Page:The Novels of Ivan Turgenev (volume VI).djvu/45

Rh 'Neither intentionally nor unintentionally. There's Madame Mashurina looking at me with a smile but I say'

'I'm not smiling,' snapped Mashurina.

'But I say,' pursued Paklin, 'that you, gentlemen, have no intuition; that you don't know how to distinguish who are your real friends! If a man laughs, you think he's not serious '

'To be sure!' Mashurina snapped again.

'Here, for instance,' Paklin hurried on with renewed vigour, this time not even replying to Mashurina, 'you are in want of money and Nezhdanov hasn't it at the moment  well, I can let you have it.'

Nezhdanov turned quickly round from the window.

'No no,  what for? I will get it I will draw part of my allowance in advance. They do owe me something, if I remember. But, I say, Ostrodumov; show the letter.'

Ostrodumov first remained for some time motionless; then he looked round, then he stood up, bent right down, and, tucking up his trouser, pulled out of the leg of his high boot a carefully folded ball of blue paper; having pulled this ball out, he, for some unknown reason, blew on it and gave it to Nezhdanov.

The latter took the paper, unfolded it, read