“It is easy for you to say that, but how could I endure it? Where should I go now? My wife is dead! My children have forgotten me. I have nowhere to go.”
Makár did not rise; he beat his head on the ground, and said:
“Iván Dmítritch, forgive me! When they flogged me with the knout, it was easier to bear than it is now to look at you. And you had pity on me after all this—you did not tell on me. Forgive me for Christ’s sake! Forgive me though I am a cursed villain!”
And the man began to sob.
When Aksénof heard Makár Semyónof sobbing, he himself burst into tears, and said:
“God will forgive you; maybe I am a hundred times worse than you are!”
And suddenly he felt a wonderful peace in his soul. And he ceased to mourn for his home, and had no desire to leave the prison, but only thought of his last hour.
Makár would not listen to Aksénof, and confessed his crime.
When they came to let Aksénof go home, he was dead.
FOOTNOTES: