"If the gentleman is of such delicate make-up, why did he ask to be secretary?" answered the mayor, in anger.
"But who asked you? I am secretary only through acquaintance with the chief—"
"Oh, great acquaintance, when he comes here you won't let a breath out of your lips!"
"Burak! Burak! I give warning that you are letting your tongue out too much. Your peasant bones are sticking in my throat, together with your office of secretary. A man of education can only grow common among you. If I get angry, I will throw the secretaryship, and you, to the devil—"
"Will you! And what will become of you, then?"
"What? Shall I go to gnawing the rafters without this office? A man with education will take care of himself. Have no fear about a man with education! Only yesterday Stolbitski, the inspector, said to me, 'Ei, Zolzik! thou wouldst be a devil, not a sub-inspector, for thou knowest how grass grows.' Talk to the fool! For me your secretaryship is a thing to be spat upon. A man with education—"
"Oh, but the world will not come to an end if you leave us!"
"The world will not come to an end, but you will dip a dishcloth in a tar bucket, and write in the books with it. It will be pleasant for you till you feel the stick through your velvet."
The mayor began to scratch his head.
"If anything is said you are on your hind-legs right away."