'Why not to-morrow?' cried Marianna.
'Very good—but where?'
'Sh . . . gently . . .' whispered Nezhdanov. 'Some one is coming along the corridor.'
They were all silent for a space.
'Where do you intend to go?' Solomin asked again, dropping his voice.
'We don't know,' answered Marianna.
Solomin turned his eyes upon Nezhdanov. The latter merely shook his head negatively.
Solomin stretched out his hand and carefully snuffed the candle.
'I tell you what, my children,' he said at last, 'come to my factory. It's nasty there . . . but very safe. I will hide you. I have a little room there. No one will find you out. You need only get there . . . and we won't give you up. You will say, "There are a lot of people at the factory." That's a very good thing. Where there are a lot of people it's easy to hide. Will that do, eh?'
'We can only thank you,' said Nezhdanov; while Marianna, who had at first been taken aback by the idea of the factory, added quickly: 'Of course, of course. How good you are! But you won't leave us there long, I suppose? You will send us on?'
'That will depend on you.. . . But in case you meant to get married, it would be very
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