ass
before him. Scarcely had Gregory emptied his before he fell forward on
the table.

"Good!" said Vaninka to her maid in a low voice: "the opium is taking
effect."

"What do you mean to do?" said Annouschka.

"You will soon see," was the answer.

The two moujiks followed the example of the master of the house, and
fell down side by side on the ground. Ivan was left struggling against
sleep, and trying to sing a drinking song; but soon his tongue refused
to obey him, his eyes closed in spite of him, and seeking the tune that
escaped him, and muttering words he was unable to pronounce, he fell
fast asleep near his companions.

Immediately Vaninka rose, fixed them with flashing eyes, and called them
by name one after another. There was no response.

Then she clapped her hands and cried joyfully, "The moment has come!"
Going to the back of the room, she brought thence an armful of straw,
placed it in a corner of the room, and did the same in the other
corners. She then took a flaming brand from the stove and set fire in
succession to the four corners of the room.

"What are you doing?" said Annouschka, wild with terror, trying to stop
her.

"I am going to bury our secret in the ashes of this house," answered
Vaninka.

"But my brother, my poor brother!" said the girl.

"Your brother is a wretch who has betrayed me, and we are lost if we do
not destroy him."

"Oh, my brother, my poor brother!"

"You can die with him if you like," said Vaninka, accompanying the
proposal with a smile which showed she would not have been sorry if
Annouschka had carried sisterly affection to that length.

"But look at the fire, madam--the fire!"

"Let us go, then," said Vaninka; and, dragging out the heart-broken
girl, she locked the door behind her and threw the key far away into the
snow.

"In the name of Heaven," said Annouschka, "let us go home quickly: I
cannot gaze upon this awful sight!"

"No, let us stay here!" said Vaninka, holding her back with a grasp
of almost masculine strength. "Let us stay until the house falls in on
them, so that we may be certain that not one of them escapes."

"Oh, my God!" cried Annouschka, falling on her knees, "have mercy upon
my poor brother, for death will hurry him unprepared into Thy presence."

"Yes, yes, pray; that is right," said Vaninka. "I wish to destroy their
bodies, not their souls."

Vaninka stood motionless, her arms crossed, brilliantly lit up by the
flames, while h