e added, pointing to the lad, "boys will be
boys, I suppose. Well, God be with him!"

Now just as the old woman was about to hoist the sack on to her
shoulder, the lad rushed forward and said:

"Give it here, and I'll carry it for thee, granny! It is all in my way."

The old woman shook her head, but she did put the sack on the lad's
shoulder.

And so they trudged down the street together side by side. And the old
woman forgot to ask Avdyeeich for the money for the apple. Avdyeeich
kept standing and looking after them, and heard how they talked to each
other, as they went, about all sorts of things. Avdyeeich followed them
with his eyes till they were out of sight, then he turned homewards and
found his glasses on the steps (they were not broken), picked up his
awl, and sat down to work again. He worked away for a little while, but
soon he was scarcely able to distinguish the stitches, and he saw the
lamplighter going round to light the lamps. "I see it is time to light
up," thought he, so he trimmed his little lamp, lighted it, and again
sat down to work. He finished one boot completely, turned it round and
inspected it. "Good!" he cried. He put away his tools, swept up the
cuttings, removed the brushes and tips, put away the awl, took down the
lamp, placed it on the table, and took down the Gospels from the shelf.
He wanted to find the passage where he had last evening placed a strip
of morocco leather by way of a marker, but he lit upon another place.
And just as Avdyeeich opened the Gospel, he recollected his dream of
yesterday evening. And no sooner did he call it to mind than it seemed
to him as if some persons were moving about and shuffling with their
feet behind him. Avdyeeich glanced round and saw that somebody was
indeed standing in the dark corner--yes, some one was really there, but
who, he could not exactly make out. Then a voice whispered in his ear:

"Martin! Martin! dost thou not know me?"

"Who art thou!" cried Avdyeeich.

"'Tis I," cried the voice, "lo, 'tis I!" And forth from the dark corner
stepped Stepanuich. He smiled, and it was as though a little cloud were
breaking, and he was gone.

"It is I!" cried the voice, and forth from the corner stepped a woman with
a little child; and the woman smiled and the child laughed, and they also
disappeared.

"And it is I!" cried the voice, and the old woman and the lad with the
apple stepped forth, and both of them smiled, and they also disappeared.