VICTIMS OF GOVERNMENT.

Passing back along the broad corridor (it was dinner time, and the cell doors were open), among the men dressed in their light yellow cloaks, short, wide trousers, and prison shoes, who were looking eagerly at him, Nekhludoff felt a strange mixture of sympathy for them, and horror and perplexity at the conduct of those who put and kept them here, and, besides, he felt, he knew not why, ashamed of himself calmly examining it all.

In one of the corridors, some one ran, clattering with his shoes, in at the door of a cell. Several men came out from here, and stood in Nekhludoff's way, bowing to him.

"Please, your honour (we don't know what to call you), get our affair settled somehow."

"I am not an official. I know nothing about it."

"Well, anyhow, you come from outside; tell somebody--one of the authorities, if need be," said an indignant voice. "Show some pity on us, as a human being. Here we are suffering the second month for nothing."

"What do you mean? Why?" said Nekhludoff.

"Why? We ourselves don't know why, but are sitting here the second month."

"Yes, it's quite true, and it is owing to an accident," said the inspector. "These people were taken up because they had no passports, and ought to have been sent back to their native government; but the prison there is burnt, and the local authorities have written, asking us not to send them on. So we have sent all the other passportless people to their different governments, but are keeping these."

"What! For no other reason than that?" Nekhludoff exclaimed, stopping at the door.

A crowd of about forty men, all dressed in prison clothes, surrounded him and the assistant, and several began talking at once. The assistant stopped them.

"Let some one of you speak."

A tall, good-looking peasant, a stone-mason, of about fifty, stepped out from the rest. He told Nekhludoff that all of them had been ordered back to their homes and were now being kept in prison because they had no passports, yet they had passports which were only a fortnight overdue. The same thing had happened every year; they had many times omitted to renew their passports till they were overdue, and nobody had ever said anything; but this year they had been taken up and were being kept in prison the second month, as if they were criminals.

"We are all masons, and belong to the same artel. We are told that the prison in our government is burnt, but this is not our fault. Do help us."

Nekhludoff listened, but hardly understood what the good-looking old man was saying, because his attention was riveted to a large, dark-grey, many-legged louse that was creeping along the good-looking man's cheek.

"How's that? Is it possible for such a reason?" Nekhludoff said, turning to the assistant.

"Yes, they should have been sent off and taken back to their homes," calmly said the assistant, "but they seem to have been forgotten or something."

Before the assistant had finished, a small, nervous man, also in prison dress, came out of the crowd, and, strangely contorting his mouth, began to say that they were being ill-used for nothing.

"Worse than dogs," he began.

"Now, now; not too much of this. Hold your tongue, or you know--"

"What do I know?" screamed the little man, desperately. "What is our crime?"

"Silence!" shouted the assistant, and the little man was silent.

"But what is the meaning of all this?" Nekhludoff thought to himself as he came out of the cell, while a hundred eyes were fixed upon him through the openings of the cell doors and from the prisoners that met him, making him feel as if he were running the gauntlet.

"Is it really possible that perfectly innocent people are kept here?" Nekhludoff uttered when they left the corridor.

"What would you have us do? They lie so. To hear them talk they are all of them innocent," said the inspector's assistant. "But it does happen that some are really imprisoned for nothing."

"Well, these have done nothing."

"Yes, we must admit it. Still, the people are fearfully spoilt. There are such types--desperate fellows, with whom one has to look sharp. To-day two of that sort had to be punished."

"Punished? How?"

"Flogged with a birch-rod, by order."

"But corporal punishment is abolished."

"Not for such as are deprived of their rights. They are still liable to it."

Nekhludoff thought of what he had seen the day before while waiting in the hall, and now understood that the punishment was then being inflicted, and the mixed feeling of curiosity, depression, perplexity, and moral nausea, that grew into physical sickness, took hold of him more strongly than ever before.

Without listening to the inspector's assistant, or looking round, he hurriedly left the corridor, and went to the office. The inspector was in the office, occupied with other business, and had forgotten to send for Doukhova. He only remembered his promise to have her called when Nekhludoff entered the office.

"Sit down, please. I'll send for her at once," said the inspector.

聂赫留朵夫沿着宽阔的走廊往回走(正是吃午饭的时候,牢房门都开着),看见许多穿淡黄囚袍,宽大短裤和棉鞋的犯人仔细打量着他,不禁产生一种异样的感觉:又同情这些坐牢的人,又对那些关押他们的人感到恐惧和惶惑,又因为自己对这一切冷眼旁观而害臊.

