"I cannot."
"Well! what am I to do with you? You shall have them. It is a loss to me, and no mistake; but such is my doggish nature, I could never refuse to be agreeable to my fellow-creatures. But I think I am right in saying that it will be requisite to draw up a contract of sale for the lawful settlement of the bargain."
"Most certainly."
"In that case, I shall have to go to Smolensk," said Sobakevitch.
Thus then the bargain for Sobakevitch's dead serfs was concluded. They agreed to meet the next day in town, and to settle all the formalities of the contract of sale at their first meeting there.
Tchichikoff now demanded a list of all the dead serfs that were to become his property. To this request Sobakevitch agreed willingly, and sat down immediately at his writing-desk, and wrote down not only the names of every one but also their laudable qualifications.
"The note is ready," Sobakevitch soon said as he turned round.
"Ready? Allow me to look at it." Tchichikoff took the paper in his hand, and whilst running his eyes over it, he was surprised to behold its neatness and accuracy; not only were profession, name, age and family estate minutely noted down, but there was even a special column in which particular annotations had been made as regarded the degree of morality and conduct of his deceased serfs; in a word, it was a real pleasure to look at the document.
"Now I hope you will have no objection to pay me a god-penny," said Sobakevitch.
"Why should I give you anything on account? You shall receive the whole amount at once, on our first meeting in town."