Speaker 1: Chapter two of The Permanent Husband by Fyodor Dostoevsky. This
Speaker 1: LibriVox recording is in the public domain. It was the
Speaker 1: third of July. The heat and closeness of the air
Speaker 1: had been quite unbearable. The day had been a busy
Speaker 1: one for Velchaninoff. He had been walking and driving about
Speaker 1: without rest, and he had still in prospect the visit
Speaker 1: in the evening to a certain state councilor who lived
Speaker 1: somewhere on the Chornaya Richka black stream, and whom he
Speaker 1: was anxious to drop in upon. Unexpectedly, at six o'clock,
Speaker 1: our hero issued from his house once more and trudged
Speaker 1: off to dine at a restaurant on the Nevsky near
Speaker 1: the Police Bridge, a second rate sort of place, but French.
Speaker 1: Here he took his usual corner and ordered his usual
Speaker 1: dinner and waited. He always had a rouble dinner and
Speaker 1: paid for his wine extra, which moderation he looked upon
Speaker 1: as a discret, each sacrifice to the temporary financial embarrassment
Speaker 1: under which he was suffering. He regularly went through the
Speaker 1: ceremony of wondering how he could bring himself to eat
Speaker 1: such nastiness, And yet as regularly he demolished every morsel,
Speaker 1: and with excellent show of appetite too, just as though
Speaker 1: he had eaten nothing for three days. This appetite can't
Speaker 1: be healthy, he murmured to himself, sometimes observing his own voracity. However,
Speaker 1: on this particular occasion, he sat down to his dinner
Speaker 1: in a miserably bad humor. He threw his hat angrily
Speaker 1: away somewhere, tipped his chair back, and reflected he was
Speaker 1: in the sort of humor that if his next neighbor
Speaker 1: dining at the little table near him were to rattle
Speaker 1: his plate, or if the boy serving him were to
Speaker 1: make any little blunder, or in fact, if any little
Speaker 1: petty annoyance were to put him out of a sudden,
Speaker 1: he was quite capable of shouting at the offender, and
Speaker 1: in fact kicking up a serious row on the smallest pretext.
Speaker 1: Soup was served to him. He took up his spoon
Speaker 1: and was about to commence operations when he suddenly threw
Speaker 1: it down again and started from his seat. An unexpected
Speaker 1: thought had struck him, and in an instant he had
Speaker 1: realized why he had been plunged in gloom and mental
Speaker 1: perturbation during the last few days. Goodness knows why he
Speaker 1: thus suddenly became inspired, as it were, with the truth.
Speaker 1: But so it was. He jumped from his chair, and
Speaker 1: in an instant it all stood out before him, as
Speaker 1: plain as his five fingers. It's all that hat, he
Speaker 1: muttered to himself. It's all simply and solely that damnable
Speaker 1: round hat with the crape band round it. That's the
Speaker 1: reason and cause of all my worries these last days.
Speaker 1: He began to think, and the more he thought, the
Speaker 1: more dejected he became, and the more astonishing appeared the
Speaker 1: remarkable circumstance of the hat. But hang it all, there
Speaker 1: is no circumstance, he growled to himself. What circumstance do
Speaker 1: I mean? There's been nothing in the nature of an
Speaker 1: event or occurrence. The fact of the matter was nearly
Speaker 1: a fortnight since he had met for the first time
Speaker 1: somewhere about the corner of the Podatchyavskya, a gentleman with
Speaker 1: crape round his hat. There was nothing particular about the man.
Speaker 1: He was just like all others. But as he passed Volchanyanov,
Speaker 1: he had stared at him so fixedly that it was
Speaker 1: impossible to avoid noticing him, and more than noticing observing
Speaker 1: him attentively. The man's face seemed to be familiar to Velchanyanov.
Speaker 1: He had evidently seen him somewhere and at some time
Speaker 1: or other. But one sees thousands of people during one's life,
Speaker 1: thought Velchaninov, one can't remember every face. So he had
Speaker 1: gone on his way, and before he was twenty yards further.
