Page 909 - the-idiot

XII

HEN the widow hurried away to Pavlofsk, she went
Wstraight to Daria Alexeyevna’s house, and telling all
she knew, threw her into a state of great alarm. Both ladies
decided to communicate at once with Lebedeff, who, as the
friend and landlord of the prince, was also much agitated.
Vera Lebedeff told all she knew, and by Lebedeff’s advice it
was decided that all three should go to Petersburg as quickly
as possible, in order to avert ‘what might so easily happen.’
This is how it came about that at eleven o’clock next
morning Rogojin’s flat was opened by the police in the pres-
ence of Lebedeff, the two ladies, and Rogojin’s own brother,
who lived in the wing.
The evidence of the porter went further than anything
else towards the success of Lebedeff in gaining the assis-
tance of the police. He declared that he had seen Rogojin
return to the house last night, accompanied by a friend, and
that both had gone upstairs very secretly and cautiously.
After this there was no hesitation about breaking open the
door, since it could not be got open in any other way.
Rogojin suffered from brain fever for two months. When
he recovered from the attack he was at once brought up on
trial for murder.
He gave full, satisfactory, and direct evidence on ev-
ery point; and the prince’s name was, thanks to this, not

0 The Idiot