A crowd of about a hundred workmen followed him, and plied the
policemen with oaths and banter.
"Going to take a promenade, Grisha?" shouted one.
"They do honor to us fellows!" chimed in another.
"When we go to promenading, we have a bodyguard to escort us," said
a third, and uttered a harsh oath.
"It does not seem to pay any longer to catch thieves!" exclaimed
a tall, one-eyed workingman in a loud, bitter voice. "So they take
to arresting honest people."
"They don't even do it at night!" broke in another. "They come
and drag them away in broad daylight, without shame, the impudent
scoundrels!"
The policemen walked on rapidly and sullenly, trying to avoid the
sight of the crowd, and feigning not to hear the angry exclamations
showered upon them from all sides. Three workmen carrying a big
iron bar happened to come in front of them, and thrusting the bar
against them, shouted:
"Look out there, fishermen!"
As he passed Nilovna, Samoylov nodded to her, and smiling, said:
"Behold, this is Gregory, the servant of God, being arrested."
She made a low bow to him in silence. These men, so young, sober,
and clever, who went to jail with a smile, moved her, and she
unconsciously felt for them the pitying affection of a mother.
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