Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky [best books to read for women TXT] 📗

it. Razumihin, completely put to confusion by upsetting the table and smashing the glass, gazed gloomily at the fragments, cursed and turned sharply to the window where he stood looking out with his back to the company with a fiercely scowling countenance, seeing nothing. Porfiry Petrovitch laughed and was ready to go on laughing, but obviously looked for explanations. Zametov had been sitting in the corner, but he rose at the visitors’ entrance and was standing in expectation with a smile on his lips, though he looked with surprise and even it seemed incredulity at the whole scene and at Raskolnikov with a certain embarrassment.

Zametov’s unexpected presence struck Raskolnikov unpleasantly.

‘I’ve got to think of that,’ he thought. ‘Excuse me, please,’ he began, affecting extreme embarrassment.

‘Raskolnikov.’

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‘Not at all, very pleasant to see you … and how pleasantly you’ve come in…. Why, won’t he even say good-morning?’ Porfiry Petrovitch nodded at Razumihin.

‘Upon my honour I don’t know why he is in such a rage with me. I only told him as we came along that he was like Romeo … and proved it. And that was all, I think!’

‘Pig!’ ejaculated Razumihin, without turning round.

‘There must have been very grave grounds for it, if he is so furious at the word,’ Porfiry laughed.

‘Oh, you sharp lawyer! … Damn you all!’ snapped Razumihin, and suddenly bursting out laughing himself, he went up to Porfiry with a more cheerful face as though nothing had happened. ‘That’ll do! We are all fools. To come to business. This is my friend Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov; in the first place he has heard of you and wants to make your acquaintance, and secondly, he has a little matter of business with you. Bah! Zametov, what brought you here? Have you met before? Have you known each other long?’

‘What does this mean?’ thought Raskolnikov uneasily.

Zametov seemed taken aback, but not very much so.

‘Why, it was at your rooms we met yesterday,’ he said easily.

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‘Then I have been spared the trouble. All last week he was begging me to introduce him to you. Porfiry and you have sniffed each other out without me. Where is your tobacco?’

Porfiry Petrovitch was wearing a dressing-gown, very clean linen, and trodden-down slippers. He was a man of about five and thirty, short, stout even to corpulence, and clean shaven. He wore his hair cut short and had a large round head, particularly prominent at the back. His soft, round, rather snub-nosed face was of a sickly yellowish colour, but had a vigorous and rather ironical expression.

It would have been good-natured except for a look in the eyes, which shone with a watery, mawkish light under almost white, blinking eyelashes. The expression of those eyes was strangely out of keeping with his somewhat womanish figure, and gave it something far more serious than could be guessed at first sight.

As soon as Porfiry Petrovitch heard that his visitor had a little matter of business with him, he begged him to sit down on the sofa and sat down himself on the other end, waiting for him to explain his business, with that careful and over-serious attention which is at once oppressive and embarrassing, especially to a stranger, and especially if what you are discussing is in your opinion of far too little 449 of 967

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importance for such exceptional solemnity. But in brief and coherent phrases Raskolnikov explained his business clearly and exactly, and was so well satisfied with himself that he even succeeded in taking a good look at Porfiry.

Porfiry Petrovitch did not once take his eyes off him.

Razumihin, sitting opposite at the same table, listened warmly and impatiently, looking from one to the other every moment with rather excessive interest.

‘Fool,’ Raskolnikov swore to himself.

‘You have to give information to the police,’ Porfiry replied, with a most businesslike air, ‘that having learnt of this incident, that is of the murder, you beg to inform the lawyer in charge of the case that such and such things belong to you, and that you desire to redeem them … or

… but they will write to you.’

‘That’s just the point, that at the present moment,’

Raskolnikov tried his utmost to feign embarrassment, ‘I am not quite in funds … and even this trifling sum is beyond me … I only wanted, you see, for the present to declare that the things are mine, and that when I have money….’

‘That’s no matter,’ answered Porfiry Petrovitch, receiving his explanation of his pecuniary position coldly,

‘but you can, if you prefer, write straight to me, to say, 450 of 967

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that having been informed of the matter, and claiming such and such as your property, you beg …’

‘On an ordinary sheet of paper?’ Raskolnikov

interrupted eagerly, again interested in the financial side of the question.

‘Oh, the most ordinary,’ and suddenly Porfiry

Petrovitch looked with obvious irony at him, screwing up his eyes and, as it were, winking at him. But perhaps it was Raskolnikov’s fancy, for it all lasted but a moment.

There was certainly something of the sort, Raskolnikov could have sworn he winked at him, goodness knows why.

‘He knows,’ flashed through his mind like lightning.

‘Forgive my troubling you about such trifles,’ he went on, a little disconcerted, ‘the things are only worth five roubles, but I prize them particularly for the sake of those from whom they came to me, and I must confess that I was alarmed when I heard …’

‘That’s why you were so much struck when I

mentioned to Zossimov that Porfiry was inquiring for everyone who had pledges!’ Razumihin put in with obvious intention.

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This was really unbearable. Raskolnikov could not help glancing at him with a flash of vindictive anger in his black eyes, but immediately recollected himself.

‘You seem to be jeering at me, brother?’ he said to him, with a well- feigned irritability. ‘I dare say I do seem to you absurdly anxious about such trash; but you mustn’t think me selfish or grasping for that, and these two things may be anything but trash in my eyes. I told you just now that the silver watch, though it’s not worth a cent, is the only thing left us of my father’s. You may laugh at me, but my mother is here,’ he turned suddenly to Porfiry, ‘and if she knew,’ he turned again hurriedly to Razumihin, carefully making his voice tremble, ‘that the watch was lost, she would be in despair! You know what women are!’

