 CHAPTER 8 All at once on the promenade, as it was called, that is to say, in the Chestnut Avenue, I came face to face with my Englishman. I was just coming to see you, he said, and you appear to be out on a similar errand, so you have parted with your employers? How do you know that, I asked in astonishment. Is everyone aware of the fact? By no means. Not everyone would consider such a fact to be a moment. Indeed, I have never heard anyone speak of it. Then how come you to know it? Because I have had occasion to do so. Where there are you bound? I like you, and was therefore coming to pay you a visit. What a splendid fellow you are, Mr. Astley, I cried, though still wondering how he had come by his knowledge. And since I have not yet had my coffee, and you have, in all probability, scarcely tasted yours, let us adjourn to the Casino Café, where we can sit and smoke and have a talk. The café in question was only a hundred paces away, so, when coffee had been brought, we seated ourselves and I lit a cigarette. Astley was no smoker, but taking a seat by my side he prepared himself to listen. I do not intend to go away, was my first remark. I intend, on the contrary, to remain here. That, I never doubted, he answered good-humoredly. It is a curious fact that on my way to see him I had never even thought of telling him of my love for Polina. In fact, I had purposely meant to avoid any mention of the subject. Or during our stay in the place, had I ever made ought but the scantiest reference to it. You see, not only was Astley a man of great reserve, but also from the first I had perceived that Polina had made a great impression upon him, although he never spoke of her. But now, strangely enough, he had no sooner seated himself and bent his steely gaze upon me, than for some reason or another I felt moved to tell him everything. To speak to him of my love in all its phases. For an hour and a half did I discourse on the subject, and found it a pleasure to do so, even though this was the first occasion on which I had referred to the matter. Indeed, when at certain moments I perceived that my more ardent passages confused him, I purposely increased my ardor of narration. Yet one thing I regret, and that is that I made references to the Frenchman which were a little over-personal. Mr. Astley sat without moving as he listened to me. Not a word nor a sound of any kind did he utter as he stared into my eyes. Suddenly, however, on my mentioning the Frenchman he interrupted me and acquired sternly whether I did right to speak of an extraneous matter. He had always been a strange man in his mode of propounding questions. No, I fear not, I replied. And concerning this Marquis and Mademoiselle Paulina, you know nothing beyond surmise? Again I was surprised that such a categorical question should come from such a reserved individual. No, I know nothing for certain about them was my reply. No, nothing. Then you have done very wrong to speak of them to me, or even to imagine things about them. Quite so, quite so I interrupted in some astonishment. I admit that. But that is not the question. Whereupon I related to him in detail the incident of two days ago. I spoke of Paulina's outburst, of my encounter with the Baron, of my dismissal, of the General's extraordinary pusillanimity, and of the call which de Griers had that morning paid me. In conclusion I showed Astley the note which I had lately received. What do you make of it, I asked. When I met you I was just coming to ask you your opinion. For myself I could have killed this Frenchman, and I am not sure that I shall not do so even yet. I feel the same about it, said Mr. Astley. As for Madamoiselle Paulina, well you yourself know that if necessity drives one enters into relation with people whom one simply detests. Even between this couple there may be something which, though unknown to you, depends upon extraneous circumstances. For my own part I think that you may reassure yourself, or at all events, partially. And as for Madamoiselle Paulina's proceedings of two days ago they were, of course, strange. Not because she can have meant to get rid of you, or to earn for you a thrashing from the Baron's cudgel, which for some curious reason he did not use, although he had it ready in his hands, but because such proceedings on the part of such, well, of such a refined lady as Madamoiselle Paulina are, to say the least of it, unbecoming. But she cannot have guessed that you would carry out her absurd wish to the letter. Do you know what suddenly I cried as I fixed Mr. Astley with my gaze? I believe that you have already heard the story from someone, very possibly from Madamoiselle Paulina herself. In return he gave me an astonished stare. Your eyes look very fiery, he said, with a return of his former calm, and in them I can read suspicion. Now you have no right, whatever, to be suspicious. It is not a right which I can for a moment recognize, and I absolutely refuse to answer your questions. Enough! You need say no more, I cried, with a strange emotion at my heart. Yet not altogether understanding what had aroused that emotion in my breast. Indeed, when, where, and how could Paulina have chosen Astley to be one of her confidants? Of late I had come rather to overlook him in this connection, even though Paulina had always been a riddle to me. So much so that now, when I had just permitted myself to tell my friend of my infatuation in all its aspects, I had found myself struck, during the very telling, with the fact that in my relations with her I could specify nothing that was explicit, nothing that was positive. On the contrary, my relations had been purely fantastic, strange, and unreal. They had been unlike anything else that I could think of. Very well, very well I replied with a warmth equal to Astley's own, then I stand confounded, and have no further opinions to offer. But you are a good fellow, and I am glad to know what you think about it all, even though I do not need your advice. Then, after a pause, I resumed. For instance, what reason should you assign for the general taking fright in this way? Why should my stupid clowning have led the world to elevate it into a serious incident? Even de Griers has found it necessary to put in his oar, and he only interferes on the most important occasions, and to visit me, and to address to me the most earnest supplications. Yes, he, de Griers, has actually been playing the suppliant to me. And Mark you, although he came to me as early as nine o'clock, he had ready prepared in his hand M. Salpalina's note. When, I would ask, was that note written? M. Salpalina must have been aroused from sleep for the express purpose of writing it. At all events the circumstance shows that she is an absolute slave to the Frenchman, and she actually begs my pardon in the note, actually begs my pardon. Yet what is her personal concern in the matter? Why is she interested in it at all? Why, too, is the whole party so afraid of this precious baron? And what sort of a business do you call it for the general to be going to marry M. Salpalinche de Camonger? He told me last night that, because of the circumstance, he must move with a special carer at present. What is your opinion of it all? Your look convinces me that you know more about it than I do. Mr. Astley smiled and nodded. Yes, I think I do know more about it than you do, he assented. The affair centers around this mademoiselle blanche. Of that I feel certain. And what of mademoiselle blanche? I cried impatiently, for in me there had dawned a sudden hope that this would enable me to discover something about Palina. Well, my belief is that, at the present moment, mademoiselle blanche has, in very truth, a special reason for wishing to avoid any trouble with the baron and the baroness. It might lead not only to some unpleasantness, but even to a scandal. Oh, oh. Also, I may tell you that mademoiselle blanche has been in Rulettenberg before. For she was staying here three seasons ago. I myself was in the place at the time, and in those days mademoiselle blanche was not known as mademoiselle de Comigée, nor was her mother the widow de Comigée, even in existence. In any case, no one ever mentioned the latter. De Griers, too, had not materialized, and I am convinced that not only do the parties stand in no relation to one another, but also they have not long enjoyed one another's acquaintance. Likewise, the Marquisat de Griers is of recent creation. Of that I have reason to be sure, owing to a certain circumstance. Even the name de Griers itself may be taken to be a new invention, seeing that I have a friend who once met the said Marquis under a different name altogether. Yet he possesses a good circle of friends? Possibly. Mademoiselle blanche also may possess that. Yet it is not three years since she received from the local police at the instance of the Baroness an invitation to leave the town. And she left it. But why? Well, I must tell you that she first appeared here in company with an Italian, a prince of some sort, a man who bore an historic name, Barbarini or something of the kind. The fellow was simply a mass of rings and diamonds, real diamonds, too, and the couple used to drive out in a marvellous carriage. At first Mademoiselle blanche played tante carante with fair success. But later her luck took a marked change for the worse. I distinctly remember that in a single evening she lost an enormous sum. But worse was to ensue, for one fine morning her prince disappeared. Horses, carriage, and all. Also the hotel bill which she left unpaid was enormous. Upon this Mademoiselle zelma, the name which she assumed after figuring as Madame Barbarini, was in despair. She shrieked and howled all over the hotel and even tore her clothes in her frenzy. In the hotel there was staying also a Polish count. You must know that all travelling poles are counts. And the spectacle of Mademoiselle zelma tearing her clothes and cat-like scratching her face with her beautiful scented nails produced upon him a strong impression. So the pair had a talk together, and by luncheon time she was consoled. Indeed, that evening the couple entered the casino arm in arm. Mademoiselle zelma, laughing loudly according to her custom and showing even more expansiveness in her manners than she had before shown. For instance, she thrust her way into the file of women