Nikolay blinked in embarrassment;
and suddenly everything was stirred with a deep but light breath.
"Nikolay was right," said Liudmila, entering again. "He must surely
have been arrested. I sent the boy there, as you told me to. He
said policemen are hiding in the yard; he did not see the house
porter; but he saw the policeman who was hiding behind the gates.
And spies are sauntering about; the boy knows them."
"So?" The mother nodded her head. "Ah, poor fellow!"
And she sighed, but without sadness, and was quietly surprised at herself.
"Lately he's been reading a great deal to the city workingmen; and
in general it was time for him to disappear," Liudmila said with a
frown. "The comrades told him to go, but he didn't obey them. I
think that in such cases you must compel and not try to persuade."
A dark-haired, red-faced boy with beautiful eyes and a hooked nose
appeared in the doorway.
"Shall I bring in the samovar?" he asked in a ringing voice.
"Yes, please, Seryozha. This is my pupil; have you never met him before?"
"No."
"He used to go to Nikolay sometimes; I sent him."
Liudmila seemed to the mother to be different to-day--simpler and
nearer to her.
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