This meant that under the present arrangement the seeds had to be provided by the peasants, and they wanted the landlord to provide them.
“Then am I to understand that you refuse to accept the land?” Nekhludoff asked, addressing a middle-aged, barefooted peasant, with a tattered coat, and a bright look on his face, who was holding his worn cap with his left hand, in a peculiarly straight position, in the same way soldiers hold theirs when commanded to take them off.
“Just so,” said this peasant, who had evidently not yet rid himself of the military hypnotism he had been subjected to while serving his time.
“It means that you have sufficient land,” said Nekhludoff.
“No, sir, we have not,” said the ex-soldier, with an artificially pleased look, carefully holding his tattered cap in front of him, as if offering it to any one who liked to make use of it.
“Well, anyhow, you’d better think over what I have said.” Nekhludoff spoke with surprise, and again repeated his offer.
“We have no need to think about it; as we have said, so it will be,” angrily muttered the morose, toothless old man.
“I shall remain here another day, and if you change your minds, send to let me know.”
The peasants gave no answer.
So Nekhludoff did not succeed in arriving at any result from this interview.