roulette players in the exact fashion of those ladies who, to clear a space for themselves at the tables, pushed their fellow players roughly aside. Doubtless you have noticed them? Yes, certainly. Well, they are not worth noticing. To the annoyance of the decent public they are allowed to remain here. At all events such of them as daily change four thousand frank notes at the tables. Though as soon as ever these women cease to do so they receive an invitation to depart. However, Mademoiselle zelma continued to change notes of this kind, but her play grew more and more unsuccessful despite the fact that such ladies' luck is frequently good, for they have a surprising amount of cash at their disposal. Suddenly the Count too disappeared, even as the Prince had done, and that same evening Mademoiselle zelma was forced to appear in the casino alone. On this occasion no one offered her a greeting. Two days later she had come to the end of her resources, whereupon after staking and losing her last Louis door she chanced to look around her and saw standing by her side the barren Burmergelm, who had been eyeing her with fixed disapproval. To his distaste, however, Mademoiselle paid no attention, but turning to him with her well-known smile requested him to stake, on her behalf, ten Louis on the Red. Later that evening a complaint from the Baroness led the authorities to request Mademoiselle not to re-enter the casino. If you feel in any way surprised that I should know these petty and unedifying details, the reason is that I had them from a relative of mine who later that evening drove Mademoiselle zelma in his carriage from Luttenberg to Spa. Now Markew Mademoiselle wants to become Madame General, in order that in future she may be spared the receipt of such invitations from casino authorities as she received three years ago. At present she is not playing. But that is only because, according to the signs, she is lending money to other players. Yes, that is a much more paying game. I even suspect that the unfortunate General is himself in her debt, as well as perhaps also de Griers. Or it may be that the latter has entered into partnership with her. Consequently, you yourself will see that until the marriage shall have been consummated, Mademoiselle would scarcely like to have the attention of the Baron and the Baroness drawn to herself. In short, to any one in her position, a scandal would be most detrimental. You form a member of the menage of these people, wherefore any act of yours might cause such a scandal, and the more so since daily she appears in public arm-in-arm with the General or with Mademoiselle Polina. Now do you understand? No, I do not! I shouted as I banged my fist down upon the table, banged it with such violence that a frightened waiter came running towards us. Tell me, Mr. Astley, why, if you knew this history all along and consequently always knew who this Mademoiselle Blanche is, you never warned either myself or the General, nor most of all Mademoiselle Polina, who is accustomed to appear in the Casino in public everywhere with Mademoiselle Blanche. How could you do it? It would have done no good to warn you, he replied quietly, for the reason that you could have affected nothing. Against what was I to warn you? As likely as not the General knows more about Mademoiselle Blanche even than I do. Yet the unhappy man still walks about with her, and Mademoiselle Polina. Only yesterday I saw this French woman riding splendidly mounted with de Griers while the General was careering in their wake on a ron horse. He had said that morning that his legs were hurting him, yet his riding seat was easy enough. As he passed I looked at him, and the thought occurred to me that he was a man lost for ever. However, it is no affair of mine, for I have only recently had the happiness to make Mademoiselle Polina's acquaintance. Also, he added this as an afterthought, I have already told you that I do not recognize your right to ask me certain questions, however sincere be my liking for you. Enough, I said, rising. To me it is as clear as day that Mademoiselle Polina knows all about this Mademoiselle Blanche, but cannot bring herself to part with her Frenchman, wherefore she consents also to be seen in public with Mademoiselle Blanche. You may be sure that nothing else would ever have induced her either to walk about with this French woman, or to send me a note not to touch the Baron. Yes, it is there that the influence lies before which everything in the world must bow. Yet she herself it was who launched me at the Baron. The devil take it, but I was left no choice in the matter. You forget, in the first place, that this Mademoiselle de Comigée is the General's Inamorata, and in the second place that Mademoiselle Polina, the General's stepdaughter, has a younger brother and sister who, though they are the General's own children, are completely neglected by this madman, and robbed as well. Yes, yes, that is so. For me to go and desert the children now would mean their total abandonment, whereas if I remain I should be able to defend their interests and, perhaps, to save a moiety of their property. Yes, yes, that is quite true. And yet, and yet, oh, I can well understand why they are also interested in the General's mother. In whom, asked Mr. Astley, in the old woman of Moscow who declines to die, yet concerning whom they are forever expecting telegrams to notify the fact of her death? Ah! Then, of course, their interests center around her. It is a question of succession. Let that butt be settled, and the General will marry. Mademoiselle Polina will be set free, and de Gris, yes, and de Gris will be repaid his money, which is what he is now waiting for. What? Do you think that he is waiting for that? I know of nothing else, asserted Mr. Astley doggedly. But I do, I do! I shouted in my fury. He is waiting also for the old woman's will, for the reason that it awards Mademoiselle Polina a dowry. As soon as ever the money is received she will throw herself upon the Frenchman's neck. All women are like that. Even the proudest of them become abject slaves where marriage is concerned. What Polina is good for is to fall head over ears in love. That is my opinion. Look at her, especially when she is sitting alone, and plunged in thought. All this was preordained and foretold, and is accursed. Polina could perpetrate any mad act. She, she— But who called me by name? I broke off. Who was shouting for me? I heard someone calling in Russian, Alexei Savanovich. It was a woman's voice. Listen. At the moment we were approaching my hotel. We had left the café long ago without even noticing that we had done so. Yes, I did hear a woman's voice calling. But who's I do not know? The someone was calling you in Russian. Ah! Now I can see whence the cries come. They come from that lady there, the one who was sitting on the sati, the one who has just been escorted to the veranda by a crowd of lackeys. Behind her see that pile of luggage. She must have arrived by train. But why should she be calling me? Hear her calling again. See, she is beckoning to us. Yes, so she is, assented Mr. Astley. Alexei Savanovich! Alexei Savanovich! Good heavens, what a stupid fellow! Came in a despairing wail from the veranda. We had almost reached the portico, and I was just setting foot upon the space before it, when my hands fell to my sides in limp astonishment, and my feet glued themselves to the pavement. CHAPTER IX For on the topmost tier of the hotel veranda, after being carried up the steps in an arm-chair amid a bevy of footmen, maid-servants, and other menials of the hotel, headed by the landlord, that functionary had actually run out to meet a visitor, who arrived with so much stir and din, attended by her own retinue, and accompanied by so great a pile of trunks and portmanteau. On the topmost tier of the veranda, I say, there was sitting THE GRANDMOTHER. Yes, it was she, rich, and imposing, and seventy-five years of age. Antonida, Vasilievna, Tarasovitcha, landowner and grand-dam of Moscow. The law Babulenka, who had caused so many telegrams to be sent off and received, who had been dying, yet not dying, who had in her own person descended upon us even as snow might fall from the clouds. Though unable to walk, she had arrived borne aloft in an arm-chair, her motive conveyance for the last five years. As brisk, aggressive, self-satisfied, bolt upright, loudly imperious, and generally abusive as ever. In fact, she looked exactly as she had on the only two occasions when I had seen her since my appointment to the general's household. Naturally enough, I stood petrified with astonishment. She had sighted me a hundred paces off, even while she was being carried along in her chair she had recognized me, and called me by name and surname, which, as usual, after hearing once she had remembered ever afterwards. And this is the woman whom they had thought to see in her grave after making her will, I thought to myself. Yet she will outlive us and everyone else in the hotel. Good Lord! What is going to become of us now? What on earth is to happen to the general? She will turn the place upside down. My good sir, the old woman continued in a stentorian voice. What are you standing there for, with your eyes almost falling out of your head? Cannot you come and say how do you do? Are you too proud to shake hands? Or do you not recognize me? Here! Potapitch! She cried to an old servant who dressed in a frock coat and white waistcoat, had a bald red head. He was the chamberlain who always accompanied her on her journeys. Just think! This Avanovitch does not recognize me. They have buried me for good at all. Yes, and after sending hosts of telegrams to know if I were dead or not. Yes, yes, I have heard the whole story. I am very much alive, though, as you may see. Pardon me. Antonina Vasilievna, I replied good humorously as I recovered my presence of mind. I have no reason to wish you ill. I am merely rather astonished to see you. Why should I not be so, seeing how unexpected? Why should you be astonished? I just got into my chair and came. Things are quiet enough in the train, for there is no one there to chat her. Have you been out for a walk? Yes, I have just been to the casino. Oh! Well it is quite nice here, she went on as she looked about her. The place seems comfortable, and all the trees are