Thus the two got away at last, arrived safely at home, married, and lived in happiness till their dying day.
The little boy made no remark. He was sound asleep.
CHAPTER XVII
HOME AGAIN
It was already dark when they reached home, though it was not late, for January days are very short. There had been no children at the station, only men, and the walk home had seemed very long to the little boy. The men were talking very loudly, sometimes even angrily—they did not seem to be pleased with what the little boy’s father told them about the zemstvo. It had not done what the people of the village wanted.
“Well, God and the mir for us all!” said the little boy’s father as they reached the house.
All the family were gathered to meet them—the grandmother, the oldest brother and his wife, and the brother and sisters who lived at home. They were glad to see the little boy, but they all seemed more interested in what the father had to say about the zemstvo, and the little boy could not understand that at all. Though his grandmother held him by the hand and occasionally patted him on the head, she hardly spoke to him. Presently, however, she went to her own room, taking the little boy with her, and then it was his turn! His little tongue ran fast as he told her all about the journey and the other grandmother and the stories she had told him.
“You never told me about the Vilas, little grandma,” he said.