and out. Orders were shouted
out at the top of the voice amidst the sound of bells and whistles;
workmen in blouses with girdles round their waists, their hair fastened
with straps, work girls in print dresses, hurried quickly to and fro,
harnessed horses were led about.

It represented the hum of a thousand human beings working with all their
might. Everything went at full speed in fairly regular order, but not
only was there an absence of smartness and neatness, but there was not
the smallest trace or cleanliness to be seen anywhere. On the contrary,
in every corner one was struck by neglect, dirt, grime; here a pane of
glass was broken, there the plaster was coming off; in another place the
boards were loose; in a third, a door gaped wide open. A large filthy
puddle covered with a coating of rainbow-coloured slime stood in the
middle of the main yard; farther on lay a heap of discarded bricks;
scraps of mats and matting, boxes, and pieces of rope lay scattered here
and there; shaggy, hungry-looking dogs wandered to and fro, too listless
to bark; in a corner, under the fence, sat a grimy little boy of about
four, with an enormous belly and dishevelled head, crying hopelessly,
as if he had been forsaken by the whole world; close by a sow likewise
besmeared in soot and surrounded by a medley of little suckling-pigs was
devouring some cabbage stalks; some ragged clothes were stretched on
a line--and such stuffiness and stench! In a word, just like a Russian
factory--not like a French or a German one.

Nejdanov looked at Markelov.

"I have heard so much about Solomin's superior capabilities," he began,
"that I confess all this disorder surprises me. I did not expect it."

"This is not disorder, but the usual Russian slovenliness," Markelov
replied gloomily. "But all the same, they are turning over millions.
Solomin has to adjust himself to the old ways, to practical things, and
to the owner himself. Have you any idea what Falyeva is like?"

"Not in the least."

"He is the biggest skinflint in Moscow. A regular bourgeois."

At this moment Solomin entered the room. Nejdanov was just as
disillusioned about him as he had been about the factory. At the first
glance he gave one the impression of being a Finn or a Swede. He was
tall, lean, broad-shouldered, with colourless eyebrows and eyelashes;
had a long sallow face, a short, rather broad nose, small greenish eyes,
a placid expression, coarse thick lips, large teeth,