out. I like it very well. Are your people at home? Is the general, for instance, indoors? Do they observe the convenances and keep up appearances? Yes, and probably all of them. Such things always give one tone. I have heard that they are keeping a carriage, even as Russian gentle-folks ought to do, when abroad our Russian people always cut a dash. Is Praskovia here, too? Yes, Polina Alexandrovna is here, and the French woman. However, I will go and look for them myself. Tell me the nearest way to their rooms. Do you like being here? Yes, I thank you, Antonina Veselyivna. And you, Patepitch, you go and tell that fool of a landlord to reserve me a suitable suite of rooms. They must be handsomely decorated, and not too high up. Have my luggage taken up to them. But what are you tumbling over yourselves for? Why are you all tearing about? What scuyons these fellows are! Who is that with you? She added to myself. A Mr. Astley, I replied. And who is Mr. Astley? A fellow-traveller and my very good friend, as well as an acquaintance of the generals. Oh, an Englishman! Then that is why he stared at me without even opening his lips. However, I like Englishmen. Now take me upstairs, direct to their rooms. Where are they lodging? Madame was lifted up in her chair by the lackeys, and I preceded her up the Grand Staircase. Her progress was exceedingly effective, for everyone whom we met stopped to stare at the cortege. It happened that the hotel had the reputation of being the best, the most expensive, and the most aristocratic in all the spa, and at every turn on the staircase or in the corridors we encountered fine ladies and important-looking Englishmen, more than one of whom hastened downstairs to inquire of the awestruck landlord who the newcomer was. To all such questions he returned the same answer. Only that the old lady was an influential foreigner, a Russian, a Countess, and a Grand Dame, and that she had taken the sweet which, during the previous week, had been tenanted by the Grand Duchess de Nne. Meanwhile, the cause of the sensation, the grandmother, was being borne aloft in her arm-chair, every person whom she met she scanned with an inquisitive eye, after first of all interrogating me about him or her at the top of her voice. She was stout a figure, and though she could not leave her chair one felt the moment that one first looked at her that she was also tall of stature. Her back was as straight as a board and never did she lean back in her seat. Also, her large grey head with its keen rugged features remained always erect as she glanced about her in an imperious, challenging sort of way with looks and gestures that clearly were unstudied. Though she had reached her seventy-sixth year, her face was still fresh and her teeth had not decayed. Lastly she was dressed in a black silk gown and white mob cap. She interests me tremendously, whispered Mr. Astley, as still smoking he walked by my side. Meanwhile I was reflecting that probably the old lady knew all about the telegrams, and even about de Griers, though little or nothing about Mlle. Blanche. I said as much to Mr. Astley. What a frail creature is man! No sooner was my first surprise abated than I found myself rejoicing in the shock which we were about to administer to the general. So much did the thought inspire me that I marched ahead in the gayest of fashions. Our party was lodging on the third floor. Without knocking at the door or in any way announcing our presence I threw open the portals and the grandmother was born through them in triumph. As though of set purpose the whole party chanced at that moment to be assembled in the general's study. The time was eleven o'clock, and it seemed that an outing of some sort at which a portion of the party were to drive in carriages and others to ride on horseback accompanied by one or two extraneous acquaintances was being planned. The general was present, and also Paulina, the children, the ladders, nurses, de Griers, Mlle Mlle Blanche, a tired in a riding habit, her mother, the young prince, and a learned German whom I beheld for the first time. Into the midst of this assembly the lackeys conveyed Madame and her chair, and set her down within three paces of the general. Good heavens! never shall I forget the spectacle which ensued. Just before our entry the general had been holding forth to the company with de Griers in support of him. I may also mention that for the last two or three days Mlle Mlle Blanche and de Griers had been making a great deal of the young prince, under the very nose of the poor general. In short, the company, though decorous and conventional, was in a gay familiar mood. But no sooner did the grandmother appear than the general stopped dead in the middle of a word, and with jaw dropping stared hard at the old lady, his eyes almost starting out of his head, and his expression as spellbound as though he had just seen a basilisk. In return the grandmother stared at him silently and without moving, though with a look of mingled challenge, triumph and ridicule in her eyes. For ten seconds did the pair remain thus eyeing one another amid the profound silence of the company, and even de Griers sat petrified, an extraordinary look of uneasiness dawning on his face. As for Mlle Mlle Blanche, she too stared wildly at the grandmother, with eyebrows raised and her lips parted, while the prince and the German savant contemplated the tableau in profound amazement. Only Polina looked anything but perplexed or surprised. Presently however she too turned as white as a sheet, and then reddened to her temples. Truly the grandmother's arrival seemed to be a catastrophe for everybody. For my own part I stood looking from the grandmother to the company and back again, while Mr. Astley as usual remained in the background and gazed calmly and decorously at the scene. Well, here I am, and instead of a telegram too, the grandmother at last ejaculated, to dissipate the silence. What? You were not expecting me? Antonita Veselyabna! O my dearest mother, but how on earth did you the mutterings of the unhappy general died away? I verily believe that if the grandmother had held her tongue a few seconds longer she would have had a stroke. How on earth did I what? she exclaimed. Why, I just got into the train and came here. What else is the railway meant for? But you thought that I had turned up my toes and left my property to the lot of you. Oh, I know all about the telegrams which you have been dispatching. They must have cost you a pretty sum, I should think, for telegrams are not sent from abroad for nothing. Well, I picked up my heels and came here. Who is this Frenchman? You're de Griers, I suppose? Oui, madame, assented de Griers. Et croyez, je suis si enchant, vautre saint. C'est un miracle, vous voir ici. Un surprise, charmant. Just so, charmant. I happen to know you as a mountabank, and therefore trust you no more than this. She indicated her little finger. And who is that? She went on, turning towards Mermoselle Blanche. Suddenly the Frenchwoman looked so becoming in her riding habit, with her whip in her hand, that she had made an impression upon the old lady. Who is that woman there? Mademoiselle de Comigée, I said, and this is her mother, Madame de Comigée. They are also staying in the hotel. Is the daughter married, asked the old lady, without the least semblance of ceremony? No, I replied as respectfully as possible, but under my breath. Is she good company? I failed to understand the question. I mean, is she or is she not a bore? Can she speak Russian? When this de Griers was in Moscow he soon learned to make himself understood. I explained to the old lady that Mademoiselle Blanche had never visited Russia. Bonjour, then, said Madame, with sudden brusquery. Bonjour, Madame, replied Mademoiselle Blanche with an elegant ceremonious bow as under cover of an unwanted modesty she endeavored to express, both in face and figure, her extreme surprise at such strange behavior on the part of the grandmother. How the woman sticks out her eyes at me! How she mows and menses! was the grandmother's comment. Then she turned suddenly to the general and continued, I have taken up my abode here, so I am going to be your next-door neighbor. Are you glad to hear that, or are you not? My dear mother, believe me when I say that I am sincerely delighted, returned the general, who had now, to a certain extent, recovered his senses, and in as much as, when occasion arose, he could speak with fluency, gravity, and a certain effect, he set himself to be expansive in his remarks, and went on, we have been so dismayed and upset by the news of your indisposition. We had received such hopeless telegrams about you, then suddenly FIBS! FIBS! interrupted the grandmother. How on earth, too, did you come to decide upon the journey? continued the general, with raised voice as he hurried to overlook the old lady's last remark. Surely at your age, and in your present state of health, the thing is so unexpected that our surprise is at least intelligible. However, I am glad to see you, as indeed are we all. He said this with a dignified yet conciliatory smile, and will use my best endeavours to render your stay here as pleasant as possible. Enough! All this is empty chatter. You are talking the usual nonsense. I shall know quite well how to spend my time. How did I come to undertake the journey, you ask? Well, is there anything so very surprising about it? It was done quite simply. What is everyone going into ecstasies about? How do you do, Prescovia? What are you doing here? And how are you, Grandmother, replied Polina? As she approached the old lady. Were you long on the journey? The most sensible question that I have yet been asked. Well, you shall hear for yourself how it all happened. I lay, and lay, and was doctored, and doctored, until at last I drove the physicians from me, and called in an apothecary from Nicolai, who had cured an old woman of a malady similar to my own, cured her merely with a little hayseed. Well, he did me a great deal of good, for on the third day I broke into a sweat and was able to leave my bed. Then my German doctors held another consultation, put on their spectacles, and told me that if I would go abroad and take a course of the waters, the indisposition would finally pass away. Why should it not, I thought to myself. So I had got things