And such a rage fell upon him against Makár Seménovich, that he wanted to have his revenge upon him, even if he himself were to be ruined by it. He said his prayers all night long, but could not calm himself. In the daytime he did not walk over to Makár Seménovich, and did not look at him. Thus two weeks passed. At night Aksénov could not sleep, and he felt so sad that he did not know what to do with himself. Once, in the night, he walked all over the prison, and saw dirt falling from underneath one bedplace. He stopped to see what it was. Suddenly Makár Seménovich jumped up from under the bed and looked at Aksénov with a frightened face. Aksénov wanted to pass on, so as not to see him; but Makár took him by his arm, and told him that he had dug a passage way under the wall, and that he each day carried the dirt away in his boot-legs and poured it out in the open, whenever they took the convicts out to work. He said: "Keep quiet, old man,--I will take you out, too. And if you tell, they will whip me, and I will not forgive you,--I will kill you." When Aksénov saw the one who had done him evil, he trembled in his rage, and pulled away his arm, and said: "I have no reason to get away from here, and there is no sense in killing me,--you killed me long ago. And whether I will tell on you or not depends on what God will put into my soul." On the following day, when the convicts were taken out to work, the soldiers noticed that Makár Seménovich was pouring out the dirt, and so they began to search in the prison, and found the hole. The chief came to the prison and began to ask all who had dug the hole. Everybody denied it. Those who knew had not seen Makár Seménovich, because they knew that for this act he would be whipped half-dead. Then the chief turned to Aksénov. He knew that Aksénov was a just man, and said: "Old man, you are a truthful man, tell me before God who has done that." Makár Seménovich stood as though nothing had happened and looked at the chief, and did not glance at Aksénov. Aksénov's arms and lips trembled, and he could not utter a word for long time. He thought: "If I protect him, why should I forgive him, since he has ruined me? Let him suffer for my torments! And if I tell on him, they will indeed whip him to death. And suppose that I have a wrong suspicion against him. Will that make it easier for me?" The chief said once more: "Well, old man, speak, tell the truth! Who has been digging it?" Aksénov looked at Makár Seménovich, and said: "I cannot tell, your Honour. God orders me not to tell. And I will not tell. Do with me as you please,--you have the power." No matter how much the chief tried, Aksénov would not say anything more. And so they did not find out who had done the digging. On the following night, as Aksénov lay down on the bed-boards and was just falling asleep, he heard somebody come up to him and sit down at his feet. He looked in the darkness and recognized Makár. Aksénov said: