he said to himself. 'She can never come before twelve: I will
think of something else for a quarter of an hour, or I shall break down
altogether. Before twelve she cannot possibly come.'

The door was opened, and in a light silk gown, all pale, all fresh,
young and joyful, Elena came in, and with a faint cry of delight she
fell on his breast.

'You are alive, you are mine,' she repeated, embracing and stroking
his head. He was almost swooning, breathless at such closeness, such
caresses, such bliss.

She sat down near him, holding him fast, and began to gaze at him with
that smiling, and caressing, and tender look, only to be seen shining in
the eyes of a loving woman.

Her face suddenly clouded over.

'How thin you have grown, my poor Dmitri,' she said, passing her hand
over his neck; 'what a beard you have.'

'And you have grown thin, my poor Elena,' he answered, catching her
fingers with his lips.

She shook her curls gaily.

'That's nothing. You shall see how soon we'll be strong again! The storm
has blown over, just as it blew over and passed away that day when we
met in the chapel. Now we are going to live.'

He answered her with a smile only.

'Ah, what a time we have had, Dmitri, what a cruel time! How can people
outlive those they love? I knew beforehand what Andrei Petrovitch would
say to me every day, I did really; my life seemed to ebb and flow with
yours. Welcome back, my Dmitri!'

He did not know what to say to her. He was longing to throw himself at
her feet.

'Another thing I observed,' she went on, pushing back his hair--'I made
so many observations all this time in my leisure--when any one is very,
very miserable, with what stupid attention he follows everything that's
going on about him! I really sometimes lost myself in gazing at a fly,
and all the while such chill and terror in my heart! But that's all
past, all past, isn't it? Everything's bright in the future, isn't it?'

'You are for me in the future,' answered Insarov, 'so it is bright for
me.'

'And for me too! But do you remember, when I was here, not the last
time--no, not the last time,' she repeated with an involuntary shudder,
'when we were talking, I spoke of death, I don't know why; I never
suspected then that it was keeping watch on us. But you are well now,
aren't you?'

'I'm much better, I'm nearly well.'

'You are well, you are not dead. Oh, how happy I am!'

A short silence followed.

'Elena?' said Insarov.