The Geisha trembled, quick tears suddenly trickled from her eyes. She said, sobbing:
"Terribly cruel people! Take me to the Routilovs for the present and I'll spend the night there."
Bengalsky called a cab. They got in and drove off. The actor looked intently at the Geisha's face. There seemed to him to be something strange about it. The Geisha turned her face away. The town-talk about Liudmilla and a schoolboy suddenly occurred to Bengalsky's mind.
"Ah-ha! You're a boy!" he said in a whisper, so that the cabby should not hear.
"For God's sake!" said Sasha growing pale with fear.
And his smooth hands under the overcoat stretched themselves towards Bengalsky with a movement of entreaty. Bengalsky laughed quietly and whispered:
"I won't tell anyone. Don't be afraid. My business is to get you home safe, and beyond that I know nothing. But you're a daring kid. Won't they find out at home?"
"If you don't say anything no one will know," said Sasha in a voice of gentle entreaty.
"You can depend on me. I shall be silent as the grave," replied the actor. "I was a boy myself once; I was up to all sorts of pranks."