His father sits in
prison--a nasty little old man. Nikolay sometimes catches sight of
him through the window and he begins to swear at him. That's bad,
you know. He is a good fellow, Nikolay is. He is fond of dogs,
mice, and all sorts of animals, but he does not like people. That's
the pass to which a man can be brought."
"His mother disappeared without a trace, his father is a thief and
a drunkard," said Nilovna pensively.
When Andrey left to go to bed, the mother, without being noticed,
made the sign of the cross over him, and after about half an hour,
she asked quietly, "Are you asleep, Andriusha?"
"No. Why?"
"Nothing! Good night!"
"Thank you, mother, thank you!" he answered gently.
CHAPTER XII
The next day when Nilovna came up to the gates of the factory with
her load, the guides stopped her roughly, and ordering her to put
the pails down on the ground, made a careful examination.
"My eatables will get cold," she observed calmly, as they felt
around her dress.
"Shut up!" said a guard sullenly.
Another one, tapping her lightly on the shoulder, said with
assurance:
"Those books are thrown across the fence, I say!"
Old man Sizov came up to her and looking around said in an undertone:
"Did you hear, mother?"
"What?"
"About the pamphlets.
Pages:
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168