He sank into delirium and at last lost consciousness. So it went on all the following day. Sofya Matveyevna sat beside him, crying. She scarcely slept at all for three nights, and avoided seeing the people of the house, who were, she felt, beginning to take some steps. Deliverance only came on the third day. In the morning Stepan Trofimovitch returned to consciousness, recognised her, and held out his hand to her. She crossed herself hopefully. He wanted to look out of the window. “ Tiens, un lac! ” he said. “Good heavens, I had not seen it before!⁠ ⁠…” At that moment there was the rumble of a carriage at the cottage door and a great hubbub in the house followed.