'Well, it's true I'm guilty, but it can't be helped! The powder,
Vanyusha, and the wads!' said Olenin.

'A fine!' shouted the old man.

'Du tay voulay vou?' asked Vanyusha, grinning.

'You're not one of us--your gabble is not like our speech, you
devil!' the old man shouted at Vanyusha, showing the stumps of his
teeth.

'A first offence must be forgiven,' said Olenin playfully, drawing
on his high boots.

'The first offence shall be forgiven,' answered Eroshka, 'but if
you oversleep another time you'll be fined a pail of chikhir. When
it gets warmer you won't find the deer.'

'And even if we do find him he is wiser than we are,' said Olenin,
repeating the words spoken by the old man the evening before, 'and
you can't deceive him!'

'Yes, laugh away! You kill one first, and then you may talk. Now
then, hurry up! Look, there's the master himself coming to see
you,' added Eroshka, looking out of the window. 'Just see how he's
got himself up. He's put on a new coat so that you should see that
he's an officer. Ah, these people, these people!'

Sure enough Vanyusha came in and announced that the master of the
house wished to see Olenin.