Speaker 1: To all appearances, he had forgotten all about the meeting,
Speaker 1: in spite of the strength of the first impression made
Speaker 1: upon him. And yet he had not forgotten, for the
Speaker 1: impression remained all day, and a very original impression. It was, too,
Speaker 1: a kind of objectless feeling of anger against He knew
Speaker 1: not what he remembered his exact feelings at this moment,
Speaker 1: a fortnight after the occurrence, how he had been puzzled
Speaker 1: by the angry nature of his sentiments at the time,
Speaker 1: then puzzled to such an extent that he had never
Speaker 1: for a moment connected his ill humor with the meeting
Speaker 1: of the morning, though he had felt as cross as
Speaker 1: possible all day. But the gentleman with the crape band
Speaker 1: had not lost much time about reminding Belchaonninov of his existence.
Speaker 1: For the very next day he met the latter again
Speaker 1: on the Nevsky prospect, and again he had stared in
Speaker 1: a peculiarly fixed way at him. Belchonninov flared up and
Speaker 1: spat on the ground in irritation Russian like, but a
Speaker 1: moment after he was wondering at his own wrath. There
Speaker 1: are faces, undoubtedly, he reflected, which filled one with disgust
Speaker 1: at first sight. But I certainly have met that fellow
Speaker 1: somewhere or other. Yes, I have met him before, he
Speaker 1: muttered again half an hour later. And again, as on
Speaker 1: the last occasion, he was in a vile humor all
Speaker 1: that evening, and even went so far as to have
Speaker 1: a bad dream in the night. And yet it never
Speaker 1: entered his head to imagine that the cause of his
Speaker 1: bad temper on both occasions had been the accidental meeting
Speaker 1: with the gentleman in mourning, although on the second evening
Speaker 1: he had remembered and thought of the chance encounter two
Speaker 1: or three times. He had even flared up angrily to
Speaker 1: think that such a dirty looking cad should presume to
Speaker 1: linger in his memory so long. He would have felt
Speaker 1: it humiliating to himself to imagine for a moment that
Speaker 1: such a wretched creature could possibly be in any way
Speaker 1: connected with the agitated condition of his feelings. Two days
Speaker 1: later the pair had met once more at the landing
Speaker 1: place of one of the small Neva ferry steamers. On
Speaker 1: the third occasion, Velchaonanov was ready to swear that the
Speaker 1: man recognized him and had pressed through the crowd towards him,
Speaker 1: had even dared to stretch out his hand and call
Speaker 1: him by name. As to this last fact, he was
Speaker 1: not quite certain. However, at all events, who the deuce is,
Speaker 1: he thought, Balchaonnanov, And why can't the idiot come up
Speaker 1: then speak to me if he really does recognize me,
Speaker 1: and if he so much wishes to do so. With
Speaker 1: these thoughts, Vilchonyanov had taken Adroshky and started off for
Speaker 1: the Smoy monastery, where his lawyer lived. Half an hour
Speaker 1: later he was engaged in his usual quarrel with that gentleman.
Speaker 1: But that same evening he was in a worse humor
Speaker 1: than any and his night was spent in fantastic dreams
Speaker 1: and imaginings which were anything but pleasant. I suppose it's bile,
Speaker 1: he concluded, as he paid his matudinal visit to the
Speaker 1: looking glass. This was the third meeting. Then for five
Speaker 1: days there was not a sign of the man. And yet,
Speaker 1: much to his distaste, Pilchaninoff could not, for the life
Speaker 1: of him avoid thinking of the man with the crape band.
Speaker 1: He caught himself musing over the fellow. What have I
Speaker 1: to do with him? He thought? What can his business
Speaker 1: in Saint Petersburg be? He looks busy? And whom is
Speaker 1: he in mourning? For he clearly recognizes me. But I
Speaker 1: don't know in the least who he is. And why
Speaker 1: do such people as he is put crape on their hats?