‘Not a bit of it! I didn’t mean that at all! Quite the contrary!’ shouted Razumihin distressed.

‘Was it right? Was it natural? Did I overdo it?’

Raskolnikov asked himself in a tremor. ‘Why did I say that about women?’

‘Oh, your mother is with you?’ Porfiry Petrovitch inquired.

‘Yes.’

‘When did she come?’

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‘Last night.’

Porfiry paused as though reflecting.

‘Your things would not in any case be lost,’ he went on calmly and coldly. ‘I have been expecting you here for some time.’

And as though that was a matter of no importance, he carefully offered the ash-tray to Razumihin, who was ruthlessly scattering cigarette ash over the carpet.

Raskolnikov shuddered, but Porfiry did not seem to be looking at him, and was still concerned with Razumihin’s cigarette.

‘What? Expecting him? Why, did you know that he had pledges there?’ cried Razumihin.

Porfiry Petrovitch addressed himself to Raskolnikov.

‘Your things, the ring and the watch, were wrapped up together, and on the paper your name was legibly written in pencil, together with the date on which you left them with her …’

‘How observant you are!’ Raskolnikov smiled

awkwardly, doing his very utmost to look him straight in the face, but he failed, and suddenly added:

‘I say that because I suppose there were a great many pledges … that it must be difficult to remember them 453 of 967

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all…. But you remember them all so clearly, and … and

…’

‘Stupid! Feeble!’ he thought. ‘Why did I add that?’

‘But we know all who had pledges, and you are the only one who hasn’t come forward,’ Porfiry answered with hardly perceptible irony.

‘I haven’t been quite well.’

‘I heard that too. I heard, indeed, that you were in great distress about something. You look pale still.’

‘I am not pale at all…. No, I am quite well,’

Raskolnikov snapped out rudely and angrily, completely changing his tone. His anger was mounting, he could not repress it. ‘And in my anger I shall betray myself,’ flashed through his mind again. ‘Why are they torturing me?’

‘Not quite well!’ Razumihin caught him up. ‘What next! He was unconscious and delirious all yesterday.

Would you believe, Porfiry, as soon as our backs were turned, he dressed, though he could hardly stand, and gave us the slip and went off on a spree somewhere till midnight, delirious all the time! Would you believe it!

Extraordinary!’

‘Really delirious? You don’t say so!’ Porfiry shook his head in a womanish way.

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‘Nonsense! Don’t you believe it! But you don’t believe it anyway,’ Raskolnikov let slip in his anger. But Porfiry Petrovitch did not seem to catch those strange words.

‘But how could you have gone out if you hadn’t been delirious?’ Razumihin got hot suddenly. ‘What did you go out for? What was the object of it? And why on the sly?

Were you in your senses when you did it? Now that all danger is over I can speak plainly.’

‘I was awfully sick of them yesterday.’ Raskolnikov addressed Porfiry suddenly with a smile of insolent defiance, ‘I ran away from them to take lodgings where they wouldn’t find me, and took a lot of money with me.

Mr. Zametov there saw it. I say, Mr. Zametov, was I sensible or delirious yesterday; settle our dispute.’

He could have strangled Zametov at that moment, so hateful were his expression and his silence to him.

‘In my opinion you talked sensibly and even artfully, but you were extremely irritable,’ Zametov pronounced dryly.

‘And Nikodim Fomitch was telling me to-day,’ put in Porfiry Petrovitch, ‘that he met you very late last night in the lodging of a man who had been run over.’

‘And there,’ said Razumihin, ‘weren’t you mad then?

You gave your last penny to the widow for the funeral. If 455 of 967

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you wanted to help, give fifteen or twenty even, but keep three roubles for yourself at least, but he flung away all the twenty-five at once!’

‘Maybe I found a treasure somewhere and you know nothing of it? So that’s why I was liberal yesterday…. Mr.

Zametov knows I’ve found a treasure! Excuse us, please, for disturbing you for half an hour with such trivialities,’

he said, turning to Porfiry Petrovitch, with trembling lips.

‘We are boring you, aren’t we?’

‘Oh no, quite the contrary, quite the contrary! If only you knew how you interest me! It’s interesting to look on and listen … and I am really glad you have come forward at last.’

‘But you might give us some tea! My throat’s dry,’

cried Razumihin.

‘Capital idea! Perhaps we will all keep you company.

Wouldn’t you like … something more essential before tea?’

‘Get along with you!’

Porfiry Petrovitch went out to order tea.

Raskolnikov’s thoughts were in a whirl. He was in terrible exasperation.

‘The worst of it is they don’t disguise it; they don’t care to stand on ceremony! And how if you didn’t know me at 456 of 967

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all, did you come to talk to Nikodim Fomitch about me?

So they don’t care to hide that they are tracking me like a pack of dogs. They simply spit in my face.’ He was shaking with rage. ‘Come, strike me openly, don’t play with me like a cat with a mouse. It’s hardly civil, Porfiry Petrovitch, but perhaps I won’t allow it! I shall get up and throw the whole truth in your ugly faces, and you’ll see how I despise you.’ He could hardly breathe. ‘And what if it’s only my fancy? What if I am mistaken, and through inexperience I get angry and don’t keep up my nasty part?

Perhaps it’s all