"I, too, want to ask you to let us keep our kopecks." And drooping
his head again, Sizov smiled guiltily. The manager slowly bent his
look upon the crowd again, shrugged his shoulders, and then,
regarding Pavel searchingly, observed:
"You appear to be a fairly intelligent man. Do you not understand
the usefulness of this measure?"
Pavel replied loudly:
"If the factory should drain the marsh at its own expense, we would
all understand it!"
"This factory is not in the philanthropy business!" remarked the
manager dryly. "I order you all to start work at once!"
And he began to descend, cautiously feeling the iron with his feet,
and without looking at anyone.
A dissatisfied hum was heard in the crowd.
"What!" asked the manager, halting.
All were silent; then from the distance came a solitary voice:
"You go to work yourself!"
"If in fifteen minutes you do not start work, I'll order every single
one of you to be discharged!" the manager announced dryly and distinctly.
He again proceeded through the crowd, but now an indistinct murmur
followed him, and the shouting grew louder as his figure receded.
"Speak to him!"
"That's what you call justice! Worse luck!"
Some turned to Pavel and shouted:
"Say, you great lawyer, you, what's to be done now? You talked and
talked, but the moment he came it all went up in the air!"
"Well, Vlasov, what now?"
When the shouts became more insistent, Pavel raised his hand and said:
"Comrades, I propose that we quit work until he gives up that kopeck!"
Excited voices burst out:
"He thinks we're fools!"
"We ought to do it!"
"A strike?"
"For one kopeck?"
"Why not? Why not strike?"
"We'll all be discharged!"
"And who is going to do the work?"
"There are others!"
"Who? Judases?"
"Every year I would have to give three rubles and sixty kopecks
to the mosquitoes!"
"All of us would have to give it!"
Pavel walked down and stood at the side of his mother.
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