Glafira Pavlovna smiled graciously at both of them.
“Whom are you talking about?” asked Kerbakh at last, rather annoyed at his companion.
Zherbenev replied:
“There is a chap here—what’s his name? You remember we met him at the pier some time ago. He was rather interested in Trirodov.”
“You mean Ostrov?” ventured Kerbakh.
“That’s the fellow,” said Zherbenev.
“I also meant him,” said Kerbakh.
“Excellent!” exclaimed Zherbenev. “We seem to agree about him. So you see, Glafira Pavlovna, we ought to invite him into our union. He would be a most useful man. Once mention Jews to him and he begins to howl like a dog on a chain.”
“Of course we ought to have him,” decided Glafira Pavlovna. “It is just such people that we want.”
That was how Ostrov came to be admitted into the union. He worked very zealously on its behalf.