clerk. "And his father," he added, for the
prince's instruction, "and his father would have given a man a ticket to
the other world for ten roubles any day--not to speak of ten thousand!"

The prince observed Rogojin with great curiosity; he seemed paler than
ever at this moment.

"What do you know about it?" cried the latter. "Well, my father learned
the whole story at once, and Zaleshoff blabbed it all over the town
besides. So he took me upstairs and locked me up, and swore at me for an
hour. 'This is only a foretaste,' says he; 'wait a bit till night comes,
and I'll come back and talk to you again.'

"Well, what do you think? The old fellow went straight off to Nastasia
Philipovna, touched the floor with his forehead, and began blubbering
and beseeching her on his knees to give him back the diamonds. So after
awhile she brought the box and flew out at him. 'There,' she says,
'take your earrings, you wretched old miser; although they are ten times
dearer than their value to me now that I know what it must have cost
Parfen to get them! Give Parfen my compliments,' she says, 'and thank
him very much!' Well, I meanwhile had borrowed twenty-five roubles from
a friend, and off I went to Pskoff to my aunt's. The old woman there
lectured me so that I left the house and went on a drinking tour round
the public-houses of the place. I was in a high fever when I got to
Pskoff, and by nightfall I was lying delirious in the streets somewhere
or other!"

"Oho! we'll make Nastasia Philipovna sing another song now!" giggled
Lebedeff, rubbing his hands with glee. "Hey, my boy, we'll get her some
proper earrings now! We'll get her such earrings that--"

"Look here," cried Rogojin, seizing him fiercely by the arm, "look here,
if you so much as name Nastasia Philipovna again, I'll tan your hide as
sure as you sit there!"

"Aha! do--by all means! if you tan my hide you won't turn me away from
your society. You'll bind me to you, with your lash, for ever. Ha, ha!
here we are at the station, though."

Sure enough, the train was just steaming in as he spoke.

Though Rogojin had declared that he left Pskoff secretly, a large
collection of friends had assembled to greet him, and did so with
profuse waving of hats and shouting.

"Why, there's Zaleshoff here, too!" he muttered, gazing at the scene
with a sort of triumphant but unpleasant smile. Then he suddenly turned
to the prince: "Prince, I don't know why I have taken a fancy to yo