Varvara Petrovna had never authorised anyone to look into or decide anything concerning her magazine.

Their decision was that, having founded the magazine, she should at once hand it over to them with the capital to run it, on the basis of a co-operative society.

She herself was to go back to Skvoreshniki, not forgetting to take with her Stepan Trofimovitch, who was "out of date." From delicacy they agreed to recognise the right of property in her case, and to send her every year a sixth part of the net profits.

What was most touching about it was that of these five men, four certainly were not actuated by any mercenary motive, and were simply acting in the interests of the "cause." "We came away utterly at a loss," Stepan Trofimovitch used to say afterwards.

"I couldn't make head or tail of it, and kept muttering, I remember, to the rumble of the train: 'Vyek, and vyek, and Lyov Kambek, Lyov Kambek and vyek, and vyek.' and goodness knows what, all the way to Moscow.