“I wanted to stop her.... But she swept past me angrily and with some apparent pride went to look for Gavrilo Stepanich, her husband, and she was his lawful wife.... In a half-hour I saw her bringing Gavrilo Stepanich by the arm. He was leaning on her but walking and looking straight ahead with dull, faded and perplexed eyes. But he was walking. By the gate he suddenly straightened up, pushed away her hand and stared at her.... His face was dark, but his faded eye had a decided look....
“‘Who are you? Tell me who you are?... Oh?’
“She stopped and dropped her hand in despair. I thought of that spring morning and their mutual oaths: ‘Remember God, Gavrilo Stepanich!’ I was terrified: he’ll forget right now, this very minute, I thought.... Suddenly a spark of knowledge flickered up in his foolish face and he swallowed hard. He didn’t say a word but went to his rooms silently.... She followed him in terror, respectfully and humbly....
“So it went on: Rogov would beckon to Gavrilo, and he’d go off and begin to carouse. This man got enormous power over Gavrilo, and Yelena objected, humbly, respectfully, timidly, but constantly. She probably looked upon all this as a punishment sent to her as an atonement for her ‘sin.’ She grew thin, her nice plumpness disappeared, her eyes sank deeper in her head.... But when I looked at them I never could decide to call them stupid. Her suffering was always wonderfully intelligent like that of a bird.... She’d go to the saloons after her drunken husband, every one would laugh at her on the street, and make rough jokes about her.... She felt no shame for herself.... Only once she whispered: ‘That’s not right, Gavrilo Stepanich, people are looking at you....’
“One time when she was taking him back from the ‘Crags,’ he broke away from her, ran up to Budnikov’s door and began to kick it wildly. Yelena almost dropped, and, as if she did not have the strength to go after him, she watched him like a man with the nightmare, who sees coming at him something terrible which he has been expecting but he can’t struggle against it.... The door suddenly opened and M. Budnikov appeared.... Calm and haughty with an air of absolute superiority. To tell you the truth, I was somewhat surprised.... Anyway, it was a delicate situation. I didn’t know the details at the time, but I felt there was something wrong and mistaken.... Suddenly clearness of vision, quiet, calm. And it wasn’t put on. No,—that was easy to see.... It was merely absolute imperturbability.
“‘What do you want, Gavrilo?’ he said. ‘What are you kicking for? Don’t you know how to ring?... You see, here’s the bell....’
“He pointed to the bell handle. Gavrilo looked at it and became confused. Yes, there was a knob and there was really no reason to kick.... M. Budnikov continued from the top step:
“‘Anyway, what are you thinking about and what do you want of me, you r-rascal? Have I insulted you, dealt unjustly with you, held up your pay for even one day? Yet you kicked.... All right, here I am.... What do you want?’
“Gavrilo didn’t say a word....