The committee who had been deputed to verify the accounts reported to the meeting that all was in order.

The marshal of the province got up, thanked the nobility for their confidence, and shed tears.

The nobles gave him a loud welcome, and shook hands with him.

But at that instant a nobleman of Sergey Ivanovitch's party said that he had heard that the committee had not verified the accounts, considering such a verification an insult to the marshal of the province.

One of the members of the committee incautiously admitted this.