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‘I see you’re beginning to feel frightened again, sir.’

‘No, no, Vassily Ivanovitch; but consider yourself…’

‘Listen!’ shouted Lutchinov, ‘you drive me out of patience…. Either give me your word to marry her at once, or fight…or I’ll thrash you with my cane like a coward,–do you understand?’

‘Come into the garden,’ Rogatchov answered through his teeth.

But all at once the door opened, and the old nurse, Efimovna, utterly distracted, broke into the room, fell on her knees before Rogatchov, and clasped his legs….

‘My little master!’ she wailed, ‘my nursling… what is it you are about? Will you be the death of us poor wretches, your honour? Sure, he’ll kill you, darling! Only you say the word, you say the word, and we’ll make an end of him, the insolent fellow…. Pavel Afanasievitch, my baby-boy, for the love of God!’

A number of pale, excited faces showed in the door…there was even the red beard of the village elder…

‘Let me go, Efimovna, let me go!’ muttered Rogatchov.

‘I won’t, my own, I won’t. What are you about, sir, what are you about? What’ll Afanasey Lukitch say? Why, he’ll drive us all out of the light of day…. Why are you fellows standing still? Take the uninvited guest in hand and show him out of the house, so that not a trace be left of him.’

‘Rogatchov!’ Vassily Ivanovitch shouted menacingly.

‘You are crazy, Efimovna, you are shaming me, come, come…’ said Pavel Afanasievitch. ‘Go away, go away, in God’s name, and you others, off with you, do you hear?…’

Vassily Ivanovitch moved swiftly to the open window, took out a small silver whistle, blew lightly… Bourcier answered from close by. Lutchinov turned at once to Pavel Afanasievitch.

‘What’s to be the end of this farce?’

‘Vassily Ivanovitch, I will come to you to-morrow. What can I do with this crazy old woman?…’

‘Oh, I see it’s no good wasting words on you,’ said Vassily, and he swiftly raised his cane…

Pavel Afanasievitch broke loose, pushed Efimovna away, snatched up the sword, and rushed through another door into the garden.

Vassily dashed after him. They ran into a wooden summerhouse, painted cunningly after the Chinese fashion, shut themselves in, and drew their swords. Rogatchov had once taken lessons in fencing, but now he was scarcely capable of drawing a sword properly. The blades crossed. Vassily was obviously playing with Rogatchov’s sword. Pavel Afanasievitch was breathless and pale, and gazed in consternation into Lutchinov’s face.

Meanwhile, screams were heard in the garden; a crowd of people were running to the summerhouse. Suddenly Rogatchov heard the heart-rending wail of old age…he recognised the voice of his father. Afanasey Lukitch, bare-headed, with dishevelled hair, was running in front of them all, frantically waving his hands….

With a violent and unexpected turn of the blade Vassily sent the sword flying out of Pavel Afanasievitch’s hand.

‘Marry her, my boy,’ he said to him: ‘give over this foolery!’

‘I won’t marry her,’ whispered Rogatchov, and he shut his eyes, and shook all over.

Afanasey Lukitch began banging at the door of the summerhouse.

‘You won’t?’ shouted Vassily.

Rogatchov shook his head.

‘Well, damn you, then!’

Poor Pavel Afanasievitch fell dead: Lutchinov’s sword stabbed him to the heart… The door gave way; old Rogatchov burst into the summerhouse, but Vassily had already jumped out of window…

Two hours later he went into Olga Ivanovna’s room… She rushed in terror to meet him… He bowed to her in silence; took out his sword and pierced Pavel Afanasievitch’s portrait in the place of the heart. Olga shrieked and fell unconscious on the floor… Vassily went in to Anna Pavlovna. He found her in the oratory. ‘Mother,’ said he, ‘we are avenged.’ The poor old woman shuddered and went on praying.

Within a week Vassily had returned to Petersburg, and two years later he came back stricken with paralysis–tongue-tied. He found neither Anna Pavlovna nor Olga living, and soon after died himself in the arms of Yuditch, who fed him like a child, and was the only one who could understand his incoherent stuttering.

1846.