"Who said that, Colia?"

"I don't know, I don't know who said it. Come home at once; come on!
I'll punch Gania's head myself, if you like--only come. Oh, where are
you off to again?" The general was dragging him away towards the door a
house near. He sat down on the step, still holding Colia by the hand.

"Bend down--bend down your ear. I'll tell you all--disgrace--bend down,
I'll tell you in your ear."

"What are you dreaming of?" said poor, frightened Colia, stooping down
towards the old man, all the same.

"Le roi de Rome," whispered the general, trembling all over.

"What? What DO you mean? What roi de Rome?"

"I-I," the general continued to whisper, clinging more and more
tightly to the boy's shoulder. "I--wish--to tell you--all--Maria--Maria
Petrovna--Su--Su--Su......."

Colia broke loose, seized his father by the shoulders, and stared into
his eyes with frenzied gaze. The old man had grown livid--his lips were
shaking, convulsions were passing over his features. Suddenly he leant
over and began to sink slowly into Colia's arms.

"He's got a stroke!" cried Colia, loudly, realizing what was the matter
at last.

V.

IN point of fact, Varia had rather exaggerated the certainty of her
news as to the prince's betrothal to Aglaya. Very likely, with the
perspicacity of her sex, she gave out as an accomplished fact what she
felt was pretty sure to become a fact in a few days. Perhaps she could
not resist the satisfaction of pouring one last drop of bitterness into
her brother Gania's cup, in spite of her love for him. At all events,
she had been unable to obtain any definite news from the Epanchin
girls--the most she could get out of them being hints and surmises, and
so on. Perhaps Aglaya's sisters had merely been pumping Varia for news
while pretending to impart information; or perhaps, again, they had been
unable to resist the feminine gratification of teasing a friend--for,
after all this time, they could scarcely have helped divining the aim of
her frequent visits.

On the other hand, the prince, although he had told Lebedeff,--as we
know, that nothing had happened, and that he had nothing to impart,--the
prince may have been in error. Something strange seemed to have
happened, without anything definite having actually happened. Varia had
guessed that with her true feminine instinct.

How or why it came about that everyone at the Epanchins' became imbued
with one conviction--that something very import