I rang the bell, and the cook at once opened the door to me, and showed me into the room without speaking. All these details are necessary that the reader may understand how the mad adventure, which had so vast an influence on all that followed, was rendered possible. And to begin with, as regards the cook. She was an ill- tempered, snub-nosed Finnish woman, and I believe hated her mistress Tatyana Pavlovna, while the latter, on the contrary, could not bring herself to part with her from a peculiar sort of infatuation, such as old maids sometimes show for damp-nosed pug dogs, or somnolent cats. The Finnish woman was either spiteful and rude or, after a quarrel, would be silent for weeks together to punish her mistress. I must have chanced upon one of these dumb days, for even when I asked her, as I remember doing, whether her mistress were at home, she made no answer, but walked off to the kitchen in silence. Feeling sure after this that Tatyana Pavlovna was at home, I walked into the room, and finding no one there, waited expecting that she would come out of her bedroom before long; otherwise, why should the cook have shown me in? Without sitting down, I waited two minutes, three; it was dusk and Tatyana Pavlovna's dark flat seemed even less hospitable from the endless yards of cretonne hanging about. A couple of words about that horrid little flat, to explain the surroundings of what followed. With her obstinate and peremptory character, and the tastes she had formed from living in the country in the past, Tatyana Pavlovna could not put up with furnished lodgings, and had taken this parody of a flat simply in order to live apart and be her own mistress. The two rooms were exactly like two bird-cages, set side by side, one smaller than the other; the flat was on the third storey, and the windows looked into the courtyard. Coming into the flat, one stepped straight into a tiny passage, a yard and a half wide; on the left, the two afore-mentioned bird-cages, and at the end of the passage the tiny kitchen. The five hundred cubic feet of air required to last a human being twelve hours were perhaps provided in this room, but hardly more. The rooms were hideously low- pitched, and, what was stupider than anything, the windows, the doors, the furniture, all were hung or draped with cretonne, good French cretonne, and decorated with festoons; but this made the room twice as dark and more than ever like the inside of a travelling-coach. In the room where I was waiting it was possible to turn round, though it was cumbered up with furniture, and the furniture, by the way, was not at all bad: there were all sorts of little inlaid tables, with bronze fittings, boxes, an elegant and even sumptuous toilet table. But the next room, from which I expected her to come in, the bedroom, screened off by a thick curtain, consisted literally of a bedstead, as appeared afterwards. All these details are necessary to explain the foolishness of which I was guilty.
So I had no doubts and was waiting, when there came a ring at the bell. I heard the cook cross the little passage with lagging footsteps, and admit the visitors, still in silence, just as she had me. They were two ladies and both were talking loudly, but what was my amazement when from their voices I recognized one as Tatyana Pavlovna, and the other as the woman I was least prepared to meet now, above all in such circumstances! I could not be mistaken: I had heard that powerful, mellow, ringing voice the day before, only for three minutes it is true, but it still resounded in my heart. Yes, it was "yesterday's woman." What was I to do? I am not asking the reader this question, I am only picturing that moment to myself, and I am utterly unable to imagine even now how it came to pass that I suddenly rushed behind the curtain, and found myself in Tatyana Pavlovna's bedroom. In short, I hid myself, and had scarcely time to do so when they walked in. Why I hid and did not come forward to meet them, I don't know. It all happened accidentally and absolutely without premeditation.
After rushing into the bedroom and knocking against the bed, I noticed at once that there was a door leading from the bedroom into the kitchen, and so there was a way out of my horrible position, and I could make my escape but—oh, horror! the door was locked, and there was no key in it. I sank on the bed in despair; I realized that I should overhear their talk, and from the first sentence, from the first sound of their conversation, I guessed that they were discussing delicate and private matters. Oh, of course, a straightforward and honourable man should even then have got up, come out, said aloud, "I'm here, stop!" and, in spite of his ridiculous position, walked past them; but I did not get up, and did not come out; I didn't dare, I was in a most despicable funk.
"My darling Katerina Nikolaevna, you distress me very much," Tatyana Pavlovna was saying in an imploring voice. "Set your mind at rest once for all, it's not like you. You bring joy with you wherever you go, and now suddenly … I suppose you do still believe in me? Why, you know how devoted I am to you. As much so as to Andrey Petrovitch, and I make no secret of my undying devotion to him… . But do believe me, I swear on my honour he has no such document in his possession, and perhaps no one else has either; and he is not capable of anything so underhand, it's wicked of you to suspect him. This hostility between you two is simply the work of your own imaginations… ."
"There is such a document, and he is capable of anything. And there, as soon as I go in yesterday, the first person I meet is ce petit espion, whom he has foisted on my father."
"Ach, ce petit espion! To begin with he is not an espion at all, for it was I, I insisted on his going to the prince, or else he would have gone mad, or died of hunger in Moscow—that was the account they sent us of him; and what's more, that unmannerly urchin is a perfect little fool, how could he be a spy?"
"Yes, he is a fool, but that does not prevent his being a scoundrel. If I hadn't been so angry, I should have died of laughing yesterday: he turned pale, he ran about, made bows and talked French. And Marie Ivanovna talked of him in Moscow as a genius. That that unlucky letter is still in existence and is in dangerous hands somewhere, I gathered chiefly from Marie Ivanovna's face."
