ours? Why? Is it because of the clothes I wear, or of my height,
or of my walk, or what? Well, damn and confound him!" finished Basil,
snapping his fingers.

"We must be patient," said Masha, threading her needle.

"You are so--"

"It is my nerves that won't stand it, that's all."

At this moment the door of Grandmamma's room banged, and Gasha's angry
voice could be heard as she came up the stairs.

"There!" she muttered with a gesture of her hands. "Try to please people
when even they themselves do not know what they want, and it is a cursed
life--sheer hard labour, and nothing else! If only a certain thing would
happen!--though God forgive me for thinking it!"

"Good evening, Agatha Michaelovna," said Basil, rising to greet her.

"You here?" she answered brusquely as she stared at him, "That is not
very much to your credit. What do you come here for? Is the maids' room
a proper place for men?"

"I wanted to see how you were," said Basil soothingly.

"I shall soon be breathing my last--THAT'S how I am!" cried Gasha, still
greatly incensed.

Basil laughed.

"Oh, there's nothing to laugh at when I say that I shall soon be dead.
But that's how it will be, all the same. Just look at the drunkard!
Marry her, would he? The fool! Come, get out of here!" and, with a stamp
of her foot on the floor, Gasha retreated to her own room, and banged
the door behind her until the window rattled again. For a while she
could be heard scolding at everything, flinging dresses and other things
about, and pulling the ears of her favourite cat. Then the door opened
again, and puss, mewing pitifully, was flung forth by the tail.

"I had better come another time for tea," said Basil in a whisper--"at
some better time for our meeting."

"No, no!" put in Madesha. "I'll go and fetch the urn at once."

"I mean to put an end to things soon," went on Basil, seating himself
beside Masha as soon as ever Madesha had left the room. "I had much
better go straight to the Countess, and say 'so-and-so' or I will throw
up my situation and go off into the world. Oh dear, oh dear!"

"And am I to remain here?"

"Ah, there's the difficulty--that's what I feel so badly about, You have
been my sweetheart so long, you see. Ah, dear me!"

"Why don't you bring me your shirts to wash, Basil?" asked Masha after a
pause, during which she had been inspecting his wrist-bands.

At this moment Grandmamma's bell rang, and Gasha issued from her room
again.