"Peace, fool! You don't understand. Be quiet, I say!"
"You are ashamed of me, so you are hiding."
"We will live there together—soon."
"Not I! I will not go there."
"Idiot!"
"Ah, you have already learnt to snarl," the old woman jibed. "Ate your mash then! But perhaps you don't relish it after your Barin's pork."
She was right, he had already eaten—pork, and she had guessed it.
Ivan began to puff. "You are an idiot, I tell you," he growled.
He had come home to have a business talk about their affairs, but he left without settling anything. The old woman's sharp tongue had stung him in a tender spot. It was true that all the respectable peasants had stood aside, and only those who had nothing to lose had joined the Committee.
Ivan passed through the village. As he walked across the park, he saw a light burning in the stables and went over to discover the reason. He found some lads had assembled there and were playing cards and smoking. He watched them awhile, frowningly.
"This is stupid! You will set the place alight," he grumbled.