"No, but you see——"
"I am asking about Ferdinand—any news of him?"
"I will tell you presently," Boehme said, grimacing. Again he put his hand into his breast pocket, and took out a letter and a large purse, but no spectacles.
"I wonder if I left them in the britzka," he said, turning towards the steps.
Adler, who knew that the pastor carried only important documents in his breast pocket, snatched the letter from his hand.
"My dear Gottlieb," Boehme said, confused; "give me back the letter; I will read it to you myself, but I must first find my glasses."
He ran out into the courtyard, but returned in dismay a few minutes later, not having found them.
Adler was reading the letter with great interest; the veins stood out on his forehead, and his eyes seemed to project more than ever.
When he had finished he spat on the floor.
"What a scoundrel, this Ferdinand!..." he burst out. "In two years' time he is fifty-eight thousand and thirty-one roubles in debt, though I gave him a yearly allowance of ten thousand roubles."