The Horse-Stealers (Chekhov)
Short summary
Rural Russia, late 19th century. During Christmas week, Yergunov, a hospital assistant, got lost in a snowstorm while returning from Ryepino. He found shelter at an inn with a bad reputation, run by the daughter of the recently murdered owner.
At the inn, Yergunov met Lyubka, the innkeeper's daughter, and two peasants: Kalashnikov, a known horse thief, and a dark-skinned man called Merik. The men ignored Yergunov while drinking and telling stories of their exploits. Merik boasted about his adventures and flirted with Lyubka. After dancing together, Merik threatened to kill Lyubka and her mother for their money and flee to Kuban.
When Yergunov went to check on his horse, he discovered it missing. Returning to confront Lyubka, she seduced him to distract him from pursuing Merik, who had stolen his horse. When Yergunov tried to force his way out, Lyubka struck him twice on the head. The next morning, he left the inn on foot, questioning why he lived such a restricted life compared to free men like Merik.
A year and a half later, Yergunov, now unemployed, was wandering drunk when he saw a fire in the distance. He asked an old man about it.
"Andrey Tchirikov's inn," answered the old man. And Yergunov recalled what had happened to him eighteen months before in the winter, in that very inn, and how Merik had boasted; and he envied Merik.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Yergunov gets lost in a snowstorm
During Christmas week, a hospital assistant named Yergunov was returning from the hamlet of Ryepino where he had made purchases for the hospital. To ensure he would return on time, the doctor had lent him his best horse. Initially, the weather was calm, but at eight o'clock, a violent snowstorm began. When Yergunov was about four miles from home, he completely lost his way in the blinding snow.
He did not know how to drive, he did not know the road, and he drove on at random, hoping that the horse would find the way of itself. Two hours passed; the horse was exhausted, he himself was chilled.
Arrival at the suspicious inn and meeting Lyubka
After wandering for hours, Yergunov finally spotted a red blur in the distance, which turned out to be a small house with a thatched roof. He recognized it as Andrey Tchirikov's tavern, located about four miles from the hospital. Tchirikov had been recently killed by sledge-drivers, leaving behind a wife and daughter named Lyubka, who had once been a patient at the hospital. The inn had a notorious reputation.
The inn had a bad reputation, and to visit it late in the evening, and especially with someone else's horse, was not free from risk. But there was no help for it. Yergunov fumbled in his knapsack for his revolver.
Yergunov tapped on the window, asking to be let in to warm himself. After fending off several dogs with his whip, he was eventually greeted by a female figure with a lantern. She informed him that she was not the old woman he had addressed her as, and when she put out the lantern, Yergunov recognized her as Lyubka.
Encounters with dubious characters at the inn
Upon entering the house, Yergunov discovered he was not the only visitor. In the first room, a peasant of about forty with a small fair beard was sitting at a table looking at a picture-book. Yergunov recognized him as Kalashnikov, a notorious horse-thief from Bogalyovka. Another peasant lay sleeping near the stove, covered with a sheepskin.
It was Kalashnikov, an arrant scoundrel and horse-stealer, whose father and uncle kept a tavern in Bogalyovka, and disposed of the stolen horses where they could. He too had been to the hospital more than once.
Yergunov tried to make conversation, mentioning his revolver to impress them, but Kalashnikov showed little interest. Soon, Lyubka entered the room. She walked with tiny steps, clearly enjoying padding about with her bare feet on the freshly washed floor. She approached the table where Kalashnikov showed her a picture of the Prophet Elijah in a book.
Later, the sleeping peasant awoke, and Yergunov was shocked to recognize him as the dark-skinned stranger he had encountered earlier that day. This man, called Merik, had black hair, black eyes, and a swarthy face with a distinctive black spot on his right cheek.
Tales of horse-thieves and supernatural beliefs
As the evening progressed, Yergunov tried to impress his companions with stories of his experiences. He claimed to have seen devils during his extensive travels as a medical assistant in the army and later with the Zemstvo. He recounted a supposed encounter with a devil near the inn the previous year, describing a dark figure who stopped him on the road and demanded to be vaccinated.
Merik interrupted, pointing out that while he had indeed grabbed Yergunov's horse's rein during their encounter, there had been no talk of smallpox vaccination. This embarrassed Yergunov, who tried to deny he was talking about Merik.
The conversation then turned to the famous horse-thieves of Bogalyovka. Kalashnikov lamented that the great days of horse-stealing were over, with only an elderly one-eyed man named Filya still active. In the past, Filya (nicknamed Shamil) and Lyubka's father had been renowned for their daring thefts, once stealing nine cavalry horses in a single night.
Merik was praised as a bold fellow, though not from Bogalyovka but from Harkov. Lyubka mentioned an incident where Merik had been dipped in a hole in the ice. He explained that after Filya stole three horses from some Molokan tenants, they had blamed Merik. Thirty men had tied his hands, led him to the river, and pushed him through one ice-hole to another using a stick with a rope. They then beat him severely and left him frozen on the snow.
