"There is certainly some disturbance in T.," he began, shaking his beard
and screwing up his bright black eyes. "Sergai Mihailovitch must have
had a hand in it. He hasn't been home for five days."

Nejdanov took his cap.

"Where are you off to?" Mariana asked.

"Why there of course," he replied, not raising his eyes and frowning, "I
am going to T."

"Then I will come with you. You'll take me, won't you? Just let me get a
shawl."

"It's not a woman's work," Nejdanov said irritably with his eyes still
fixed on the floor.

"No, no! You do well to go, or Markelov would think you a coward ... but
I'm coming with you."

"I am not a coward," Nejdanov observed gloomily.

"I meant to say that he would have thought us both cowards. I am coming
with you."

Mariana went into her own room to get a shawl, while Pavel gave an
inward ha, ha, and quickly vanished. He ran to warn Solomin.

Mariana had not yet appeared, when Solomin came into Nejdanov's room.
The latter was standing with his face to the window, his forehead
resting on the palm of his hand and his elbow on the window-pane.
Solomin touched him on the shoulder. He turned around quickly;
dishevelled and unwashed, Nejdanov had a strange wild look. Solomin,
too, had changed during the last days. His face was yellow and drawn and
his upper front teeth showed slightly--he, too, seemed agitated as far
as it was possible for his well-balanced temperament to be so.

"Markelov could not control himself after all," he began. "This may turn
out badly both for him and for others."

"I want to go and see what's going on there," Nejdanov observed.

"And I too," Mariana added as she appeared in the doorway.

Solomin turned to her quickly.

"I would not advise you to go, Mariana. You may give yourself away--and
us, without meaning to, and without the slightest necessity. Let
Nejdanov go and see how the land lies, if he wants to--and the sooner
he's back the better! But why should you go?"

"I don't want to be parted from him."

"You will be in his way."

Mariana looked at Nejdanov. He was standing motionless with a set sullen
expression on his face.

"But supposing there should be danger?" she asked.

Solomin smiled.

"Don't be afraid... when there's danger I will let you go."

Mariana took off her shawl without a word and sat down. Solomin then
turned to Nejdanov.

"It would be a good thing for you to look about a little, Alexai. I dare
say they exaggerate.