Page 473 of 1294

Ten minutes later, however, she was considerably reassured; it

was characteristic of Razumihin that he showed his true nature at

once, whatever mood he might be in, so that people quickly saw

the sort of man they had to deal with.

"You can't go to the landlady, that's perfect nonsense!" he

cried. "If you stay, though you are his mother, you'll drive him

to a frenzy, and then goodness knows what will happen! Listen,

I'll tell you what I'll do: Nastasya will stay with him now, and

I'll conduct you both home, you can't be in the streets alone;

Petersburg is an awful place in that way.... But no matter! Then

I'll run straight back here and a quarter of an hour later, on my

word of honour, I'll bring you news how he is, whether he is

asleep, and all that. Then, listen! Then I'll run home in a

twinkling--I've a lot of friends there, all drunk--I'll fetch

Zossimov--that's the doctor who is looking after him, he is

there, too, but he is not drunk; he is not drunk, he is never

drunk! I'll drag him to Rodya, and then to you, so that you'll

get two reports in the hour--from the doctor, you understand,

from the doctor himself, that's a very different thing from my

account of him!