Speaker 1: It doesn't seem the thing for them. Somehow, I believe
Speaker 1: I shall recognize this fellow if I ever get a
Speaker 1: good close look at him. And there came over him
Speaker 1: that sensation we all know so well, the same feeling
Speaker 1: that one has when one can't, for the life of one,
Speaker 1: think of the required word. Every other word comes up,
Speaker 1: Associations with the right word come up. Occasions when one
Speaker 1: has used the word come up. One wanders round and
Speaker 1: round the immediate vicinity of the word wanted, But the
Speaker 1: actual word itself will not appear. Though you may break
Speaker 1: your head to get at it. Let's see now it
Speaker 1: was yes, some while since it was where on earth
Speaker 1: was it? There was a Oh devil, take whatever there
Speaker 1: was or wasn't there. What does it matter to me?
Speaker 1: He broke off angrily. Of a sudden, I am not
Speaker 1: going to lower myself by thinking of a little cad
Speaker 1: like that. He felt very angry. But when in the
Speaker 1: evening he remembered that he had been so upset and
Speaker 1: recollected the cause of his anger, he felt the disagreeable
Speaker 1: sensation of having been caught by some one doing something wrong.
Speaker 1: This fact puzzled and annoyed him. There must be some
Speaker 1: reason for my getting so angry that the mere recollection
Speaker 1: of that man's face, he thought, But he didn't finish
Speaker 1: thinking it out. But the next evening he was still
Speaker 1: more indignant, and this time he really thought with good cause.
Speaker 1: Such audacity is unparalleled, He said to himself. The fact
Speaker 1: of the matter is there had been a fourth meeting
Speaker 1: with the man of the crape hat band. The latter
Speaker 1: had apparently arisen from the earth and confronted him. But
Speaker 1: let me explain what had happened. It so chanced that
Speaker 1: Velchoonyanov had just met accidentally that very state Councilor mentioned
Speaker 1: a few pages back, whom he had been so anxious
Speaker 1: to see and on whom he had intended to pounce
Speaker 1: unexpectedly at his country house. This gentleman evidently avoided Belchonyanov,
Speaker 1: but at the same time was most necess to the
Speaker 1: latter in his lawsuit. Consequently, when Velchavanov met him, the
Speaker 1: one was delighted, while the other was very much the reverse.
Speaker 1: Velchaninov had immediately button holed him and walked down the
Speaker 1: street with him, talking, doing his very utmost to keep
Speaker 1: the sly old fox to the subject on which it
Speaker 1: was so necessary that he should be pumped. And it
Speaker 1: was just at this most important moment when Volchanov's intellect
Speaker 1: was all on the key viv to catch up the
Speaker 1: slightest hints of what he wished to get at, while
Speaker 1: the foxy old Councilor, aware of the fact, was doing
Speaker 1: his best to reveal nothing that the former, taking his
Speaker 1: eyes from his companion's face for one instant, beheld the
Speaker 1: gentleman of the crape hat band walking along the other
Speaker 1: side of the road and looking at him, nay watching him,
Speaker 1: evidently and apparently smiling. Devil take him said Velchaonnanov, bursting
Speaker 1: out into fury at once, while the old fox instantly disappeared.
Speaker 1: And I should have succeeded in another minute. Curse that
Speaker 1: dirty little hound. He's simply spying on me. I'll I'll
Speaker 1: hire somebody to I'll take my oath, he laughed at me.
