Page:Dostoyevsky - The House of the Dead, Collected Edition, 1915.djvu/96

 was in an awful taking. Ah, my life has deceived me, the jade’s deceived me!”

he unexpectedly carolled again, and began pattering a dance step with his feet.

“Ech, the graceless fellow,” the Little Russian who was walking beside me observed with a side glance of spiteful contempt at Skuratov.

"A useless fellow,” observed another in a serious and final tone.

I could not understand why they were angry with Skuratov, and why, indeed, all the merry ones seemed to be held in some contempt, as I had noticed already during those first days. I put down the anger of the Little Russian and of the others to personal causes. But it was not a case of personal dislike; they were angry at the absence of reserve in Skuratov, at the lack of the stern assumption of personal dignity about which all the prisoners were pedantically particular; in fact, at his being a “useless fellow” to use their own expression. Yet they were not angry with all the merry ones, and did not treat all as they did Skuratov and those like him. It depended on what people would put up with: a good-natured and unpretentious man was at once exposed to insult. I was struck by this fact indeed. But there were some among the cheerful spirits who knew how to take their own part and liked doing so, and they exacted respect. In this very group there was one of these prickly characters; he was a tall good-looking fellow with a large wort on his cheek and a very comic expression, though his face was rather handsome and intelligent. He was in reality a light-hearted and very charming fellow, though I only found out that side of him later on. They used to call him “the pioneer” because at one time he had served in the Pioneers; now he was in the “special division.” I shall have a great deal to say of him later.

Not all of the “serious minded,” however, were so outspoken as the indignant Little Russian. There were some men in the prison who aimed at superiority, at knowing all sorts of things, at showing resourcefulness, character and intelligence. Many of these really were men of intelligence and character, and did actually attain what they aimed at, that is, a leading position