Too perplexed to reply, Tanaroff looked Sanine full in the face.
“What evil eyes he has!” thought the latter.
“This is no joking matter,” began Tanaroff, looking flushed and angry. “Are you prepared to retract your words, or are you not?”
Sanine at first was silent.
“What an utter idiot!” he thought, as he took a chair and sat down.
“Possibly I might be willing to retract my words in order to please and pacify Sarudine,” he began, speaking seriously, “the more so as I attach not the slightest importance to them. But, in the first place, Sarudine, being a fool, would not understand my motive, and, instead of holding his tongue, would brag about it. In the second place, I thoroughly dislike Sarudine, so that, under these circumstances, I don’t see that there is any sense in my retractation.”
“Very well, then…” hissed Tanaroff through his teeth.
Von Deitz stared in amazement, and his long face turned yellow.
“In that case…” began Tanaroff, in a louder and would-be threatening tone.
Sanine felt fresh hatred for the fellow as he looked at his narrow forehead and his tight breeches.