coughing and, at the same time, seeming rather nervous.
David and I at once gave up working and going to the high school; wedid not even go for walks but sat in a corner counting and reckoningin how many months, in how many weeks, in how many days "brotherYegor" ought to come back and where to write to him and how to go tomeet him and in what way we should begin to live afterwards. "BrotherYegor" was an architect: David and I decided that he ought to settlein Moscow and there build big schools for poor people and we would goto be his assistants. The watch, of course, we had completelyforgotten; besides, David had new cares.... Of them I will speaklater, but the watch was destined to remind us of its existence again.
VII
One morning we had only just finished lunch--I was sitting alone bythe window thinking of my uncle's release--outside there was the steamand glitter of an April thaw--when all at once my aunt, PelageyaPetrovna, walked into the room. She was at all times restless andfidgetty, she spoke in a shrill voice and was always waving her armsabout; on this occasion she simply pounced on me.
"Go along, go to your father at once, sir!" she snapped out. "Whatpranks have you been up to, you shameless boy! You will catch it, bothof you. Nastasey Nastasyeitch has shown up all your tricks! Go along,your father wants you.... Go along this very minute."
Understanding nothing, I followed my aunt, and, as I crossed thethreshold of the drawing-room, I saw my father, striding up and downand ruffling up his hair, Yushka in tears by the door and, sitting ona chair in the corner, my godfather, Nastasey Nastasyeitch, with anexpression of peculiar malignancy in his distended nostrils and in hisfiery, slanting eyes.
My father swooped down upon me as soon as I walked in.
"Did you give your watch to Yushka? Tell me!"
I glanced at Yushka.
"Tell me," repeated my father, stamping.
"Yes," I answered, and immediately received a stinging slap in theface, which afforded my aunt great satisfaction. I heard her gulp, asthough she had swallowed some hot tea. From me my father ran toYushka.
"And you, you rascal, ought not to have dared to accept such apresent," he said, pulling him by the hair: "and you sold it, too, yougood-for-nothing boy!"
Yushka, as I learned later had, in the simplicity of his heart, takenmy watch to a neighbouring watchmaker's. The watchmaker had displayedit in his shop-window; Nastasey Nastasyeitch had seen it, as he passedby, bought it and brought it along with him.
However, my ordeal and Yushka's did not last long: my father gaspedfor breath, and coughed till he choked; indeed, it was not in hischaracter to be angry long.
"Brother, Porfiry Petrovitch," observed my aunt, as soon as shenoticed not without regret that my father's anger had, so to speak,flickered out, "don't you worry yourself further: it's not worthdirtying your hands over. I tell you what I suggest: with the consentof our honoured friend, Nastasey Nastasyeitch, in consideration of thebase ingratitude of your son--I will take charge of the watch; andsince he has shown by his conduct that he is not worthy to wear it anddoes not even understand its value, I will present it in your name toa person who will be very sensible of your kindness."
"Whom do you mean?" asked my father.
"To Hrisanf Lukitch," my aunt articulated, with slight hesitation.
"To Hrisashka?" asked my father, and with a wave of his hand, headded: "It's all one to me. You can throw it in the stove, if youlike."
He buttoned up his open vest and went out, writhing from his coughing.
"And you, my good friend, do you agree?" said my aunt, addressingNastasey Nastasyeitch.
"I am quite agreeable," responded the latter. During the wholeproceedings he had not stirred and only snorting stealthily andstealthily rubbing the ends of his fingers, had fixed his foxy eyes byturns on me, on my father, and on Yushka. We afforded him realgratification!
