"Is it really only negative?" he repeated to himself. "Well,
what of it? It's not my fault." And he began thinking about the
next day.
"Tomorrow I'll go out early, and I'll make a point of keeping
cool. There are lots of snipe; and there are grouse too. When
I come back there'll be the note from Kitty. Yes, Stiva may be
right, I'm not manly with her, I'm tied to her apron-strings....
Well, it can't be helped! Negative again...."
Half asleep, he heard the laughter and mirthful talk of Veslovsky
and Stepan Arkadyevitch. For an instant he opened his eyes: the
moon was up, and in the open doorway, brightly lighted up by the
moonlight, they were standing talking. Stepan Arkadyevitch was
saying something of the freshness of one girl, comparing her to a
freshly peeled nut, and Veslovsky with his infectious laugh was
repeating some words, probably said to him by a peasant: "Ah, you
do your best to get round her!" Levin, half asleep, said: "Gentlemen, tomorrow before daylight!" and fell asleep.