"Let her go!" cried Lida, in a merry voice of command. The boat slid
away from the shore leaving behind it two broad stripes on the water
that disappeared in ripples at the river's edge.
"Yourii Nicolaijevitch, why are you so silent?" asked Lida.
Yourii smiled. "I've got nothing to say."
"Impossible!" she answered, with a pretty pout, throwing back her head
as if she knew that all men thought her irresistible.
"Yourii doesn't like talking nonsense," said Semenoff. "He
requires...."
"A serious subject, is that it?" exclaimed Lida, interrupting.
"Look! there is a serious subject!" said Sarudine, pointing to the
shore.
Where the bank was steep, between the gnarled roots of a rugged oak one
could see a narrow aperture, dark and mysterious, which was partially
hidden by weeds and grasses.
"What is that?" asked Schafroff, who was unfamiliar with this part of
the country.
"A cavern," replied Ivanoff.
"What sort of cavern?"
"The devil only knows! They say that once it was a coiners' den. As
usual they were all caught. Rather hard lines, wasn't it?" said
Ivanoff.
"Perhaps you'd like to start a business of that sort yourself and
manufacture sham twenty-copeck pieces?" asked Novikoff.
"Copecks? Not I! Roubles, my friend, roubles!"
"H--m!" muttered Sarudine, shrugging his shoulders. He did not like
Ivanoff, whose jokes to him were unintelligible.
"Yes, they were all caught, and the cave was filled up; it gradually
collapsed, and no one ever goes into it now. As a child I often used to
creep in there. It is a most interesting place."
"Interesting? I should rather think so!" exclaimed Lida.
"Victor Sergejevitsch, suppose you go in? You're one of the brave
ones."
"Why?" asked Sarudine, somewhat perplexed.
"I'll go!" exclaimed Yourii, blushing to think that the others would
accuse him of showing off.
"It's a wonderful place!" said Ivanoff by way of encouragement.
"Aren't you going too?" asked Novikoff.
"No, I'd rather stop here!"
At this they all laughed.
The boat drew near the bank and a wave of cold air from the cavern
passed over their heads.
"For heaven's sake, Yourii, don't do such a silly thing!" said Lialia,
trying to dissuade her brother. "It really is silly of you!"
"Silly? Of course it is." Yourii, smiling, assented. "Semenoff, just
give me that candle, will you?"