again shouted, "Drink!" and Nejdanov again swallowed a glass
of the filthy poison. But this second time was truly awful! Blunt hooks
seemed to be tearing him to pieces inside. His head was in a whirl,
green circles swam before his eyes. A hubbub arose... Oh horror! a third
glass. Was it possible he emptied that too? He seemed to be surrounded
by purple noses, dusty heads of hair, tanned necks covered with nets
of wrinkles. Rough hands seized him. "Go on!" they bawled out in angry
voices, "talk away! The day before yesterday another stranger talked
like that. Go on." The earth seemed reeling under Nejdanov's feet, his
voice sounded strange to his own ears as though coming from a long way
off... Was it death or what?

And suddenly he felt the fresh air blowing about his face, no more
pushing and shoving, no more stench of spirits, sheep-skin, tar, nor
leather.... He was again sitting beside Pavel in the cart, struggling at
first and shouting, "Where are you off to? Stop! I haven't had time to
tell them anything--I must explain..." and then added, "and what are
your own ideas on the subject, you sly-boots?"

"It would certainly be well if there were no gentry and the land
belonged to us, of course," Pavel replied, "but there's been no such
order from the government." He quietly turned the horse's head and,
suddenly lashing it on the back with the reins, set off at full gallop,
away from this din and uproar, back to the factory.

Nejdanov sat dozing, rocked by the motion of the cart, while the
wind played pleasantly about his face and kept back gloomy depressing
thoughts.

He was annoyed that he had not been allowed to say all that he had
wanted to say. Again the wind caressed his overheated face.

And then--a momentary glimpse of Mariana--a burning sense of shame--and
sleep, deep, sound sleep...

Pavel told Solomin all this afterwards, not hiding the fact that he did
not attempt to prevent Nejdanov from drinking--otherwise he could not
have got him out of the whirl. The others would not have let him go.

"When he seemed to be getting very feeble, I asked them to let him off,
and they agreed to, on condition that I gave them a shilling, so I gave
it them."

"You acted quite rightly," Solomin said, approvingly.

Nejdanov slept, while Mariana sat at the window looking out into the
garden. Strange to say the angry, almost wicked, thoughts that had
been tormenting her until Nejdanov and Pavel arrived had completely