s
honour last night that he would pay you the fifty marks to-day, and, in my
opinion, since he has been the means of your losing the Gigerl after all,
he ought to be made to pay the money."

"And where can he get fifty marks to pay me?" inquired Fischelowitz with
careless good-humour.

"Where he got the doll, I suppose," said Akulina, triumphantly completing
the vicious circle in which she caused her logic to move.

Fischelowitz smiled as he pushed away his cup, rose and lighted a fresh
cigarette.

"You are a very good housekeeper, Akulina, my love," he observed. "You
always know how the money goes."

"That is more than can be said for some people," laughed Akulina. "But
never mind, Christian Gregorovitch, your wife is only a weak woman, but
she can take care for two, never fear!"

Fischelowitz was of the same opinion as he, at last, took his hat and left
the house. To him, the whole affair had a pleasant savour of humour about
it, and he was by no means so much disturbed as Johann Schmidt or Vjera.
He had lived in Munich many years and understood very well the way in
which things are managed in the good-natured Bavarian capital. A night in
the police-station in the month of May seemed by no means such a terrible
affair, certainly not a matter involving any great suffering to any one
concerned. Moreover it could not be helped, a consideration which, when
available, was a great favourite with the rotund tobacconist. Whatever the
Count had done on the previous night, he said to himself, was done past
undoing; and though, if he had found Akulina awake when he returned from
spending the evening with his friend, and if she had then told him what
had happened, he would certainly have made haste to get the Count
released--yet, since Akulina had been sound asleep, he had necessarily
gone to bed in ignorance of the story, to the temporary inconvenience of
the arrested pair.

He was not long in procuring an order for the Count's release, but
Dumnoff's case seemed to be considered as by far the graver of the two,
since he had actually been guilty of grasping the sacred, green legs of
two policemen, at the time in the execution of their duty, and of
violently turning the aforesaid policemen upside down in the public room
of an eating-house. It was, indeed, reckoned as favourable to him that he
had returned and submitted to being handcuffed without offering further
resistance, but it might have gone hard with him if Fischelo