He replied: “All right. Leave it to me.”
And, indeed, he arrived immediately and took us to Doctor Fritkof, who gave us injections of antirabic serum for three weeks. It made us feel very ill. Every minute I asked Tioka: “Do you feel inclined to bite any one?”
He invariably replied in the affirmative, which made me very miserable.
XXIV
Although Tioka and I both recovered, this alarming incident had its consequences on my life. It caused me to leave my old home, and from the moment of that departure I never saw my dear mother again.
With the passing of her mild and tender presence all that still was pure and holy vanished out of my life.
I was already on the brink of perdition. Freed from the restraint of that gentle hand, whose light touch even from afar had still controlled my heart, I plunged forward to destruction.
The inheritance was divided, and my share was dissipated I know not how. I returned to Moscow, and found myself ever more and more in need of money.