ready, and on the following day a Friday set out for here. I occupied a special compartment in the train, and wherever I had to change I found at the station bearers who were ready to carry me for a few coppers. You have nice quarters here, she went on as she glanced around the room. But where on earth did you get the money for them, my good sir? I thought that everything of yours had been mortgaged. This Frenchman alone must be your creditor for a good deal. Oh, I know all about it. All about it. I—I am surprised at you, my dearest mother, said the general in some confusion. I—I am greatly surprised. But I do not need any extraneous control of my finances. Moreover, my expenses do not exceed my income, and we—they do not exceed it. Fie! Why, you are robbing your children of their last co-peck. You! They are guardian. After this, said the general, completely taken aback, after what you have just said, I do not know whether—you do not know what? By heavens, are you never going to drop that roulette of yours? Are you going to whistle all your property away? This made such an impression upon the general that he almost choked with fury. Roulette, indeed, I play roulette. Really in view of my position, recollect what you are saying, my dearest mother. You must still be unwell. Rubbish! Rubbish! She retorted. The truth is that you cannot be got away from that roulette. You are simply telling lies. This very day I mean to go and see for myself what roulette is like. Baskovia, tell me what there is to be seen here. And do you, Alexis Savanovich, show me everything? And do you, Potapitch, make me a list of excursions? What is there to be seen? Again she inquired of Polina. There was a ruined castle, and the Schlingenberg? The Schlingenberg? What is it? A forest? No. A mountain on the summit of which there is a place fenced off. From it you can get a most beautiful view. Could a chair be carried up that mountain of yours? Doubtless we could find bearers for the purpose I interposed. At this moment Theodosia, the nursemaid, approached the old lady with the general's children. No, I don't want to see them, said the grandmother. I hate kissing children, for their noses are always wet. How are you getting on, Theodosia? I am very well, thank you, madame, replied the nursemaid, and how is your ladyship? We have been feeling so anxious about you. Yes, I know, you simple soul. But who are those other guests? The old lady continued, turning again to Polina. For instance, who was that old rascal in the spectacles? Prince Nilsky, grandmama, whispered Polina. Oh! A Russian! Why, I had no idea that he could understand me. Surely he did not hear what I said. As for Mr. Astley I have seen him already, and I see that he is here again. How do you do? She added to the gentleman in question. Mr. Astley bowed in silence. Have you nothing to say to me, the old lady went on? Say something for goodness' sake. Translate to him, Polina. Polina did so. I have only to say, replied Mr. Astley gravely, but also with a lacquerty, that I am indeed glad to see you in such good health. This was interpreted to the grandmother, and she seemed much gratified. How well English people know how to answer one, she remarked. That is why I like them so much better than French. Come here, she added to Mr. Astley. I will try not to bore you too much. Polina, translate to him that I am staying in rooms on a lower floor. Yes, on a lower floor, she repeated to Astley, pointing downwards with her finger. Astley looked pleased at receiving the invitation. Next the old lady scanned Polina from head to foot with minute attention. I could almost have liked you, Prescovia. Suddenly she remarked, for you are a nice girl, the best of the lot. You have some character about you. I too have character. Turn round. Surely that is not false hair that you are wearing. No, Grandma, it is my own. Well, well, I do not like the stupid fashions of today. You are very good looking. I should have fallen in love with you if I had been a man. Why do you not get married? It is time now that I was going. I want to walk, yet I always have to ride. Are you still in a bad temper, she added to the general? No indeed rejoined the now-molified general. I quite understand that at your time of life, c'est vie et tombé en enfance, de Gruyers whispered to me. But I want to look around a little, the old lady added to the general. Will you lend me Alexis of Anavich for the purpose? As much as you like. But I myself, yes, and Polina and Monsieur de Gruyers, too, we all of us hope to have the pleasure of escorting you. C'est madame, c'est la serre un plaisir, de Gruyers commented with a bewitching smile. Pleasure, indeed. Why, I look upon you as a perfect fool, monsieur. Then she remarked to the general, I am not going to let you have any of my money. I must be off to my rooms now, to see what they are like. Afterwards we will look round a little. Lift me up. Again the grandmother was born aloft and carried down the staircase amid a perfect bevy of followers, the general walking as though he had been hit over the head with a cudgel, and de Gruyers seeming to be plunged in thought. And evering to be left behind, mademoiselle Blanche, next thought better of it, and followed the rest, with the prince and her wake. Only the German savant and madame de Comigers did not leave the general's apartments. CHAPTER X AT SPAZ, and probably all over Europe, hotel landlords and managers are guided in their allotment of rooms to visitors not so much by the wishes and requirements of those visitors as by their personal estimate of the same. It may also be said that these landlords and managers seldom make a mistake. To the grandmother, however, our landlord, for some reason or another, allotted such a sumptuous suite that he fairly overreached himself, for he assigned her a suite consisting of four magnificently appointed rooms, with bathroom, servants' quarters, a separate room for her maid, and so on. In fact, during the previous week the suite had been occupied by no less a personage than a grand duchess, which circumstance was duly explained to the new occupant as an excuse for raising the price of these apartments. The grandmother had herself carried, or rather wheeled, through each room in turn in order that she might subject the whole to a close and attentive scrutiny, while the landlord, an elderly bald-headed man, walked respectfully by her side. Not every one took the grandmother to be I do not know, but it appeared at least, that she was accounted a person not only of great importance, but also and still more, of great wealth. And without delay they entered her in the hotel register as Madame la Generale Princesse de Tara-Saviteva, although she had never been a princess in her life. Her retinue, her reserved compartment in the train, her pile of unnecessary trunks, portmanteau, and strong boxes all helped to increase her prestige. While her wheeled chair, her sharp tone and voice, her eccentric questions, put with an air of the most overbearing and unbridled imperiousness, her whole figure, upright, rugged, and commanding as it was, completed the general awe in which she was held. As she inspected her new abode, she ordered her chair to be stopped at intervals in order that, with finger extended towards some article of furniture, she might ply the respectfully smiling yet secretly apprehensive landlord with unexpected questions. She addressed them to him in French. Although her pronunciation of the language was so bad that sometimes I had to translate them, for the most part the landlord's answers were unsatisfactory, and failed to please her, nor were the questions themselves of a practical nature but related generally to God knows what. For instance, on one occasion she halted before a picture which a poor copy of a well-known original had a mythological subject. Of whom is this a portrait, she inquired. The landlord explained that it was probably that of a countess. But how do you know that, the old lady retorted? You live here, yet you cannot say for certain? And why is the picture there at all? And why do its eyes look so crooked? To all these questions the landlord could return no satisfactory reply, despite his floundering endeavours. The blockhead exclaimed the grandmother in Russian. Then she proceeded on her way, only to repeat the same story in front of a Saxon statuette which she had cited from afar and had commanded for some reason or another to be brought to her. Finally she inquired of the landlord what was the value of the carpet in her bedroom, as well as where the said carpet had been manufactured. But the landlord could do no more than promise to make inquiries. What donkeys these people are, she commented. Next she turned her attention to the bed. What a huge counterpane, she exclaimed. Turn it back, please. The lackeys did so. Further yet, further yet, the old lady cried. Turn it right back. Also take off those pillows and bolsters. And lift up the feather bed. The bed was open for her inspection. Mercifully, it contains no bugs, she remarked. Pull off the whole thing, and then put on my own pillows and sheets. The place is too luxurious for an old woman like myself. It is too large for any one person. Alexis Ivanovich, come and see me whenever you are not teaching your pupils. After tomorrow I shall no longer be in the general service, I replied, merely living in the hotel on my own account. Why so? Because the other day there arrived from Berlin a German and his wife, persons of some importance, and it chanced that when taking a walk I spoke to them in German without having properly compassed the Berlin accent. Indeed, yes, and this action on my part the Baron held to be an insult, and complained about it to the general, who yesterday dismissed me from his employ. But I suppose you must have threatened that precious Baron, or something of the kind. However, even if you did so it was a matter of no moment. No I did not. The Baron was the aggressor by raising his stick at me. Upon that the grandmother turned sharply to the general. What? You permitted yourself to treat your tutor thus, you nincompoop, and to dismiss him from his post? You are a blockhead, an utter blockhead, I can see that clearly. Do not alarm yourself, my dear mother, the general replied with a lofty air, and air in which there was also a tinge of