The mother grasped his hand and said earnestly:
"Tell him that I'll do everything, everything necessary. I want him to know it."
"And suppose they don't put him in prison?" asked Yegor, pointing at Samoylov.
The mother sighed and said sadly:
"Well, then, it can't be helped!"
Both of them burst out laughing. And when she realized her ridiculous blunder, she also began to laugh in embarrassment, and lowering her eyes said somewhat slyly:
"Bothering about your own folk keeps you from seeing other people straight."
"That's natural!" exclaimed Yegor. "And as to Pavel, you need not worry about him. He'll come out of prison a still better man. The prison is our place of rest and study—things we have no time for when we are at large. I was in prison three times, and each time, although I got scant pleasure, I certainly derived benefit for my heart and mind."
"You breathe with difficulty," she said, looking affectionately at his open face.
"There are special reasons for that," he replied, raising his finger. "So the matter's settled, granny? Yes? To-morrow we'll deliver the matter to you—and the wheels that grind the centuried darkness to destruction will again start a-rolling. Long live free speech! And long live a mother's heart! And in the meantime, good-by."