o-u-d_?"

"No," I interrupted again, "that's not right: not _o-u-d_, but
_o-u-l-d_"

"Well, it's all the same," said David: "spell it with an _l_. The most
important thing is that you should live yourself."

"I wish I knew how to spell and write properly," said Raissa, blushing
slightly.

When she blushed she became at once amazingly pretty.

"It may be of use. Father in his time wrote a beautiful hand: he
taught me it, too. Now he can hardly scrawl the letters."

"You must live for me," answered David, lowering his voice and gazing
at her steadily. Raissa looked up quickly and blushed more deeply.
"Live and spell as you please.--The devil! here's that old witch
coming." (By the witch David meant my aunt.) "What brings her this
way? Run off, my dear."

With one more look at David, Raissa hastened away.

It was only seldom and with great reluctance that David used to talk
with me about Raissa and her family, especially since he had begun to
expect his father's return. He could think of nothing but him, and how
we should then live. He remembered him clearly, and used to describe
him to me with great satisfaction: "Tall, strong: with one hand he
could lift two hundred pounds. If he called, 'I say, boy!' the whole
house could hear him. And such a man as he is--good and brave! I don't
believe there's anything he's afraid of. We lived pleasantly until our
misfortunes came upon us. They say his hair is become perfectly gray,
but it used to be light red like mine. He's a powerful man."

David would never agree that we were going to live in Riasan.

"You'll go away," I used to say, "but I shall stay here."

"Nonsense! we'll take you with us."

"And what'll become of my father?"

"You'll leave him. If you don't, it will be the worse for you."

"How so?"

David merely frowned and made no answer.

"See here: if we go with my father," he resumed, "he will get some
good position: I shall marry--"

"Not so soon as that?" I interrupted.

"Why not? I shall marry soon."

"You?"

"Yes, I; and why not?"

"Have you chosen your wife yet?"

"Of course."

"And who is it?"

David smiled: "How stupid you are! Who but Raissa?"

"Raissa?" I repeated in my amazement. "You're joking."

"I never make jokes: I don't know how to."

"But she's a year older than you?"

"What difference does that make? But we won't talk any more about it."

"Just one question," I persisted. "Does she know that you want to
marry her?