you. Especially as this is the last chance we shall have
of a talk, and very likely the last meeting we shall ever have at all."

Gania felt a little guilty.

"I assure you I did not mean to reckon up debits and credits," he began,
"and if you--"

"I don't understand your condescension," said Hippolyte. "As for me, I
promised myself, on the first day of my arrival in this house, that
I would have the satisfaction of settling accounts with you in a very
thorough manner before I said good-bye to you. I intend to perform this
operation now, if you like; after you, though, of course."

"May I ask you to be so good as to leave this room?"

"You'd better speak out. You'll be sorry afterwards if you don't."

"Hippolyte, stop, please! It's so dreadfully undignified," said Varia.

"Well, only for the sake of a lady," said Hippolyte, laughing. "I
am ready to put off the reckoning, but only put it off, Varvara
Ardalionovna, because an explanation between your brother and myself has
become an absolute necessity, and I could not think of leaving the house
without clearing up all misunderstandings first."

"In a word, you are a wretched little scandal-monger," cried Gania, "and
you cannot go away without a scandal!"

"You see," said Hippolyte, coolly, "you can't restrain yourself. You'll
be dreadfully sorry afterwards if you don't speak out now. Come, you
shall have the first say. I'll wait."

Gania was silent and merely looked contemptuously at him.

"You won't? Very well. I shall be as short as possible, for my part. Two
or three times to-day I have had the word 'hospitality' pushed down my
throat; this is not fair. In inviting me here you yourself entrapped
me for your own use; you thought I wished to revenge myself upon the
prince. You heard that Aglaya Ivanovna had been kind to me and read my
confession. Making sure that I should give myself up to your interests,
you hoped that you might get some assistance out of me. I will not go
into details. I don't ask either admission or confirmation of this from
yourself; I am quite content to leave you to your conscience, and to
feel that we understand one another capitally."

"What a history you are weaving out of the most ordinary circumstances!"
cried Varia.

"I told you the fellow was nothing but a scandalmonger," said Gania.

"Excuse me, Varia Ardalionovna, I will proceed. I can, of course,
neither love nor respect the prince, though he is a good-hearted fellow,
if a