Sitting next to the Count at the table was a stout man with a large closely-cropped head and very dark eyebrows, who was unknown to me. His face was fat and shone like a ripe melon. His moustache was longer than the Count's, his forehead was low, his lips were compressed, and his eyes gazed lazily into the sky.… The features of his face were bloated, but nevertheless they were as hard as dried-up skin. The type was not Russian.… The stout man was without his coat or waistcoat, and on his shirt there were dark spots caused by perspiration. He was not drinking tea but Seltzer water.
At a respectful distance from the table a short, thick-set man with a stout red neck and sticking out ears was standing. This man was Urbenin, the Count's bailiff. In honour of the Count's arrival he was dressed in a new black suit and was now suffering torments. The perspiration was pouring in streams from his red, sunburnt face. Next to the bailiff stood the muzhik, who had come to me with the letter. It was only here I noticed that this muzhik had only one eye. Standing at attention, not allowing himself the slightest movement, he was like a statue, and waited to be questioned.
“Kusma, you deserve to be thrashed black and blue with your own whip,” the bailiff said to him in his reproachful soft bass voice, pausing between each word. “Is it possible to execute the master's orders in such a careless way. You ought to have requested him to come here at once and to have found out when he could be expected.”
“Yes, yes, yes …” the Count exclaimed nervously. “You ought to have found out everything! He said: ‘I'll come!’ But that's not enough! I want him at once! Pos‑i‑tively at once! You asked him to come, but he did not understand!”
“Why do you require him?” the fat man asked the Count.
“I want to see him!”
“Only that? To my mind, Alexey, that magistrate would do far better if he remained at home to-day. I have no wish for guests.”
I opened my eyes. What was the meaning of that masterful, authoritative “I”?
“But he's not a guest!” my friend said in an imploring tone. “He won't prevent you from resting after the journey. I beg you not to stand on ceremonies with him.… You'll like him at once, my dear boy, and you'll soon be friends with him!”
I came out of my hiding place behind the lilac bushes and went up to the tables. The Count saw and recognized me, and his face brightened with a pleased smile.