sensation was rather painful than terrible. Then the sensation was
forgotten, but it returned again a few hours later, and each time it
grew more intense and of longer duration, and thus it began to assume
vague outlines of some great, even unbearable fear.

"Is it possible that I am afraid?" thought Sergey in astonishment.
"What nonsense!"

It was not he who was afraid,-it was his young, sound, strong body,
which could not be deceived either by the exercises prescribed by the
Mueller system, or by the cold rub-downs. On the contrary, the
stronger and the fresher his body became after the cold water, the
keener and the more unbearable became the sensations of his recurrent
fear. And just at those moments when, during his freedom, he had felt
a special influx of the joy and power of life,-in the mornings after
he had slept soundly and gone through his physical exercises,-now
there appeared this deadening fear which was so foreign to his nature.
He noticed this and thought:

"It is foolish, Sergey! To die more easily, you should weaken the body
and not strengthen it. It is foolish!"

So he dropped his gymnastics and the rub-downs. To the soldier he
shouted, as if to explain and justify himself:

"Never mind that I have stopped. It's a good thing, my friend,-but not
for those who are to be hanged. But it's very good for all others."

And, indeed, he began to feel somewhat better. He tried also to eat
less, so as to grow still weaker, but notwithstanding the lack of pure