Towards evening Peredonov appeared before the Head-Master--to talk on
business.
The Head-Master, Nikolai Vlasyevitch Khripatch had a certain number of
rules which were sufficiently practical and not difficult to keep. He
calmly fulfilled all the school laws and regulations and also kept to
the rules of a generally-accepted mild Liberalism. This was why the
school authorities, the parents and the students were equally satisfied
with the Head-Master. He had no moments of doubt, no indecisions and
no hesitations--what was the use of them?--one could always rely
on the decisions of the Pedagogical Council or on the instructions
of the Educational authorities. He was no less calm and correct in
his personal relations. His very appearance gave the impression of
good-nature and steadiness. He was short, robust, active, with keen
eyes, and with a confident voice. He seemed a man who ordered his
life well and who was always ready to improve. There were many books
on the shelves in his study. He made notes from them. When he had
accumulated a sufficient number of notes, he would put them in order
and paraphrase them--that was how a text-book was compiled, published
and circulated, of course not so successfully as the text-books of
Ushinsky and Evtoushevsky but still they were not a failure. Sometimes
he put together, chiefly from foreign books, a compilation which was
very respectable and quite unnecessary to anyone and published it in a
periodical equally respectable and equally unnecessary. He had a number
of children and all of them, boys and girls, already gave indication
of various talents: some wrote verses, some drew, some made rapid
progress in music.
Peredonov said morosely:
"You're always down on me, Nikolai Vlasyevitch. Perhaps someone has
been slandering me to you, but I've done nothing of the kind."
"I beg your pardon," the Head-Master interrupted him, "I don't
understand what slanders you have in mind. In the management of the
_gymnasia_ entrusted to me, I make use of my own observations, and I
dare hope that my educational experience is sufficient to estimate with
proper correctness what I see and what I hear, all the more in view of
my close attention to my duties which I have made an unbreakable rule."
Khripatch said this quickly and decisively, and his voice sounded dry
and clear, like the sharp noise given out by a zinc bar when bent. He
went on:
"As far as it concerns my personal opinion of you, I still continue to
think that there are sad lapses in your professional activity."
"Yes," said Peredonov morosely. "You've taken it into your head that
I'm good for nothing. Yet I'm always preoccupied with the _gymnasia."_
Khripatch lifted his eyebrows in astonishment and glanced questioningly
at Peredonov.
"You haven't noticed," continued Peredonov, "that there's a possibility
of a scandal in our _gymnasia._ No one has noticed it--I alone have
detected it."
"What scandal?" asked Khripatch with a dry smile, pacing up and down
his study. "You arouse my curiosity, though, to speak candidly, I
hardly believe in the possibility of a scandal in our school."
"Yes, but you don't know who you have recently admitted to the school,"
said Peredonov with such malevolence that Khripatch paused and looked
attentively at him.
"I know all the new students perfectly well," he said dryly. "Besides,
it goes without saying that the new boys in the first form have never
been excluded from another school, and the only one who has just
entered the fifth form came to us with such recommendations that
preclude all possibility of suspicion."
"Yes, but he shouldn't have come to us but to some other kind of
institution," said Peredonov morosely and as if reluctantly.
"Please explain, Ardalyon Borisitch," said Khripatch. "I hope you don't
mean to say that Pilnikov ought to have been sent to a Reformatory."
"No, that creature should be sent to a pension where they don't learn
ancient languages,"[1] said Peredonov maliciously, and his eyes gleamed
with spite.
Khripatch put his hands into the pockets of his short jacket and looked
at Peredonov with unusual astonishment.
"What pension?" he asked. "Do you know what institutions are designated
in that way? And if you do know, how could you venture to make such an
unseemly suggestion?"
Khripatch flushed violently and his voice sounded drier and even more
decisive. At another time these symptoms of the Head-Master's anger
would have flustered Peredonov. But this time he was not flustered.
"Of course, you think Pilnikov's a boy," he said screwing up his eyes
in derision, "but he's not a boy at all, but a girl, and what sort of a
girl!"
Khripatch uttered a dry, abrupt laugh, but his laughter sounded
affected, it was so loud and mechanical--he always laughed like that.
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" he laughed mechanically, and when he had finished
laughing he sat down in the chair and threw his head back as if he had
dropped exhausted from laughing.
"You astonish me, my good Ardalyon Borisitch! Ha! Ha! Ha! Be so kind
as to tell me upon what you base your supposition, if the premises
which have led you to this conclusion are not secret! Ha! Ha! Ha!"
Peredonov recounted everything that he had heard from Varvara, and
incidentally he dilated on the poor qualities of Kokovkina. Khripatch
listened and now and then gave vent to his dry, mechanical laughter.