familiarity. I am quite capable of managing my own affairs, moreover Alexis Ivanovich has not given you a true account of the matter. What did you do next, the old lady inquired of me? I wanted to challenge the Baron to a duel, I replied, as modestly as possible, but the general protested against my doing so. And why did you so protest, she inquired of the general? Then she turned to the landlord and questioned him as to whether he would not have fought a duel if challenged. For, she added, I can see no difference between you and the Baron, nor can I bear that German visage of yours. Upon this the landlord bowed and departed, though he could not have understood the grandmother's compliment. Pardon me, madame, the general continued with a sneer, but our duel is really feasible. Why not? All men are crowing cocks, and that is why they quarrel. You though, I perceive are a blockhead, a man who does not even know how to carry his breeding. Lift me up. Pontipitch, see to it that you always have two bearers ready. Go in a range for their hire, but we shall not require more than two, for I shall need only to be carried upstairs. On the level or in the street I can be wheeled along. Go and tell them that, and pay them in advance, so that they may show me some respect. You too, Pontipitch, are always to come with me, and you, Alexis Savanovitch, are to point out to me this Baron as we go along in order that I may get a squint at the precious barn. And where is that roulette played? I explained to her that the game was carried on in the salons of the casino, whereupon there ensued a string of questions as to whether there were many such salons, whether many people played in them, whether those people played a whole day at a time, and whether the game was managed according to fixed rules. At length I thought it best to say that the most advisable course would be for her to go and see it for herself, since a mere description of it would be a difficult matter. Then take me straight there, she said, and do you walk on in front of me, Alexis Savanovitch? What mother? Before you have so much as rested from your journey? The general inquired with some solicitude. Also for some reason which I could not divine, he seemed to be growing nervous, and indeed the whole party was evincing signs of confusion, and exchanging glances with one another. Probably they were thinking that it would be a ticklish, even an embarrassing business, to accompany the grandmother to the casino, where very likely she would perpetrate further eccentricities, and in public too, yet on their own initiative they had offered to escort her. Why should I rest, she retorted, I am not tired, for I have been sitting still these past five days. Let us see what your medicinal springs and waters are like, and where they are situated. What too about that, that, what did you call it, Prescovia, or about that mountain top? Yes, we are going to see it, Grandmama. Very well. Is there anything else for me to see here? Yes, quite a number of things, Polina forced herself to say. Martha, you must come with me as well, when on the old lady to her maid. No, no, mother, ejaculated the general. Really she cannot come. They would not admit even Potapitch to the casino. Rubbish. Because she is my servant, is that a reason for turning her out? Why she is only a human being like the rest of us, and as she has been traveling for a week she might like to look about her. With whom else could she go out but myself? She would never dare to show her nose in the street alone. But mother, are you ashamed to be seen with me? Stop at home then, and you will be asked no questions. A pretty general you are, to be sure. I am a general's widow myself, but after all, why should I drag the whole party with me? I will go and see the sights with only Alexis Avanovic as my escort. De Griers strongly insisted that everyone ought to accompany her. Indeed he launched out into a perfect shower of charming phrases concerning the pleasure of acting as her Cicceroni, and so forth. Everyone was touched with his words. Maisel est tombis en enfance. He added aside to the general. Sûl al-Ferre debetise. More than this I could not overhear, but he seemed to have got some plan in his mind, or even to be feeling a slight return of his hopes. The distance to the casino was about half a burst, and our route led us through the Chestnut Avenue until we reached the square directly fronting the building. The general, I could see, was a trifle reassured by the fact that, though our progress was distinctly eccentric in its nature, it was at least correct and orderly. As a matter of fact, the spectacle of a person who was unable to walk is not anything to excite surprise at a spa. Yet it was clear that the general had a great fear of the casino itself, for why should a person who had lost the use of her limbs, more especially an old woman, be going to rooms which were set apart only for roulette? On either side of the wheeled chair walked Polina and Mademoiselle Blanche, the latter smiling, modestly gesting, and in short making herself so agreeable to the grandmother that in the end the old lady relented towards her. On the other side of the chair Polina had to answer an endless flow of petty questions, such as, Who was it passed just now? Who is that coming along? Is the town a large one? Are the public gardens extensive? What sort of trees are those? What is the name of those hills? Do I see eagles flying yonder? Is that absurd-looking building? And so forth. Meanwhile Astley whispered to me as he walked by my side that he looked for much to happen that morning. Behind the old lady's chair marched Potapitch and Martha, Potapitch in his frockcoat and white waistcoat, with a cloak over all, and the forty year old and rosy but slightly gray-headed Martha in a mob cap, cotton dress, and squeaking shoes. Frequently the old lady would twist herself round to converse with these servants. As for de Griers, he spoke as though he had made up his mind to do something, though it is also possible that he spoke in this manner merely in order to hearten the general with whom he appeared to have held a conference. But alas, the grandmother had uttered the fatal words, I am not going to give you any of my money. And though de Griers might regard these words lightly, the general knew his mother better. Also I noticed that de Griers and Marmousel Blanche were still exchanging looks, while of the prince and the German savant I lost sight at the end of the avenue where they had turned back and left us. Into the casino we marched in triumph. At once both in the person of the commissionaire and in the persons of the footmen they are spying to life the same reverence as had arisen in the lackeys of the hotel. Yet it was not without some curiosity that they eyed us. At loss of time the grandmother gave orders that she should be wheeled through every room in the establishment, of which apartments she praised a few, while to others she remained indifferent. Concerning everything however she asked questions. Finally we reached to the gaming salons, where a lackey who was acting as guard over the doors flung them open as though he were a man possessed. The grandmother's entry into the roulette salon produced a profound impression upon the public. Around the tables and at the further end of the room, where the trante carante table was set out, there may have been gathered from one hundred fifty to two hundred gamblers, ranged in several rows. Those who had succeeded in pushing their way to the tables were standing with their feet firmly planted, in order to avoid having to give up their places until they should have finished their game. Since merely to stand looking on, thus occupying a gambler's place for nothing, was not permitted. True, chairs were provided around the tables, but few players made use of them, more especially if there was a large attendance of the general public. Since to stand allowed of a closer approach, and therefore of greater facilities for calculation and staking. Behind the foremost row were herded a second and a third row of people, awaiting their turn, but sometimes their impatience led these people to stretch a hand through the first row in order to deposit their stakes. One third row individuals would dart forward to stake, when seldom did more than five or ten minutes pass, without a scene over disputed money arising at one or another end of the table. On the other hand, the police of the casino were an able body of men, and though to escape the crush was an impossibility, however much one might wish it, the eight croupiers, a portion to each table, kept an eye upon the stakes, performed the necessary reckoning, and decided disputes as they arose. In the last resort they always called in the casino police, and the disputes would immediately come to an end. Policemen were stationed about the casino in ordinary costume, and mingled with the spectators so as to make it impossible to recognize them. In particular, they kept a lookout for pickpockets and swindlers, who simply swaned in the roulette salons and reaped a rich harvest. Indeed in every direction money was being filched from pockets or purses, though, of course, if the attempt miscarried a great uproar ensued. One had only to approach a roulette table, begin to play, and then openly grab someone else's winnings, for a din to be raised, and the thief to start vociferating that the stake was his. And if the coup had been carried out with sufficient skill, and the witnesses wavered at all in their testimony, the thief would as likely as not succeed in getting away with the money. It seemed that the sum was not a large one, not large enough to have attracted the attention of the groupiers or some fellow player. Moreover, if it were a stake of insignificant size, its true owner would sometimes decline to continue the dispute, rather than become involved in a scandal. Conversely, if the thief was detected, he was ignominiously expelled the building. Upon all this the grandmother gazed with open-eyed curiosity, and on some thieves happening to be turned out of the place she was delighted. Trant, a carant, interested her but little. She preferred roulette, with its ever-revolving wheel. At length she expressed a wish to view the game closer, whereupon in some mysterious manner the lackeys and other