st and the sun.

Trenchard and Nikitin had left us to go into the town to search for
news. We were silent. Suddenly Marie Ivanovna, turning upon us all as
though she hated us, cried fiercely:

"I think you should know that Mr. Trenchard and I are no longer
engaged."

It was neither the time nor the place for such a declaration. I cannot
suggest why Marie Ivanovna spoke unless it were that she felt life
that was betraying her so basely that she, herself, at least, must be
honest. We none of us knew what to say. What _could_ we say? This
appalling day had sunk for us all individualities. We were scarcely
aware of one another's names and here was Marie Ivanovna thrusting all
these personalities upon us. Sister Sofia's red-rimmed eyes glittered
with pleasure but she only said: "Oh, dear, I'm very sorry." Sister
K---- who was always without tact made a most uncomfortable remark:
"Poor Mr.!..."

That, I believe, was what we were all feeling. I had an impulse to run
out into the street, find Trenchard, and make him comfortable. I felt
furiously indignant with the girl. We all looked at her, I suppose,
with indignation, because she regarded us with a fierce, insulting
smile, then turned her back upon us and went to a window.

At that moment Molozov with Trenchard, Nikitin and Semyonov, entered.
I have said earlier in this book that only upon one occasion have I
seen Molozov utterly overcome, a defeated man. This was the occasion
to which I refer. He stood there in the doorway, under a vulgar bevy
of gilt and crimson cupids, his face dull paste in colour, his hands
hanging like lead; he looked at us without seeing us. Semyonov said
something to him: "Why, of course," I heard him reply, "we've got to
get out as quickly as we can.... That's all."

He came over towards us and we were all, except Marie Ivanovna,
desperately frightened. She cried to him: "Well, what's the truth? How
bad is it?"

He didn't turn to her but answered to us all.

"It's abominable--everywhere."

I know that then the great feeling of us all was that we must escape
from the horrible place in some way. This beastly town of O---- (once
cursed by us for its gentle placidity) was responsible for the whole
disaster; it was as though we said to ourselves, "If we had not been
here this would not have happened."

We all stood up as though we felt that we must leave at once, and
while we stood thus there was a report that shook the floor so that we
rock