There they sat to one side, by the wall, young,
sturdy, scarcely taking any part in the monotonous talk of the
witnesses and judges, or in the disputes of the lawyers with the
prosecuting attorney. They behaved as if the talk did not concern
them in the least. Sometimes somebody would laugh contemptuously,
and say something to the comrades, across whose faces, then, a
sarcastic smile would also quickly pass. Andrey and Pavel conversed
almost the entire time with one of their lawyers, whom the mother had
seen the day before at Nikolay's, and had heard Nikolay address as
comrade. Mazin, brisker and more animated than the others, listened
to the conversation. Now and then Samoylov said something to Ivan
Gusev; and the mother noticed that each time Ivan gave a slight
elbow nudge to a comrade, he could scarcely restrain a laugh; his
face would grow red, his cheeks would puff up, and he would have to
incline his head. He had already sniffed a couple of times, and for
several minutes afterward sat with blown cheeks trying to be serious.
Thus, in each comrade his youth played and sparkled after his fashion,
lightly bursting the restraint he endeavored to put upon its lively
effervescence.
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