expedition we had taken—­or he was doubtful about my experiments being any good, or he would recall what I had felt about Russia at the beginning of the war....  All in a very kindly way, mind you.  He was more friendly than he had ever been, and seemed to be altogether softer-hearted.  But he made me think a great deal about Vera.  He talked often so much.  He thought that I ought to look after her more, and I explained that that wasn’t my right.

“The truth is that ever since Nina’s birthday-party I had been anxious.  I knew really that everything was right.  Vera is of course the soul of honour—­but something had occurred then which made me....

“Well, well, that doesn’t matter now.  The only point is that I was thinking of Vera a great deal, and wondering how I could make her happy.  She wasn’t happy.  I don’t know how it was, but during those weeks just before the Revolution we were none of us happy.  We were all uneasy as though we expected something were going to happen—­and we were all suspicious....

“I only tell you this because then you will see why it was that the Revolution broke upon me with such surprise.  I had been right inside myself, talking to nobody, wanting nobody to talk to me.  I get like that sometimes, when words seem to mean so much that it seems dangerous to throw them about....  And perhaps it is.  But silence is dangerous too.  Everything is dangerous if you are unlucky by nature....

“I had been indoors all that Monday working at my invention, and thinking about Vera, wondering whether I’d speak to her, then afraid of my temper (I have a bad temper), wanting to know what was the truth, thinking at one moment that if she cared for some one else that I’d go away...and then suddenly angry and jealous, wishing to challenge him, but I am a ludicrous figure to challenge any one, as I very well know.  Semyonov had been to see me that morning, and he had just sat there without saying anything.  I couldn’t endure that very long, so I asked him what he came for and he said, ‘Oh, nothing.’  I felt as though he were spying and I became uneasy.  Why should he come so often now?  And I was beginning to think of him when he wasn’t there.  It was as though he thought he had a right over all of us, and that irritated me....  Well, that was Monday.  They all came late in the afternoon and told me all the news.  They had been at the Astoria.  The whole town seemed to be in revolt, so they said.

“But even then I didn’t realise it.  I was thinking of Vera just the same.  I looked at her all the evening just as Semyonov had looked at me.  And didn’t say anything....  I never wanted her so badly before.  I made her sleep with me all that night.  She hadn’t done that for a long time, and I woke up early in the morning to hear her crying softly to herself.  She never used to cry.  She was so proud.  I put my arms round her, and she stopped crying and lay quite still.  It wasn’t fair what I did, but I felt as though Alexei Petrovitch had challenged me to do it.  He always hated Vera I knew.  I got up very early and went to my wood.  You can imagine I wasn’t very happy....