He
thought, "Why should I screen him who ruined my life? Let him pay for
what I have suffered. But if I tell, they will probably flog the life
out of him, and maybe I suspect him wrongly. And, after all, what good
would it be to me?"
"Well, old man," repeated the Governor, "tell me the truth: who has
been digging under the wall?"
Aksionov glanced at Makar Semyonich, and said, "I cannot say, your
honour. It is not God's will that I should tell! Do what you like with
me; I am your hands."
However much the Governor! tried, Aksionov would say no more, and so
the matter had to be left.
That night, when Aksionov was lying on his bed and just beginning to
doze, some one came quietly and sat down on his bed. He peered through
the darkness and recognised Makar.
"What more do you want of me?" asked Aksionov. "Why have you come
here?"
Makar Semyonich was silent. So Aksionov sat up and said, "What do you
want? Go away, or I will call the guard!"
Makar Semyonich bent close over Aksionov, and whispered, "Ivan
Dmitrich, forgive me!"
"What for?" asked Aksionov.
"It was I who killed the merchant and hid the knife among your things.
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