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 about him and there may be something under the surface. You must find out all about him."

So on the next day Mashenka looked through the Directory, but she couldn't find anybody of the name of Sklonyaef. She began to think that there could be no such name and that Lohengrin had made it up himself.

However, he continued to visit them, bringing sometimes a bunch of flowers, sometimes a box of chocolates. He no longer tried to meet Mashenka in the street; when they met it was quite accidentally.

When he came the second time Mashenka asked him why his name was not in the Directory.

He was not in the least confused—Mashenka was surprised to find that in spite of his timid ways, his blinking eyes, and his ingratiating manner, this strange young man was generally self-possessed and very rarely put out of countenance—

"I've only lately come to Petersburg," said he, "and my name is not in the Directory yet. I expect it will be in next year."

He laughed as he spoke, and Mashenka felt sure that he was not speaking the truth.