在一条走廊里,有一个人穿着棉鞋啪哒啪哒地跑过.他跑进牢房,接着就有几个人从里面跑出来,拦住聂赫留朵夫,向他鞠躬.

"对不起,老爷,不知道该怎样称呼您才好,求您替一我们作主."

"我不是长官,我什么也不知道."

"反正都一样,求您对哪位长官说一声,"一个人怒气冲冲地说."我们什么罪也没有,可是已经给关了一个多月了."

"什么?这怎么会?"聂赫留朵夫问.

"您瞧,就这么把我们关在牢里.我们坐了一个多月的牢,连自己也不知道为了什么."

"是的,这是不得已,"副典狱长说,"这些人被捕是因为没有身分证,本应把他们送回原籍,可是那边的监狱遭了火灾,省政一府来同我们联系,要求我们不把他们送回去.您瞧,其他各省的人都已遣送回去了,就剩下他们这批人."

"怎么,就是因为这点事吗?"聂赫留朵夫在门口站住了,问.

一群人,大约有四十名光景,全都穿着囚服,把聂赫留朵夫和副典狱长一团一团一围住.立刻就有几个人七嘴八舌地说起来.副典狱长制止他们说:

"由一个人说."

人群中走出一个五十岁上下的农民,个儿很高,相貌端正.他向聂赫留朵夫解释说,他们被驱逐和关押就因为没有身分证.其实身分证他们是有的,只是过期两个礼拜了.身分证过期的事年年都有,从来没有处分过人,今年却把他们当作罪犯,在这里关了一个多月.

"我们都是泥瓦匠,是同一个作坊的.据说省里的监狱烧掉了.可这又不能怪我们.看在上帝份上,您行行好吧!"

聂赫留朵夫听着,但简直没听清那个相貌端正的老人在说些什么,因为他一直注视着一只有许多条腿的深灰色大虱子,怎样在这个泥瓦匠的络腮一胡一子缝里爬着.

"这怎么会呢?难道就因为这点事吗?"聂赫留朵夫问副典狱长.

"是的,这是长官们的疏忽,应该把他们遣送回乡才是,"

副典狱长说.

副典狱长的话音刚落,人群中又走出一个矮小的人,也穿着囚袍,怪模怪样地撇着嘴,讲起他们平白无故在这里受尽折磨的情况.

"我们过得比狗还不如......"他说.

"喂,喂,别说废话,闭嘴,不然要你知道......"

"要我知道什么?"个儿矮小的人不顾死活地说."难道我们有什么罪?"

"闭嘴!"长官一声吆喝,个儿矮小的人不作声了.

"这是怎么搞的?"聂赫留朵夫走出牢房,问着自己.那些从牢门里往外看和迎面走来的犯人,用几百双眼睛盯住他,他觉得简直象穿过一排用棍棒乱打的行刑队一样.

"难道真的就这样把一大批无辜的人关起来吗?"聂赫留朵夫同副典狱长一起走出长廊,说.

"请问有什么办法?不过有许多话他们是一胡一说的.照他们说来,简直谁也没有罪,"副典狱长说.

"不过,刚才那些人确实没犯什么罪."

"那些人,就算是这样吧.不过老百姓都变坏了,非严加管制不可.有些家伙真是天不怕地不怕,可不好惹呢.喏,昨天就有两个人非处分不可."

"怎么处分?"聂赫留朵夫问.

"根据命令用树条一抽一打......"

"体罚不是已经废止了吗?"

"褫夺公权的人不在其内.对他们还是可以施行体罚的."

聂赫留朵夫想起昨天他在门廊里等候时见到的种种情景,这才明白那场刑罚就是在那时进行的.他心里觉得又好奇,又感伤,又困惑.这种心情使他感到一阵一精一神上的恶心,逐渐又变成近乎生理上的恶心.这种感觉以前虽也有过,但从没象现在这样强烈.

他不再听副典狱长说话,也不再往四下里张望,就急急地离开了走廊,往办公室走去.典狱长刚才在走廊里忙别的事,忘记派人去叫薇拉.直到聂赫留朵夫走进办公室,他才想起答应过他把她找来.

"我这就打发人去把她找来,您坐一会儿,"他说.