Speaker 1: Damn him, I'll thrash him. I wish I had a
Speaker 1: stick with me. I'll I'll buy one. I won't leave
Speaker 1: this matter. So who the deuce is he? I will
Speaker 1: know who is he. At last, three days after this
Speaker 1: fourth encounter, we find Velchoninov sitting down to dinner at
Speaker 1: his restaurant, as recorded a page or two back, in
Speaker 1: a state of mind bordering upon the furious. He could
Speaker 1: not conceal the state of his feelings from himself. In
Speaker 1: spite of all his pride, he was obliged to confess
Speaker 1: at last that all his anxiety, his irritation, his state
Speaker 1: of agitation generally must undoubtedly be connected with and absolutely
Speaker 1: attribute to the appearance of the wretched looking creature with
Speaker 1: the crape hat band. In spite of his insignificance, I
Speaker 1: may be a hypochondriac, he reflected, and I may be
Speaker 1: inclined to make an elephant out of a gnat? But
Speaker 1: how does it help me? What use is it to
Speaker 1: me if I persuade myself to believe that perhaps all
Speaker 1: this is fancy? Why if every dirty little wretch like
Speaker 1: that is to have the power of upsetting a man
Speaker 1: like myself, why it's it's simply unbearable. Undoubtedly, at this
Speaker 1: last fifth encounter of to day, the elephant had proved
Speaker 1: himself a very small gnat. Indeed, the crape man had
Speaker 1: appeared suddenly as usual, and had passed by Volchoninov, but
Speaker 1: without looking up at him this time. Indeed, he had
Speaker 1: gone by with downcast eyes, and had even seemed anxious
Speaker 1: to pass unobserved, Volchonanov had turned rapidly round and shouted
Speaker 1: as loud as ever he could at him. Hey, he cried, you,
Speaker 1: crape hat band, you want to escape? Notice this time?
Speaker 1: Do you? Who are you? Both the question and the
Speaker 1: whole idea of calling after the man were absurdly foolish,
Speaker 1: and Velchonanov knew it. The moment he had said the words,
Speaker 1: the man had turned round, stopped for an instant, lost
Speaker 1: his head, smiled, half made up his mind to say
Speaker 1: something had waited half a minute and painful indecision, then
Speaker 1: twisted suddenly round again and bolted without a word. Velchonanov
Speaker 1: gazed after him in amazement. What if it be I
Speaker 1: that haunt him and not he me after all? He thought? However,
Speaker 1: Velchaonanov ate up his dinner and then drove off to
Speaker 1: pounce upon the town counselor at the latter's house if
Speaker 1: he could. The councilor was not in, and he was
Speaker 1: informed that he would scarcely be at home before three
Speaker 1: or four in the morning because he had gone to
Speaker 1: a name's day party. Belchaninov felt that this was too bad.
Speaker 1: In his rage, he determined to follow and hunt the
Speaker 1: fellow up. At the party. He actually took a droshky
Speaker 1: and started off with that wild idea, but luckily he
Speaker 1: thought better of it. On the way, got out of
Speaker 1: the vehicle and walked away towards the great theater near
Speaker 1: which he lived. He felt that he must have motion. Also,
Speaker 1: he must absolutely sleep well this coming night. In order
Speaker 1: to sleep, he must be tired. So he walked all
Speaker 1: the way home, a fairly long walk, and arrived there
Speaker 1: about half past ten. As tired as he could wish
Speaker 1: his lodging, which he had taken last March and had
Speaker 1: abused ever since, apologizing to himself for living in such
Speaker 1: a hole, and at the same time excusing himself for
Speaker 1: the fact by the reflection that it was only for
Speaker 1: a while, and that he had dropped quite accidentally into
Speaker 1: Saint Petersburg thanks to that cursed lawsuit. His lodging, I say,
Speaker 1: was by no means so bad as he made it
Speaker 1: out to be. The entrance certainly was a little dark
Speaker 1: and dirty looking, being just under the arch of the gateway.
Speaker 1: But he had two fine, large light rooms on the
Speaker 1: second floor, separated by the entrance hall. One of these
Speaker 1: rooms overlooked the yard and the other the street. Leading
Speaker 1: out of the former of these was a smaller room
Speaker 1: meant to be used as a bedroom, but Velchionanov had
Speaker 1: filled it with a disordered array of books and papers
Speaker 1: and preferred to sleep in one of the large rooms,
Speaker 1: the one overlooking the street. To wit his bed was
Speaker 1: made for him every day upon the large divan. The
Speaker 1: rooms were full of good furniture, and some valuable ornaments
Speaker 1: and pictures were scattered about, but the whole place was
Speaker 1: in dreadful disorder, the fact being that at this time
Speaker 1: Velchonnanov was without a regular servant. His one domestic had
Speaker 1: gone away to stay with her friends in the country.
