yself and for you. You see, prince, for once in my
life I wish to perform an absolutely honest action, that is, an action
with no ulterior motive; and I think I am hardly in a condition to talk
of it just at this moment, and--and--well, we'll discuss it another
time. Perhaps the matter may gain in clearness if we wait for two
or three days--just the two or three days which I must spend in
Petersburg."

Here he rose again from his chair, so that it seemed strange that he
should have thought it worth while to sit down at all.

The prince thought, too, that he looked vexed and annoyed, and not
nearly so friendly towards himself as he had been earlier in the night.

"I suppose you will go to the sufferer's bedside now?" he added.

"Yes, I am afraid..." began the prince.

"Oh, you needn't fear! He'll live another six weeks all right. Very
likely he will recover altogether; but I strongly advise you to pack him
off tomorrow."

"I think I may have offended him by saying nothing just now. I am afraid
he may suspect that I doubted his good faith,--about shooting himself,
you know. What do you think, Evgenie Pavlovitch?"

"Not a bit of it! You are much too good to him; you shouldn't care a
hang about what he thinks. I have heard of such things before, but never
came across, till tonight, a man who would actually shoot himself in
order to gain a vulgar notoriety, or blow out his brains for spite,
if he finds that people don't care to pat him on the back for his
sanguinary intentions. But what astonishes me more than anything is
the fellow's candid confession of weakness. You'd better get rid of him
tomorrow, in any case.

"Do you think he will make another attempt?"

"Oh no, not he, not now! But you have to be very careful with this
sort of gentleman. Crime is too often the last resource of these petty
nonentities. This young fellow is quite capable of cutting the throats
of ten people, simply for a lark, as he told us in his 'explanation.' I
assure you those confounded words of his will not let me sleep."

"I think you disturb yourself too much."

"What an extraordinary person you are, prince! Do you mean to say that
you doubt the fact that he is capable of murdering ten men?"

"I daren't say, one way or the other; all this is very strange--but--"

"Well, as you like, just as you like," said Evgenie Pavlovitch,
irritably. "Only you are such a plucky fellow, take care you don't get
included among the ten victims!"