The woman lowered her eyes.

"And Nastasia Philipovna?"

"I know nothing about it."

"Stop a minute! When will he come back?"

"I don't know that either."

The door was shut with these words, and the old woman disappeared. The
prince decided to come back within an hour. Passing out of the house, he
met the porter.

"Is Parfen Semionovitch at home?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Why did they tell me he was not at home, then?" "Where did they tell
you so,--at his door?" "No, at his mother's flat; I rang at Parfen
Semionovitch's door and nobody came."

"Well, he may have gone out. I can't tell. Sometimes he takes the keys
with him, and leaves the rooms empty for two or three days."

"Do you know for certain that he was at home last night?"

"Yes, he was."

"Was Nastasia Philipovna with him?"

"I don't know; she doesn't come often. I think I should have known if
she had come."

The prince went out deep in thought, and walked up and down the pavement
for some time. The windows of all the rooms occupied by Rogojin were
closed, those of his mother's apartments were open. It was a hot, bright
day. The prince crossed the road in order to have a good look at the
windows again; not only were Rogojin's closed, but the white blinds were
all down as well.

He stood there for a minute and then, suddenly and strangely enough, it
seemed to him that a little corner of one of the blinds was lifted,
and Rogojin's face appeared for an instant and then vanished. He waited
another minute, and decided to go and ring the bell once more; however,
he thought better of it again and put it off for an hour.

The chief object in his mind at this moment was to get as quickly as
he could to Nastasia Philipovna's lodging. He remembered that, not long
since, when she had left Pavlofsk at his request, he had begged her
to put up in town at the house of a respectable widow, who had
well-furnished rooms to let, near the Ismailofsky barracks. Probably
Nastasia had kept the rooms when she came down to Pavlofsk this last
time; and most likely she would have spent the night in them, Rogojin
having taken her straight there from the station.

The prince took a droshky. It struck him as he drove on that he ought
to have begun by coming here, since it was most improbable that Rogojin
should have taken Nastasia to his own house last night. He remembered
that the porter said she very rarely came at all, so that it was still
less likely that she would