s gone. Now, lie down, prince, make yourself comfortable, and sleep
well! I'm awfully impressed, you know."

"Naturally, all this--"

"No, no, I mean with the 'explanation,' especially that part of it where
he talks about Providence and a future life. There is a gigantic thought
there."

The prince gazed affectionately at Colia, who, of course, had come in
solely for the purpose of talking about this "gigantic thought."

"But it is not any one particular thought, only; it is the general
circumstances of the case. If Voltaire had written this now, or
Rousseau, I should have just read it and thought it remarkable, but
should not have been so IMPRESSED by it. But a man who knows for
certain that he has but ten minutes to live and can talk like
that--why--it's--it's PRIDE, that is! It is really a most extraordinary,
exalted assertion of personal dignity, it's--it's DEFIANT! What a
GIGANTIC strength of will, eh? And to accuse a fellow like that of not
putting in the cap on purpose; it's base and mean! You know he deceived
us last night, the cunning rascal. I never packed his bag for him, and
I never saw his pistol. He packed it himself. But he put me off my guard
like that, you see. Vera says you are going to let him stay on; I swear
there's no danger, especially as we are always with him."

"Who was by him at night?"

"I, and Burdovsky, and Kostia Lebedeff. Keller stayed a little while,
and then went over to Lebedeff's to sleep. Ferdishenko slept at
Lebedeff's, too; but he went away at seven o'clock. My father is always
at Lebedeff's; but he has gone out just now. I dare say Lebedeff will be
coming in here directly; he has been looking for you; I don't know what
he wants. Shall we let him in or not, if you are asleep? I'm going to
have a nap, too. By-the-by, such a curious thing happened. Burdovsky
woke me at seven, and I met my father just outside the room, so drunk,
he didn't even know me. He stood before me like a log, and when he
recovered himself, asked hurriedly how Hippolyte was. 'Yes,' he said,
when I told him, 'that's all very well, but I REALLY came to warn you
that you must be very careful what you say before Ferdishenko.' Do you
follow me, prince?"

"Yes. Is it really so? However, it's all the same to us, of course."

"Of course it is; we are not a secret society; and that being the case,
it is all the more curious that the general should have been on his way
to wake me up in order to tell me this."