"And don't let him speak." She walked away, taking Nikolay with her.
"Admirable woman!" said Yegor with a sigh. "Magnificent woman! You ought to be working with her, granny. You see, she gets very much worn out. It's she that does all the printing for us."
"Don't speak. Here, you'd better take this medicine," the mother said gently.
He swallowed the medicine and continued, for some reason screwing up one eye:
"I'll die all the same, even if I don't speak."
He looked into the mother's face with his other eye, and his lips slowly formed themselves into a smile. The mother bent her head, a sharp sensation of pity bringing tears into her eyes.
"Never mind, granny. It's natural. The pleasure of living carries with it the obligation to die."
The mother put her hand on his, and again said softly:
"Keep quiet, please!"
He shut his eyes as if listening to the rattle in his breast, and went on stubbornly.