"It is very--very insulting. So insulting, so very insulting! To think of your going away--at such a moment! You have lived here all the time--and suddenly--and then you mention the trunks--inspection--what an insult!" "Well, then, if you're anxious to know all about it, why, I'll satisfy you. I lived here as long as my son Pavel was alive. He died--and I leave. And if you want to know about the trunks, why, Ulita has been watching me for a long time at your orders. And concerning myself--it's better to tell your mother straight to her face that she's under suspicion than to hiss at her behind her back like a snake." "Mother dear! But you--but I----" groaned Yudushka. "You've said enough," Arina Petrovna cut him short. "And I've had my say." "But, how could I, mother dear----" "I tell you, I'm through. For Christ's sake, let me go in peace. The coach is ready, I hear." The sound of tinkling bells and an approaching vehicle came from the courtyard. Arina Petrovna was the first to arise from the table. The others followed. "Now let us sit down for a moment, and then we're off," she said, going towards the parlor. They sat a while in silence. By that time Yudushka had entirely recovered his presence of mind. "After all, why shouldn't you live at Dubrovino, mother dear? Just see how nice it is here," he said, looking into his mother's eyes with the caressing expression of a guilty cur. "No, my friend, that's enough. I don't want to leave you with unpleasant words, but I can't stay here. What for? Father, let us pray." Everybody rose in prayer, then Arina Petrovna kissed everybody good-by, blessed them all, and with a heavy step went toward the door. Porfiry Vladimirych, at the head of the company of relatives, went with her to the porch. There on seeing the coach, he was struck by a devilish idea. "Why, the coach belongs to my brother," was the thought that flashed through his mind. "So we'll see each other, mother dear?" he said, helping his mother in and casting side glances at the coach. "If it's the Lord's will--and why shouldn't we see each other?" "Ah, mother, dear mother, that was a good joke, really! You had better leave the coach--and, with God's help, in your old nest--indeed," urged Yudushka in a wheedling tone. Arina Petrovna made no answer. She had already seated herself and made the sign of the cross, but the orphans seemed to hesitate. Yudushka, all the while, kept throwing glance after glance at the coach. "How about the coach, mother dear? Will you send it back yourself or shall I send for it?" he blurted out, unable to retain himself longer. Arina Petrovna shook with indignation. "The coach is--mine!" she cried in a voice so full of pain that everyone felt embarrassed and ashamed. "It's mine! Mine! My coach! I--I have testimony--witnesses. And you--may you----No, I'll wait----We shall see what becomes of you. Children, are you ready?"