My aunt's suggestion revolted me to the depths of my soul. It was notthat I regretted the watch; but the person to whom she proposed topresent it was absolutely hateful to me. This Hrisanf Lukitch (hissurname was Trankvillitatin), a stalwart, robust, lanky divinitystudent, was in the habit of coming to our house--goodness knows whatfor!--to help the _children_ with their lessons, my aunt asserted;but he could not help us with our lessons because he had neverlearnt anything himself and was as stupid as a horse. He wasrather like a horse altogether: he thudded with his feet as thoughthey had been hoofs, did not laugh but neighed, opening his jaws tillyou could see right down his throat--and he had a long face, a hookednose and big, flat jaw-bones; he wore a shaggy frieze, full-skirtedcoat, and smelt of raw meat. My aunt idolised him and called him agood-looking man, a cavalier and even a grenadier. He had a habit oftapping children on the forehead with the nails of his long fingers,hard as stones (he used to do it to me when I was younger), and as hetapped he would chuckle and say with surprise: "How your headresounds, it must be empty." And this lout was to possess mywatch!--No, indeed, I determined in my own mind as I ran out of thedrawing-room and flung myself on my bed, while my cheek glowed crimsonfrom the slap I had received and my heart, too, was aglow with thebitterness of the insult and the thirst for revenge--no, indeed! Iwould not allow that cursed Hrisashka to jeer at me.... He would puton the watch, let the chain hang over his stomach, would neigh withdelight; no, indeed!
"Quite so, but how was it to be done, how to prevent it?"
I determined to steal the watch from my aunt.
VIII
Luckily Trankvillitatin was away from the town at the time: he couldnot come to us before the next day; I must take advantage of thenight! My aunt did not lock her bedroom door and, indeed, none of thekeys in the house would turn in the locks; but where would she put thewatch, where would she hide it? She kept it in her pocket till theevening and even took it out and looked at it more than once; but atnight--where would it be at night?--Well, that was just my work tofind out, I thought, shaking my fists.
I was burning with boldness and terror and joy at the thought of theapproaching crime. I was continually nodding to myself; I knitted mybrows. I whispered: "Wait a bit!" I threatened someone, I was wicked,I was dangerous ... and I avoided David!--no one, not even he, musthave the slightest suspicion of what I meant to do....
I would act alone and alone I would answer for it!
Slowly the day lagged by, then the evening, at last the night came. Idid nothing; I even tried not to move: one thought was stuck in myhead like a nail. At dinner my father, who was, as I have said,naturally gentle, and who was a little ashamed of his harshness--boysof sixteen are not slapped in the face--tried to be affectionate tome; but I rejected his overtures, not from slowness to forgive, as heimagined at the time, but simply that I was afraid of my feelingsgetting the better of me; I wanted to preserve untouched all the heatof my vengeance, all the hardness of unalterable determination. I wentto bed very early; but of course I did not sleep and did not even shutmy eyes, but on the contrary opened them wide, though I did pull thequilt over my head. I did not consider beforehand how to act. I had noplan of any kind; I only waited till everything should be quiet in thehouse. I only took one step: I did not remove my stockings. My aunt'sroom was on the second floor. One had to pass through the dining-roomand the hall, go up the stairs, pass along a little passage andthere ... on the right was the door! I must not on any account takewith me a candle or a lantern; in the corner of my aunt's room a littlelamp was always burning before the ikon shrine; I knew that. So Ishould be able to see. I still lay with staring eyes and my mouth openand parched; the blood was throbbing in my temples, in my ears, in mythroat, in my back, all over me! I waited ... but it seemed as thoughsome demon were mocking me; time passed and passed but still silencedid not reign.
IX
Never, I thought, had David been so late getting to sleep.... David,the silent David, even began talking to me! Never had they gone on solong banging, talking, walking about the house! And what could they betalking about? I wondered; as though they had not had the whole day totalk in! Sounds outside persis
ted, too; first a dog barked on ashrill, obstinate note; then a drunken peasant was making an uproarsomewhere and would not be pacified; then gates kept creaking; then awretched cart on racketty wheels kept passing and passing and seemingas though it would never pass! However, these sounds did not worry me:on the contrary, I was glad of them; they seemed to distract myattention. But now at last it seemed as though all were tranquil. Onlythe pendulum of our old clock ticked gravely and drowsily in thedining-room and there was an even drawn-out sound like the hardbreathing of people asleep. I was on the point of getting up, thenagain something rustled ... then suddenly sighed, something soft felldown ... and a whisper glided along the walls.
Or was there nothing of the sort--and was it only imagination mockingme?
At last all was still. It was the very heart, the very dead of night.The time had
Knock, Knock, Knock and Other Stories Page 28
