"What do you want land for? You are not hungering without land," said
the old man with the smiling eyes.

Here the conference ended.

Nekhludoff repeated his offer, telling the peasants to consult the
wish of the community, before giving their answer.

The peasants said that they would do so, took leave of Nekhludoff and
departed in a state of excitement. For a long time their loud voices
were heard, and finally died away about midnight.

* * * * *

The peasants did not work the following day, but discussed their
master's proposition. The community was divided into two factions. One
declared the proposition profitable and safe; the other saw in the
proposition a plot which it feared the more because it could not
understand it. On the third day, however, the proposition was
accepted, the fears of the peasants having been allayed by an old
woman who explained the master's action by the suggestion that he
began to think of saving his soul. This explanation was confirmed by
the large amount of money Nekhludoff had distributed while he remained
in Panov. These money gifts were called forth by the fact that here,
for the first time, he learned to what poverty the peasants had been
reduced and though he knew that it was unwise, he could not help
distributing such money as he had, which was considerable.

As soon as it became known that the master was distributing money,