Page 534 of 1294

"Oh, Rodya, you wouldn't believe," she began suddenly, in haste

to answer his words to her, "how unhappy Dounia and I were

yesterday! Now that it's all over and done with and we are quite

happy again--I can tell you. Fancy, we ran here almost straight

from the train to embrace you and that woman--ah, here she is!

Good morning, Nastasya!... She told us at once that you were

lying in a high fever and had just run away from the doctor in

delirium, and they were looking for you in the streets. You can't

imagine how we felt! I couldn't help thinking of the tragic end

of Lieutenant Potanchikov, a friend of your father's--you can't

remember him, Rodya--who ran out in the same way in a high fever

and fell into the well in the court-yard and they couldn't pull

him out till next day. Of course, we exaggerated things. We were

on the point of rushing to find Pyotr Petrovitch to ask him to

help....