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300 "How shrewd you are, Rakhmétof!"

"Yes, that was not a bad thought—to wait till it was night; but it was not my thought. That was Dmitri Sergéitch's own idea."

"How kind he was!"

Viéra Pavlovna sighed; but, to tell the truth, she sighed not from grief, but from gratefulness.

"Eh! Viéra Pavlovna, we shall yet pick him to pieces. Lately he has thought of things very cleverly, and acted very well. But we shall find little faults in him, and very big ones, too."

"Don't dare to speak so about him, Rakhmétof! I shall get angry."

"Do you mutiny? There's a punishment for this. Shall I keep on executing you? for the list of your crimes has only begun."

"Execute me! execute me, Rakhmétof!"

"For your humility, a reward. Humility is always rewarded. You must certainly have a bottle of wine. It will not be bad for you to drink some. Where shall I find it? on the sideboard or in the cupboard?"

"On the sideboard."

On the sideboard he found a bottle of sherry. Rakhmétof compelled Viéra Pavlovna to drink two glasses, and he himself lighted a cigar.

"How sorry I am that I cannot drink three or four glasses; I should like it."

"Do you really like it, Rakhmétof?"

"I envy you, Viéra Pavlovna, I envy you," said he, laughing; "man is weak."

"Are you weak? Thank God! But, Rakhmétof, you surprise me. You are not at all like what I supposed you were. Why are you always such a gloomy monster? But now you are a lovely, jovial man."

"Viéra Pavlovna, I am now fulfilling a pleasant duty; so why should I not be happy? But this is a rare occasion. As a general rule, you see things about you that are not happy. How can you help being a gloomy monster? Only, Viéra Pavlovna, as you happen to see me in a mood such as I would like to be in all the time, and since there is such frankness between us, let it be a secret that I am not by my own will a gloomy monster. It is easier for me to fulfil my duty when I am not noticed, because I myself would like to fulfil my