professor in the spectacles.

Once more Ikonin opened his mouth, and once more remained silent.

"Come! You are not the only one to be examined. Do you mean to answer
or do you not?" said the youngish professor, but Ikonin did not even
look at him. He was gazing fixedly at his ticket and uttered not a
single word. The professor in the spectacles scanned him through his
glasses, then over them, then without them (for, indeed, he had time
to take them off, to wipe their lenses carefully, and to replace them).
Still not a word from Ikonin. All at once, however, a smile spread
itself over his face, and he gave his long hair another shake. Next he
reached across the table, laid down his ticket, looked at each of the
professors in turn and then at myself, and finally, wheeling round on
his heels, made a gesture with his hand and returned to the desks. The
professors stared blankly at one another.

"Bless the fellow!" said the youngish professor. "What an original!"

It was now my turn to move towards the table, but the professors went on
talking in undertones among themselves, as though they were unaware of
my presence. At the moment, I felt firmly persuaded that the three of
them were engrossed solely with the question of whether I should merely
PASS the examination or whether I should pass it WELL, and that it was
only swagger which made them pretend that they did not care either way,
and behave as though they had not seen me.

When at length the professor in the spectacles turned to me with an air
of indifference, and invited me to answer, I felt hurt, as I looked at
him, to think that he should have so undeceived me: wherefore I answered
brokenly at first. In time, however, things came easier to my tongue,
and, inasmuch as all the questions bore upon Russian history (which I
knew thoroughly), I ended with eclat, and even went so far, in my desire
to convince the professors that I was not Ikonin and that they must not
in anyway confound me with him, as to offer to draw a second ticket. The
professor in the spectacles, however, merely nodded his head, said "That
will do," and marked something in his register. On returning to the
desks, I at once learnt from the gymnasium men (who somehow seemed to
know everything) that I had been placed fifth.

XI. MY EXAMINATION IN MATHEMATICS

AT the subsequent examinations, I made several new acquaintances in
addition to the Graps (whom I considered unworthy of my notice) and