THE DISINHERITED.

From the crowd assembled in front of the house of the village elder came the sound of voices; but as soon as Nekhludoff came up the talking ceased, and all the peasants took off their caps, just as those in Kousminski had done. The peasants here were of a much poorer class than those in Kousminski. The men wore shoes made of bark and homespun shirts and coats. Some had come straight from their work in their shirts and with bare feet.

Nekhludoff made an effort, and began his speech by telling the peasants of his intention to give up his land to them altogether. The peasants were silent, and the expression on their faces did not undergo any change.

"Because I hold," said Nekhludoff, "and believe that every one has a right to the use of the land."

"That's certain. That's so, exactly," said several voices.

Nekhludoff went on to say that the revenue from the land ought to be divided among all, and that he would therefore suggest that they should rent the land at a price fixed by themselves, the rent to form a communal fund for their own use. Words of approval and agreement were still to be heard, but the serious faces of the peasants grew still more serious, and the eyes that had been fixed on the gentleman dropped, as if they were unwilling to put him to shame by letting him see that every one had understood his trick, and that no one would be deceived by him.

Nekhludoff spoke clearly, and the peasants were intelligent, but they did not and could not understand him, for the same reason that the foreman had so long been unable to understand him.

They were fully convinced that it is natural for every man to consider his own interest. The experience of many generations had proved to them that the landlords always considered their own interest to the detriment of the peasants. Therefore, if a landlord called them to a meeting and made them some kind of a new offer, it could evidently only be in order to swindle them more cunningly than before.

"Well, then, what are you willing to rent the land at?" asked Nekhludoff.

"How can we fix a price? We cannot do it. The land is yours, and the power is in your hands," answered some voices from among the crowd.

"Oh, not at all. You will yourselves have the use of the money for communal purposes."

"We cannot do it; the commune is one thing, and this is another."

"Don't you understand?" said the foreman, with a smile (he had followed Nekhludoff to the meeting), "the Prince is letting the land to you for money, and is giving you the money back to form a capital for the commune."

"We understand very well," said a cross, toothless old man, without raising his eyes. "Something like a bank; we should have to pay at a fixed time. We do not wish it; it is hard enough as it is, and that would ruin us completely."

"That's no go. We prefer to go on the old way," began several dissatisfied, and even rude, voices.

The refusals grew very vehement when Nekhludoff mentioned that he would draw up an agreement which would have to be signed by him and by them.

"Why sign? We shall go on working as we have done hitherto. What is all this for? We are ignorant men."

"We can't agree, because this sort of thing is not what we have been used to. As it was, so let it continue to be. Only the seeds we should like to withdraw."

This meant that under the present arrangement the seeds had to be provided by the peasants, and they wanted the landlord to provide them.

"Then am I to understand that you refuse to accept the land?" Nekhludoff asked, addressing a middle-aged, barefooted peasant, with a tattered coat, and a bright look on his face, who was holding his worn cap with his left hand, in a peculiarly straight position, in the same way soldiers hold theirs when commanded to take them off.

"Just so," said this peasant, who had evidently not yet rid himself of the military hypnotism he had been subjected to while serving his time.

"It means that you have sufficient land," said Nekhludoff.

"No, sir, we have not," said the ex-soldier, with an artificially pleased look, carefully holding his tattered cap in front of him, as if offering it to any one who liked to make use of it.

"Well, anyhow, you'd better think over what I have said." Nekhludoff spoke with surprise, and again repeated his offer.

"We have no need to think about it; as we have said, so it will be," angrily muttered the morose, toothless old man.

"I shall remain here another day, and if you change your minds, send to let me know."

The peasants gave no answer.

So Nekhludoff did not succeed in arriving at any result from this interview.

"If I might make a remark, Prince," said the foreman, when they got home, "you will never come to any agreement with them; they are so obstinate. At a meeting these people just stick in one place, and there is no moving them. It is because they are frightened of everything. Why, these very peasants--say that white-haired one, or the dark one, who were refusing, are intelligent peasants. When one of them comes to the office and one makes him sit down to cup of tea it's like in the Palace of Wisdom--he is quite diplomatist," said the foreman, smiling; "he will consider everything rightly. At a meeting it's a different man--he keeps repeating one and the same . . ."

