he 'keeps her in order' with the whip. You must inspire a woman with respect, he says. What I can't understandis how Shatov goes on living above him. Alexey Nilitch has only been three days with them. They were acquainted in Petersburg, and
now he's taken the lodge to get away from the disturbance."
"Is this all true?" said Stepan Trofimovitch, addressing the engineer.
"You do gossip a lot, Liputin," the latter muttered wrathfully.
"Mysteries, secrets! Where have all these mysteries and secrets among us sprung from?" Stepan Trofimovitch could not refrain from
exclaiming.
The engineer frowned, flushed red, shrugged his shoulders and went out of the room.
"Alexey Nilitch positively snatched the whip out of his hand, broke it and threw it out of the window, and they had a violent quarrel," added Liputin.
"Why are you chattering, Liputin; it's stupid. What for?" Alexey Nilitch turned again instantly.
"Why be so modest and conceal the generous impulses of one's soul; that is, of your soul? I'm not speaking of my own."
"How stupid it is... and quite unnecessary. Lebyadkin's stupid and quite worthless--and no use to the cause, and... utterly mischievous. Why do you keep babbling all sorts of things? I'm going."
"Oh, what a pity!" cried Liputin with a candid smile, "or I'd have amused you with another little story, Stepan Trofimovitch. I came, indeed, on purpose to tell you, though I dare say you've heard it already. Well, till another time, Alexey Nilitch is in such a hurry. Good-bye for the present. The story concerns Varvara Petrovna. She amused me the day before yesterday; she sent for me on purpose. It's simply killing. Good-bye."
But at this Stepan Trofimovitch absolutely would not let him go. He seized him by the shoulders, turned him sharply back into the
room, and sat him down in a chair. Liputin was positively scared.
"Why, to be sure," he began, looking warily at Stepan Trofimovitch from his chair, "she suddenly sent for me and asked me 'confidentially' my private opinion, whether Nikolay Vsyevolodovitch is mad or in his right mind. Isn't that astonishing?"
"You're out of your mind!" muttered Stepan Trofimovitch, and suddenly, as though he were beside himself: "Liputin, you know
perfectly well that you only came here to tell me something insulting of that sort and... something worse!"
In a flash, I recalled his conjecture that Liputin knew not only more than we did about our affair, but something else which we
40
should never know.
"Upon my word, Stepan Trofimovitch," muttered Liputin, seeming greatly alarmed, "upon my word..."
"Hold your tongue and begin! I beg you, Mr. Kirillov, to come back too, and be present. I earnestly beg you! Sit down, and you, Liputin, begin directly, simply and without any excuses."
"If I had only known it would upset you so much I wouldn't have begun at all. And of course I thought you knew all about it from
Varvara Petrovna herself."
"You didn't think that at all. Begin, begin, I tell you."
"Only do me the favour to sit down yourself, or how can I sit here when you are running about before me in such excitement. I can't speak coherently."
Stepan Trofimovitch restrained himself and sank impressively into an easy chair. The engineer stared gloomily at the floor. Liputin
looked at them with intense enjoyment,
"How am I to begin?... I'm too overwhelmed...." VI
The day before yesterday a servant was suddenly sent to me: 'You are asked to call at twelve o'clock,' said he. Can you fancy such a thing? I threw aside my work, and precisely at midday yesterday I was ringing at the bell. I was let into the drawing room; I waited
a minute--she came in; she made me sit down and sat down herself, opposite. I sat down, and I couldn't believe it; you know how she has always treated me. She began at once without beating about the bush, you know her way. 'You remember,' she said, 'that four years ago when Nikolay Vsyevolodovitch was ill he did some strange things which made all the town wonder till the position was explained. One of those actions concerned you personally. When Nikolay Vsyevolodovitch recovered he went at my request to
call on you. I know that he talked to you several times before, too. Tell me openly and candidly what you... (she faltered a little at this point) what you thought of Nikolay Vsyevolodovitch then... what was your view of him altogether... what idea you were able to form of him at that time... and still have?'
"Here she was completely confused, so that she paused for a whole minute, and suddenly flushed. I was alarmed. She began again--
touchingly is not quite the word, it's not applicable to her--but in a very impressive tone:
"'I want you,' she said, 'to understand me clearly and without mistake. I've sent for you now because I look upon you as a keen-sight- ed and quick-witted man, qualified to make accurate observations.' (What compliments!) 'You'll understand too,' she said, 'that I am a mother appealing to you.... Nikolay Vsyevolodovitch has suffered some calamities and has passed through many changes of fortune in his life. All that,' she said, 'might well have affected the state of his mind. I'm not speaking of madness, of course,' she said, 'that's quite out of the question!' (This was uttered proudly and resolutely.) 'But there might be something strange, something peculiar,
some turn of thought, a tendency to some particular way of looking at things.' (Those were her exact words, and I admired, Stepan Trofimovitch, the exactness with which Varvara Petrovna can put things. She's a lady of superior intellect!) 'I have noticed in him, anyway,' she said, 'a perpetual restlessness and a tendency to peculiar impulses. But I am a mother and you are an impartial spectator, and therefore qualified with your intelligence to form a more impartial opinion. I implore you, in fact' (yes, that word, 'implore' was uttered!), 'to tell me the whole truth, without mincing matters. And if you will give me your word never to forget that I have spoken to you in confidence, you may reckon upon my always being ready to seize every opportunity in the future to show my gratitude.' Well, what do you say to that?"
"You have... so amazed me..." faltered Stepan Trofimovitch, "that I don't believe you."
"Yes, observe, observe," cried Liputin, as though he had not heard Stepan Trofimovitch, "observe what must be her agitation and uneasiness if she stoops from her grandeur to appeal to a man like me, and even condescends to beg me to keep it secret. What do you call that? Hasn't she received some news of Nikolay Vsyevolodovitch, something unexpected?"
"I don't know... of news of any sort... I haven't seen her for some days, but... but I must say..." lisped Stepan Trofimovitch, evidently hardly able to think clearly, "but I must say, Liputin, that if it was said to you in confidence, and here you're telling it before every one..."
"Absolutely in confidence! But God strike me dead if I... But as for telling it here... what does it matter? Are we strangers, even
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Alexey Nilitch?"
"I don't share that attitude. No doubt we three here will keep the secret, but I'm
