The boy nestled up to Belyaev and began playing with his watch-chain.

“When I go to the high-school,” he said, “mother is going to buy me a watch.  I shall ask her to buy me a watch-chain like this. . . .  Wh-at a lo-ket!  Father’s got a locket like that, only yours has little bars on it and his has letters. . . .  There’s mother’s portrait in the middle of his.  Father has a different sort of chain now, not made with rings, but like ribbon. . . .”

“How do you know?  Do you see your father?”

“I?  M’m . . . no . . .  I . . .”

Alyosha blushed, and in great confusion, feeling caught in a lie, began zealously scratching the locket with his nail. . . .  Belyaev looked steadily into his face and asked: 

“Do you see your father?”

“N-no!”

“Come, speak frankly, on your honour. . . .  I see from your face you are telling a fib.  Once you’ve let a thing slip out it’s no good wriggling about it.  Tell me, do you see him?  Come, as a friend.”

Alyosha hesitated.

“You won’t tell mother?” he said.

“As though I should!”

“On your honour?”

“On my honour.”

“Do you swear?”

“Ah, you provoking boy!  What do you take me for?”

Alyosha looked round him, then with wide-open eyes, whispered to him: 

“Only, for goodness’ sake, don’t tell mother. . . .  Don’t tell any one at all, for it is a secret.  I hope to goodness mother won’t find out, or we should all catch it—­Sonia, and I, and Pelagea . . . .  Well, listen. . .  Sonia and I see father every Tuesday and Friday.  When Pelagea takes us for a walk before dinner we go to the Apfel Restaurant, and there is father waiting for us. . . .  He is always sitting in a room apart, where you know there’s a marble table and an ash-tray in the shape of a goose without a back. . . .”

“What do you do there?”

“Nothing!  First we say how-do-you-do, then we all sit round the table, and father treats us with coffee and pies.  You know Sonia eats the meat-pies, but I can’t endure meat-pies!  I like the pies made of cabbage and eggs.  We eat such a lot that we have to try hard to eat as much as we can at dinner, for fear mother should notice.”

“What do you talk about?”

“With father?  About anything.  He kisses us, he hugs us, tells us all sorts of amusing jokes.  Do you know, he says when we are grown up he is going to take us to live with him.  Sonia does not want to go, but I agree.  Of course, I should miss mother; but, then, I should write her letters!  It’s a queer idea, but we could come and visit her on holidays—­couldn’t we?  Father says, too, that he will buy me a horse.  He’s an awfully kind man!  I can’t understand why mother does not ask him to come and live with us, and why she forbids us to see him.  You know he loves mother very much.  He is always asking us how she is and what she is doing.  When she was ill he clutched his head like this, and . . . and kept running about.  He always tells us to be obedient and respectful to her.  Listen.  Is it true that we are unfortunate?”