So I'll let him go and then suddenly, out of the blue, I'll find him with the captain's widow—essentially in order to shame him as a family man and a man generally speaking."
"Only don't make noise, Lebedev, for God's sake don't make noise," the prince said in a low voice, greatly worried.
"Oh, no, sir, essentially just so as to shame him and see what kind of face he makes—for one can learn a lot by the face, my much-esteemed Prince, and especially with such a man!
Ah, Prince!
Great as my own trouble is, even now I cannot help thinking about him and about the reforming of his morals.
I have a special request to make of you, my much-esteemed Prince, I even confess that this is essentially why I have come, sir: you are already acquainted with the house and have even lived with them, sir; what if you, my most good-hearted Prince, should decide to assist me in this, essentially just for the sake of the general and his happiness . . ."
Lebedev even pressed his hands together as if in supplication.
"What is it?
How can I assist?
I assure you that I would like very much to understand you fully, Lebedev."
"It is solely in that assurance that I have come to you!
It may be possible to work through Nina Alexandrovna; by observing and, so to speak, keeping a constant watch on his excellency, in the bosom of his own family.
I, unfortunately, am not acquainted, sir . . . then, too, Nikolai Ardalionovich, who adores you, so to speak, from the bosom of his young soul, could perhaps be of help here ..."
"N-no . . . Nina Alexandrovna in this business . . . God forbid!
Not Kolya either . . . However, maybe I still haven't understood you, Lebedev."
"But there's nothing at all to understand here!" Lebedev even jumped in his chair. "Sensitivity and tenderness alone, alone— that's all the medicine our sick man needs.
Will you allow me, Prince, to consider him a sick man?"
"It even shows your delicacy and intelligence."
"I shall explain it to you, for the sake of clarity, with an example taken from practice.
See what kind of man he is, sir: here he now has a certain weakness for this captain's widow, whom he cannot go to without money and at whose place I intend to catch him today, for the sake of his own happiness, sir; but suppose it wasn't only the captain's widow, but he was even to commit a real crime— well, some very dishonest act (though he's totally incapable of that)—then, too, I say only noble tenderness, so to speak, will get anywhere with him, for he is a most sensitive man, sir!
Believe me, he won't last five days, he'll let it out himself, start weeping, and confess everything—especially if we act skillfully and nobly, through your and his family's supervision of all his, so to speak, traits and steps . . . Oh, my most good-hearted Prince!" Lebedev jumped up even in some sort of inspiration, "I am not affirming that it was certainly he ... I am ready, so to speak, to shed all my blood for him right now, though you must agree that intemperance, and drunkenness, and the captain's widow, and all of it taken together, could drive him to anything."
"I am, of course, always ready to assist in such a purpose," the prince said, standing up, "only, I confess to you, Lebedev, I'm terribly worried; tell me, do you still ... in short, you yourself say that you suspect Mr. Ferdyshchenko."
"And who else?
Who else, my most sincere Prince?" Lebedev again pressed his hands together sweetly, and with a sweet smile.
The prince frowned and got up from his place.
"You see, Lukyan Timofeich, it would be a terrible thing to be mistaken.
This Ferdyshchenko ... I have no wish to speak ill of him . . . but this Ferdyshchenko . . . that is, who knows, maybe he's the one! ...
I mean to say that he may be more capable of it than . . . than the other man."
Lebedev was all eyes and ears.
"You see," the prince was becoming confused and frowned more and more as he paced up and down the room, trying not to raise his eyes to Lebedev, "I've been given to understand . . . I've been told about Mr. Ferdyshchenko, that he is supposedly, besides everything else, a man in whose presence one must restrain oneself and not say anything . . . superfluous—understand?
By which I mean that perhaps he actually is more capable than the other man . . . so as to make no mistake—that's the main thing, understand?"
"And who told you that about Mr. Ferdyshchenko?" Lebedev simply heaved himself up.
"It's just a whisper; anyhow, I don't believe it myself . . . it's terribly vexing that I've been forced to tell you about it, I assure you, I don't believe it myself . . . it's some sort of nonsense . . . Pah, what a stupid thing for me to do!"
"You see, Prince," Lebedev was even shaking all over, "it's important, it's all too important now, that is, not concerning Mr. Ferdyshchenko, but concerning how this information came to you." As he said this, Lebedev was running up and down after the prince, trying to get in step with him. "Look here, Prince, I'll now inform you: when the general and I were going to this Villein's, after he told me about the fire, and seething, naturally, with wrath, he suddenly began hinting the same thing to me about Mr. Ferdyshchenko, but it was so without rhyme or reason that I involuntarily asked him certain questions, as a result of which I became fully convinced that this information was nothing but his excellency's inspiration . . . Essentially, so to speak, from good-heartedness alone.
For he lies solely because he cannot control his feelings.
Now kindly see, sir: if he was lying, and I'm sure of that, how could you have heard of it, too?
Understand, Prince, that it was a momentary inspiration of his—who, then, informed you of it?
It's important, sir, it's . . . it's very important, sir, and ... so to speak . . ."
"Kolya just told it to me, and he was told earlier by his father, whom he met sometime at six o'clock or after, in the front hall, when he stepped out for something."
And the prince recounted everything in detail.
"Well, sir, that's what we call a trail, sir," Lebedev laughed inaudibly, rubbing his hands. "It's just as I thought, sir!
It means that his excellency purposely interrupted his sleep of the innocent before six o'clock in order to go and wake up his beloved son and inform him of the extreme danger of being neighborly with Mr. Ferdyshchenko!
What a dangerous man Mr. Ferdyshchenko must be in that case, and how great is his excellency's parental concern, heh, heh, heh! . . ."
"Listen, Lebedev," the prince was definitively confused, "listen, act quietly!
Don't make noise!
I beg you, Lebedev, I beseech you ... In that case I swear I'll assist you, but so that nobody knows, so that nobody knows!"
"I assure you, my most good-hearted, most sincere, and most noble Prince," Lebedev cried in decided inspiration, "I assure you that all this will die in my most noble heart.
With quiet steps, together, sir!
With quiet steps, together!
I'd even shed all my blood . . . Most illustrious Prince, I am mean in soul and spirit, but ask any scoundrel even, not only a mean man: who is it better to deal with, a scoundrel like himself, or a most noble man like you, my most sincere Prince?