are being
circulated about you!' he would greet me one day. 'They say that you
poisoned your uncle and that on one occasion, when you were introduced
into a certain house, you sat the whole evening with your back to the
hostess and that she was so upset that she cried at the insult! What
awful nonsense! What fools could possibly believe such things!' Well,
and what do you think? A year after I quarrelled with this same friend,
and in his farewell letter to me he wrote, 'You who killed your own
uncle! You who were not ashamed to insult an honourable lady by sitting
with your back to her,' and so on and so on. Here are friends for you!"

Ostrodumov and Mashurina exchanged glances.

"Alexai Dmitritch!" Ostrodumov exclaimed in his heavy bass voice; he was
evidently anxious to avoid a useless discussion. "A letter has come from
Moscow, from Vassily Nikolaevitch."

Nejdanov trembled slightly and cast down his eyes.

"What does he say?" he asked at last.

"He wants us to go there with her." Ostrodumov indicated to Mashurina
with his eyebrows.

"Do they want her too?'

"Yes."

"Well, what's the difficulty?

"Why, money, of course."

Nejdanov got up from the bed and walked over to the window.

"How much do you want?"

"Not less than fifty roubles."

Nejdanov was silent.

"I have no money just now," he whispered at last, drumming his fingers
on the window pane, "but I could get some. Have you got the letter?"

"Yes, it... that is... certainly..."

"Why are you always trying to keep things from me?" Paklin exclaimed.
"Have I not deserved your confidence? Even if I were not fully in
sympathy with what you are undertaking, do you think for a moment that I
am in a position to turn around or gossip?"

"Without intending to, perhaps," Ostrodumov remarked.

"Neither with nor without intention! Miss Mashurina is looking at me
with a smile... but I say--"

"I am not smiling!" Mashurina burst out.

"But I say," Paklin went on, "that you have no tact. You are utterly
incapable of recognising your real friends. If a man can laugh, then you
think that he can't be serious--"

"Is it not so?" Mashurina snapped.

"You are in need of money, for instance," Paklin continued with new
force, paying no attention to Mashurina; "Nejdanov hasn't any. I could
get it for you."

Nejdanov wheeled round from the window.

"No, no. It is not necessary. I can get the money. I will draw some of
my allowance in advance. Now I reco