Just fussy, mediocre stupidity, and in the stupidest way I took possession of the conversation by force.
But they forgave me everything, first because I dropped from the moon, that seems to be settled here, now, by every one; and, secondly, because I told them a pretty little story, and got you all out of a scrape, didn't they, didn't they?"
"That is, you told your story so as to leave them in doubt and suggest some compact and collusion between us, when there was no collusion and I'd not asked you to do anything."
"Just so, just so!" Pyotr Stepanovitch caught him up, apparently delighted.
"That's just what I did do, for I wanted you to see that I implied it; I exerted myself chiefly for your sake, for I caught you and wanted to compromise you, above all I wanted to find out how far you're afraid."
"It would be interesting to know why you are so open now?"
"Don't be angry, don't be angry, don't glare at me.... You're not, though.
You wonder why I am so open?
Why, just because it's all changed now; of course, it's over, buried under the sand.
I've suddenly changed my ideas about you.
The old way is closed; now I shall never compromise you in the old way, it will be in a new way now."
"You've changed your tactics?"
"There are no tactics.
Now it's for you to decide in everything, that is, if you want to, say yes, and if you want to, say no. There you have my new tactics.
And I won't say a word about our cause till you bid me yourself.
You laugh?
Laugh away. I'm laughing myself.
But I'm in earnest now, in earnest, in earnest, though a man who is in such a hurry is stupid, isn't he?
Never mind, I may be stupid, but I'm in earnest, in earnest."
He really was speaking in earnest in quite a different tone, and with a peculiar excitement, so that Nikolay Vsyevolodovitch looked at him with curiosity.
"You say you've changed your ideas about me?" he asked.
"I changed my ideas about you at the moment when you drew your hands back after Shatov's attack, and, that's enough, that's enough, no questions, please, I'll say nothing more now."
He jumped up, waving his hands as though waving off questions. But as there were no questions, and he had no reason to go away, he sank into an arm-chair again, somewhat reassured.
"By the way, in parenthesis," he rattled on at once, "some people here are babbling that you'll kill him, and taking bets about it, so that Lembke positively thought of setting the police on, but Yulia Mihailovna forbade it.... But enough about that, quite enough, I only spoke of it to let you know.
By the way, I moved the Lebyadkins the same day, you know; did you get my note with their address?"
"I received it at the time."
"I didn't do that by way of 'stupidity.' I did it genuinely, to serve you.
If it was stupid, anyway, it was done in good faith."
"Oh, all right, perhaps it was necessary...." said Nikolay Vsyevolodovitch dreamily, "only don't write any more letters to me, I beg you."
"Impossible to avoid it. It was only one."
"So Liputin knows?"
"Impossible to help it: but Liputin, you know yourself, dare not... By the way, you ought to meet our fellows, that is, the fellows not our fellows, or you'll be finding fault again.
Don't disturb yourself, not just now, but sometime.
Just now it's raining.
I'll let them know, they'll meet together, and we'll go in the evening.
They're waiting, with their mouths open like young crows in a nest, to see what present we've brought them.
They're a hot-headed lot.
They've brought out leaflets, they're on the point of quarrelling.
Virginsky is a universal humanity man, Liputin is a Fourierist with a marked inclination for police work; a man, I assure you, who is precious from one point of view, though he requires strict supervision in all others; and, last of all, that fellow with the long ears, he'll read an account of his own system.
And do you know, they're offended at my treating them casually, and throwing cold water over them, but we certainly must meet."
"You've made me out some sort of chief?" Nikolay Vsyevolodovitch dropped as carelessly as possible.
Pyotr Stepanovitch looked quickly at him.
"By the way," he interposed, in haste to change the subject, as though he had not heard. "I've been here two or three times, you know, to see her excellency, Varvara Petrovna, and I have been obliged to say a great deal too."
"So I imagine."
"No, don't imagine, I've simply told her that you won't kill him, well, and other sweet things.
And only fancy; the very next day she knew I'd moved Marya Timofyevna beyond the river. Was it you told her?"
"I never dreamed of it!"
"I knew it wasn't you.
Who else could it be?
It's interesting."