Resurrection

The jailer who had brought Maslova in sat on a windowsill at some

distance from them.

The decisive moment had come for Nekhludoff. He had been

incessantly blaming himself for not having told her the principal

thing at the first interview, and was now determined to tell her

that he would marry her. She was sitting at the further side of

the table. Nekhludoff sat down opposite her. It was light in the

room, and Nekhludoff for the first time saw her face quite near.

He distinctly saw the crowsfeet round her eyes, the wrinkles

round her mouth, and the swollen eyelids. He felt more sorry than

before. Leaning over the table so as not to be heard by the

jailer--a man of Jewish type with grizzly whiskers, who sat by

the window--Nekhludoff said: "Should this petition come to nothing we shall appeal to the

Emperor. All that is possible shall be done."

"There, now, if we had had a proper advocate from the first," she

interrupted. "My defendant was quite a silly. He did nothing but

pay me compliments," she said, and laughed. "If it had then been

known that I was acquainted with you, it would have been another

matter. They think every one's a thief."

"How strange she is to-day," Nekhludoff thought, and was just

going to say what he had on his mind when she began again: "There's something I want to say. We have here an old woman; such

a fine one, d'you know, she just surprises every one; she is

imprisoned for nothing, and her son, too, and everybody knows

they are innocent, though they are accused of having set fire to

a house. D'you know, hearing I was acquainted with you, she says:

'Tell him to ask to see my son; he'll tell him all about it."'

Thus spoke Maslova, turning her head from side to side, and

glancing at Nekhludoff. "Their name's Menshoff. Well, will you do

it? Such a fine old thing, you know; you can see at once she's

innocent. You'll do it, there's a dear," and she smiled, glanced

up at him, and then cast down her eyes.

"All right. I'll find out about them," Nekhludoff said, more and

more astonished by her free-and-easy manner. "But I was going to

speak to you about myself. Do you remember what I told you last

time?"

"You said a lot last time. What was it you told me?" she said,

continuing to smile and to turn her head from side to side.

"I said I had come to ask you to forgive me," he began.

"What's the use of that? Forgive, forgive, where's the good of--"

"To atone for my sin, not by mere words, but in deed. I have made

up my mind to marry you."

An expression of fear suddenly came over her face. Her squinting

eyes remained fixed on him, and yet seemed not to be looking at

him.