officious agents, especially one or two ruined poles of the kind who keep offering their services to successful gamblers and foreigners in general, at once found and cleared a space for the old lady among the crush, at the very center of one of the tables, and next to the chief croupier, after which they wheeled her chair thither. Upon this a number of visitors who were not playing, but only looking on, particularly some Englishmen with their families, pressed closer forward towards the table, in order to watch the old lady from among the ranks of the gamblers. Many a long yet I saw turned in her direction, and the croupier's hopes rose high that such an eccentric player was about to provide them with something out of the common. An old lady of seventy-five years who, though unable to walk desired to play, was not an everyday phenomenon. I too pressed forward towards the table, and arranged myself by the grandmother's side, while Martha and Potapitch remained somewhere in the background among the crowd, and the general Paulina and de Griers with Mademoiselle Blanche also remained hidden among the spectators. At first the old lady did no more than watch the gamblers, and ply me in a half whisper with sharp broken questions as to who was so and so. Especially did her favor light upon a very young man who was plunging heavily, and had won, so it was whispered as much as forty thousand francs, which were lying before him on the table in a heap of gold and banknotes. His eyes kept flashing, and his hands shaking, yet all the while he staked without any sort of calculation, just what came to his hand, as he kept winning and winning and raking and raking in his gains. Around him lack he's fussed, placing chairs just behind where he was standing, and clearing the spectators from his vicinity so that he should have more room and not be crowded. The whole done, of course, in expectation of a generous largesse. From time to time other gamblers would hand him part of their winnings, being glad to let him stake for them as much as his hand could grasp. While beside him stood a pole in a state of violent but respectful agitation, who also in expectation of a generous largesse, kept whispering to him at intervals, probably telling him what to stake and advising and directing his play. Yet never once did the player throw him a glance as he staked and staked, and raked in his winnings. Evidently the player in question was dead to all besides. For a few minutes the grandmother watched him. Go and tell him, suddenly she exclaimed with a nudge at my elbow, go and tell him to stop and to take his money with him and go home. Surely he will be losing, yes, losing everything that he is now won. She seemed almost breathless with excitement. Where is Potapitch, she continued, send Potapitch to speak to him. No, you must tell him. You must tell him. Here she nudged me again, for I have not the least notion where Potapitch is. Sorte, Sorte, she shouted to the young man, until I lent over in her direction and whispered in her ear that no shouting was allowed, nor even loud speaking, since to do so disturbed the calculations of the players and might lead to our being ejected. How provoking, she retorted. Then the young man is done for. I suppose he wishes to be ruined, yet I could not bear to see him have to return at all. What a fool the fellow is! And the old lady turned sharply away. On the left among the players at the other half of the table a young lady was playing, with beside her a dwarf, who the dwarf may have been, whether a relative or a person whom she took with her to act as a foil, I do not know. But I had noticed her there on previous occasions, since every day she entered the casino at one o'clock precisely, and departed at two, thus playing for exactly one hour. Being well known to the attendants, she always had a seat provided for her, and taking some gold and a few thousand frank notes out of her pocket would begin quietly, coldly, and after much calculation to stake and mark down the figures in pencil on a paper as though striving to work out a system, according to which, at given moments, the odds might group themselves. Always she staked large coins, and either lost or won one, two or three thousand franks a day. But not more, after which she would depart. The grandmother took a long look at her. That woman is not losing, she said. To whom does she belong? Do you know her? Who is she? She is, I believe, a French woman, I replied. Ah! a bird of passage, evidently. Besides I can see that she has her shoes polished. Now explain to me the meaning of each round in the game and the way in which one ought to stake. Upon this I set myself to explain the meaning of all the combinations. A rouge à noir, a pair à d'imper, of manqué et passe, with lastly the different values in the system of numbers. The grandmother listened attentively, took notes, put questions in various forms, and laid the whole thing to heart. Indeed, since an example of each system of stakes kept constantly occurring, a great deal of information could be assimilated with ease and celerity. The grandmother was vastly pleased. But what is zero, she inquired. Just now I heard the flaxen-haired croupier call out zero, and why does he keep breaking in all the money that is on the table? To think that he should grab the whole pile for himself, what does zero mean? Zero is what the bank takes for itself. If the wheel stops at that figure, everything lying on the table becomes the absolute property of the bank. Also, whenever the wheel has begun to turn, the bank ceases to pay out anything. Then I should receive nothing if I were staking? No. Unless by any chance you had purposely staked on zero, in which case you would receive thirty-five times the value of your stake. Why thirty-five times, when zero so often turns up? And if so, why do not more of these fools stake upon it? Because the number of chances against its occurrence is thirty-six. Rubbish! Pot-to-pitch! Pot-to-pitch! Come here, and I will give you some money. The old lady took out of her pocket a tightly clasped purse, and extracted from its depths a ten-golden piece. Go at once, and stake that upon zero. But, madame, zero has only this moment turned up, I remonstrated. Wherefore it may not do so again for ever so long. Wait a little, and you may then have a better chance. Rubbish! Stake, please! Pardon me, but zero might not turn up again until, say, tonight, even though you had staked thousands upon it. It often happens so. Rubbish! Rubbish! Who fears the wolf should never enter the forest? What? Have we lost? Then stake again. A second ten-golden piece did we lose, and then I put down a third. The grandmother could scarcely remain seated in her chair, so intent was she upon the little ball, as it leapt through the notches of the ever-revolving wheel. However, the third ten-golden piece followed the first two. Upon this the grandmother went perfectly crazy. She could no longer sit still, and actually struck the table with her fist when the croupier cried out, Trunt, cease! Instead of the deciderated zero. Listen to him, fumed the old lady. When will that accursed zero ever turn up? I cannot breathe until I see it. I believe that that infernal croupier is purposely keeping it from turning up. Alexis Savanovich staked two golden pieces this time. The moment we cease to stake, that cursed zero will come turning up, and we shall get nothing. My good madame! Stake! Stake! It is not your money! Accordingly I staked two ten-golden pieces. The ball went hopping round the wheel until it began to settle through the notches. Meanwhile, the grandmother sat as though petrified, with my hand convulsively clutched in hers. Zero! Called the croupier. There! You see? You see? cried the old lady as she turned and faced me, wreathed in smiles. I told you so. It was the Lord God Himself who suggested to me to stake those two coins. Now how much ought I to receive? Why do they not pay it out to me? Potapitch! Martha! Where are they? What has become of our party? Potapitch! Potapitch! Presently, madame! I whispered. Potapitch is outside! And they would decline to admit him to these rooms. See? You are being paid out your money. Pray take it. The croupiers were making up a heavy packet of coins, sealed in blue paper, and containing fifty ten-golden pieces, together with an unsealed packet containing another twenty. I handed the hole to the old lady in a money shovel. Fait le jour, monsieur. Fait le jour, monsieur. Rien ne va plus, proclaimed the croupier, as once more he invited the company to stake and prepared to turn the wheel. We shall be too late. He is going to spin again. Stake! Stake! The grandmother was in a perfect fever. Do not hang back. Be quick. She seemed almost beside herself and nudged me as hard as she could. Upon what shall I stake, madame? Upon zero! Upon zero! Again upon zero! Stake as much as ever you can. How much have we got? Twenty ten-golden pieces? We shall not miss them, so stake twenty pieces at a time. Think a moment, madame. Sometimes zero does not turn up for two hundred rounds in succession. I assure you that you may lose all your capital. You are wrong! Utterly wrong! Stake, I tell you! What a chattering tongue you have! I know perfectly well what I am doing. The old lady was shaking with excitement. But the rules do not allow of more than one hundred twenty golden being staked upon zero at a time. How do not allow? Surely you are wrong. Monsieur, monsieur! Here she nudged the croupier who was sitting on her left and preparing to spin. Combien zero! Douze, douze! I hasten to translate. Awee, madame, was the croupier's polite reply. No single stake must exceed four thousand florins. That is the regulation. Then there is nothing else for it. We must risk in Goulden. Le jus et fête, the croupier called. The wheel revolved and stopped at thirty. We had lost. Again, again, again, stake again, shouted the old lady. Without attempting to oppose her further, but merely shrugging my shoulders, I placed twelve more ten Goulden pieces upon the table. The wheel whirled round and around, with the grandmother simply quaking as she watched its revolutions. Does she again think that zero is going to be the winning coup, thought I, as I stared at her in astonishment? Yet an absolute assurance of winning was shining on her face. She looked