CHAPTER XXVII.

KRYLTZOFF AT REST.

In one of the exiles’ cells Nekhludoff, to his surprise, recognised the strange old man he had seen crossing the ferry that morning.  This old man was sitting on the floor by the beds, barefooted, with only a dirty cinder-coloured shirt on, torn on one shoulder, and similar trousers.  He looked severely and enquiringly at the newcomers.  His emaciated body, visible through the holes of his shirt, looked miserably weak, but in his face was even more concentrated seriousness and animation than when Nekhludoff saw him crossing the ferry.  As in all the other cells, so here also the prisoners jumped up and stood erect when the official entered, but the old man remained sitting.  His eyes glittered and his brows frowned with wrath.

“Get up,” the inspector called out to him.

The old man did not rise and only smiled contemptuously.

“Thy servants are standing before thee.  I am not thy servant.  Thou bearest the seal—­” The old man pointed to the inspector’s forehead.

“Wha-a-t?” said the inspector threateningly, and made a step towards him.

“I know this man,” Nekhludoff hastened to say; “what is he imprisoned for?”

“The police have sent him here because he has no passport.  We ask them not to send such, but they will do it,” said the inspector, casting an angry side look at the old man.

“And so it seems thou, too, art one of Antichrist’s army?” the old man said to Nekhludoff.

“No, I am a visitor,” said Nekhludoff.

“What, hast thou come to see how Antichrist tortures men?  There, look, he has locked them up in a cage, a whole army of them.  Men should cat bread in the sweat of their brow.  And he has locked them up with no work to do, and feeds them like swine, so that they should turn into beasts.”

“What is he saying?” asked the Englishman.

Nekhludoff told him the old man was blaming the inspector for keeping men imprisoned.

“Ask him how he thinks one should treat those who do not keep to the laws,” said the Englishman.

Nekhludoff translated the question.  The old man laughed in a strange manner, showing his teeth.

“The laws?” he repeated with contempt.  “He first robbed everybody, took all the earth, all the rights away from men, killed all those who were against him, and then wrote laws, forbidding robbery and murder.  He should have written these laws before.”

Nekhludoff translated.  The Englishman smiled.  “Well, anyhow, ask him how one should treat thieves and murderers at present?”

Nekhludoff again translated his question.

“Tell him he should take the seal of Antichrist off himself,” the old man said, frowning severely; “then there will be no thieves and murderers.  Tell him so.”

“He is crazy,” said the Englishman, when Nekhludoff had translated the old man’s words, and, shrugging his shoulders, he left the cell.