"My beauty! why you say yourself she has nothing!"
"That's just it, that she has; she does nothing but tell lies, and she is a good hand at it, I can tell you! Before I went to Moscow, I still had hopes that no papers of any sort were left, but then, then… ."
"Oh, it's quite the contrary, my dear, I am told she is a good- natured and sensible creature; Andronikov thought more of her than of any of his other nieces. It's true I don't know her well—but you should have won her over, my beauty! It's no trouble to you to win hearts—why, I'm an old woman, but here I'm quite in love with you already, and can't resist kissing you… . But it would have been nothing to you to win her heart."
"I did, Tatyana Pavlovna, I tried; she was enchanted with me, but she's very sly too… . Yes, she's a regular type, and a peculiar Moscow type… . And would you believe it, she advised me to apply to a man here called Kraft, who had been Andronikov's assistant. 'Maybe he knows something,' she said. I had some idea of what Kraft was like, and in fact, I had a faint recollection of him; but as she talked about Kraft, I suddenly felt certain that it was not that she simply knew nothing but that she knew all about it and was lying."
"But why, why? Well, perhaps you might find out from him! That German, Kraft, isn't a chatterbox, and I remember him as very honest—you really ought to question him! Only I fancy he is not in Petersburg now… ."
"Oh, he came back yesterday evening, I have just been to see him… . I have come to you in such a state, I'm shaking all over. I wanted to ask you, Tatyana Pavlovna, my angel, for you know every one, wouldn't it be possible to find out from his papers, for he must have left papers, to whom they will come now? They may come into dangerous hands again! I wanted to ask your advice."
"But what papers are you talking about?" said Tatyana Pavlovna, not understanding. "Why, you say you have just been at Kraft's?"
"Yes, I have been, I have, I have just been there, but he's shot himself! Yesterday evening."
I jumped up from the bed. I was able to sit through being called a spy and an idiot, and the longer the conversation went on the more impossible it seemed to show myself. It was impossible to contemplate! I inwardly deter
mined with a sinking heart to stay where I was till Tatyana Pavlovna went to the door with her visitor (if, that is, I were lucky, and she did not before then come to fetch something from the bedroom), and afterwards, when Mme. Ahmakov had gone out, then, if need be, I'd fight it out with Tatyana Pavlovna… . But when, now, suddenly hearing about Kraft, I jumped up from the bed, I shuddered all over. Without thinking, without reflecting, or realizing what I was doing, I took a step, lifted the curtain, and appeared before the two of them. It was still light enough for them to see me, pale and trembling… . They both cried out, and indeed they well might.
"Kraft?" I muttered, turning to Mme. Ahmakov—"he has shot himself? Yesterday? At sunset?"
"Where were you? Where have you come from?" screamed Tatyana Pavlovna, and she literally clawed my shoulder. "You've been spying? You have been eavesdropping?"
"What did I tell you just now?" said Katerina Nikolaevna, getting up from the sofa and pointing at me.
I was beside myself.
"It's a lie, it's nonsense!" I broke in furiously. "You called me a spy just now, my God! You are not worth spying on, life's not worth living in the same world with such people as you, in fact! A great-hearted man has killed himself, Kraft has shot himself—for the sake of an idea, for the sake of Hecuba… . But how should you know about Hecuba? … And here—one's to live among your intrigues, to linger in the midst of your lying, your deceptions and underhand plots… . Enough!"
"Slap him in the face! Slap him in the face!" cried Tatyana Pavlovna, and as Katerina Nikolaevna did not move, though she stared fixedly at me (I remember it all minutely), Tatyana Pavlovna would certainly have done so herself without loss of time, so that I instinctively raised my hand to protect my face; and this gesture led her to imagine that I meant to strike her.
"Well, strike me, strike me, show me that you are a low cur from your birth up: you are stronger than women, why stand on ceremony with them!"
"That's enough of your slander!" I cried. "I have never raised my hand against a woman! You are shameless, Tatyana Pavlovna, you've always treated me with contempt. Oh, servants must be treated without respect! You laugh, Katerina Nikolaevna, at my appearance I suppose; yes, God has not blessed me with the elegance of your young officers. And, yet I don't feel humbled before you, on the contrary I feel exalted… . I don't care how I express myself, only I'm not to blame! I got here by accident, Tatyana Pavlovna, it's all the fault of your cook, or rather of your devotion to her: why did she bring me in here without answering my question? And afterwards to dash out of a woman's bedroom seemed so monstrous, that I made up my mind not to show myself, but to sit and put up with your insults… . You are laughing again, Katerina Nikolaevna!"
"Leave the room, leave the room, go away!" screamed Tatyana Pavlovna, almost pushing me out. "Don't think anything of his abuse, Katerina Nikolaevna: I've told you that they sent us word that he was mad!"
"Mad? They sent word? Who sent you word? No matter, enough of this, Katerina Nikolaevna! I swear to you by all that's sacred, this conversation and all that I've heard shall remain hidden… . Am I to blame for having learned your secrets? Especially as I am leaving your father's service to-morrow, so as regards the letter you are looking for, you need not worry yourself!"
