"Yes, sir," said the ex-soldier.

The others were silent.

"You see, it is not as simple as it appears at first sight," said
Nekhludoff. "We are not the only ones, there are other people thinking
of the same thing. And now, there is an American, named George, who
devised the following scheme, and I agree with him."

"What is that to you? You are the master; you distribute the land,
and there is an end to it," said the angry peasant.

This interruption somewhat confused Nekhludoff, but he was glad to see
that others were also dissatisfied with this interruption.

"Hold on, Uncle Semen; let him finish," said the old man in an
impressive basso.

This encouraged Nekhludoff, and he proceeded to explain the single-tax
theory of Henry George.

"The land belongs to no one--it belongs to the Creator."

"That's so!"

"Yes, sir."

"The land belongs to all in common. Every one has an equal right to
it. But there is good land, and there is poor land. And the question
is, how to divide the land equally. The answer to this is, that those