Pagina 446 de 1294

"Katerina Ivanovna," he began, "last week your husband told me

all his life and circumstances.... Believe me, he spoke of you

with passionate reverence. From that evening, when I learnt how

devoted he was to you all and how he loved and respected you

especially, Katerina Ivanovna, in spite of his unfortunate

weakness, from that evening we became friends.... Allow me now...

to do something... to repay my debt to my dead friend. Here are

twenty roubles, I think--and if that can be of any assistance to

you, then... I... in short, I will come again, I will be sure to

come again... I shall, perhaps, come again to-morrow....

Good-bye!"

And he went quickly out of the room, squeezing his way through

the crowd to the stairs. But in the crowd he suddenly jostled

against Nikodim Fomitch, who had heard of the accident and had

come to give instructions in person. They had not met since the

scene at the police station, but Nikodim Fomitch knew him

instantly.

"Ah, is that you?" he asked him.