Pagina 187 di 1294

He moved a little on purpose and muttered something aloud that he

might not have the appearance of hiding, then rang a third time,

but quietly, soberly, and without impatience, Recalling it

afterwards, that moment stood out in his mind vividly,

distinctly, for ever; he could not make out how he had had such

cunning, for his mind was as it were clouded at moments and he

was almost unconscious of his body.... An instant later he heard

the latch unfastened.

CHAPTER VII

The door was as before opened a tiny crack, and again two sharp

and suspicious eyes stared at him out of the darkness. Then

Raskolnikov lost his head and nearly made a great mistake.