crosswise, that he had always worn, and he entered firmly, with an air
of stateliness, with strong and steady steps. He stretched out his
white, thin hand and said loudly:

"How do you do, Sergey?"

Behind him Sergey's mother entered with short steps, smiling
strangely. But she also pressed his hands and repeated loudly:

"How do you do, Seryozhenka?"

She kissed him on the lips and sat down silently. She did not rush
over to him; she did not burst into tears; she did not break into a
sob; she did not do any of the terrible things which Sergey had
feared. She just kissed him and silently sat down. And with her
trembling hands she even adjusted her black silk dress.

Sergey did not know that the colonel, having locked himself all the
previous night in his little study, had deliberated upon this ritual
with all his power. "We must not aggravate, but ease the last moments
of our son," resolved the colonel firmly, and he carefully weighed
every possible phase of the conversation, every act and movement that
might take place on the following day. But somehow he became confused,
forgetting what he had prepared, and he wept bitterly in the corner of
the oilcloth-covered couch. In the morning he explained to his wife
how she should behave at the meeting.

"The main thing is, kiss-and say nothing!" he taught her. "Later you
may speak-after a while-but when you kiss him, be silent. Don't speak
right after the kiss, do you understand? Or you will say what you