“ ‘What do you know?’

“ ‘Gy⁠—y! I saw you near the willows kissing Sasha. I followed you and saw it all.’

“Zinotchka started, flushed all over, and overwhelmed by ‘my hint’ she sank down on the chair, on which stood a glass of water and a candlestick.

“ ‘I saw you⁠ ⁠… kissing⁠ ⁠…’ I repeated, sniggering and enjoying her confusion. ‘Aha! I’ll tell mamma!’

“Cowardly Zinotchka gazed at me intently, and convincing herself that I really did know all about it, clutched my hand in despair and muttered in a trembling whisper:

“ ‘Petya, it is low.⁠ ⁠… I beg of you, for God’s sake.⁠ ⁠… Be a man⁠ ⁠… don’t tell anyone.⁠ ⁠… Decent people don’t spy.⁠ ⁠… It’s low.⁠ ⁠… I entreat you.’

“The poor girl was terribly afraid of my mother, a stern and virtuous lady⁠—that was one thing; and the second was that my grinning countenance could not but outrage her first love so pure and poetical, and you can imagine the state of her heart. Thanks to me, she did not sleep a wink all night, and in the morning she appeared at breakfast with blue rings round her eyes. When I met Sasha after breakfast I could not refrain from grinning and boasting:

“ ‘I know! I saw you yesterday kissing Mademoiselle Zina!’

“Sasha looked at me and said:

“ ‘You are a fool.’

“He was not so cowardly as Zinotchka, and so my effect did not come off. That provoked me to further efforts. If Sasha was not frightened it was evident that he did not believe that I had seen and knew all about it; wait a bit, I would show him.