Speaker 1: He thought of taking a man, but decided it was
Speaker 1: not worth while for a short time. Besides, he hated flunkeys,
Speaker 1: and ended by making arrangements with his Vornik's sister Martha,
Speaker 1: who was to come up every morning and do out
Speaker 1: his rooms, he leaving the key with her as he
Speaker 1: went out each day. Martha did absolutely nothing towards tidying
Speaker 1: the place and robbed him. Besides, but he didn't care.
Speaker 1: He liked to be alone in the house. But solitude
Speaker 1: is all very well within certain limits, and Belchaninov found
Speaker 1: that his nerves could not stand all this sort of
Speaker 1: thing at certain bilious moments, and it so fell out
Speaker 1: that he began to loathe his room more and more
Speaker 1: every time he entered it. However, on this particular evening
Speaker 1: he hardly gave himself time to undress. He threw himself
Speaker 1: on his bed and determined that nothing should make him
Speaker 1: think of anything, and that he would all asleep at once.
Speaker 1: And strangely enough, his head had hardly touched the pillow
Speaker 1: before he actually was asleep, and this was the first
Speaker 1: time for a month past that such a thing had occurred.
Speaker 1: He awoke at about two considerably agitated. He had dreamed
Speaker 1: certain very strange dreams, reminding him of the incoherent wanderings
Speaker 1: of fever. The subject seemed to be some crime which
Speaker 1: he had committed and concealed, but of which he was
Speaker 1: accused by a continuous flow of people who swarmed into
Speaker 1: his rooms for the purpose. The crowd which had already
Speaker 1: collected within was enormous, and yet they continued to pour
Speaker 1: in in such numbers that the door was never shut
Speaker 1: for an instant. But his whole interest seemed to center
Speaker 1: in one strange looking individual, a man who seemed to
Speaker 1: have once been very closely and intimately connected with him,
Speaker 1: but who had died long ago and now reappeared for
Speaker 1: some reason or other. The most tormenting part of the
Speaker 1: matter was that Velchaninov could not recollect who this man was.
Speaker 1: He could not remember his name, though he recollected the
Speaker 1: fact that he had once dearly loved him. All the
Speaker 1: rest of the people swarming into the room seemed to
Speaker 1: be waiting for the final word of this man, either
Speaker 1: the condemnation or the justification of Velchaninov was to be
Speaker 1: pronounced by him, and everyone was impatiently waiting to hear
Speaker 1: him speak. But he sat motionless at the table and
Speaker 1: would not open his lips to say a word of
Speaker 1: any sort. The uproar continued, the general annoyance increased, and
Speaker 1: suddenly Velchaninov himself strode up to the man in a
Speaker 1: fury and smote him. Because he would not speak, Velchanov
Speaker 1: felt the strangest satisfaction in having thus smitten him. His
Speaker 1: heart seemed to freeze in horror for what he had
Speaker 1: done and an acute suffering for the c involved in
Speaker 1: his action. But in that very sensation of freezing at
Speaker 1: the heart lay the sense of satisfaction, which he felt.
Speaker 1: Exasperated more and more, he struck the man a second
Speaker 1: and a third time, and then, in a sort of
Speaker 1: intoxication of fury and terror which amounted to actual insanity,
Speaker 1: and yet bore within it a germ of delightful satisfaction,
Speaker 1: he ceased to count his blows and reined them in
Speaker 1: without ceasing. He felt he must destroy, annihilate, demolish all this.
Speaker 1: Suddenly something strange happened. Everyone present had given a dreadful
Speaker 1: cry and turned expectantly towards the door, while at the
Speaker 1: same moment there came three terrific peals of the hall bell,
Speaker 1: so violent that it appeared someone was anxious to pull
Speaker 1: the bell handle out. Velchanyanov awoke, started up in a
Speaker 1: second and made for the door. He was persuaded that
Speaker 1: the ring at the bell had been no dream or illusion,
Speaker 1: but that someone had actually rung and was at that
Speaker 1: moment standing at the front door. It would be too
Speaker 1: unnatural if such a clear and unmistakable ring should turn
Speaker 1: out to be nothing but an item of a dream,
Speaker 1: he thought, But to his surprise it proved that such
Speaker 1: was nevertheless the actual state of the case. He opened
Speaker 1: the door and went out on to the landing. He
Speaker 1: looked downstairs and about him, but there was not a
Speaker 1: soul to be seen. The bell hung motionless. Surprised but pleased,
Speaker 1: he returned into his room. He lit a candle and
Speaker 1: suddenly remembered that he had left the door closed, but
Speaker 1: not locked and chained. He had often returned home before
Speaker 1: this evening and forgotten to lock the door behind him,
Speaker 1: without attaching any special significance to the fact his maid
Speaker 1: had often respectfully protested against such neglect while with him.
