As Serpuhovskoy came down the steps he saw Vronsky.  A smile of pleasure lighted up his face.  He tossed his head upwards and waved the glass in his hand, greeting Vronsky, and showing him by the gesture that he could not come to him before the quartermaster, who stood craning forward his lips ready to be kissed.

“Here he is!” shouted the colonel.  “Yashvin told me you were in one of your gloomy tempers.”

Serpuhovskoy kissed the moist, fresh lips of the gallant-looking quartermaster, and wiping his mouth with his handkerchief, went up to Vronsky.

“How glad I am!” he said, squeezing his hand and drawing him on one side.

“You look after him,” the colonel shouted to Yashvin, pointing to Vronsky; and he went down below to the soldiers.

“Why weren’t you at the races yesterday?  I expected to see you there,” said Vronsky, scrutinizing Serpuhovskoy.

“I did go, but late.  I beg your pardon,” he added, and he turned to the adjutant:  “Please have this divided from me, each man as much as it runs to.”  And he hurriedly took notes for three hundred roubles from his pocketbook, blushing a little.

“Vronsky!  Have anything to eat or drink?” asked Yashvin.  “Hi, something for the count to eat!  Ah, here it is:  have a glass!”

The fete at the colonel’s lasted a long while.  There was a great deal of drinking.  They tossed Serpuhovskoy in the air and caught him again several times.  Then they did the same to the colonel.  Then, to the accompaniment of the band, the colonel himself danced with Petritsky.  Then the colonel, who began to show signs of feebleness, sat down on a bench in the courtyard and began demonstrating to Yashvin the superiority of Russia over Poland, especially in cavalry attack, and there was a lull in the revelry for a moment.  Serpuhovskoy went into the house to the bathroom to wash his hands and found Vronsky there; Vronsky was drenching his head with water.  He had taken off his coat and put his sunburnt, hairy neck under the tap, and was rubbing it and his head with his hands.  When he had finished, Vronsky sat down by Serpuhovskoy.  They both sat down in the bathroom on a lounge, and a conversation began which was very interesting to both of them.

“I’ve always been hearing about you through my wife,” said Serpuhovskoy.  “I’m glad you’ve been seeing her pretty often.”

“She’s friendly with Varya, and they’re the only women in Petersburg I care about seeing,” answered Vronsky, smiling.  He smiled because he foresaw the topic the conversation would turn on, and he was glad of it.

“The only ones?” Serpuhovskoy queried, smiling.

“Yes; and I heard news of you, but not only through your wife,” said Vronsky, checking his hint by a stern expression of face.  “I was greatly delighted to hear of your success, but not a bit surprised.  I expected even more.”

Serpuhovskoy smiled.  Such an opinion of him was obviously agreeable to him, and he did not think it necessary to conceal it.