_Kore._ Vera is calling you, Petrovich. [_Vetrova hobbles off, right_] Who is this woman, Adrian? _Adr._ You heard the name. _Kore._ I heard what she calls herself, but who is she? _Adr._ I shall not tell you. _Kore._ You needn't. I know enough. _Adr._ What do you know? _Kore._ What my eyes tell me. She is helping Vera with the dishes--and such hands! Remember I have warned you against the princess Sophie. _Adr._ Forget that slander, Korelenko. _Kore._ Slander! I believe that this woman is the friend and accomplice of the princess. _Adr._ [_Smiling_] You do? _Kore._ [_Looking at his watch_] I must hurry to Yaltowa. Do me this favor, Adrian. Don't leave Vera alone with this--Sophie Remon. At the best she is not what she pretends to be, and for some reason she is trying to win Vera's friendship. _Adr._ Alexander, I must speak to you about Vera. _Kore._ [_Going_] Not a second to spare. I am already late, and Gregorief---- _Adr._ Gregorief! He will ruin you, Sasha. You are half a terrorist now. He will complete the work. _Kore._ He is getting at the bottom of a big reactionary plot. I can't stay to explain, and we don't know enough yet---- _Adr._ Keep away from him! _Kore._ Can't now. We must root this out. It is a terrible thing. I shall be back by midnight. [_Exit_] _Adr._ And Vera must go to-morrow. [_Re-enter Vetrova, right_] _Adr._ What is wrong, Petrovich? _Vet._ The lady is a good lady. Yes. But why does she want to take Vera from the old man? She has stolen the child's heart. And to-morrow she is going to send a carriage---- [_Distant cries are heard from without_] _Adr._ What is that? It sounds like--Petoff yesterday. [_Uliana hurries in, street door_] What is it, Uliana? _Uliana_ [_Crossing herself toward icon as she enters_] O, sir, the soldiers have come! _Adr._ The soldiers? Well, they are only passing through the village. _Uli._ They have stopped, sir! And they are Cossacks. _Adr._ Do not be alarmed. They-- [_Enter two peasants_] Simeon? Gregori? _Simeon._ What do they want--the soldiers? _Adr._ Nothing. _Gregori._ We are ordered to line up in the street. They are dragging some of the men out. Does that mean nothing, Shepherd of Lonz? _Adr._ I will find out what it means. Stay here. You have done no wrong. You will not be harmed. [_Enter another peasant_] Ugo? _Ugo._ Is it flogging, sir? _Adr._ No! It can't be! [_Goes toward door. Cries of "The Shepherd, The Shepherd," heard without_] _Adr._ [_In door_] I am here. _A voice without._ We have followed your counsel, Shepherd of Lonz. We have kept the peace. We have borne the taxes. We have given our sons to the war. Why are the soldiers here? _Adr._ I do not know. But I have the word of Prince Travinski, your little father, that no outrage will be committed. Come in, friends. [_A dozen or more peasants enter._ _Catherine_, _Sophie_, _Vera and Vasil come on, right_]