bring him over!”
“I thought he might be useful. You know he is in love with Aglayahimself, now, and has written to her; he has even written to LizabethaProkofievna!”
“Oh! he’s not dangerous there!” cried Gania, laughing angrily. “However,I believe there is something of that sort in the air; he is very likelyto be in love, for he is a mere boy. But he won’t write anonymousletters to the old lady; that would be too audacious a thing for him toattempt; but I dare swear the very first thing he did was to show me upto Aglaya as a base deceiver and intriguer. I confess I was fool enoughto attempt something through him at first. I thought he would throwhimself into my service out of revengeful feelings towards the prince,the sly little beast! But I know him better now. As for the theft, hemay have heard of it from the widow in Petersburg, for if the old mancommitted himself to such an act, he can have done it for no otherobject but to give the money to her. Hippolyte said to me, without anyprelude, that the general had promised the widow four hundred roubles.Of course I understood, and the little wretch looked at me with a nastysort of satisfaction. I know him; you may depend upon it he went andtold mother too, for the pleasure of wounding her. And why doesn’t hedie, I should like to know? He undertook to die within three weeks,and here he is getting fatter. His cough is better, too. It was onlyyesterday that he said that was the second day he hadn’t coughed blood.”
“Well, turn him out!”
“I don’t _hate_, I despise him,” said Gania, grandly. “Well, I do hatehim, if you like!” he added, with a sudden access of rage, “and I’lltell him so to his face, even when he’s dying! If you had but read hisconfession--good Lord! what refinement of impudence! Oh, but I’d haveliked to whip him then and there, like a schoolboy, just to see howsurprised he would have been! Now he hates everybody because he--Oh, Isay, what on earth are they doing there! Listen to that noise! I reallycan’t stand this any longer. Ptitsin!” he cried, as the latter enteredthe room, “what in the name of goodness are we coming to? Listen tothat--”
But the noise came rapidly nearer, the door burst open, and old GeneralIvolgin, raging, furious, purple-faced, and trembling with anger, rushedin. He was followed by Nina Alexandrovna, Colia, and behind the rest,Hippolyte.
II.
Hippolyte had now been five days at the Ptitsins’. His flitting from theprince’s to these new quarters had been brought about quite naturallyand without many words. He did not quarrel with the prince--in fact,they seemed to part as friends. Gania, who had been hostile enough onthat eventful evening, had himself come to see him a couple of dayslater, probably in obedience to some sudden impulse. For some reason orother, Rogojin too had begun to visit the sick boy. The prince thoughtit might be better for him to move away from his (the prince’s) house.Hippolyte informed him, as he took his leave, that Ptitsin “had beenkind enough to offer him a corner,” and did not say a word about Gania,though Gania had procured his invitation, and himself came to fetch himaway. Gania noticed this at the time, and put it to Hippolyte’s debit onaccount.
Gania was right when he told his sister that Hippolyte was gettingbetter; that he was better was clear at the first glance. He entered theroom now last of all, deliberately, and with a disagreeable smile on hislips.
Nina Alexandrovna came in, looking frightened. She had changed muchsince we last saw her, half a year ago, and had grown thin and pale.Colia looked worried and perplexed. He could not understand the vagariesof the general, and knew nothing of the last achievement of that worthy,which had caused so much commotion in the house. But he could see thathis father had of late changed very much, and that he had begun tobehave in so extraordinary a fashion both at home and abroad that hewas not like the same man. What perplexed and disturbed him as much asanything was that his father had entirely given up drinking during thelast few days. Colia knew that he had quarrelled with both Lebedeff andthe prince, and had just bought a small bottle of vodka and brought ithome for his father.
“Really, mother,” he had assured Nina Alexandrovna upstairs, “really youhad better let him drink. He has not had a drop for three days; he mustbe suffering agonies--” The general now entered the room, threw the doorwide open, and stood on the threshold trembling with indignation.
“Look here, my dear sir,” he began, addressing Ptitsin in a very loudtone of voice; “if you have really made up your mind to sacrifice an oldman--your father too or at all events father of your wife--an old manwho has served his emperor--to a wretched little atheist like this, allI can say is, sir, my foot shall cease to tread your floors. Make yourchoice, sir; make your choice quickly, if you please! Me or this--screw!Yes, screw, sir; I said it accidentally, but let the word stand--thisscrew, for he screws and drills himself into my soul--”
“Hadn’t you better say corkscrew?” said Hippolyte.
