me! Lord, thou hast wrought miracles for such sinners as me! But what, what if the old man’s alive? Oh, then the shame of the other disgrace I would wipe away. I would restore the stolen money. I’d give it back; I’d get it somehow. … No trace of that shame will remain except in my heart forever! But no, no; oh, impossible cowardly dreams! Oh,
Yet there was a ray of light and hope in his darkness. He jumped up and ran back to the room—to her, to her, his queen forever! Was not one moment of her love worth all the rest of life, even in the agonies of disgrace? This wild question clutched at his heart. “To her, to her alone, to see her, to hear her, to think of nothing, to forget everything, if only for that night, for an hour, for a moment!” Just as he turned from the balcony into the passage, he came upon the landlord, Trifon Borissovitch. He thought he looked gloomy and worried, and fancied he had come to find him.
“What is it, Trifon Borissovitch? are you looking for me?”
“No, sir.” The landlord seemed disconcerted. “Why should I be looking for you? Where have you been?”
“Why do you look so glum? You’re not angry, are you? Wait a bit, you shall soon get to bed. … What’s the time?”
“It’ll be three o’clock. Past three, it must be.”
“We’ll leave off soon. We’ll leave off.”
“Don’t mention it; it doesn’t matter. Keep it up as long as you like. …”
“What’s the matter with him?” Mitya wondered for an instant, and he ran back to the room where the