Dancing, drinking, and growing tension
After supper, Lyubka cleared the table and brought out sweet wine, dried nuts, and pumpkin seeds. Kalashnikov reminisced about the gatherings they used to have at Andrey Tchirikov's or his brother Martin's, with Filya and Fyodor Stukotey also present. Lyubka then showed off the gifts Kalashnikov had brought her—a green kerchief, beads, and several dresses.
Kalashnikov began playing the balalaika, and soon Merik jumped up and started dancing. Lyubka joined him, and they performed a wild, passionate dance together. Yergunov watched from the chest, captivated by Lyubka's movements and regretting that he was a hospital assistant rather than a simple peasant who could join in such revelry.
She did not move simply, but with tiny steps, thrusting forward her bosom... she enjoyed padding about with her bare feet on the freshly washed floor, and had taken off her shoes on purpose.
At the end of their dance, Merik held Lyubka close and spoke to her tenderly but with a threatening undertone. He told her he would find her mother's money, murder the old woman, cut Lyubka's throat, and burn down the inn. People would think she had perished in the fire, and he would take her money to Kuban where he would keep horses and sheep.
"I'll find out where your old mother's money is hidden, I'll murder her and cut your little throat for you, and after that I will set fire to the inn... with your money I shall go to Kuban."
The theft of Yergunovs horse
Kalashnikov announced he needed to leave, as someone named Filya was waiting for him. Yergunov went outside to ensure Kalashnikov didn't steal his horse. The snowstorm continued unabated, with white clouds swirling around the yard. After Kalashnikov departed on his own horse, Yergunov returned to the room to find Merik gone and Lyubka collecting her scattered beads from the floor.
Yergunov lay down on the bench, placing his revolver and matches beside him. He extinguished the candle, leaving only the flickering light from the icon lamp. In the darkness, he had visions of Lyubka dancing. Someone, presumably Merik, entered the room briefly to smoke a pipe before leaving again.
Half an hour later, Yergunov saw a light in the passage. Merik appeared in his coat and cap, followed by Lyubka with a candle. She begged Merik to stay, but he insisted he wanted some fun. She looked toward the door where Yergunov was supposedly sleeping and laughed, calling him a "puffed-up devil." Merik embraced her, kissed her, and left.
Realizing his horse might be stolen, Yergunov grabbed his revolver and tried to leave, but Lyubka blocked the door. She refused to let him pass, flirting with him and touching the gilt watch-key on his chain. Despite his protests that Merik would steal his horse, she insisted Merik wouldn't do that and asked Yergunov to give her his watch-key, which he did.
Humiliation and assault
When Yergunov mentioned that he had overheard her telling Merik she loved him, Lyubka's expression suddenly changed, becoming cold and cunning. Taking advantage of this distraction, Yergunov pushed past her and ran to the yard. Using matches to see in the darkness, he found the pig, cow, and dogs, but his horse was gone.
Furious, he fired his revolver at the dogs but missed. When he returned to the house, he heard someone running out of the room. The door was locked. After lighting matches to find his way, he eventually discovered Lyubka in a small bedroom, pretending to be asleep on a chest under a colorful quilt.
Yergunov demanded to know where his horse was. When Lyubka didn't respond, he tore the quilt off her. She jumped up, pressing against the wall with repulsion and terror in her eyes. When he threatened her and grabbed her shift, tearing it, he tried to embrace her. Hissing with fury, she struck him on the skull with her fist, then delivered another blow to his temple.
Dazed from the pain, Yergunov staggered back to the room where his things were and lay down. He discovered that his saddle and purchases were missing, and his knapsack was empty. In a state of confusion, he lit match after match until they were all gone.
Epilogue: The burning inn
By morning, the snowstorm had subsided. Yergunov took a poker from the kitchen to fend off the dogs and left the inn, leaving the door open. Outside, the white plain looked dead, with no birds in the sky. As he walked, he thought about how he would explain the situation at the hospital.
His mind wandered to thoughts of Lyubka and the freedom enjoyed by Merik and Kalashnikov. He questioned why people lived constrained lives with social hierarchies and rules, rather than living freely like wild animals or men like Merik.
And he thought about himself that he had not hitherto been a thief, a swindler, or even a brigand, simply because he could not, or had not yet met with a suitable opportunity.
A year and a half later, Yergunov, who had been dismissed from the hospital and was unemployed, left a tavern in Ryepino. Walking into the countryside on a spring night, he contemplated the injustice of social divisions between the employed and unemployed, the sober and the drunken. He wondered why humans needed jobs and salaries when wild animals lived freely.
In the distance, he noticed a beautiful crimson glow on the horizon. When he asked a passing old man what the fire was, the man replied that it was Andrey Tchirikov's inn burning. Yergunov recalled what had happened to him there eighteen months before, and imagined the old woman and Lyubka with their throats cut, burning in the fire. As he walked back to the tavern, he found himself envying Merik.