perfectly convinced that zero was about to be called again. At length the ball dropped off into one of the notches. Zero! cried the croupier. Ah! screamed the old lady, as she turned to me in a whirl of triumph. I myself was at heart a gambler. At that moment I became acutely conscious both of that fact and of the fact that my hands and knees were shaking, and that the blood was beating in my brain. Of course this was a rare occasion, an occasion on which zero had turned up no less than three times within a dozen rounds. Yet in such an event there was nothing so very surprising seeing that only three days ago I myself had been a witness to zero turning up three times in succession. So that one of the players who was recording the coups on paper was moved to remark that for several days past zero had never turned up at all. With the grandmother, as with anyone who has won a very large sum, the management settled up with great attention and respect, since she was fortunate to have to receive no less than four thousand two hundred gulden. Of these gulden the odd two hundred were paid to her in gold, and the remainder in banknotes. This time the old lady did not call for a pot-a-pitch. For that she was too preoccupied. Though not outwardly shaken by the event indeed she seemed perfectly calm, she was trembling inwardly from head to foot. At length completely absorbed in the game she burst out, "'Alexis Ivanovich, did not the croupier just say that four thousand florins were the most that could be staked at any one time? Well, take these four thousand and stake them upon the red.' To oppose her was useless. Once more the wheel revolved. "'Ruge!' proclaimed the croupier. Again four thousand florins, in all eight thousand. "'Give me them,' commanded the grandmother, and stake the other four thousand upon the red again.' "'I did so.' "'Ruge!' proclaimed the croupier. "'Twelve thousand!' cried the old lady. "'Hand me the whole lot! Put the gold into this purse here, and count the bank-notes. Enough! Let us go home! Wheel my chair away!' CHAPTER 11 The chair, with the old lady beaming in it, was wheeled away towards the doors at the further end of the salon, while our party hastened to crowd around her and to offer her their congratulations. In fact, eccentric as was her conduct, it was also overshadowed by her triumph, with the result that the general no longer feared to be publicly compromised by being seen with such a strange woman. But smiling and a condescending cheerfully familiar way, as though he were soothing a child, he offered his greetings to the old lady. At the same time both he and the rest of the spectators were visibly impressed. Where people kept pointing to the grandmother, and talking about her, many people even walked beside her chair in order to view her the better, while at a little distance Astley was carrying on a conversation on the subject with two English acquaintances of his. De Griers was simply overflowing with smiles and compliments, and a number of fine ladies were staring at the grandmother as though she had been something curious. K'el-vique-toire exclaimed De Griers. M'am-madame, c'est-t-es-du-fus, added mademoiselle Blanche with an elusive smile. Yes, I have won twelve thousand florins, replied the old lady, and then there is all this gold, with it the total ought to come to nearly thirteen thousand. How much is that in Russian money, six thousand rubles, I think? However, I calculated that the sum would exceed seven thousand rubles, or at the present rate of exchange even eight thousand. Eight thousand rubles, what a splendid thing, and to think of you simpletons sitting there and doing nothing! Pot-to-pitch, Martha, see what I have won! How did you do it, madame? Martha exclaimed ecstatically, eight thousand rubles. And I am going to give you fifty gold in a piece, there they are. Pot-to-pitch and Martha rushed towards her to kiss her hand. And to each bearer also I will give a ten-golden piece. Let them have it out of the gold, Alexis Ivanovitch. But why is this footman bowing to me, and that other man as well? Are they congratulating me? Well, let them have ten-golden a piece. Madame la princesse, un pauvre es patrie, malheur, continue well, les princes, russées, sons si generaires, said a man who for some time past had been hanging around the old lady's chair, a personage who, dressed in a shabby frack-coat and colored waist-coat, kept taking off his cap, and smiling pathetically. Give him ten-golden, said the grandmother, no, give him twenty. Now enough of that, or I shall never get done with you all. Take a moment's rest, and then carry me away. Prescovia, I mean to buy a new dress for you tomorrow. Yes, and for you too, mademoiselle Blanche. Please translate, Prescovia. Merci, madame, replied, mademoiselle Blanche, gratefully as she twisted her face into the mocking smile which usually she kept only for the benefit of Duc Griez and the general. The latter looked confused and seemed greatly relieved when we reached the avenue. How surprised Theodosia will be, went on, grandmother, thinking of the general's nursemaid. She, like yourselves, shall have the price of a new gown. Here, Alexis Avanovic, give that beggar something. A crooked-backed ragamuffin had approached to stare at us. But perhaps he is not a beggar, only a rascal, I replied. Never mind, never mind, give him a gulden. I approached the beggar in question, and handed him the coin. Looking at me in great astonishment he silently accepted the gulden, while from his person there proceeded a strong smell of liquor. Have you never tried your luck, Alexis Avanovic? No, madame, yet just now I could see that you were burning to do so? I do mean to try my luck presently. Then stake everything upon zero. You have seen how it ought to be done? How much capital do you possess? Two hundred gulden, madame, not very much. See here. I will lend you five hundred if you wish. Take this purse of mine. With that she added sharply to the general, but you need not expect to receive any. This seemed to upset him, but he said nothing, and Ducrié contended himself by scowling. Que diabla! He whispered to the general, setun terrible viella. Look! Another beggar, another beggar, exclaimed the grandmother. Alexis Avanovic, go and give him a gulden. As she spoke I saw approaching as a gray-headed old man with a wooden leg, a man who was dressed in a blue frock-coat and carrying a staff. He looked like an old soldier. As soon as I tendered him the coin he fell back a step or two and eyed me threateningly. Vas ist der Tuftel, he cried, and appended thereto a round dozen of oaths. The man is a perfect fool, exclaimed the grandmother, waving her hand. Move on now, for I am simply famished. When we have lunched we will return to that place. What? cried I. You are going to play again? What else do you suppose she retorted? Are you going only to sit here and grow sour and let me look at you? Madame, said degré-confidentially, Les chancez pouvant tourner, Une seule mauvaise chance, Et vous perdrez tout, Surtout avec votre jeu, C'était terrible. Oui, vous perdrez absolument, Pourin Mermazel Blanche. What has that got to do with you, retorted the old lady? It is not your money that I am going to lose, it is my own. And where is that Mr. Astley of yours, she added to myself? He stayed behind in the casino. What a pity, he is such a nice sort of man. Arriving home and meeting the landlord on the staircase the grandmother called him to her side, and boasted to him of her winnings, thereafter doing the same to Theodosia, and conferring upon her thirty-golden, after which she bid her serve luncheon. The meal over, Theodosia and Martha broke into a joint flood of ecstasy. I was watching you all the time, Madame, quavered Martha, and I asked Potapitch what Mistress was trying to do. In my word the heaps and heaps of money that were lying upon the table, never in my life have I seen so much money, and there were gentlefolk around it, and other gentlefolk sitting down. So I asked Potapitch where all these gentry had come from, for thought I maybe the Holy Mother of God will help our Mistress among them. Yes, I prayed for you, Madame, and my heart died within me, so that I kept trembling and trembling. The Lord be with her, I thought to myself, and in answer to my prayer he has now sent you what he has done. And yet I tremble. I tremble to think of it all. Alexis Ivanovitch said the old lady, after luncheon, that is to say about four o'clock, get ready to go out with me again, but in the meanwhile, good-bye, do not forget to call a doctor, for I must take the waters. Now go and get rested a little. I left the grandmother's presence in a state of bewilderment. Vainly I endeavored to imagine what would become of our party, or what turn the affair would next take. I could perceive that none of the party had yet recovered their presence of mind, least of all the general. The factor of the grandmother's appearance in place of the hourly expected telegram to announce her death, with, of course, resultant legacies, had so upset the whole scheme of intentions and projects that it was with a decided feeling of apprehension and growing paralysis that the conspirators viewed any future performances of the old lady at roulette. But this second factor was not quite so important as the first, since though the grandmother had twice declared that she did not intend to give the general any money, that declaration was not a complete ground for the abandonment of hope. Certainly Ducriet, who would the general was up to the neck in the affair, had not wholly lost courage. And I felt sure that Mademoiselle Blanche also, Mademoiselle Blanche, who was not only as deeply involved as the other two, but also expectant of becoming Madame General and an important legatee, would not lightly surrender the position, but would use her every resource of coquetry upon the old lady, in order to afford a contrast to the impetuous Polina, who was difficult to understand and lacked the art of pleasing. Yet now, when the grandmother had just performed an astonishing feat at roulette, now when the old lady's personality had been so clearly and typically revealed as that of a rugged, arrogant woman, who was tombie en enfance, now when everything appeared to be lost, why now the grandmother was as merry as a child which plays with