"I was frightened, but don't tell any one; don't tell the other boys."
"But why not?" she asked in amazement. "If you were not afraid, you have nothing to be proud about."
As he went home she said to me gently:
"You have to experience things for yourself in this world, dear heart. If you can't teach yourself, no one else can teach you."
By the evening I was the "hero" of the street, and every one asked me, "Is it possible that you were not afraid?" And when I answered, "I was afraid," they shook their heads and exclaimed, "Aha! you see!"
The shopkeeper went about saying loudly:
"It may be that they talked nonsense when they said that Kalinin walked. But if he did, do you think he would have frightened that boy? No, he would have driven him out of the cemetery, and no one would know where he went."
Ludmilla looked at me with tender astonishment. Even grandfather was obviously pleased with me. They all made much of me. Only Tchurka said gruffly:
"It was easy enough for him; his grandmother is a witch!"