t..." cried Liputin.
"I always knew it was the only one, I knew it all along." And without
waiting for any reply he turned and quickly vanished into the darkness.

Pyotr Stepanovitch pondered a little.

"No, no one will turn traitor," he concluded with decision, "but the
group must remain a group and obey, or I'll... What a wretched set they
are though!"

II

He first went home, and carefully, without haste, packed his trunk. At
six o'clock in the morning there was a special train from the town.
This early morning express only ran once a week, and was only a recent
experiment. Though Pyotr Stepanovitch had told the members of the
quintet that he was only going to be away for a short time in the
neighbourhood, his intentions, as appeared later, were in reality
very different. Having finished packing, he settled accounts with his
landlady to whom he had previously given notice of his departure, and
drove in a cab to Erkel's lodgings, near the station. And then just upon
one o'clock at night he walked to Kirillov's, approaching as before by
Fedka's secret way.

Pyotr Stepanovitch was in a painful state of mind. Apart from other
extremely grave reasons for dissatisfaction (he was still unable to
learn anything of Stavrogin), he had, it seems--for I cannot assert
it for a fact--received in the course of that day, probably from
Petersburg, secret information of a danger awaiting him in the immediate
future. There are, of course, many legends in the town relating to this
period; but if any facts were known, it was only to those immediately
concerned. I can only surmise as my own conjecture that Pyotr
Stepanovitch may well have had affairs going on in other neighbourhoods
as well as in our town, so that he really may have received such a
warning. I am convinced, indeed, in spite of Liputin's cynical and
despairing doubts, that he really had two or three other quintets;
for instance, in Petersburg and Moscow, and if not quintets at least
colleagues and correspondents, and possibly was in very curious
relations with them. Not more than three days after his departure an
order for his immediate arrest arrived from Petersburg--whether in
connection with what had happened among us, or elsewhere, I don't know.
This order only served to increase the overwhelming, almost panic terror
which suddenly came upon our local authorities and the society of
the town, till then so persistently frivolous in its attitude, on
the discovery of