."

"Pavlicheff's son! It is not worth while!" cried Lebedeff. "There is
no necessity to see them, and it would be most unpleasant for your
excellency. They do not deserve..."

"What? Pavlicheff's son!" cried the prince, much perturbed. "I know...
I know--but I entrusted this matter to Gavrila Ardalionovitch. He told
me..."

At that moment Gania, accompanied by Ptitsin, came out to the terrace.
From an adjoining room came a noise of angry voices, and General
Ivolgin, in loud tones, seemed to be trying to shout them down. Colia
rushed off at once to investigate the cause of the uproar.

"This is most interesting!" observed Evgenie Pavlovitch.

"I expect he knows all about it!" thought the prince.

"What, the son of Pavlicheff? And who may this son of Pavlicheff be?"
asked General Epanchin with surprise; and looking curiously around him,
he discovered that he alone had no clue to the mystery. Expectation and
suspense were on every face, with the exception of that of the prince,
who stood gravely wondering how an affair so entirely personal could
have awakened such lively and widespread interest in so short a time.

Aglaya went up to him with a peculiarly serious look

"It will be well," she said, "if you put an end to this affair yourself
AT ONCE: but you must allow us to be your witnesses. They want to throw
mud at you, prince, and you must be triumphantly vindicated. I give you
joy beforehand!"

"And I also wish for justice to be done, once for all," cried Madame
Epanchin, "about this impudent claim. Deal with them promptly, prince,
and don't spare them! I am sick of hearing about the affair, and many a
quarrel I have had in your cause. But I confess I am anxious to see what
happens, so do make them come out here, and we will remain. You have
heard people talking about it, no doubt?" she added, turning to Prince
S.

"Of course," said he. "I have heard it spoken about at your house, and I
am anxious to see these young men!"

"They are Nihilists, are they not?"

"No, they are not Nihilists," explained Lebedeff, who seemed much
excited. "This is another lot--a special group. According to my nephew
they are more advanced even than the Nihilists. You are quite wrong,
excellency, if you think that your presence will intimidate them;
nothing intimidates them. Educated men, learned men even, are to be
found among Nihilists; these go further, in that they are men of action.
The movement is, properly speaking, a de