"Well, could not some of the more intelligent men he asked to come here?" said Nekhludoff. "I would carefully explain it to them."

"That can he done," said the smiling foreman.

"Well, then, would you mind calling them here to-morrow?"

"Oh, certainly I will," said the foreman, and smiled still more joyfully. "I shall call them to-morrow."

"Just hear him; he's not artful, not he," said a blackhaired peasant, with an unkempt beard, as he sat jolting from side to side on a well-fed mare, addressing an old man in a torn coat who rode by his side. The two men were driving a herd of the peasants' horses to graze in the night, alongside the highroad and secretly, in the landlord's forest.

"Give you the land for nothing--you need only sign--have they not done the likes of us often enough? No, my friend, none of your humbug. Nowadays we have a little sense," he added, and began shouting at a colt that had strayed.

He stopped his horse and looked round, but the colt had not remained behind; it had gone into the meadow by the roadside. "Bother that son of a Turk; he's taken to getting into the landowner's meadows," said the dark peasant with the unkempt beard, hearing the cracking of the sorrel stalks that the neighing colt was galloping over as he came running back from the scented meadow.

"Do you hear the cracking? We'll have to send the women folk to weed the meadow when there's a holiday," said the thin peasant with the torn coat, "or else we'll blunt our scythes."

"Sign," he says. The unkempt man continued giving his opinion of the landlord's speech. "'Sign,' indeed, and let him swallow you up."

"That's certain," answered the old man. And then they were silent, and the tramping of the horses' feet along the highroad was the only sound to be heard.

村长的院子里人声沸腾,但聂赫留朵夫一到,农民们就停止谈话,并且象在库兹明斯科耶那样纷纷脱一下帽子.这里的农民比库兹明斯科耶的农民要穷得多.村里的姑一娘一和婆一娘一耳朵上都戴着绒球,男人则几乎个个穿着树皮鞋,土布衫和老式长外衣.有几个光着脚板,只穿一件衬衫,仿佛刚干完活回来.

聂赫留朵夫提起一精一神,开始讲话.他向农民们宣布,他打算把土地都一交一给他们.农民都不作声,脸上表情也毫无变化.

"因为我认为,"聂赫留朵夫涨红了脸说,"不种地的不应该占有土地,而且人人都有权使用土地."

"这个当然.这话说得很对,"几个农民响应说.

聂赫留朵夫又说,土地的收入应该大家平分,因此他建议他们接受土地,付出他们自己定的价钱作为公积金,这笔公积金今后仍归他们享用.又传出一片称赞声,但农民们严肃的脸色却越来越严肃了,原来瞅着东家的眼睛都垂了下去,仿佛看穿了他的诡计,谁也不愿上当,但又不愿使他难堪.

聂赫留朵夫讲得相当明白,农民也都是懂事的,但这会儿他们不理解他的话.他们无法理解他的话,就同管家无法理解他的话一样.他们深信,维护自己利益是人类的本一性一.这一点不容怀疑.他们通过祖祖辈辈的经验知道,地主总是以损害农民的利益来维护自己的利益的.因此,要是地主把他们召集拢来,向他们提出什么新办法,那准是想用更狡猾的手段来欺骗他们.

"那么,你们打算定个什么价钱使用土地呢?"聂赫留朵夫问.

"怎么要我们来定价钱?我们可不能定.地是您老爷的,权一柄一在您老爷手里,"人群中有人回答.

"不,这些钱将来都要用在你们村社的公益事业上."

"这我们不能定.村社是村社,钱是钱."

"你们要明白,"管家跟在聂赫留朵夫后面,想把问题解释得更清楚,含笑说,"公爵老爷把土地一交一给你们,要你们出一笔钱,但这笔钱又当作你们的本钱,供村社使用."

"这号事我们太明白了,"一个牙齿脱落的老头没有抬起眼睛,怒气冲冲地说."这事有点象银行,到时候就得付钱.我们不来这一套,因为我们已经够苦的了.再来这一套,非得破产不可."

"这一套用不着.我们还是照老规矩办吧,"有几个人发出不满意的,甚至粗一鲁的声音.