“No, sir, _not_ corkscrew. I am a general, not a bottle, sir. Make yourchoice, sir--me or him.”
Here Colia handed him a chair, and he subsided into it, breathless withrage.
“Hadn’t you better--better--take a nap?” murmured the stupefied Ptitsin.
“A nap?” shrieked the general. “I am not drunk, sir; you insult me!I see,” he continued, rising, “I see that all are against me here.Enough--I go; but know, sirs--know that--”
He was not allowed to finish his sentence. Somebody pushed him back intohis chair, and begged him to be calm. Nina Alexandrovna trembled, andcried quietly. Gania retired to the window in disgust.
“But what have I done? What is his grievance?” asked Hippolyte,grinning.
“What have you done, indeed?” put in Nina Alexandrovna. “You ought to beashamed of yourself, teasing an old man like that--and in your position,too.”
“And pray what _is_ my position, madame? I have the greatest respect foryou, personally; but--”
“He’s a little screw,” cried the general; “he drills holes in my heartand soul. He wishes me to be a pervert to atheism. Know, you younggreenhorn, that I was covered with honours before ever you were born;and you are nothing better than a wretched little worm, torn in two withcoughing, and dying slowly of your own malice and unbelief. What didGavrila bring you over here for? They’re all against me, even to my ownson--all against me.”
“Oh, come--nonsense!” cried Gania; “if you did not go shaming us allover the town, things might be better for all parties.”
“What--shame you? I?--what do you mean, you young calf? I shame you? Ican only do you honour, sir; I cannot shame you.”
He jumped up from his chair in a fit of uncontrollable rage. Gania wasvery angry too.
“Honour, indeed!” said the latter, with contempt.
“What do you say, sir?” growled the general, taking a step towards him.
“I say that I have but to open my mouth, and you--”
Gania began, but did not finish. The two--father and son--stood beforeone another, both unspeakably agitated, especially Gania.
“Gania, Gania, reflect!” cried his mother, hurriedly.
“It’s all nonsense on both sides,” snapped out Varia. “Let them alone,mother.”
“It’s only for mother’s sake that I spare him,” said Gania, tragically.
“Speak!” said the general, beside himself with rage and excitement;“speak--under the penalty of a father’s curse!”
“Oh, father’s curse be hanged--you don’t frighten me that way!” saidGania. “Whose fault is it that you have been as mad as a March hare allthis week? It is just a week--you see, I count the days. Take carenow; don’t provoke me too much, or I’ll tell all. Why did you go to theEpanchins’ yesterday--tell me that? And you call yourself an oldman, too, with grey hair, and father of a family! H’m--nice sort of afather.”
“Be quiet, Gania,” cried Colia. “Shut up, you fool!”
“Yes, but how have I offended him?” repeated Hippolyte, still in thesame jeering voice. “Why does he call me a screw? You all heard it. Hecame to me himself and began telling me about some Captain Eropegoff.I don’t wis
h for your company, general. I always avoided you--you knowthat. What have I to do with Captain Eropegoff? All I did was to expressmy opinion that probably Captain Eropegoff never existed at all!”
“Of course he never existed!” Gania interrupted.
But the general only stood stupefied and gazed around in a dazed way.Gania’s speech had impressed him, with its terrible candour. For thefirst moment or two he could find no words to answer him, and it wasonly when Hippolyte burst out laughing, and said:
“There, you see! Even your own son supports my statement that therenever was such a person as Captain Eropegoff!” that the old fellowmuttered confusedly:
“Kapiton Eropegoff--not Captain Eropegoff!--Kapiton--majorretired--Eropegoff--Kapiton.”
“Kapiton didn’t exist either!” persisted Gania, maliciously.
“What? Didn’t exist?” cried the poor general, and a deep blush suffusedhis face.
“That’ll do, Gania!” cried Varia and Ptitsin.
“Shut up, Gania!” said Colia.
But this intercession seemed to rekindle the general.
“What did you mean, sir,