“I say!” he exclaimed. “Arrayed in all your war paint? Excuse me, my dear fellow, but in that garb one can hardly speak to you respectfully.”
“Please don’t. I had long meant to ask you—”
“But it’s early as yet. It doesn’t matter if you only want to get used to it, only you must not go out yet. My employer is still here. He’s in bed.”
“I’ll go out later on,” Nejdanov responded. “I’ll explore the neighbourhood a little, until further orders come.”
“Capital! But I tell you what, Alexai.... I may call you Alexai, may I not?”
“Certainly, or Lexy if you like,” Nejdanov added with a smile.
“No; there is no need to overdo things. Listen. Good counsel is better than money, as the saying goes. I see that you have pamphlets. Distribute them wherever you like, only not in the factory on any account!”
“Why not?”
“In the first place, because it won’t be safe for you; in the second, because I promised the owner not to do that sort of thing here. You see the place is his after all, and then something has already been done ... a school and so on. You might do more harm than good. Further than that, you may do as you like, I shall not hinder you. But you must not interfere with my workpeople.”
“Caution is always useful,” Nejdanov remarked with a sarcastic smile.