“What did you call me?” asked Dymov, drawing himself up, and his eyes were suffused with blood. “Eh! I am a Mazeppa? Yes? Take that, then; go and look for it.”

Dymov snatched the spoon out of Emelyan’s hand and flung it far away. Kiruha, Vassya, and Styopka ran to look for it, while Emelyan fixed an imploring and questioning look on Panteley. His face suddenly became small and wrinkled; it began twitching, and the ex-singer began to cry like a child.

Yegorushka, who had long hated Dymov, felt as though the air all at once were unbearably stifling, as though the fire were scorching his face; he longed to run quickly to the wagons in the darkness, but the bully’s angry bored eyes drew the boy to him. With a passionate desire to say something extremely offensive, he took a step towards Dymov and brought out, gasping for breath:

“You are the worst of the lot; I can’t bear you!”

After this he ought to have run to the wagons, but he could not stir from the spot and went on:

“In the next world you will burn in hell! I’ll complain to Ivan Ivanitch. Don’t you dare insult Emelyan!”

“Say this too, please,” laughed Dyrnov: “ ‘every little sucking-pig wants to lay down the law.’ Shall I pull your ear?”

Yegorushka felt that he could not breathe; and something which had never happened to him before⁠—he suddenly began shaking all over, stamping his feet and crying shrilly:

“Beat him, beat him!”

Tears gushed from his eyes; he felt ashamed, and ran staggering back to the wagon. The effect produced by his outburst he did not see. Lying on the bales and twitching his arms and legs, he whispered:

“Mother, mother!”