"I'm afraid, my dear Ardalyon Borisitch, that your imagination has
played pranks with you," he said, as he rose and caught Peredonov by
the sleeve. "I, as well as many of my esteemed friends, have children,
we're not in our swaddling clothes. Surely you don't think that we
would have admitted a disguised girl as a boy?"
"That's your opinion," said Peredonov. "But if anything should happen
who's going to be responsible?"
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" laughed Khripatch. "What consequences are you afraid of?"
"It'll demoralise the school," said Peredonov.
Khripatch frowned and said:
"You're presuming too far. All that you have told me so far doesn't
give me the slightest cause for sharing in your suspicion."
* * * * *
That same evening Peredonov rapidly went round to all his colleagues,
from the inspector down to the form-masters, and told everyone that
Pilnikov was a girl in disguise. They all laughed and refused to
believe him, but when he left several of them began to wonder if it
were not true. The Masters' wives believed it immediately.
Next morning many came to their classes with the thought that Peredonov
was possibly right. They did not speak of this openly, yet they no
longer argued with Peredonov and limited themselves to indecisive and
ambiguous answers; each was afraid that he would be considered stupid
if he argued about the matter, should it afterwards prove to be true.
Many would have liked to know what the Head-Master thought of it, but
the Head-Master stopped in his own house more than usual. He came very
late to the one lesson he gave that day to the sixth form, remained
there hardly more than five minutes and then went to his study without
speaking to anyone.
At last, before the fourth lesson, the grey-haired Divinity Master
and two other instructors went to the Head-Master's study on the
pretext of business and the Divinity Master cautiously led up to the
subject of Pilnikov. But the Head-Master laughed so confidently and so
indifferently that all three became convinced that the whole thing was
an invention. The Head-Master quickly went on to other subjects, told
a new piece of town news, complained about his bad headache and said
that he would probably have to call in the _gymnasia_ doctor, Evgeny
Ivanovitch. Then he told them in a very good-natured voice that his
lesson that day had only made his headache worse, for, as it happened,
Peredonov was in the next class and the students had for some reason
or other laughed frequently and with extraordinary loudness. Khripatch
laughed dryly and said:
"This year fate has not been kind to me--three times a week I am
compelled to sit in a class-room next to Ardalyon Borisitch, And just
imagine! There is constant boisterous laughter. One would think that
Ardalyon Borisitch was not at all an amusing man and yet he always
arouses merriment!"
And without giving them time to comment on this, Khripatch changed the
subject.
It was true that recently there had been a good deal of laughter at
Peredonov's classes--though they did not particularly please him. On
the contrary, children's laughter annoyed Peredonov, but he could
not restrain himself from saying things which were malapropos and
unnecessary: now he would tell a stupid anecdote, now he would try to
subdue one of the most quiet boys by sneering at him. In his classes
there were also a number of boys who were glad of every opportunity
to create disorder--and at every one of Peredonov's sallies they would
roar with laughter.
After school Khripatch sent for the physician, picked up his hat and
went into his garden which was situated between the school and the
river-bank. The garden was large and shady. The little boys loved it.
They were allowed to run about in it freely during recreation, but this
was the reason why the assistant masters did not like it. They were
afraid that something would happen to the boys. But Khripatch insisted
that the boys should spend their recreation time in the garden. This
was necessary in order to make his reports appear more imposing.
As he walked through the corridor he stopped outside the Gymnasium hall
for a while, and then walked in with bent head. From his cheerless face
and slow walk, everyone knew that he had a headache.
The fifth form was getting ready for its exercises. They stood in a
row and the Athletic instructor, a lieutenant of the local reserve
battalion, was about to give a command, but, on seeing the Head-Master,
he went forward to meet him. Khripatch shook his hand and looking
somewhat confusedly at the students asked:
"Are you satisfied with them? Do they work well? Do any of them get
tired?"
The lieutenant deep in his heart detested those students, who, in his
opinion, had not and could never have a military bearing. If they had
been cadets he would have told them at once what he thought of them,
but it was not worth while to tell the unpleasant truth about these
sluggards to the man on whom these lessons depended. And so with a
smile on his thin lips he looked at the Head-Master in a friendly way
and said:
"Oh, yes, they're fine boys."
The Head-Master walked past some of the boys in the line and was
about to leave when he stopped short as if he had suddenly remembered
something.
"And are you satisfied with the new boy? Is he doing well? Does he tire
quickly?" he asked languidly and cheerlessly, putting his hand to his
forehead.
The lieutenant said for the sake of variety--the boy in any case was a
stranger:
"He's a little frail--he gets tired quickly."
But the Head-Master seemed not to listen to him and he left the hall.
The outdoor air rather refreshed Khripatch. He returned in half an hour
and again standing in the door looked on at the exercises. The boys
were using various gymnastic appliances. Two or three idle students who
did not notice the Head-Master were leaning against the wall, taking
advantage of the fact that the lieutenant was not looking at them.
