happened to them. Only one of them had only two fingers frostbitten, and that because of their childishness, their youth. And this one, sitting in a tractor, loses a leg. Fell asleep, apparent- ly. Got drunk and then fell asleep!” He glanced at the grader driver. He, having closed his eyes in a sweet slumber, warmed himself in a warm cabin on a soft seat. Before putting the man into the car, Volodya rubbed his left leg with snow, and, probably, it must have helped a bit. The man slept without any signs of suffering. “Well, good sir, what is your name? Who are you? Tell us,” Karatai asked, turning to him. The man opened his eyes and, as if asking, “Are you asking me?”, lay silently for several seconds, reluctantly parting with drowsiness. “Kenzhetai Orazov,” he said quietly. “I am the last from my father, that’s why they called me Kenzhetai, which means the youngest, the last… But on the other hand, the largest and tallest.” “So, you’re healthy, but with frostbitten leg. Are you not ashamed?” Said Karatai, looking at the “youngest” with a smile. “It was Allah who punished me for relying too much on my physique. I gave my best boots to one horseman, and my father took the others when he went to gather saxaul. So I had to stay in these worn-out boots. Inter- estingly, it hurt a bit at first, and then – after I got a little cut – there was no problem!” He looked amiably at the enraged director. “That’s all good if it passes, but if it doesn’t, you will remain disabled,” Turgat intervened in the conversation. “Ah,” the man lightly waved his hand. “I’ve lived for twenty-nine years unharmed, and that’s good enough for me. There are those who, as soon as they see the light, close their eyes and let it take them… My father had six kids, but in the end only two remained. All the rest disappeared from the very beginning!” He whistled for persuasiveness and went back to dozing. From such a manner of talking to the authorities, the director’s heart ached. “Kenzhetai, stop saying the first thing that comes in your head! There are big people next to you!” he growled, not hiding the threat. “I’m not talking about anyone; I’m talking about myself. But if I can’t, I guess I’ll be silent,” he
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