I got on very well with Sushilov for several years. By degrees he became extremely devoted to me. I could not help noticing it, so that I became quite attached to him too. But one day he did not do somethingâ âI had asked him, though I had just given him some money andâ âI can never forgive myself for itâ âI had the cruelty to say to him, âWell, Sushilov, you take the money but you donât do your work.â He said nothing, ran to do the job, but became suddenly depressed. Two days passed. I thought to myself, âSurely it canât be on account of what I said?â I knew that one of the convicts called Anton Vassilyev was worrying him very persistently about a trifling debt. âProbably he has no money and is afraid to ask me!â On the third day I said to him: âSushilov, I think you wanted to ask me for the money to pay Anton Vassilyev? Take it.â I was sitting on the bed at the time; Sushilov was standing before me. He seemed greatly impressed at my offering him the money, at my thinking of his difficult position of my own accord, especially as he had, in his own opinion, been paid too much by me of late, so that he had not dared to hope I would give him more. He looked at the money, then at me, suddenly turned away and went out. All this surprised me very much. I followed him and found him behind the prison. He was standing facing the fence with his head bent down and his elbow leaning on the fence.
180