Khripatch walked up to them.
"But Pilnikov," he said, "why are you leaning against the wall?"
Sasha flushed violently, straightened himself and said nothing.
"If you get tired so quickly then perhaps the exercises are injurious
to you," said Khripatch sternly.
"It's my fault, I'm not tired," said Sasha timidly.
"You must choose between two things," said Khripatch, "either not to
attend the gymnastic exercises or... In any case come in and see me
after the exercises."
He went away hurriedly and left Sasha standing confused and frightened.
"You're in for it," said the other boys to him. "He'll lecture you till
evening."
Khripatch loved to deliver lengthy reprimands and the students dreaded
his invitations above everything.
After the exercises Sasha timidly went to the Head-Master. Khripatch
received him promptly. He went close to Sasha, looked intently into his
eyes and asked:
"Tell me, Pilnikov, do the gymnastic exercises really tire you? You
look quite a healthy youngster but 'appearances are deceptive.' Are you
sure you haven't some illness? Perhaps it's injurious for you to do
these exercises."
"No, Nikolai Vlasyevitch, I'm quite well," answered Sasha, red with
confusion.
"However," said Khripatch, "Aleksey Alekseyevitch was complaining about
your languidness and that you get tired soon. And I myself noticed
to-day that you had a tired look. Or perhaps I was mistaken?"
Sasha did not know how to shield his eyes from Khripatch's penetrating
look. He muttered in a confused way:
"I'm very sorry--I won't do it again--I was just a little lazy--really
I'm quite well. I will work hard at the exercises."
Suddenly, quite unexpectedly to himself, he burst into tears.
"You see," said Khripatch, "it's obvious that you're tired: you cry as
if I had given you a severe scolding. Now, quiet yourself."
He laid his hand on Sasha's shoulder and said:
"I called you in not to lecture you but to make things clear.... Sit
down, Pilnikov, I can see you're tired."
Sasha quickly dried his wet eyes with his handkerchief and said:
"I'm not a bit tired."
"Sit down, sit down," said Khripatch, not unkindly, and pushed a chair
over to Sasha.
"Really I'm not tired, Nikolai Vlasyevitch," Sasha assured him.
Khripatch took him by the shoulders and made him sit down, sat down
himself opposite the boy and said:
"Let's talk the matter over quietly, Pilnikov. You yourself cannot tell
the actual condition of your health. You're very good and conscientious
in all respects. That is why I can understand your wanting to be
relieved from the gymnastic exercises. By the way, I've asked Evgeny
Ivanovitch to come here to-day as I don't feel quite myself; he might
incidentally look at you. I hope you have nothing against that?"
Khripatch looked at his watch and without waiting for an answer began
to talk with Sasha as to how he had spent the summer.
Evgeny Ivanovitch Sourovtsev, the school physician, a little dark alert
man, soon appeared; he delighted in conversations on politics and news
generally. His knowledge was not great but he attended his patients
conscientiously, and as he preferred diet and hygiene to medicines he
was generally successful in his cases.
Sasha was asked to undress. Sourovtsev examined him attentively but
found nothing wrong with him. As for Khripatch he was now convinced
that Sasha was not a girl. Though he was convinced of this even before,
still he considered it proper that in the event of any possible
inquiries from the district, the school physician could certify to the
facts without further investigation.
As Khripatch let Sasha go he said to him kindly:
"Now, we know that you're well, and I will tell Aleksey Alekseyevitch
that he's not to let you off!"
* * * * *
Peredonov had no doubt that the discovery of a girl among the students
would turn the attention of the authorities to himself, and that, aside
from promotion, he would be given a decoration. This encouraged him to
look vigilantly after the conduct of the students. As the weather for
some days now had been bleak and cold, there were few people in the
billiard-room, so there was nothing for him to do but to walk about
town and visit students' lodgings, and even those students who lived
with their parents.
Peredonov chose the parents who were simple folk; he would come, he
would complain about the boy, the boy would be whipped--and Peredonov
would be satisfied. In this way he first of all complained to Yosif
Kramarenko's father, who kept a brewery in the town--he told him that
Yosif misbehaved in church. The father believed him and punished his
son. The same fate befell several others. Peredonov did not go to those
who, he thought, would defend their sons--they might complain to the
authorities.
Every day he visited at least one student's lodgings. He conducted
himself then like an official, he reprimanded, gave orders and
threatened. Still the students felt themselves more independent in
their own lodgings than at school, and at times they were rebellious.
Aside from this there was Flavitskaya, a tall, loud-voiced, energetic
woman, who, acting on Peredonov's suggestion, beat severely her young
lodger, Vladimir Boultyakov.
On the following day Peredonov would relate his exploits to his class.
He did not name his victims but they usually gave themselves away by
their embarrassment.
[1] This expression implies a house of ill-fame.