"Behind my pipe-table--I do not know whether thou hast noted where it stands--a mouse shows himself to me a number of days in succession when any evil is coming." "There must be a hole in the floor." "There is no hole," said Plavitski, closing his eyes, and shaking his head mysteriously. "One might bring in a cat." "I will not bring in a cat, for if it is the will of God that that mouse should be a sign to me, or forewarning, I shall not go against that will. Nothing has appeared to me this year. I mentioned this to Marynia; maybe God desires in some way to show that He is watching over our family. Listen, my dear; people will say, I know, that we are ruined, or at least in a very bad state. Here it is; judge for thyself: Kremen and Skoki, Magyerovka and Suhotsin, contain about two hundred and fifty vlokas of land; on that there is a debt of thirty thousand rubles to the society, not more, and about a hundred thousand mortgage, including thy sum. Therefore we have about a hundred and thirty thousand. Let us estimate only three thousand rubles a vloka; that will make seven hundred and fifty thousand,--altogether eight hundred and eighty thousand--" "How is that?" asked Pan Stanislav, with astonishment; "uncle is including the debt with the property." "If the property were worth nothing, no one would give me a copper for it, so I add the debt to the value of the property." Pan Stanislav thought, "He is a lunatic, with whom it is useless to talk;" and he listened further in silence. "I intend to parcel out Magyerovka. The mill I will sell; but in Skoki and Suhotsin I have marl, and knowest thou at how much I have estimated it? At two million rubles." "Has uncle a purchaser?" "Two years ago a certain Shaum came and looked at the fields. He went away, it is true, without speaking of the business; but I am sure that he will come again, otherwise the mouse would have appeared behind the pipe-table." "Ha! let him come again." "Knowest thou another thing that comes to my head? Since thou art an 'affairist,' take up this business. Find thyself partners, that is all." "The business is too large for me." "Then find me a purchaser; I will give ten per cent of the proceeds." "What does Panna Marynia think of this marl?" "Marynia, how Marynia? She is a golden child, but still a child! She believes that Providence watches over our family." "I heard that from her yesterday." Meanwhile they had drawn near Vantory and the church, on a hill among linden-trees. Under the hill stood at number of peasant-wagons with ladder-like boxes, some brichkas and carriages. Pan Plavitski made the sign of the cross, and said, "This is our little church, which thou must remember. All the Plavitskis lie here, and I, too, shall be lying here soon. I never pray better than in this place." "There will be many people, I see," said Pan Stanislav.