Page 906 - the-idiot

in the early morning all this—happened. It has been inside
the book ever since—and—and—this is what is such a mar-
vel to me, the knife only went in a couple of inches at most,
just under her left breast, and there wasn’t more than half a
tablespoonful of blood altogether, not more.’
‘Yes—yes—yes—‘ The prince jumped up in extraordinary
agitation. ‘I know, I know, I’ve read of that sort of thing—
it’s internal haemorrhage, you know. Sometimes there isn’t
a drop—if the blow goes straight to the heart—‘
‘Wait—listen!’ cried Rogojin, suddenly, starting up.
‘Somebody’s walking about, do you hear? In the hall.’ Both
sat up to listen.
‘I hear,’ said the prince in a whisper, his eyes fixed on
Rogojin.
‘Footsteps?’
‘Yes.’
‘Shall we shut the door, and lock it, or not?’
‘Yes, lock it.’
They locked the door, and both lay down again. There
was a long silence.
‘Yes, by-the-by,’ whispered the prince, hurriedly and ex-
citedly as before, as though he had just seized hold of an
idea and was afraid of losing it again. ‘I—I wanted those
cards! They say you played cards with her?’
‘Yes, I played with her,’ said Rogojin, after a short silence.
‘Where are the cards?’
‘Here they are,’ said Rogojin, after a still longer pause.
He pulled out a pack of cards, wrapped in a bit of pa-
per, from his pocket, and handed them to the prince. The

0