thistle down. Good Lord, I thought, with, may God forgive me, a most malicious smile. Every ten gulden piece which the grandmother staked must have raised a blister on the general's heart, and maddened Ducriet, and driven Mademoiselle de Comuget almost to frenzy with the sight of this spoon dangling before her lips. Another factor is the circumstance that even when overjoyed at winning, the grandmother was distributing alms, right and left, and taking everyone to be a beggar. She again snapped out to the general that he was not going to be allowed any of her money, which meant that the old lady had quite made up her mind on the point, and was sure of it. Danger loomed ahead. All these thoughts passed through my mind during the few moments that, having left the old lady's rooms, I was ascending to my own room on the top story. What most struck me was the fact that, though I had divined the chief, the stoutest threads which united the various actors in the drama, I had until now been ignorant of the methods and secrets of the game. For Polina had never been completely open with me. Although on occasions it had happened that involuntarily, as it were, she had revealed to me something of her heart, I had noticed that in most cases, in fact nearly always, she had either laughed away these revelations, or grown confused, or purposely imparted to them a false guise. Yes, she must have concealed a great deal from me. But I had a presentiment that now the end of this strained and mysterious situation was approaching. This stroke and all would be finished and exposed. Of my own fortunes, interested though I was in the affair, I took no account. I was in the strange position of possessing but two hundred gulden, of being at a loose end, of lacking both a post, the means of subsistence, a shred of hope, and any plans for the future, yet of carrying nothing for these things. Had not my mind been so full of Polina, I should have given myself up to the comical pecancy of the impending denouement, and laughed my fill at it. But the thought of Polina was tortured to me, that her fate was settled I already had an inkling, yet that was not the thought which was giving me so much uneasiness. What I really wished for was to penetrate her secrets. I wanted her to come to me and say I love you, and if she would not so come, or if to hope that she would ever do so was an unthinkable absurdity, why then there was nothing else for me to want. Even now I do not know what I am wanting. I feel like a man who has lost his way. I yearn but to be in her presence, and within the circle of her light and splendor. To be there now, and for ever. And for the whole of my life. More I do not know. How can I ever bring myself to leave her? On reaching the third story of the hotel I experienced a shock. I was just passing the general's suite when something caused me to look round. Out of a door about twenty paces away there was coming Polina. She hesitated for a moment on seeing me, and then beckoned me to her. Polina Alexandrovna! Hush! Not so loud! Something startled me just now! I whispered, and I looked round and saw you. Some electrical influence seems to emanate from your form. Take this letter, she went on with a frown. Although she had not even heard my words, she was so preoccupied, and handed personally to Mr. Astley. Go as quickly as ever you can, please. No answer will be required. He himself—she did not finish her sentence. To Mr. Astley I asked in some astonishment, but she had vanished again. Aha! So the two were carrying on a correspondence. However, I set off to search for Astley, first at his hotel and then at the casino, where I went the round of the salons in vain. At length vexed and almost in despair, I was on my way home when I ran across him among a troop of English ladies and gentlemen who had been out for a ride. Beckoning to him to stop, I handed him the letter. We had barely time even to look at one another, but I suspected that it was of set purpose that he restarted his horse so quickly. Was jealousy then gnawing at me? At all events I felt exceedingly depressed. Despite the fact that I had no desire to ascertain what the correspondence was about, to think that he should be her confidant. My friend, my known familiar friend, passed through my mind. Yet was there any love in the matter? Of course not, reason whispered to me. But reason goes for little on such occasions. I felt that the matter must be cleared up, for it was becoming unpleasantly complex. I had scarcely set foot in the hotel when the commissionaire and the landlord, the latter issuing from his room for the purpose, alike informed me that I was being searched for high and low, that three separate messages to ascertain my whereabouts had come down from the general. When I entered his study I was feeling anything but kindly disposed. I found there the general himself, de Griers and Mademoiselle Blanche, but not Mademoiselle's mother, who was a person whom her reputed daughter used only for show purposes, since in all matters of business the daughter fended for herself, and it is unlikely that the mother knew anything about them. Some very heated discussion was in progress, and meanwhile the door of the study was open and unprecedented circumstance, as I approached the portals I could hear loud voices raised, for mingled with the pert venomous accents of de Griers where Mademoiselle Blanche's excited imputantly abusive tongue and the general's plaintive wail, as apparently he sought to justify himself in something. But on my appearance every one stopped speaking and tried to put a better face upon matters. De Griers smoothed his hair and twisted his angry face into a smile, into the mean, studiedly polite French smile which I so detested. While the downcast perplexed general assumed an air of dignity, though only in a mechanical way. On the other hand Mademoiselle Blanche did not trouble to conceal the wrath that was sparkling in her countenance, but bent her gaze upon me with an air of impatient expectancy. I may remark that hitherto she had treated me with absolute superciliousness, and so far from answering my salutations had always ignored them. Alexis Ivanovich began the general, in a tone of affectionate upbraiding, may I say to you that I find it strange, exceedingly strange, that, in short, your conduct towards myself and my family, in a word your—er—extremely—eh, cennespassa, interrupted de Griers in a tone of impatience and contempt, evidently he was the ruling spirit of the conclave, Montchère Monsieur, Notre-Générale Sir Thuomp. What he means to say is that he warns you. He begs of you, most earnestly, not to ruin him. I use the expression because, why, why, I interjected. Because you have taken upon yourself to act as guide to this—to this—how shall I express it?—to this old lady, a set pauvre, terrible vieille. But she will only gamble away all that she has, gamble it away like this oldown. You yourself have seen her play. Once she has acquired the taste for gambling, she will never leave the roulette-table. But of sheer perversity and temper will stake her all, and lose it. In cases such as hers a gambler can never be torn away from the game. And then, and then, and then, a-severated the general, you will have ruined my whole family. I and my family are her heirs, for she has no nearer relatives than ourselves. I tell you frankly that my affairs are in great—very great disorder. How much they are so you yourself are partially aware. If she should lose a large sum, or maybe her whole fortune, what will become of us? Of my children. Here the general exchanged a glance with de Griers, or of me. Here he looked at Mademoiselle Blanche, who turned her head contemptuously away. Alexis Ivanovich, I beg of you to save us. Tell me, General, how am I to do so? And what footing do I stand here? Refuse to take her about. Simply leave her alone. But she would soon find someone else to take my place. Sina Pasa, Sina Pasa, again interrupted de Griers. Que diable! Do not leave her alone so much as advise her, persuade her, draw her away. In any case, do not let her gamble. Find her some counter-attraction. And how am I to do that? If only you would undertake the task, M. de Griers, I said this last as innocently as possible, but at once saw a rapid glance of excited interrogation pass from Mademoiselle Blanche to de Griers, while in the face of the latter also there gleamed something which he could not repress. Well, at the present moment she would refuse to accept my services, said he, with a gesture. But if, later, here he gave Mademoiselle Blanche another glance which was full of meaning, whereupon she advanced towards me with a bewitching smile and seized and pressed my hands. Devil take it, but how that devilish visage of hers could change. At the present moment it was a visage full of supplication, and as gentle in its expression as that of a smiling roguish infant. Stealthily she drew me apart from the rest as though the more completely to separate me from them. And though no harm came of her doing so, for it was merely a stupid maneuver and no more, I found the situation very unpleasant. The general hastened to lend her his support. Alexis Ivanovich, he began, pray pardon me for having said what I did just now, for having said more than I meant to do. I beg and beseech you, I kiss the hem of your garment as our Russian saying has it, for you and only you can save us. I and Mademoiselle de Comagé, we all of us beg of you. But you understand, do you not? Surely you understand. And with his eyes he indicated Mademoiselle Blanche. Truly he was cutting a pitiful figure. At this moment three low respectful knocks sounded at the door, which on being opened, revealed a chambermaid, with pot a pitch behind her. Come from the grandmother to request that I should attend her in her rooms. She is in a bad humor, added pot a pitch. The time was half past three. My mistress was unable to sleep, explained pot a pitch. So after tossing about for a while, she suddenly rose, called for her chair, and sent me to look for you. She is now in the veranda. Quel mes hier? exclaimed de Gris. True enough I found Madame in the hotel veranda. Much put about at my delay, for she had been unable to contain herself until four o'clock. Lift me up, she cried to the bearers. And once more we set out for the roulette salons.