“‘Just tell me what this is;’ and he showed me the box of pills.
“At first I wouldn’t let on that I knew anything about it, because I wasn’t sure what might be up. I thought to myself, ‘How should I know? Maybe the apothecary’s got into some mess or other. These are dangerous times; I may get into trouble if I say I know him.’ So I said, ‘I don’t know anything about it.’ Then he asked me, ‘Don’t you know a person named Làptev?’ (Làptev was the apothecary’s name, you know.) And I said again, ‘No, I don’t!’ Then he pulled out the canvas that the box of pills was done up in, and showed it to me, and there was written on the canvas—
“‘Ivàn Ivànovich Popòv. Packet from Làptev; price 1 rouble.’
“‘You are Popòv, aren’t you?’ says he.
“‘Yes.’
“‘And the packet is to you?’
“‘It must be.’
“‘Then you must know Làptev?’
“I saw I’d put my foot in it, and so I told him—
“‘Very sorry, your Excellency—yes, I know him.’