o suddenly?"

"Well. . . . I had a little misunderstanding with my husband," said
Yulia, looking at his cap.

"Yes. What a queer fellow he is! All the Laptevs are queer. Your
husband's all right--he's nothing out of the way, but his brother
Fyodor is a perfect fool."

Panaurov sighed and asked seriously:

"And have you a lover yet?"

Yulia looked at him in amazement and laughed.

"Goodness knows what you're talking about."

It was past ten o'clock when they got out at a big station and had
supper. When the train went on again Panaurov took off his greatcoat
and his cap, and sat down beside Yulia.

"You are very charming, I must tell you," he began. "Excuse me for
the eating-house comparison, but you remind me of fresh salted
cucumber; it still smells of the hotbed, so to speak, and yet has
a smack of the salt and a scent of fennel about it. As time goes
on you will make a magnificent woman, a wonderful, exquisite woman.
If this trip of ours had happened five years ago," he sighed, "I
should have felt it my duty to join the ranks of your adorers, but
now, alas, I'm a veteran on the retired list."

He smiled mournfully, but at the same time graciously, and put his
arm round her waist.

"You must be mad!" she said; she flushed crimson and was so frightened
that her hands and feet turned cold.

"Leave off, Grigory Nikolaevitch!"

"What are you afraid of, dear?" he asked softly. "What is there
dreadful about it? It's simply that you're not used to it."

If a woman protested he always interpreted it as a sign that he had
made an impression on her and attracted her. Holding Yulia round
the waist, he kissed her firmly on the cheek, then on the lips, in
the full conviction that he was giving her intense gratification.
Yulia recovered from her alarm and confusion, and began laughing.
He kissed her once more and said, as he put on his ridiculous cap:

"That is all that the old veteran can give you. A Turkish Pasha, a
kind-hearted old fellow, was presented by some one--or inherited,
I fancy it was--a whole harem. When his beautiful young wives
drew up in a row before him, he walked round them, kissed each one
of them, and said: 'That is all that I am equal to giving you.' And
that's just what I say, too."

All this struck her as stupid and extraordinary, and amused her.
She felt mischievous. Standing up on the seat and humming, she got
a box of sweets from the shelf, and throwing him a piece of chocolate,
shout