“I thank you for having stood by my old friend.”
Mark seized Raisky’s hand and shook it.
“I have been looking for some means of serving you for a long time.”
“Why, Volokov, are you for ever executing quick changes like a clown in a circus?”
“What the devil have I to do with your gratitude? I am not here for that, but on Koslov’s account.”
“God be with you and your manners, Mark Ivanovich!” replied Raisky. “In any case, you have done a good deed.”
“More praise. You can be as sentimental as you like for all I care....”
“I will take Leonti home with me,” resumed Raisky. “He will be absolutely at home there, and if his troubles do not blow over he will have his own quiet corner all his life.”
“Bravo! that is deeds, not words. Koslov would wither without a home and without care. It is an excellent idea you have taken into your head.”
“It comes not from me, but from a woman, and not from her head, but from her heart. My Aunt....”