[9] No gentleman.
"All right, master."
"Then we must have Mekipiros ready in front of the forester's hut."
"Why that, master? The fellow is dumb and foolish. You know that he bit out his tongue under torture."
"So much the better. He cannot talk. He must have brandy, and lots of it."
"When he drinks brandy he becomes like a wild beast. He can bite and scratch now, but when he is drunk you can make him worry people like a dog."
"That is just what we want. There may be things to be done which a man would willingly keep out of and yet have done all the same. Do you take me?"
"Yes, perfectly, you are worthy of all admiration, master. We can let loose this wild beast in cases where we don't want our own hands to be soiled. When he has lots of brandy he would shoot his own father if you put a gun in his hands. And if anything goes wrong we can lay all the blame on him."
The master regarded his pupil with a look of solemn reproach.
"And you are capable," said he, "capable of saying in cold blood, 'if anything goes wrong'? Ivan, you are not a true believer. Ivan, you are a worthless fellow."