"You are fine, granny!" Yegor hoarsely cried.
The mother smiled. It was evident to her that if the leaflets
should continue to appear in the factory, the authorities would be
forced to recognize that it was not her son who distributed them.
And feeling assured of success, she began to quiver all over with joy.
"When you go to see Pavel," said Yegor, "tell him he has a good mother."
"I'll see him very soon, I assure you," said Samoylov, smiling.
The mother grasped his hand and said earnestly:
"Tell him that I'll do everything, everything necessary. I want
him to know it."
"And suppose they don't put him in prison?" asked Yegor, pointing
at Samoylov.
The mother sighed and said sadly:
"Well, then, it can't be helped!"
Both of them burst out laughing. And when she realized her ridiculous
blunder, she also began to laugh in embarrassment, and lowering
her eyes said somewhat slyly:
"Bothering about your own folk keeps you from seeing other people
straight."
"That's natural!" exclaimed Yegor. "And as to Pavel, you need not
worry about him. He'll come out of prison a still better man. The
prison is our place of rest and study--things we have no time for
when we are at large.
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