The Jail in our little town is not an uncomfortable place. The cells are bare and tight, but the prisoners – if they are sane, decent folk – are treated well. They are permitted to leave their cells to meet their visitors in a common room. This room, though sparsely furnished, is comfortable and permits prisoners to talk freely with their guests – although the guards do tend to stay very close to the door and often hear the private dramas between the prisoners and their loved ones.
Now that it is dark (and all the visitors must leave once night falls), the guards are left in the visiting room to talk amongst themselves. They have plenty to say about their favorite inmate, Dmitri Karamazov.