Ferdinand gave him a look of indescribable sadness; then he took his father's hand and kissed it. He had not done this for a long time.
Adler shuddered and was silent. Ferdinand began to speak in a low voice and with pauses:
"I had to ... father ... I had to. Everyone spoke against us, the nobility, the newspapers, even the waiters. They were saying that I was squandering the money while you sweated the workpeople. Before long they would have spat in our faces."
"Do not exert yourself," whispered the doctor.
The old man listened with the greatest astonishment and sorrow. His thick lips were parted.
"Save me ... father...!" cried Ferdinand with raised voice. "I have promised ten thousand roubles to the doctor."
A cloud of displeasure flashed across Adler's face. "Why so much?" he asked mechanically.
"Because I am dying ... I feel I am dying."
The old man started up from his chair.
"You are mad!" he exclaimed. "You have done a foolish thing, but you are not going to die!"