happened. He uttered an exclamation, his whole bulky
person staggered, rose from the ground, his legs kicking in the air, and
before the ladies had time to shriek, before any one had time to realise
how it had happened, the officer's massive figure went plop with a heavy
splash, and at once disappeared under the eddying water.

'Oh!' screamed the ladies with one voice. '_Mein Gott_!' was heard from
the other side. An instant passed... and a round head, all plastered
over with wet hair, showed above water, it was blowing bubbles, this
head; and floundering with two hands just at its very lips. 'He will be
drowned, save him! save him!' cried Anna Vassilyevna to Insarov, who was
standing with his legs apart on the bank, breathing heavily.

'He will swim out,' he answered with contemptuous and unsympathetic
indifference. 'Let us go on,' he added, taking Anna Vassilyevna by the
arm. 'Come, Uvar Ivanovitch, Elena Nikolaevna.'

'A--a--o--o' was heard at that instant, the plaint of the hapless German
who had managed to get hold of the rushes on the bank.

They all followed Insarov, and had to pass close by the party. But,
deprived of their leader, the rowdies were subdued and did not utter
a word; but one, the boldest of them, muttered, shaking his head
menacingly: 'All right... we shall see though... after that'; but one of
the others even took his hat off. Insarov struck them as formidable,
and rightly so; something evil, something dangerous could be seen in his
face. The Germans hastened to pull out their comrade, who, directly he
had his feet on dry ground, broke into tearful abuse and shouted after
the 'Russian scoundrels,' that he would make a complaint, that he would
go to Count Von Kizerits himself, and so on.

But the 'Russian scoundrels' paid no attention to his vociferations, and
hurried on as fast as they could to the castle. They were all silent, as
they walked through the garden, though Anna Vassilyevna sighed a little.
But when they reached the carriages and stood still, they broke into
an irrepressible, irresistible fit of Homeric laughter. First Shubin
exploded, shrieking as if he were mad, Bersenyev followed with his
gurgling guffaw, then Zoya fell into thin tinkling little trills, Anna
Vassilyevna too suddenly broke down, Elena could not help smiling, and
even Insarov at last could not resist it. But the loudest, longest, most
persistent laugh was Uvar Ivanovitch's; he laughed till his sides ached,
till h