Someone moved in the shadow near the church enclosure, and Sofya could not make out whether it were a man or a cow, or perhaps merely a big bird rustling in the trees. But then a figure stepped out of the shadow, halted, and said something in a man’s voice, then vanished down the turning by the church. A little later, not three yards from the gate, another figure came into sight; it walked straight from the church to the gate and stopped short, seeing Sofya on the bench.
“ Varvara, is that you?” said Sofya.
“ And if it were?”
It was Varvara. She stood still a minute, then came up to the bench and sat down.
“ Where have you been?” asked Sofya.
Varvara made no answer.
“ You’d better mind you don’t get into trouble with such goings-on, my girl,” said Sofya. “Did you hear how Mashenk
