Here the young man opened himself as one opens an overcoat. Slowly and low, he said:
"Four. There is a nobleman from Moscow and three from the Don. Two of them are quiet fellows. They even drink vodka. But the nobleman and that Ratkof who was here before, speak, though in secret, with whomever they can. They have not yet begun to speak openly before the people. There are many of them here, many around us. I, from Birsky—Fedor Mitkof, am here five years. During this time there were eleven men here. In Olekhine there are eight; in Shishkof there are three."
He counted for a long time, and he reached about sixty. When he finished he became thoughtful; then began to speak, gesticulating with his finger.
"There are even some peasants among them. They all say the same thing; this life is unbearable; it stifles them. I lived in peace until I heard these words, and now I see I am not yet full grown and I must bow my head. Then, in truth, it must be that this life is stifling."
The young fellow spoke with difficulty, tearing each word from under his feet. He walked ahead of me and did not look at me. He was broad-shouldered and strong.
"Can you read and write?" I asked him.
"I once knew how, but have forgotten. Now I am studying again. It doesn't matter, I know how. When one has to, one can do everything. And I have to. If it were the noblemen who spoke about the difficulty of this life, I would not take any notice of it, for their beliefs were always different from ours. But when it is your own brothers, the poor working class, then it must be true. And moreover, some of the common people go even farther than the noblemen. That means that something social and human is beginning. That is what they always say—social, human. I am human. Then it means my way lies with them, that is what I think."
I listened to him and said to myself: "Learn, Matvei."
"What is the use of thinking about such a thing?" I said to him. "It is God's affair."
He stopped, suddenly standing stiff upon the ground, so that I almost fell upon Iris back. Then he turned his face towards me and asked sternly: