Out of the house came a tall, fair, good-looking man. His red silk shirt, fitting tight to his well-proportioned frame, looked brilliant in the sun; his pale blue eyes had a lazy, good-natured expression.
“There you go! Always quarrelling!” said he, in a languid, friendly tone. “And in Heaven’s name, what about?”
“Well, the fact is, mother thinks that a Grecian nose would suit me better, while I am quite satisfied with the one that I have got.”
Sanine looked down his nose and, laughing, grasped the other’s big, soft hand.
“So, I should say!” exclaimed Maria Ivanovna, pettishly.
Novikoff laughed merrily; and from the green thicket, came a gentle echo in reply, as if some one yonder heartily shared his mirth.
“Ah! I know what it is! Worrying about your future.”
“What, you, too?” exclaimed Sanine, in comic alarm.
“It just serves you right.”
“Ah!” cried Sanine. “If it’s a case of two to one, I had better clear out.”