In the loft a dry whisper could be heard.
"You see what sort of people go into this work? Even elderly people
who have drunk the cup of misery to the bottom, who have worked, and
for whom it is time to rest. And there they are! But you are young,
sensible! Ah, Stepan!"
The thick, moist voice of the peasant responded:
"Such an affair--you mustn't take it up without thinking over it.
Just wait a little while!"
"I've heard you say so before." The sounds dropped, and rose again.
The voice of Stepan rang out:
"You must do it this way--at first you must take each peasant aside
and speak to him by himself--for instance, to Makov Alesha, a lively
man--can read and write--was wronged by the police; Shorin Sergey,
also a sensible peasant; Knyazev, an honest, bold man, and that'll
do to begin with. Then we'll get a group together, we look about
us--yes. We must learn how to find her; and we ourselves must take
a look at the people about whom she spoke. I'll shoulder my ax and
go off to the city myself, making out I'm going there to earn money
by splitting wood. You must proceed carefully in this matter. She's
right when she says that the price a man has is according to his own
estimate of himself--and this is an affair in which you must set a
high value on yourself when once you take it up.
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