Speaker 1: He now returned to the entrance hall to make the
Speaker 1: door fast. Before doing so, he opened it, however, and
Speaker 1: had one more look about the stairs. He then shut
Speaker 1: the door and fastened the chain and hook, but did
Speaker 1: not take the trouble to turn the key in the lock.
Speaker 1: Some clock struck half past two at this moment, so
Speaker 1: that he had had three hours sleep. More or less,
Speaker 1: his dream had agitated him to such an extent that
Speaker 1: he felt unwilling to lie down again at once. He
Speaker 1: decided to walk up and down the room two or
Speaker 1: three times, first, just long enough to smoke a cigar.
Speaker 1: Having half dressed himself, he went to the window, drew
Speaker 1: the heavy curtains aside, and pulled up one of the blinds.
Speaker 1: It was almost full daylight. These light summer nights of
Speaker 1: Saint Petersburg always had a bad effect upon his nerves,
Speaker 1: and of late they had added to the causes of
Speaker 1: his sleeplessness, so that a few weeks since he had
Speaker 1: invested in these things curtains which completely shut out the
Speaker 1: light when drawn close, having thus let in the sunshine
Speaker 1: quite Oblivious of the lighted candle on the table, he
Speaker 1: commenced to walk up and down the room, still feeling
Speaker 1: the burden of his dream upon him. Its impression was
Speaker 1: even now at work upon his mind. He still felt
Speaker 1: a painful, guilty sensation about him, caused by the fact
Speaker 1: that he had allowed himself to raise his hand against
Speaker 1: that man, then strike him. But my dear sir, he
Speaker 1: argued with himself, it was not a man at all.
Speaker 1: The whole thing was a dream. What's the use of
Speaker 1: worrying yourself for nothing? Ilchaninoff now became obstinately convinced that
Speaker 1: he was a sick man, and that to his sickly
Speaker 1: state of body was to be attributed all his perturbation
Speaker 1: of mind. He was an invalid. It had always been
Speaker 1: a weak point with Velchaoninov that he hated to think
Speaker 1: of himself as growing old or in firm, and yet
Speaker 1: in his moments of anger he loved to exaggerate one
Speaker 1: or the other in order to worry himself. It's old age,
Speaker 1: he now muttered to himself, as he paced up and
Speaker 1: down the room. I'm becoming an old fogy. That's the
Speaker 1: fact of the matter. I'm losing my memory, see ghosts
Speaker 1: and have dreams, and hear bells ring. Curse it all.
Speaker 1: I know these dreams of old. They always herald fever
Speaker 1: with me. I dare swear that the whole business of
Speaker 1: this man with the crape hat band has been a
Speaker 1: dream too. I was perfectly right yesterday. He isn't haunting
Speaker 1: me the least bit in the world. It is I
Speaker 1: that am haunting him. I've invented a pretty little ghost
Speaker 1: story about him, and then climb under the table in
Speaker 1: terror at my own creation. Why do I call him
Speaker 1: a little cad too? He may be a most respectable individual,
Speaker 1: for all I know. His face is a disagreeable one, certainly,
Speaker 1: though there is nothing hideous about it. He dresses just
Speaker 1: like anyone else. I don't know. There's something about his look.
