ver his companion's hair and cheeks, as though trying to soothe and
quiet him. But alas I he understood nothing of what was said to him, and
recognized none of those who surrounded him.

If Schneider himself had arrived then and seen his former pupil and
patient, remembering the prince's condition during the first year in
Switzerland, he would have flung up his hands, despairingly, and cried,
as he did then:

"An idiot!"

XII.

WHEN the widow hurried away to Pavlofsk, she went straight to Daria
Alexeyevna's house, and telling all she knew, threw her into a state of
great alarm. Both ladies decided to communicate at once with Lebedeff,
who, as the friend and landlord of the prince, was also much agitated.
Vera Lebedeff told all she knew, and by Lebedeff's advice it was decided
that all three should go to Petersburg as quickly as possible, in order
to avert "what might so easily happen."

This is how it came about that at eleven o'clock next morning Rogojin's
flat was opened by the police in the presence of Lebedeff, the two
ladies, and Rogojin's own brother, who lived in the wing.

The evidence of the porter went further than anything else towards the
success of Lebedeff in gaining the assistance of the police. He declared
that he had seen Rogojin return to the house last night, accompanied by
a friend, and that both had gone upstairs very secretly and cautiously.
After this there was no hesitation about breaking open the door, since
it could not be got open in any other way.

Rogojin suffered from brain fever for two months. When he recovered from
the attack he was at once brought up on trial for murder.

He gave full, satisfactory, and direct evidence on every point; and the
prince's name was, thanks to this, not brought into the proceedings.
Rogojin was very quiet during the progress of the trial. He did not
contradict his clever and eloquent counsel, who argued that the brain
fever, or inflammation of the brain, was the cause of the crime;
clearly proving that this malady had existed long before the murder was
perpetrated, and had been brought on by the sufferings of the accused.

But Rogojin added no words of his own in confirmation of this view, and
as before, he recounted with marvellous exactness the details of
his crime. He was convicted, but with extenuating circumstances, and
condemned to hard labour in Siberia for fifteen years. He heard his
sentence grimly, silently, and thoughtfully. His colossal