Sanine

Though Yourii thought Riasantzeff was little better than a brute to

himself, he was glad to hear the latter abuse Sanine to Sina when she

defended him. However, as she noticed Yourii's look of annoyance, she

said no more. Secretly, she was much pleased by Sanine's strength and

pluck, and was quite unwilling to accept Riasantzeff's denouncement of

duelling as just. Like Yourii, she did not consider that he was

qualified to lay down the law like that.

"Wonderfully civilized, certainly," sneered Ivanoff, "to shoot a man's

nose off, or run him through the body."

"Is a blow in the face any better?"

"I certainly think that it is. What harm can a fist do? A bruise is

soon healed. You won't find that a blow with the fist ever hurt anybody

much."

"That's not the point."

"Then, what is, pray?" said Ivanoff, his thin lips curled with scorn.

"I don't believe in fighting at all, myself, but, if it must be, then

one ought to draw the line at severe bodily injuries. That's quite

clear."

"He almost knocked the other's eye out. I suppose you don't call that

severe bodily injury?" retorted Riasantzeff sarcastically.

"Well, of course, to lose an eye is a bad job, but it's not the same as

getting a bullet through your body. The loss of an eye is not a fatal

injury."

"But Sarudine is dead?"

"Ah! that's because he wished to die."

Yourii nervously plucked at his moustache.

"I must frankly confess," he said, quite pleased at his own sincerity,

"that personally, I have not made up my mind as regards this question.

I cannot say how I should have behaved in Sanine's place. Of course,

duelling's stupid, and to fight with fists is not much better."

"But what is a man to do if he's compelled to fight?" said Sina.

Yourii shrugged his shoulders.

"It's for Soloveitchik that we ought to be sorry," said Riasantzeff,

after a pause. The words contrasted strangely with his cheerful

countenance. Then all at once, they remembered that not one of them had

asked about Soloveitchik.

"Where did he hang himself? Do you know?"

"In the shed next to the dog's kennel. He let the dog loose, and then

hanged himself."

Sina and Yourii simultaneously seemed to hear a shrill voice exclaim: "Lie down, Sultan!"

"Yes, and he left a note behind," continued Riasantzeff, unable to

conceal the merry twinkle in his eyes. "I made a copy of it. In a way,

it's really a human document." Taking out his pocket-book he read as

follows: "Why should I live, since I do not know how I ought to live? Men such

as I cannot make their fellow-creatures happy."