ve you. I give it
up.... But I refuse the ten thousand roubles. Good-bye."

"Wait five minutes more, Mr. Burdovsky," said Gavrila Ardalionovitch
pleasantly. "I have more to say. Some rather curious and important facts
have come to light, and it is absolutely necessary, in my opinion, that
you should hear them. You will not regret, I fancy, to have the whole
matter thoroughly cleared up."

Burdovsky silently resumed his seat, and bent his head as though in
profound thought. His friend, Lebedeff's nephew, who had risen to
accompany him, also sat down again. He seemed much disappointed, though
as self-confident as ever. Hippolyte looked dejected and sulky, as well
as surprised. He had just been attacked by a violent fit of coughing,
so that his handkerchief was stained with blood. The boxer looked
thoroughly frightened.

"Oh, Antip!" cried he in a miserable voice, "I did say to you the
other day--the day before yesterday--that perhaps you were not really
Pavlicheff's son!"

There were sounds of half-smothered laughter at this.

"Now, that is a valuable piece of information, Mr. Keller," replied
Gania. "However that may be, I have private information which convinces
me that Mr. Burdovsky, though doubtless aware of the date of his birth,
knew nothing at all about Pavlicheff's sojourn abroad. Indeed, he passed
the greater part of his life out of Russia, returning at intervals for
short visits. The journey in question is in itself too unimportant for
his friends to recollect it after more than twenty years; and of course
Mr. Burdovsky could have known nothing about it, for he was not born.
As the event has proved, it was not impossible to find evidence of his
absence, though I must confess that chance has helped me in a quest
which might very well have come to nothing. It was really almost
impossible for Burdovsky or Tchebaroff to discover these facts, even if
it had entered their heads to try. Naturally they never dreamt..."

Here the voice of Hippolyte suddenly intervened.

"Allow me, Mr. Ivolgin," he said irritably. "What is the good of all
this rigmarole? Pardon me. All is now clear, and we acknowledge the
truth of your main point. Why go into these tedious details? You wish
perhaps to boast of the cleverness of your investigation, to cry up your
talents as detective? Or perhaps your intention is to excuse Burdovsky,
by roving that he took up the matter in ignorance? Well, I consider that
extremely impudent on your