expressed surprise at finding himself in a graveyard, claiming he could see nothing in the darkness and had become lost while heading to the Mitrievsky Mill.
The lost pilgrim and the reluctant guide
The stranger introduced himself as a pilgrim, a wandering man. Somewhat reassured by the man's tone and sighs, the watchman explained that the stranger had gone miles out of his way, likely due to drinking in town. He gave detailed directions for leaving the graveyard and finding the main road to the mill.
The pilgrim begged the watchman to guide him to the gate, claiming he was afraid to walk through the graveyard alone in such darkness. Though reluctant to waste time, the watchman eventually agreed to help. As they walked together through the damp night, the watchman questioned how the pilgrim had entered the graveyard since the gate was locked. The pilgrim avoided answering directly, attributing his presence to a "visitation" and "chastisement of the Lord."
"I see nothing, my good soul, nothing. Oh the darkness, the darkness! You can't see your hand before your face, it is dark, friend. O-o-oh..."
The pilgrim asked if the watchman worked alone, and the watchman explained there were three watchmen in total - one was ill with fever, and another was asleep, so they took turns. As they continued walking, the pilgrim made philosophical remarks about death and how all people, regardless of status, would eventually lie in the graveyard. The watchman agreed, noting that death comes to everyone.
The watchman stopped to light his pipe, and the brief flashes of the matches illuminated glimpses of the graveyard - a white tombstone with an angel, a dark cross, and a trellis around a child's grave. The pilgrim sighed and spoke of how all the departed sleep alike, regardless of their status in life. Eventually, they reached the gate, and the watchman led the pilgrim out, repeating directions to the main road.
A dangerous deception revealed
Unexpectedly, once outside the gate, the pilgrim announced that he had no intention of going to the Mitrievsky Mill after all. He preferred to stay with the watchman, finding his company "merrier." The watchman was confused by this change of heart. Then, in a shocking revelation, the stranger declared he was not a pilgrim at all but a dead man who had just escaped from his coffin.
"Am I a pilgrim? I am not a pilgrim at all... A dead man... I've only just got out of my coffin... Do you remember Gubaryev, the locksmith, who hanged himself in carnival week? Well, I am Gubaryev himself!..."
The watchman did not believe this claim, but he was overcome with terror. When he tried to flee, the stranger grabbed his arm and prevented him from leaving. The man threatened the watchman, saying he would have killed him already if he didn't mind spilling blood. Paralyzed with fear, the watchman stood trembling against the wall, knowing his cries would not reach anyone who could help.
After several minutes of tense silence, the stranger mocked the watchmen's ineffectiveness - one sick, one asleep, and one escorting "pilgrims." He boasted that thieves had always been cleverer than watchmen. When they heard a whistle in the distance, the stranger finally released the watchman, whistled back, and fled, jumping over a ditch.
The true purpose discovered
With a sense of dread, the terrified watchman opened the gate and ran back through the graveyard with his eyes closed. As he turned into the main avenue, he heard hurried footsteps and someone asking in a hissing voice about Timofey and Mitka.
Running the length of the avenue, the watchman noticed a dim light in the darkness. As he approached, he realized with horror that the light was coming from inside the church. Looking through a broken window, he saw a small wax candle the thieves had forgotten to extinguish. Its flickering light revealed vestments scattered about, an overturned cupboard, and numerous footprints near the altar. The "pilgrim" had been part of a group that had robbed the church. Shortly after, the alarm bell began to ring across the churchyard, sounding the alert about the theft.
A little wax candle which the thieves had forgotten to put out flickers in the wind... and throws dim red patches of light on the vestments flung about and a cupboard overturned on the floor, on numerous footprints near the high altar...