"Yes; that is, we not only want to get to know them, but we want to work...to toil for them.""Very well.I promise you that you shall get to know them.I will give you the opportunity of doing as you wish.And you, Nejdanov, are you ready to go for her...and for them?""Of course I am," he said hastily."Juggernaut," another word of Paklin's, flashed across his mind."Here it comes thundering along, the huge chariot...I can hear the crash and rumble of its wheels.""Very well," Solomin repeated pensively."But when do you want to go away?""Tomorrow, if possible," Mariana observed.
"Very good.But where?"
"Sh, sh--" Nejdanov whispered."Someone is walking along the corridor."They were all silent for a time.
"But where do you want to go to? " Solomin asked again, lowering his voice.
"We don't know," Mariana replied.
Solomin glanced at Nejdanov, but the latter merely shook his head.
Solomin stretched out his hand and carefully snuffed the candle.
"I tell you what, my children," he said at last, "come to me at the factory.It's not beautiful there, but safe, at any rate.Iwill hide you.I have a little spare room there.Nobody will find you.If only you get there, we won't give you up.You might think that there are far too many people about, but that's one of its good points.Where there is a crowd it's easy to hide.Will you come? Will you?""How can we thank you enough!" Nejdanov exclaimed, whilst Mariana, who was at first a little taken aback by the idea of the factory, added quickly:
"Of course, of course! How good of you! But you won't leave us there long, will you? You will send us on, won't you?""That will depend entirely on yourselves...If you should want to get married that could also be arranged at the factory.Ihave a neighbour there close by--a cousin of mine, a priest, and very friendly.He would marry you with the greatest of pleasure."Mariana smiled to herself, while Nejdanov again pressed Solomin's hand.
"But I say, won't your employer, the owner of the factory, be annoyed about it.Won't he make it unpleasant for you?" he asked after a pause.
Solomin looked askance at Nejdanov.
"Oh, don't bother about me! It's quite unnecessary.So long as things at the factory go on all right it's all the same to my employer.You need neither of you fear the least unpleasantness.
And you need not be afraid of the workpeople either.Only let me know what time to expect you."Nejdanov and Mariana exchanged glances.
"The day after tomorrow, early in the morning, or the day after that.We can't wait any longer.As likely as not they'll tell me to go tomorrow.""Well then," Solomin said, rising from his chair."I'll wait for you every morning.I won't leave the place for the rest of the week.Every precaution will be taken."Mariana drew near to him (she was on her way to the door)."Goodbye, my dear kind Vassily Fedotitch...that is your name, isn't it? ""That's right."
"Goodbye till we meet again.And thank you so much!""Goodbye, good night!"
"Goodbye, Nejdanov; till tomorrow," she added, and went out quickly.
The young men remained for some time motionless, and both were silent.
"Nejdanov..." Solomin began at last, and stopped."Nejdanov..."he began a second time, "tell me about this girl...tell me everything you can.What has her life been until now? Who is she? Why is she here?"Nejdanov told Solomin briefly what he knew about her."Nejdanov,"he said at last, "you must take great care of her, because...
if...anything...were to happen, you would be very much to blame.Goodbye."He went out, while Nejdanov stood still for a time in the middle of the room, and muttering, "Oh dear! It's better not to think!"threw himself face downwards on the bed.
When Mariana returned to her room she found a note on the table containing the following:
"I am sorry for you.You are ruining yourself.Think what you are doing.Into what abysses are you throwing yourself with your eyes shut.For whom and for what?--V."There was a peculiarly fine fresh scent in the room; evidently Valentina Mihailovna had only just left it.Mariana took a pen and wrote underneath: "You need not be sorry for me.God knows which of us two is more in need of pity.I only know that Iwouldn't like to be in your place for worlds.--M." She put the note on the table, not doubting that it would fall into Valentina Mihailovna's hand.
On the following morning, Solomin, after seeing Nejdanov and definitely declining to undertake the management of Sipiagin's factory, set out for home.He mused all the way home, a thing that rarely occurred with him; the motion of the carriage usually had a drowsy effect on him.He thought of Mariana and of Nejdanov; it seemed to him that if he had been in love--he, Solomin--he would have had quite a different air, would have looked and spoken differently."But," he thought, "such a thing has never happened to me, so I can't tell what sort of an air Iwould have." He recalled an Irish girl whom he had once seen in a shop behind a counter; recalled her wonderful black hair, blue eyes, and thick lashes, and how she had looked at him with a sad, wistful expression, and how he had paced up and down the street before her window for a long time, how excited he had been, and had kept asking himself if he should try and get to know her.He was in London at the time, where he had been sent by his employer with a sum of money to make various purchases.He very nearly decided to remain in London and send back the money, so strong was the impression produced on him by the beautiful Polly.(He had got to know her name, one of the other girls had called her by it.) He had mastered himself, however, and went back to his employer.Polly was more beautiful than Mariana, but Mariana had the same sad, wistful expression in her eyes...and Mariana was a Russian.
"But what am I doing? " Solomin exclaimed in an undertone, "bothering about other men's brides!" and he shook back the collar of his coat, as if he wanted to shake off all superfluous thoughts.Just then he drove up to the factory and caught sight of the faithful Pavel in the doorway of his little dwelling.
