Pagina 660 di 1294

Ten minutes passed. It was still light, but beginning to get

dusk. There was complete stillness in the room. Not a sound came

from the stairs. Only a big fly buzzed and fluttered against the

window pane. It was unbearable at last. Raskolnikov suddenly got

up and sat on the sofa.

"Come, tell me what you want."

"I knew you were not asleep, but only pretending," the stranger

answered oddly, laughing calmly. "Arkady Ivanovitch Svidrigailov,

allow me to introduce myself...."

PART IV

CHAPTER I

"Can this be still a dream?" Raskolnikov thought once more.

He looked carefully and suspiciously at the unexpected visitor.

"Svidrigailov! What nonsense! It can't be!" he said at last aloud

in bewilderment.

His visitor did not seem at all surprised at this exclamation.