n forgot the words which he knew and used before.
He remembered but one word, "Mamma," and he whispered it uninterruptedly
with his dry lips, but that word sounded so terrible, more terrible than
anything. And in order not to exclaim it against his will, Yura covered
his mouth with both hands, one upon the other, and thus remained until
the officer and mamma went out of the arbour.

When Yura came into the room where the people were playing cards, the
serious, bald-headed man was scolding papa for something, brandishing
the chalk, talking, shouting, saying that father did not act as he
should have acted, that what he had done was impossible, that only bad
people did such things, that the old man would never again play with
father, and so on. And father was smiling, waving his hands, attempting
to say something, but the old man would not let him, and he commenced to
shout more loudly. And the old man was a little fellow, while father
was big, handsome and tall, and his smile was sad, like that of Gulliver
pining for his native land of tall and handsome people.

Of course, he must conceal from him--of course, he must conceal from
him that which happened in the arbour, and he must love him, and he felt
that he loved him so much. And with a wild cry Yura rushed over to the
bald-headed old man and began to beat him with his fists with all his
strength.

"Don't you dare insult him! Don't you dare insult him!"

O Lord, what has happened! Some one laughed; some one shouted. Father
caught Yura in his arms, pressed him closely, causing him pain, and
cried:

"Where is mother? Call mother."

Then Yura was seized with a whirlwind of frantic tears, of desperate
sobs and mortal anguish. But through his frantic tears he looked at
his father to see whether he had guessed it, and when mother came in he
started to shout louder in order to divert any suspicion. But he did not
go to her arms; he clung more closely to father, so that father had to
carry him into his room. But it seemed that he himself did not want
to part with Yura. As soon as he carried him out of the room where the
guests were he began to kiss him, and he repeated:

"Oh, my dearest! Oh, my dearest!"

And he said to mamma, who walked behind him:

"Just think of the boy!"

Mamma said:

"That is all due to your whist. You were scolding each other so, that
the child was frightened."

Father began to laugh, and answered:

"Yes, he does scold harshly. But Yura,