The Seven Who Were Hanged

take place, but they knew from the usual procedure that they would be hanged the same night, or, at the very latest, upon the following night. And when

trial or of the coming execution. Musya and Werner, as unidentified people, were not supposed to have relatives, and only two, Sergey Golovin and Vasily Kashirin,

n itself, in all its monstrous horror, in its brain-stunning madness, he could imagine more easily, and it seemed less terrible than these other few moments of meeting, brief and unsatisfactory, which seemed to reach beyond time, beyond life itself. How to loo

came, Sergey Golovin paced his cell furiously, tugged at his beard, frowned pitiably and muttered inaudibly. Sometimes he would stop abruptly, would breathe deeply and then exhale like a man who has been too long under w

ar different from wh

hair, and his hands-as if he were a snow statue attired in man's clothes. He had on the same old but well-cleaned coat, smelling of benzine, with new shoulder-straps c

you do,

hort steps, smiling strangely. But she al

ou do, Se

rs; she did not break into a sob; she did not do any of the terrible things which Sergey had feared. She j

t moments of our son," resolved the colonel firmly, and he carefully weighed every possible phase of the conversation, every act and movement that might take place on the following day. But somehow

speak-after a while-but when you kiss him, be silent. Don't speak right a

Sergeyevich," answere

's sake, do not weep! You will

o you

elp weeping. But you mus

Nikolay Se

forgot. And so they rode in silence, bent, both gray and old, and they were lost in tho

g his right hand upon the border of his coat. Sergey sat for an instant,

ryozhenka," be

rgey," repeat

silent. The

ioned for you, Ser

ot have done

nel spok

that you should not think y

eant but one thing-Death. Sergey looked at his father's coat, which smelt of benzine, and thought: "They have no servant now, consequently he must

" "Ninochka does not know anythi

The child read it in the newspapers. Let Sergey know that everybody-t

then it spread out, became agitated, wet and wild-looking. Her discolored ey

repeated without mov

r mo

ery wrinkle of his face, not understanding how terrible he himself looked in h

m! Don't torture him! He has

silent, but he still shook his clen

tortu

ands behind his back, and loudly, with an ex

he

" answered Sergey,

did not hear anything. And continuing to chew, she uttered th

me to kiss yo

for me," s

Khvostovs send y

vostovs?

nel inte

her; we must go." The two men

red the colonel. "Make

de the sign of the cross, and kissed her son a br

the right way! What will I say? How wil

er. They shook hands, and kissed

began

ed the fath

repeated the mother weakly, nodding her head. She had

his eyes filled with tears immediately. Through the sparkling gleams of his tear

er, are a

s son's shoulder. He had been taller than Sergey, but now he became short, and his dry, downy head lay like a white ball upon his son's

denly said a

standing, her head thrown back, lookin

mother?" crie

d with insane intensity. "You kiss

rgey rushed

is unnecessary and imp

rds of the

r your death, Seryozha. Di

s mother, there stood his father-and suddenly somehow they had gone away. Returning to the cell, Sergey lay down on the cot, his face tu

ot want to come. Vasily met the old woman, as he was pacing up and down the room, tremb

, mother. You'll only t

h the ends of her black, woolen kerchief. And with the habit which he and his brothers had always had of cryi

it! You understand not

l right! Do y

again began to pace the room, looking

ou have ca

cold, when-" and he wa

father ordered wheat cakes beginning with

should go, give him your blessin

her has he been to me? He has been a scoun

er like this?" said the old woman r

my fa

our own

o father

f nuts under foot. And almost crying with sorrow-because of the eternal misunderstanding which all his life long had stood like a wall between him and those

am to be hanged soon? Hanged!

ed anybody and nobody wo

en beasts do not act like

owerless, even for an instant, to blend in a feeling of love and to offset by it the horror of impend

And I have grown completely gray during these days. I ha

Forgive me. It is time for you

mother? Do I

he more bitterly she wept. She retraced her steps to the prison, and then she strangely lost her way in the city in which she had been born, in which she lived t

rstood. He was to be

turned about, lifted herself on her elbows and knelt, then fell back on her side. The black kerchief had slipped down, baring upon the back of her head a bald spot amid her mu

aying her head, she crawled over the wet, frozen crust, and all the time

cated laughter, from the rejoicing, from the wild dancing-a