聂赫留朵夫提出要立一个契约,他将在上面签字,他们也得签字.他们听了,反对得更加激烈.

"签字干什么?以前我们怎样干活,以后还是怎样干活.

要来这一套干什么?我们都是大老粗,没有文化."

"我们不同意,因为这一套一弄不惯.以前怎么办,以后也怎么办.只要种子能取消就好了,'几个人异口同声地说.

所谓取消种子,就是说,照现行规矩,在对分制的农田上种子应由农民出,现在他们要求种子由地主出.

"这么说,你们拒绝这个办法,不愿接受土地罗?"聂赫留朵夫对一个年纪不老,容光焕发的赤脚农民说.这个农民身穿破旧的老式长外衣,弯着左胳膊,把他那顶一破帽子举得特别直,就象士兵听到脱帽的口令拿着帽子那样.

"是,老爷,"这个农民说,显然还没有改掉士兵的一习一惯,一听到口令,就好象中了催眠术.

"这么说,你们的地够种啦?"聂赫留朵夫说.

"不,老爷,"这个退伍士兵装出快乐的神气回答,竭力把他那顶一破帽子举在前面,仿佛要把它奉送给愿意要的人.

"嗯,你们还是把我的话好好琢磨琢磨吧,"聂赫留朵夫感到困感不解,把他的建议又说了一遍.

"我们没什么好琢磨的.我们怎么说就怎么做,"脸色一�一沉,牙齿脱落的老头儿怒气冲冲地说.

"我明天还要在这儿待一天.你们要是改变主意,就派人来同我说."

农民们什么也没有回答.

聂赫留朵夫就这样一无所获,回到帐房里.

"我老实对您说吧,公爵,"聂赫留朵夫同管家回到家里,管家说,"您同他们是谈不拢的,这些老百姓顽固得很.开起会来,他们总是固执得要命,谁也说不服他们.他们什么事情都有顾虑.那些庄稼汉,白头发的也好,黑头发的也好,尽管不同意你的办法,可人都挺聪明.他们到帐房里来,你只要请他们坐下来喝杯茶,"管家笑嘻嘻地说,"一谈起来,真是海阔天空,头头是道,活象一位大臣.可是一来开会,就换了个人,咬定一点,死不改口......"

"那么,能不能找几个最明白事理的农民到这儿来,"聂赫留朵夫说,"我想给他们详细解释解释."

"这个行,"管家笑嘻嘻地说.

"那么就请您约他们明天来一下."

"这都好办,我召集他们明天来就是了,"管家说,更加欢畅地笑了笑.

"瞧,他这人真鬼!"一个皮肤黝一黑,一胡一子蓬乱的庄稼汉摇摇晃晃地骑着一匹肥马,对旁边那个身穿破旧老式长外衣,又老又瘦的庄稼汉说.那个庄稼汉所骑的马,腿上的铁绊索叮��作响.

这两个庄稼汉夜里到大路上放马,纵容他们的马溜到地主的树林里吃草.

"'你只要签个字,我就把土地白白送给你.'哼,他们捉弄咱们还不够吗!不成,老兄,办不到,如今我们也学乖了,"他接着说,同时叫唤一匹离群的周岁马驹."小驹子,小驹子!"他想把马驹叫住,可是回头一看,马驹不在后面,而是往斜里闯到草场上去了.

"瞧你这狗杂种,溜到东家草场上去了,"皮肤黝一黑,一胡一子蓬乱的庄稼汉听见那匹离群的马驹一面嘶鸣,一面在露珠滚滚,野草芳一香的洼地上奔跑,踩得酸模嚓嚓发响,这样说.

"你听见吗,草场上都长满杂草了,到了休息日得打发一娘一儿们到对分制田里去锄草,"穿破旧老式长外衣的瘦庄稼汉说,"要不然镰刀都会割坏的."

"他说'你签个字吧',"一胡一子蓬乱的庄稼汉继续评论东家的话."你一签字,他就会把你一口一活活吞下肚子去."

"这话一点不错,"年纪老的那一个应和说.

他们不再说什么.只听得坚一硬的大路上响起得得的马蹄声.