“Without me?” repeated the sick boy in surprise. “I didn’t suppose there was any one who would miss me.”
“Hush, hush! We all loved you” (Archag was already using the past tense, unconsciously). “Whenever we had a favor to ask, whenever we had no time to do our work and were afraid of being punished, to whom did we turn? To you, always to you!”
Samouīl listened, happily.
“Is it true, is it really true, what you are telling me?”
“I swear it.”
“Then I’m very happy, for I’ve been of some use in the world, and there will be somebody to mourn for me when I’m not here any more.”
The two boys were silent for a moment. Archag was too much moved to speak. Samouīl seemed very weary; he looked at his comrade in silence, and after a little while he said:
“I’ll wait for you. Up there. I so hope you will all come and join me. You will do your best to, won’t you?”
“Yes.”
“And when you want to do something wrong, just think that it hurts me, and perhaps that will help you resist the temptation.”