On the corner of two lanes of the county town stood a police booth. The boothman Mimretsov, who lived in it, belonged to the category of people who were completely “unfit in the army”. Such people are usually only interested in drinking, they are afraid of the authorities to death, and the military drill is brought to the end, turning them into those very “worthless” ones. The whole thing Mymretsova was to say "drag" or "do not let go." He no longer distinguished people, seeing only shivorot in them. In relations with his wife, Mymretsov was absolutely passive, and she was also “a cat and a dog in one person”. Mimretsov was saving up silver coins, hoping that “he would soon go his own way” as soon as there were convenient circumstances.

When you don’t have to drag anyone by the neck, Mymretsov is sad. But here is the visitor. Mymretsov only asked about the location of the collar and went after him. The woman meanwhile told the storyteller her story. She married her daughter, a laundress, and her husband began to raise a hand at her. Soon he went into the soldiers, the mother with her daughter and granddaughter healed calmly, but her husband returned, called "Pilate." He again began to beat his wife, and then informed her that he was going to live with her in the village. The wife refused to give up her household. As a result, Mimretsov dragged the washerwoman into the jail. He did not care, and he grabbed the first of the family who fell into the arm.

When Mymretsov, contented with himself, sat down to smoke, another lady appeared in the booth. She said that one of her girls had been hiding for two weeks in the house of the drunk tailor Danilka. Everything happened like this: after another drinking party, Danilka found a woman at home. She melted the stove, brought a half-damn to hang out, and Danilka left her at home. Since then, they began to live together in endless drunkenness. When Mimretsov grabbed Danilka by the scruff of his neck, he screamed that he was going to marry Alena Andreyevna, and the alarm clock left him alone.

Successful days also happened, as when visiting detectives. Late in the evening, Mymretsov went with them to a rooming house, where he dragged those who did not have documents for collars. On the same night, detectives caught a thief who stole a suitcase. He lived in a crib with his wife, child and an old crippled soldier. This is where Mimretsov’s expanse was.

In the booth, in addition to Mymretsov and his wife, there were poor people who did not have a place “where to lay their heads” but income-generating owners of the booth. These poor people were from a provincial orchestra. Once an old man appeared in a booth, who was looking for musicians for his daughter's wedding. He talked about how hard it is for women to live behind men-drunkards, but now there are no drinkers at all. Violinist Ivan came with two attendants. One of them studied at a religious school, where his friend accidentally shot two fingers to him. Then he spent some time in the monastery, from where he left "by temptation." He taught the children of a landowner who drank a lot. Once in a dispute he hit the landowner, but accidentally killed. After leaving prison, the narrator could not find a job. He took the violin from the wife of the late landowner and now he is handing it over. Another companion gives strings.

During the wedding, the bride went into another room and cried. Several elderly women tried to console her, but she still could not enjoy the wedding with the lame. The husband began to cry out for his wife. On the threshold stood Mymretsov with a halberd, repeating "we will not allow ...".