FullReads

* * * * *

A few days after I happened to be passing through one of the arcades of the Gostinny Dvor. It was Saturday; there were crowds of people shopping; on all sides, in the midst of the pushing and crushing, the shopmen kept shouting to people to buy. Having bought what I wanted, I was thinking of nothing but getting away from their teasing importunity as soon as possible–when all at once I halted involuntarily: in a fruit shop I caught sight of my comrade’s charmer–Musa, Musa Pavlovna! She was standing, profile to me, and seemed to be waiting for something. After a moment’s hesitation I made up my mind to go up to her and speak. But I had hardly passed through the doorway of the shop and taken off my cap, when she tottered back dismayed, turned quickly to an old man in a frieze cloak, for whom the shopman was weighing out a pound of raisins, and clutched at his arm, as though fleeing to put herself under his protection. The latter, in his turn, wheeled round facing her–and, imagine my amazement, I recognised him as Punin!

Yes, it was he; there were his inflamed eyes, his full lips, his soft, overhanging nose. He had, in fact, changed little during the last seven years; his face was a little flabbier, perhaps.

‘Nikander Vavilitch!’ I cried. ‘Don’t you know me?’ Punin started, opened his mouth, stared at me….

‘I haven’t the honour,’ he was beginning–and all at once he piped out shrilly: ‘The little master of Troitsky (my grandmother’s property was called Troitsky)! Can it be the little master of Troitsky?’

The pound of raisins tumbled out of his hands.

‘It really is,’ I answered, and, picking up Punin’s purchase from the ground, I kissed him.

He was breathless with delight and excitement; he almost cried, removed his cap–which enabled me to satisfy myself that the last traces of hair had vanished from his ‘egg’–took a handkerchief out of it, blew his nose, poked the cap into his bosom with the raisins, put it on again, again dropped the raisins…. I don’t know how Musa was behaving all this time, I tried not to look at her. I don’t imagine Punin’s agitation proceeded from any extreme attachment to my person; it was simply that his nature could not stand the slightest unexpected shock. The nervous excitability of these poor devils!

‘Come and see us, my dear boy,’ he faltered at last; ‘you won’t be too proud to visit our humble nest? You’re a student, I see …’

‘On the contrary, I shall be delighted, really.’

‘Are you independent now?’

‘Perfectly independent.’

‘That’s capital! How pleased Paramon Semyonitch will be! To-day he’ll be home earlier than usual, and madame lets her, too, off for Saturdays. But, stop, excuse me, I am quite forgetting myself. Of course, you don’t know our niece!’

I hastened to slip in that I had not yet had the pleasure.

‘Of course, of course! How could you know her! Musotchka … Take note, my dear sir, this girl’s name is Musa–and it’s not a nickname, but her real name … Isn’t that a predestination? Musotchka, I want to introduce you to Mr. … Mr. …’

‘B.,’ I prompted.

‘B.,’ he repeated. ‘Musotchka, listen! You see before you the most excellent, most delightful of young men. Fate threw us together when he was still in years of boyhood! I beg you to look on him as a friend!’

I swung off a low bow. Musa, red as a poppy, flashed a look on me from under her eyelids, and dropped them immediately.

‘Ah!’ thought I, ‘you ‘re one of those who in difficult moments don’t turn pale, but red; that must be made a note of.’

‘You must be indulgent, she’s not a fine lady,’ observed Punin, and he went out of the shop into the street; Musa and I followed him.