tears; perhaps I did shed
some indeed. I was at a complete loss what to do. I rushed to Stepan
Trofimovitch's, but the vexatious man still refused to open the door.
Nastasya informed me, in a reverent whisper, that he had gone to bed,
but I did not believe it. At Liza's house I succeeded in questioning the
servants. They confirmed the story of the elopement, but knew nothing
themselves. There was great commotion in the house; their mistress had
been attacked by fainting fits, and Mavriky Nikolaevitch was with her.
I did not feel it possible to ask for Mavriky Nikolaevitch. To my
inquiries about Pyotr Stepanovitch they told me that he had been in and
out continually of late, sometimes twice in the day. The servants were
sad, and showed particular respectfulness in speaking of Liza; they were
fond of her. That she was ruined, utterly ruined, I did not doubt;
but the psychological aspect of the matter I was utterly unable to
understand, especially after her scene with Stavrogin the previous day.
To run about the town and inquire at the houses of acquaintances, who
would, of course, by now have heard the news and be rejoicing at it,
seemed to me revolting, besides being humiliating for Liza. But, strange
to say, I ran to see Darya Pavlovna, though I was not admitted (no one
had been admitted into the house since the previous morning). I don't
know what I could have said to her and what made me run to her. From her
I went to her brother's. Shatov listened sullenly and in silence. I may
observe that I found him more gloomy than I had ever seen him before; he
was awfully preoccupied and seemed only to listen to me with an effort.
He said scarcely anything and began walking up and down his cell from
corner to corner, treading more noisily than usual. As I was going down
the stairs he shouted after me to go to Liputin's: "There you'll hear
everything." Yet I did not go to Liputin's, but after I'd gone a good
way towards home I turned back to Shatov's again, and, half opening the
door without going in, suggested to him laconically and with no kind of
explanation, "Won't you go to Marya Timofyevna to-day?" At this Shatov
swore at me, and I went away. I note here that I may not forget it that
he did purposely go that evening to the other end of the town to see
Marya Timofyevna, whom he had not seen for some time. He found her in
excellent health and spirits and Lebyadkin dead drunk, asleep on the
sofa in the first room. This was at