Page 233 - the-idiot

Lebedeff stood two or three paces behind his chief; and
the rest of the band waited about near the door.
The two maid-servants were both peeping in, frightened
and amazed at this unusual and disorderly scene.
‘What is that?’ asked Nastasia Philipovna, gazing intently
at Rogojin, and indicating the paper packet.
‘A hundred thousand,’ replied the latter, almost in a
whisper.
‘Oh! so he kept his word—there’s a man for you! Well,
sit down, please—take that chair. I shall have something to
say to you presently. Who are all these with you? The same
party? Let them come in and sit down. There’s room on that
sofa, there are some chairs and there’s another sofa! Well,
why don’t they sit down?’
Sure enough, some of the brave fellows entirely lost their
heads at this point, and retreated into the next room. Oth-
ers, however, took the hint and sat down, as far as they
could from the table, however; feeling braver in proportion
to their distance from Nastasia.
Rogojin took the chair offered him, but he did not sit
long; he soon stood up again, and did not reseat himself.
Little by little he began to look around him and discern the
other guests. Seeing Gania, he smiled venomously and mut-
tered to himself, ‘Look at that!’
He gazed at Totski and the general with no apparent con-
fusion, and with very little curiosity. But when he observed
that the prince was seated beside Nastasia Philipovna, he
could not take his eyes off him for a long while, and was
clearly amazed. He could not account for the prince’s pres-

The Idiot