I was sorry for you, and yet I could not help it. I was
powerless! I thought you could never get reconciled to us, that you
could never adopt our ideas as yours, but that you would suffer in
silence as you had suffered all your life long. It was hard."
"Andriusha made me understand many things!" she declared, in her
desire to turn her son's attention to his comrade.
"Yes, he told me about you," said Pavel, laughing.
"And Yegor, too! He is a countryman of mine, you know. Andriusha
wanted to teach me to read, also."
"And you got offended, and began to study by yourself in secret."
"Oh, so he found me out!" she exclaimed in embarrassment. Then
troubled by this abundance of joy which filled her heart she again
suggested to Pavel:
"Shan't we call him in? He went out on purpose, so as not to
disturb us. He has no mother."
"Andrey!" shouted Pavel, opening the door to the porch. "Where are you?"
"Here. I want to chop some wood."
"Never mind! There's time enough! Come here!"
"All right! I'm coming!"
But he did not come at once; and on entering the kitchen he said
in a housekeeper-like fashion:
"We must tell Nikolay to bring us wood.
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