ry far from homely; every one noticed her, all the young
men paid court to her; but among them was one in particular ... an
officer. He followed her unremittingly, and wherever she went she beheld
his black, wicked eyes. He did not make her acquaintance, and did not
speak to her even once; he merely kept staring at her in a very strange,
insolent way. All the pleasures of the capital were poisoned by his
presence. She began to urge her husband to depart as speedily as
possible, and they had fully made up their minds to the journey. One day
her husband went off to the club; some officers--officers who belonged
to the same regiment as this man--had invited him to play cards.... For
the first time she was left alone. Her husband did not return for a long
time; she dismissed her maid and went to bed.... And suddenly a great
dread came upon her, so that she even turned cold all over and began to
tremble. It seemed to her that she heard a faint tapping on the other
side of the wall--like the noise a dog makes when scratching--and she
began to stare at that wall. In the corner burned a shrine-lamp; the
chamber was all hung with silken stuff.... Suddenly something began to
move at that point, rose, opened.... And straight out of the wall, all
black and long, stepped forth that dreadful man with the wicked eyes!

"She tried to scream and could not. She was benumbed with fright. He
advanced briskly toward her, like a rapacious wild beast, flung
something over her head, something stifling, heavy and white.... What
happened afterward I do not remember.... I do not remember! It was like
death, like murder.... When that terrible fog dispersed at last--when
I ... my friend recovered her senses, there was no one in the room.
Again--and for a long time--she was incapable of crying out, but she did
shriek at last ... then again everything grew confused....

"Then she beheld by her side her husband, who had been detained at the
club until two o'clock.... His face was distorted beyond recognition. He
began to question her, but she said nothing.... Then she fell ill....
But I remember that when she was left alone in the room she examined
that place in the wall.... Under the silken hangings there proved to be
a secret door. And her wedding-ring had disappeared from her hand. This
ring was of an unusual shape. Upon it seven tiny golden stars alternated
with seven tiny silver stars; it was an ancient family heirloom. Her
husband asked her what