第230章

Meanwhile time was passing and Agafya, with whom he could have left the children, would not come back from market.He had several times already crossed the passage, opened the door of the lodgers' room and looked anxiously at "the kids" who were sitting over the book, as he had bidden them.Every time he opened the door they grinned at him, hoping he would come in and would do something delightful and amusing.But Kolya was bothered and did not go in.

At last it struck eleven and he made up his mind, once for all, that if that "damned" Agafya did not come back within ten minutes he should go out without waiting for her, making "the kids" promise, of course, to be brave when he was away, not to be naughty, not to cry from fright.With this idea he put on his wadded winter overcoat with its catskin fur collar, slung his satchel round his shoulder, and, regardless of his mother's constantly reiterated entreaties that he would always put on goloshes in such cold weather, he looked at them contemptuously as he crossed the hall and went out with only his boots on.Perezvon, seeing him in his outdoor clothes, began tapping nervously, yet vigorously, on the floor with his tail.

Twitching all over, he even uttered a plaintive whine.But Kolya, seeing his dog's passionate excitement, decided that it was a breach of discipline, kept him for another minute under the bench, and only when he had opened the door into the passage, whistled for him.The dog leapt up like a mad creature and rushed bounding before him rapturously.

Kolya opened the door to peep at "the kids." They were both sitting as before at the table, not reading but warmly disputing about something.The children often argued together about various exciting problems of life, and Nastya, being the elder, always got the best of it.If Kostya did not agree with her, he almost always appealed to Kolya Krassotkin, and his verdict was regarded as infallible by both of them.This time the "kids"' discussion rather interested Krassotkin, and he stood still in the passage to listen.The children saw he was listening and that made them dispute with even greater energy.

"I shall never, never believe," Nastya prattled, "that the old women find babies among the cabbages in the kitchen garden.It's winter now and there are no cabbages, and so the old woman couldn't have taken Katerina a daughter."Kolya whistled to himself.

"Or perhaps they do bring babies from somewhere, but only to those who are married."Kostya stared at Nastya and listened, pondering profoundly.

"Nastya, how silly you are!" he said at last, firmly and calmly.

"How can Katerina have a baby when she isn't married?"Nastya was exasperated.

"You know nothing about it," she snapped irritably."Perhaps she has a husband, only he is in prison, so now she's got a baby.""But is her husband in prison?" the matter-of-fact Kostya inquired gravely.

"Or, I tell you what," Nastya interrupted impulsively, completely rejecting and forgetting her first hypothesis."She hasn't a husband, you are right there, but she wants to be married, and so she's been thinking of getting married, and thinking and thinking of it till now she's got it, that is, not a husband but a baby.""Well, perhaps so," Kostya agreed, entirely vanquished."But you didn't say so before.So how could I tell?""Come, kiddies," said Kolya, stepping into the room."You're terrible people, I see.""And Perezvon with you!" grinned Kostya, and began snapping his fingers and calling Perezvon.

"I am in a difficulty, kids," Krassotkin began solemnly, "and you must help me.Agafya must have broken her leg, since she has not turned up till now, that's certain.I must go out.Will you let me go?"The children looked anxiously at one another.Their smiling faces showed signs of uneasiness, but they did not yet fully grasp what was expected of them.

"You won't be naughty while I am gone? You won't climb on the cupboard and break your legs? You won't be frightened alone and cry?"A look of profound despondency came into the children's faces.

"And I could show you something as a reward, a little copper cannon which can be fired with real gunpowder."The children's faces instantly brightened."Show us the cannon,"said Kostya, beaming all over.

Krassotkin put his hand in his satchel, and pulling out a little bronze cannon stood it on the table.

"Ah, you are bound to ask that! Look, it's on wheels." He rolled the toy on along the table."And it can be fired off, too.It can be loaded with shot and fired off.""And it could kill anyone?"

"It can kill anyone; you've only got to aim at anybody," and Krassotkin explained where the powder had to be put, where the shot should be rolled in, showing a tiny hole like a touch-hole, and told them that it kicked when it was fired.

The children listened with intense interest.What particularly struck their imagination was that the cannon kicked.

"And have you got any powder?" Nastya inquired.

"Yes."

"Show us the powder, too," she drawled with a smile of entreaty.

Krassotkin dived again into his satchel and pulled out a small flask containing a little real gunpowder.He had some shot, too, in a screw of paper.He even uncorked the flask and shook a little powder into the palm of his hand.

"One has to be careful there's no fire about, or it would blow up and kill us all," Krassotkin warned them sensationally.

The children gazed at the powder with an awe-stricken alarm that only intensified their enjoyment.But Kostya liked the shot better.

"And does the shot burn?" he inquired.

"No, it doesn't."

"Give me a little shot," he asked in an imploring voice.

"I'll give you a little shot; here, take it, but don't show it to your mother till I come back, or she'll be sure to think it's gunpowder, and will die of fright and give you a thrashing.""Mother never does whip us," Nastya observed at once.