“Well, my lad, see to it that you do your work right, so that I shan’t have to be ashamed of you.  You know what masters are like.  If you go wrong once, they’ll be at you forever after with their fault-finding, and never give you peace.”

“Don’t worry about that, Yegor Danilych.”

“Well—­well.”

Gerasim took leave, crossing the yard to go out by the gate.  Polikarpych’s rooms gave on the yard, and a broad beam of light from the window fell across Gerasim’s way.  He was curio as to get a glimpse of his future home, but the panes were all frosted over, and it was impossible to peep through.  However, he could hear what the people inside were saying.

“What will we do now?” was said in a woman’s voice.

“I don’t know, I don’t know,” a man, undoubtedly Polikarpych, replied.  “Go begging, I suppose.”

“That’s all we can do.  There’s nothing else left,” said the woman.  “Oh, we poor people, what a miserable life we lead.  We work and work from early morning till late at night, day after day, and when we get old, then it’s, ‘Away with you!’”

“What can we do?  Our master is not one of us.  It wouldn’t be worth the while to say much to him about it.  He cares only for his own advantage.”

“All the masters are so mean.  They don’t think of any one but themselves.  It doesn’t occur to them that we work for them honestly and faithfully for years, and use up our best strength in their service.  They’re afraid to keep us a year longer, even though we’ve got all the strength we need to do their work.  If we weren’t strong enough, we’d go of our own accord.”

“The master’s not so much to blame as his coachman.  Yegor Danilych wants to get a good position for his friend.”

“Yes, he’s a serpent.  He knows how to wag his tongue.  You wait, you foul-mouthed beast, I’ll get even with you.  I’ll go straight to the master and tell him how the fellow deceives him, how he steals the hay and fodder.  I’ll put it down in writing, and he can convince himself how the fellow lies about us all.”

“Don’t, old woman.  Don’t sin.”

“Sin?  Isn’t what I said all true?  I know to a dot what I’m saying, and I mean to tell it straight out to the master.  He should see with his own eyes.  Why not?  What can we do now anyhow?  Where shall we go?  He’s ruined us, ruined us.”

The old woman burst out sobbing.

Gerasim heard all that, and it stabbed him like a dagger.  He realised what misfortune he would be bringing the old people, and it made him sick at heart.  He stood there a long while, saddened, lost in thought, then he turned and went back into the coachman’s room.

“Ah, you forgot something?”

“No, Yegor Danilych.”  Gerasim stammered out, “I’ve come—­listen—­I want to thank you ever and ever so much—­for the way you received me—­and—­and all the trouble you took for me—­but—­I can’t take the place.”