"What's that… . What letter are you talking about?" asked Katerina Nikolaevna in such confusion that she turned pale, or perhaps I fancied it. I realized that I had said too much.
I walked quickly out; they watched me go without a word, with looks of intense amazement. I had in fact set them a riddle.
Chapter 9
1.
I hurried home and—marvellous to relate—I was very well satisfied with myself. That's not the way one talks to women, of course, and to such women too—it would be truer to say such a woman, for I was not considering Tatyana Pavlovna. Perhaps it's out of the question to say to a woman of that class that one spits on her intrigues, but I had said that, and it was just that that I was pleased with. Apart from anything else, I was convinced that by taking this tone I had effaced all that was ridiculous in my position. But I had not time to think much about that: my mind was full of Kraft. Not that the thought of him distressed me very greatly, but yet I was shaken to my inmost depths, and so much so that the ordinary human feeling of pleasure at another man's misfortune—at his breaking his leg or covering himself with disgrace, at his losing some one dear to him, and so on—even this ordinary feeling of mean satisfaction was completely eclipsed by another absolutely single- hearted feeling, a feeling of sorrow, of compassion for Kraft—at least I don't know whether it was compassion, but it was a strong and warm-hearted feeling. And I was glad of this too. It's marvellous how many irrelevant ideas can flash through the mind at the very time when one is shattered by some tremendous piece of news, which one would have thought must overpower all other feelings and banish all extraneous thoughts, especially petty ones; yet petty ones, on the contrary, obtrude themselves. I remember, too, that I was gradually overcome by a quite perceptible nervous shudder, which lasted several minutes, in fact all the time I was at home and talking to Versilov.
This interview followed under strange and exceptional circumstances. I had mentioned already that we lived in a separate lodge in the courtyard; this lodging was marked "No. 13." Before I had entered the gate I heard a woman's voice asking loudly, with impatience and irritation, "Where is No. 13?" The question was asked by a lady who was standing close to the gate and had opened the door of the little shop; but apparently she got no answer there, or was even repulsed, for she came down the steps, resentful and angry.
"But where is the porter?" she cried, stamping her foot. I had already recognized the voice.
"I am going to No. 13," I said, approaching her. "Whom do you want?"
"I have been looking for the porter for the last hour. I keep asking every one; I have been up all the staircases."
"It's in the yard. Don't you recognize me?"
But by now she had recognized me.
"You want Versilov; you want to see him about something, and so do I," I went on. "I have come to take leave of him for ever. Come along."
"You are his son?"
"That means nothing. Granted, though, that I am his son, yet my name's Dolgoruky; I am illegitimate. This gentleman has an endless supply of illegitimate children. When conscience and honour require it a son will leave his father's house. That's in the Bible. He has come into a fortune too, and I don't wish to share it, and I go to live by the work of my hands. A noble-hearted man will sacrifice life itself, if need be; Kraft has shot himself, Kraft for the sake of an idea, imagine, a young man, yet he overcame hope… . This way, this way! We live in a lodge apart. But that's in the Bible; children leave their parents and make homes for themselves… . If the idea draws one on … if there is an idea! The idea is what matters, the idea is everything… ."
I babbled on like this while we were making our way to the lodge. The reader will, no doubt, observe that I don't spare myself much, though I give myself a good character on occasion; I want to train myself to tell the truth. Versilov was at home. I went in without taking off my overcoat; she did the same. Her clothes were dreadfully thin: over a wretched gown of some dark colour was hung a rag that did duty for a cloak or mantle; on her head she wore an old and frayed sailor-hat, which was very unbecoming. When we went into the room my mother was sitting at her usual place at work, and my sister came out of her room to see who it was, and was standing in the doorway. Versilov, as usual, was doing nothing, and he got up to meet us. He looked at me intently with a stern and inquiring gaze.
"It's nothing to do with me," I hastened to explain, and I stood on one side. "I only met this person at the gate; she was trying to find you and no one could direct her. I have come about my own business, which I shall be delighted to explain afterwards… ."
Versilov nevertheless still scrutinized me curiously.
"Excuse me," the girl began impatiently. Versilov turned towards her.
/> "I have been wondering a long while what induced you to leave money for me yesterday… . I … in short … here's your money!" she almost shrieked, as she had before, and flung a bundle of notes on the table. "I've had to hunt for you through the address bureau, or I should have brought it before. Listen, you!" She suddenly addressed my mother, who had turned quite pale. "I don't want to insult you; you look honest, and perhaps this is actually your daughter. I don't know whether you are his wife, but let me tell you that this gentleman gets hold of the advertisements on which teachers and governesses have spent their last farthing and visits these luckless wretches with dishonourable motives, trying to lure them to ruin by money. I don't understand how I could have taken his money yesterday: he looked so honest… . Get away, don't say a word! You are a villain, sir! Even if you had honourable intentions I don't want your charity. Not a word, not a word! Oh, how glad I am that I have unmasked you now before your women! Curse you!"
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