Then
will life be great, and the people will be great who live that life."
He ceased and straightened himself. Then swinging to and fro like
the tongue of a bell, he added in a resonant voice that seemed to
issue from the depths of his breast:
"So for the sake of this life I am prepared for everything! I will
tear my heart out, if necessary, and will trample it with my own feet!"
His face quivered and stiffened with excitement, and great, heavy
tears rolled down one after the other.
Pavel raised his head and looked at him with a pale face and
wide-open eyes. The mother raised herself a little over the table
with a feeling that something great was growing and impending.
"What is the matter with you, Andrey?" Pavel asked softly.
The Little Russian shook his head, stretched himself like a violin
string, and said, looking at the mother:
"I struck Isay."
She rose, and quickly walked up to him, all in a tremble, and seized
his hands. He tried to free his right hand, but she held it firmly
in her grasp and whispered hotly:
"My dear, my own, hush! It's nothing--it's nothing--nothing, Pasha!
Andriushenka--oh, what a calamity! You sufferer! My darling heart!"
"Wait, mother," the Little Russian muttered hoarsely.
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