person
Pashka
also: Пашка, Паша, Pasha
The gardener's son, a boy of about eight, brought along by the narrator on the night drive to the post station in case the horse needs watching; his sleepy, unafraid "Who's to know!" briefly steadies the narrator before his own whispered "I'm scared!" tips the narrator fully into panic at the unexplained light on the bell tower.