Speaker 1: There I go again. What the devil have I got
Speaker 1: to do with his look? What a fool I am,
Speaker 1: just as though I could not live without the dirty
Speaker 1: little wretch. Curse him. Among other thoughts connected with this
Speaker 1: haunting crape man was one which puzzled Volchoonyanov immensely. He
Speaker 1: felt convinced that, at some time or other he had
Speaker 1: known the man and known him very intimately, and that
Speaker 1: now the latter, when meeting him, always laughed at him
Speaker 1: because he was aware of some great secret of his
Speaker 1: former life, or because he was amused to see Balchonyanov's
Speaker 1: present humiliating condition of poverty. Mechanically, our hero approached the
Speaker 1: window in order to get a breath of fresh air,
Speaker 1: when he was suddenly seized with a violent fit of shuddering.
Speaker 1: The feeling came over him that something unusual and un
Speaker 1: heard of was happening before his very eyes. He had
Speaker 1: not had time to open the window when something he
Speaker 1: saw caused him to slip behind the corner of the
Speaker 1: curtain and hide himself. The man in the crape hat
Speaker 1: band was standing on the opposite side of the street.
Speaker 1: He was standing with his face turned directly towards Velchananov's window,
Speaker 1: but evidently unaware of the latter's presence there, and was
Speaker 1: carefully examining the house and apparently considering some question connected
Speaker 1: with it. He seemed to come to a decision after
Speaker 1: a moment's thought, and raised his finger to his forehead.
Speaker 1: Then he looked quietly about him and ran swiftly across
Speaker 1: the road on tiptoe. He reached the gate and entered it.
Speaker 1: This gate was left open on summer nights until two
Speaker 1: or three in the morning. He's coming to me, muttered Vlchonanov,
Speaker 1: and with equal caution, he left the window and ran
Speaker 1: to the front door. Arrived in the He stood in
Speaker 1: breathless expectation before the door and placed his trembling hand
Speaker 1: carefully upon the hook, which he had fastened a few
Speaker 1: minutes since, and stood listening for the tread of the
Speaker 1: expected footfall on the stairs. His heart was beating so
Speaker 1: loud that he was afraid he might miss the sound
Speaker 1: of the cautious steps approaching. He could understand nothing of
Speaker 1: what was happening, but it seemed clear that his dream
Speaker 1: was about to be realized. Velchaninov was naturally brave. He
Speaker 1: loved risk for its own sake, and very often ran
Speaker 1: into useless dangers with no one by to see, to
Speaker 1: please himself. But this was different. Somehow he was not himself,
Speaker 1: and yet he was as brave as ever, but with
Speaker 1: something added. He made out every movement of the stranger
Speaker 1: from behind his own door. Ah, there he comes, he's
Speaker 1: on the steps. Now, here he comes, he's up. Now,
Speaker 1: now he's looking down, sir, and all about and crouching down. Aha,
Speaker 1: there's his hand on the door handle. He's trying it.
Speaker 1: He thought he would find it unlocked. Then he must
Speaker 1: know that I do leave it unlocked. Sometimes he's trying
Speaker 1: it again. I suppose he thinks the hook may slip.
Speaker 1: He doesn't care to go away without doing anything. So
Speaker 1: ran Velchonyanov's thoughts, and so indeed followed the man's actions.
Speaker 1: There was no doubt about it. Someone was certainly standing
Speaker 1: outside and trying the door handle carefully and cautiously, pulling
Speaker 1: at the door itself, and in fact endeavoring to effect
Speaker 1: an entrance. Equally sure was it that the person so
Speaker 1: doing must have his own object in trying to sneak
Speaker 1: into another man's house at dead of night. But Velchonyanov's
Speaker 1: plan of action was laid, and he awaited the proper moment.
Speaker 1: He was anxious to seize a good opportunity, slipped the
Speaker 1: hook and chain open the door wide suddenly and stand
Speaker 1: face to face with this bugbear, and then ask him
Speaker 1: what the deuce he wanted. There no sooner devised than executed.
Speaker 1: Awaiting the proper moment, Velchaninov suddenly slipped the hook, pushed
Speaker 1: the door wide, and almost tumbled over the man with
Speaker 1: the crape hatband end of Chapter two.