won't die? Is that right?..."

"Nothing will happen to him ... He'll only snooze for a while ... Oh,
Tamara!" exclaimed he in a passionate whisper; and even suddenly
stretched himself hard from an unbearable emotion, so that his joints
cracked. "Finish it, for God's sake, as soon as possible! ... Let's do
the trick and--bye-bye! Wherever you want to go to, sweet-heart! I am
all at your will: if you want to, we start off for Odessa; if you want
to--abroad. Finish it up as soon as possible! ..."

"Soon, soon..."

"You just wink at me, and I'm all ready ... with powders, with
instruments, with passports ... And then--choo-choo! The machine is
off! Tamarochka! My angel! ... My precious, my sparkler! ..."

And he, always restrained, having forgotten that he could be seen by
strangers, already wanted to embrace and hug Tamara to himself.

"Now, now!" ... rapidly and deftly, like a cat, Tamara jumped off the
chair. "Afterwards ... afterwards, Senechka, afterwards, little dearie!
... I'll be all yours--there won't be any denial, nor forbiddance. I'll
myself make you weary of me ... Good-bye, my little silly!"

And with a quick movement of her hand having rumpled up his black
curls, she hastily went out of the coffee-house.

CHAPTER VIII.

On the next day, on Monday, toward ten o'clock in the morning, almost
all the inmates of the house--formerly Madam Shaibes', but now Emma
Edwardovna Titzner's--rode off in cabs to the centre of the city, to
the anatomical theatre--all, except the far-sighted, much-experienced
Henrietta; the cowardly and insensible Ninka; and the feeble-minded
Pashka, who for two days now had not gotten up from her bed, kept
silent, and to questions directed at her answered by a beatific,
idiotical smile and with some sort of inarticulate animal lowing. If
she were not given to eat, she would not even ask; but if food were
brought, she would eat with greediness, right with her hands. She
became so slovenly and forgetful, that it was necessary to remind her
of certain necessary functions in order to avoid unpleasantness. Emma
Edwardovna did not send out Pashka to her steady guests, who asked for
Pashka every day. Even before, she had had such periods of a detriment
of consciousness; however, they had not lasted long, and Emma
Edwardovna in any case determined to tide it over: Pashka was a
veritable treasure for the establishment, and its truly horrible victim.

The anatomical theatre represente