"You saw something? What did you see?" And Natacha rushed forward to hold up the glass.
But Sonia had seen nothing; her eyes were getting dim, and she was on the point of giving it up when Natacha's exclamation had stopped her; she did not want to disappoint them; but there is nothing so tiring as sitting motionless. She did not know why she had called out and hidden her face.
"Did you see him?" asked Natacha.
"Yes; stop a minute. I saw him," said Sonia, not quite sure whether "him" was to mean Nicolas or Prince André. "Why not make them believe that I saw something?" she thought. "A great many people have done so before, and no one can prove the contrary. Yes, I saw him," she repeated.
"How? standing up or lying down?"
"I saw him—at first there was nothing; then suddenly I saw him lying down."
"André, lying down? Then he is ill!" And Natacha gazed horror-stricken at her companion.
"Not at all; he seemed quite cheerful, on the contrary," said she, beginning to believe in her own inventions.
"And then—Sonia, what then?"
"Then I saw only confusion—red and blue."