he was too nearsighted. After this, the most essential thing was to get some money. He needed at least 300 roubles. There was no money in his cashbox, so Borzin summoned his bailiff and accountant and went through his books. Finding that he had 180 quarters of oats, he ordered them to be sold, but the bailiff remarked that the oats had been kept for seed. In another column he found an entry of 160 quarters of rye, and asked if that would suffice for seed. The bailiff replied by asking if he wanted them to sow last year’s rye. The conversation ended shortly after, the bailiff recognising that Borzin knew as little about farming as a babe, and Borzin realising that the rye had been sown already, that new seed was usually used, and that after deducting enough for daily needs from the 180 quarters of corn, the rest might be sold.
The money having been obtained, Borzin made up his mind one evening to start next day, when he heard an unknown voice in the hall, and his father’s old valet Stephen entered and announced Nicholas Petrovich Serpov.