switched on. The young man who made the commotion switched on the headlights of the Zhiguli which was parked at the mare’s stall. Old men and old women, girls and young women, boys and girls, the whole staff of the department were watching the fight with interest. The head of the department, Toiboldy, tried to prevent the fight, but it did not work – the sides were relentless. Knowing that the principal was sympathetic to Ye- sirkep, and bearing in mind his imminent retirement, Toiboldy lost his head in despair. The fight ended as quickly as it had begun. Ye- sirkep moved menacingly towards his opponent, but the latter suddenly used an unknown technique, and Yesirkep was soon seeing all the stars in the sky. The one who had once fled from a wolf did not stop there: he twisted the arms of his lying adversary and sat down on him. Then he took some cigarettes out of his pocket and smoked nonchalantly. Unable to stay in the crowd, Kamasiya grabbed the child and went back to the house. The department head Toiboldy, knowing there would be a big scandal, also slipped out of the crowd and escaped into the darkness as a precaution. Yesirkep climbed out from under the winner, looked intently at the fans and walked towards the power station. He burst into the duty officer’s cabinet like an enraged bull. Shiftman Zhumat was dozing, resting his forehead on an oily metal table. When he saw the boss appear before him Zhumat shouted in a hysterical voice: ‘No! I wasn’t asleep!’ ‘Turn it off!’ commanded Yesirkep. ‘No, I wasn’t sleeping! I never sleep on the job!’ cried Zhumat. ‘What are you jabbering about? Turn it off. Turn the engine off! ‘Why? ‘Do it!’ ‘Yes… How come…? People… They’ll file a com- plaint…’ ‘Let them. Say the alternator’s burnt out, the cyl- inder’s jammed. Just shut it down! After a minute the roar of the diesel engine ceased and the village was plunged into pitch darkness. He climbed up onto the roof of the hut, looked in the direction of the house where the celebration was taking place, listened with satisfaction to the babble of the bewildered people, and said to his subordinate: ‘If anyone asks, you haven’t seen me.’ At home, Yesirkep cursed angrily and collapsed onto the bed. ‘Hey, you’ll frighten the children, go into the oth-