FÉDYA [rising] Don't talk.… Now let's have “Not at Eve.”
GIPSY LEADER. That won't do, Theodore Vasílyevich! Let Másha sing a solo now.
FÉDYA. All right! And then, “Not at Eve.” [Lies down again].
OFFICER. Sing “Fateful Hour.”
GIPSY. All agreed?
AFRÉMOV. Go on!
OFFICER [to musician] Have you taken it down?
MUSICIAN. Quite impossible! It's different every time.… And the scale is somehow different. Look here! [Beckons to a gipsy woman who is looking on] Is this right? [Hums].
GIPSY. That's it, that's splendid!
FÉDYA. He'll never get it; and if he does take it down and shoves it into an opera, he'll only spoil it!… Now, Másha, start off! Let's have “Fateful Hour”—take your guitar. [Rises, sits down opposite her, and gazes into her eyes].