rage and madness took entire possession of Gania, and his
fury burst out without the least attempt at restraint.

"Oh! that's it, is it!" he yelled. "She throws my letters out of the
window, does she! Oh! and she does not condescend to bargain, while I
DO, eh? We shall see, we shall see! I shall pay her out for this."

He twisted himself about with rage, and grew paler and paler; he shook
his fist. So the pair walked along a few steps. Gania did not stand on
ceremony with the prince; he behaved just as though he were alone in
his room. He clearly counted the latter as a nonentity. But suddenly he
seemed to have an idea, and recollected himself.

"But how was it?" he asked, "how was it that you (idiot that you are),"
he added to himself, "were so very confidential a couple of hours after
your first meeting with these people? How was that, eh?"

Up to this moment jealousy had not been one of his torments; now it
suddenly gnawed at his heart.

"That is a thing I cannot undertake to explain," replied the prince.
Gania looked at him with angry contempt.

"Oh! I suppose the present she wished to make to you, when she took you
into the dining-room, was her confidence, eh?"

"I suppose that was it; I cannot explain it otherwise?"

"But why, WHY? Devil take it, what did you do in there? Why did they
fancy you? Look here, can't you remember exactly what you said to them,
from the very beginning? Can't you remember?"

"Oh, we talked of a great many things. When first I went in we began to
speak of Switzerland."

"Oh, the devil take Switzerland!"

"Then about executions."

"Executions?"

"Yes--at least about one. Then I told the whole three years' story of my
life, and the history of a poor peasant girl--"

"Oh, damn the peasant girl! go on, go on!" said Gania, impatiently.

"Then how Schneider told me about my childish nature, and--"

"Oh, CURSE Schneider and his dirty opinions! Go on."

"Then I began to talk about faces, at least about the EXPRESSIONS of
faces, and said that Aglaya Ivanovna was nearly as lovely as Nastasia
Philipovna. It was then I blurted out about the portrait--"

"But you didn't repeat what you heard in the study? You didn't repeat
that--eh?"

"No, I tell you I did NOT."

"Then how did they--look here! Did Aglaya show my letter to the old
lady?"

"Oh, there I can give you my fullest assurance that she did NOT. I was
there all the while--she had no time to do it!"

"But perhaps you